Discipleship Devotional, January 12th, 2025
1 Thessalonians 5:19 (KJV)
“Quench not the Spirit.”
There are various factors that seek to quench the Spirit’s influence in our lives. A life of sin, yielding to fleshly lusts, is one such factor as it dulls our ability to desire God. However, today’s devotional focuses on another factor that quenches the Spirit’s influence—false teachings. Specifically, we’ll examine the false teaching of cessationism.
Cessationism is the belief that certain spiritual gifts—such as prophecy, speaking in tongues, and miraculous healings—ceased with the end of the apostolic age. While this teaching is accepted in some Christian circles, it is indeed a false doctrine because it lacks foundation in the Word of God. The Bible and the history of the early Church provide clear records of the manifestation of spiritual gifts, not only through apostles but also through others, such as Philip the Evangelist, through whom God performed signs and wonders.
This teaching has left many of its adherents spiritually dry, giving no room for the Spirit’s full expression. When we observe an absence of spiritual manifestations in a given place or time, it should prompt us to seek God more, not to justify the absence with concocted doctrines. Believers should respond with prayer and a renewed study of Scripture.
In the days of Gideon, when miracles seemed absent, Gideon cried out to God, asking why:
“And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”
—Judges 6:13 (KJV)
Gideon did not assume that God’s power had ceased. Instead, he sought the Lord, asking for an explanation and trusting that God could still work miracles. Similarly, revivals often begin when people recognize their spiritual dryness and seek God’s power afresh. However, when we justify spiritual dryness by embracing teachings that suggest God no longer works through signs and wonders, we quench the Spirit and make others comfortable in a spiritually dry state.
Some may argue, “Is it necessary to desire spiritual gifts?” The truth is that it pleases God when we use everything He has given us for His glory. Disregarding spiritual gifts because you think it does not affect your salvation, is akin to receiving a gift from your spouse and refusing to use it, reasoning that it won’t affect your marriage. How would your spouse feel? This is the same way we sound when we disregard the gifts God has graciously given to us.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, help me to desire and make full use of the gifts You have given me. May I use them all for Your glory and never quench the Spirit in my life. Amen.
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