1 Thessalonians 5:21

1Th_5:21

Prove all things: hold fast that which is good--The design of these precepts is to caution us against two pernicious extremes; one is taking opinions on trust without examination, the other is after a wise choice not being able to abide by it.

Credulity and unsteadiness are alike dangerous, and the only way to prevent them is to examine every doctrine propounded to us in order to regulate our choice, and then, having made a wise choice, to hold it unalterably so as to reap the full benefit. We must be as cautious in the selection of our principles as of our friends, but once well chosen we must not lightly part with them.

I. Care and discretion in choosing.

1. The persons. Not pastors only, but the Church was thus addressed (see also 1Jn_4:1; 2Co_13:5; 1Pe_3:15; Act_17:11). Vain, therefore, is the Romish contention that the laity are excluded from judging for themselves. It is also one of mans natural rights, resulting from his being a rational creature, to judge for himself, and to trust other mens eyes only when he cannot use his own; and even then only after he has tested their trustworthiness.

2. The rule of procedure--that of right reason. Whatever on the best inquiry appears most reasonable is to be received. It is assumed in all debates that reason is umpire.

(1) Two classes seem to form an exception--those who advise the surrender of reason to the dictates of an infallible chair, and those who obtrude their dreams for Divine oracles. But they have to give reasons, and so suppose what they deny. They plead that reason is weak and fallible; but they can only know this by weak and fallible reason; and even taking that for granted we must either trust it or something blinder, such as fancy, passion or prejudice

(2) To discard reason is to discard faith which is built upon it. We ought to have a reason for what we believe. We believe a doctrine because we find it in the Scriptures; we believe the Scriptures because they speak the mind and will of God; we believe that they do so because they have the marks of Divine authority.

(3) Reason and faith are not opposite but assistant to each other. The glory of religion is that the best reasons go with it, and that it loves to be examined by the nicest reasons.

3. The use and application of this rule to the doctrines of Christianity.

(1) In some points Scripture is plain and clear and the reason of the thing as well, as in its moral teaching.

(2) Sometimes it is clear and express, but the reason of the thing dark, as in the mysteries of our faith. Here reason proceeds upon extrinsic evidence, the authority of the Revealer; and brings proofs to show that it has been revealed without pretending to say how or why it is.

(3) In other points Scripture may be obscure and silent, but the reason of the thing clear as in infant baptism, and reason shows what by analogy or consequence though not directly Scripture allows or condemns.

(4) Another case is where neither Scripture nor the reason of the thing are clear; both together affording only dark hints of what is or is not. Here, then, is ground only for a probable assent; it is, however, the business of reason to lay the things together, make the best of its materials, and lean to the most charitable side without being too positive in either.

II. Firmness and steadiness in retaining. To be always seeking without finding, ever learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth neither becomes a Christian or a man. Of course it is not implied that when we have once settled our opinions on good grounds, that we are never to alter them on better. The best judgment will sometimes err, and mens judgments often ripen with their years. Yet as in civil matters wise men generally have some fixed leading principles, so the wise Christians will have some fundamental articles of faith which once intelligently accepted he will not have canvassed a second time. The proofs, e.g., of the superiority of Christianity over Paganism and Mohammedanism, of the being of a God over the atheistical contentions are so full and clear that they need never be reargued. So with revelation and morality. And with regard to minor matters that we permit to be reopened, we must hold fast to this that reason and not caprice, vanity, ambition, fear is to be umpire; and then if its decisions are clear against us it is the truest constancy to change what is proved to be an error, for we are commanded to hold fast only what is good. (D. Waterland, D. D.)

Prove all things

I. Religion addresses us as sensible beings.

1. Not every religion, nor even every section of Christianity. Some say, Do not inquire; submit implicitly to the teachings of your Church. Truth does not do this; it courts examination because it can afford it.

(1) There are difficulties in our faith, but they yield before a clear mind, patient study and prayer, and a correct life. There are many things above reason, but reason proves that it is reasonable to believe them.

(2) Surely this is what religion ought to be. Has God given us our mental faculties for nothing? You are responsible for your beliefs, and while before God we shut our mouths; yet before men we are bound to ask does God say it? I must have faith, but it must be an intelligent and manly faith, else my religion will be unworthy a creature so highly endowed.

2. Prove refers to the process of testing coin whether genuine or counterfeit. Lest by any means I should become a castaway, i.e., as a piece of money that could not bear the test, Reprobate silver. So are you to prove whatever is presented to you, as carrying the mark of the King of kings, therefore asserting a Divine claim upon you, whether it be true or a forgery.

II. What is the touchstone by which we are to gauge the real and the false? What is that spiritual alchemy which shall always make the base to precipitate to the bottom, and the right and holy to come up to the surface, separate and clear?

1. The first criterion of religious truth is personal experience, Come and see; have you come?

(1) God will give everything He has promised to simple, earnest, persevering prayer. Have you proved this?

(2) When a man turns to God in penitence and faith he is forgiven. Have you done this?

(3) God speaks of a peace which passeth understanding. Have you put yourself in the way to get an experimental proof whether there is such a peace or not.

(4) So with happiness, wisdom, doctrine. Is it not shere madness to refuse such gold and say I will not test it. If it do not turn out what it professes to be, then is the time to reject it.

2. The grace of common sense and moral perception which God has given us. These, of course, are vitiated by wilful sin, and they will lead us wrong. But if a man will only be careful to have a good conscience, lay open his heart to the influences of the Spirit, and honour and obey them when they come, he will not make any great mistake.

3. Gods Word is the measuring line of all moral truth. If we give up that ultimate appeal there is no resting place for the mind. This does not mean taking solitary verses which in the Bible as elsewhere may be made to prove anything you like. You must gather the general intention of the mind of God by study and prayer, dealing with the proportions of truth.

4. Above the Bible is Christ, the living Word. Everything is to be tested by Him.

(1) Doctrine--where does it place Him?

(2) Promise--does He seal it?

(3) Duty--does He command it?

(4) Pleasure--does He sanction it? (J. Vaughan, M. A.)

Prove all things

We see Pauls character here. He had been speaking with his wonted fervour; but he sees nothing inconsistent in this with the soundest, calmest reasoning.

I. The first duty he urges--Prove all things. Be enthusiastic; but test, try, examine well. Courses of sin need no testing. The apostle speaks of what seems good, wise, honourable.

1. At times indolence tempts to indifference. This is the greatest danger of our age; but it is palsy too the mind, and death to the soul.

2. Some are afraid to think. But remember the greatest have stood firm; and the doubts of our age are old and dry albeit they may seem new and fresh.

III. The second duty the apostle urges--Hold fast that which is good.

1. Hold fast what we have proved for ourselves to be true and good. Immature convictions are generally abandoned, and wisely so.

2. But before we have had time and power to test, there is something good to grip. Even heathen know the great foundations of the fitting, the beautiful, and the true. We are not heathen born; therefore we must not cast off all that we have learned at our mothers knee for the sneers of half-read women and the cavils of daring men, but the rather be valiant for the truth. (Bp. E. H. Bickersteth.)

Prove all things

I. What things?

1. Ourselves. The work of examination should begin at home--our state before God, our graces, our practice.

2. Others--friends (Pro_25:19), candidates for Christian communion, ministers.

3. Doctrines--are they simply sanctioned by councils or by God? Do they minister to pride of intellect, or humbleness of heart.

4. Actions. Do we walk after the Spirit or after the flesh? Do we keep the ordinances of God or of men (Pro_14:12)?

II. By what rules. Not by outward appearance: this was what Eve did, and what Samuel was in danger of doing. But--

1. By fruits. This applies to both persons and doctrines, and is a test ordained by Christ.

2. The examples of good and wise men in so far as they follow Christ the supreme example.

3. The Divine Word: Search the Scriptures.

4. Our own experience corroborated by the word of truth. He that believeth hath the witness in himself. (B. Beddome, M. A.)

Quinquagesima Sunday

The last clause of this verse is very commonly taken to mean, Abstain from everything which looks like evil, from everything which a bystander would suspect to be evil. That St. Paul can never have meant his exhortation to bear the sense which we have forced upon it, a moments thought will convince you. Judge not, says our Lord, according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. That passage cannot affect the construing of our text, for the word in St. John is ὁψις, not εἷδος. But it directly affects the question, whether we are to judge of evil by the mere look or semblance; for remember the occasion which called forth the precept of Christ. He had healed a sick man on the Sabbath day. This act had the appearance of evil. It appeared evil, not only to the accidental bystanders, but to the religious guides of the Jewish people. How carefully these parts of His conduct are recorded by the Evangelists! How evidently they think that, if they were blotted out of His life, He would not have perfectly revealed His Father, or been a complete pattern to His disciples! Do you suppose he would have taught his Thessalonian disciples that these conspicuous lines in the character of Christ were not to be copied, but to be treated as dangerous? But did not St. Paul follow most strictly the steps of his Master, did he not depart altogether from the maxim which has been ascribed to himself, when he appeared in the eyes of the Jews, converted and unconverted, perhaps of apostles, to be violating sacred customs, and trampling upon the covenant of his fathers? To which doctrine did he conform, when he ate openly with the Gentiles in the presence of Peter and Barnabas, who were striving to keep up what every Jew must have considered a graceful, if not necessary, recognition of the difference between the chosen people and all others? How did he avoid the mere look of evil, when he left the impression upon the minds of his countrymen that he was overthrowing the righteousness of the Law, by preaching the righteousness of Faith? The three clauses, Prove all things; hold fast that which is good; abstain from all appearance of evil, are not associated by accident. Every person who has paid the least attention to St Pauls style will perceive how clearly the relation between them is indicated by the antithetical words κατέχετε ἀπέχεσθε. Hold on to the good, hold off from every form of evil. And it is clear that the thought which determines the force of both these clauses--the thought which is uppermost in the writers mind--is that which is expressed by the word prove,--δοκιμάζετε. Now that word and its cognate substantive, whether it refers to things or to persons, to the soundness of money, or to the qualifications for citizenship, always denotes a process of testing. So, then, according to the popular interpretation of the text, St. Paul would say, in the first clause; Be not content with the mere semblance of anything you have to do with. Look into it; find out the good of it, hold to that. And he would say in a second and corresponding clause, Be always afraid of semblances. The moment anything looks like evil, fly from it. Throw away your tests and proofs; simply hold off from that which seems evil to you or to the people about you. This is not an antithesis, but a contradiction.

