1 Thessalonians 5:19

1Th_5:19

Quench not the Spirit

Positive duties

I.

The first advice--Quench not the Spirit. The Spirit is quenched as a man doth quench his reason with over-much wine; and therefore we say, When the wine is in, the wit is out, because before he seems to have reason, and now he seems to have none; so our zeal, and our faith, and our love, are quenched with sin. Every vain thought, and every idle word, and every wicked deed, is like so many drops to quench the Spirit of God. Some quench it with the business of this world; some quench it with the lusts of the flesh; some quench it with the cares of the mind; some quench it with long delays, that is, not plying the motion when it cometh, but crossing the good thoughts with bad thoughts, and doing a thing when the Spirit adviseth not, as Ahab went to battle after he was forbidden. The Spirit is often grieved before it be quenched; and a man when he begins to grieve, and check, and persecute the Spirit, though never so lightly, never ceaseth until he have quenched it, that is, until he seem himself to have no spirit at all, but walketh like a lump of flesh.

II. The second advice. After Quench not the Spirit followeth Despise not prophesyings. The second admonition teacheth how the first should be kept. Despise not prophesying, and the Spirit will not quench, because prophesying doth kindle it. This you may see in the disciples that went to Emmaus. When Christ preached unto them from the law and the prophets, their hearts waxed hot within them. This is no marvel that the spirit of a man should be so kindled and revived with the Word; for the Word is the food of the soul. The apostle might have said, Love prophesying, or honour prophesying, but he saith, Despise not prophesying, showing that some were ashamed of it. The greatest honour we give to prophets is not to despise them, and the greatest love we carry to the Word is not to loathe it. Prophesying here doth signify preaching, as it doth in Rom_12:6. Will you know why preaching is called prophesying? To add more honour and renown to the preachers of the Word, and to make you receive them as prophets (Mat_10:41). Hath not the despising of the preachers almost made the preachers despise preaching?

III. The third advice. After Despise not prophesyings followeth Prove all things, etc., that is, try all things. This made John say, Try the spirits. We read that the Bereans would not receive Pauls doctrine before they had tried it; and how did they try it? They searched the Scriptures. This is the way Paul would teach you to try others as he was tried himself; whereby we may see that if we read the Scriptures we shall be able to try all doctrines; for the Word of God is the touchstone of everything, like the light which God made to behold all His creatures (Gen_1:2). A man trieth his horse which must bear him, and shall he not try his faith which must save him? And when we have tried by the Word which is truth and which is error, we should keep that which is best, that is, stay at the truth, as the Magi stayed when they came to Christ. We must keep and hold the truth as a man grippeth a thing with both his hands; that is, defend it with our tongue, maintain it with our purse, further it with our labour, and, if required, seal it with our blood. Well doth Paul put prove before hold; for he which proveth may hold the best, but he which holdeth before he proveth sometimes takes the worse sooner than the best.

IV. The forth advice. After Prove all things, and hold that which is good, followeth Abstain from all appearance of evil. As if the adviser should say, That is like to be best which is so far from evil that it hath not the appearance of evil; and that is like to be the truth which is so far from error that it hath not the show of error. Paul biddeth us abstain from all appearance of evil, because sin, and heresy, and superstition are hypocrites; that is, sin hath the appearance of virtue, error the appearance of truth, and superstition the appearance of religion. If the visor be taken away from them, they will appear exactly what they are, though at the first sight the visor doth make them seem no evil, because it covereth them, like a painted sepulchre the dead mens bones beneath. (H. Smith.)

Words of warning

I. The work of the Holy Spirit.

1. The Holy Spirit is God, and so has all the strength of God. What He pleases to do He can do. None can stand against Him. This is of the greatest possible comfort to us, because we have enemies that are too strong for us; but no enemy is strong enough to hurt us if the Spirit of God is on our side. And again, as the Holy Spirit is God, so He has that wonderful power of working on the heart which belongs to God, and in purifying it, and making it holy like Himself.

2. The Holy Spirit dwells in the Church. His work is done upon those who belong to the Church. He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. What the soul of each one is to our body, so the Holy Spirit lives in the Church, and gives spiritual life to each member of the Church. He works through the ordinances of the Church, and what He gives, He is pleased to give through those ordinances.

3. The Holy Spirit is like a fire in the heart of man. Fire gives warmth and light. Is not this exactly the character of the work of the Holy One. What is colder than the fallen heart of man toward God? Who warms it into real love to God but the Spirit by whom the love of God is shed abroad in the heart? Again, what is darker than the heart of man? Who pours light into it, and makes us to see that God is the true portion of the soul? It is the Holy Ghost. We have an unction from the Holy One, and we know all things.

II. The quenching of the Holy Spirit.

1. The power we have to do this. We have already said that the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church is like a fair shining light. Its rays fall on all hearts. It touches, it gilds, it beautifies all souls. It gives them a new fairness, like the golden rays which bathe the whole landscape, making each separate leaf to glisten as it dances on its branch, and hill and valley, wood and meadow, to wear a holiday aspect. Do not choose darkness rather than light by quenching the Spirit. We have power to do this. If we choose, we may say--I will not be changed, I will not give up my icy coldness of soul, I will go on in the hard-bound frost of my own selfishness, I will care for myself, live for myself; the fire may burn around me, but I will quench it. So we may put out the light which would lead us to God and heaven.

2. The way in which we may exercise this power. The Spirit of God may give us light in the Holy Scriptures, and we may refuse to read them at all, or read them without learning to know God and ourselves. The Spirit of God may give us light in the Church, which is the pillar and ground of the truth, and we may determine not to see what the Church would have us to believe and to do. The loving Spirit of God is longing to work among you, His heart is set upon you, He is opening out the treasures of His goodness before you. Oh! take care you do not check Him by your indifference. He will act to you as you act to Him. Just as fire cannot burn in a damp, unwholesome atmosphere--as there are places underground where the air is so foul that the brightest candle will go out at once, so if you choke the heavenly fire it will go out. The Holy Spirit will not work in the midst of cold, worldly, unbelieving hearts. By all that is dear and precious, Quench not the Spirit! (R. W. Randall, M. A.)

The working of the Divine Spirit

There are three active elements in nature--air, water, fire; and one passive--earth. The Holy Spirit is spoken of under the figure of each of the former, never of the latter. The Holy Spirit is always in action. St. Paul is writing with evident reference to the promise, He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. Perhaps he may have had regard to some special manifestations of the Spirit (see 1Th_5:20). A man might feel within him a fire burning, which was meant for expression, and which he was tempted to suppress, through feelings of modesty, false shame, indolence, or indifference, and he was anxious to caution against this. And there is now a bad economy of Divine gifts; men possessing talents of property, position, influence, persuasion, knowledge, grace, lock up that which was intended for the whole house of Christ. This is quenching the Spirit. Personally, as the Divine Spirit, no efforts or negligences of man could lessen His power or glory; but as the Divine Inhabitant of the soul it is otherwise. Note the manner of His working. He acts on--

I. The understanding. He spake to the understanding of prophets, psalmists, apostles, etc., and so we have in the Bible the truth brought home to our understandings. But the office of the Spirit is not bounded by that. The Word of God is in the hand of every one, till it has become an ill-used book by its very plentifulness; and to him who has not the Spirit to shine with the light of His holy fire within the printed page all is darkness. The letter killeth, the Spirit alone quickeneth. So, then, a man quenches the Spirit who either neglects the Bible or is not taught by the Spirit out of it (Eph_1:18).

II. The conscience. The office of the Spirit is to bring sin to remembrance--a thankless office in one sense. Tell your best friend his faults, he must be one of a thousand if you have not lost him. Few can say, Let the righteous smite me (Psa_141:5). But the Spirit knows how to reprove without irritating, and at the right time and in the right way. The still small voice takes conscience for its mouthpiece. When that voice is heard bringing to remembrance some half-excused sin, of the neglect of some half-denied duty, Quench not the Spirit.

III. Thy will. The understanding may see the truth--the conscience may be alive to duty--is the work done? Answer all ye who know what it is to see the good, and yet to pursue the evil; to hate yourselves for your weakness, and yet do again the thing ye would not! The Holy Spirit, therefore, touches the will, the spring of being. He who says, Stretch forth thy hand, will give the will and the power, and with the peace and reward.

IV. The heart. Thou shalt love, etc. Who gives so much as a corner of his heart to God? The question is a self-contradiction, for the heart always gives itself whole or not at all. The Spirit enables us to cry Abba, Father. It is a dreadful thing to quench the Spirit in an intellectual scepticism; in a stubborn doggedness of conscience; in a settled obstinacy of will; but it is more dreadful to quench Him in a cold obduracy of heart; to say to Him when He says Son, give Me thy heart--I will not--go Thy way--torment me not before the time (Heb_10:29). (Dean Vaughan.)

Quench not the Spirit

The word does not mean to resist, damp, or partially to smother, but to put out completely, as a spark when it falls into water.

I. The spirit can be quenched. Else why the injunction?

1. The antediluvians quenched the Spirit. He strove with them to do them good, they strove against Him to their destruction, and the flood swept them away.

2. In Neh_9:1-38 you will see how God strove with the Jews, and how they quenched the Spirit and were left to perish.

3. The same law is in operation still. God gives His Spirit to instruct men. They refuse to hear and God leaves them to their worst enemies--their sins. It is foolish to frame theories with which these facts will not harmonize. The striving does not, of course, refer to Gods power; there could be no striving with that. But it is mans sins striving with Gods love; and God tells us that He will not always strive with mans sins, but will relinquish the contest, leave the field, and allow him an eternity in which to learn the fearful misery of what it is to have quenched the Spirit. As unbelief tied the Saviours hands so that He could not do any mighty work, so it can cripple the agency of the Spirit.

II. How can He be quenched. Fire may be extinguished--

1. By pouring water upon it. The most direct way of quenching the Spirit is sin and resistance to His influence. He may act as a friend who, having been wantonly slighted, withdraws in grief and displeasure.

2. By smothering it. So the Spirit may be quenched by worldliness. The process may be a slow and partially unconscious one, but it is real and sure.

3. By neglect. Timothy was exhorted to stir up His gift. And as a fire will die out unless it receives attention, so will the Spirit if we indolently do nothing to improve the gift.

4. For want of fuel. And the Spirit will be quenched unless the Spiritual life is fed by the Word of God, Sanctify them through Thy truth.

5. Through want of air. There may be abundance of fuel, but it will not burn. Not less essential to the flame kindled by the Spirit is the breath of prayer. (E. Mellor, D. D.)

Quench not the Spirit

1. The Holy Spirit is represented as fire, the source of light and heat, because of His searching, illuminating, quickening, reviving, refining, assimilating influences.

2. It is implied that He may be quenched; not in Himself, but by the withdrawal of His influences, and so His graces, which are indicative of His presence, may be extinguished.

3. He may be quenched in others as well as in ourselves.

(1) In ministers, by contempt of their ministrations.

(2) Among Christians, by neglect of social prayer and religious conversation. Christians are like coals of fire which kindle into a blaze only when kept together. How disastrous to zeal are dissentions (Eph_4:30-32).

