Hello everyone. We’re going to continue again our study through the book of 1 Corinthians in understanding the doctrine of the Trinity. Tomorrow night, I have a little adventure planned and it is in relation to anti-Trinitarians so hopefully if that gets pulled off okay, I’ll be writing about that so expect something interesting. We’re in the 12th chapter of the book tonight and we’re going to be looking at verses 1-6.
1Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.3Therefore I tell you 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.4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
The first point to speak about is the affirmation that Jesus is Lord. This can be seen in contrast to saying “Jesus be cursed.” What could be in mind? Possibly the situation in the Galatian churches that Paul spoke of in Galatians 3. Either Jesus is cursed due to hanging on a tree, or he is the sovereign Lord due to his resurrection.
It is either one of the two. You cannot say by the Holy Spirit that Jesus is still in the tomb under the curse of God. You also cannot say that he is the sovereign Lord of the universe unless you happen to have the Holy Spirit. Of course, this is more than mere affirmation. This is a lifestyle. The demons believe there is one Lord, and they tremble.
Note how Trinitarian this whole passage is however. The Spirit of God and the Holy Spirit are equated. When we get to the next section, what do we see? We see the same Spirit, the same Lord, and the same God. Paul is thinking in a Trinitarian way.
Paul cannot separate these, but at the same time, he does see a distinction between them. Each person is working in his own way to bring about the process of sanctification. As we see throughout the whole of 1 Cor. 12, it is all centered on Christ as we are his body.
The emphasis then Paul places on Christ gives him the high ranking in his worldview. It all begins with the Spirit working and this is the Spirit of truth that causes us to say that Jesus is Lord. You can recognize someone who is of the church by the way they speak and then their actions matching up with what they speak.
In conclusion, Paul’s argument gives us more evidence of how he saw Christ and once again, we realize that we are confronted with a Trinitarian passage of Scripture. How many more have there been that we just haven’t taken the time to see?
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