1 Thessalonians 5:20

(20) Despise not prophesyings.—The highest outward or charismatic manifestation of this inward fire was the gift of “prophecy” (1Co_12:28; 1Co_14:1; 1Co_14:5; 1Co_14:39), which was an inspired and inspiring preaching, The despondency of the Thessalonians led them not only to quench the fervour of the Holy Ghost in their own bosoms, but to turn a cold and disparaging ear to the sanguine “prophets” who preached to them, the effect of which insensibility was to “quench the Spirit” by degrees in the prophets also. It is because of this double effect of gloominess, inward upon themselves, and outward upon others, that the command, “Quench not,” occurs between the exhortation to thanksgiving and the warning not to despise prophecy. This seems to be the most natural way of accounting for the present warning, but there are two other main interpretations:—(1) It is said that what tempted the Thessalonians to disparage prophecy was their fascination for the more showy gift of tongues. It is true that such was the case at Corinth, and not unnaturally so; and at first sight it seems as if, in 1Co_14:1, “spiritual gifts” were contrasted with “prophecy” as two separate classes, thus giving some ground for Bishop Words-worth’s interpretation of our present passage—viz., that 1Th_5:19 refers to the gifts of tongues, miracles, &c., in something of the same contrast with “prophecy” in 1Th_5:20 as may be found in 1Co_14:39. But, on the other hand, it seems more likely that in 1Co_14:1 prophecy is not contrasted with the spiritual gifts there specified as a separate class, but selected from among them: “It is all very well to covet spiritual gifts as a whole, but it would be better to aim more particularly at that one—prophecy—which is the greatest:” just so here, “Do not quench the Spirit, in whatever direction it may blaze up; but especially do not disparage preaching.” Besides, there is nothing to prove that the Thessalonians were dazzled by the more brilliant gifts: and it accords better with the context to suppose that the fault to be corrected in them was not a light sensationalism, but a tendency to damp all ardour alike. (2) Others suppose that the Thessalonians had had experience of persons who had abused the gift of prophecy, and therefore were disposed to suspect and dislike prophecy altogether. This view gains support from 2Th_2:2, and also from the command in 1Th_5:21 to test, and retain only what stood the test. There is no particular ground for contradicting this view; but it is unnecessary, and does not carry on the thought so connectedly.

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

1Th_5:20

Despise not prophesyings

I.

What prophesyings?

1. The Scriptures written (2Pe_1:20-21; 2Ti_3:16).

(1) The truths asserted (Act_26:27).

(2) Commands enjoined (Mar_7:8-9).

(3) Promises made (Rom_4:20).

(4) Threatenings denounced (Pro_1:30; Amo_3:8).

2. The Scriptures preached (1Co_14:1-3), which they despise--

(1) Who do not come to hear them (Luk_4:16).

(2) Who do not regard what they have heard (Luk_4:20).

(3) Who do not practice what they hear commanded (Lev_26:15; Joh_13:17).

II. Why not despise them?

1. They are the Word of God (chap. 2:13).

2. They that despise them despise Him (Luk_10:16).

3. If we despise the Word we may be justly deprived of it.

4. If we despise His Word God will despise us (1Sa_2:30; Pro_1:25; Pro_1:28).

5. By so doing we render it ineffectual to ourselves (Heb_4:2). (Bp. Beveridge.)

Despise not prophesyings

Prophesying in the ordinary sense means the foretelling of future events. Here the term denotes exposition of the Scriptures.

1. Because some who do not despise the office itself may be disposed to cast contempt on particular ministers, Paul forbids a Contempt of prophesyings in general, lest by particular instances of neglect the office itself should be brought into disrepute. Ministers have peculiar gifts. One is learned, another eloquent, another argumentative, etc., but there is no faithful minister, whatever his gifts, from whom we may not reap some advantage. Those who hear with prejudice will never hear with profit, let the preacher be who he may.

2. But the apostle forbids us to despise prophesyings, intimating that an undervaluing of the one will lead to a contempt of the other. For our own sakes we are to receive the message, for His sake who sent him the messenger. Lydias heart was open to the one, and her house to the other.

I. The caution. Ministers are required to magnify their office, and to so discharge their duties as to preserve it from contempt (1Co_14:39). The exhortation, however, applies more particularly to hearers. Whatever be our attainments there is always room for improvement. Those despise prophesyings who--

1. Refuse attendance upon a preached gospel. Some are so openly profane as to make the Sabbath a day of worldly business or indulgence. Others pretend that they can profit more by prayer and meditation at home. Those who in former times forsook the assembling of themselves together, as the manner of some now is, did so from fear. But whatever the cause, such souls famish and are accessory to their own destruction. Woe is me, says Paul, if I preach not the gospel; and woe is the man who refuses to hear it (Pro_28:9; 1Co_9:16).

2. Attend the gospel but with improper disposition. Part of their time is spent in drowsiness or trifling inattention, observing their neighbours instead of the preacher. Hence when they come home they can tell more of what passed in the seats than in the pulpit. Others are not contented with plain truths; wholesome truths must be garnished to their taste. Paul represents such as having itching ears; and though they heap to themselves teachers running from one church to another, they get but little good.

