Chapter 5, verses 19 to 22.
Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise prophecies, but test everything.
Hold fast to what is good.
Abstain from every form of evil.
So in this final unit of instruction here, as he's closing his letter,
Paul turns our attention and the attention of the Thessalonian church
to the mighty work of the Holy Spirit,
but particularly in the Christian sanctification.
The text affirms a few things for us here that are helpful.
It affirms that the Spirit is indeed at work in the church,
preparing believers for the glorious return of Christ.
It also teaches us that this sanctifying work
is one in which we must actively participate,
pursuing the purity that he will complete at the end.
And what we discover immediately here in these verses
is that we can actually stifle the Spirit's work in us.
And we do that in this case and in the context of this passage
by treating the various means of the Spirit's work with contempt.
So the Spirit is working.
We need to pursue that work,
but we also need to be warned that we can stifle that work.
And there are particular ways that Paul is intent
to highlight how that might be done.
There was a specific way in the Thessalonian church
where these Christians were quenching the Spirit's sanctifying work,
and it all had to do with contempt for the gift of prophecy,
which for them was a critical means of the Spirit's operation
in establishing the church.
So we're taught in the passage here that as we await Christ's return,
we must be careful not to quench the Spirit's work
by despising the Spirit's ways.
And at the heart of the text is the most significant
and powerful means of the Spirit's mighty work in our lives
so that we would understand that if we truly desire to live
in a manner worthy of God,
who calls us into His kingdom and glory,
as we saw in chapter 2,
we must take this instruction seriously.
That the Spirit is at work,
and He's at work in a particular way,
and that His most primary and powerful means of work
is actually what's at the heart of what we find here.
I have just two simple headings
that conform to Paul's imperatives here.
The first one is this.
Don't hinder the Spirit's work.
It's very plain for us in verse 19.
Do not quench the Spirit.
It's a simple, straightforward statement.
It's the main idea of what Paul is going to go on
and expand upon in verses 20 and 22.
It moves our focus to the work of the Holy Spirit
and our sanctification in particular.
There's two fundamental truths here
that are worthy of our meditation.
The first is an encouragement.
The second then would be a warning.
And the encouragement, as I've already mentioned,
is this,
that the Holy Spirit of God
is actively working in the lives of His people.
He's actively working in the lives of His people.
We understand that the Spirit of God
is the agent who applies the work of Christ
to the individual.
That if the Son supplies through His atonement our salvation,
the Spirit applies the work of the atonement for our salvation.
And the Bible tells us that the activity of the Holy Spirit
in our salvation is amazingly vast.
We could spend several sermons
just thinking about and meditating on
and reflecting on the various ways that the Spirit works.
In fact, the Old Testament actually indicates
that this would be a sign of the coming kingdom.
It would mark out Christ's kingdom in the world.
And of course, that was inaugurated
on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2.
There's a lot of ways that the Bible speaks
of the Spirit's work.
For our purposes this morning in relationship to this text,
I want to highlight just two of them,
regeneration and sanctification.
Regeneration and sanctification.
Regeneration is the work of the Spirit
to take one who is spiritually dead in sins
and bring them to life in Jesus Christ.
It's what Jesus was referring to
in that great conversation with Nicodemus
in John chapter 3 when He told Nicodemus
that to enter the kingdom of God,
one must be born again of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit applies the atonement of Christ
to the individual through the work of regeneration.
And He does so through the preaching of the gospel.
The gospel of John tells us in so many different places,
Jesus is teaching about this.
In John 15, 26, Jesus says that when the Spirit comes,
He will bear witness about me.
That is, He will guide our hearts.
He will indicate the work of the Holy Spirit
and the application of the atonement to our lives.
He would go on to say later,
2 Corinthians chapter 4,
Paul would speak of those who are blinded by sin,
blinded by the God of this world,
but that God shines in their hearts
the light of the knowledge of the glory of Christ Jesus.
And what is the agent by which He does that work?
It is the Holy Spirit of God that He does that.
If you are a Christian today,
you are a Christian
because the Holy Spirit of God
has brought your dead soul to life in Christ.
Through the gospel,
the Spirit applies salvation,
bringing sinners to life,
calling us to repent
and to believe.
Loved ones,
if you are not born again,
you will not enter the kingdom.
You cannot be saved.
