Two important things come to the mind of many Christians on the subject of the Holy Spirit. They are the gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit.
However, when Paul said, Do not quench the Spirit, some assume he referred to making the Spirit exit the believers. But was that what quenching the Holy Spirit meant? Could that be it? Hold on!
In this message, we will look at the passage where the statement Do Not Quench The Spirit was made to discover the meaning and how people quench the Spirit.
Meanwhile, have you seen Speaking In Tongues In The Bible? I encourage you to give it a read!
What Does Do Not Quench The Spirit Mean?
Aside from the gifts and fruit of the Spirit, some other things come to mind, and a perplexing one is if the believers can lose the Spirit. And a portion of scripture that many refer to is 1 Thessalonians 5:19.
KJV says, “Quench not the Spirit.” And the New American Standard Bible (NASB) says, “Do not quench the Spirit;”
The first thing anyone should do after reading that verse is to ask, What does do not quench the Spirit mean? The best way to get the answer to the question is to find out what the author said before and after that statement.
But before that, one should be concerned about knowing what it means to quench the Spirit. Therefore, we will look at three verses before and after the statement for better understanding.
“Rejoice always;
pray without ceasing;
in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not quench the Spirit;
do not despise prophetic utterances.
But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;
abstain from every form of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16–22 NASB.
From that portion, we can see how Paul instructed the Church in Thessalonica to rejoice always in constant prayer, giving thanks to God.
From the line of words I highlighted is the word quench. Quench there comes from the term Sbennyte or Sbennumi (σβέννυτε) in Greek, translated as do quench. It means extinguish, suppress, restrain, turn off, or put out. It can be used as a term to cool thirst.
Often, its usage is in the context of a burning fire and an attack against the people. For instance, in Mark 9:48, it appears with reference to Gehanna, “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”
In Ephesians 6:16 NASB, Paul said, “In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
There, we see the same term for quench translated as extinguish, but how does it help our understanding of 1 Thessalonians 5:19?
So far, we know that to quench means to extinguish, suppress, restrain, put out, or turn off, and that takes us to look at what it means concerning the Spirit.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:19, Paul pointed to the Pneuma, while in the following verses, he introduced a function of the Spirit in believers. That would mean that the quenching of the spirit is relative to the gifts of the Spirit. In that context, he referred to prophecies and told the people not to despise, resist or ignore prophetic utterances.
Therefore, quenching the Spirit would mean extinguishing, suppressing, putting out, or turning off the gifts of the Spirit. In other words, it would mean to despise or resist prophetic utterances and the workings of the Spirit.
However, Paul went on to caution in verses 21 and 23 on the need for careful examination of everything said, taking what is good and staying away from that which is evil. We can compare that to 1 Corinthians 14:29, where he made the statement amplified:
“So let two or three prophets speak [those inspired to preach or teach], while the rest pay attention and weigh and discern what is said.”
Therefore, do not quench the Spirit is an instruction not to suppress or put out the workings of the Holy Spirit, and Paul pointed to prophecies in that letter.
It is likely that the Church Paul was addressing did not allow prophetic utterances, and Paul instructed them not to quench the Spirit.
How Do We Quench The Spirit?
There is excessive abuse of the Spirit today to the extent that people would not permit certain things to avoid letting the mess go up.
When you see the bizarre and absurd activities attributed to the Holy Spirit today, a leader who is concerned could be under pressure to turn off certain functions of the Spirit from the congregation. A good example is the gift of tongues and prophecies, where some believe in their cessation, and that could be a reason for it.
To the question, How do we quench the Spirit? We do so by simply resisting what the spirit does through and among us. Paul said to the Church at Thessalonica, do not despise prophecies but receive them with careful attention and examination.
However, when we decide to exterminate prophecies from our midst, we quench the Spirit. In other words, we suppress the function of the Spirit in bringing us a word of inspiration through a vessel, which we could receive and examine with the scriptures.
It is necessary to understand that the Bible is the book of Prophecy. In a state where people receive a word of prophecy, it should undergo scriptural scrutiny. Where there are good instructions, they should be abided by, but where evil exists, one should practice abstinence. So, Beware Of False Prophets!
Furthermore, the decision to do what the Spirit instructs according to the scriptures is in itself an alignment with the Spirit, and to do otherwise is despising the function of the Spirit. That would also represent a suppression or turning off of the Spirit.
While Paul, in his letter to the Church Thessalonica commands The Believers Today to hold fast to that which is good and abstain from the appearance of evil, he goes on to assure us prayerfully, saying:
“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 NASB.
Amen.
