1 Thessalonians 5:16-28

¹⁶ Be joyful always; ¹⁷ pray continually; ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ¹⁹ Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; ²⁰ do not treat prophecies with contempt. ²¹ Test everything. Hold on to the good. ²² Avoid every kind of evil. ²³ May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. ²⁵ Brothers, pray for us. ²⁶ Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. ²⁷ I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers. ²⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. ^[1]

As Paul concludes this first letter to the church in Thessalonica he moves his exhortation from ethical back to a religious emphasis. In rapid-fire succession he admonishes his readers to do several important, even critical, things before he pronounces benediction upon them. They are to have joy, even in their suffering. Being joyful, having joy is a consistent theme of his letters mentioned over two dozen times as Paul, himself, learned to rejoice in all circumstances. They are to pray without ceasing and give thanks in all situations, yes, even in their hardships and trials. Then comes three exhortations that probably belong together: “do not quench the Spirit;” “do not treat prophesies with contempt;” and, “test everything.”

Many believers relish professing that the Spirit leads them. They claim to be true Trinitarians, but in actuality are only ‘binarians.’ They are perfectly comfortable with God the Father and God the Son, but are squeamish about God the Holy Spirit. They are “Holy Ghost shy.” Seldom are they truly led by the Spirit and allow themselves to become exited and enthused by the Spirit. Do we dare talk about prophecies? I confess that I have had enough prophetic word spoken over my life, but I dare not treat them contempt. I, therefore, test them to see if they conform to the Word of God and accord with what God has already spoken in my life.

One of the deficits of the post-modern church is that its claims of being led by the Spirit cannot stand up against the Word of God, and a biblically ignorant church accepts whatever they hear without testing it to see if it is accurate and true. Of all the instructions Paul gives his readers here, these two words, test everything leap from the page. Read your Bibles and learn the Word for yourself. In an age where so many claim to operate under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit remember that God will never contradict Himself, so test everything against what He has already spoken. Doing so will enable us to hold on the good and avoid every kind of evil.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for leaving us such wonderful words of encouragement and instruction. We confess that we have not always been the diligent students of Your Word that we should. We have accepted whatever we heard trusting that those who spoke it were faithfully imparting it. We recommit ourselves today to thoroughly studying Your Word for ourselves. By the inspiration of Your Spirit and the teaching of faithful servants fill in the gaps of our understanding so that we might lead the victorious lives for which You created us. Amen.