Are you quenching the Holy Spirit?
Holy Spirit dove window (Photo credit: hickory hardscrabble ) A further test which we can apply to ourselves in order to discover whether we are guilty of ‘quenching the Spirit’ suggests itself immediately when we remember that the Spirit is represented by the emblem of fire. It is the one mentioned by John the Baptist . He said, ‘I indeed baptize you with water, but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire’ (Luke 3:16). Fire is characterized not only by heat and light but also by power. It advances, and destroys wherever it goes. Similarly, power is a characteristic of the Holy Spirit . Are we, then, aware of the power of the Spirit within us? If not we are quenching the Spirit. An extraordinary paradox is involved in this matter. The Spirit is the Spirit of God, and is allpowerful; and yet it is possible for us to ‘quench’ the Spirit, to ‘resist’ the Spirit, to ‘grieve’ the Spirit.