That's Jesus' message
and that's what the Holy Spirit does.
We find that clearly stated.
Titus chapter 3,
He saved us not because of works
done by us in righteousness,
but according to His own mercy,
by the washing of regeneration
and renewal of the Holy Spirit.
He poured out on us richly
through Jesus Christ our Savior
so that being justified by His grace,
we might become heirs
according to the hope of eternal life.
The Spirit is actively at work in His people,
first in regeneration,
but then we find in connection to this text
in 1 Thessalonians 5,
the Spirit is actively at work in His people
through the work of sanctification.
Sanctification being the work of the Spirit
to take one who is born again
and make them holy.
Of course, we understand that at the moment
we come to faith in Christ,
positionally we are holy,
the righteousness of Christ imputed to us,
but in this life,
until the return of Christ,
the Spirit is at work in us,
purifying us,
sanctifying us,
making us holy.
But whereas regeneration
is solely the work of God,
sanctification is a lifelong process
in which we cooperate with God's work
to grow in holiness.
So the Scriptures command us again and again,
things like walk in the Spirit
in Galatians 5.
Be filled with the Spirit
in Ephesians 5.
Keep in step with the Spirit
again in Galatians 5.
All of those being imperatives for us.
The power is in the Spirit's work.
It's in His grace,
but in our sanctification.
We pursue that work.
We cooperate with the Spirit's work
in our lives.
There's tremendous encouragement in this,
isn't there?
The Spirit is working.
What a joy to know that.
We've seen it in the letter
several times already, haven't we?
Chapter 1 and verse 5,
the gospel message was spoken to them
in the power of the Holy Spirit,
meaning the Spirit of God saved them
when Paul preached the gospel to them.
He was at work in the regeneration
of the Thessalonians.
And just a verse later in chapter 1,
and it was through this regenerative work
of the Spirit
that the joy of the Spirit
was put in them,
which led to their perseverance of faith
as they faced incredible hardship
and persecution.
And then we get to chapter 4 and verse 8,
and we find that God gives the Spirit
as a gift to His people.
To do what?
To help them live according
to the will of God.
What a joy.
That's an encouragement.
Simple statement.
Yes, in verse 19,
don't quench the Spirit,
but one amazing encouragement
is that the Spirit is actively at work.
He saves us,
and He's working to sanctify us.
And what a joy it is to know
that He's doing so.
But there's also a warning in verse 19,
isn't there?
It's not only an encouragement.
There's a warning that goes along with it.
The warning of verse 19 is simply
that though the Holy Spirit
is actively at work in and through us,
we can't actually easily hinder
His sanctifying work in our lives.
Quench here, of course,
it means to extinguish.
It's like pouring water on a fire.
It's an appropriate metaphor, isn't it?
The Scriptures often comparing
comparing the Holy Spirit to a fire.
It's not that the Spirit Himself
can be extinguished,
but that we can hinder His work
through sin,
through neglect
of the means of the Spirit.
And so, the Bible instructs us,
again, in several places,
things like,
do not grieve the Spirit
in Ephesians 4.
Do not resist the Spirit
in Acts 7.
And then, of course, here,
we're commanded not to quench the Spirit.
So, be encouraged.
God is pleased
to do a mighty work in your life
through His Spirit,
but be warned
that there are ways
that you can stifle that work,
which is the primary focus
of these four verses.
Paul is going on
in verses 20 to 22
to address a specific way
that the Thessalonians
were quenching the Spirit.
So, if we're going to follow
the two headings,
the first one is
don't hinder the Spirit's work.
The second one would then be
don't despise the Spirit's ways.
Don't despise the Spirit's ways.
Look again at verses 20 to 22.
Do not despise prophecies,
but test everything.
Hold fast what is good
and abstain from every form of evil.
These verses tell us
how the Thessalonian Christians
were quenching the Spirit's work in them.
It has to do with their treatment
of prophecies.
In this case,
prophecies refers to
a unique gifting
of the Holy Spirit
on individual Christians
for the purpose
of building up the church.
I want to show you two texts
that help us to understand this
and wrap our minds around
how the Thessalonians
would have understood
this instruction.
The first one is in
1 Corinthians 12.
In fact,
you could read
1 Corinthians 12 through 14
and find a lot of instruction
even specifically
about prophecy,
but let me just point out
a couple of verses
to you here.
