Packed into a few sentences Paul manages to give 7 treasured finds of what he believes God wants for our lives.
How should I live? It is in these 7 points.
They are straight to the point, no in-depth explanation and certainly no negotiation.
Here is the fourth command: “Do not quench the Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 5 v 19)
But let’s see the whole of the 7 for a moment:
- Rejoice always
- Pray continually
- Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
- Do not quench the Spirit.
- Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all;
- Hold on to what is good
- Reject every kind of evil.
It sits right in the middle. I think it helps us see what it means to quench Him.
Be joyful, prayerful and thankful = not quenching Him.
Receive prophesies with discernment, seek the genuine and reject the counterfeit = not quenching Him.
To quench is obviously to put out the fire of the Spirit. Fire is a familiar image of the Holy Spirit throughout Scripture. Looking at the list above it reveals how we can create the environment for the Spirit to work and lead us, or we can do the opposite. We can do that in our own lives and in the lives of other people. So these commands are not isolated ones rather they all work towards a purpose and that is not to be indifferent to the Spirit, nor reject Him or doubt Him, for if we have no activity of the Spirit in our lives or churches then what good will we be anyway?
Missions Paul 