3. Are apparently serious in their attendance on the Word, but who neither receive it in love, mix it with faith, nor reduce it to practice (Eze_33:31-32). The gospel is also despised when it is attended to for unworthy purposes: to hide some iniquity, to silence conscience, to raise our reputation, or promote our worldly interest (2Pe_2:1-2).

II. The reasons.

1. The weakness or wickedness of those who dispense the Word of God.

2. Familiarity on the part of the hearer. Scarcity creates a longing, but plenty breeds contempt. The Word of God is precious when it is scarce.

3. Insensibility and unbelief. Sinners are at ease in their sins and love to be so.

4. Profaneness and desperate wickedness. The Word reproves such, and they cannot bear it. Knowledge aggravates sin and raises a tempest in the soul.

III. The sin and danger. None but fools despise wisdom, and to despise the wisdom that cometh from above is still more dangerous presumption (Pro_1:7; Jer_11:10-11). Those who despise prophesyings--

1. Despise what God has honoured and will continue to honour (Isa_55:10-11).

2. Are guilty of despising the Divine authority (1Th_4:8).

3. Injure their own souls (Pro_8:34-36).

4. Will bring down contempt at length upon their own heads (Psa_50:22; Heb_12:25). (B. Beddome, M. A.)

Careless listening

Father is ill and cannot go to church. Daughter, who has spent three years at a boarding school and is a communicant and a teacher in the Sabbath school, enters. Well, Mary, did you have a good sermon this morning? Yes, splendid; I never heard Dr. X. preach better. What was the text? Oh, I dont remember! I never could keep texts in mind, you know. What was the subject? Dont you remember it or some of the ideas? No, papa, but I remember a beautiful figure about a bird soaring up into the air. Why, I could almost see it and hear its song! Well, what did he illustrate by the flight of the bird? Let me see. It was something about faith, or about going to heaven. I cant just recall now what it was, but the figure was splendid. And the father is satisfied. Why shouldnt he be? That was the kind of listening to sermons that he taught her by his own example. If he had heard it he could not have made a better report unless there had been something in it about politics or the news of the day. We are losing the habit of attention and the use of the memory in the house of God. The story of the Scotch woman and the wool has comforted a great many careless and forgetful hearers of the Word. When criticized for claiming to have enjoyed a sermon, and to have been edified by it, though she could not remember a single idea in it, or even the text, she held up the fleece she had just washed, wrung it dry, and said: Dont you see the water is all gone, and yet the wool is clean. So the sermon is all gone, but in passing through my mind, as I listened, it did me good. We think that hers was an exceptional case. We dont believe in cleansing hearts as she cleansed wool. The Saviour said, If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you. And Paul wrote to the Corinthians, By which also (the gospel he preached) ye are saved if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you. He evidently had no faith in the saving power of truth that merely rippled on the ear like water over a rock.

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

1Th 5:20-22. Despise not prophesyings — That is, the preaching of God’s word; for the apostle is not here speaking of extraordinary gifts, but of such as are ordinary. It seems one means of grace is put for all; and whoever despises or makes light of any of these, much more that sets them at naught, as the original expression, εξουθενειτε, properly signifies, under whatever pretence, will surely, though perhaps gradually and insensibly, quench the Spirit. Some neglect attending the ministry of God’s word, on pretence that they are so well instructed that they can receive little or no benefit from it. But let such consider that the spiritual life is maintained and increased in the soul, not so much by receiving new discoveries in divine knowledge, “as by the recollection of matters formerly known, and by serious meditation thereon.” Persuaded, therefore, that a regular attendance on the ministry of the word will greatly tend to cherish the influences of the Spirit, and a neglect thereof will proportionably obstruct them; listen with attention and reverence to the ministers of Christ, while they interpret and apply to men’s consciences the Holy Scriptures, or speak to them by way of instruction, warning, reproof, exhortation, or comfort: and own the authority of God as speaking in and by his appointed messengers. Meantime prove all things — Which any preacher teaches, enjoins, or recommends; try every doctrine, precept, advice, or exhortation, by the touchstone of Scripture; and hold fast that which is good — Zealously, resolutely, and diligently practise it, in spite of all opposition. “What a glorious freedom of thought,” says an eminent divine, “do the apostles recommend! And how contemptible, in their account, is a blind and implicit faith! May all Christians use this liberty of judging for themselves in matters of religion, and allow it to one another, and to all mankind!” It must be observed, however, that those who heap up for themselves teachers, having itching ears, under pretence of proving all things, have no countenance or excuse from this text. And be equally zealous and careful to abstain from all appearance of evil — From every disposition, word, and action, which you judge or suspect to be sinful; or which you have reason to fear might prove to you an occasion of sin. Nay, in some, yea, in many cases, abstain from those things which appear to others to be evil, or the lawfulness of which they question, though you do not. For it is better to avoid such things, than by an uncharitable use of your Christian liberty to cause your weak brother to stumble, or to prejudice others against the truth.

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

Chapter 15

THE SPIRIT

1Th_5:20-22 (R.V.)

