Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:16–22, NIV 1984).
My Musings – What is the difference between grieving (Ephesians 4:30) the Holy Spirit and “[putting] out [or quenching] the Spirit’s fire?” Perhaps nothing? Perhaps opposite sides of the same coin?
In the Ephesians text, it seems to have more to do with actively engaging in sinful activities. Activities that are contrary to living a transformed life. In the 1 Thessalonians text, it seems to have more to do with actively resisting the influence of the Holy Spirit that contribute to living a transformed life. This includes avoiding evil influences that could lead us into temptation.
There are numerous gifts and manifestations of the Spirit’s role in the life of a believer. Another aspect of quenching the Spirit might be being overly hasty in either diminishing (“hold on to the good”) or over emphasizing (“test everything“) certain gifts and manifestations. “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good… All these [gifts] are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as He determines.” (1 Corinthians 12:7, 10–11, NIV 1984).
My Advice – “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” (Jamess 4:16–17, NIV 1984). Clearly, when we do the things we ought not to do and sin, we grieve the Holy Spirit. Perhaps then, ““[putting] out [or quenching] the Spirit’s fire” is one way of “[knowing] the good [we] ought to do and [not doing] it?”
Heads or tails, you call it. Let’s just do our best to neither grieve nor quench the Spirit.
The Brew Is A Musing 