1Thessalonians 5:19
Putting God’s Fire Out
I. \\#1Thess 1:1-2\\ Introduction
II. \\#1Thess 1:3-10\\ Paul’s Knowledge of the Thessalonians
III. \\#1Thess 2:1-16\\ Paul’s Plan for the Thessalonians
IV. \\#1Thess 2:17-4:12\\ Paul’s Heart for the Thessalonians
V. \\#1Thess 4:13-5:10\\ Paul’s Message for the Thessalonians
VI. \\#1Thess 5:11-22\\ Paul’s Commands to the Thessalonians
1. \\#5:11-14\\ Commands to the body, about the body, for the body.
a. Commands for the whole body.
(1) \\#11\\ Comfort yourselves together.
(2) Edify one another.
(3) \\#12-13\\ Know those who admonish you and esteem them highly.
(4)\\#13\\ Be at peace among yourselves.
b. Commands for a subset of the body.
(1) \\#14\\ Warn the unruly.
(2) Comfort the feebleminded.
(3) Support the weak.
2. \\#5:14-15\\ Commands for within and without the body
a. \\#14\\Be patient toward all.
b. \\#15\\ Do not render evil for evil.
c. Follow after good.
3. \\#5:16-22\\ Commands to the body members.
a. \\#16\\ Rejoice evermore.
b. \\#17\\ Pray without ceasing.
c. \\#18\\ In everything, give thanks.
d. \\#19\\ Quench not the Holy Spirit.
e. \\#20\\ Despise not preaching.
f. \\#21\\ Test everything. Keep that which is good.
g. \\#22\\ Abstain from things which even look bad.
VII. \\#1Thess 5:23-28\\ Closing
Last week we began to look at the last section relating to having a healthy
church body, commands to the members themselves. In that section, we noted that
the ability to obey the command hinged on being in properly alignment with the
Holy Spirit. It is not possible to behave spiritually without having spiritual
empowerment.
Tonight, we see what is perhaps the most important command in this section -
QUENCH NOT THE SPIRIT.
I. \\#5:16-22\\ Commands to the body members.
A. \\#16\\ Rejoice evermore.
B. \\#17\\ Pray without ceasing.
C. \\#18\\ In everything, give thanks.
D. \\#19\\ Quench not the Holy Spirit.
1. The Spirit that is being referenced here is the Holy Spirit.
a. Of course, this is God we are talking about!
b. This verse is telling us that WE can influence God and that we
can influence Him in a NEGATIVE way.
c. I find this amazing and would say two things up front.
(1) I would say that to do anything "against" God is not very
wise. Hindering or attempting to hinder God is not the kind
of business any human being should want to be involved in.
(2) Second, I would ask, "How is that possible?" How can a puny
human being have any influence on an omnipotent, almighty,
eternal God?
(a) It is possible because God is a PERSON.
(b) It is possible because has chosen to make it possible.
2. Let’s consider that God is a Person.
a. I do not mean to humanize God.
(1) A good many people take exception to anyone characterizing
God has a human—and with good reason.
(2) So that I don’t confuse anyone, let me say upfront, God is
not anything like us!
(3) We are finite, created, and fallen beings. God is nothing
like that at all.
(4) However, while God is nothing like us, we are something like
Him.
b. The Bible tells us that God created US in HIS image.
(1) I don’t understand exactly what that means.
(a) Some say we are in God’s image in our make up. God is
a triune Being and so are we.
(b) Some say we are in God’s image in that, once we are
given life, we are eternal.
(c) Some say we are in God’s image in that God is a spirit
and we have a spirit.
(d) Some say we are in God’s image in that God creates and
mankind creates.
c. One of the ways that we are created in God’s image is that Jehovah
is an emotion God and we are emotional beings.
(1) Once we say that God and man have emotions, I believe we have
taken the likeness of God and man on an emotional level to
its extent.
(2) God is NOT controlled by His emotions as we tend to be;
however, to deny that God has emotions is to deny the
Scripture.
(3) By God, we are speaking of the Son, the Father, AND the Holy
Spirit.
(4) Let’s narrow down our discussion to the Holy Spirit as this
verse does.
d. The Holy Spirit has emotions.
(1) We sometimes think of the Holy Spirit as a detached power and
not an emotional Person.
(2) That is faulty thinking on our part.
(3) In fact, we are wrong whenever we think of any member of the
Godhead as emotionless.