THESE verses are abruptly introduced, but are not unconnected with what precedes. The Apostle has spoken of order and discipline, and of the joyful and devout temper which should characterise the Christian Church; and here he comes to speak of that Spirit in which the Church lives, and moves, and has her being. The presence of the Spirit is, of course, presupposed in all that he has said already: how could men, except by His help, "rejoice alway, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks"? But there are other manifestations of the Spirits power, of a more precise and definite character, and it is with these we have here to do.

Spiritus ubi est, ardet. When the Holy Spirit descended on the Church at Pentecost, "there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire; and it sat upon each one of them"; and their lips were open to declare the mighty works of God. A man who has received this great gift is described as fervent, literally, boiling (ζεων) with the Spirit. The new birth in those early days was a new birth; it kindled in the soul thoughts and feelings to which it had hitherto been strange; it brought with it the consciousness of new powers; a new vision of God; a new love of holiness; a new insight into the Holy Scriptures, and into the meaning of mans life; often a new power of ardent, passionate speech. In the First Epistle to the Corinthians Paul describes a primitive Christian congregation. There was not one silent among them. When they came together everyone had a psalm, a revelation, a prophecy, an interpretation. The manifestation of the Spirit had been given to each one to profit withal; and on all hands the spiritual fire was ready to flame forth. Conversion to the Christian faith, the acceptance of the apostolic gospel, was not a thing which made little difference to men: it convulsed their whole nature to its depths; they were never the same again; they were new creatures, with a new life in them, all fervour and flame.

A state so unlike nature, in the ordinary sense of the term, was sure to have its inconveniences. The Christian, even when he had received the gift of the Holy Ghost, was still a man; and as likely as not a man who had to struggle against vanity, folly, ambition, and selfishness of all kinds. His enthusiasm might even seem, in the first instance, to aggravate, instead of removing, his natural faults. It might drive him to speak-for in a primitive church anybody who pleased might speak-when it would have been better for him to be silent. It might lead him to break out in prayer or praise or exhortation, in a style which made the wise sigh. And for those reasons the wise, and such as thought themselves wise, would be apt to discourage the exercise of spiritual gifts altogether. "Contain yourself," they would say to the man whose heart burned within him, and who was restless till the flame could leap out; "contain yourself; exercise a little self-control; it is unworthy of a rational being to be carried away in this fashion."

No doubt situations like this were common in the church at Thessalonica. They are produced inevitably by differences of age and of temperament. The old and the phlegmatic are a natural, and, doubtless, a providential, counterweight to the young and sanguine. But the wisdom which comes of experience and of temperament has its disadvantages as compared with fervour of spirit. It is cold and unenthusiastic; it cannot propagate itself; it cannot set fire to anything and spread. And because it is under this incapacity of kindling the souls of men into enthusiasm, it is forbidden to pour cold water on such enthusiasm when it breaks forth in words of fire. That is the meaning of "Quench not the Spirit." The commandment presupposes that the Spirit can be quenched. Cold looks, contemptuous words, silence, studied disregard, go a long way to quench it. So does unsympathetic criticism.

Everyone knows that a fire smokes most when it is newly kindled; but the way to get rid of the smoke is not to pour cold water on the fire, but to let it burn itself clear. If you are wise enough you may even help it to burn itself clear, by rearranging the materials, or securing a better draught; but the wisest thing most people can do when the fire has got hold is to let it alone; and that is also the wise course for most when they meet with a disciple whose zeal burns like fire. Very likely the smoke hurts their eyes; but the smoke will soon pass by; and it may well be tolerated in the meantime for the sake of the heat. For this apostolic precept takes for granted that fervour of spirit, a Christian enthusiasm for what is good, is the best thing in the world. It may be untaught and inexperienced; it may have all its mistakes to make; it may be wonderfully blind to the limitations which the stern necessities of life put upon the generous hopes of man: but it is of God; it is expansive; it is contagious; it is worth more as a spiritual force than all the wisdom in the world.

I have hinted at ways in which the Spirit is quenched; it is sad to reflect that from one point of view the history of the Church is a long series of transgressions of this precept, checked by an equally long series of rebellions of the Spirit. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is," the Apostle tells us elsewhere, "there is liberty." But liberty in a society has its dangers; it is, to a certain extent, at war with order; and the guardians of order are not apt to be too considerate of it. Hence it came to pass that at a very early period, and in the interests of good order, the freedom of the Spirit was summarily suppressed in the Church. "The gift of ruling," it has been said, "like Aarons rod, seemed to swallow up the other gifts." The rulers of the Church became a class entirely apart from its ordinary members, and all exercise of spiritual gifts for the building up of the Church was confined to them. Nay, the monstrous idea was originated, and taught as a dogma, that they alone were the depositaries, or, as it is sometimes said, the custodians, of the grace and truth of the gospel; only through them could men come into contact with the Holy Ghost. In plain English, the Spirit was quenched when Christians met for worship. One great extinguisher was placed over the flame that burned in the hearts of the brethren; it was not allowed to show itself; it must not disturb, by its eruption in praise or prayer or fiery exhortation, the decency and order of divine service. I say that was the condition to which Christian worship was reduced at a very early period; and it is unhappily the condition in which, for the most part, it subsists at this moment. Do you think we are gainers by it? I do not believe it. It has always come from time to time to be intolerable. The Montanists of the second century, the heretical sects of the Middle Ages, the Independents and Quakers of the English Commonwealth, the lay preachers of Wesleyanism, the Salvationists, the Plymouthists, and the Evangelistic associations of our own day, -all these are in various degrees the protest of the Spirit, and its right and necessary protest, against the authority which would quench it, and by quenching it impoverish the Church. In many Nonconformist churches there is a movement just now in favour of a liturgy. A liturgy may indeed be a defence against the coldness and incompetence of the one man to whom the whole conduct of public worship is at present left; but our true refuge is not this mechanical one, but the opening of the mouths of all Christian people. A liturgy, however beautiful, is a melancholy witness to the quenching of the Spirit: it may be better or worse than the prayers of one man; but it could never compare for fervour with the spontaneous prayers of a living Church.