I. He tells us first, to prove or test all things. I do not know a more honourable watchword to inscribe upon our banners than this of prove all things, if only we know what it signifies, and how St. Paul used it. Assuredly he did not understand it, as some of us do, Bring all things to the standard of your private judgment; see whether they accord with that; only hold fast that which does. If there is not that which is true absolutely--true for all men--search and inquiry are very fruitless; we had better lay them aside. If my judgment is to be the measure of all things that I see and converse with, if I am at liberty to use it as such a measure, if there is no higher measure to which I can bring it, that it may be deepened and expanded, it is certain to become narrower and feebler every day. Whereas, if I continually acknowledge the presence of a Light which is greater than any organ of mine can take in, but yet with which I am intented to hold communion, I shall desire that that Light may enter more and more into me, to purify my vision and enlarge its capacities. I shall desire to see all things in this Light. And it will so distinguish between what is fantastic and what is real, between the shows of things and their substance, that it will not be possible for me to accept one for the other, either in obedience to my own natural taste and inclination, or at the bidding of any earthly guides and authorities whatsoever.

II. Next, St. Paul tells us to prove all things. He does not say, Prove or test certain doctrines which are submitted to you; though those are of course not excluded. He assumes that everything whatsoever with which we come into contact--the ordinary notions and maxims of society, the habits and traditions of the literary, or philosophical, or professional, or religious circle in which we are moving, the words we speak, the common everyday experiences of life--all need sifting and testing, that we may know what there is of good in them. Yes, believe that the good is in all things, in those that you have made little account of, in those that you have been taught by others to hate, in those which you have learnt to hate yourself. Do not shrink from confessing that there is and must be a goodness, a beauty at the bottom of them all, else they would not have continued to exist. Do not be afraid of inquiring for it lest you should fall in love with the evil and ugliness which are also in them.

III. St. Paul goes on, hold fast the good. When you have perceived it, detected it, anywhere, then cleave to it, hug it, swear that you will not let it go. Be sure that what you want is the substantial good; the beauty in which is no flaw. Having that, you are sure you have what God in His infinite love desires that you should have; you have what the Son of God took your nature and died upon the cross that you might have; you have what the Spirit of God is stirring you and all creatures to sigh and groan that you may have. Not that it is yours, in any sense which can enable you to say to a neighbour, It is not thine. It is yours by faith; it is yours because it is Gods, and He invites you to believe Him and trust Him, and so to inherit His own righteousness and truth and blessedness. It is yours because it is not in your own keeping, because you are lifted out of yourself that you may enjoy it.

IV. And so we come at last to the word with which I began, abstain, or keep yourselves from every form or appearance that is evil. You have seen the good; you have grasped it; now have nothing to do with whatever is not that, with whatever counterfeits it. There will be every variety of evil shapes, forms, appearances; but if you have learnt to look below, to try and test the heart of things, you will not be misled by this variety. You will detect the evil, the lie, under each new disguise, and you will be able to stand aloof from it; to shun the contact of it. Just so far as the truth has become precious and familiar to yon, this likeness, this double, this mockery, will be loathed and kept at a distance. But I conceive, brethren, that the peril of our being vanquished by some of its manifold forms will be infinitely increased, if we adopt that opinion which has gained such strength from the supposed authority of St. Paul. To believe that we must fly from that which people think evil, from everything which seems evil to ourselves at the first glance, is to become a prey of evil in its worst sense. All reformation, in every age, has been retarded by this doctrine, all corruptions have been sanctified by it. And yet it has not restrained a single rash reformer; it has not preserved a single truth from outrage. The conscience of men cannot he bound by a rule, which must be transgressed before a single brave act can be done, a single right principle asserted. These are instances--your own experience may supply a hundred similar--where this maxim proves utterly ineffectual to accomplish its own ends. For every vulgar worldly argument which puts on a religious dress, and affects an authority that does not belong to it, must prove feeble and worthless. The only consequence of resorting to it is, that you benumb the moral sense, that you degrade the hearts of those whom you bring under its influence. They will plead it for deserting a friend, for refusing to maintain an unpopular cause; they will forget it the moment it interferes with any passion or propensity of their own. (F. D. Maurice, M. A.)

Prove--then hold fast

I. Two things to be done.

1. Prove, i.e., inquire into and decide upon after examination. Prove as gold and silver are tried, and as the strength of building materials are tested. Haste in reception or rejection are forbidden. The standards of proof are--

(1) The Holy Scriptures. The Bereans were more noble, etc.

there is something contemptible in a man refusing to look at statements put before him as though it were impossible for him to make a mistake; teachableness is noble.

(2) Experience: What fruit had ye, etc. Unto you that believe He is precious.

(3) Observation: Ye shall know them by their fruits.

(4) The spiritual and religious faculty sanctified by the Holy Ghost: He that is spiritual judgeth all things. Ye have an unction, etc.

2. Hold fast against indolence, prejudice, pride, perplexity, evil inclinations, influence of irreligious men, winds of doctrine, false teaching and the fallible teaching of Christs best friends.

II. The sphere for this particular action.

1. Prove all things--opinions, doctrines, requirements, customs, professions, characters, modes of working.

(1) All ancient things. Things are not better for being old. Sin is old.

(2) New things. A thing is not wise or adapted to the times because new. It may be a new folly.

(3) Common things. Things are not right because generally acceptable.

(4) Singular things.

(5) Attractive things which have too often misled our fallen nature--specious doctrines which have pandered to our pride.

(6) Repulsive things--Christ, e.g., may put in our path a cross, which it is better for me to bear than to wear a crown.

2. Hold fast the good. Not, of course, what is evil. If what is doubtful comes into your hand let it lie there, but do not close your fingers over it until you have proved it; then hold it fast, whether it be opinion and doctrine, custom and practise, communion and friendship, that which your mind, faith, love, hope embraces--anything that is good.

3. The giving heed to this requirement is of great importance. Here it is in the statute Book, and in vain do we call Christ Master unless we do what He bids us.

(1) If we receive error we cumber our minds with what is profitless, deceive ourselves, impair bur spiritual life, and reject the truth.

(2) If we admit an evil custom, or have fellowship with evil-doers, we expose ourselves to corruption; and by rejecting Christian ordinances and fellowships, we deprive ourselves of means of grace.

4. These are times when the text is likely to be overlooked. In days of church slumber, nothing is proved; in days of morbid wakefulness, nothing is held fast. And what is true of the Church is true of the individual.

5. In cherishing obedience to the text, we must--

(1) In proving all things avoid--

(a) seeking for a kind of evidence God does not give.

(b) Encouraging a restless and captious spirit.

(c) Entertaining foolish questions which gender strifes.

(d) Misplacing the tests with which God has favoured us. The Bible is the supreme standard.

(2) In holding fast the good, we must avoid prejudice, obstinacy, and pertinacity upon doubtful matters. Conclusion: Take this yoke of Christ on you. No one can bear it for you, neither Church nor individual, and for this you will be held responsible at the Judgment seat of Christ. (S. Martin.)

Hold fast that which is good

I. The exhortation.

1. What are those good things which we have to hold fast.

(1) The Gospel and the way of salvation by Christ.

(2) That truth, in particular, which relates to the person and work of Christ (Rev_3:8).

(3) The good treasure lodged in our hearts or placed in our hands.

(4) Our spiritual comforts and whatever contributes to the peace and purity of our minds.

(5) A line of conduct consistent with the Word of God.

(6) An open profession of religion.

2. How are we to hold them fast. It supposes--

(1) That our judgment concerning them is fixed.

(2) That we retain them in our memory (1Co_15:2; 2Pe_1:15).

(3) A high esteem and warm affection.

(4) Resistance to all opposition.

II. The motives.

1. The honour of God requires that we should hold fast what He has revealed.

2. The things we are required to hold fast are good in themselves.

3. If we part with the good we shall retain the evil, and cannot easily recover what we have lost.

4. If we disobey, what account shall we give another day? Hence we learn--

(1) That nothing but true religion will stand its ground.

(2) That perseverance in the way of truth and holiness is necessary to eternal happiness (Heb_10:38). (B. Beddome, M. A.)

Holdfasts

There are many occasions when the soul feels that it has come to a crisis. It may be compared to the feeling of William Tell when he was taking aim at the apple. Everything depends on the action of the next moment. It is to decide for God or the devil, for heaven or hell. We all need a holdfast at such critical times. I will mention two.

I. There is a god. Unless we can hold on to that, life becomes hard and vexatious, and we are like people floundering on ice, but when our heavenly Father is a fact to us, life loses its bitterness and death cannot sting. God cannot be proved to any one. Every man must prove Him for himself. You cannot prove colour to a blind man, to know it he must see. If you seek God with the proper faculties, you will find and know Him.

1. One of the links in this holdfast is that God is perfect. You cannot trust men fully because of their imperfections, but you can fully trust God because He is all-wise, all-powerful. He does not learn by experience; what He does cannot be improved.

2. Another link is that God is loving. The sweetest and most self-sacrificing love this side of heaven is not in the least degree comparable to it. It was not exhausted on Calvary. It is treasured up for you.

3. It is possible for every man to find God. You are nearer to Him than you fancy. Open the door of your faith and He will enter in.

II. The true motive of right action is love to God and man. When men act on this they cannot go wrong. Do true children need rules and regulations to tell them how to behave towards parents and brothers? If this law ruled all other laws would he needless. Hold then fast to this in--

1. Business perplexities.

2. Conflicting duties.

3. Fierce temptations.

4. Death. (W. Birch.)

Holdfast

Steadfastness is a prime virtue. Be sure you are right, and then hold on though the heavens fall. Prove all things, and adhere to the good, and surrender it only with life. Hold fast--

I. To your faith. It is a lie of the devil that it matters not what a man believes. As he believes so is he. Throw away or tamper with your faith in the inspiration and Divine authority of the Scriptures, and you are sure to go astray and perish in your unbelief.

II. To your integrity. To let go one particle of it--to compromise in the least with wrong--endangers your soul, and is sure to forfeit your peace of mind and your Christian standing and influence.

