Quenching the Spirit

The purpose of the Law

Ezekiel 36.27
“And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules.”

1 Thessalonians 5.19-21
Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.

The Oxford English Dictionary supplies a variety of meanings for the verb, “quench.” These include, to put out, extinguish, cool, slake, suppress, or prevent from continuing – none of which ideas sounds like what we want to see happening within our souls where the Spirit of God is concerned. We want the Spirit to burn within us – like He did in the hearts of those two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Lk. 24.32); to well up and overflow like rivers of living water (Jn. 7.37-39); to make us willing and able to obey the Law of God (Phil. 2.13); and to give us power to be witnesses for Jesus Christ in every aspect of our lives (Acts 1.8). So how do we keep from quenching the Spirit and, instead, make room for Him to flourish and to foster within us the life of holiness, righteousness, and goodness? Don’t despise the prophetic Word of God, and hold fast to the Law and the Lord together. If we will make time with God in His Word the first priority of our day, reading widely, meditating deeply, and praying consistently for God to write His Word on our hearts, we will begin to know more of the Spirit’s power to transform us into the image of Jesus Christ and help us to walk in and obey God’s Law. Whatever you’re holding on to that keeps you from that kind of time in God’s Word is quenching the Spirit of God and robbing you of the life of glory you can know in Him.

What are you holding on to, and what are you quenching? What steps can you begin taking to make sure that you aren’t quenching the Spirit of God?

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“In the Gates” is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.