1 Thessalonians 5:21

Prove all things,.... That are said by the prophets, all the doctrines which they deliver; hear them, though they have not the gift of tongues, and all desirable advantages; do not reject them on

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. B Delta G f g, Vulgate, insert, 'but.' 'Aleph (') A C omit it.

Prove all things; this duty relates to the former; as they were to attend upon prophesyings, so to exercise a discerning judgment about what was prophesied; for all things is not to be taken here universally, but for doctrines and opinions in religion which were delivered by the prophets. The same which the apostle John requires: Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, & c.; dokimazete and it is the same word there which in this text we read prove; alluding to gold or other metals, which are tried in the fire, or by a touchstone, as some think. And though there was a peculiar gift of discerning of spirits, , yet it is the duty of every Christian to try men’ s spirits and doctrines whether from God or no. The apostle speaks here to the saints in general, and so doth the apostle John, . And men’ s doctrines are to be judged by the Scriptures as the standard of truth, as the Bereans were commended for searching the Scrictures about the apostle’ s doctrine, ; and the apostle prays for the Philippians, that they might discern things that differ, ; and if they had not yet attained it as they ought, yet he prays that they might and not be always babes, but such as the apostle speaks of, who have their senses exercised in the discerning of good and evil, ,14: the people are to look upon them as their guides and leaders, as they they are called, ,17, and such as are to go before them in the searching and dispensing of truth; yet, because the best are but infallible, they ought to try their doctrine by the rule of truth. Which is that judgment of discretion which protestants allow to the people in their disputes with the papists against their doctrine of infallibility and implicit faith, which grounds the people’ s faith upon the authority of men, which ought to rest upon the authority of God. As we ought not easily to reject the authority and faith of the church, so not to believe with a blind faith, or obey with a blind obedience. Holdfast to that which is good: the good here meant is truth, which is an intellectual good; the contrary to which is error, which is a mental evil. When we have proved men’ s doctrines and opinions, what we find agreeable to the Scriptures of truth we ought to hold fast. And though all truth hath a goodness in it, yet especially Divine truth, and the doctrine of the gospel, which the apostle calls, that good thing committed to Timothy, . It is good with respect to the soul, and so better than any bodily good; and good that refers to eternity, and so better than any temporal good. Now this good we are to hold fast; to hold it fast against adversaries and all opposition, as some understand the word; to hold it as with both hands, against seducing doctrine, Satan’ s temptations, and the world’ s persecution.

21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Ver. 21. Prove all things] Take nothing that you hear upon trust (Νηφεκαιμεμνησοαπιστειν, Epicharm.), but bring all to the test, Isaiah 8:20. To the law, i.e. the Old Testament, and to the testimony, i.e. the New, which is by St John often called the testimony. Mercer observes that of the Hebrew word ozen for an ear, cometh Moznaiim for a pair of balances; to note that we must weigh what we hear; our two ears must be as balances for that purpose. Hold fast that which is good] Orthodox, current, agreeable to, and approvable by, the Scriptures, especially that which God hath made good and sweet to your own souls. Hold fast that thou hast, &c. Hast thou found honey? eat it, Proverbs 25:16. Go on to heaven eating of it, as Samson did of his honeycomb.

(21) Prove all things.—The right reading inserts a “but”:—“I bid you pay all reverence to the cheering utterances of your prophets (comp. Acts 15:32); but take care! put everything to the test.” That the warning was needed, or would be needed soon, is shown by 2 Thessalonians 2:2. It is couched in general terms (all things), but, of course, has special reference to all things purporting to be manifestations of the Spirit. And how were these revelations to be tested? If they were not in accordance (1) with the original tradition (2 Thessalonians 2:2), (2) with the supernatural inspirations of the other prophets who sat as judges (1 Corinthians 14:29), (3) with enlightened common sense (1 John 4:1), they could not be “good.” The word “good” here is not vague and general good in the moral sense—not the same Greek word as in 1 Thessalonians 5:15—but “good” in the sense of “genuine,” “answering to the proper conception of what it purports to be.” The same word is used in the same sense in John 10:11.

Verse 21. Prove all things] Whatever ye hear in these prophesyings or preachings, examine by the words of Christ, and by the doctrines which, from time to time, we have delivered unto you in our preaching and writings. Try the spirits-the different teachers, by the word of God. Hold fast that which is good.] Whatever in these prophesyings has a tendency to increase your faith, love, holiness, and usefulness, that receive and hold fast. There were prophets or teachers even at that time who professed to be of God, and yet were not.

21. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good] Some of the best ancient authorities read, But prove all things. In any case, this exhortation, while capable of the widest application, arises out of the subject of the last. “Instead of accepting or rejecting wholesale what is addressed to you as prophecy, use your judgement; learn to discriminate; sift the wheat from the chaff.” So needful was it to distinguish between true and false revelations, that a special endowment was bestowed on some persons for this end—the “discernment of spirits” (1 Corinthians 12:10). And St Paul gives a criterion for the purpose in 1 Corinthians 12:3. Comp. 1 John 4:1-3, “Beloved, believe not every spirit; but try the spirits, whether they are of God.”“The good” represents a different word from that of 1 Thessalonians 5:15 (see note); it signifies what is good or fine in quality, as in 2 Thessalonians 3:13.

Prove all things - Subject everything submitted to you to be believed to the proper test.

21. Prove—That is, probe, try, test, put to the test. The word is specially used of testing counterfeit coin by ringing, weighing, fire, or touchstone.