I. The instances in which we may quench the Spirit.

1. By slighting, neglecting and resisting His operations. When the Spirit stirs us up, and we neither stir up ourselves nor our gifts, we quench the Spirit.

2. By diverting the mind from spiritual concerns, and engaging in vain and unnecessary recreations. The love of pleasure will extinguish the love of God. Fulfilment of the lusts of the flesh renders walking in the Spirit impossible.

3. By inordinate affections towards any earthly object. The life and power of godliness are seldom found among those who are eager in the pursuit of worldly gain (Mat_19:16-22).

4. By robbing Him of His glory, by denying His Divinity, or the necessity and efficacy of His operations.

5. By sins of omission and commission. These are opposite to His nature. One will damp His sacred fire, a course of iniquity will extinguish it.

II. The reasons which should warn us against this danger. If we quench the Spirit--

1. He will be silent to us, and will cease to admonish and guide either directly or through His ministers (1Sa_28:15).

2. He will suspend His influences and leave us in darkness.

3. We shall sin both against God and our own souls. (B. Beddome, M. A.)

Quench not the Spirit

This is a little text, but it is full of large matters.

I. We have a Spirit to quench.

1. The possession of the Spirit is the distinguishing prerogative of the gospel covenant; this it is which imparts a life, an energy, a fulness, a reality, to its every part and detail.

2. We are all the depositaries of this great treasure; the holders of a wonderful gift, for the abuse or improvement of which we shall one day have to answer.

II. The nature and properties of this Spirit.

1. A consuming fire.

(1) It destroys in us at once that curse which adheres to us as children of a fallen parent.

(2) In those who yield themselves, gradually does one unholy habit of thought, one unsanctified desire, one impure affection after another, succumb beneath its power and influence.

2. A purifying fire; it does not wholly destroy the will, so as to make man a passive instrument; it only strips the will of that evil which makes it at enmity with God. Nor does the Spirit deaden and annihilate the affections, powers, faculties of our moral nature; it only withdraws them from low, base, unworthy objects, and fixes them on others whose fruits will be love, joy, peace.

3. A kindling fire. It raises in the mind of man the fervour of devotion and the heat of Divine love.

4. A defending fire. Like the sword of the cherubim, it turns every way to guard the tree of life.

5. An enlightening fire.

(1) The Christian, by the Spirit which is given him, is enabled to see what he is in himself. It shows him how degraded is his nature, how forlorn and hopeless are his prospects.

(2) This reveals to him what he is in Christ--Child of God. Heir of glory;

(3) This reveals to him the path of life.

(4) This lays open to him the mysterious, hidden wisdom of the Word of God.

III. What is meant by quenching the Spirit.

1. This is done by those who altogether fall away from Christ--by apostates.

2. It is not only, nor generally, by a sudden and violent wrenching and snapping asunder of the ties which bind him to Christ, that the obdurate sinner quenches the Spirit. The integrity and unity of his inner life is damaged and sapped little by little; he quenches the Spirit, more or less, in all the stages of his spiritual decay.

IV. What are the means, and what the agency, which operate in bringing this about?

1. Floods of ungodliness swamp the soul.

2. Blasts of fierce and headstrong passions.

3. Want of fuel to nourish and preserve it. In many a soul the Spirits fire is quenched because it is never replenished by prayer, meditation, self-examination, works of charity and mercy, attendance on Holy Communion, etc.

V. The awful consequences. Let us quench the Spirit, and how shall the motions of sins which are in our members be rooted out? how shall we be able to purify ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and to perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord? (Arthur G. Baxter.)

On quenching the Spirit

Quench not the Spirit. Put not out that heavenly fire which you did not kindle, but which you can extinguish. Put not out that holy fire which is the real heart of your life, and without which spiritual death is sure to follow. Put not out that fire by sensual pleasures and indulgence of fleshly appetites, as did Sodom and Gomorrah; by love of the world, as did Demas; by careless neglect, as did the lukewarm Church of Laodicea.

I. The fire can be put out.

1. You may put it out by indulgence of the body. The brutalizing power of fleshly sins, of whatever sort, always blunts the conscience, and makes the spiritual eye unable to discern the true nature of Gods requirements. A man who has given himself up to these becomes coarse. If the sins be such as men can see, he becomes visibly coarse and earthly. If the sires be of the far wickeder and yet more secret sort, he often retains much outward refinement and even softness of manner, but coarseness and earthliness of soul; with little sense of disgust at impurity, with a low and animal idea of the highest of all affections.

2. The fire can be put out by worldliness and a life devoted to self and selfish hopes. What can be more miserable than the condition of that man whose powers of mind have shown him the truth of God, whose understanding has been too highly cultivated to allow him to shut his eyes to the eternal laws of heaven, who can appreciate, perhaps, till his very heart thrills with admiration, the high examples of love, of self-sacrifice, of a pure and brave service, which history has recorded, and yet who cannot be, and who feels that he never can be, what he himself admires; who feels that while he admires the noble and the true, yet he is not attracted by it? The end of such a character generally is to lose even this much appreciation of what is good, and to retain admiration for nothing but refinement without a resolute will within; to despise all self-sacrifice, all generosity, all nobleness as romantic and weak; and, of course, either to give up religion altogether, or to make a superstition to suit the worldly temper.

3. Lastly, and most often of all, the fire of the Spirit can be put out by mere neglect. The Spirit holds before the sight, time after time, soul-stirring visions of what our lives and characters might be. As we read, as we live with our fellows, as we worship, as we listen, we are touched, enlightened, half roused to real resolution. But we hear not, or if we hear we make no effort; or if we make an effort, we soon give it up. The greatest thoughts, the noblest thoughts flit before the minds of men in whom their fellows suspect nothing of the kind; but they flit across the sky, and those who share in them, yet feel them to be as unreal as those clouds. There is no waste in nature equal to the waste of noble aspirations. What is the end of such coldness? The end is an incapacity to heart what they have so often heard in vain. In such men there comes at last an utter inability to understand that the message of God is a message to them at all. They hear and they understand, but they find no relation between their lives and what they learn. They will be selfish, and not know they are selfish; worldly, and not be able to see they are worldly; mean, and yet quite unconscious of their meanness.

II. The last, the final issue of quenching the Spirit, I cannot describe. A fearful condition is once or twice alluded to in the Bible, which a man reaches by long disobedience to the voice within him, and in which he can never be forgiven, because he can never repent, and he cannot repent because he has lost all, even the faintest tinge, of the beauty of holiness. What brings a man into such a state as this we cannot tell; but it is plain enough that the directest road to it is by quenching the Spirit. (Bp. Temple.)

On the Holy Spirit

Some have thought that the words of our text are to be referred to the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, which were enjoyed by the Church in the days of the apostle; such as the gift of healing, the gift of tongues, the gift of prophesying. All this may be very just, and very suitable to the Church of the Thessalonians; yet, if this were all, the words would have no application to us, since those miraculous gifts have ceased. Still, this admonition stands in the midst of precepts which are of lasting and universal obligation: Rejoice evermore: Pray without ceasing: In everything give thanks; and, a little onward, Prove all things: hold fast that which is good. Who does not see that, both before and after the text, every precept belongs to all ages?

I. Let us attentively consider the subjects presented to our notice in this brief but comprehensive sentence. Here is a Divine person exhibited, the Spirit; a comparison implied, fire; a state of privilege supposed, viz., that this fire is already kindled; finally, a sin prohibited, Quench not the Spirit.

1. The gifts and illuminations, which we must not quench, cannot be viewed apart; they are inseparable from an actual indwelling of the Holy Ghost. The Spirit, therefore, is a Divine person. Sins are committed against Him. He must be a Divine person. The work which He performs in our hearts requires infinite knowledge, infinite condescension, infinite wisdom, and infinite power. The admonition of our text acquires a peculiar force from this consideration. We live under the ministration of the Spirit.

2. Here is a comparison implied. But, without attempting to follow out this comparison in all its particulars, it shall suffice to observe, that these words, addressed to the Thessalonians, must refer either to the light kindled in them by His teaching, or to the affections inflamed by His influence. True religion is both; it is inward illumination, and a hidden and celestial fire, which purifies and warms the heart, originated and sustained by the Holy Spirit. Love to God, fervency in prayer, ardent zeal for His glory, joy, desire hope, all mounting heavenward; to what else could they be compared, with equal propriety? They conquer, they possess, they fill, they purify the soul. This fire is communicated from above, like that which burned upon the altar of old. Like that, it must be kept burning continually.

3. My dear brethren, you are addressed in the text, as those in whom this Divine fire is already kindled. It supposes that you are true Christians, and that you have a concern to keep the grace you have received. But is it really so? Alas! you cannot quench what has no existence in the soul.

4. This leads us to inquire into the sin. What is it to quench the Spirit? How far is it possible for a true believer to be guilty of it? And, by what means? Now, there are two ways, as we all know, in which fire may be quenched. It may be quenched by not adding fuel, or by adding water, and, in general, anything of a nature adverse to it. Hence there are two ways in which the Spirit may be quenched, illustrated by this emblem, negligence and sin.

II. We shall endeavour to enforce this admonition; for it is by far too important to be discussed only, without the addition of special motives, calculated to show the guilt and danger which would be involved in its neglect.

1. Therefore, consider that, if you quench the Spirit, you will provoke in an eminent degree the displeasure of God. No sins are reckoned so heinous as those which are committed against this Divine Agent.

2. Consider that this would be, in general, to destroy all your spiritual comfort; and, in particular, to silence the witness and obliterate the seal of your redemption, leaving you without any evidence of your interest in the great Salvation.

3. Consider, once more, that to be guilty of such an offence would open wide the floodgates of all sin, which it is the office of the Holy Ghost to subdue and destroy. It would leave you without strength and without defence against Satan and your own corruptions. Let me close by adding to this admonition a few words of exhortation.

1. Let me entreat you to conceive very affectionately of the Holy Spirit.

2. Let me exhort you to give honour to the Holy Spirit, by a distinct and continual recognition of your dependence upon Him.

3. Finally, if all this be true, then how miserably mistaken must be that ministry which casts the name and office of the Holy Spirit into the shade! (D. Katterns.)

Quenching the Spirit

The Holy Spirit is more than Emmanuel, God with us. He is God in us. Until He so comes we are ruined; when He comes the ruin becomes a living temple. No man can explain this; and yet every striving, expanding soul exults in the sacred belief. How awful, then, the power given to a man to quench the Spirit. How? By any unfair dealing with the laws and principles of our nature, by which lie works. He uses memory for conviction, conscience for condemnation or justification, understanding for enlightenment, will for invigoration, affections for happiness; and if we refuse to allow these faculties to be so used, we are quenching the Spirit. The Spirits work is--

I. Conviction of sin. He takes a sinner, and makes memory a scourge to him: shows him the holiness of God and the sinfulness of sin. It is a most gracious opportunity; but, alas! he misses it, stifles memory and silences conscience, and thus quenches the Spirit. Christians, too, when convinced of sin may quench the Spirit if they do not take heed.