III. To your profession. Cleave to the Church which Christ purchased with His blood. Honour and magnify its mission. Sustain and advance its interests by all the means and influence which God has given you.

IV. To Christian effort in behalf of souls. Be not weary in well-doing. Guard against an evil heart of unbelief. Do not doubt the promises--they are all yea and amen in Christ Jesus. The night of fear and struggle and waiting may be long and dark, but the morning will come to gladden you, if, like Jacob, you hold on.

V. To prayer. Be sure you get hold of the everlasting arm, and then not let go. Persevere in the face of a thousand obstacles. Let not God go till He bless. Be not denied. Turn rebuke and seeming denial into fresh pleas, as did the Syro-Phoenicia woman. The answer, the blessing, is sure, when God gives the grace of perseverance. To hold fast is to overcome.

VI. Hold fast to heaven. Make it the pole star of life. Never lose sight of it, no, not for an hour. Live daily as seeing the invisible. (L. O. Thompson.)

Holding fast the good

I would apply the text to the religion of Jesus Christ and assert that it is good, and because good that you are to hold it fast. By this is not meant theology, which is very good as science and art, but is not life. Nor do we mean imposing rites, splendid churches which are very beautiful and helpful to the weak, but are not the religion of Jesus Christ. This is--

I. Faith as opposed to infidelity--faith in God our Father, in the Lord Jesus who died for us, in the spiritual nature of man, in the spirit world.

1. This faith harmonizes with our natural instincts which lead us to feel that all that exists is not present to the bodily senses, that somewhere inside the temple of the universe is a holy of holies filled with a glory that the eye of flesh cannot behold, and our desire is to enter that inner temple, and behold what it is. A little bird in a London cellar knows instinctively that there is an outer world, although he has never been there, and he is brave enough in his gloomy place to make some attempts at singing and flying.

2. Infidelity says there is nothing to know--no God, etc. Matter is all. Well, a mole might say there is no sun, no bright worlds; yet these do exist, and if the mole would only come out of his hole he could catch some rays of glory. Let men cease then from burrowing in the earth. They will never find heaven there. Let them follow their deepest instincts and highest aspirations and they will reach the throne of God, and their first act will be to worship Him.

3. In this faith we can rest and find comfort, but the bed of infidelity is too short for my soul to stretch itself upon.

II. Holiness as opposed to sin--all possible virtues and graces, all things true, good, beautiful.

1. The religion of Christ demands holiness, Be ye holy. Be ye perfect. In this demand we see the wonderful possibilities of the soul. It is said that we have descended from very humble ancestors. Then there must be in our nature some marvellous energy, for the development has been truly wonderful. I can turn my face upward, build steamers that can cross the ocean against the storm, etc., more, I can pass within the veil and lay my hand on that of the Father, and say, Thy will be done. The artist takes the rough block of marble and transforms it into a majestic statue, and everybody speaks of his genius. Yes, but something must be said for the marble that has the power of being transformed. Very wonderful is the work of the Divine Artist upon the soul, but something must be said for the soul that is capable of being changed into His image, and it is nothing less than this that our religion demands of it.

2. But it not only demands, it gives the sure promise of attaining holiness--the Church is to be without spot, etc. The process may be sketched. God loved us--sent His Son to die for our sins--gave His Holy Spirit to transform our nature--by and by He will take us to Himself. Is not this religion good? Ask not where it came from. Judge it on its own merits for once.

III. Goodness as opposed to selfishness.

1. Selfishness, as seen in the priest and Levite in the parable of the good Samaritan, passes by suffering, and avoids the inconvenience of sympathy: as seen in Lots choice, it takes the best, indifferent to the claims of others.

2. Christianity says, Bear ye one anothers burdens, etc.--the burdens of ignorance, disappointment, anxiety, fear. Now selfishness is hateful, and self-denial admirable by common consent. We have examples in the three hundred at Thermopylae and in the man who to save anothers life imperils his own. But try and rise from these to the self-denial of Christ, who loved us and gave Himself for us. Imitate that, and you are a Christian.

IV. Hope and joy as opposed to despair.

1. The natural language of despair is, Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die, and that cry arises from materialism. There is no Father to care for us; the world formed itself; man is only organized matter; there is no heaven; we are dissolved when we die as prophets, apostles, reformers, martyrs, great statesmen, teachers, poets, and our own dear ones have been. But philosophers, poets, teachers of all the religions, believed that the dead lived. It is all a dream, says the materialist. Take what pleasure you can, dont sorrow for anything, laugh at distress.

2. The gospel brings joy to the distressed and sorrowful in the present. We look through our tears at the closed grave, but see standing there One saying, I am the Resurrection and the Life. Is not our religion good? Then trust it, and dont be afraid that it is going to be overthrown. It may be captured like the ark, but it will give the Philistines more trouble than they bargain for. (T. Jones, D. D.)

The Bible and free inquiry

Despise not prophesyings, i.e., preaching, the apostle has just said. Now comes the text. Dont deify the preacher. Put what they say to the test (1Jn_4:1; Act_17:11). Congregations should listen with a desire to profit, and then carry all the preacher says to the test of holy Scripture.

I. The end our inquiry should aim at--some real good.

1. There is such a thing as good. Philosophers have told us of a summum bonum, and common experience points in the same direction: There be many that say, Who will show us any good? We have not only intellects that want to be satisfied, but hearts and wills that want to be cheered and guided. We want to be peaceful while we live and when we come to die, and nothing is really good that does not help us to this end (Isa_55:1-3).

2. This is the end our inquiry should aim at. Mere assault on error or ridicule of folly is poor and heartless work. Sometimes it is necessary, but if this is all you attempt you may break every idol and not increase mans happiness by one atom. Paul did something more than this at Athens.

3. Here is a model for the free inquirer. Let your object be to do all the good you can. All your skill as an iconoclast will do nothing to meet the cry, Who will show us, etc.

II. The character the inquiry should assume. Put everything to the proof. The inquiry should be--

1. Careful. This is required in chemistry and astronomy, and the man who does not carefully examine the truths of religion will make the grossest blunders.

2. Comprehensive. You ought to examine the inquirer as well as the object, the instruments he uses, and the faculties he employs. A man once gazed through a telescope at the sun, and immediately turned away in alarm, exclaiming, There is a monster in the sun. It proved, however, only to be an insect in the telescope. So with many who glance now and then at religion. Their instruments of inquiry are not clear, and they ascribe to the shining orb what really belongs to the foul tube. What would you think of a man who had no ear for music criticizing Handels Messiah? Or a man colour blind describing a garden in May? Or a prodigal judging the rules of his fathers house? Do these illustrations apply? I am not saying that every free inquirer into religion is worse than other men, but that he is no better by nature. Ought he not, then, to take this into account? If I have unworthy passions I have a bias against a holy religion.

3. Free from pride, passion, sin, ambition. etc.

III. The welcome which the Bible gives to such inquiry. It welcomes inquiry.

1. Of such a nature. Here is this Book of Truth, not hiding in darkness, but exposing itself. I tell you of--

(1) A God, a great, intelligent Creator. Put it to the test. Is it not more reasonable than that there is no intelligent cause?

(2) A law ordaining perfect love to God and man. Put it to the test. What would the world have been had it kept it? What is it because it has broken it?

(3) A Saviour. Prove Him. Does He not commend Himself to reason and conscience?

(4) Mysteries. Prove this too. Is it not reasonable that the finite can never grasp the infinite?

2. To such an end. It is good we want. This the Bible brings. Its revelations were not given for our amusement, but for our advantage. It gives peace with God through Christ in obedience to the law, peace in our own souls and towards men, and leads to the world of perfect peace. And now it says, Hold it fast! There is something rich and substantial about it. Hold it fast against the power and subtlety of the tempter. (F. Tucker, B. A.)

The right of private judgment in matters of religion

I. Objections that are taken against the exercise of this right. It is said that if this be granted then every individual will have his own religion.

1. Our answer to this is, such would be a consequence not of the exercise of private judgment, but of human depravity. If imperfect men had all the privileges of angels consequences would follow very different from those characterizing the history of angels, but no one would say that they were the necessary effects of the enjoyment of angelic privileges. If, then, instead of assailing the depravity of man for abusing the right of private judgment we assail that right and forbid its exercise, we are mistaking the source of the evil and not taking the proper method to prevent it.

2. Then we may ask how interdicting the right can prevent the evil consequences? Shall we issue a decree and enforce it by penalties? But that will only stop the expression, and will not interfere with the right of private judgment. The slave clad in iron fetters has still his private judgment, and with his mind, which is free, you cannot meddle.

3. But it may be affirmed that to suppress this expression is a good thing, and prevents evil. How so? This supposes an infallible instructor. How do we know that the public judgment of any body of men may not be as pernicious as the private judgment of an individual? Look at the past. Almost every heresy has at one time been protected and taught by public authority, and almost every orthodox sentiment has been put down by the same.

II. Considerations in support of this right.

1. We find from Scripture that the right of private judgment in religious matters is the duty, not merely the privilege, of every individual to whom the Word of God should come.

(1) This Epistle was addressed to the Church, not to any public functionary. Paul, Timothy, and Silas, inspired teachers of the mind of God, say, Prove all things. If any say that the laity must defer to authority, the authority here says exercise your private judgment! Then what is the meaning of the general addresses to the Churches, as such, at the commencement of each Epistle, but that the minds of laymen as well as ministers should be exercised upon them?

(2) When we come to Epistles addressed to individuals such as Timothy and Titus we find nothing investing them with the authority of interpreting against the private judgment of those they taught. Nay, they are commanded in meekness to instruct those that oppose themselves, not to dictate to them on the ground of authority.

(3) Then we have the doctrine that every one of us must give an account of himself to God, which implies the exercise of private judgment. How can we reconcile this with being compelled to follow the dictates of another? Shall we give an account of ourselves to God at the last whilst we are permitted to take no account of ourselves? Shall we carry mental slavery with us all the time we are in our state of probation, and in eternity only stand on our own foundation? Nay; if God tells us that every one of us must give an account then He means that we must prove all things against the day of that account.

