The Test of True Spirituality
The Test of True Spirituality: When Experience Isn't Enough
We live in a world obsessed with spiritual experiences. From Hollywood blockbusters saturated with supernatural themes to the proliferation of mysticism in mainstream culture, everyone seems to be seeking something beyond the physical realm. Yet amid this hunger for the transcendent, a critical question emerges: Is every spiritual experience a good spiritual experience?
The apostle Paul addressed this very issue when writing to the church in Corinth—a congregation hungry for spiritual encounters but dangerously lacking in spiritual discernment. His words in 1 Corinthians 12:2-3 cut through the confusion with surgical precision: "You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says Jesus is accursed. And no one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit."
The Corinthian Confusion
Corinth was a city intoxicated with power, status, and supernatural experiences. Temples dotted the skyline. Ecstatic trances and spiritual performances were commonplace. When the Corinthians came to faith in Christ, they brought their spiritual baggage with them—assuming that their past experiences had prepared them for authentic spirituality.
They hadn't.
This presents a sobering truth for our generation: not all spiritual experiences are from God. Just because something feels mystical, produces emotional responses, or appears supernatural doesn't validate it as genuinely spiritual. The foundation of true spirituality isn't the intensity of the experience but submission to Christ.
The Negative Test: What the Spirit Never Does
Paul establishes a foundational principle: the Holy Spirit will never contradict the Son. This absolute truth provides a reliable filter for discerning genuine spirituality from counterfeit experiences.
The Spirit will never contradict:
- The person of Jesus Christ
- The work of Jesus Christ
- The ministry of Jesus Christ
- The written Word of God
This principle matters profoundly because spiritual maturity begins with discernment, not with accumulating extraordinary experiences. Ecstatic encounters, prophetic words, dreams, visions, or manifestations of spiritual gifts—none of these automatically indicate spiritual maturity. If the message is wrong, it doesn't matter how spectacular the delivery.
Consider Jesus' own ministry. The moment He began preaching, demons started manifesting in the synagogue—the same synagogue where these people had sat for years without incident. Why? Because when genuine anointing arrives, darkness cannot remain hidden. The kingdom of God confronts, exposes, and expels darkness.
Scripture provides consistent guidance for discernment. Jesus said in Mark 9:39, "No one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me." The Holy Spirit, Jesus promised in John 15:26, "will bear witness about me." First John 4:1-3 instructs believers to "test the spirits to see whether they are from God."
The pattern is unmistakable: genuine spirituality always magnifies Christ.
The Positive Test: What the Spirit Always Does
After establishing what the Spirit never does, Paul reveals what the Spirit always accomplishes: "No one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit."
At first glance, this statement seems puzzling. Can't anyone verbally recite "Jesus is Lord"? Don't even demons acknowledge Jesus, as James reminds us when he writes, "Even the demons believe and shudder"? Didn't Jesus warn that many would say "Lord, Lord" but not enter the kingdom of heaven?
The key lies in understanding what this confession truly means.
The Weight of Lordship
In the Roman Empire, declaring "Jesus is Lord" was a subversive, dangerous statement. Caesar claimed the title "Kyrios"—Lord. To proclaim Jesus as Lord was to commit treason, an offense punishable by execution. Christians faced lions in arenas, were burned as torches at imperial parties, and watched their children martyred—all because they refused to compromise on this declaration.
This wasn't a casual prayer repeated after an evangelist. This was a life-altering, potentially life-ending commitment.
Today, thankfully, most of us don't face such consequences for our faith. Yet the declaration must carry the same weight. To say "Jesus is Lord" means:
- Jesus is my authority
- Jesus is my ruler
- Jesus rules my mind, thoughts, and words
- Jesus rules my finances and possessions
- Jesus rules my relationships and family
- Jesus rules my time and priorities
- Jesus rules my decisions about where I live and what I do
True lordship means yieldedness. It means breaking the back of our independent spirit—that deeply ingrained resistance to being told what to do. In a culture built on independence and personal autonomy, submission and obedience have become dirty words. Yet they form the very core of the gospel.
The Holy Spirit's Essential Role
Here's the remarkable truth Paul unveils: you cannot genuinely declare Jesus as Lord in your own strength. Your flesh will resist, rationalize, and rebel against His authority. Like Jonah fleeing to Tarshish when called to Nineveh, our natural inclination is to run from God's directives, especially when they challenge our comfort or preferences.
