Rejoice, Pray, Give Thanks—and Test Everything
A rapid series of commands sketches the congregation’s worshiping discernment: rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in every circumstance, do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophecies, test everything, hold fast to what is good, and abstain from every kind or form of evil.
Where the Old Testament is revealed in the New: Deuteronomy 18:20–22 already teaches Israel that a claim to speak for God is not self-authenticating; prophetic claims must be tested. Paul carries that discernment principle into the church. He does not tell believers to despise prophecy, but neither does he tell them to accept every spiritual utterance uncritically: “prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” This is a canonical development rather than a direct quotation of Deuteronomy.