2. The arguments derived from the powers and faculties that God has given us is no less conclusive. Why did God give us the power of judging at all? Is it possible that God would give men the exercise of public judgment for the things of time and forbid it in the affairs of eternity?

III. Duties consequent upon this right.

1. Searching the Scriptures. We criminate ourselves deeply if we contend for the right of private judgment and neglect to search those oracles about which alone the faculty can be engaged. What should we think of a judge who insisted on his right to pronounce judgment while ignorant of the matter on which the judgment was to be pronounced.

2. Stimulating others by teaching them the great things of God. If it be our duty to search the Scriptures it is the duty of all. It is incumbent on us, then, not only to practice, but to encourage this exercise.

3. Duly appreciating the falsehood that revelation trammels the mind. On the contrary the text breaks every mental bond. (J. Burnet.)

Innovation and conservatism in matters of religion

This advice is always pertinent; yet there are periods in which it is specially relevant. While humanity on the whole is ever advancing, the stream at one time seems to stand still, and at another rushes on with noisy activity. When Paul wrote all was full of mental activity, religious conflict, political tumult, and the first century repeats itself in the nineteenth. Our age has three characteristics which bear on the interests of religion.

1. Intellect is all alive, more so perhaps than at any other period. This is the result--

(1) Of those general laws by which the social progress of our race is governed.

(2) Of our refined civilization, which by ever becoming more complicated is continually taxing the human mind.

(3) Of the stimulus of advancing education, which begets emulation, and raises continually higher the standard of necessary acquirement. Hence--

2. The age is one of mental freedom. The mind is goaded by internal cravings and external excitements. It goes forth to explore all regions, and will not be stopped by authority or opposition. The right of private judgment is conceded, and is exercised without scruple. Hence--

3. A clamorous war of opinion. The number of sects grows portentously. New opinions are started on almost every subject. All extremes of views on religion are zealously and ably advocated. If we be men and not children we cannot be unconcerned about these controversies, but dont be alarmed, Prove all things, etc. These words involve the doctrines of--

(1) Individual responsibility for religious faith and practice.

(2) Individual duty and right of private judgment.

I. The liberal element in the text.

1. Candid inquiry. The disposition to know what others think is, when moderately possessed, an admirable trait of character. Some ensconce themselves within the limits of their hereditary creed, and listen with anger to opposing opinions deaf to all argument. These intellectual pigmies have in all ages proved a stumbling block to educated men, and assumed a position unwarranted by Christianity as the text shows. The gospel as an innovation, courts the investigation that it has never scrupled to exercise, and aims at inspiring in its disciples the love of truth as truth.

2. Patient examination. Be not like the Athenians, who spent their whole time in hearkening to some new thing; but spend much of it in sifting the new things you hear. Neither novelty nor authority can supply the place of argument.

3. Wise and decisive selection. The text supposes that when all things are proved, some will be accepted, which are to be held fast. Some are ever learning, but never come to the knowledge of the truth, attempting an easy neutrality which speedily turns into treason against Christ. This discrimination between the good and the bad supposes the possession of a touchstone. Primarily mans reason is the touchstone. There are propositions which no man can accept. We can no more believe in the incredible than see the invisible. The Word of God is, of course, the final appeal, but not by superseding reason--only by assisting it. Reason has first to decide on the credentials of Revelation, and then to be consulted as to its contents. Reason, then, following the Word of God is to be the criterion by which we are to prove all things.

II. The conservative element: Hold fast, etc. Which assumes--

1. That truth is attainable. Some deny this. Let Christian men beware of this perilous frame of mind which leads inevitably to selfish misanthropy or unprincipled sensualism. A free thinker is frequently a man who does not think at all, but considers all things as not worth thinking about. Believe what all wise and good men have believed and proved, that there is such a thing as fixed truth, and having found it--

2. Hold it fast, without fickleness or fear. Having made up your mind, after due deliberation, adhere to your decision, and make use of it for further acquisition; not refuse to hear anything more about it, but be not unsettled without fresh and weighty argument. Dont keep going over the old ground. This is the only means of attaining and retaining personal peace, and manliness of Spirit. (T. G. Horton.)

Man in relation to the vast and the specific

I. A vast realm for inquiry: Prove all things. This implies--

1. Freedom of thought. Go into all churches and systems, there is good everywhere: find it out. Confine not your mind to your own narrow creed or church.

2. A test of truth. This test is threefold--

(1) Results: By their fruits shall ye know them.

(2) The Spirit of Christ. Whatever agrees not with His free, righteous and loving Spirit must be rejected.

(3) Conscience: Why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?

II. A specific object to attain: Hold fast. It is the good you want. What is the good? The truth as it is in Jesus, a living, beautiful, soul transporting reality. Get this and then hold it fast. There is a danger of losing it; it is worth holding; it is more precious than worlds, it is the pearl of great price--the heaven of souls. (D. Thomas, D. D.)

Testing the Bible

Let me caution you against putting off making up your mind about this Book. Ever since 1772 there has been great discussion as to who was the author of Juniuss Letters, those letters so full of sarcasm, and vituperation, and power. The whole English nation was stirred up with them. More than a hundred volumes have been written to discuss that question, who was Junius? who wrote Juniuss Letters? Well, it is an interesting question to discuss; but still, after all, it makes but little practical difference to you and to me who Junius was, whether Sir Philip Francis, or Lord Chatham, or Home Tooke, or Horace Walpole, or Henry Grattan, or any one of the forty-four men who were seriously charged with the authorship. But it is an absorbing question, it is a practical question, it is an overwhelming question to you and to me, the authorship of this Holy Bible, whether the Lord God of heaven and earth, or a pack of dupes, scoundrels, and impostors. We cannot afford to adjourn that question a week, or a day, or an hour, any more than a sea captain can afford to say, Well, this is a very dark night; I have really lost my bearings; theres a light out there, I dont know whether its a lighthouse or a false light on the shore. I dont know what it is; but Ill just go to sleep, and in the morning Ill find out. In the morning the vessel might be on the rocks and the beach strewn with the white faces of the dead crew. The time for that sea captain to find out about the lighthouse is before he goes to sleep. Oh, my friends! I want you to understand that in our deliberations about this Bible we are not at calm anchorage, but we are rapidly coming towards the coast, coming with all the furnaces ablaze, coming at the rate of seventy heart throbs a minute, and I must know whether it is going to be harbour or shipwreck. (T. De Witt Talmage.)

A life given to proving all things

I have really no history but a mental history I have seen no one, known none of the celebrities of my own time intimately or at all, and have only an inaccurate memory of what I hear. All my energy was directed upon one end--to improve myself to form my own mind, to sound things thoroughly, to free myself from the bondage of unreason and the traditional prejudices which when I began first to think constituted the whole of my intellectual fabric. (Mark Pattison, B. D.)

Proving the power of Gods grace

It is related that Bishop Kavanagh was one day walking when he met a prominent physician, who offered him a seat in his carriage. The physician was an infidel, and the conversation turned upon religion. I am surprised, said the doctor, that such an intelligent man as you should believe such an old fable as that. The bishop said, Doctor, suppose years ago some one had recommended to you a prescription for pulmonary consumption, and you had procured the prescription and taken it according to order, and had been cured of that terrible disease, what would you say of the man who would not try your prescription? I should say he was a fool. Twenty-five years ago, said Kavanagh, I tried the power of Gods grace. It made a different man of me. All these years I have preached salvation, and wherever accepted have never known it to fail.

Faith and reason

Faith and reason are, as it were, two keys which God has given us with which to unlock all spiritual mysteries. It is as if I had a drawer in which were stored away my valuable papers. The cabinet maker gives me two keys to my drawer, telling me that both keys will generally unlock the drawer, but always, if one will not, the other will--that therefore I must keep them securely, and keep them always tied together. But I untie and separate them, and, for safe keeping, place one key carefully away in the drawer itself and lock it up with the other key. With this other key I lock and unlock the drawer at pleasure. But the time comes at length when the key I have will not unlock the drawer, and now I need the other; but I have locked it up and cannot get it. Just so faith and reason are two keys that God, our Maker, has given us with which to unlock all spiritual mysteries. Generally, either will unlock and explain all difficulties in Revelation and Christian experience; but always, if the one fails, the other will unlock the mystery. But here is a man that goes and locks his faith up in his reason; and presently he encounters a spiritual truth which his reason will not explain or unlock--it transcends human reason. You tell him, for example, that he must believe in the Trinity, in regeneration, in the resurrection of the body. But, says he, I cannot--they are unreasonable. And why can he not believe these spiritual truths? Simply because he has gone and locked his faith up in his reason, and will not accept any truth which he cannot comprehend and which his reason will not fully explain of itself without the aid of faith. The rationalist is he who locks his faith up in his reason. Now it may be, and is, just as bad to lock your reason up in your faith. There, for instance, is the poor deluded Romanist, who believes implicitly anything that his Church teaches, whether reasonable or unreasonable. You remonstrate with him for believing in transubstantiation, in the virtue of relics, in the absurd traditions of his Church. You tell him these things are unreasonable. So they may be, he replies, but I believe them nevertheless, for the Church teaches them, and I believe whatever the Church teaches. And why does he believe such absurdities? Simply because he has locked his reason up in his faith and given the Pope the key--and whatever the Pope or the Church or his bishop teaches he believes implicitly, whether it be reasonable or unreasonable. It is impossible for one to be a true Roman Catholic without locking his reason up in his faith. But God demands that we shall use both our faith and our reason, and keep them both joined together. Doing this we shall be preserved from rationalism on the one hand, and from credulity and superstition on the other. Now God does not demand that we shall believe in anything that contradicts our reason; but He does demand that we shall believe in truths that transcend human reason. If the Bible should teach that black is white, that right is wrong, that a thing can be and not be at the same time, I would not and could not believe it, because it would plainly contradict my reason. But when it teaches that there is a God, a Trinity, a soul in this body, a heaven prepared for it, I may not and do not fully comprehend these spiritual truths; but I do not decline to believe them on that ground; for while they do transcend my reason, they do not contradict it. The Roman Catholic believes many truths that contradict human reason; the rationalist will believe no truth which transcends human reason; the true intelligent Christian believes nothing that will contradict, but many things that transcend, human reason. The first locks his reason up in his faith; the second locks his faith up in his reason; the third uses both his faith and his reason and keeps them ever joined together. (Prof. Tillett.)

