Therefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit.
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Ambrose of Milan
AD 397
If we cannot name the Lord Jesus without the Spirit, surely we cannot proclaim him without the Spirit. .
If two yardsticks are compared with each other, their straightness is in agreement. But if a distorted piece of wood is compared with a ruler, the crooked one will be at variance with the straight. Since, therefore, the praise of God is righteous, there is need of a righteous heart, in order that the praise may be fitting and adapted to it. “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except in the Holy Spirit.” So how can one offer due praise if one does not have the right spirit in one’s heart? Homily on Psalm
Wherefore . . . no man . . . calleth Jesus accursed. The "wherefore" shows this verse to be a conclusion from the preceding, and explains it. I have reminded you, he says, of your previous condition as Gentiles, and of your dumb idols, in order that you may appreciate duly the greatness of your calling, and the grace of the Holy Spirit given you in your baptism, by which you no longer call on dumb idols but on Christ and the Holy Spirit, and receive from them gifts of tongues, &c, that you may know how full of eloquence and energy compared with your dumb idols is the Holy Spirit who makes you eloquent in divine wisdom. Acknowledge, then, the Holy Spirit"s power, and contend no more about His gifts, since you have them from the Holy Spirit, who distributes His gifts as He wills. Let not him who has received less grieve thereat, nor him who has received more be high-minded. So Chrysostom.
No man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed. No one execrates or blasphemes Jesus i...
No man, speaking by the Spirit of God He tells them, if they see a person moved in an extraordinary manner, and say anathema, curse, or speak ill of Jesus, such an one cannot be moved by a good spirit. And no man can say, the Lord Jesus, that is, praise Christ as he ought, but by a good spirit. (Witham)
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body."
When you see, says he, any one not uttering His name, or anathematizing Him, he is a soothsayer. Again, when you see 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, does no demon call upon God's Name? Did not the demoniacs say, We know You who You are, the Holy One of God? Mark 1:24 Did they not say to Paul, these men are the servants of the Most High God? Acts 16:17 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...
If no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Spirit, what can we say about those who do name his name but do not have the Spirit? Here we have to understand that Paul was not talking about catechumens who had not yet been baptized but about believers and unbelievers.
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. .