This is simultaneously sobering and liberating.
It's sobering because it reveals our desperate need. We cannot even make the most basic confession of faith without divine help. Before we become arrogant about our spiritual progress or prideful about how much we've changed, we must remember: every transformation is the Holy Spirit's work.
It's liberating because it provides assurance. When you find yourself able to say "Jesus is Lord" and mean it—when you can submit to His will even in areas where your flesh protests—you have tangible evidence that the Holy Spirit is actively working in your life. You don't need to wonder if God is doing anything. Your increasing yieldedness is proof of His sanctifying presence.
The Test Applied
So how do we apply this test of true spirituality in practical terms?
First, examine the fruit. Does this experience, teaching, or spiritual manifestation draw you closer to Jesus or distract you from Him? Does it magnify Christ or magnify the experience itself? Does it increase your love for Scripture and prayer, or does it substitute for them?
Second, check for submission. Is there growing yieldedness in your life? Are areas that once seemed non-negotiable becoming surrendered to His lordship? This progressive sanctification—looking more like Christ over time—is the clearest indicator of genuine spiritual growth.
Third, test everything against Scripture. The written Word provides the measuring stick for every spiritual claim. If it contradicts Scripture, it's not from the Spirit, regardless of how impressive the manifestation.
The Call to Authentic Spirituality
Our generation desperately needs authentic spirituality—not the shallow mysticism that speaks vaguely about "the universe" or reduces faith to positive thinking, but the transformative power of genuine submission to Christ's lordship.
This isn't about becoming less spiritual or dampening our hunger for encounters with God. Rather, it's about ensuring that our spiritual experiences are rooted in truth and bearing fruit in transformed lives.
The Holy Spirit is not opposed to experiences—He is the source of genuine spiritual encounters. But He always points to Jesus, always honors Scripture, and always produces the fruit of increasing Christlikeness in those He indwells.
True spirituality isn't measured by how many goosebumps you get in worship or how many prophetic words you've received. It's measured by your growing submission to Jesus as Lord—in every area of life, in every season, regardless of personal cost or comfort.
And here's the beautiful mystery: every time you find yourself able to say "Yes, Lord" when your flesh wants to say no, you're experiencing the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. That's the test of true spirituality—not the spectacular, but the submitted.
We live in a world obsessed with spiritual experiences. From Hollywood blockbusters saturated with supernatural themes to the proliferation of mysticism in mainstream culture, everyone seems to be seeking something beyond the physical realm. Yet amid this hunger for the transcendent, a critical question emerges: Is every spiritual experience a good spiritual experience?
The apostle Paul addressed this very issue when writing to the church in Corinth—a congregation hungry for spiritual encounters but dangerously lacking in spiritual discernment. His words in 1 Corinthians 12:2-3 cut through the confusion with surgical precision: "You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says Jesus is accursed. And no one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit."
The Corinthian Confusion
Corinth was a city intoxicated with power, status, and supernatural experiences. Temples dotted the skyline. Ecstatic trances and spiritual performances were commonplace. When the Corinthians came to faith in Christ, they brought their spiritual baggage with them—assuming that their past experiences had prepared them for authentic spirituality.
They hadn't.
This presents a sobering truth for our generation: not all spiritual experiences are from God. Just because something feels mystical, produces emotional responses, or appears supernatural doesn't validate it as genuinely spiritual. The foundation of true spirituality isn't the intensity of the experience but submission to Christ.
The Negative Test: What the Spirit Never Does
Paul establishes a foundational principle: the Holy Spirit will never contradict the Son. This absolute truth provides a reliable filter for discerning genuine spirituality from counterfeit experiences.
The Spirit will never contradict:
- The person of Jesus Christ
- The work of Jesus Christ
- The ministry of Jesus Christ
- The written Word of God
This principle matters profoundly because spiritual maturity begins with discernment, not with accumulating extraordinary experiences. Ecstatic encounters, prophetic words, dreams, visions, or manifestations of spiritual gifts—none of these automatically indicate spiritual maturity. If the message is wrong, it doesn't matter how spectacular the delivery.
Consider Jesus' own ministry. The moment He began preaching, demons started manifesting in the synagogue—the same synagogue where these people had sat for years without incident. Why? Because when genuine anointing arrives, darkness cannot remain hidden. The kingdom of God confronts, exposes, and expels darkness.
