Quench Not The Spirit

“Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.” (1Th 5:19-22 AV)

 

Four very good commands in the pursuit of sanctification.  The next verse tells us that if we do these things, then the LORD will sanctify us completely.  Despise not prophesyings is to welcome the word of God no matter what we might feel or think.  To prove all things means to test all things so that their veracity might be found true.  In particular, we are to weigh all things and hold fast to that which is good.  If it is not good, then discard it.  Then we must flee every appearance of evil before evil becomes a temptation.  Avoid evil at all costs.  But it is the first which has drawn the attention of this writer.  Before we begin on the three that follow, quenching the Spirit must cease.  Reading those writers who acknowledge the Spirit is the Holy Spirit here is wonderful reading.  The expositional skill and insights are a great blessing to the soul.  Most assume the quenching is not the quenching of the Spirit as a person assuming the human soul cannot limit the omnipotent Spirit of God.  However, the Bible clearly states,  “Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.” (Ps 78:41 AV)  God has given the individual human soul the ability to limit what God can do.  This is the meaning here.  We are not to get in the Spirit’s way as He tries to do a work in our souls.  In fact, we are to cooperate by yielding to His miraculous work of sanctification.

Homeschooling children is not limited to what they learn.  Sometimes, there are valuable lessons the parents learn as well.  One of those lessons is how to be an effective mentor.  There is a balance between suffocating them with attention and instruction against letting them spread their wings a bit.  If we constantly hover over them, they rebel against the attention.  They fuss against being watched.  They want to be independent.  They can do it all on their own.  As parents, we kind of enjoy those moments.  We can run to the bathroom. We can tend to other chores.  We can have a little alone time.  We do not mind a bit of independence so long as they remember they cannot do it all on their own.  They don’t know what they don’t know.  Mom or Dad must be available so that when they hit a roadblock, with parental help, they can navigate through the challenge.  However, there will inevitably be times when your child needs you but doesn’t want you.  He thinks he can figure it out on his own.  He gets frustrated at the failure because, in the back of his mind, he thinks himself more capable than he actually is.  He will not admit to his limitations and falls flat on his face.  What began as a good and attainable aspiration now is beyond reach.  He has told you to stay away because he has it all figured out.  Yet, the test comes and he gets an ‘F’.

If we stopped to realize the awesome power which resides within us, we wouldn’t fuss so much against sin and failure.  If we were to yield to His control and power, our lives would be much further ahead than they are.  If we didn’t think of ourselves more highly than we should, and instead come to the end of ourselves, falling upon the person of the Holy Spirit, maybe we would see greater fruit by it.  To quench the Spirit is to stifle the work of the Holy Spirit for sure.  But it is more than that.  To quench the Spirit is to stifle one’s personal relationship with Him.  Yes, we are to primarily pray to the Father.  The Spirit points to the Father and Son.  He is not the center of our worship and attention.  But this does not mean He ceases to be a person.  The Holy Spirit is as much a person as the Father and the Son.  We know the Father and Son are the persons of the Trinity that receive our worship.  Not the Spirit.  The Spirit is still a person and should be considered as such.  Sort of like Mom who is in the background and tends to our needs, she is still a person who is worthy of our acknowledgment and gratitude.  The Holy Spirit does not seek a relationship with us outside of His specific ministry to us.  Yet, He must be acknowledged and yielded to.  To do any less would be an insult to the God who created us all.