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

1Th 5:21. Πάντα[31]) all things, viz. spiritual things, which, without any carelessness and undue curiosity, you may be liable to consider as in any way belonging to you, and as not exceeding your ability.

[31] The Germ. Vers., following the decision of the 2d Ed., subjoins the word δὲ.—E. B.

Lachm. adds δὲ, with BD(Δ)Gfg Vulg, and later Syr. But Tisch. omits it, with A, Orig. 4, 289c (3, 825c).—ED.

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

1Th_5:21. The apostle therefore adds to the prescription, Prove all things, whether they have their origin from God or not, and to retain the good.

πάντα δέ] but all things, namely, what is brought forward in inspired discourse.

δοκιμάζετε] Paul expresses the same requirement of testing in 1Co_14:29, and according to 1Co_12:10 there was a peculiar gift of testing spirits, the διάκρισις πνευμάτων. That, moreover, this testing can only proceed from those who are themselves illuminated by the Holy Spirit was evident to the apostle. The fundamental principle of rationalism, that the reason as such is the judge of revelation, is not contained in these words.

τὸ καλόν] the good, namely, that is found in the πάντα. Hofmann arbitrarily thinks that the good generally is meant, which the Thessalonians as Christians already have, and do not now merely seek or expect.

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.

21. δε in the first clause is omitted by א*A and many minn., cop syrpesh, Or Bas Chr Tert Ambrst, probably through confusion with the following syllable in the continuous uncial script: πανταδεδοκιμαζετε; cf. note on disputed δε in 1Th 5:3. Intrinsic probability speaks for the antithetic conjunction: the sense seems to be, “Do not despise … but test …” (see Expository Note). K, followed by many minn. and several Fathers, after dropping the δε alters δοκιμαζετε to δοκιμαζοντες—a change due, perhaps, to loose quotation; Dam gives δοκιμασαντες. The participle employed in Eph 5:10 may have furthered this corruption.

21. πάντα [δὲ] δοκιμάζετε, τὸ καλὸν κατέχετε: [but] everything put to proof; the good hold fast,—pres. imperative of settled rule and practice. Mark off this verse, again, from the foregoing by a colon or semi-colon: while “prophesyings” are not to be “despised,” neither are they to be accepted wholesale and because of their pretensions. The chaff must be sifted out from the wheat. Prophecy is brought under a universal Christian rule laid down in πάντα δοκιμάζετε, which vindicates “private judgement” in religion, 1Th 5:19-20 having warned us beforehand against its sceptical or prejudiced use. For the purpose of discriminating true and false inspiration, the faculty of διάκρισις πνευμάτων (1Co 12:10) had been given by “the one and self-same Spirit,” side by side with προφητεία. In 1Co 12:3 St Paul supplies a criterion for exercising this διάκρισις or δοκιμασία; 1Co 14:29 exhibits this very faculty in exercise,—προφῆται δύο ἢ τρεῖς λαλείτωσαν, καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι διακρινέτωσαν. Similarly St John bids his readers μὴ παντὶ πνεύματι πιστεύειν ἀλλὰ δοκιμάζειν τὰ πνεύματα in his First Epistle, 1Th 4:1, furnishing his test of “the spirits” in the context. Claims to inspiration, supernatural phenomena, are therefore chiefly, though not exclusively, aimed at in πάντα δοκιμάζετε. For the meaning of δοκιμάζειν, see note on 1Th 2:4. For the reading πάντα δέ—on the whole the more likely—see Textual Note.

Cyril of Alexandria quotes this passage several times, combining with it the famous apophthegm, γίνεσθε δόκιμοι τραπεζῖται, “Be ye approved money-changers” (testers of current coin), credited by other Fathers to our Lord, which is now generally ascribed to Him as a traditional ἄγραφον. Possibly, this saying of Jesus was in the writers’ mind; if so, the allusion helps to elucidate the next clause (see note following). See Lightfoot’s note ad loc.

Τὸ καλόν signifies what is good or fine in quality, and is so contrasted with τὸ κακόν, the base, in Rom 7:21; Heb 5:14 (see also 2Co 13:7; Gal 6:9), while ἀγαθός (see note on 1Th 5:15) is opposed to πονηρός, and to φαῦλος besides. For κατέχω in its other (adverse) sense, see 2Th 2:6; in this sense, 1Co 11:2; 1Co 15:2.

1Th 5:22 completes negatively the exhortation of 1Th 5:21: testing results in holding fast or abstaining from (κατέχειν or ἀπέχεσθαι ἀπό) the good or evil offered for choice. From the antithesis thus presented, in view of the application of δοκιμάζειν to the testing of coin (see note to 1Th 2:4, and foregoing note on 1Th 5:21), it has been argued that ἀπὸ παντὸς εἴδους πονηροῦ signifies “from all bad coinage,” as though εἶδος were synonymous with νόμισμα (cf. specie, from Latin species),—prevalent doctrines or moral practices being thus represented, it is supposed, under the figure of currency. But lexical evidence is wanting for such a use of εἶδος. This word denotes (a) visible form, appearance (as in Luk 3:22; Luk 9:29, &c.); or (b) sight, appearance in the abstract, as contrasted with faith (2Co 5:7); or (c) show, appearance, in contrast with reality (like εἴδωλον, 1Th 1:9, e.g.)—the rendering of the A.V., which, beside its lack of parallels, gives a sense intrinsically weak, as it would recommend the studying of appearances (see, against this, Mat 23:5); (d) kind, sort, the most obvious rendering—a sense perfectly familiar in the κοινή though hap. leg. in Biblical Greek, and derived originally from philosophical usage. Our choice lies between (a) and (d). The former appears to be intended in the ab omni specie mala of the Vulgate, as though the Apostles meant: “Keep away from every evil sight,” or “show,” from all that is evil in the aspect of things about you, from the fleeting shows of the world. A better turn is given to the species mala by understanding it to mean that which appears evil in the eyes of others and would cause needless offence (cf. 1Co 8:13; 1Co 10:32 f.). The common rendering (as in R.V.), on which we must fall back, failing (a)—from every kind of evil—is open to the objection that πονηροῦ, thus rendered as a neuter (abstract) substantive, requires the article (like τὸ καλόν; cf. Rom 12:9). But this is not an invariable rule; “in Plato the anarthrous neuter singular for abstract ideas frequently occurs” (Kühner’s Grammatik2, ii. § 462 l): see e.g. εἶδος ἀγαθοῦ in Plato Repub. 357 c. Thus πονηρόν stands for “evil” collectively, evil quâ evil: cf. πρὸς διάκρισιν καλοῦ τε καὶ κακοῦ in Heb 5:14; also, for the use of εἶδος, Josephus Ant. vii. 4. 2, x. 3. 1, εἶδος μέλους, πονηρίας.

Τὸ καλόν is opposed by πονηρόν, as κακόν in 1Th 5:15 by τὸ ἀγαθόν. The phrasing was perhaps suggested by Job 1:1; Job 1:8; Job 2:10,—ἀπεχόμενος ἀπὸ παντὸς πονηροῦ (κακοῦ) πράγματος; widening the prohibition to include the manifold πονηρά enticing their readers, the Apostles insert εἴδους into their sentence. For ἀπέχομαι ἀπό, see note on 1Th 4:3,—a passage perhaps intentionally recalled in this dehortation; certainly πορνεία was one εἶδος πονηροῦ to be shunned at Thessalonica. The notion of πονηρός is that of “irredeemable badness,” “intrinsic absolute badness” (see F.H. Chase: Essay on The Lord’s Prayer in the Early Church, pp. 89 ff.); while κακός (1Th 5:15) signifies base, malicious, cowardly (bad in quality and disposition).

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.

Some of the oldest manuscripts insert "But." You ought indeed not to "quench" the manifestations of "the Spirit," nor "despise prophesyings"; "but," at the same time, do not take "all" as genuine which professes to be so; "prove (test) all" such manifestations. The means of testing them existed in the Church, in those who had the "discerning of spirits" (Co1 12:10; Co1 14:29; Jo1 4:1). Another sure test, which we also have, is, to try the professed revelation whether it accords with Scripture, as the noble Bereans did (Isa 8:20; Act 17:11; Gal 1:8-9). This precept negatives the Romish priest's assumption of infallibly laying down the law, without the laity having the right, in the exercise of private judgment, to test it by Scripture. LOCKE says, Those who are for laying aside reason in matters of revelation, resemble one who would put out his eyes in order to use a telescope.

hold fast that which is good--Join this clause with the next clause (Th1 5:22), not merely with the sentence preceding. As the result of your "proving all things," and especially all prophesyings, "hold fast (Luk 8:15; Co1 11:2; Heb 2:1) the good, and hold yourselves aloof from every appearance of evil" ("every evil species" [BENGEL and WAHL]). Do not accept even a professedly spirit-inspired communication, if it be at variance with the truth taught you (Th2 2:2).

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 21. Prove all things] Whatever ye hear in these prophesyings or preachings, examine by the words of Christ, and by the doctrines which, from time to time, we have delivered unto you in our preaching and writings. Try the spirits-the different teachers, by the word of God.

Hold fast that which is good.] Whatever in these prophesyings has a tendency to increase your faith, love, holiness, and usefulness, that receive and hold fast. There were prophets or teachers even at that time who professed to be of God, and yet were not.

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

21 Prove all things. As rash men and deceiving spirits frequently pass off their trifles under the name of prophecy, prophecy might by this means be rendered suspicious or even odious, just as many in the present day feel almost disgusted with the very name of preaching, as there are so many foolish and ignorant persons that from the pulpit blab out their worthless contrivances, while there are others, also, that are wicked and sacrilegious persons, who babble forth execrable blasphemies. As, therefore, through the fault of such persons it might be, that prophecy was regarded with disdain, nay more, was scarcely allowed to hold a place, Paul exhorts the Thessalonians to prove all things, meaning, that although all do not speak precisely according to set rule, we must, nevertheless, form a judgment, before any doctrine is condemned or rejected.