Among the gifts of the Spirit, that which the Apostle valued most highly was prophecy. We read in the Book of Acts of prophets, like Agabus, who foretold future events affecting the fortunes of the gospel, and possibly at Thessalonica the minds of those who were spiritually gifted were preoccupied with thoughts of the Lords coming, and made it the subject of their discourses in the Church; but there is no necessary limitation of this sort in the idea of prophesying. The prophet was a man whose rational and moral nature had been quickened by the Spirit of Christ, and who possessed in an uncommon degree the power of speaking edification, exhortation, and comfort. In other words, he was a Christian preacher, endued with wisdom, fervour, and tenderness; and his spiritual addresses were among the Lords best gifts to the Church. Such addresses, or prophesyings, Paul tells us, we are not to despise.

Now despise is a strong word; it is, literally, to set utterly at naught, as Herod set at naught Jesus, when he clothed Him in purple, or as the Pharisees set at naught the publicans, even when they came into the Temple to pray. Of course, prophecy, or, to speak in the language of our own time, the preachers calling, may be abused: a man may preach without a message, without sincerity, without reverence for God or respect for those to whom he speaks, he may make a mystery, a professional secret, of the truth of God, instead of declaring it even to little children; he may seek, as some who called themselves prophets in early times sought, to make the profession of godliness a source of gain; and under such circumstances no respect is due. But such circumstances are not to be assumed without cause. We are rather to assume that he who stands up in the Church to speak in Gods name has had a word of God entrusted to him; it is not wise to despise it before it is heard. It may be because we have been so often disappointed that we pitch our hopes so low; but to expect nothing is to be guilty of a sort of contempt by anticipation. To despise not prophesyings requires us to look for something from the preacher, some word of God that will build us up in godliness, or bring us encouragement or consolation; it requires us to listen as those who have a precious opportunity given them of being strengthened by Divine grace and truth. We ought not to lounge or fidget while the word of God is spoken, or to turn over the leaves of the Bible at random, or to look at the clock; we ought to hearken for that word which God has put into the preachers mouth for us; and it will be a very exceptional prophesying in which there is not a single thought that it would repay us to consider.

When the Apostle claimed respect for the Christian preacher, he did not claim infallibility. That is plain from what follows, for all the words are connected. Despise not prophesyings, but put all things to the test, that is, all the contents of the prophesying, all the utterances of the Christian man whose spiritual ardour has urged him to speak. We may remark in passing that this injunction prohibits all passive listening to the word. Many people prefer this. They come to church, not to be taught, not to exercise any faculty of discernment or testing at all, but to be impressed. They like to be played upon, and to have their feelings moved by a tender or vehement address; it is an easy way of coming into apparent contact with good. But the Apostle here counsels a different attitude. We are to put to the proof all that the preacher says.

This is a favorite text with Protestants, and especially with Protestants of an extreme type. It has been called "a piece of most rationalistic advice"; it has been said to imply "that every man has a verifying faculty, whereby to judge of facts and doctrines, and to decide between right and wrong, truth and falsehood." But this is a most unconsidered extension to give to the Apostles words. He does not say a word about every man; he is speaking expressly to the Thessalonians, who were Christian men. He would not have admitted that any man who came in from the street, and constituted himself a judge, was competent to pronounce upon the contents of the prophesyings, and to say which of the burning words were spiritually sound, and which were not. On the contrary, he tells us very plainly that some men have no capacity for this task-"The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit"; and that even in the Christian Church, where all are to some extent spiritual, some have this faculty of discernment in a much higher degree than others. In 1Co_12:10, "discernment of spirits," this power of distinguishing in spiritual discourse between the gold and that which merely glitters, is itself represented as a distinct spiritual gift; and in a later chapter he says, {1Co_14:29} "Let the prophets speak by two or three, and let the others" (that is, in all probability, the other prophets) "discern." I do not say this to deprecate the judgment of the wise, but to deprecate rash and hasty judgment. A heathen man is no judge of Christian truth; neither is a man with a bad conscience, and an unrepented sin in his heart; neither is a flippant man, who has never been awed by the majestic holiness and love of Jesus Christ, -all these are simply out of court. But the Christian preacher who stands up in the presence of his brethren knows, and rejoices, that he is in the presence of those who can put what he says to the proof. They are his brethren; they are in the same communion of all the saints with Christ Jesus; the same Christian tradition has formed, and the same Christian spirit animates, their conscience; their power to prove his words is a safeguard both to them and to him.