II. Revelation. He shall receive of mine, etc. In conducting this great work He uses every kind of suitable instrumentality--the inspired writings, the spoken word, thoughtful books, Christian conversation, etc. It follows, then, that if we do not search the Scriptures and take kindly the ministries of truth we are shutting out of our hearts the waiting Spirit of God.

III. Sealing or setting apart. When men are born by His regenerating power from above they are marked for their celestial destination, and set apart for God. He renews His sealing process again and again, retouching His work and bringing out the Divine inscriptions. Any one who resists this process, who does not often think of the Father and the Fathers house, and who minds earthly things is quenching the Spirit. Christian people, too, have thoughts given to them purely as sealing thoughts; they are not needed for duty or life here, but for higher service and the life to come. One is earlier down some morning than usual, and in the short moment of quietness looks far away into the land of sunless light. One is struck suddenly--at the high noon of city life--with the utter vanity of all the fever and toil and strife. Or at night there falls upon the house a little visitation of silence. Quench not the Spirit in any of these His gracious comings. (A. Raleigh, D. D.)

Quenching the Spirit

I. Some distinctions of this sin.

1. Total and partial.

(1) Total, when the Spirits impressions are quite erased so that no spark is left among the ashes. My Spirit shall not always strive with man, and this Spirit departed from King Saul.

(2) Partial, when the Spirit is weakened and brought to a very spark, as was the case with David (Psa_51:1-19).

2. Wilful and weak.

(1) Wilful, when men resolutely set themselves to put out the holy fire, being resolved not to part with their lusts, they go on in opposition to their light, strangle their uneasy consciences, murder their convictions that they may sin without control (Act_7:51).

(2) Weak, which is the result of carelessness rather than design (Eph_6:30; Son_5:2-5).

II. How the Spirit is quenched. This holy fire is quenched--

1. By doing violence to it, as when one puts his foot on the fire or casts water on it, or blows it out. Thus the Spirit is quenched by sins of commission. As when one raises an oftensive smoke in the room where his guest sits, he is grieved and departs; so the Spirit is grieved by the offensive smell of our corruptions.

2. By neglecting it, as the lamp will be extinguished if you feed it not with more oil, so the Spirit is quenched by neglecting his motions, and not walking in the light while we have it.

III. Why we should not quench the Spirit.

1. Because it is the holy fire; and, therefore, it ought to be kept carefully, and it is dangerous to meddle with it (Lev_9:24).

2. Because we can do nothing without it. So far as the Spirit goes away, all true light and heat go with Him, and then the soul is in death and darkness.

3. Because when once quenched we cannot rekindle it, We cannot tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth. Were it the fire of our own hearths we might kindle it again; but it is from heaven, and we have no command there.

4. Because the quenching of this fire is the raising of another tending to the consuming of the soul. This is a fire of corruption within us. When the Spirit departed from Saul he went to the devil. And some people never come to a height of wickedness till the Spirit has been at work in them, and they have quenched Him. Conclusion:

1. We may quench the Spirit in others--

(1) By mocking them.

(2) By speaking evil of the way of God (Act_19:9).

(3) By diverting them from duty.

(4) By tempting them to sin.

2. Quench it not in yourselves but cherish it.

(1) By diligence in duties--Bible reading, Christian conversation, private prayer.

(2) By keeping up a tender frame of spirit.

(3) By strict obedience.

(4) By making religion the one thing. (T. Boston, D. D.)

Quenching the Spirit

Light is the first necessity of life in this body; without it we could not go about our business, and should lose health and die. Such also is knowledge to the soul, and the Holy Spirit is the means of it. This light we are to beware of quenching. A light may be quenched--

I. By neglecting to feed and trim it. Coal, wood, oil, etc., serve as fuel for fire; Christian practice serves to maintain Christian knowledge. Practice is necessary for the preservation of even earthly knowledge. The knowledge communicated by the Spirit is that of salvation. This may be extinguished by not caring for it. How few things we read in the newspaper we remember a week after, simply because we are not interested. Shut up a light in a close place where no ray can pass forth, and after a little flickering it will go out. So if the light of the knowledge of Christ does not shine in deeds of faithful service it becomes extinguished.

II. By carelessness. This engenders wilfulness, and then wickedness, and like the lamps of the virgins this light once quenched cannot be lighted again (Heb_6:4; Mat_6:23).

Quenching the Spirit

I. The object to which this exhortation relates. Not the essence of the Spirit, or His inherent attributes, but His agency.

1. This agency is symbolized by fire. He shall baptize you, etc. (Act_2:1-3).

(1) Fire imparts light, so it is the office of the Spirit to impart knowledge. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened.

(2) Fire is employed to purge metals from dross; the Holy Spirit purifies men from sin and makes them holy. In the Old Testament He was the Spirit of burning; in the New the Spirit of holiness.

(3) Fire imparts heat: it is the office of the Spirit to kindle in the soul emotions which animate and enliven--love, zeal, joy.

2. The value of that agency. Its preciousness is beyond all conception, transforming as it does the state and character and securing the blessings of eternity.

3. The responsibilities attached to it. It is not only a gift, it is a stewardship; it is not only a privilege, it is a talent, to be cherished and improved.

II. The evils which the exhortation deprecates. The Spirit may he quenched--

1. By the want of a due recognition of His agency.

(1) A Christian may be tempted in his own case to ascribe that to himself which is really the result of Divine grace.

(2) He may be tempted in the case of others to disbelieve in the existence of the Divine work in spite of evidence, either in individual characters, or masses affected by revivals of religion. Wherever there is this guilty incredulity there is a refusal to the Spirit of the attributes due to Him.

2. By a want of holy separation from the world. The great design of the Christian vocation is holiness, and this is the one purpose of the operations of the Divine Spirit (Joh_17:14-20; Eph_5:7-15). If, then, a Christian permits himself to be so trammelled by earthly things as to conceal his character; if he allows his affections to be earthly; if he practices secular vocations which are forbidden, or pursues lawful ones inordinately; if he mingles in scenes of worldly frivolity or worse, what becomes of the fire kindled in his heart? Of course its light becomes faint, and its heat cools.

3. By a want of mutual forbearance and love. The fruit of the Spirit is love, etc. The indulgence, therefore, of angry passions is incompatible with the influence of the Spirit (Eph_4:30-32). Here is the condemnation of the strife of sects, of unbrotherly conduct in a given Church, of family quarrels, of all unneighbourliness.

4. By neglect of the Word of God and prayer. The Word of God comprises the record and its proclamation, both of which are under the influence of the Spirit. To neglect to read the one or to hear the other is a sure method of quenching the Spirit, who convinces, converts, sanctifies, etc., by each. So with prayer, private, domestic, congregational.

III. The blessings which compliance with this exhortation will secure. If Christians do not quench the Spirit, if they rightly apprehend the nature of the Spirits agency--illuminating, etc.; if they do homage to it by nonconformity to the world; if they cultivate love; if they render a right regard to the Word of God and prayer they will secure--

1. The eminent prosperity and happiness of their own souls. We shall become firm in faith, pure in life, glowing in love, burning in zeal. We shall not be dwarfish, stunted plants, but as trees planted by rivers of water; others will take knowledge of us that we have been with Jesus, and the very God of Peace will sanctify us wholly. And this prosperity will be our happiness. We shall thus walk in the light of Gods countenance, enjoy His comforting, gladdening friendship here; be animated by a sure hope, and finally enter into the joy of the Lord.

2. The true glory of the Church. This glory does not consist in high sounding ecclesiastical pretensions, in pompous ritual, but in humility, holiness, stedfastness to truth, etc. Let Christians cherish and honour the Spirit and they will secure the beauty, spirituality, and splendour of the Church.

3. The rapid diffusion of religion. As the Church becomes more holy and prayerful obstacles will disappear, revived energy will be given and exerted and nations will be born in a day. (J. Parsons.)

Quenching the Spirit

I. How does the Spirit influence the mind? Not by physical agency but by means of the truth. He persuades men to act in view of truth as we influence our fellows by truth presented to their minds. Sometimes this truth is suggested by providence, sometimes by preaching; but whatever the mode the object always is to produce voluntary action in conformity to His law.

II. What is implied in this fact and what must be inferred from it.

1. God is physically omnipotent, and yet His moral influences exerted by His Spirit may be resisted; but if the Spirit moved men by physical omnipotence there could be no resistance. The nature of moral agency implies the voluntary action of one who can yield to motive and follow light or not as he pleases. When this power does not exist moral agency cannot exist. Hence if our action is that of moral agents, our freedom to do or not do must remain.

2. If the Lord carries forward the work by means of revealed truth there must be most imminent danger lest some will neglect to study and understand it, or lest, knowing, they should refuse to obey it.

III. What is it to quench the Spirit?

1. The Spirit enlightens the mind into the meaning and self-application of the Bible. Now there is such a thing as refusing to receive this light. You can shut your eyes against it; you can refuse to follow it when seen; and in this case God ceases to hold up the truth before your mind.

2. There is a heat and vitality attending the truth when enforced by the Spirit. If one has the Spirit his soul is warm; if not his heart is cold. Let a man resist the Spirit and he will certainly quench this vital energy.

IV. The ways in which the Spirit may be quenched.

1. By directly resisting the truth He presents to the mind. After a short struggle the conflict is over, and that particular truth ceases to affect the mind. The man felt greatly annoyed by that truth until he quenched the Spirit; now he is annoyed by it no longer.

2. By endeavouring to support error. Men are foolish enough to attempt by argument to support a position which they know to be false. They argue it till they get committed, and thus quench the Spirit, and are left to believe in the very lie they unwisely attempted to advocate.

3. By uncharitable judgments, which are so averse to that love which is the fruit of the Spirit.

4. By bad temper, harsh, and vituperative language, and intemperate excitement on any subject whether religious or otherwise.

5. By indulging prejudice. Whenever the mind is made up on any subject before it is thoroughly canvassed, that mind is shut against the truth and the Spirit is quenched.

6. By violating conscience. Persons have had a very tender conscience on some subject, but all at once they come to have no conscience at all on that point. Change of conscience, of course, often results from conscientious change of views. But sometimes the mind is awakened just on the eve of committing a sin. A strange presentiment warns the man to desist. If he goes on the whole mind receives a dreadful shock, and its very eyes seem to be almost put out.

7. By indulging appetites and passions. These not only injure the body but the soul: and God sometimes gives men up to them.

8. By dishonesty and sharp practices in business.

9. By casting off fear and restraining prayer.

10. By idle conversation, levity, and trifling.

11. By indolence and procrastination.

12. By resisting the doctrine and duty of sanctification.

V. The consequence of quenching the Spirit.

1. Great darkness of mind. Abandoned by God, the mind sees truth so dimly that it makes no useful impression.

2. Great coldness and stupidity in regard to religion generally. It leaves to the mind no such interest in spiritual things as men take in worldly things. Get up a political meeting or a theatrical exhibition, and their souls are all on fire; but they are not at the prayer meeting.

