Scripture:
1 Thessalonians 5:19-20
Fri, 15 July 2022

The Word of God: Listen

Observation:

What do Paul’s instructions, “Do not quench the Spirit” (v.19) and “Do not despise prophecies” (v.20), mean?

Deeper Reflection
PAUL’S INSTRUCTIONS, “DO NOT QUENCH THE SPIRIT” (V.19) and “Do not despise prophecies” (v.20), are both interrelated. They are to be observed in the public worship of a community of God’s people.We need to understand “prophet” and “prophecy” biblically in their primary and secondary sense. In the primary sense, the Old Testament prophets and the apostles are “the foundation” of the church, the new covenant Israel (Eph 2:20), in salvation history; they were “organs of direct revelation” from God, and “infallible teachers”32 who were also writers of God-breathed Scripture (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:19-21). In the secondary sense, all God’s people in the post-Pentecost era receive the Holy Spirit and can “prophesy” (Acts 2:16-18).The common but flawed understanding of “prophet” and “prophecy” is defined by the English dictionary, namely, in terms of predicting the future. But biblically, to “prophesy” is to proclaim what God has spoken (Am 3:8). The “primary function” of the Old Testament prophets was not predictors of the future, but “to speak for God to their own contemporaries”33. “Prophesy” in the post-Pentecost era is “know and speak God’s mind and will”34, for edification, exhortation and instruction for learning in the church (1 Cor 14:4, 19, 31). It “may include various kinds of God-given, revelatory speech, including applied pastoral preaching”35.“Do not despise prophecy” means to treat with respect, to listen to any utterance or message which claims to come from God through the “sovereignty and freedom of the Holy Spirit”36, and not to reject it outright, nor accept it outright.37 Hence, to “despise prophecies” may be tantamount to “quench the Spirit”.
32 John R. W. Stott, The Message of Thessalonians, The Bible Speaks Today (IVP, 1991), 127 33 Gordon D. Fee & Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, Fourth Edition (Zondervan, 1981, 1993, 2003, 2014), 188 34 John R. W. Stott, 127 35 Anthony C. Thiselton, 1 Corinthians: A Shorter Exegetical & Pastoral Commentary (Eerdmans, 2006), 237 36 John R. W. Stott, 131 37 John R. W. Stott, 127, 128
Application:

What should be my posture in listening to the teaching and preaching of the Word of God?

Prayer:
Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.
Prayer Pointers:
  • Give thanks and praise
  • Pray for SGI leaders: To grow in sensitivity to God speaking in their hearts
  • Pray for significant people
  • Pray for those in need
  • Pray for self

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Daily Devo
Daily Devotional Journal
Sun, 31 December 2023

Sunday Journal

Past Week’s Review
  • What was my high point and my low point for the week?
  • What gave me life and what drained me?
  • How was the Spirit of God at work?
Reflect

What is one key thing that God said to me this week in light of what has happened?

Respond

What is one thing I need to do in light of what God is saying?
Commit in prayer.

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