Paul says,
there are a variety of gifts
but the same Spirit.
In other words,
part of the Spirit's
activity and working
is to gift His people
in order to use them
in particular ways.
There are varieties of service
but the same Lord.
There are varieties of activities
but it is the same God
who empowers them all
in everyone.
And then he begins to list
a number of these giftings
and right in the middle
of the list
is this idea of prophecy.
He says,
the Spirit gives
to another prophecy
and to another
the ability to distinguish
between spirits
which is connected
in this case
to this idea of prophecy.
And then at the end
of the paragraph
he says,
all these are empowered
by one and the same Spirit
who apportions
to each one individually
as He will.
And we see a similar statement
in Romans chapter 12.
Paul says,
having gifts that differ
according to the grace
given to us
let us use them
and he highlights
this gift again
if prophecy
that we would do it
in proportion
to our faith.
Now,
we don't know as much
about this gift
and how it functioned
in the early church
as we would like to
but we do have enough here
to get our bearings.
It wasn't simply preaching
which involves proclaiming
and explaining
a particular text
of Scripture.
That's not exactly
what's happening here.
That's not how
the Thessalonians
would have understood
this instruction.
Prophecy
was a spontaneous
and extemporaneous
revelation from God
spoken by a Christian
to encourage,
instruct,
and warn
God's people.
Preaching and teaching
is a different category.
It is prophetic
in its nature
but it's a different category.
Preaching and teaching
involve
the Scriptures themselves,
speaking the Scriptures,
explaining the Scriptures.
This function
of prophecy
in the early church
is not exactly that.
it's this spontaneous
revelation from God
through a Christian
for the building up
of God's people.
And it wasn't necessarily
foretelling the future
though certainly
that would have been
the case
at times.
It was also
forth telling
the will of God
regarding present circumstances.
And in the early church age
this was
a regular means
of the Holy Spirit
working
to sanctify believers.
Now remember
that's the context
of what we're dealing with
in 1 Thessalonians 5.
The idea
is
our sanctification
and growing
in that sanctification
as we await
the return of Christ.
And Paul says
don't quench the Spirit.
The Spirit's at work
in this sanctification
and you can hinder it.
And one of the ways
you guys are hindering it
he says to the Thessalonians
is by despising prophecies.
Don't hinder that work.
That's a way
the Spirit is working in you.
Don't despise it.
Apparently
the Thessalonians
had grown
weary
of those claiming
to have
a prophetic word
from God.
Began to
reject the notion
of prophecy
outright.
Now
we've spent
enough time
in this letter
to acknowledge
that it is not surprising
that they would have
come to this point.
We've seen
that
charlatans
were actively
at work
religious
and philosophical
in Macedonia.
Who could they trust?
Paul even
almost gives
a defense
of himself
in chapter 2
in relationship
to this
marking himself
out as distinctly
different from
the charlatans
of the day
who had come in
and were attempting
to deceive the people.
If you read ahead
in 2 Thessalonians
you find that
there's a moment
there where it seems
that some
of these people
were actually
maybe even writing
letters to the
Thessalonians
under the guise
of being
from Paul.
And they were saying
things like
the Lord's already
come back
and Paul says
no,
if you hear a spirit
or a prophecy
is what he means
from that
or a letter
or somebody
saying this
as if we have
said it
no,
that's not true
Paul says.
So it's not hard
to see
that this church
would have probably
grown a little bit
weary
of this kind of thing
and just decided
you know
the easiest thing
is just to not
even listen to that.
If it's not coming
directly from Paul
then we're not
even going to hear it.
If it's not coming
directly from
an apostolic witness
then we won't listen.
Perhaps that's
what's happening here.
Jesus and his
apostles
they all warned
often of
false prophets
who would attack
the church
as wolves
in sheep's clothing.
We know this was common
and it's just as common
today.
Paul understood
their despising
of this gift
and means
of the Spirit's work
as being something
that was hindering
their sanctification.
He understood it
to be a huge problem.
By despising
the Spirit's ways
they were inadvertently
quenching the Spirit's work
and were therefore
hindering their ability
to continue
in their process
of sanctification
as they awaited
the Lord's return.
The solution then
Paul says
is not to despise
prophecies
but rather to
test them.
He says
don't despise them
test everything.
Rather than dismiss
the means of the Spirit
test everything
against what?