And it is necessary that they should prove them. No man is perfect, not the most devout and enthusiastic of Christians. In his most spiritual utterances something of himself will very naturally mingle; there will be chaff among the wheat; wood, hay, and stubble in the material he brings to build up the Church, as well as gold, silver, and precious stones. That is not a reason for refusing to listen; it is a reason for listening earnestly, conscientiously, and with much forbearance. There is a responsibility laid upon each of us, a responsibility laid upon the Christian conscience of every congregation and of the Church at large, to put prophesyings to the proof. Words that are spiritually unsound, that are out of tune with the revelation of God in Christ Jesus, ought to be discovered when they are spoken in the Church. No man with any idea of modesty, to say nothing of humility, could wish it otherwise. And here, again, we have to regret the quenching of the Spirit. We have all heard the sermon criticised when the preacher could not get the benefit; but have we often heard it spiritually judged, so that he, as well as those who listened to him, is edified, comforted, and encouraged? The preacher has as much need of the word as his hearers; if there is a service which God enables him to do for them, in enlightening their minds or fortifying their wills, there is a corresponding service when they can do for him. An open meeting, a liberty of prophesying, a gathering in which any one could speak as the Spirit gave him utterance, is one of the crying needs of the modern Church.

Let us notice, however, the purpose of this testing of prophecy. Despise not such utterances, the Apostle says, but prove all; hold fast that which is good, and hold off from every evil kind. There is a curious circumstance connected with these short verses. Many of the fathers of the Church connect them with what they consider a saying of Jesus, one of the few which is reasonably attested, though it has failed to find a place in the written gospels. The saying is, "Show yourselves approved money changers." The fathers believed, and on such a point they were likely to be better judges than we, that in the verses before us the Apostle uses a metaphor from coinage. To prove is really to assay, to put to the test as a banker tests a piece of money; the word rendered "good" is often the equivalent of our sterling; "evil," of our base or forged; and the word which in our old Bibles is rendered "appearance"-"Abstain from all appearance of evil"-and in the Revised Version "form"-"Abstain from every form of evil"-has, at least in some connections, the signification of mint or die. If we bring out this faded metaphor in its original freshness, it will run something like this: Show yourselves skilful money changers; do not accept in blind trust all the spiritual currency which you find in circulation; put it all to the test; rub it on the touchstone; keep hold of what is genuine and of sterling value, but every spurious coin decline. Whether the metaphor is in the text or not, -and in spite of a great preponderance of learned names against it, I feel almost certain it is, -it will help to fix the Apostles exhortation in our memories. There is no scarcity, at this moment, of spiritual currency. We are deluged with books and spoken words about Christ and the gospel. It is idle and unprofitable, nay, it is positively pernicious, to open our minds promiscuously to them, to give equal and impartial lodging to them all. There is a distinction to be made between the true and the false, between the sterling and the spurious; and till we put ourselves to the trouble to make that distinction, we are not likely to advance very far. How would a man get on in business who could not tell good money from bad? And how is any one to grow in the Christian life whose mind and conscience are not earnestly put to it to distinguish between what is in reality Christian and what is not, and to hold to the one and reject the other? A critic of sermons is apt to forget the practical purpose of the discernment here spoken of. He is apt to think it his function to pick holes. "Oh," he says, "such and such a statement is utterly misleading: the preacher was simply in the air; he did not know what he was talking about." Very possibly; and if you have found out such an unsound idea in the sermon, be brotherly, and let the preacher know. But do not forget the first and main purpose of spiritual judgment-hold fast that which is good. God forbid that you should have no gain out of the sermon except to discover the preacher going astray. Who would think to make his fortune only by detecting base coin?

In conclusion, let us recall to our minds the touchstone which the Apostle himself supplies for this spiritual assaying. "No one," he writes to the Corinthians, "can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Ghost." In other words, whatever is spoken in the Holy Ghost, and is therefore spiritual and true, has this characteristic, this purpose and result, that it exalts Jesus. The Christian Church, that community which embodies spiritual life, has this watchword on its banner, "Jesus is Lord." That presupposes, in the New Testament sense of it, the Resurrection and the Ascension; it signifies the sovereignty of the Son of Man. Everything is genuine in the Church which bears on it the stamp of Christs exaltation; everything is spurious and to be rejected which calls that in question. It is the practical recognition of that sovereignty-the surrender of thought, heart, will, and life to Jesus-which constitutes the spiritual man, and gives competence to judge of spiritual things. He in whom Christ reigns judges in all spiritual things, and is judged by no man; but he who is a rebel to Christ, who does not wear His yoke, who has not learned of Him by obedience, who assumes the attitude of equality, and thinks himself at liberty to negotiate and treat with Christ, he has no competence, and no right to judge at all. "Unto Him that loveth us, and loosed us from our sins by His blood; to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."

William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.