3. Error. The heart wanders from God, loses its hold on truth, and perhaps the man insists that he takes now a much more liberal and enlightened view of the subject, and it may be gradually slides into infidelity.

4. Great hardness of heart. The mind becomes callous to all that class of truths which make it yielding and tender.

5. Deep delusion with regard to ones spiritual state. How often people justify themselves in manifest wrong because they put darkness for light and vice versa. (C. G. Finney, D. D.)

Quenching the Spirit

Fire may be quenched--

I. By casting water on it. This is comparable to actual, wilful sin (Psa_51:1-19).

II. By spreading earth upon it. This is applied to the minding of earthly things.

1. The cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches; excess of business which not only employs but entangles a man in the affairs of this life, by toil, scheming, speculation. The consequence is, the powers of the soul being limited, and when full, no matter of what, they can hold no more. As the water partakes of the quality of the soil over which it rolls, so our minds soon acquire a sameness with the object of our affection and pursuit.

2. Certain vanities and amusements erase the boundary line which should separate the Church from the world, and if they are not unlawful they have a tendency to destroy spirituality and a taste for devotion.

3. Worldly and political conversation which frets the mind, genders strife, and cools religious ardour. If we talk of that which we love best, where habitually are the thoughts and affections of many professed Christians? Surely it becomes us to live so as to declare plainly that we are strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

III. By the separation of the parts. Apply this to our divisions.

1. With what earnestness does the apostle enforce unity and cooperation among Christians! The enemy knows the importance of this; he therefore loves to separate, and unhappily finds too much to favour his wishes in our ignorance, prejudice, and infirmities.

2. There are some families who are quarrelling all day, and then go to prayer in the evening. If prayer does not induce people to avoid passion, then evil tempers will make them leave off prayer or perform it in a manner that is worse than the neglect of it.

3. One truth aids another truth, and one duty another duty. Detach private devotion from public, or public from private, and both sustain injury. Separate practice from principle, works from faith, or promises from commands, and you destroy the effect of the whole.

IV. By withholding fuel. A real Christian will soon feel the disadvantage of disregarding the means of grace. You may keep in a painted fire without fuel, but not a real one. Conclusion: We cannot quench what we have not. The exhortation, therefore, supposes the possession of the Spirit. Yet there is a common work of the Spirit which accompanies the preaching of the Word, the effect of which may be entirely lost. Herod heard John gladly, but he cherished a criminal passion which destroyed all his fair beginnings. Felix heard Paul, but the trembler dismisses the preacher for a more convenient season which never came. He afterwards conversed with the apostle, but he never again experienced the feelings he had subdued. (W. Jay.)

Protecting the Spirits light

A man has lost his way in a dark and dreary mine. By the light of one candle; which he carries in his hand, he is groping for the road to sunshine and to home. That light is essential to his safety. The mine has many winding passages in which he may be hopelessly bewildered. Here and there marks have been made on the rocks to point out the true path, but he cannot see them without that light. There are many deep pits into which, if unwary, he may suddenly fall, but he cannot avoid the danger without that. Should it go out he must soon stumble, fall, perish. Should it go out that mine will be his tomb. How carefully he carries it! How anxiously he shields it from sudden gusts of air, from water dropping on it, from everything that might quench it! The case described is our own. We are like that lonely wanderer in the mine. Does he diligently keep alight the candle on, which his life depends? Much more earnestly should we give heed to the warning, Quench not the Spirit. Sin makes our road both dark and dangerous. If God gave us no light, we should never find the way to the souls sunny home of holiness and heaven. We must despair of ever reaching our Fathers house. We must perish in the darkness into which we have wandered. But He gives us His Spirit to enlighten, guide, and cheer us. (Newman Hall, LL. B.)

Instance of quenching the Spirit

Several years ago I was called to visit a young man who was said to be sick, and wished to see me. Approaching him as he was lying upon his bed, I remarked that he certainly did not look as though he was ill. He replied, I am not sick in my body, but in my soul. I am in deep distress. Asking him the cause of his distress, he said, During the revival in our Church, I have not only resisted its influence, but I have made sport of the young converts, I have ridiculed those who were seeking the salvation of their souls, and I feel that I have committed an unpardonable sin, and there is no hope for me. I said to him, Your sins are indeed fearfully great; but if you sincerely repent, and will now believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, He will pardon you. I referred to the Saviours compassion to the thief on the cross, and to other cases that might awaken some hope in his mind. But everything that was said failed to reach his case. His reply to every argument, or appeal, or passage of Scripture that was quoted, was the same, There is no hope for me. After an earnest prayer for his salvation, and commending him to the mercy of God, I left him. Calling the next day, I found he had passed a sleepless night, and the state of his mind was unchanged. Again, after pointing him to the promises of the Scriptures, and praying with him, he expressed the same feeling of utter despair. Not a ray of light crossed the dark cloud that hung over his soul. The third day on entering his room I found him in a raging fever. His mental agony had taken effect upon his body. Without any indications at first of physical disease he was now lying in a most critical condition. I pointed him once more to the bleeding Saviour on the cross, and pleaded with him at the throne of grace. But with him the harvest was passed, the summer of hope was ended. He had quenched the Spirit, not only by his personal resistance, but by hindering and laughing at others who were seeking to escape eternal death. The next day I found that his reason was dethroned. His fond mother was bathing his temples with ice water. On my addressing him, he replied in an incoherent manner. He was beyond the reach of any gospel tidings. That night his soul passed into eternity. (Rufus W. Clark, D. D.)

The Spirit quenched

An old man came to a clergyman and said, Sir, can a sinner of eighty years old be forgiven? The old man wept much while he spoke, and on the minister inquiring into his history, gave this account of himself:--When I was twenty one, I was awakened to know that I was a sinner, but I got with some young men who tried to persuade me to give it up. After a while I resolved I would put it off for ten years. I did. At the end of that time my promise came to my mind, but I felt no great concern, and I resolved to put it off ten years more. I did, and since then the resolution has become weaker and weaker, and now I am lost! After talking to him kindly, the minister prayed with him, but he said, It will do no good. I have sinned away my day of grace; and in this state he soon after died.

Danger of deferring reformation

How dangerous to defer those momentous reformations which conscience is solemnly preaching to the heart! If they are neglected, the difficulty and indisposition increase every day. The mind is receding, degree after degree, from the warm and hopeful zone, till at last it will enter the arctic circle and become fixed in relentless and eternal ice. (J. Foster.)

The Spirit quenched

A few months ago in New York a physician called upon a young man who was ill. He sat for a little by the bedside examining his patient, and then he honestly told him the sad intelligence that he had but a short time to live. The young man was astonished; he did not expect it would come to that so soon. He forgot that death comes in such an hour as ye think not. At length he looked up in the face of the doctor and, with a most despairing countenance, repeated the expression: I have missed it--at last. What have you missed? inquired the tender-hearted, sympathizing physician. I have missed it--at last, again the young man replied. The doctor, not in the least comprehending what the poor young man meant, said: My dear young man, will you be so good as to tell me what you--? He instantly interrupted, saying: Oh! doctor, it is a sad story--a sad--sad story that I have to tell. But I have missed it. Missed what? Doctor, I have missed the salvation of my soul. Oh! say not so. It is not so. Do you remember the thief on the cross? Yes, I remember the thief on the cross. And I remember that he never said to the Holy Spirit--Go Thy way. But I did. And now He is saying to me: Go your way. He lay gasping awhile, and looking up with a vacant, staring eye, he said: I was awakened and was anxious about my soul a little time ago. But I did not want religion then. Something seemed to say to me, Dont postpone it. I knew I ought not to do it. I knew I was a great sinner, and needed a Saviour. I resolved, however, to dismiss the subject for the present; yet I could not get my own consent to do it until I had promised that I would take it up again at a time not remote, and more favourable. I bargained away, insulted and grieved the Holy Spirit. I never thought of coming to this. I meant to have religion, and make my salvation sure; and now I have missed it--at last. You remember, said the doctor, that there were some who came at the eleventh hour. My eleventh hour, he rejoined, was when I had that call of the Spirit; I have had none since--shall not have. I am given over to be lost. Not lost, said the doctor; you may yet be saved. No, not saved--never! He tells me I may go my way now; I know it--I feel it here, laying his hand upon his heart. Then he burst out in despairing agony: Oh, I have missed it! I have sold my soul for nothing--a feather--a straw; undone forever! This was said with such unutterable, indescribable despondency, that no words were said in reply. After lying a few moments, he raised his head, and, looking all around the rooms as if for some desired object, turning his eyes in every direction, then burying his face in the pillow, he again exclaimed, in agony and horror: Oh, I have missed it at last! and he died. (D. L. Moody.)

The coated heart

I heard a few nights ago that if you take a bit of phosphorus, and put it upon a slip of wood, and ignite the phosphorus, bright as the blaze is, there drops from it a white ash that coats the wood and makes it almost impossible to kindle the wood. And so when the flaming conviction laid upon your hearts has burnt itself out, it has coated the heart and it will be very difficult to kindle the light there again. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)

Self-destroyed

When some poor distracted one in Paris determines to lift his hand against his own life, he begins by stopping up every nook and cranny in the room which lets in the sweet air of heaven. He closes the door, he closes the windows, he fills in every hole, one by one, before he kindles that fatal fire which by its fumes is to bring destruction. So it is when men deny the Spirit and quench the Spirit. They may not know it, for the madness of sin is upon them, but none the less is it true that one after another they close those avenues by which He might enter to save them, until God can do no more than stated apart in judgment, as over Ephraim of old, saying, O Ephraim, thou hast destroyed thyself. (W. Baxendale.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Th 5:19. Quench not the Spirit — Which, wherever it is, burns more or less, yea, flames in holy love, in joy, prayer, thanksgiving: O quench it not, damp it not, in yourself or others, by giving way to any lust or passion, any affection or disposition, contrary to holiness, either by neglecting to do good, or by doing evil. See note on Eph 4:30. It is easy to observe that the qualities and effects of the Spirit’s influences are here compared to those of fire. See note on Mat 3:11. And as fire may be quenched, not only by pouring water upon it, or heaping upon it earth and ashes, but by withholding fuel from it, or even by neglecting to stir it up; so the enlightening, quickening, renewing, purifying, and comforting operations of the Spirit may be quenched, not only by the commission of known and wilful sin, and by immersing our minds too deeply in worldly business, and burdening them with worldly cares, but by omitting to use the private or public means of grace, the fuel provided to nourish this sacred fire, and by neglecting to stir up the gifts and graces which are in us.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

c. Precepts touching supernaturalisms, 1Th_5:19-22.

19. Quench… Spirit—The gift of the Spirit was then existing, deep and powerful, in the young Thessalonian Church. It varied in form according to its own divine will. It operated in utterances, inspirations, and convicting influences. It was a divine fire, and must not be quenched. It could be quenched by sceptical neglect, disobedience, depreciation, or by sin.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES

1Th_5:19. Quench not the Spirit.—When there has been excess, and a good has come into disrepute, it is natural to seek to stifle down further manifestations of it. The energy of the Holy Spirit, like Pentecostal flame, is regarded as being capable of extinction.

