Hello dear friends,
Today, let’s learn about what Paul means when he tells the Thessalonians not to quench the Spirit:
Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophecies, but examine all things; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.
— 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22
First of all, it is important to note that these four verses are a continuation of a single sentence that Paul makes. This statement follows the statement on being joyful always, praying without ceasing, and giving thanks in everything:
Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
— 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Paul says that this is the will of God for us: as Christians, we are to be joyful, constantly praying, and continually thankful.
This previous statement is important to understand because, as Paul writes this section of the letter under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, he then makes this switch to talking about quenching the Spirit. If we are to understand what God means when He inspires Paul to put this statement in this way, it’s important to keep in mind that it is the Holy Spirit Himself who is telling the believers in Thessalonica not to quench Him.
Let’s take a look at the structure of this sentence. Paul makes the statement “do not quench the Spirit” at the beginning of the sentence and then pauses to elaborate on what he means by that. In this case, in order to understand what Paul means by this statement, we need only look at what he states immediately after this phrase. Let’s look at these four statements regarding quenching the Spirit:
1. Despising Prophecy
The first thing that Paul states regarding quenching the Spirit is that they should not despise prophecy.
There are two ways by which the Bible speaks about prophecy:
The first speaks to the telling of things that are to come. This is the more common way that is known among most believers today. When prophecy is mentioned, most people assume that the prophesying being referred to has to do with telling the future. However, there is another kind of prophecy:
The second reference to prophecy has to do with “the gift (and its exercise) of interpreting the Divine will and purpose.” This is the kind of prophesying that Paul is speaking about here.
Paul is telling the church that the Holy Spirit will gift the church with the gift of prophecy, where they will be able to interpret the divine will of God and God’s purpose, and that when this happens, the church should not despise it.
It should also be known that one of the most common ways this gift of prophecy is exercised in the church is through the preaching of the word. This is when the word of God is proclaimed and interpreted for the people.
Paul tells the Thessalonians not to despise the proclamation of the word of God. Despising the pronouncements made by those who deliver the word by way of prophesying is quenching the Holy Spirit.
2. Examining All Things
Another statement that Paul makes regarding quenching the Spirit is that of examining all things. This statement follows immediately after the statement to not despise prophecy.
It should also be noted that Paul uses the conjunction “but” to connect these two sentences. The connection between the two phrases happens between the negative phrase at the beginning and the positive one. The negative part tells the audience what not to do, and then the positive part gives them instruction on what they ought to do.
Paul tells his audience not to despise the pronouncement of the word of God, and instead, they should examine all things. This is quite a peculiar statement, especially for us today.
In our society today, we often hear about how we ought to never reason through what is being taught. Self-proclaimed prophets, teachers, and preachers have gone as far as calling it a kind of blasphemy to question whatever the “man of God” is saying.
However, Paul’s advice to the believers is completely contrary to such intimidations. Paul encourages the church to examine what is taught. Paul encourages believers to be like the Bereans:
Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
— Acts 17:11
The Bereans had this reputation of examining Scripture to see if the things that the apostles taught were correct and accurate in accordance with the Word of God.
Such is the attitude that the believer is asked to have. The believer is told not to simply accept whatever teaching comes their way blindly but instead to take time to examine if the things that are taught are in accordance with the rest of Scripture.
When Paul uses this description with regards to quenching the Holy Spirit, he is saying that if the believer fails to take a moment to carefully examine everything that is being taught, this leads to the quenching of the Holy Spirit.
3. Hold Fast to What is Good
After having examined what has been taught, the next positive thing that the believer is required to do regarding quenching the Holy Spirit is to hold on to what is good.
Paul makes this statement to indicate that in everything that is taught, there will be that which is good and that which is not good.
It falls to the believer to discern what is good. On top of that, the believer has the responsibility, after having discerned what is good, to hold fast to it.
To follow Paul’s train of thought, the believer needs to listen to the interpretation of the word of God as it’s been proclaimed through prophecy. Then they are to carefully examine what is being said, discern what is good, and finally, act upon that which is good.
An interesting way to view this is the way Paul presents it to Timothy:
All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness,
— 2 Timothy 3:16
Whenever the word of God is proclaimed correctly, there will always be some kind of teaching, reproof, correction, and/or training. It is the responsibility of the listener to receive this and act upon it. If it’s teaching, the believer must learn; if it’s reproof, the believer must submit; if it’s correction, the believer must change course; and if it’s training, the believer must receive.
It grieves the Holy Spirit when the believer, having heard the proclamation of the word of God and discerned accurately what is good, does not take action to do all that the word of God commands.
“Your words have been strong against Me,” says Yahweh. “But you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ You have said, ‘It is worthless to serve God; and what gain is it that we have kept His charge and that we have walked in mourning before Yahweh of hosts? So now we call the arrogant blessed; not only are the doers of wickedness built up, but they also test God and escape.’”
— Malachi 3:13-15
4. Abstain from Evil
Finally, Paul says that another way the Spirit is quenched is when the believer sins. To this, Paul says that the believer should abstain from all forms of evil.
The forms of evil that Paul speaks about here encompass the whole broad category of sin. These include those sins which some would consider to be small sins, as well as those sins which some consider to be big sins. Paul is saying sin is sin, regardless of the magnitude; it still is an attack against the holiness of God. So, the believer is not given a pass on some categories of sin and a restriction on others. Rather, the believer is told to abstain from all forms of sin.
Paul had mentioned a similar statement to his readers earlier in this epistle:
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,
— 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4
Here Paul states that it is the will of God that the believer is set apart from sin. Furthermore, the believer is expected to exercise the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which is self-control, in order to escape the temptation of sin.
Whenever the believer fails to exercise self-control to abstain from evil, it grieves the Holy Spirit that dwells within every believer.
Here are some questions to think about:
- Do we despise the proclamation of God’s word?
- Do we carefully examine all that is being proclaimed to us?
- Do we discern what is good and what is not good from what is being claimed to be the word of God and hold fast to it?
- Do we exercise self-control so as to abstain from all forms of evil?
I pray this word reminds us of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us and helps us desire and push forward to want to please Him rather than quenching Him.
With love,
Paul
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