He empowers us to enjoy God.
Enjoying God: Part 2 (2)
Do not quench the Spirit. 1Thessalonians 5.19
The work of the Holy Spirit
It seems strange to think that we might somehow be able to quench the Spirit of God. That word “quench” is from the Greek verb, σβέννυμι (sbennumi) and means to put out a fire so that it no longer burns. It’s the root from which we get the word asbestos—the fireproof material that was for many years used to defeat fires in home construction.
What Paul suggests is that a fire is burning in our soul, but it’s not a fire we want to extinguish. It is rather one we should work to enhance—a precious gift from God, the Spirit of power and love and self-control, which it is our responsibility to fan into flame (1 Tim. 1.6).
The Spirit is given to all who believe in Jesus. He dwells and is at work within us, to make us more like Jesus. He teaches us the secret things of the Lord. And He convicts and corrects us when we stray from the Lord’s path. He gifts and empowers us for ministry—for service, in which, as we have seen, great joy is to be known. He is Himself fully God. Thus, He knows and participates in the joy of the Lord, and He brings that joy with Him as He comes to abide with us.
Joy is a primary aspect of the fruit the Spirit is working to bring forth in our lives (Gal. 5.22). A fuller life in the Spirit of God can be a strong help to enjoying Him more fully.
A Presence of fire!
The Spirit is a fiery Presence in our soul, like a fireplace on a cold day, coal burning in a steam engine, heat under a pan of savory food, a furnace for purifying metal, and a forge to bring new shape to stubborn souls.
This last image especially speaks of the Spirit’s work, Who is not only the forge that prepares our soul for transformation but the divine Smith, Who hammers to bend us into the shape of Jesus:
Batter my heart, three-person’d God, for you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise and stand, o’erthrow me, and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
(John Donne)
Again, it seems improbable that we should be able to resist such power, to quench the Holy Spirit and deprive ourselves of the joy He labors to heat up within our soul. But it must be so, else Paul would not warn us of it.
How do we quench the Spirit?
Quenching the Spirit
The greatest bulwark and obstacle we throw up against the joy-bringing work of the Holy Spirit is unbelief.
We do not believe the Spirit is rewriting the script of our lives, so we spend little time attending to that script as it is provided for us in God’s Law (Ezek. 36.26, 27).
We do not believe that being filled with the Spirit is a continuous necessity, so we neither seek His filling nor walk the path where such filling can be known (Eph. 5.18; Gal. 5.16).
We do not believe that we should read, study, and search all the Scriptures, and thus we do not keep up with the Spirit’s teaching program (Jn. 16.13-15; 1 Cor. 2.12, 13).
We doubt that the power of the Spirit will be available when opportunities for bearing witness arise (Acts 1.8; Lk. 12.11, 12), and so we keep silent, not wanting to risk offending someone.
We do not believe that the Spirit has given us significant spiritual gifts to use in building the Lord’s church (1 Cor. 14.7-11), so we keep our involvement in our local church to a minimal level.
We do not believe that we don’t know how to pray as we ought (Rom. 8.26), so we seldom seek the Spirit’s help in our prayers.
And we do not believe that being saved should entail hard work (Phil. 2.12, 13), or that becoming more like Jesus is really for us (2 Cor. 3.12-18), so we settle into a comfortable and convenient mode of salvation and refuse to be budged from it.
In such cases of unbelief, the fire of the Holy Spirit burns very low. And in persistent situations such as these, there is reason to think that His holy fire has not yet been ignited in the soul.
The Holy Spirit brings the joy of the Lord, that we might enjoy knowing, loving, and serving Him. He strives mightily within us to bring that joy to light, to fire us up with the joy of the Lord for the purposes of His Kingdom and glory. Let us make sure that we are not quenching the Spirit and His joy by our unbelief.
Search the Scriptures
1. What did Paul say about the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12.7-11? Which gifts of the Spirit are you using to serve the Lord?
2. Read John 16.8-11. What work of the Spirit did Jesus describe here? How does that help us in enjoying God?
3. Read Acts 1.8. How do you expect the power of the Spirit to use you as a witness today? Why should we expect that being faithful in our witness would help us enjoy God more?
Next steps—Transformation: Review the various ways we quench the Spirit and thus rob ourselves of His joy. Take steps to remedy any of these areas that apply to you.
T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
How should joy affect our lives as Christians? Our booklet, Joy to Your World!, can show you how both to know more of the Lord’s joy and to invite others into it as well. Order your copy by clicking here.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