1Th_5:20. Despise not prophesyings.—Do not set down as of no value, prophesyings. The word for “despise” is used of those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and set at nought others (Luk_18:9), and the contemptuous bearing of him who eats flesh with which an idol’s name has been associated, and laughs at the shuddering scruples of the brother who thinks it a dreadful thing to do, and sets him at nought (Rom_14:3-10). The prophesyings at Corinth were such as might easily be contemned (1Co_14:23).

1Th_5:21. Prove all things.—Make trial of all. A sentence fatal to the suppression of inquiry and to credulous faith. It forbids me to accept what is given out as prophecy even, unless it has a self-evidencing power. Hold fast that which is good.—The good here is that which is ethically beautiful. In 1Th_5:15 another word points the contrast to the evil return of injury.

1Th_5:22. Abstain from all appearance of evil.—Perhaps the best idea of the word rendered “abstain” would be gained by “hold off,” in antithesis to the “hold fast” of 1Th_5:21.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—1Th_5:19-22

Varied Aspects of Spiritual Influence.

In the natural world the greater law of distribution is manifested in the infinite variety that appears in the midst of an unchanging and inflexible uniformity. And in the Church of God what varied gifts, graces, and attainments are found in its members. No two are precisely alike. There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit; and the multiplicity and variety of endowments are intended to be exercised for one grand and definite purpose (Eph_4:12-13). By grouping together the precepts contained in these verses we have suggested to us the varied aspects of spiritual influence. Observe:—

I. The fervency of spiritual influence.—

1. The influence of the Spirit is represented under the emblem of fire. “Quench not the Spirit” (1Th_5:19). Fire purifies the gold of its dross, enlightens by its splendour the eyes of the beholder, and raises the temperature of the Christian life. The person inspired is borne along, as it were, with spiritual ardour (Act_18:25; Rom_12:11). Timothy is directed to rekindle or keep up the fire (2Ti_1:6). Christian baptism is baptism “with the Holy Ghost and with fire” (Mat_4:11). The descent of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost was in tongues of fire (Act_2:3). The Spirit, as fire, bestows both the light of knowledge and the fervour of love.

2. The influence of the Spirit may be quenched by denying the personality and Godhead of the Spirit, by depreciating the necessity of and restraining the fervour of His presence in Christian work; by ignoring special reference to Him in prayer; by stifling the voice of conscience; by neglect of religious ordinances; by conformity to the world; by unsanctified use of past afflictions. The gifts of the Spirit, with all His holy operations, must be fervently and diligently cherished within us.

II. The instructiveness of spiritual influence.—“Despise not prophesyings” (1Th_5:20). The word “prophesying” in the New Testament signifies not only the prediction of future events, but the instructions of men inspired by the Holy Ghost, teaching Christian doctrines, revealing or explaining mysteries, exhorting to duties, consoling the sorrowing and afflicted. It is what we understand by preaching. It is not so much the prediction of events that are future, as it is the proclamation of duty that is instant. However exalted the believer may be in spiritual experience, however rich in faith and charity, it is still his duty to attend to preaching. “Despise not prophesying.” Like many a negative in the Bible, it means a very decided positive in the opposite direction. Despise it not by exalting reason above revelation. Despise it not by identifying true religion with the weakness, oddities, and eccentric notions of good but ignorant men. Despise it not by denying its beneficent teachings, spurning its wise counsels, and neglecting its faithful warnings. “Where there is no prophecy the people perish. He that despiseth it shall be despised of the Lord; he shall be cast into darkness, because he would not delight in the light (Act_13:41; Pro_1:24-31).

III. The possible abuse of spiritual influence.—“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1Th_5:21). Error is never so dangerous as when it is the alloy of truth. Pure error is seen through at once and rejected; but error mixed with truth makes use of the truth as a pioneer for it, and gets introduction where otherwise it would have none. Poison is all the more dangerous when mixed up with food—error is never so likely to do mischief as when it comes to us under the pretensions and patronage of that which is true. Hence the importance of testing every pretender to spiritual illumination—as the goldsmith tests the gold and discovers the amount of alloy in it. “Beloved,” says St. John, “believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” There are certain fundamental truths that are beyond all necessity of testing, and which transcend the powers of human reason to fully comprehend. The direction is addressed to the Church, to those who possess the Spirit by whose help the test is applied. The utterances of the Spirit may be tested in their relation to the glory of Jesus, and by the influence of the truths uttered upon the moral and spiritual life of the teacher and his followers. Having proved the truth, hold fast that which is good, as with both hands and against all who would forcibly wrest it from you. When you have tried and found out the truth, be constant and settled in it. A wavering-minded man is unstable in all his ways:—

“Seize upon truth wherever ’tis found,

Among her friends, among her foes,

On Christian or on heathen ground,

The flower’s divine where’er it grows—

Refuse the prickles and assume the rose.”

IV. The sensitiveness of spiritual influence.—“Abstain from all appearance of evil” (1Th_5:22). Nothing will sooner quench the fire of the Spirit in the believer than sin. Therefore is he exhorted to abstain, to hold aloof from every species of evil; not only from that which is really and in itself evil, but also from that which has the shape or semblance of evil. Not what we are, but what we appear, determines the world’s judgment of us. Our usefulness in the world is very much dependent on appearances. Our abhorrence of evil, both in doctrine and practice, must be so decided as to avoid the very show of it in either. He makes conscience of no sin that makes not conscience of all; and he is in danger of the greatest who allows himself in the least. “By shunning evil things,” says Bernard, “we provide for conscience; by avoiding ill, shows we safeguard our fame.” The believer has need of a sound judgment, a sensitive conscience, and an ever-wakeful vigilance. To sanction evil in any form is to dim the lustre and stifle the operation of spiritual influence. “Know nought but truth, feel nought but love, will nought but bliss, do nought but righteousness. All things are known in heaven ere aimed at on earth.”

Lessons.—

1. The mightiest influence in the universe is spiritual.

2. Increase of spiritual influence is dependent on uprightness of life.

3. The best spiritual gifts should be eagerly sought.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES

1Th_5:19. Quench not the Spirit.

I. The mode of the Spirit’s operation is likened unto that of fire.—

1. Fire of unrest. When the Spirit convinces of sin.

2. Fire of purification. When the Spirit burns up evil within.

3. Fire of consecration. When the Spirit dwells within as a mighty impelling force.

II. It is in our power to quench the Holy Fire.

III. The ways in which men quench the Spirit.—

1. By continuing in known sin.

2. By indulging in a light, frivolous spirit.

3. By refusing to believe in anything they cannot see or touch. 4. By allowing worldly affairs to absorb the affections.

5. By neglecting religious duties.

6. By not exercising the gifts already bestowed.—Local Preacher’s Treasury.

1Th_5:20. Despise not Prophesyings—

I. Because they are the sayings of God.

II. They are the grand appointed means of our salvation.

III. Because we greatly need them.

IV. We grieve the Spirit of God thereby.

V. It is the sure way of contracting a habit of despising divine things in general.

VI. It lays stumbling-blocks in the way of others.

VII. Those who despise destroy themselves.—E. Hare.

Abuse of Public Worship.

I. The offence.—

1. Habitual neglect of public worship.

2. Attendance on public worship in an improper state of mind.

3. Failure to improve public worship for the purposes for which it is intended.

II. Its sin and danger.—

1. It involves contempt of the authority of God.

2. It involves contempt of an institution with which God has specially identified Himself.

3. It involves contempt of one of the appointed means of grace.

4. It involves contempt of our own soul.—G. Brooks.

1Th_5:21. Rationalism.

I. Prove all things.—

1. Our own sentiments.

2. The sentiments of others.

II. Hold fast that which is good.—

1. Against the assaults of proud reason.

2. Against the assaults of mad passions.

3. Against the assaults of a menacing world.—Ibid.

Prove all Things.

I. The course of conduct commanded.—“Prove.”

1. By an appeal to the word of God as supreme.

2. Sincerely.

3. Thoroughly.

4. Prayerfully.

II. The extent to which the course of conduct is to be carried.—“All things.”

1. Things taken for granted to be right.

2. Things wrong.

3. Things doubtful.

III. Some hindrances to the adoption of this course.—

1. Dislike to the trouble it may cause.

2. Fear of the demands which the result may make.

IV. Blessings likely to result from this course.—

1. Activity of mind in matters of religion.

2. A specific acquaintance with the word of God.

3. Legitimate independence of thought.

4. Increasing strength of Christian character.

5. Increase of Christian sagacity.

6. The adorning of the Christian doctrine in the eyes of men.—J. Holmes.

Hold Fast that which is Good.

I. Be well assured of the value and goodness of the possession.

II. Cherish a deep sense of responsibility because you have been led to prove and to be convinced of the good.

III. Be assured that powerful influences will be exerted that you may lose your hold.

IV. Do not allow your convictions of its goodness to be unsettled.

V. Do not take hold of anything which you cannot hold at the same time that you firmly grasp this.

VI. Do not let a little of it go.

VII. Hold it more firmly.

VIII. Regard how others have been affected by the way they have held.

IX. Depend entirely on the grace of God to enable you to do this.—Ibid.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

5:19 Do not stifle the Holy Spirit: Paul exhorts the Thessalonian believers not to put out the Spirit’s fire (Matt 3:11; Acts 2:3; 2 Tim 1:6) by prohibiting prophecy in the church (Jer 20:9; 1 Jn 4:1-2).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

1Th 5:19. Τὸ πνεῦμα) the Spirit, i.e. spiritual gifts. A Metonymy.—μὴ σβέννυτε, quench not) Where the Spirit is, He burns; therefore He ought not to be quenched, either in ourselves or in the case of others.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Th_5:19. Comp. Noesselt, in locum P. ap. 1 Thess. v. 1922, disputatio (Exercit. p. 255 ff.).

Lasch, de sententia atque ratione verborum Pauli, πάντα δὲ δοκιμ., τὸ καλὸν κατ., 1Th_5:19-22, Lips. 1834.

The prayer of the Christian is an outflow of the Holy Spirit dwelling and working in him; comp. Rom_8:16; Rom_8:26. Accordingly the new admonition, 1Th_5:19, is united in a natural manner to the exhortations, 1Th_5:17-18. Schraders view requires no contradiction. He, indeed, finds in this admonition a genuine Pauline reminiscence; but also an objection against the composition of this Epistle by Paul, because if such an admonition had been necessary for the Thessalonians, it is not elsewhere noticed in the whole Epistle.

τὸ πνεῦμα] is the Holy Spirit, and that as the source of extraordinary giftsspeaking with tongues, prophecy, etc., as they are more fully described in 1Co_12:7 ff. Chrysostom, Theophylact, and Oecumenius will have τὸ πνεῦμα to indicate either spiritual illumination which fits us for the exercise of Christian virtues, but may be lost by immoral living,[65] or specially prophecy (so also Michaelis and others). Both are erroneous on account of 1Th_5:20.

