I Thessalonians 5:19
“do not despise prophetic utterances.”
Prophetic utterances generally refers to the bible teaching done in church. Some in the church were resistant to this. The prior verse says, “don’t quench the Spirit.” Something about this church was oppositional to God’s leading. This could be due to cultural differences, ignorance or immaturity. Those who came from a greek background had pagan religious experiences. The ways of the Lord would be very different.
The god of the Bible is monotheistic. He is the ultimate authority and He seeks to guide us by His words. The greek religions had many emphases. Logic was on one extreme and sensuality was on the other. They were human focused.
When a greek would come to Christ, there would be much that would have to change. While the Ten Commandments weren’t a means to salvation, they were to be obeyed. This would a dramatic shift in thinking and lifestyle.
God is patient with us. He will use life circumstances to weed things out of us. At this point the Thessalonians were having difficulty with God’s authority and how that’s exercised through the church leaders. Paul is stepping in with his comments about prophetic utterances.
It’s not only the gentiles who had problems with God’s authority. Jesus said to Jerusalem, “you who stoned the prophets who were sent to you”, (Luke 13:34). While Israel was a religious nation, they often rejected the prophets God sent to them. Israel wasn’t unique. All worldly cultures oppose God.
On an individual level, each of us also want pure independence. A good portion of our daily obedience involves us bowing of our knees to His lordship. In one sense we all have to address how we might despise His leadership. Initially our natural reaction is resistance. We have to learn to submit. Whenever we feel the Spirit addressing a new area in our lives, we can become defensive. After time we relax and begin to open up. As this pattern repeats itself for weeks, months and years, we know the cycle and become more open.
We begin to have a light touch on our agenda. We welcome the Spirit’s influence. In previous years we may have seen it as interruptions. Now we can look at them with eager curiosity as to what God might be doing.
Lord, help us not to despise Your influence, but to welcome it.