What Does It Mean if I Quench the Spirit? Ep. 1403: Christian Questions Podcast

Here are some of the questions we answered in this Podcast:

[00:06:37] How do we feed the spirit by being light in the world?

[00:10:43] What's the difference between quenching the spirit and grieving the spirit?

[00:17:47] How do we stop deceiving ourselves when it comes to quenching the spirit?

God’s spirit—His power and influence—is a power we can’t even begin to comprehend. His spirit was introduced to us as the mighty power of His will in Genesis 1:1-3 as His creative process began with “Let there be light.” This same power and influence is described as taking root in us in Ephesians 1:13 where it says we were sealed with God’s spirit through the salvation of Jesus. With all of the marvel of this mighty power of God working in us, how is it that we can “quench” it? Why would we ever even think of doing such a thing and most importantly, what do the Scriptures tell us about handling this awesome privilege with reverence and humility?

The biblical warning from 1 Thessalonians 5:19 to “not quench the spirit” has important meaning in regard to Christian conduct in our day. Quenching the powerful and transformative force of God’s spirit means stifling or extinguishing that divine influence through neglect, disobedience or self-deception.

Critical elements for avoiding this spiritually destructive behavior were laid out by the Apostle Paul in his previous teachings about rejoicing (https://youtu.be/qwZ_DAjwHXM) , prayer and gratitude, as these behaviors “fuel” the spirit.

Conversely, bitterness (https://christianquestions.com/character/1212-bitterness/) ,