1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 19Do not quench the Spirit,20do not disdain prophecies,21but test everything; hold firmly to that which is good,22abstain from every form of evil.
The next set of exhortations deal with spiritual discernment. The first one references the Spirit, referring to the Holy Spirit of God. Paul already told the Thessalonians in 4:8 to heed the guidance of the Holy Spirit and now tells them the same thing. Quench (sbennyte) means to stop something, put out, extinguish, suppress, or let something burn out because it has run out of oil (Matthew 25:8). The Holy Spirit guides us into holiness. This guidance can be compared to a fire that burns away the chaff and impurities. The Spirit does this by convicting us of bad attitudes, impure motives, moral compromises, self-focused actions that hurt others, and many other attitudes and actions that go against God’s will for us in Christ Jesus. If we do not listen to the Spirit, confess our sins, and follow the way of righteousness, we will find that our spiritual vitality diminishes and a wall is erected between us and God.
The exhortation in verse 20 is related. To disdain (exoutheneite) means to reject or scorn something as if it has no importance or place. To treat prophecies as if they are not significant means that a person is essentially rejecting God. The challenge with this verse is the nature and authenticity of a so-called prophecy. How can we know if a prophecy is genuine and not someone’s invention? There are two extremes people fall into. One is to believe so-called prophets without critical thinking. People fall prey to nice sounding arguments or dynamic personalities, almost to the level of a cult. The title “prophet” is sometimes given to preachers in charismatic groups, and this title gives a certain degree of authority to this person. The other extreme is to doubt that there are modern prophets at all. The safe place is somewhere in between these. We must test all proclamation of the gospel. All Christian prophecy will call people to Jesus and the truth of the gospel as revealed in the Bible. We must be skeptical and doubt any so-called prophecy that contradicts Scripture and relies on human imagination.
The answer to this dilemma is to test everything. Paul calls for a certain degree of Christian skepticism, not unbelief, but discernment built on wisdom and knowledge of Scripture. The best way to know what is false is to know deeply what is true. By critically examining (dokimazete) everything we hear and see, we will be able to determine between what is good and evil. When we see the good, we must follow it. When we see evil, we must stay away from it. The Holy Spirit will help us in this discernment, but we must do our part as well and grow in our understanding of God’s Word. Being naive and simple minded will not be helpful in a world full of deceit.
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