1 Thessalonians– Chapter Five XXX

by Ed Urzi

Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

The next two exhortations from 1 Thessalonians chapter five address our interaction with the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the triune Godhead. (1) The Holy Spirit is identified as the “parakletos” in the original language of the New Testament, a word that captures the image of a counselor, ally, helper, advocate, strengthener, advisor, and supporter. (2)

On the other hand, the word “quench” conveys the image of a fire that has been extinguished or suppressed. Just as a blacksmith might lower the temperature of a red-hot piece of iron by plunging it into a pool of water, so it appears that we can move to extinguish or suppress the Spirit’s work as well. While any attempt to quench the Spirit’s work will never thwart God’s ultimate intent, it is still unwise to place ourselves on the wrong side of His agenda.

One means of quenching the Spirit involves an attempt to dissuade a person who exhibits God’s empowerment from pursuing a work that is supported by the Scriptures. While no human being is ever completely prepared to fulfill God’s calling, we can quench the Spirit when we allow other motives or interests to suppress the evidence of God’s direction in someone’s life.

One source summarizes this point with the following comment: “When the Holy Spirit is clearly using a Christian in a ministry to which He has called him, he should be encouraged and assisted, not criticized and hindered, assuming, of course, that it is really the Spirit’s work and not of the flesh. The best test for this, of course, is fidelity to the Scriptures (Isaiah 8:20).” (3)

Another avenue by which we might quench the Spirit’s work involves our words, actions, and internal attitudes. The New Testament epistle to the Ephesians offers some examples…

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:30-32).

As mentioned earlier, we should not intentionally seek to injure others when conflicts arise in our relationships. Instead, we should seek to “Be at peace among yourselves” (1 Thessalonians 5:13 ESV) and thus avoid quenching the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

(1) See the discussion regarding the Person and nature of the Holy Spirit beginning here

(2) G3875 parakletos Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?t=kjv&strongs=g3875

(3) Institute for Creation Research, New Defender’s Study Bible Notes 1 Thessalonians 5:19 https://www.icr.org/books/defenders/8007