1 Corinthians 12:3

This then is the first difference between a soothsayer and a prophet; but a second and a different one is that which he next states, saying, "Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking in the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed:" and then another: "and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but in the Holy Ghost." "When thou seest," saith he, "any one not uttering His name, or anathematizing Him, he is a soothsayer. Again, when thou seest another speaking all things with His Name, understand that he is spiritual." "What then," say you, "must we say concerning the Catechumens? For if, no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost, what must we say of them who name indeed His Name, but are destitute of His Spirit? But his discourse at this time was not concerning these for there were not at that time Catechumens, but concerning believers and unbelievers. What then, doth no demon call upon God's Name? Did not the demoniacs say, "We know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God?" Did they not say to Paul, "these men are the servants of the Most High God?" They did, but upon scourging, upon compulsion; never of their own will and without being scourged. But here it is proper to enquire, both why the demon uttered these things and why Paul rebuked him. In imitation of his Teacher; for so Christ did also rebuke: since it was not his will to have testimony from them. And wherefore did the devil also practise this? Intending to confound the order of things, and to seize upon the dignity of the Apostles, and to persuade many to pay attention to them: which had it happened, they would easily have made themselves appear from hence worthy of credit, and have brought in their own designs. […]

When the demoniac Legion acknowledged Jesus as Lord, he did not do so in a believing sense, but he merely confessed his knowledge of the lordship and rule of Christ over all things.

And he says this: let this be for you a sign of a false prophet: he "anathematizes," that is, blasphemes and speaks evil of Jesus; conversely, a sign of a true prophet: he utters the name of the Lord with praise. But what about the …

Then when he says, Therefore, he concludes to two effects of grace: the first is that it makes one abstain from sin; the second is that it makes one do good works (v. 3b). First, therefore, he says: From the fact that when you were …

Wherefore I give you to know. Having admonished them from their own experience, he sets before them a general doctrine, which he deduces from it; for what the Corinthians had experienced in themselves is common to all mankind -- to wander on in error, previously to their being brought back, through the kindness of God, into the way of truth.

Wherefore I give you to understand,....

With such variety of spiritual gifts were the first ministers and churches blessed. The end for which these gifts were bestowed: The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal,

Wherefore I give you to understand - I make known to you. The force of this expression is, “I give you this rule to distinguish,” or by which you may know what influences and operations are from God. The design of the passage is, to give them some simple general guide by which they could at once recognize the operations of the Spirit of God, and determine whether they who claimed to be under that operation were really so.

The spiritual man feels Him to be the Source of all blessings (Eph 1:3) and to be severed from Him is to be accursed (Ro 9:3). Lord--acknowledging himself as His servant (Isa 26:13). "Lord" is the Septuagint translation for the incommunicable Hebrew name JEHOVAH.

No man speaking by the Spirit of God - It was granted on all hands that there could be no religion without Divine inspiration, because God alone, could make his will known to men: hence heathenism pretended to this inspiration; Judaism had it in the law and the prophets; and it was the very essence of the Christian religion. The heathen priests and priestesses pretended to receive, by inspiration from their god, the answers which they gave to their votaries. And as far as the people believed their pretensions, so far they were led by their teaching. Both Judaism and heathenism were full of expectations of a future teacher and deliverer; and to this person, especially among the Jews, the Spirit in all the prophets gave witness. This was the Anointed One, the Messiah who was manifested in the person of Jesus of Nazareth; and him the Jews rejected, though he proved his Divine mission both by his doctrines and his miracles. But as he did not come as they fancied he would - as a mighty secular conqueror, they not only rejected but blasphemed him; and persons among them professing to be spiritual men, and under the influence of the Spirit of God, did so. But as the Holy Spirit, through all the law and the prophets gave Testimony to the Messiah, and as Jesus proved himself to be the Christ both by his miracles and doctrines, no man under the inspiration of the Divine Spirit could say to him anathema - thou art a deceiver, and a person worthy of death, etc., as the Jews did: therefore the Jews were no longer under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. This appears to be the meaning of the apostle in this place. […]