Concise Commands series from 1 Thessalonians 5:14-22.
We don't often use the word "quench," but it's an important verb in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22:
“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.”
“Do not quench the Spirit” means don't extinguish, suppress, or thwart God's Spirit...don't dump water on the fire of God's Spirit.
Four actions help us avoid quenching God's Spirit:
1. Don't treat prophecies with contempt.(1)
Many professing Christians today are ignoring or discrediting “unpopular” passages in God’s Word. But we know that God's Word “is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens” (Psalm 119:89).
2. Test all teachings.
Just like the faithful Bereans, we must check everything against Scripture (Acts 17:11).
3. Accept and obey the good.
Don’t merely listen (James 1:22).
4. Reject what is false.
This is especially important in our world today “when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3).
Let's do our best to obey these concise but powerful commands so that we never quench God's Spirit!
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(1) Prophecies: Bible scholars believe this included both the spiritual gift of prophecy as described in 1 Corinthians 14 as well as the preaching of God's Word in general. 2 Peter 1:20-21: “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
Bible Love Notes
Well said!
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