The Spirit and the Scriptures

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.

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

Two simple things are here: Do not ignore the Spirit's prompting; and do not despise the Scripture's wisdom. The Spirit's promptings always come in two areas: Stop doing what is wrong, and start doing what is right. If you are a Christian at all, you are familiar with the inner feeling that says, God wants you to do something, or God wants you to stop doing something. We all have felt this inner guidance. What the apostle is saying is, Give in to those feelings. When the Spirit prompts you to show love to somebody, do it; do not hold back.

I once heard of a man who said, Sometimes when I think of how my wife works and blesses me, it's all I can do to keep from telling her that I love her! There is a man being guided by the Spirit, but he is quenching the Spirit. Do not do that. Go ahead and tell her you love her. You may have to pick her off the floor afterward, but do not quench the Spirit!

Then second, do not ignore the Scripture's wisdom: Do not despise prophesying. Unfortunately, we tend to think of prophesying as some special power to predict the future, either for ourselves individually or for the world at large. But prophesying was not that. Dr. F. F. Bruce, who was a great expositor, said prophesying is declaring the mind of God in the power of the Spirit. In those early days, before the New Testament was written, this was done orally; prophets spoke the mind of the Spirit in an assembly. But since the writing of the Scriptures, we have very little need for any kind of prophesying other than that based upon the Scriptures. So prophesying really becomes what we call today expository preaching. It is opening the mind of God from the Word of God. Do not despise that. That is the wisdom of God. That is God telling you how to act, how to think, and how to order your life. Do not treat it lightly. It will save you countless headaches and heartaches if you observe it.

But, the apostle adds, Test them all. Anyone can stand up and say in a deep tone of voice, This is the word of the Lord. We must learn to test what is said from what has already been revealed. Paul commended the Bereans for this, saying that they were more noble than those in Thessalonica because they received the word with all readiness of heart and searched the Scriptures daily whether these things were so (Acts 17:11). Test it, is what Paul is saying. There was a saying attributed to Jesus that was often quoted by early Christian writers, in which Jesus urged us to become approved money changers. The money changers in the temple were occupied in changing various currencies and were constantly looking out for counterfeit coins. That is what Paul tells us to do about prophesying. People on every side are telling us what God wants us to do, but there is much that is counterfeit in that today. Become approved money changers. Test what is said.

Thank you, Jesus, for sending your Spirit to dwell within me. Help me to listen to him as he prompts me within, and help me to let him speak to me in your word as well.