Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:1-3

“Your gods once commanded you though they did not speak.”

Paul teaches the Corinthian church an important lesson in this passage. There are many sins that can be forgiven and grace is extended to all, but the one who makes a curse of the grace of God or denies Jesus came in the flesh (1 John 2:22) cannot be considered saved.

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

1 John 4:1-3

John warned his readers about the same thing, and made sure to name them properly. Such false teachers had the spirit of the antichrist. Christ meaning “anointed” the antichrist, therefore was not one person who embodied the opposite of Jesus, but rather a category of people who oppose him and the One who sent him.

The Spirit we have is aligned with God, not opposed to him. It guides us, advocates for us and gives us power, love and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7).

Ethan Kirl