5:20-21 Prophecy, meant to build up the church (1 Cor 14:1-4), should not be rejected. Instead, the Thessalonians should test the prophecies (1 Cor 12:10; 14:29) to discern their origin, to check their agreement with the teaching of the apostles (2 Thes 2:2; 1 Jn 4:1-3), and to gauge the character of those who utter them (Matt 7:15-20). Early Christian teaching said, “Not everyone who speaks about spiritual things is a prophet, but only if the person’s conduct is like the Lord” (Didache 11:8). They should hold on to what is good—namely, prophecies that have been tested and found to be genuine.

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

1Th 5:20. Προφητείας, prophesyings) Which should be exercised more than the other gifts; 1Co 14:1; 1Co 14:39.—μὴ ἐξουθενεῖτε, do not despise) The other gifts were more showy.

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

1Th_5:20. Paul passes from the genus to a species.

προφητεία] denotes prophetic discourse. Its nature consisted not so much in the prediction of future events, although that was not excluded, as in energetic, soul-captivating, and intelligent expression of what was directly communicated by the Holy Ghost to the speaker for the edification and moral elevation of the church. See Meyer on Act_11:27; Rückert on 1 Cor. p. 448 f.; Fritzsche on Rom_12:6. The Thessalonians were not to despise these prophetic utterances; they were rather to value them as a form of the revelation of the Holy Spirit; comp. 1Co_14:5. The undervaluing of the gifts of the Spirit, of which some members of the church must at least have been guilty, had its reason probably in their abuse, whilst partly deceivers who pursued impure designs under the pretext of having received divine revelations, and partly self-deceivers who considered the deceptions of their own fancy as divine suggestions, appeared (see 2Th_2:2), and thus spiritual gifts in general might have been brought into discredit among discerning and calmer characters.

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 5:20 . As εὐχαριστεῖν was a special function of the prophets in early Christian worship ( cf. Did. x. 7), the transition is natural. The local abuses of ecstatic prophecy in prediction (2Th 2:2 ) or what seem to be exaggerated counsels of perfection (1Th 5:16 f.) must not be allowed to provoke any reaction which would depreciate and extinguish this vital gift or function of the faith. Paul, with characteristic sanity, holds the balance even. Such enthusiastic outbursts are neither to be despised as silly vapouring nor to be accepted blindly as infallible revelations. The true criticism of προφητεία comes (1Th 5:21 ) from the Christian conscience which is sensitive to the καλόν , the συμφέρον , the οἰκοδομή , or the ἀναλογία τῆς πίστεως ( cf. Weizsäcker’s Apost. Age , ii. 270 f.). But this criticism must be positive. In applying the standard of spiritual discernment, it must sift, not for the mere pleasure of rejecting the erroneous but with the object of retaining what is genuine.

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

The expounding of the word of God.

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

prophesyings--whether exercised in inspired teaching, or in predicting the future. "Despised" by some as beneath "tongues," which seemed most miraculous; therefore declared by Paul to be a greater gift than tongues, though the latter were more showy (Co1 14:5).

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 20. Despise not prophesyings.] Do not suppose that ye have no need of continual instruction; without it ye cannot preserve the Christian life, nor go on to perfection. God will ever send a message of salvation by each of his ministers to every faithful, attentive hearer. Do not suppose that ye are already wise enough; you are no more wise enough than you are holy enough. They who slight or neglect the means of grace, and especially the preaching of God's holy word, are generally vain, empty, self-conceited people, and exceedingly superficial both in knowledge and piety.

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

20 Despise not prophesyings. This sentence is appropriately added to the preceding one, for as the Spirit of God illuminates us chiefly by doctrine, those who give not teaching its proper place, do, so far as in them lies, quench the Spirit, for we must always consider in what manner or by what means God designs to communicate himself to us. Let every one, therefore, who is desirous to make progress under the direction of the Holy Spirit, allow himself to be taught by the ministry of prophets.

By the term prophecy, however, I do not understand the gift of foretelling the future, but as in 1 Corinthians 14:3, the science of interpreting Scripture, so that a prophet is an interpreter of the will of God. For Paul, in the passage which I have quoted, assigns to prophets teaching for edification, exhortation, and consolation, and enumerates, as it were, these departments. Let, therefore, prophecy in this passage be understood as meaning — interpretation made suitable to present use. Paul prohibits us from despising it, if we would not choose of our own accord to wander in darkness.

The statement, however, is a remarkable one, for the commendation of external preaching. It is the dream of fanatics, that those are children who continue to employ themselves in the reading of the Scripture, or the hearing of the word, as if no one were spiritual, unless he is a despiser of doctrine. They proudly, therefore, despise the ministry of man, nay, even Scripture itself, that they may attain the Spirit. Farther, whatever delusions Satan suggests to them, they presumptuously set forth as secret revelations of the Spirit. Such are the Libertines, and other furies of that stamp. And the more ignorant that any one is, he is puffed up and swollen out with so much the greater arrogance. Let us, however, learn from the example of Paul, to conjoin the Spirit with the voice of men, which is nothing else than his organ.

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.