As to this, there is a twofold error that is wont to be fallen into, for there are some who, from having either been deceived by a false pretext of the name of God, or from their knowing that many are commonly deceived in this way, reject every kind of doctrine indiscriminately, while there are others that by a foolish credulity embrace, without distinction, everything that is presented to them in the name of God. Both of these ways are faulty, for the former class, saturated with a presumptuous prejudice of that nature, close up the way against their making progress, while the other class rashly expose themselves to all winds of errors. (Ephesians 4:14.) Paul admonishes the Thessalonians to keep the middle path between these two extremes, while he prohibits them from condemning anything without first examining it; and, on the other hand, he admonishes them to exercise judgment, before receiving, what may be brought forward, as undoubted truth. And unquestionably, this respect, at least, ought to be shewn to the name of God — that we do not despise prophecy, which is declared to have proceeded from him. As, however, examination or discrimination ought to precede rejection, so it must, also, precede the reception of true and sound doctrine. For it does not become the pious to shew such lightness, as indiscriminately to lay hold of what is false equally with what is true. From this we infer, that they have the spirit of judgment conferred upon them by God, that they may discriminate, so as not to be imposed upon by the impostures of men. For if they were not endowed with discrimination, it were in vain that Paul said — Prove: hold fast that which is good. If, however, we feel that we are left destitute of the power of proving aright; it must be sought by us from the same Spirit, who speaks by his prophets. But the Lord declares in this place by the mouth of Paul, that the course of doctrine ought not, by any faults of mankind, or by any rashness, or ignorance, or, in fine, by any abuse, to be hindered from being always in a vigorous state in the Church. For as the abolition of prophecy is the ruin of the Church, let us allow heaven and earth to be commingled, rather than that prophecy should cease.

Paul, however, may seem here to give too great liberty in teaching, when he would have all things proved; for things must be heard by us, that they may be proved, and by this means a door would be opened to impostors for disseminating their falsehoods. I answer, that in this instance he does not by any means require that an audience should be given to false teachers, whose mouth he elsewhere teaches (Titus 1:11) must be stopped, and whom he so rigidly shuts out, and does not by any means set aside the arrangement, which he elsewhere recommends so highly (1 Timothy 3:2) in the election of teachers. As, however, so great diligence can never be exercised as that there should not sometimes be persons prophesying, who are not so well instructed as they ought to be, and that sometimes good and pious teachers fail to hit the mark, he requires such moderation on the part of believers, as, nevertheless, not to refuse to hear. For nothing is more dangerous, than that moroseness, by which every kind of doctrine is rendered disgusting to us, while we do not allow ourselves to prove what is right.

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.

(21) Prove all things.—The right reading inserts a “but”:—“I bid you pay all reverence to the cheering utterances of your prophets (comp. Act_15:32); but take care! put everything to the test.” That the warning was needed, or would be needed soon, is shown by 2Th_2:2. It is couched in general terms (all things), but, of course, has special reference to all things purporting to be manifestations of the Spirit. And how were these revelations to be tested? If they were not in accordance (1) with the original tradition (2Th_2:2), (2) with the supernatural inspirations of the other prophets who sat as judges (1Co_14:29), (3) with enlightened common sense (1Jn_4:1), they could not be “good.” The word “good” here is not vague and general good in the moral sense—not the same Greek word as in 1Th_5:15—but “good” in the sense of “genuine,” “answering to the proper conception of what it purports to be.” The same word is used in the same sense in Joh_10:11.

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

21. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good] Some of the best ancient authorities read, But prove all things. In any case, this exhortation, while capable of the widest application, arises out of the subject of the last. “Instead of accepting or rejecting wholesale what is addressed to you as prophecy, use your judgement; learn to discriminate; sift the wheat from the chaff.” So needful was it to distinguish between true and false revelations, that a special endowment was bestowed on some persons for this end—the “discernment of spirits” (1Co_12:10). And St Paul gives a criterion for the purpose in 1Co_12:3. Comp. 1Jn_4:1-3, “Beloved, believe not every spirit; but try the spirits, whether they are of God.”

“The good” represents a different word from that of 1Th_5:15 (see note); it signifies what is good or fine in quality, as in 2Th_3:13.

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.

And the very God of peace,.... Or "the God of peace himself". The apostle follows his exhortations with prayer to God, knowing the weakness and impotency of the saints to receive them, and act according to them, and his own insufficiency to impress their minds with them; and that unless the Lord opened their ears to discipline, and sealed instruction to them, they would be useless and in vain: wherefore he applies to the throne of grace, and addresses God as "the God of peace"; so called, because of the concern he has in peace and reconciliation made by the blood of Christ, and because he is the giver of peace of conscience, and the author of peace, concord, and unity among the saints, and of all happiness and prosperity, both in this world, and in that which is to come; See Gill on Rom 15:33. And the apostle might choose to address God under this character, partly to encourage boldness, freedom, and intrepidity at the throne of grace, and partly to raise hope, expectation, and faith of having his requests answered, since God is not an angry God, nor is fury in him, but the God of peace: and the petitions he puts up for the Thessalonians are as follow: and first, that God would

sanctify you wholly; or "all of you", as the Arabic version; or "all of you perfectly", as the Syriac version. These persons were sanctified by the Spirit of God, but not perfectly; the Gospel was come to them in power, and had wrought effectually in them, and they were turned from idols to serve the living God, and had true faith, hope, and love, implanted in them, and which they were enabled to exercise in a very comfortable and commendable manner; but yet this work of grace and sanctification begun in them was far from being perfect, nor is it in the best of saints. There is something lacking in the faith of the greatest believer, love often waxes cold, and hope is not lively at all times, and knowledge is but in part; sin dwells in all; the saints are poor and needy, their wants continually return upon them, and they need daily supplies; the most holy and knowing among them disclaim perfection in themselves, though desirous of it. Their sanctification in Christ is perfect, but not in themselves; there is indeed a perfection of parts in internal sanctification, every grace is implanted, there is not one wanting; the new creature, or new man, has all its parts, though these are not come to their full growth; there is not a perfection of degrees, and this is what the apostle prays for; for sanctification is a progressive, gradual work, it is like seed cast into the earth, which springs up, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear, and is as light, which shines more and more to the perfect day. Sanctified persons are first as newborn babes, and then they grow up to be young men, and at last become fathers in Christ; and this work being begun, is carried on, and will be performed, fulfilled, and made perfect: and it is God's work to do it; he begins, and he carries it on, and he will finish it; and therefore the apostle prays to him to do it; this is his first petition: the second follows,

and I pray God your whole spirit, soul and body, be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. A like division of man is made by the Jews: says one of their writers (y).

"a man cannot know God, unless he knows , "his soul, his breath, or his spirit, and his body".''

Says (z) R. Isaac,

"worthy are the righteous in this world, and in the world to come, for lo, they are all holy; their body is holy, their soul is holy, their spirit, and their breath is holy''

See Gill on Heb 4:12. Some by "spirit" understand the graces and gifts of the Spirit in a regenerate man; and by "the soul", the soul as regenerated, and as it is the seat and subject of these graces; and by the body, the habitation of the soul, which is influenced by the grace that is last; and this is a sense not to be despised. Others by "the spirit" understand the rational and immortal soul of man, often called a spirit, as in Ecc 12:7 and by the soul, the animal and sensitive soul, which man has in common with brutes; see Ecc 3:21 and by the "body", the outward frame of flesh and blood, and bones; but rather "spirit" and "soul" design the same immaterial, immortal, and rational soul of man, considered in its different powers and faculties. The "spirit" may intend the understanding, Job 32:8 which is the principal, leading, and governing faculty of the soul; and which being enlightened by the Spirit of God, a man knows himself, Christ Jesus, and the things of the Spirit, the truths of the Gospel, and receives and values them. The "soul" may include the will and affections, which are influenced by the understanding; and in a regenerate man the will is brought to a resignation to the will of God, and the affections are set upon divine things, and the body is the instrument of performing religious and spiritual exercises: and these the apostle prays may be

preserved blameless; not that he thought they could be kept from sinning entirely in thought, word, or deed; but that they might be preserved in purity and chastity from the gross enormities of life, and be kept from a total and final falling away, the work of grace be at last completed on the soul and spirit, and the body be raised in incorruption, and glory; and both at the coming of Christ be presented faultless, and without blame, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, first to himself, and then to his Father.

(y) Aben Ezra in Exod. xxxi. 18. (z) Zohar in Lev. fol. 29. 2.

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

21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

Ver. 21. Prove all things] Take nothing that you hear upon trust (Νηφε και μεμνησο απιστειν, Epicharm.), but bring all to the test, Isa 8:20. To the law, i.e. the Old Testament, and to the testimony, i.e. the New, which is by St John often called the testimony. Mercer observes that of the Hebrew word ozen for an ear, cometh Moznaiim for a pair of balances; to note that we must weigh what we hear; our two ears must be as balances for that purpose.

Hold fast that which is good] Orthodox, current, agreeable to, and approvable by, the Scriptures, especially that which God hath made good and sweet to your own souls. Hold fast that thou hast, &c. Hast thou found honey? eat it, Pro 25:16. Go on to heaven eating of it, as Samson did of his honeycomb.

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.

Prove all things - Subject everything submitted to you to be believed to the proper test. The word here used (δοκιμάζετε dokimazete), is one that is properly applicable to metals, referring to the art of the assayer, by which the true nature and value of the metal is tested; see notes, 1Co 3:13. This trial was usually made by fire. The meaning here is, that they were carefully to examine everything proposed for their belief. They were not to receive it on trust; to take it on assertion; to believe it because it was urged with vehemence, zeal, or plausibility. In the various opinions and doctrines which were submitted to them for adoption, they were to apply the appropriate tests from reason and the word of God, and what they found to be true they were to embrace; what was false they were to reject. Christianity does not require people to disregard their reason, or to be credulous. It does not expect them to believe anything because others say it is so. It does not make it a duty to receive as undoubted truth all that synods and councils have decreed; or all that is advanced by the ministers of religion. It is, more than any other form of religion, the friend of free inquiry, and would lead people everywhere to understand the reason of the opinions which they entertain; compare Act 17:11-12; 1Pe 3:15.