Against the Old Testament
Scriptures
whatever they might have
had with that.
Against the apostolic
witness of the gospel
that we know
they had
from Paul
and now
Timothy
who has returned
since Paul
was forced to leave.
And through that testing
they were to hold
fast
to everything
that was good.
Those things
which were in line
with apostolic doctrine
and they were to
abstain
from everything
that appeared
to be evil
or what they would
determine
was inconsistent
with what they knew
to be true
from the apostolic
witness.
And this instruction
holds true today.
Test
everything
against what?
The Scripture
both old and new.
Every idea
every thought
every action
every counsel
you receive
should be tested
against the truth
of God
in Jesus.
And in so doing
we must hold fast
to what is good
according to the Word
of God
and we must reject
every form
of evil
that is inconsistent
with the Word
of God.
And in this way
we today
like the Thessalonians
rightly cooperate
with the Spirit
in His sanctifying work.
We might understand
these verses
this way
if we could just
paraphrase them
a little differently.
Don't quench
the Spirit
by despising prophecies.
Instead
test everything
you hear
holding to what
is good
and resisting
what is evil.
And the imperative
holds true now.
This introduces
a huge question
doesn't it?
Are we then
to expect
the Spirit
to work
through prophecies
now
as He did
then?
And that's how
I want to close
our study
and apply
the text
finally.
The gift
of prophecy
as the Thessalonians
knew it
as it is
referenced
here in the New Testament
served a unique
and temporary
purpose
in the early church.
One purpose
was the fulfilling
of what the Old Testament
prophesied.
Joel chapter 2
God speaking
through His prophet
He says
on that day
on the day
of the Lord
I'm going to
pour out
the Spirit
and your sons
and daughters
are going to
prophesy.
And we fast forward
to Acts chapter 2
this phenomenon
is happening
in Jerusalem
and Peter
stands up
to preach
to explain it
and as he does so
what does he do?
He refers to
Joel chapter 2
and he says
this thing
that you are witnessing
today
this is the fulfillment
of the Scripture
the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit
so that even
in one situation
or in part
of that context
is even your sons
and daughters
are prophesying.
this was an essential
means
of the Holy Spirit
in laying the foundation
of the church
and perhaps
the best text
for us to understand
and think about
this particular issue
is Ephesians 2
20
the church
is built
on the foundation
of the apostles
and prophets
Christ Jesus
himself
being the cornerstone
the cornerstone
being the gospel
of Jesus
the teaching
and the revelation
of God
through the apostles
and prophets
completing the foundation
on which
the church
is being built
New Testament prophets
functioned
similarly
to Christ's apostles
though their prophecies
were tested
and tried
against the apostolic witness
the Holy Spirit
gifted
and used them
to speak
the infallible
word of God
to the church
before the scriptures
were completed
God used them
to establish
the church
and guide his people
during a unique transition
in redemptive history
and now that
that foundation
of the church
is fully established
through the completion
of the New Testament scriptures
we understand
the office
and function
of the apostles
and prophets
to have passed away
it wouldn't even be correct
I think
to say that the gift
of prophecy
still exists today
but just in a different
form
as if
some would reduce
this gift of prophecy
as active today
but really just reduced
to preaching
but that's not
that
I don't think that's consistent
with what the scripture
is teaching us here
and of course
there are many
that would say
that
would disagree
with me on this
that this gift
is actually
just as operative
today
as it ever was
I think
we're on
firm
footing
when we disagree
with that
to say
that it still
exists today
but only in a different
form
it would
it would lead us
to affirm
a spiritual gift
that is neither
defined
nor warranted
in the scriptures
and I understand
in the disagreement
I want to respectfully
say this
for those of you
who may even have
a disagreement
with my position
on this
that what is being
practiced
and referred to
as the gift of prophecy
in modern traditions
is not the same
as what we read
in the New Testament
it's not the same
in affirming
such things
opens the door
to confusion
and to spiritual
abuse
in the church
I think Tom Schreiner
is helpful on this
some of you have read
his little book
on spiritual gifts