ΜῊ ΣΒΈΝΝΥΤΕ] extinguish not, quench not. The πνεῦμα is conceived as a flame, whilst there is particular reference to the strained and inspired speech in which those who were seized by the Spirit expressed themselves. On the figurative expression, comp. Galen. ad Pison. de Ther. i. 17 (Opp. T. xiii. p. 956, Lut. Par. 1639 fol.): ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν παιδίων παντάπασι δεῖ φυλάττεσθαι τὸ φάρμακον· μεῖζον γάρ ἐστιν αὐτῆς τῆς δυνάμεως τὸ μέγεθος τοῦ φαρμάκου καὶ διαλύει ῥαδίως τὸ σῶμα καὶ τὸ ἔμφυτον πνεῦμα ταχέως σβέννυσιν, ὥσπερ δὴ καὶ τὴν λυχναίαν φλόγα τὸ ἔλαιον, τοῦ τυρὸς πλέον γενόμενον, εὐκόλως ἀποσβέννυσιν.

[65] Similarly Noesselt: πνεῦμα denotes vim divinam, Christianis propriam, h. e. quidquid rerum divinarum, deo ita providente, cognovissent.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Th 5:19 . τοῦτο κ . τ . λ . The primary reference is to εὐχαριστεῖτε , but the preceding imperatives are so closely bound up with this, that it is needless to exclude them from the scope of the θέλημα . ἐν Χ . Ἰ . This glad acceptance of life’s rain and sunshine alike as from the hand of God, Jesus not only exemplified ( cf. context of μιμηταὶ … τοῦ Κυρίου , 1Th 1:6 ) but also enabled all who keep in touch with him to realise. The basis of it is the Christian revelation and experience; apart from the living Lord it is neither conceivable nor practicable ( cf. R. H. Hutton’s Modern Guides of English Thought , pp. 122 f.).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The sparks of the Spirit of God that are kindled in us, are nourished by daily hearing the word of God: but true doctrine must be diligently distinguished from false.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Quench not--the Spirit being a holy fire: "where the Spirit is, He burns" [BENGEL] (Mat 3:11; Act 2:3; Act 7:51). Do not throw cold water on those who, under extraordinary inspiration of the Spirit, stand up to speak with tongues, or reveal mysteries, or pray in the congregation. The enthusiastic exhibitions of some (perhaps as to the nearness of Christ's coming, exaggerating Paul's statement, Th2 2:2, By spirit), led others (probably the presiding ministers, who had not always been treated with due respect by enthusiastic novices, Th1 5:12), from dread of enthusiasm, to discourage the free utterances of those really inspired, in the Church assembly. On the other hand, the caution (Th1 5:21) was needed, not to receive "all" pretended revelations as divine, without "proving" them.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 19. Quench not the Spirit.] The Holy Spirit is represented as a fire, because it is his province to enlighten and quicken the soul; and to purge, purify, and refine it. This Spirit is represented as being quenched when any act is done, word spoken, or temper indulged, contrary to its dictates. It is the Spirit of love, and therefore anger, malice, revenge, or any unkind or unholy temper, will quench it so that it will withdraw its influences; and then the heart is left in a state of hardness and darkness. It has been observed that fire may be quenched as well by heaping earth on it as by throwing water on it; and so the love of the world will as effectually grieve and quench the Spirit as any ordinary act of transgression.

Every genuine Christian is made a partaker of the Spirit of God; and he who has not the spirit of Christ is none of his. It cannot be the miraculous gifts of the Spirit which the apostle means, for these were given to few, and not always; for even apostles could not work miracles when they pleased; but the direction in the text is general, and refers to a gift of which they were generally partakers.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

19 Quench not the Spirit. This metaphor is derived from the power and nature of the Spirit; for as it is the proper office of the Spirit to illuminate the understandings of men, and as he is on this account called our light, it is with propriety that we are said to quench him, when we make void his grace. There are some that think that it is the same thing that is said in this clause and the succeeding one. Hence, according to them, to quench the Spirit is precisely the same as to despise prophesyings. As, however, the Spirit is quenched in various ways, I make a distinction between these two things—that of a general statement, and a particular. For although contempt of prophesying is a quenching of the Spirit, yet those also quench the Spirit who, instead of stirring up, as they ought, more and more, by daily progress, the sparks that God has kindled in them, do, by their negligence, make void the gifts of God. This admonition, therefore, as to not quenching the Spirit, has a wider extent of meaning than the one that follows as to not despising prophesyings. The meaning of the former is: “Be enlightened by the Spirit of God. See that you do not lose that light through your ingratitude.” This is an exceedingly useful admonition, for we see that those who have been once enlightened, (Hebrews 6:4) when they reject so precious a gift of God, or, shutting their eves, allow themselves to be hurried away after the vanity of the world, are struck with a dreadful blindness, so as to be an example to others. We must, therefore, be on our guard against indolence, by which the light of God is choked in us.

Those, however, who infer from this that it is in man’s option either to quench or to cherish the light that is presented to him, so that they detract from the efficacy of grace, and extol the powers of free will, reason on false grounds. For although God works efficaciously in his elect, and does not merely present the light to them, but causes them to see, opens the eyes of their heart, and keeps them open, yet as the flesh is always inclined to indolence, it has need of being stirred up by exhortations. But what God commands by Paul’s mouth, He himself accomplishes inwardly. In the mean time, it is our part to ask from the Lord, that he would furnish oil to the lamps which he has lighted up, that he may keep the wick pure, and may even increase it.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(19) Quench not the Spirit.—The mention of prayer and thanksgiving (eucharistia), by which public as well as private worship is intended, leads St. Paul on to the mention of other parts of the service. The gloom and depression to which an antidote is administered in 1Th_5:16-18 had been such as almost to extinguish that fire of enthusiasm which ought to have burst out in prayers, praises, thanksgivings, and “prophecies.” The “Spirit” here must not be taken too sharply to mean the Person of the Holy Ghost: the Person of the Holy Ghost maybe grieved (Eph_4:30), expelled (Psa_51:11), neglected (1Ti_4:14), but (though His working on the individual may be stopped) He can never be extinguished. The word here again (as in 1Th_1:5) is in that intermediate sense which expresses the effect of the Holy Ghost’s personal working upon our spirits. He kindles in us a fire (Mat_3:11), that is, a consuming ardour and enthusiasm, of love to God and man; which ardour may be damped, quenched, by not giving it free air and play. Gloom (1Th_5:16), neglect of prayer (1Th_5:17) which is the very feeding of the flame, discontentment with the answer which God chooses to give to prayer (1Th_5:18), will in the end reduce us to the condition in which we were before we were confirmed (Rom_8:9). Comp. Ecce Homo, p. 257 (3rd ed.):—“The Apostles in like manner became sensible that their inspiration was liable to intermissions. They regard it as possible to grieve the Divinity who resided within them, and ever. to quench His influence. But neither they nor Christ even for a moment suppose that, if He should take His flight, it is possible to do without Him . . . Christianity is an enthusiasm, or it is nothing.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19, 20. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings] The R. V. properly reduces to a semi-colon the full stop between these sentences.

What is revelation on God’s part, is prophecy in its human instrument. “Prophecy” bears to “revelation” the same relation as “teaching” to “knowledge” (1Co_12:6), the former being the utterance and outcome of the latter. Prediction, to which we limit the term in common speech, is but a part—and not an essential part—of Prophecy, in its Biblical sense. It is, etymologically, the forth-speaking of what was otherwise unknown and hidden in the mind of God.

This power of declaring by direct inspiration the mind of God was widely diffused amongst the first Christians; see 1Co_12:10; 1Co_14:1-5, Rom_3:6, where it is spoken of as an ordinary and familiar thing. This gift manifested in the highest and most effective way the power of God’s Spirit in man; but it was liable to be abused (see 1Co_14:26-31), and to he simulated (1Jn_4:1). The expression “through Spirit” in 2Th_2:2 probably refers to some spurious prophetic manifestation. A fanatical element appears to have mingled with the prophesyings of the Thessalonian Church; and this had doubtless given offence to sober minds, and created distrust in regard to prophecy itself. Hence the double caution. Contempt for this great gift of His must of necessity grieve the Holy Spirit, and limit His action in the Church. Nothing is more chilling to religious life than a cold rationalism which suspects the supernatural beforehand, and is ready to confound the manifestations of the Spirit of God with morbid excitement or insincere pretension.

But the command, “Quench not the Spirit,” is universal. Whatever obstructs or disparages His work in the souls of men—whether in others, or in ourselves—is thus forbidden. It is a strange and awful, but very real power that we have to “resist the Holy Spirit” (Act_7:51).

Since He may be “quenched,” He is a fire, as appeared on the Day of Pentecost (Act_2:3). This emblem sets forth the sudden and vehement activities of the Holy Spirit, with His gifts of warmth for the heart and light for the mind and His power to kindle the human spirit. Prophecy exhibited His presence under this aspect, in its intensity and ardour. On the other hand, He appears in gentler form under the emblem of the dove, in whose guise the Spirit descended on Jesus at His baptism.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Prove all things,.... That are said by the prophets, all the doctrines which they deliver; hear them, though they have not the gift of tongues, and all desirable advantages; do not reject them on that account, and refuse to hear them, for so, many useful men may be laid aside, and the Spirit of God in them be quenched; try their gifts, and attend to their doctrines, yet do not implicitly believe everything they say, but examine them according to the word of God the test and standard of truth; search the Scriptures, whether the things they say are true or not. Not openly erroneous persons, and known heretics, are to be heard and attended on, but the ministers of the word, or such who are said to have a gift of prophesying; these should make use of it, and the church should try and judge their gift, and accordingly encourage or discourage; and also their doctrines, and if false reject them, and if true receive them.

Hold fast that which is good; honest, pleasant, profitable, and agreeable to sound doctrine, to the analogy of faith, and the Scriptures of truth, and is useful and edifying, instructive both as to principle and practice; such should be held fast, that no man take it away; and be retained, though a majority may be against it, for the multitude is not always on the side of truth; and though it may be rejected by men of learning and wealth, as Christ and his doctrines were rejected by the Scribes and Pharisees, and rulers of the people; and though it may be reproached as a novel, upstart notion, or a licentious one, since these were charges against the doctrine of Christ, and his apostles; and though it may be attended with affliction and persecution, yet none of these things should move from it, or cause to let it go.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

19 Quench not the Spirit.

Ver. 19. Quench not the Spirit] In his motions or graces. See the canon for the fire on the altar, and observe it, Lev 6:12-13. Confess here as Hezekiah did, 2Ch 29:6-7. And take the apostle’s counsel, 2Ti 1:6. Stir up this fire on the hearth of our hearts; let the priest’s lips blow it up into a flame; despise not prophesying, &c. It may be quenched either by the withdrawing of fuel (neglect of ordinances) or by casting on water (falling into foul courses).

