3 Admonitions For The Church

Title: 3 Admonitions for the Body. Script: I Thes. 5:19-22

Type: Expository Where: GNBC 5-5-24

Intro: What should I do? We ask ourselves this question a lot, from eating breakfast in the morning (“What should I eat?”) to driving to the store (“What road should I take?”) to choosing a career (“Where should I work?”) to purchasing a home (“Where should I live?”). We can’t get away from the “What should I do?” question, and sometimes that can cause us a lot of anxiety, because we don’t always know what we should do. At the same time, however, God has told us what we should do. What we should do is contained in His Word. I know what you’re thinking: But, the Bible doesn’t tell us what we should eat for breakfast. (Taking care of our bodies as a temple of the Holy Spirit certainly has implications for what kind of food we eat (1 Cor. 6:19). The same kind of reasoning from Scripture can be used for other questions: “What road should I take?” Well, whatever the road, commit your way to the Lord (Ps. 37:5). “Where should I work?” Wherever you work, do your job with all your heart (Col. 3:23). “Where should I live?” Wherever you choose to live, make it your goal to live a peaceful and quiet life as you shine as a light in the world (Matt. 5:14; 1 Thess. 4:11). So, God has given us freedom to choose, with parameters about how to choose. He’s gifted us with faith and reason to live in this world. We’re called to trust Him as we make these small and big decisions, because though He often doesn’t tell us exactly what, who, or where, He does tell us how.

Prop: Exam. I Thes. 5:19-22 we’ll realize 3 more admonitions for the church.

BG:1. I Thes. written by Paul in about 49-50 AD, during 18mo stay in Corinth. 2nd Miss. Journey.

2. Theme of I Thes. is the Second Coming of Christ.

3. This final section has to do with actions in the body, the church.

Prop: Let’s look to I Thes. 5:19ff to see 3 more admonitions for the church.

I. Don’t Quench the Spirit. V.19

A. The First Admonition in this Passage is: “Don’t Quench the Spirit”

1. What Does this Admonition Mean in this Passage?

a. I believe that v. 19 marks an important, but often unnoticed transition in Paul’s admonitions of chapter 5. The previous remarks were made for the application of individuals. I believe that at v. 19 we see a transition going on with an application to corporate worship or gatherings. Thus, the three admonitions we’ll be examining today are understood to be in the context of worship.

b. The Bible commonly portrays the Holy Spirit like a flame. In Acts 2 when the HS comes upon the believers at Pentecost, He is visually manifest in tongues of fire (Acts 2:3). The idea of “quench” carries the idea of putting out a light of a torch, lamp, or fire (Matthew 12:20; 25:8; Hebrews 11:34). The Bible portrays the Holy Spirit as both heat and light. As heat, He impresses the reality of God upon the believer. As light, He reveals who God is to the believer.

2. Paul was addressing a specific negative practice that was ongoing at Thessalonica.

a. The language of the text indicates that the Thessalonians were being told to stop something they were doing. In essence, “stop stifling the Spirit.” Illust: When a blade is being made for use as either say a knife or a sword, after the metal is heated to a certain temperature, with the metal glowing red hot, the skilled craftsman takes that metal and dunks it into a vat of oil to “quench” the metal, quickly bringing the temperature down and hardening the steel.

b. The word “quench” carries the idea of putting out a flame of a torch, lamp, or fire (Matthew 12:20; 25:8; Hebrews 11:34). This is the only place in the NT where the word “quench” is used metaphorically. Essentially the apostle is saying: “Stop putting out the Spirit’s fire!” Honestly, we don’t really know what the Church there was doing that they were being warned against.

B. How Do We apply this Passage in Our Lives today?

1. What does this verse teach?

a. Most all of these important words we’ll examine today in this passage our verbs in the present imperative tense. Why is this important to know? It’s a command to do something in the future that requires continuous or repeated action. When its used in the negative like it is here, the implication is to cease doing something that has been happening. I.e. “Quit quenching the Spirit today, and tomorrow, and next week…” “Stop doing this!” Illust: If your diet is way out of balance and trying to eat more healthy, it’s great that eating Romaine lettuce, but also cut out the 2 liters of Mt. Dew. Not just today, but tomorrow, etc.