12:3
We are then told what someone “speaking by the Spirit of God” cannot say, and what they will say. There are some who think that there were occasions in their meetings when someone actually would say “Jesus is cursed”. However, Schreiner thinks this unlikely. If this had actually been happening, surely it would have elicited a greater response from Paul. Conversely it is only by the Holy Spirit that one can say “Jesus is Lord”.
12:4
With their propensity for exalting self, and for comparing one person with another, deciding who is better, Paul highlights that “there are different gifts”. However, they all come from the same Spirit. At the beginning of the letter Paul chastised them for saying “I follow Paul, I follow Apollos, I follow Cephas” etc. This wish to compare people, or themselves, to be constantly ranking each other, was deep rooted. Indeed, it is part of human nature, but a characteristic that we need to be very wary of.
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