1 Thessalonians 5:19

Quench not the Spirit. QUENCH NOT - The Spirit being a holy fire: 'where the Spirit is, He burns' (Matthew 3:11; Acts 2:3). Contrast 2 Timothy 1:6 [ anazoopurein (G329)], 'rekindle.' Do not throw cold water on those who, under the Spirit's extraordinary inspiration, speak with tongues, reveal mysteries, or pray in the congregation. Enthusiastic statements (perhaps of the nearness of Christ's coming,) exaggerating Paul's statement, 2 Thessalonians 2:2, "by spirit," led some (probably presiding ministers, not always...

19_Quench not the Spirit_. This metaphor is derived from the power and nature of the Spirit; for as it is the proper office of the Spirit to illuminate the understandings of men, and as he is on this account called our light, it is with propriety that we are said to _quench _him, when we make void his grace. There are some that think that it is the same thing that is said in this clause and the succeeding one. Hence, according to them, to _quench the Spirit _is precisely the same as to _despise prophesyings_. As, however, the Spirit is _quenched _in various ways, I make a distinction between these two things—that of a _general _statement, and a _particular_. For although _contempt of prophesying _is a _quenching of the Spirit_, yet those also _quench the Spirit _who, instead of stirring up, as they ought, more and more, by daily progress, the sparks that God has kindled in them, do, by t...

16-22 We are to rejoice in creature-comforts, as if we rejoiced not, and must not expect to live many years, and rejoice in them all; but if we do rejoice in God, we may do that evermore. A truly religious life is a life of constant joy. And we should rejoice more, if we prayed more. Prayer will help forward all lawful business, and every good work. If we pray without ceasing, we shall not want matter for thanksgiving in every thing. We shall see cause to give thanks for sparing and preventing, for common and uncommon, past and present, temporal and spiritual mercies. Not only for prosperous and pleasing, but also for afflicting providences, for chastisements and corrections; for God designs all for our good, though we at present see not how they tend to it. Quench not the Spirit. Christians are said to be baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire. He worketh as fire, by enlightening,...

Verse 19. _QUENCH NOT THE SPIRIT._] The Holy Spirit is represented as a _fire_, because it is his province to _enlighten_ and quicken the soul; and to purge, purify, and refine it. This Spirit is represented as being _quenched_ when any _act_ is done, _word_ spoken, or _temper_ indulged, contrary to its dictates. It is the Spirit of _love_, and therefore anger, malice, revenge, or any unkind or unholy temper, will quench it so that it will withdraw its influences; and then the heart is left in a state of _hardness_ and _darkness_. It has been observed that fire may be quenched as well by heaping _earth_ on it as by throwing water on it; and so the _love of the world_ will as effectually grieve and quench the Spirit as any ordinary act of transgression. Every genuine Christian is made a partaker of the Spirit of God; and he who has not the spirit of Christ is none of his. It cannot be t...

QUENCH NOT THE SPIRIT - This language is taken from the way of putting out a fire, and the sense is, we are not to extinguish the influences of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Possibly there may be an allusion here to fire on an altar, which was to be kept constantly burning. This fire may have been regarded as emblematic of devotion, and as denoting that that devotion was never to become extinct. The Holy Spirit is the source of true devotion, and hence the enkindlings of piety in the heart, by the Spirit, are never to be quenched. Fire may be put out by pouring on water; or by covering it with any incombustible substance; or by neglecting to supply fuel. If it is to be made to burn, it must be nourished with proper care and attention. The Holy Spirit, in his influences on the soul, is here compared with fire that might be made to burn more intensely, or that might be extinguished. In a...

EXPOSITION CONTENTS.—With regard to the time of that glorious advent when believers, whether dead or living, will be gathered together to Christ, the Thessalonians had already been fully instructed. They knew well that the day of the Lord would come suddenly and unexpectedly, and surprise an ungodly world. But they were not in darkness so as to be taken by surprise. Still, however, they must exercise constant watchfulness and sobriety, and be armed with the Christian graces of faith, love, and hope, being comforted with the assurance that God had not appointed them to wrath, but to the acquisition of salvation through Jesus Christ, who died for their benefit, in order that, whether living or dead, they might share in the blessings of his advent. Now follows a series of short admonitions. The Thessalonians were to love and honor their ministers, to live in peace among themselves, to admo...

QUENCH NOT THE SPIRIT. By which is meant, not the person of the Spirit, but either the graces of the spirit, which may be compared to light, and fire, and heat, to which the allusion is in the text; such as faith, which is a light in the soul, a seeing of the Son, and an evidence of things not seen; and love, which gives a vehement flame, which many waters cannot quench; and zeal, which is the boiling up of love, the fervency of it; and spiritual knowledge, which is also light, and of an increasing nature, and are all graces of the spirit: and though these cannot be totally extinguished, and utterly put out and lost, yet they may be greatly damped; the light of faith may become dim; and the flame of love be abated, and that wax cold; the heat of zeal may pass into lukewarmness, and an indifference of spirit; and the light of knowledge seem to decline instead of increasing; and all throug...

1 Thessalonians 5:1. _But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night._ It will be a great surprise to the wicked. It will take them at unawares. Just at that moment when they least expect it will Christ come; and as the thief comes to destroy and to kill, so will the coming of Christ be the death of their carnal ease the destruction of their earthly hopes. 1 Thessalonians 5:3. _For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape._ A terrible text that «They shall not escape.» They shall not escape by their own power or force

V. THE DAY OF THE LORD AND EXHORTATIONS CHAPTER 5 _ 1. The day of the Lord 1 Thessalonians 5:1)_ 2. Exhortations 1 Thessalonians 5:12) 3. Conclusions 1 Thessalonians 5:23) 1 Thessalonians 5:1 “But concerning the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape.” The apostle next men

SUNDRY COUNSELS AND EXHORTATIONS. 1 Thessalonians 5:12. Christians are urged to respect their leaders. No officers and ministers are mentioned in this epistle, but this verse implies that the Church had leaders. The ministry at Thessalonica was a ministry of service. Those who laboured most were naturally regarded as being over the Church. They are entitled to esteem and love, not by reason of any official position but for their work's sake. 1 Thessalonians 5:14. admonish the disorderly: an insistence upon the maintenance of discipline. The disorderly are probably those who had abandoned their regular business under the excitement of the expected Parousia....