Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
1 Thessalonians 5:19-22
Scripture refers to the Holy Spirit as a fire (Jer. 20:9; Matt. 3:11; Luke 3:16; Acts 2:3; 18:25; Rom. 12:11; 2 Tim. 1:6; and John 5:35).* Interestingly, humanity (broken and weak) can quench the work of the Holy Spirit (God). According to Paul in 1 Thessalonians, this can happen when prophecies are despised. Certainly, any believer would shudder at the idea of serving as the source of the quenching of the Spirit, so what is prophecy? How do we avoid despising it?
According to Cecile Robeck, prophecy can be defined as,
a word or oracle given or revealed by God through the initiative and inspiration of the Holy Spirit and conveyed by a willing medium or participant sometimes designated as a ‘prophet’ or as ‘one who prophesies.’ A prophecy is given in order to meet one or more needs within the Christian community for guidance and direction, edification, encouragement, consolation or witness.*
On one hand, because humanity is broken and weak, we may find instances where prophecy is faked or incomplete or inaccurate.* These instances may cause us to want to reject all words labeled as “prophecy” in an effort to live integrous lives before God and man or in an effort to self-protect from disappointment. On the other hand, because humanity is broken and weak, and God is not, humans may feel pressured to accept anything labeled as “prophecy” for fear of missing something that God has to say or because we are called to listen and obey God.* Because of these diametric emotions, we can find ourselves wondering, “how am I supposed to act and feel about prophecy?”
Quenching the Spirit may occur when we reject everything that is called “prophecy,” but quenching the Spirit may also occur when we accept everything that is called “prophecy.” Indeed, accepting everything that one claims, “God told me” without discretion will lead to a loss of credibility.
We must test prophecy. How?
Gregory Beale shares with us ways that we may test prophecy:
(1) the consistency of the prophecy with revealed Scripture (in Paul’s time, the Old Testament [Acts 17:11]
(2) the prophet’s acknowledgement of Christ’s full deity and humanity (1 Jn 4:1–6) as well as God’s free forgiveness through Christ’s death and resurrection (1 Cor 15:12–20; Gal 1:1–9)
(3) the godly character of the one claiming to be a prophet (Mt 7:15–23)
(4) the result of the prophecy, which should always build up the church in every way (cf. 1 Cor 13–14)*
Once we have discerned whether something is a message from God or not, we have a responsibility:
If not: reject it. Do not live by it.
Is so: accept it. Live by it.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to open your heart to what He may want to say through others. Perhaps today God wants you to reject the voices and messages that are not Him. Maybe today God wants you to remember the last thing He instructed you to do, and do it.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!
*Holmes, M. (1998). 1 and 2 Thessalonians (pp. 182–185). Zondervan Publishing House.
Shogren, G. S. (2012). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (pp. 224–227). Zondervan.
Green, G. L. (2002). The letters to the Thessalonians (pp. 260–266). W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.
Kim, S., & Bruce, F. F. (2023). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (D. B. Capes, Ed.; Second Edition, Vol. 45, pp. 476–480). Zondervan Academic.
Morris, L. (1984). 1 and 2 Thessalonians: An introduction and commentary (Vol. 13, pp. 105–107). InterVarsity Press.
Beale, G. K. (2003). 1–2 Thessalonians (pp. 171–175). InterVarsity Press.
Weima, J. A. D. (2014). Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: 1–2 Thessalonians (R. W. Yarbrough & R. H. Stein, Eds.; pp. 405–411). Baker Academic.