Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit.
To my charismatic eyes this passage is crystal clear. Paul wants to contrast the "mute idols" with the living active God we serve. The God of the bible knew how to speak. Who are we to claim that he has forgotten how to do so today! Paul is also explaining to the Corinthians some basic principles of discernment which we would do well to apply today.

Clearly, Paul does not mean that it is impossible to literally repeat those words without the Spirit's help- after all anyone can read them aloud! No, rather Paul is surely saying you cannot say these things from the heart without the Spirit's help.

On a more general note, the test the Paul gives us can be used more broadly. Is it right for us to disagree with Paul and claim that not only is it possible, it is highly common for people to be led astray by the devil to proclaim what they believe God has told them, only to declare material that is entirely consistent with the summarised message of the New Testament "Jesus is Lord"?

In short, test the speaker by the bible and you will know what source is inspiring his words. If he denies Jesus divinity - or for that matter other key undisputed biblical doctrines you can be sure it isn't the Holy Spirit speaking through him. If on the other hand the fruits of his speech is to strengthen peopls faith in Jesus, and underlining biblical doctrinal convictions about his lordship I believe that we can be confident that the speaker is inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Thus, I guess what I am trying to say is that far from prophecy creating new scripture today it is tested by the scripture to see if it is 100% consistent with that scripture. If it isnt, it isnt prophecy that has its origin in the Holy Spirit, for he NEVER contradicts himself.

I would just ask any cessationist readers I have left - what do you make of those who claim to manifest gifts of the Spirit - are they evil liars or sadly deceived by the devil? The one thing they cant be if your doctrine is correct is exactly what they appear to be- genuine followers of Jesus who's experiences make them love him more.

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• gifts