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Quench not the Spirit - This language is taken from the way of putting out a fire, and the sense is, we are not to extinguish the influences of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Possibly there may be an allusion here to fire on an altar, which was to be kept constantly burning. This fire may have been regarded as emblematic of devotion, and as denoting that that devotion was never to become extinct. The Holy Spirit is the source of true devotion, and hence the enkindlings of piety in the heart, by the Spirit, are never to be quenched. Fire may be put out by pouring on water; or by covering it with any incombustible substance; or by neglecting to supply fuel. If it is to be made to burn, it must be nourished with proper care and attention. The Holy Spirit, in his influences on the soul, is here compared with fire that might be made to burn more intensely, or that might be extinguished.

In a similar manner the apostle gives this direction to Timothy, “I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up ἀναζωπυρεῖν anazōpurein, kindle up, cause to burn) the gift of God;” 2Ti 1:6. Anything that will tend to damp the ardor of piety in the soul; to chill our feelings; to render us cold and lifeless in the service of God, may be regarded as “quenching the Spirit.” Neglect of cultivating the Christian graces, or of prayer, of the Bible, of the sanctuary, of a careful watchfulness over the heart, will do it. Worldliness, vanity, levity, ambition, pride, the love of dress, or indulgence in an improper train of thought, will do it. It is a great rule in religion that all the piety which there is in the soul is the fair result of culture. A man has no more religion than he intends to have; he has no graces of the Spirit which he does not seek; he has no deadness to the world which is not the object of his sincere desire, and which he does not aim to have. Any one, if he will, may make elevated attainments in the divine life; or he may make his religion merely a religion of form, and know little of its power and its consolations.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Do not oppose either the interior gifts of the holy Spirit, which are his graces, nor his exterior gifts of prophecy, &c. Take the regular precautions of prudence, that you be not deceived by those who pretend to be inspired; but when satisfied that the inspiration comes from heaven, do not despise it. Be like good bankers, take the good coin, and reject the counterfeit. (St. Cyril of Alexandria)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

That ye may be enabled to pray and give thanks, as before:

Quench not the Spirit. And, by the figure meiosis, he means, cherish the Spirit. The Spirit is compared to fire, Mat 3:11; and he came down upon the apostles in the similitude, of tongues of fire, Act 2:3; but the Spirit himself cannot be quenched; he means it therefore of his gifts and operations; which are either ordinary or extraordinary. Many had extraordinary gifts in the primitive times, of healing, tongues, government, prophecy, &c.; those that had them, without question, should have taken care not, by any fault of their own, to lose them. Especially that of prophecy, which the apostle prefers before all others, 1Co 14:1, and mentions here in the following verse; and which the apostle exhorted Timothy to stir up in himself, 2Ti 1:6, as we stir up the fire to quicken it, so the word αναζωπυρειν imports. The like is required of ministers with respect to their miniserial gifts which are now given. But there are ordinary gifts and operations of the Spirit common to all Christians, as enlightening, quickening, sanctifying, comforting the soul: men by sloth, security, earthy encumbrances, inordinate affections, &c., may abate these operations of the Spirit, which the apostle calls the quenching it: the fire upon the altar was kept always burning by the care of the priests. Fire will go out either by neglecting it, or casting water upon it. By not exercising grace in the duties of religion, or by allowing sin in ourselves, we may quench the Spirit; as appears in David, Psa 51:10-12. Not that the habits of grace may be totally extinguished in the truly regenerate, yet they may be abated as to degree and lively exercise. Yet those common illuminations and convictions of the Spirit which persons unregenerate, especially such that live under the gospel, do often find, may be totally lost, Heb 6:4-6; and we read of God’s Spirit ceasing to strive with the old world, Gen 6:3, and the scribes and Pharisees resisting the Holy Ghost, Act 7:51, which were not persons regenerate. He may sometimes strive with men, but not overcome them. And there is a quenching of the Spirit in others its well as ourselves; people may quench it in their ministers by discouraging them, and in one another by bad examples, or reproaching the zeal and forwardness that they see in them.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Quench not the Spirit. The Spirit is here considered as a flame which may be extinguished. (Mat_3:11) The descent of the Spirit at Pentecost was in the form of cloven tongues like as of fire. (Act_2:3) By the Spirit here is usually understood the miraculous gifts of the Spirit speaking with tongues or prophesyings; and it is supposed that the apostle here forbids the exercise of these gifts being hindered or checked. In the next verse the gift of prophesying is mentioned. But there is no reason to exclude the ordinary and still more valuable gifts of the Spirit, such as pure thoughts, holy actions, devout affections, which may be effectually quenched by a careless or immoral life. "Quench not the Spirit." Do not those things which are opposed to his influences. Be on your guard against sin, as opposed to the work of the Spirit in the soul. In this sense the admonition is similar to that given by Paul in his Epistle to the Ephesians: "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God". (Eph_4:30)

Quenching the Spirit.

1. How we may quench the Spirit. We quench the Spirit by the commission of grievous sins, by the indulgence of sensuality, covetousness, pride, and the irascible passions, and by formality and lukewarmness in our religion.

2. How we may cherish the Spirit. We cherish the Spirit by earnest desires for his influences, by a diligent use of the means of grace, by a spirit of trust and dependence, and by compliance with his secret impressions.

Vers. 19-21.

Exhortations regarding spiritual gifts.

These three verses refer to one subject, the extraordinary manifestations of the Spirit so frequent in the Church at this period, but apply likewise to his ordinary influence in believers.

I THE SIN AND DANGER OF QUENCHING THE SPIRIT. "Quench not the Spirit." Perhaps there was a tendency to repress spiritual utterances, either because they had become fanatical, or from an undue love of order. It is possible to resist the Spirit. God strives with man, who may yet resist all his importunities, (Act_7:51) "insulting the Spirit of grace". (Heb_10:29) Even in the case of believers, "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh". (Gal_5:17) It is both sinful and dangerous for believers to "grieve the Holy Spirit of God, whereby they are scaled to the day of redemption". (Eph_4:30) The text suggests the idea of quenching a fire.

1. The Spirit acts upon the believers nature like a fire, warming, purifying, refining.

2. The fire may be quenched by neglecting it quite as much as by casting water upon it. This is the tendency of neglect.

3. Sin has a tendency to quench the Spirit, as water quenches fire. We ought to stir up our gifts and graces that they may shine the brighter, and give both light and heat around us. Yet provision is made in the covenant of grace that the fire once kindled will never be quenched.

II THERE MUST BE NO UNDERVALUATION OF PROPHESYINGS. "Despise not prophesying.

1. These were spiritual utterances, sometimes in psalms and hymns, "for the edification and exhortation and comfort" of believers, though they had the effect sometimes of laying bare the hearts of unbelievers. (1Co_14:25) They were more important than other gifts of the Spirit, and therefore more to be coveted. (1Co_12:31)

2. They were, therefore, not to be despised.

(1) Perhaps there had been "false prophets" at Thessalonica who had tried to pervert the truth, or weak members who had abused the gift of prophecy. The tendency, therefore, to underrate the gift was natural, but not proper.

(2) Perhaps the exercise of this gift created less wonder or made less visible impression than other gifts, like those of tongues and healing. Therefore it came to be rather despised.

III THE NECESSITY OF TESTING SPIRITUAL GIFTS. "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." Instead of rejecting prophesyings, they were to test them by a due spiritual discernment.

1. They were to be tested:

(1) By a comparison with the original tradition given to them. (2Th_2:2)

(2) By a comparison with the prophesyings of others who sat as judges. (1Co_14:29) There was, besides, a supernatural gift of "discerning of spirits". (1Co_12:10, 1Co_12:14, 1Co_12:29)

(3) By marking the practical fruits of these prophesyings. "Hold fast that which is good." Our Lord said, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep"s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits". (Mat_5:15, Mat_5:16) True doctrine is "according to godliness". (1Ti_6:3) Thus Christians are to examine the grounds of their faith, to hold fast nothing that has not first been tried, and to retain only "that which is good.

2. Believers have the capacity as well as the right to test all things. They are to try the spirits whether they are of God". (1Jn_4:1)

(1) They are the spiritual; "they judge all things, yet they themselves are judged of no man". (1Co_2:15) They have "an unction from the Holy One, and they know all things". (1Jn_2:20)

(2) A right state of heart is necessary to this power of insight. "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God". (Joh_7:17) "Walk as children of light... proving what is acceptable unto God". T.C. (Eph_5:8-10)

Quenching the Spirit.

This verse is often misread. The context shows that it does not refer to the resistance of the sinner to the striving of the Holy Spirit in his heart. For the words immediately following, "despise not prophesyings," indicate its reference to the work of the Spirit in inspiring utterances in the Church. Some prosaic, cautious people were inclined to check these enthusiastic utterances. Perhaps there were foolish would-be prophets who were making themselves and the Church ridiculous by their predictions about the second coming of Christ, a subject in which the Church at Thessalonica was then deeply interested. St. Paul does not wish his readers to accept all that is offered to them, for he says, "Prove all things." But he fears lest, in the rejection of imposture, pretence, illusion, and misguided fanaticism, genuine teachings of the Divine Spirit should be discarded. Therefore he warns his readers against the danger of quenching the Spirit.

I THERE IS A FIRE OF THE SPIRIT. It is fire that is not to be quenched. In Old Testament times a prophet was fitted for his mission by having a live coal from off the altar laid upon his lips. (Isa_6:6) Christ, who came to baptize with the Holy Ghost, came also to baptize with fire. The Spirit descended on the day of Pentecost under the form of tongues of flame. God"s Spirit deepens feeling, kindles enthusiasm, rouses sacred passion, sets the soul aflame with love. He who has not felt the fire knows nut some of the strongest working of the Spirit, as the psalmist knew it when he said, "While I was musing the fire burned". (Psa_39:3)

II THERE IS A DANGER LEST WE SHOULD QUENCH THE SPIRIT.

1. In our own hearts. If we check our more generous emotions, and harden ourselves with maxims of the world, and so immerse ourselves in grinding business cares that we have no thought or heart left for spiritual feelings, we shall quench the Spirit in ourselves. For us there will be no revelation. To us heaven will be black as midnight, silent as the grave. No warmth of devotion nor flash of spiritual perception will brighten up the dull and dreary chambers of our souls.

2. In others. Beware of checking young enthusiasm. It may err; but it had better err than die. Middle-aged common sense may not understand it. But this may not be the fault of young enthusiasm. It may result from the deadened perceptions of an unsympathizing mind. If we cannot follow, at least let us not check an inspiration which may be too high for our low sunken lives.

3. In Scripture. Absolutely, of course, we cannot quench the Spirit in Scripture. The Book remains, whatever we may think of it. But to ourselves we may quench the Spirit. A dry, hard critical examination of the Bible, ignoring all devotional, practical, and spiritual uses of it, will rob it of all inspiration for the reader. With some the fires are burnt out; they only grope among the ashes, and cannot find. a lingering spark. To such people the Bible is the most dreary book in the world. In order that the fire of inspiration should touch us, the fire of love and faith must be kept alive on the altar of our hearts. W.F.A.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Quench not the Spirit - Wherever it is, it burns; it flames in holy love, in joy, prayer, thanksgiving. O quench it not, damp it not in yourself or others, either by neglecting to do good, or by doing evil!