Scripture provides consistent guidance for discernment. Jesus said in Mark 9:39, "No one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me." The Holy Spirit, Jesus promised in John 15:26, "will bear witness about me." First John 4:1-3 instructs believers to "test the spirits to see whether they are from God."
The pattern is unmistakable: genuine spirituality always magnifies Christ.
The Positive Test: What the Spirit Always Does
After establishing what the Spirit never does, Paul reveals what the Spirit always accomplishes: "No one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit."
At first glance, this statement seems puzzling. Can't anyone verbally recite "Jesus is Lord"? Don't even demons acknowledge Jesus, as James reminds us when he writes, "Even the demons believe and shudder"? Didn't Jesus warn that many would say "Lord, Lord" but not enter the kingdom of heaven?
The key lies in understanding what this confession truly means.
The Weight of Lordship
In the Roman Empire, declaring "Jesus is Lord" was a subversive, dangerous statement. Caesar claimed the title "Kyrios"—Lord. To proclaim Jesus as Lord was to commit treason, an offense punishable by execution. Christians faced lions in arenas, were burned as torches at imperial parties, and watched their children martyred—all because they refused to compromise on this declaration.
This wasn't a casual prayer repeated after an evangelist. This was a life-altering, potentially life-ending commitment.
Today, thankfully, most of us don't face such consequences for our faith. Yet the declaration must carry the same weight. To say "Jesus is Lord" means:
- Jesus is my authority
- Jesus is my ruler
- Jesus rules my mind, thoughts, and words
- Jesus rules my finances and possessions
- Jesus rules my relationships and family
- Jesus rules my time and priorities
- Jesus rules my decisions about where I live and what I do
True lordship means yieldedness. It means breaking the back of our independent spirit—that deeply ingrained resistance to being told what to do. In a culture built on independence and personal autonomy, submission and obedience have become dirty words. Yet they form the very core of the gospel.
The Holy Spirit's Essential Role
Here's the remarkable truth Paul unveils: you cannot genuinely declare Jesus as Lord in your own strength. Your flesh will resist, rationalize, and rebel against His authority. Like Jonah fleeing to Tarshish when called to Nineveh, our natural inclination is to run from God's directives, especially when they challenge our comfort or preferences.
This is simultaneously sobering and liberating.
It's sobering because it reveals our desperate need. We cannot even make the most basic confession of faith without divine help. Before we become arrogant about our spiritual progress or prideful about how much we've changed, we must remember: every transformation is the Holy Spirit's work.
It's liberating because it provides assurance. When you find yourself able to say "Jesus is Lord" and mean it—when you can submit to His will even in areas where your flesh protests—you have tangible evidence that the Holy Spirit is actively working in your life. You don't need to wonder if God is doing anything. Your increasing yieldedness is proof of His sanctifying presence.
The Test Applied
So how do we apply this test of true spirituality in practical terms?
First, examine the fruit. Does this experience, teaching, or spiritual manifestation draw you closer to Jesus or distract you from Him? Does it magnify Christ or magnify the experience itself? Does it increase your love for Scripture and prayer, or does it substitute for them?
Second, check for submission. Is there growing yieldedness in your life? Are areas that once seemed non-negotiable becoming surrendered to His lordship? This progressive sanctification—looking more like Christ over time—is the clearest indicator of genuine spiritual growth.
Third, test everything against Scripture. The written Word provides the measuring stick for every spiritual claim. If it contradicts Scripture, it's not from the Spirit, regardless of how impressive the manifestation.
The Call to Authentic Spirituality
Our generation desperately needs authentic spirituality—not the shallow mysticism that speaks vaguely about "the universe" or reduces faith to positive thinking, but the transformative power of genuine submission to Christ's lordship.
This isn't about becoming less spiritual or dampening our hunger for encounters with God. Rather, it's about ensuring that our spiritual experiences are rooted in truth and bearing fruit in transformed lives.
The Holy Spirit is not opposed to experiences—He is the source of genuine spiritual encounters. But He always points to Jesus, always honors Scripture, and always produces the fruit of increasing Christlikeness in those He indwells.
True spirituality isn't measured by how many goosebumps you get in worship or how many prophetic words you've received. It's measured by your growing submission to Jesus as Lord—in every area of life, in every season, regardless of personal cost or comfort.
And here's the beautiful mystery: every time you find yourself able to say "Yes, Lord" when your flesh wants to say no, you're experiencing the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. That's the test of true spirituality—not the spectacular, but the submitted.
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