Abstain from all appearance of evil. Of doctrinal evil. Not only open error and heresy are to be avoided, but what has any show of it, or looks like it, or carries in it a suspicion of it, or may be an occasion thereof, or lead unto it; wherefore all new words and phrases of this kind should be shunned, and the form of sound words held fast; and so of all practical evil, not only from sin itself, and all sorts of sin, lesser or greater, as the (w) Jews have a saying,

"take care of a light as of a heavy commandment,''

that is, take care of committing a lesser, as a greater sin, and from the first motions of sin; but from every occasion of it, and what leads unto it, and has the appearance of it, or may be suspected of others to be sin, and so give offence, and be a matter of scandal. The Jews have a saying very agreeable to this (x),

"remove thyself afar off (or abstain) from filthiness, and from everything, , "that is like unto it".''

(w) Pirke Abot, c. 2. sect. 1. (x) Apud Drusium in loc.

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

20 Despise not prophesyings.

Ver. 20. Despise not] i.e. Highly honour, and preciously esteem, as an honorary given by Christ to his Church at his wonderful ascension, Psa 51:17; Eph 4:8; Eph 4:11.

Prophesying] That is, preaching, 1Co 14:3, so called because they took their texts out of some of the prophets.

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.

Despise not prophesyings - On the subject of prophesyings in the early Christian church, see the notes on 1Co 14:1 ff1 ff. The reference here seems to be to preaching. They were not to undervalue it in comparison with other things. It is possible that in Thessalonica, as appears to have been the case subsequently in Corinth (compare 1Co 14:19), there were those who regarded the power of working miracles, or of speaking in unknown tongues, as a much more eminent endowment than that of stating the truths of religion in language easily understood. It would not be unnatural that comparisons should be made between these two classes of endowments, much to the disadvantage of the latter; and hence may have arisen this solemn caution not to disregard or despise the ability to make known divine truth in intelligible language. A similar counsel may not be inapplicable to us now. The office of setting forth the truth of God is to be the permanent office in the church; that of speaking foreign languages by miraculous endowment, was to be temporary. But the office of addressing mankind on the great duties of religion, and of publishing salvation, is to be God’s great ordinance for converting the world. It should not be despised, and no man commends his own wisdom who contemns it - for:

(1) It is God’s appointment - the means which he has designated for saving people.

(2) It has too much to entitle it to respect to make it proper to despise or contemn it. There is nothing else that has so much power over mankind as the preaching of the gospel; there is no other institution of heaven or earth among people that is destined to exert so wide and permanent an influence as the Christian ministry.

(3) It is an influence which is wholly good. No man is made the poorer, or the less respectable, or more miserable in life or in death, by following the counsels of a minister of Christ when he makes known the gospel.

(4) He who despises it contemns that which is designed to promote his own welfare, and which is indispensable for his salvation. It remains yet to be shown that any man has promoted his own happiness, or the welfare of his family, by affecting to treat with contempt the instructions of the Christian ministry.

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

Thereby we may quench the Spirit, which usually works upon men’s minds and hearts by it. By prophecy is sometimes meant foretelling of things to come, and speaking by extraordinary revelation, 1Co 14:29,30; sometimes the Scriptures are so called, especially the Old Testament, 2Pe 1:21; and sometimes the interpretation and applying of Scripture, which is the same that we now call preaching, 1Co 14:3. And the duty with respect to it, is not to despise it, to set it at nought as a thing of no worth. The word is often used in the New Testament, Luk 18:9; Act 4:11; Rom 14:3,10. But the apostle useth again the figure meiosis before mentioned, and means, prize, value, and highly esteem it, attend upon it, have great regard to it; it being an ordinance of God for instruction and edification, yea, and for conversion also, 1Co 14:24,25. Some despise it because of the outward meanness of the persons which prophesy; some, through a proud conceit of their own knowledge; some, by a contempt of religion itself. These Thessalonians had been commended for their great proficiency, and yet were still to attend upon prophesying in the church; which he calls prophesyings, in the plural number, referring either to the several prophets that prophesied, or to the several parts of their prophecy, or the times they prophesied. And the prophets were either such as prophesied only by an extraordinary gift, and immediate revelation, which some private members of the church had in those times, 1Co 14:29,30; or such as prophesied not only by gift, but office also, Eph 4:11.

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

20. Prophesyings—Held by Paul to be the best, because the most profitable and edifying, gift of the Spirit. 1Co_14:1. It was inspired utterance, whether predictive, doctrinal, hortatory, or admonitory.

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

Despise not prophesyings. This refers to the miraculous gift of prophecy possessed by the primitive Church. And by prophesyings here we are to understand, not the prediction of the future, but inspired discourse, conducive to the instruction and edification of the Church. "By the term "prophesying, observes Calvin, "I do not understand the gift of foretelling the future, but the science of interpreting Scripture, so that a prophet is an interpreter of the will of God." This useful gift, it would seem, was apt to be despised, and the inferior miraculous gift of tongues to be preferred before it. (1Co_14:1-3)

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

Despise not prophesyings - That is, preaching; for the apostle is not here speaking of extraordinary gifts. It seems, one means of grace is put for all; and whoever despises any of these, under whatever pretense, will surely (though perhaps gradually and almost insensibly) quench the Spirit.