Hold fast that which is good - Which is in accordance with reason and the word of God; which is adapted to promote the salvation of the soul and the welfare of society. This is just as much a duty as it is to “prove all things.” A man who has applied the proper tests, and has found out what is truth, is bound to embrace it and to hold it fast. He is not at liberty to throw it away, as if it were valueless; or to treat truth and falsehood alike. It is a duty which he owes to himself and to God to adhere to it firmly, and to suffer the loss of all things rather than to abandon it. There are few more important rules in the New Testament than the one in this passage. It shows what is the true nature of Christianity, and it is a rule whose practical value cannot but be felt constantly in our lives. Other religions require their votaries to receive everything upon trust; Christianity asks us to examine everything.

Error, superstition, bigotry, and fanaticism attempt to repress free discussion, by saying that there are certain things which are too sacred in their nature, or which have been too long held, or which are sanctioned by too many great and holy names, to permit their being subjected to the scrutiny of common eyes, or to be handled by common hands. In opposition to all this, Christianity requires us to examine everything - no matter by whom held; by what councils ordained; by what venerableness of antiquity sustained; or by what sacredness it may be invested. We are to receive no opinion until we are convinced that it is true; we are to be subjected to no pains or penalties for not believing what we do not perceive to be true; we are to be prohibited from examining no opinion which our fellow-men regard as true, and which they seek to make others believe. No popular current in favor of any doctrine; no influence which name and rank and learning can give it, is to commend it to us as certainly worthy of our belief. By whomsoever held, we are to examine it freely before we embrace it; but when we are convinced that it is true, it is to be held, no matter what current of popular opinion or prejudice maybe against it; no matter what ridicule may be poured upon it; and no matter though the belief of it may require us to die a martyr’s death.

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

Prove all things. That is, examine prophecies whether they be true, and the doctrine which you hear from new preachers, and refrain yourselves not only from evil, but from every thing that hat the appearance of evil, and which may disedify and scandalize others. (Witham) --- Hold that which his good. This we can best learn from the doctrine of the apostles, and the spirit of the Catholic Church. Men can deceive and be deceived, but the Spirit of God, speaking to us by his Church, can neither deceive us nor be deceived.

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).

Prove all things; this duty relates to the former; as they were to attend upon prophesyings, so to exercise a discerning judgment about what was prophesied; for all things is not to be taken here universally, but for doctrines and opinions in religion which were delivered by the prophets. The same which the apostle John requires:

Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, & c.; δοκιμαζετε and it is the same word there which in this text we read prove; alluding to gold or other metals, which are tried in the fire, or by a touchstone, as some think. And though there was a peculiar gift of discerning of spirits, 1Co 12:10, yet it is the duty of every Christian to try men’s spirits and doctrines whether from God or no. The apostle speaks here to the saints in general, and so doth the apostle John, 1Jo 4:1. And men’s doctrines are to be judged by the Scriptures as the standard of truth, as the Bereans were commended for searching the Scrictures about the apostle’s doctrine, Act 17:11; and the apostle prays for the Philippians, that they might discern things that differ, Phi 1:10; and if they had not yet attained it as they ought, yet he prays that they might and not be always babes, but such as the apostle speaks of, who have their senses exercised in the discerning of good and evil, Heb 5:13,14; the people are to look upon them as their guides and leaders, as they they are called, Heb 13:7,17, and such as are to go before them in the searching and dispensing of truth; yet, because the best are but infallible, they ought to try their doctrine by the rule of truth. Which is that judgment of discretion which protestants allow to the people in their disputes with the papists against their doctrine of infallibility and implicit faith, which grounds the people’s faith upon the authority of men, which ought to rest upon the authority of God. As we ought not easily to reject the authority and faith of the church, so not to believe with a blind faith, or obey with a blind obedience.

Holdfast to that which is good: the good here meant is truth, which is an intellectual good; the contrary to which is error, which is a mental evil. When we have proved men’s doctrines and opinions, what we find agreeable to the Scriptures of truth we ought to hold fast. And though all truth hath a goodness in it, yet especially Divine truth, and the doctrine of the gospel, which the apostle calls, that good thing committed to Timothy, 2Ti 1:14. It is good with respect to the soul, and so better than any bodily good; and good that refers to eternity, and so better than any temporal good. Now this good we are to hold fast; to hold it fast against adversaries and all opposition, as some understand the word; to hold it as with both hands, against seducing doctrine, Satan’s temptations, and the world’s persecution. The same word is used concerning the good ground that held fast the seed of the word, Luk 8:15. So 1Co 11:2, we are to retain the truth, but not detain it, as the heathen are said to do, Rom 1:18, where we find also the same word as in the text. It is a duty much pressed by the apostles in their Epistles to the saints and churches that had received the gospel, that they would hold it fast, 2Ti 1:13; Tit 1:9; Heb 4:14; Rev 2:13,25; 3:3. And there is holding fast the truth as well in practice as opinion, and which may be the ground of the name given to such as opposed the errors of antichrist before the word protestant was known, called fast-men.

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

21. Prove—That is, probe, try, test, put to the test. The word is specially used of testing counterfeit coin by ringing, weighing, fire, or touchstone. And so a precept was traditionally ascribed to our Lord, “Be ye skilful testers of coin.”

All—Not things, but charisms, or professed supernatural gifts of the Spirit, as well as the doctrines they propound. And this is equivalent to 1Jn_4:1 : “Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God.” This duty is enjoined upon private Christians, and so, is an assertion of the right of private judgment. It admits of no pope, to impose a spirit or a doctrine upon us without any of our own trying or testing. The tests for a doctrine are pre-eminently Scripture, the consent and harmony of holy men, our own conscience, our own sense of decency and propriety, and our sober common sense. It is possible that even these Thessalonians had one or two written gospels. They had the counsel of those apostles whose spirit they had tried and found not wanting. They were, doubtless, much endowed with the gift of discerning spirits. As, then, they had the tests in their hands, they must not despise or quench indiscriminately, but test, criticise calmly, select wisely, and form a permanent conclusion.

Hold fast… good—When the good (spirit or doctrine) was critically and fairly found, they should grasp and hold it fast as a divine acquisition. It is more precious than rubies. It is a coin of the sanctuary that will open the gates of heaven.

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

Prove all things. This exhortation is closely connected with the preceding. "Prove all things," namely, whatever was advanced by the prophets in their inspired discourses. (comp. 1Jn_4:1, "Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God "Prove" here means to test, as metals are tested in the fire; and hence the word frequently denotes the favorable result of the testing, or approval. There was a special gift of discerning spirits in the primitive Church. (1Co_12:10 1Co_14:29) But although the words primarily refer to the testing of prophetic utterances, yet they have a general application. We should not rest our faith on the authority of others. The right of private judgment is the characteristic and privilege of Protestantism. We ought thoroughly to examine all doctrines by the test of Scripture, and then, discerning their reasons, we shall be able to take a firmer hold of them. At the same time, the fundamental principle of rationalism, that reason as such is the judge of the doctrines of revelation, is not contained in these words, and cannot be inferred from them. Hold fast; retain. That which is good ; the good, the beautiful, the honorable; a different word from that rendered "good" in ver. 15. We are to retain whatever is good in those "all things" which we are to prove or test, namely, in the prophesyings.

Vers. 21, 22.

Use of reason in religion.

1. The office of reason in religion. Reason is of use to examine the evidences of revelation, to ascertain the contents of revelation, and to judge that there is no contradiction to reason and morality in those doctrines which we suppose are deducible from Scripture.

2. The limitation of reason in religion. Distinction between what is above reason and what is contrary to reason. When once we prove that Scripture is the Word of God, and that such and such doctrines are contained in it, then it is the province of reason to submit to faith, because the truth of these doctrines rests on their being part of a Divine revelation; the doctrines of revelation are above, but they can never be proved to be contrary to, reason. Private judgment.

This verse should be read in connection with the preceding passage. There we find a caution against quenching the Spirit and despising prophesyings by a narrow, cold, or prejudiced refusal to listen to the utterances of our fellow-Christians. Here we have a warning in the other direction, that we may guard against accepting every saying which professes to be the outcome of spiritual influences. We must try the spirits and accept each only as its claim is proven. But the universal character of the verse before us gives it a more general application to all teaching.

I ST. PAUL RECOGNIZES THE RIGHT AND DUTY OF PRIVATE JUDGMENT. This fundamental principle of Protestantism is Pauline. The apostle is not writing to doctors of divinity or authorized teachers; he is addressing the whole Church. (see 1Th_1:1) To the general congregation of Christians he says, "Prove all things." The advice was in accordance with his own practice. He speaks of himself and his colleagues the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man"sconscience in the sight of God". (2Co_4:2) Contrast the Koran with the New Testament. Mohammed dogmatizes; St. Paul reasons. We cannot shelter ourselves in error under the aegis of high authority. St. Paul abandoned with contempt the errors which he cultivated while he sat at the feet of Gamaliel. It is our duty as well as our right to have independent personal convictions.

II THE REQUIREMENT OF INQUIRY IS UNIVERSAL. "All things." We must take nothing for granted. Some of the surest convictions of one age are absolutely repudiated by another age. This statement becomes softened in practice by the ease and unconsciousness with which many things may be proved to us. We have not to carry on elaborate, original inquiries to establish every point of our belief. There are beliefs which are best proved without any such inquiry. But all must be proved. The reason is twofold.

1. Many specious delusions threaten to deceive us. There have been false prophets flattering the people with smooth words since the days of Jeremiah"s opponents. Truth and error are mixed. Forged coins closely resemble good sovereigns. Care must be taken to sift the chaff from the wheat.

2. Truth is most valuable to us when we have tested and proved it for ourselves. Then we understand it most clearly, believe it most heartily, and value it most highly. The few islands of truth for which a man has labored and fought through seas of difficulty are more precious to him than vast continents of truth which he inherits at second hand.

III THE METHOD OF INQUIRY MUST BE EXPERIMENTAL. This is implied by the word "prove," which means test, and is used of the assaying of precious metals. High it priori argument is a dangerous guide. The more tedious and less pretentious methods of observation and experiment, are safer. To this method Christ referred when, speaking of the various teachers who should arise, he said, "By their fruits ye shall know them." This does not mean that we are to taste the fruits, i.e. to adopt every system in order to discover its merits. We can observe its working in others. Therefore the first requisite in regard to any new teaching is patience. Give it time to reveal itself by its fruits, and do not pass a hasty judgment upon it. If you do not wait for the harvest, you may eel out wheat with tares. Next, careful inquiry is to be made; ideas and their fruits are to be tested. But two cautions should he borne in mind.