(a) While we usually think of Jesus as having emotions, we
typically do not think of the Father or the Spirit
having them.
(b) We need to remember that coming to this earth did not
GIVE Jesus emotions. Jesus brought His emotions WITH
Him.
(4) Just like Jesus has emotions, so do the Father and the Spirit.
e. What emotions does the Holy Spirit have?
(1) He can be GRIEVED.
Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the
day of redemption.
(a) GRIEVED means to be made sorry, to have a heaviness.
(b) This strikes me as purely emotional term.
(c) Our bad behavior produces a corresponding emotional
heaviness within the Holy Ghost.
(2) He can LUST.
James 4:5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth
in us lusteth to envy?
(a) Here we begin to see just how different God and man are
in their emotions.
(b) We most often use the term LUST in a sexual context.
(c) The Holy Spirit does not long after sexual relations.
(d) LUST means to desire or to long after.
(e) The Holy Spirit has strong desires for us, desires that
we would do right and be pleasing to the Father.
(3) He can be VEXED.
Isaiah 63:10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was
turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.
(a) VEXED means to be hurt, in pain, displeased, tortured.
(b) Our sin causes emotional pain to God.
(c) I take it that He can experience something like what we
experience when our children let us down.
(4) He can become FED UP.
Ge 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he
also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
(a) FED UP is not a Bible word.
(b) By FED UP, I mean the Holy Ghost can rejected to the
place that He quits dealing with someone or all mankind.
(5) He GROANS over our needs.
Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what
we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us
with groanings which cannot be uttered.
(a) GROANING means sighing or moaning.
(b) This indicates that the Holy Spirit takes our heaviness
upon Himself.
(c) He feels what we are feeling regardless of how painful
or personal it might be.
3. Let’s consider that God chooses to allow us to influence His actions.
a. While these verses make it clear to me that what we do influences
God, that viewpoint is a great source of contention to some.
(1) They view that if God can feel emotions, He is no long
unchangeable.
(a) They feel that if God’s state of being is changed, God is
somehow changed.
(b) My thought is that their opinion is just that, their
opinion.
(c) My opinion is that as a God who feels, our God is the one
and only LIVING GOD.
2. They also believe that if God’s actions are influenced by our
actions, God is no more sovereign.
(a) I would say that even though God has emotions, He is not
controlled by them.
(b) I would also say that nothing and no one controls God but
God.
(c) The only way that our behavior can affect God’s is when
God gives us a choice and then responds to the choice
that He gave us.
(d) To acknowledge that God gives human beings a choice is
not to deny God’s sovereignty.
(e) In fact, it argues the opposite.
(f) For it shows that man has a choice only when God allows
it, and that no matter what man may be allowed to choose,
his actions and their consequences are always under the
control of the sovereign God.
4. Now, for a moment, let’s consider the command here, which is that we
not QUENCH the Holy Spirit.
a. QUENCH means to extinguish, to suppress, to put out.
(1) It is the word used of smothering out a fire.
(2) I take it that our rebellion and sin can snuff out the
intended and desired work of the Holy Spirit.
b. So the implication here is that God can be suppressed, extinguished,
or put out.
(1) Hence, according to this verse and others like it, God is
sensitive to the behavior of people.
(2) Our actions do influence God’s actions.
(3) That is the only possible interpretation of this verse.
(4) Paul is commanding the church at Thessalonica not to let their
actions stop God from accomplishing what He desires to
accomplish.
c. What this verse does not say (and I don’t know of any verse that
does) is how sensitive is the Holy Spirit to our actions?
(1) At what point does the Holy Spirit become grieved and at what
point does the Holy Spirit become quenched?
(2) At what point is God fed up with us and at what point have we
vexed Him?
(3) I do not have that answer, but I am confident that it is best
not to find out.
d. The spiritual condition needed here is obey this command is that
of discernment and obedience.
(1) We have pointed out repeatedly that to obey these commands we
must be aligned with the Holy Spirit.
(2) To be certain that we do not quench the Holy Spirit, we must
be able to discern what the Holy Spirit wants us to do and
then be able to do it.
(3) We should submit to Him, humbly and quickly.
Dr. B.J. Miller once said, "It is a great deal easier to do that
which God gives us to do, no matter how hard it is, than to face the
responsibilities of not doing it."
Today In The Word, November, 1989, p.11.
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