1 Thessalonians 5:21Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The Apostle, taking account of the illness and weakness of holy Timothy's stomach, commanded him to use wine (cf. 1 Tim 5:23), although he also commanded him to endure afflictions (cf. 2 Tim 4:5) while doing the work of an evangelist.

Therefore a man must hold to discernment, and he will not soon stumble. Nevertheless, act as you judge best.

In order to discern whether what is spoken in a prophetic spirit is from God, or is the speaker's own fantasy and the enemy's delusions, the primitive Church had a special gift of discerning spirits (1 Cor 12:10).

In our time, the positive teaching of the Church serves to distinguish whether inspired and captivating speech is from the truth.

The gift of discerning spirits, living and acting in the Church, has clearly separated what is true from what is false.

In another epistle the Apostle depicts this more fully, saying: "Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may test what is the good and perfect will of God" (Rom 12:2).

The general will of God has already been expressed in the commandments and is known to all. There is no need to investigate it.

But the application of the commandments can vary. Which application should be chosen must be determined by each person at the moment of action.

The mind renewed by grace determines this. Grace forms a spiritual sense, which discerns how to act in a manner pleasing to God (Heb 5:14).

The will of God is the norm. Nothing contrary to it should be admitted under any circumstance. Whenever perplexity arises, it is better to leave the matter undone than to do something doubtful.

The word "keep away" is remarkable. It makes one picture a man walking the path of the Lord's commandments as one passing among thorns or thick grass.

He must push these aside in order to clear the road. This comparison shows that in those zealous for salvation, an evil thought arises against every good undertaking.

One must push it away, so as to hold more freely to the good. Here there is an allusion to what is said in Rom 7:21-23.

It refers to resistance against evil and the compulsion of oneself toward good, until one comes to the reign of good.

In the primitive Church there was a special gift of discernment of spirits for recognizing whether what was said in a prophetic spirit came from God, or whether it was the speaker’s own fantasy and hostile delusion (1 Cor 12:10).

In our time, the positive teaching of the Church serves to distinguish whether inspired and captivating speech is from the truth. This is the touchstone of all teachings.

Accept what agrees with it, and reject what does not agree with it. This can be done without extended reasoning. The gift of discernment of spirits lives and acts in the Church.

It has definitely set boundaries between what is true and what is false. By following the indications of the Church, you will do the same thing as if you followed the grace-filled gift of discernment of spirits.

But if these words are placed in connection with “Do not quench the Spirit,” then we must see in them a continuation of the description of the active principle from which true Christian life begins.

The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is brought forth by the union of grace with freedom. He manifests Himself as the heat of zeal for pleasing God and for salvation.

Elsewhere the Apostle defines what this spirit strives for and seeks: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think on these things” (Phil 4:8).

It cannot even be suspected that one who is zealous in this spirit could consciously incline toward anything directly evil.

Yet among inner movements and in the interweaving of outward circumstances, there is much that only appears good, while in substance it is not good.

By following such things, a person can turn aside from the path of truth and goodness. Therefore the Apostle adds discernment to the spirit of zeal.

Discernment must determine what one should hold to in a given case and from what one should turn away. In another epistle he describes this more fully.

He says, “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may test what is the will of God, good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2).

The object of consideration and inquiry is the will of God, that is, what God wants from you in one or another circumstance. The general will of God has already been expressed in the commandments and is known to all.

There is no need to investigate it. Yet the application of the commandments may vary. Each person must determine for himself, there on the spot and at the moment of action, which application should be chosen in the present combination of contingencies.

The mind renewed by grace determines this. Even external written revelation already enlightens the mind and cleanses the conscience.

But grace, having descended in the holy mysteries and united itself with the human spirit, forms a spiritual sense of the will of God.

This sense is wordless, yet nonetheless reliable. It determines how you will act in a God-pleasing way. This is the same as St. John’s “anointing from the Holy One” (1 Jn 2:20, 27).

It is also the same as the “senses trained for the discernment of good and evil” in Hebrews (Heb 5:14). Discernment reaches this perfection through long training, as the same passage says.

Yet its beginnings are given and revealed from the very start. The experiences of life in one who attends to himself form a school of training.

They are helped by the recorded experiences of the saints and by the counsel of those of one mind, under the invisible guidance of God’s grace.

The zealous spirit by itself may be blind. Its eyes are discernment, which shows where it must direct itself and which side it must hold.