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

Note here, 1. How close this duty is coupled with the former. Quench not the Spirit; despise not prophesyings; plainly intimating to us, that the Spirit is then dangerously quenched, when prophesying, or the preaching of the word, is sinfully neglected.

Note, 2. That by prophesying here, is not meant foretelling things to come, but the interpretation and application of the holy Scriptures, which we call preaching.

Note, 3. That by not despising it, we are to understand, that it is our obliged duty to put a high value and esteem upon it, to attend to it, and have a great regard for it, to honour the public ministry as an ordinance of God for instruction, conversion, and edification.

Learn, that it is not sufficient that we do not slight the ordinance of preaching, nor declaim against it as vain and useless, (as the manner of some is,) but we are to have an honourable esteem of it, and evidence that esteem by a due attendance upon it: more is intended by the Holy Ghost than is here expressed; for though he only forbids the sins, he intends the duty or grace in strict opposition to the sin, namely, that Christians ought to be so far from despising, that they ought to be very foreward in embracing the ministry and preaching of the word; despise not prophesyings.

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

despise not prophesyings [Prophesyings were instructions given through inspired men, and included moral and spiritual precepts as well as predictions as to the future. Such instructors stood next in rank to the apostles ( 1Co_12:28 ). Compare also Eph_2:20 ; 1Co_14:1-5 ; 1Co_14:39 . They were neither to neglect to hear nor refuse to obey prophecy];

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.

20. Despise not prophesyings. Inspired teachings. The prophets were specially inspired men in the early church. They were needed, because as yet it did not have the New Testament Scriptures for a guide. This inspired preaching must not be despised.

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.

20.] On προφητείας, see 1Co 12:10, note. They were liable to be despised in comparison with the more evidently miraculous gift of tongues: and hence in 1Co 14:5, &c., he takes pains to shew that prophecy was in reality the greater gift.

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

20. προφητείας μὴ ἐξουθενεῖτ. From the general τὸ πνεῦμ, he passes to the particular, the charisma of prophecy (Calvin). This gift is singled out for mention, perhaps, because the idlers had exercised it wrongly and because the workers made light of it especially. The plural (cf. 1Co 13:8) is chosen either because prophecy has many forms of expression or because individual cases are in mind. προφητεί to Paul is not the science of interpreting Scripture (Calvin), not the gift of foretelling the future and explaining the past, but the proclamation of the utterance of God, so that the prophet (1Co 12:28 f. 1Co 12:14:29 ff.) is the revealer of the will of God operating in the indwelling Christ or Spirit.

προφητεί to Paul is apparently the greatest χάρισμ (1Co_14), though it is worthless unless it makes for love (a comprehensive term for the ethical, non-charismatic fruits of the Spirit). Though it may arise in an ἀποκάλυψι or ὀπτασί (2Co 12:2-4, Gal 2:2), it is, unlike speaking with tongues, an intelligible utterance, making directly, without ἑρμηνί, for edification, comfort, and encouragement (1Co 14:3). There is a control by the Spirit but the νοῦ is active, as it is not in γλώσσαις λαλεῖ What is prompted by the Spirit can be remembered and imparted, though the control of the Spirit is greater than in διδασκαλί It may be that such passages as Rom 8:18 ff. Rom 8:1 Cor. 13, 15:50 ff. owe their origin to prophecy. ἐξουθενεῖ is quite frequent in Paul (Gal 4:14, Rom 14:3, Rom 14:10, etc.), and in the Lxx (cf. ἐξουθενοῦ and ἐξουδενοῦ in meaning it is akin to καταφρονεῖ and ἀποδοκιμάζει (cf. Mar 8:31 with 9:12).

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

Prophesyings [προφητειας] . The emphasis on prophesyings corresponds with that in 1Co 14:1 - 5, 22 ff. Prophecy in the apostolic church was directly inspired instruction, exhortation, or warning. The prophet received the truth into his own spirit which was withdrawn from earthly things and concentrated upon the spiritual world. His higher, spiritual part [πνευμα] , and his moral intelligence [νους] , and his speech [λογος] worked in harmony. His spirit received a spiritual truth in symbol : his understanding interpreted it in its application to actual events, and his speech uttered the interpretation. He was not ecstatically rapt out of the sphere of human intelligence, although his understanding was intensified and clarified by the phenomenal action of the Spirit upon it. This double action imparted a peculiarly elevated character to his speech. The prophetic influence was thus distinguished from the mystical ecstasy, the ecstasy of Paul when rapt into the third heaven, which affected the subject alone and was incommunicable (2Co 12:1 - 4). The gift of tongues carried the subject out of the prophetic condition in which spirit, understanding, and speech operated in concert, and into a condition in which the understanding was overpowered by the communication to the spirit, so that the spirit could not find its natural expression in rational speech, or speech begotten of the understanding, and found supernatural expression in a tongue created by the Spirit. Paul attached great value to prophecy. He places prophets next after apostles in the list of those whom God has set in the Church (1Co 12:28). He associates apostles and prophets as the foundation of the Church (Eph 2:20). He assigns to prophecy the precedence among spiritual gifts (1Co 14:1 - 5), and urges his readers to desire the gift (1Co 14:1, 39). Hence his exhortation here.

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