and he's helpful
just in this simple statement
we no longer have
the gifts of
apostleship
and prophecy
the scriptures
constitute
our soul
and final authority
and thus
the role
of the apostles
and prophets
the role that they played
in the foundational
period of the church
is no longer needed
the scriptures
he emphasizes again
are our soul
and final
authority
that presents a problem
doesn't it
what are we supposed
to do with texts
like 1 Thessalonians 5
19-22
do we just say
well this just
doesn't matter to us
no of course not
does it have any relevance
to us now
yes
indeed it does
though there is
no new
prophetic utterance
for us to anticipate
we have
the apostolic
and prophetic
witness of the Holy Spirit
in the completed canon
of the New Testament
and we must not
despise it
as Peter wrote
we have the
prophetic word
more fully confirmed
in the written word
of God
we're blessed
with something
that the Thessalonian church
did not have
the whole scriptures
and the Bible
we understand
is the primary
and most significant
and powerful means
the Holy Spirit's
work today
it is the sword
of the Spirit
in Galatians 6
it's his instrument
for applying
the work of Christ
to us
in our salvation
in our regeneration
and in our sanctification
we obey this text
and we fan
into flame
the Holy Spirit
by submitting
to the scriptures
his scriptures
as the soul
and final authority
of our faith
and practice
we obey it
by not despising
the preaching
and teaching
of the Bible
in the corporate
gathering of the church
we obey it
by not neglecting
to study
and meditate
prayerfully
on the word of God
in private worship
we obey it
by testing
everything we hear
by the truth
of scripture
holding fast
to what is in line
with it
and rejecting
every form
of evils
and loved ones
we obey this text
by refusing
to confuse
or even
potentially
abuse
others
by claiming
a spiritual gift
that no longer
is used
by God
when we claim
to speak
on behalf
of God
the words
that come out
of our mouths
ought only
to be
what he has
given us
in the Bible
statements
like
the Lord
told me
to tell you
or
I have
a fresh
word
from God
for you
mistake
our words
for God's
and we need
to tread
carefully
here
it doesn't
mean
that we
can't
share
what's
on our
hearts
with one
another
it doesn't
mean
that we
can't
pass
on a
form
of
counsel
or encouragement
that we
feel impressed
to give
but we
need to
be careful
to distinguish
a way
that God
may be
using
my words
for your
good
versus
what God
has said
we must
say
to someone
else
we need
to be
careful
with this
we don't
serve people
well with
statements
like that
we confuse
them
we don't
stand in
line
with the
scriptures
when we
make
statements
like that
what we
ought to
say
rather
better
way
to
serve
people
in the
work
of the
spirit
is
maybe
to do
something
like this
why don't
we look
at what
God
says
in his
word
about
this
thing
in your
life
maybe
we would
say
something
like
you know
I've
heard
what's
going
on
maybe
this
particular
passage
will
bring
light
to
your
circumstance
why
don't
we
examine
God's
word
and pray
and ask
for the
spirit
to give
us
wisdom
in
how
to
apply
it
if
we
want
to
speak
God's
words
we
need
to
actually
speak
God's
word
and again
it's not
that we
can't help
one another
and it's
not to
say
that God
doesn't
use his
people
to help
his
people
I don't
believe
that
he
does
we
just
need
to be
careful
to
distinguish
between
a way
that God
may be
using
me
to help
you
with
my
words
verses
thus
saith
the
Lord
thus
saith
the
Lord
for
us
is
only
what
is
recorded
for
us
in
the
scriptures
now
what's
the
text
about
the
text
is
not
about
describing
what
this
gift
is
perhaps
there's
been
too
much
time
on
that
the
text
is
about
not
quenching
the
work
of
the
spirit
by
despising
his
ways
and
what
is
the
way
that
we
know
the
spirit
is
actively
working
in
our
regeneration
and
sanctification
today
preparing
us
for the
return
of
Christ
he's
working
through
his
word
so
don't
despise
it
be
present
when
it's
being
taught
and
preached
in
the
church
let
it
be
the
thing
that
guides
your
discipling
relationships
with
one
another
as you
sit at
coffee
together
this
week
let
it
be
the
thing
that's
ruling
over
your
home
let
it
be
the
thing
that's
ruling
over
your
work
your
relationships
for both
the
Thessalonians
and for
us
this
instruction
is about
proper
submission
to the
Bible
and
through
the
scriptures
the
spirit
is
indeed
working
even
now
preparing
us for
Christ's
return
and to
cooperate
with
his
work
we
must
embrace
the
word
of
God
and
test
everything
by
it
let's
pray
together