The Bible, the Spirit of Prophecy, and the Church

We Are to Prove the Gift

The divine counsel is that we are to “prove all things” (1 Thessalonians 5:21) and also to “try the spirits” (1 John 4:1). Some are inclined to reject rather hastily any claims to the prophetic gift, but the Lord tells us to “despise not prophesyings.” (1 Thessalonians 5:20.) The word “prophesyings” here refers not to actual “prophecies.” Prophecies result from the exercise of the prophetic gift, and it is the exercise of the gift itself to which reference is made in this text. It is the act of “prophesying” that the apostle has in mind. It is the same word that is rendered “the gift of prophecy” in 1 Corinthians 13:2. BSPC 130.6

There is a great danger that if we despise prophesyings, we “quench” the Spirit of God. After all, this is one way God manifests Himself to the church of Christ. The Greek word rendered “despise” is otherwise rendered “set at nought” (Acts 4:11); and in the various English translations we find such words used as “scorn,” “spurn,” or “disdain.” Moffatt uses the last-named word in his translation as follows: “Never disdain prophetic revelations.” This is good counsel. Remember that Israel turned a deaf ear to the appeals of Jehovah, and they disregarded the messages of His servants the prophets. BSPC 131.1

How careful we need to be to see that we do not “quench” the Spirit of the Lord. In other passages of Scripture we are told that an adverse attitude to the call of God means that we “resist” the Spirit (Acts 7:51), and so “vex” (Isaiah 63:10), or “grieve,” the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). BSPC 131.2