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Still observe, 1. The coherence and connection: he that would rejoice evermore, must pray without ceasing; and he that would rejoice in every thing, must be thankful in every thing; and he that would rejoice, pray, and give thanks continually, must evermore keep the Spirit unquenched; the way to keep one’s self warm, is to keep the fire burning; Quench not the Spirit; that is, neither the graces of the Spirit nor the motions of the Spirit.

Note here, 1. That the Holy Spirit of God in man is of the nature of fire, as fire, it enlighteneth, it enliveneth, it warmeth, it consumeth, it purifieth and refineth, it ascendeth upward.

Note, 2. That this holy fire of the Spirit may be quenched; the gifts, graces, motions, and comforts of the Holy Spirit are of such a nature, that if they be not cherished, they are quenched: Fire will go out as well by neglecting it, as by casting water upon it.

Note, 3. That it must be a Christian’s special care, that the graces of God’s Holy Spirit be not quenched in him, nor any of its motions resisted by him. Sin in general quenches the Spirit, as water quenches fire: particularly, sins committed against knowledge and conscience; inordinate love of the world quenches the Spirit, as earth will extinguish fire as well as water.

A cold, customary, formal performance of holy duties, without the exercise of lively faith and holy love in the performance of them, will grieve and quench the Spirit, expecially sensual lusts indulged, and anger, malice, and revenge harboured in the heart: the holy Dove will not rest upon that man that has the heart of a vulture in his breast and bosom; and let us always remember,if we quench the Spirit in his motions, he is also quenched by us in his offices; he doth us many good offices; in prayer, he is our helper, our assistant, he quickens to the duty, and in the duty, and helps our infirmities, and makes intercession for us in our Christian course; he guides us, comforts us and bears witness to our integrity in us: all these good offices will he cease to do for us, if he be quenched in us.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Quench not the Spirit [as fire may be smothered out by overwhelming it with noncombustible matter, so the Spirit of God in the breast of a man may be quenched by overloading the life with worldly cares];

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

19. Quench not the Spirit. Do not resist it, or counteract its influence by sensual lives. He does who disobeys the word of God, or refuses to follow the exhortations of those led by the Spirit, or who stifles his own conscience.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Do not quench the Spirit

"Do not stop the Holy Spirit from working among you"

Do not despise prophecies

"Do not have contempt for prophecies" or "Do not hate anything the Holy Spirit tells someone"

Test all things

"Make sure that all messages that seem to come from God truly come from him"

Hold on to what is good

Paul speaks of messages from the Holy Spirit as if they were objects that one could grasp in his hands. (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

quench

Holy Spirit

prophet

test

good

evil

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

19, 20. τὸ πνεῦμα μὴ σβέννυτε, προφητείας μὴ ἐξουθενεῖτε. The Spirit do not quench; prophesyings do not despise. From joy, prayer, and thanksgiving it is a natural transition to the Spirit and prophesying (see 1Th 1:6; also Rom 8:26; Eph 6:18; Jud 1:20). “Praying” and “prophesying” are kindred exercises (1Co 11:4). The R.V. reduces the stop between these injunctions to a semi-colon: they are parallel, the second explaining the first. Possibly, as Lightfoot says, “there was the same tendency amongst the Thessalonians to underrate prophecy in comparison with other more striking gifts of the Spirit, which St Paul condemns in writing to the Corinthians”; see 1Co 14:1, ζηλοῦτε τὰ πνευματικά, μᾶλλον δὲ ἵνα προφητεύητε, and the discussion which follows. But the warning against quenching the Spirit is directed, surely, against rationalism rather than fanaticism, against the chill distrust of the more fervid spiritual manifestations which was excited in sober minds at Thessalonica by the extravagance, or insincerity, of such πνευματικοί as e.g. the “prophets” who are virtually censured in the warning of 2Th 2:2, μήτε διὰ πνεύματος. The agitation and morbid anxiety respecting the Parousia, which both Epistles seek to allay, was fed by “prophesyings” upon this subject; in such prophesyings Millenarianism has at all times abounded. The scepticism thus awakened tended to discredit prophecy generally in this Church, and with it the whole supernatural agency of the Spirit. That this counsel has in view the reflective and critical part of the Church, is strongly suggested by the δοκιμάζετε of the next exhortation. But this caution is one which St Paul’s general observation of the Greek temper might suggest, without any local occasion.

For προφητεία, cf. Rom 12:6; 1Co 13:2; 1Co 14:6: it comes by ἀποκάλυψις, as διδαχή by γνῶσις. Prediction is only one branch of “prophecy,” which means etymologically the forth-speaking of that which was hidden in the mind of God and which comes to the προφήτης, for communication to others, through the specific inspiration of His Spirit; see Lightfoot’s note ad loc., and Cremer’s Lexicon s.v. προφήτης. As to the dependence of προφητεία on τὸ πνεῦμα, see further Joe 2:28 f. (1Th 3:1 f., in Hebrew text); Act 2:17; Act 19:6; Act 28:25; Luk 1:67; Rev 1:2; Rev 1:10, &c. Σβέννυτε is a N.T. hap. legomenon: since the Holy Spirit is a “fire” (Act 2:3; cf. Rom 12:11; Act 18:25; Luk 12:49), the arrest of His action is described as a “quenching.” As “resisting the Holy Spirit,” in Act 7:51 (Isa 63:10), describes a perverse unbelief, so “quenching the Holy Spirit” describes a cold scepticism. Prophecy exhibited His working in its vehemence and ardour.

Ἐξουθεν-έω (also in the forms ἐξουδενέω, -όω), a word of the κοινή, “to make utterly nothing of,” “reduce to nought,” is frequent in St Paul (see 1Co 1:28, 2Co 10:10, &c.). This verb denotes contempt objectively, as it bears on the person or thing despised; while καταφρονέω (1Co 11:22) describes contempt subjectively, as it is in the mind of the despiser.

19. ζβεννυτε: so spelt in B*D*G. See WH Appendix, p. 148.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19.] Chrys., Thl., Œc, understand this ethically: σβέννυσι δʼ αὐτὸ βίος ἀκάθαρτος. But there can be no doubt that the supernatural agency of the Spirit is here alluded to,—the speaking in tongues, &c., as in 1Co 12:7 ff. It is conceived of as a flame, which may be checked and quenched: hence the ζέων τῷ πνεύματι of Act 18:25, Rom 12:11. The word is a common one with the later classics applied to wind: e.g. Plut. de Is. and Osir. p. 366 e,—τὰ βόρεια πνεύματα κατασβεννύμενα κομιδῆ τῶν νοτίων ἐπικρατούντων. Galen, de Theriaca i. 17, uses the expression of the spirit of life in children: speaking of poison, he says, τὸ ἔμφυτον πνεῦμα ῥᾳδίως σβέννυσιν. See more examples in Wetst.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19. τὸ πνεῦμα μὴ σβέννυτ. “Quench not the Spirit,” that is, the divine Spirit operating in believers. The reference, however, is not to the ethical fruits of the Spirit (cf. 1:5-6, 4:8, II 2:13) but, as προφητεία makes certain, to the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, the charismata. Furthermore, τὸ πνεῦμ is not to be restricted to a specific charisma (Ephr. qui loquuntur in linguis Spiritus) but is to be understood of the totality of the extraordinary operations (Calvin). To quench, to put out the fire of, the Spirit is to prohibit or repress those who ἐν πνεύματ are ready with psalm, teaching, revelation, tongue, interpretation, etc. (1Co 14:26). To repress the believer is or may be to repress the Spirit. This exhortation is of course not incompatible with the injunction that all things be done εὐσχημόνως, κατὰ τάξι, and πρὸς οἰκοδομή (1Co 14:40, 1Co 14:26).

That 1 Cor. 12-14 (cf. 2Co 12:2-4, Rom 12:6-9) happens to be the locus classicus on spiritual gifts is due to the fact that Paul is there replying to a written request for information περὶ τῶν πνευματικῶ The Thessalonians had made no such specific request; but, if our conjectural reconstruction is correct, Paul refers to the matter here in order to warn both the workers and the idlers. This brief allusion, however, yields information that tallies exactly with what may be learned in extenso from the passages noted above. In Thessalonica, as in Corinth, the Christian life was accompanied by the same spiritual phenomena.

Three main groups of χαρίσματ may be detected: (1) Healing, both of ordinary (ἰάματ) and of extraordinary (δυνάμει) disease. (2) Revelation, including (a) γλώσσαις λαλεῖ, an unintelligible utterance requiring, in order that it might be πρὸς οἰκοδομήν, ἐρμηνία another charisma; (b) προφητεί (see below, v 20); (c) διακρίσεις πνευμάτω (see below, v. 21); and (d) διδασκαλί (3) Service, embracing “apostles, governments, helps” (cf. Rom 12:8, Rom 12:15:25, 1Co 16:1). While Paul rejoices in all these extraordinary gifts and especially in prophecy (1Co_14), he makes plain that they all must be used for the upbuilding of the church, and that without love even prophecy is of no avail (1Co_13). On the Spirit in general, see Gunkel, Die Wirkungen des Geistes, 1888; Weinel, Die Wirkungen des Geistes und der Geister, 1899; Briggs, JBL 1900, 132 ff.; Gloël, Der Heilige Geist in der Heilsverkündigung des Paulus, 1888; Wood, The Spirit of God in Biblical Literature, 1904; Arnal, La Notion de L ’ Esprit, I, 1908 (La Doctrine Paulienne); and Volz, Der Geist Gottes, 1910. On the charismata in particular, see Schmiedel, EB 4755 ff.; McGiffert, A postolic Age, 517 ff.; and J. Weiss (in Meyer) and Robertson and Plummer (in ICC) on 1 Cor. 12-14; also Harnack, Das hohe Lied von der Liebe (in SBBA. 1911, 132 ff.). For the particular situation in Thessalonica, see Lütgert, Die Volkommenen in Phil. und die Enthusiasten in Thess. 1909, 55 ff.

Since σβεννύνα is used of putting out fire or light (see Wetstein), the Spirit is here conceived metaphorically as fire (cf. Rom 12:12, Act 2:3, Mat 3:11 = Luk 3:16, 2Ti 1:6). In Lxx σβεννύνα is used with θυμό (4 Reg. 22:17 = 2Ch 34:25, Jer 4:4, Jer 7:20), ὀργη (Jer 21:12), ψυχη (Sir. 23:16) and ἀγάπ (Son 8:7 where ἐξουδενοῦ also occurs). On the hellenistic ζβέννυτ (BDGF), see Bl 3:9.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Quench not the Spirit. Since he is the inspirer of prayer, and the bestower of all gifts of grace on the Church. Comp. Eph 4:30. The operation of the Spirit is set forth under the image of fire in Mt 3:11; Luk 12:49; Act 2:3, 4. The reference here is to the work of the Spirit generally, and not specially to his inspiration of prayer or prophecy.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.