1. The experience and testimony of other people is evidence. We may not accept what any say simply on the authority of their official position. We who do not believe in the Pope of Rome would be very foolish if we adopted a little private pope of our own creation. But the authority of knowledge, experience, and ability is weight in evidence.

2. We must not assume that nothing is true but what we can prove. To do this is to dethrone the pope only to set up our own infallibility.

IV THE END OF INQUIRY IS TO DISCOVER AND TO HOLD TO WHAT IS GOOD. It is not reasonable, nor happy, nor healthy to live in a permanent condition of unsettled conviction. It is useless to inquire at all if our inquiry is not to lead us to some decisive issue. When we have arrived at a truth, we need not repeat the process of seeking for it over and over again. Having proved certain things to be good, we may rest satisfied with the result always preserving an open mind for new light, for it is a great mistake to confound an open mind with an empty mind.

1. The result of inquiry should be to discover what is good. The good is more important than the beautiful, the pleasant, the convenient, the striking, and the novel.

2. When the good is discovered it should be held firmly. Then the seeker after light is to become the guardian and champion of truth. 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.

Meantime, prove all things - Which any preacher recommends. (He speaks of practice, not of doctrines.) Try every advice by the touchstone of scripture, and hold fast that which is good - Zealously, resolutely, diligently practice it, in spite of all opposition.

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

Observe here, 1. The persons to whom this advice is given: to the church of the Thessalonians, not to the ministers, but to the people, Know them that labour among you, &c. 1Th 5:12

Observe, 2. The advice itself, Prove all things; examine, try, and approve them, with a judgment of private discretion, not of public decision.

Learn, 1. That it is the duty of all Christians to examine the grounds of their faith and religion, and not to take them upon trust; otherwise their embracing the best religion in the world is rather the result of chance than of judgment and choice.

Learn, 2. That although all doctrines and opinions must be tried: yet, only that which is good, must be retained.

Learn, 3. That nothing is to be held fast, but what is first tried: Suppose we hold that which is good, yet if we have not tried and proved it to be good, it is no better to us than that which is evil; to approve before trial is not good, though the thing approved be never so good.

Inference, That this is a strong argument for the perspicuity and sufficiency of the holy scriptures, and against the necessity of a living Judge; for he that must try all things, must also try the doctrine of this living Judge; and therefore, till he has made this trial, must not admit his doctrine as an article of Christian faith; for these words plainly teach, that what we hold fast must be first tried; Try all things, and hold fast that which is good.

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

prove all things; hold fast that which is good [Sift the bad from the good ( 1Jo_4:1-13 ), and cherish the good. To this corresponds the "unwritten saying" attributed to Jesus, "Show yourselves approved money-changers;" i. e., distinguish between the true coin and the counterfeit. Surely such advice has always been pertinent, when false teaching of every kind abounds];

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.

21. Prove all things. What was spoken they must put to the test, and all that stood the test, they must hold fast to. There were those who could “discern spirits” (1 Cor. 12:10). There were also rules for testing (1 John 4:1–8).

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.

21.] πάντα δὲ δοκιμάζετε refers back to the foregoing: but try all (such χαρίσματα): see 1Co 12:10; 1Co 14:29; 1Jn 4:1.

τὸ καλὸν κατέχετε is best regarded as beginning a new sentence, and opposed to ἀπὸ παντ. εἴδ. κ.τ.λ. which follows: not however as disconnected from the preceding, but suggested by it. In this, and in all things, hold fast the good.

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

21. πάντα δὲ δοκιμάζετ. “Test all things,” that is, πάντα εἴδη πνευμάτω (1Co 12:10), including προφητεί Though Paul insists, over against the doubts of the workers, that no operation of the Spirit is to be repressed, and that no case of prophecy is to be despised, yet he recognises and insists equally as well, over against the misuse of the Spirit by the idlers, that all χαρίσματ must be subject to test. Hence δε, contrasting the two attitudes, is adversative. That this is Paul’s meaning is confirmed by 1Co 12:10 where the charisma of διακρίσεις πνευμάτω is mentioned; cf. also 14:29: “Let two or three prophesy” καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι διακρινέτωσα, that is, “and let the others exercise the gift of discerning” whether a given utterance ἐν πνεύματ makes for good or is evil.

It is noteworthy that the utterances of the Spirit are to be tested. Calvin rightly infers that the spirit of judgment is conferred upon believers that they may discriminate so as not to be imposed upon. This power, he thinks, must be sought from the same Spirit who speaks by his prophets. In fact, as 1Co 12:10, 1Co 14:29 prove, the power to discern is itself a charisma, διακρίσεις πνευμάτω (cf. Grot.). It is further noteworthy that the nature of the test is not stated. In view, however, of the place given to οἰκοδομη and especially to ἀγάπ (see Harnack, op. cit.) in 1 Cor. 12-14, it is probable that the test of the spiritual is the ethical, the value of the Spirit for the life of love. In his note on τὸ καλό, Ephr. says: id est quod adaequatur evangelio, a pertinent statement in the light of 2:13 f. In 1Jn 4:1 where δοκιμάζειν τὰ πνεύματ occurs, the test is objective, the belief that Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh; in 2Jn 1:10 the same test recurs with the added point of φιλαδελφί; these two being the elements in the διδαχὴ Χριστου emphasised in view of the docetic and separatist (1Jn 2:19) movement. In the Didache, δοκι μάζει is likewise referred to (e. g. 11:1-12, 12:1); especially pertinent to the probable situation in Thess. Isa 11:12: “Whoever says in the Spirit: Give me silver or anything else, ye shall not hearken unto him; but if he tell you to give on behalf of others that are in want, let no man judge him.” δε, omitted by אA, et al., is probably to be read after πάντ with אcBDGFP, Vulg (autem), et al.

τὸ καλὸν κατέχετε κτλ. The brethren are not to rest content with the testing and the discovery whether a given utterance of the Spirit in a man tends to the good or is an evil kind, but are (a) to hold fast to the good and (b) to hold aloof from every evil kind. The positive injunction of itself includes the negative; but the mention of the negative strengthens the appeal and adds a new point—the good is one, but the evil many. τὸ καλό designates the utterance of the Spirit as making for οἰκοδομη (1Co 14:3-5, 1Co 14:12, 1Co 14:26) or specifically love (1Co_13; v. supra v. 15 (το ἀγαθό).

κατέχει is common in Gk. Bib. and has a variety of meanings. Luke uses the word differently in each of his four instances; “hold fast to” (λόγο Luk 8:15), “get hold of,” “occupy” (τόπο Luk 14:9), “restrain from” (Luk 4:42 τοῦ μὴ πορεύεσθα; Paul never has κατέχειν τοῦ(το) μη), and “put in” (of a ship, Act 27:40). Mill. (155-157), in illustrating the use of the word in papyri, groups the meanings under two heads (1) “hold fast” and (2) “hold back.” Examples of (1) are “hold fast to” (= κρατεῖ) with λόγο (1Co 15:2), and παραδόσει (1Co 11:2; cf. 2Th 2:15 κρατεῖτ); “possess,” “get possession of” (1Co 7:30 (absolute) 2Co 6:10, Exo 32:13, Jos 1:11, etc.; cf. Sir. 46:9, Luk 14:9); “grip,” “control,” “cripple” (cf. Deiss. Light, 308) “overpower” (2 Reg. 1:9, Job 15:24, Jer 6:24, Jer 13:21, Ps. 118:53, 138:10, etc.; cf. P. Oxy. 2171 κατέχει τὰ πράγματα ἡ σῆ βασιλεί; also 3 Mac. 5:12 ἡδίστῳ καὶ βαθεῖ (ὕπνῳ) κατεσχέθη τῇ ἐνεργείᾳ τοῦ δεσπότο; and Joh 5:4 (v. l.) νοσήματι κατείχετ, of demon possession as in Luk 13:16). Examples of (2) are “detain” (Phm 1:13, Gen 24:56, Jdg 13:15, Jdg 13:16 (A has βιάζει) 19:4); as in prison (Gen 39:20, Gen 42:19); “restrain” (cf. Deiss. Light, 308), “restrain from” “hinder” (Luk 4:42). The exact shade of meaning is not always easy to discover (e. g. II 2:6, Rom 1:18, Rom 7:6, Isa 40:22). Reitzenstein (Die hellenistischen Mysterienreligionen, 1910, 71 ff.) admits that κατέχεσθαι, κάτοχο, and κατοχη may be used of possession; but in the references to the Serapeum he holds with Mill. that κάτοχο=δέσμιος, κατοχη=the prison (temple), and κατέχεσθα=“to be detained.” See further on II 2:6.

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

Prove all things [παντα δοκιμαζετε] . A general exhortation, not confined to prophesyings; but Paul elsewhere insists that a test be applied to phenomena which claim to be supernatural. See on discerning of spirits, 1Co 12:10; 1Co 14:29, and comp. 2Th 2:2, and 1Jo 4:1 - 3. For dokimazete prove, see on 1Pe 1:7. In LXX, Pro 27:21; Psa 11:6, dokimion is a crucible or furnace.

Hold fast that which is good [το καλον κατεχετ] . These words are associated in early Christian writers with an apocryphal saying ascribed to Jesus, and very frequently quoted, ginesqe de dokimoi trapezitai show yourselves approved money - changers. By some ancient writers the two are cited together as Paul 's; by others they are distinguished, as by Origen, who cites the saying as an injunction [εντολην] of Jesus, and adds, "and also (observing) the teaching of Paul, who says, 'prove all things, hold fast the good, abstain from every form of evil. '" The saying about the money - changers is probably a genuine logion of the Lord. Some have thought that the words added by Clement of Alexandria, "rejecting some things but holding fast the good," formed part of the Lord 's saying, and that, accordingly, Paul 's words here depend on an original utterance of Jesus. If this could be proved, eidov form, ver. 22, might be explained as a figure of exchangers distinguishing between genuine and false coins. 32

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