1 Thessalonians 5:20-22 Meaning: What Paul Meant by 'Don't Despise Prophecies'

The word Paul uses for “despise” is strong, it means to make something of no account, to treat it as worthless. Think of pushing something aside without a second glance. That is what believers can easily do with teaching that seems ordinary or comes from a plain speaker. But Paul warns us not to dismiss it.

The command to “test” comes from a word metalworkers used: dokimazō. They would put ore into the fire to see what was genuine. You test teaching the same way, by holding it up to the heat of Scripture. Not to tear it down, but to find the gold.

The last phrase is the most debated. The Greek eidos can mean “appearance” or “form.” Some understand it as avoiding what merely looks like evil. Others read it as avoiding every kind of evil. Either way, the call is the same: don’t play near the edges of wrong. Keep your distance.

Christians across traditions have highlighted different aspects of these verses. Wesley and others understood “prophesyings” as ordinary preaching, not special predictions, so the command is to value regular Bible teaching. Calvin stressed that just as we do not quench the Spirit, we also do not despise the means by which the Spirit speaks. Other commentators, like Vincent and the Cambridge Bible, note that eidos in verse 22 means “kind” rather than “appearance,” so Paul is telling us to abstain from every category of evil, not just what seems wrong. The Geneva Bible and others maintain the traditional reading: avoid even the appearance of evil. Both groups agree we must be careful and thoughtful.

A common misreading is taking “appearance of evil” to mean you must avoid anything that might look bad to others, even if it is innocent. In fact, the Greek eidos can be translated “form” or “kind,” so many Christians read this as “abstain from every form of evil”, a broad command to avoid all wrongdoing, not just what appears wrong. The point is to be thorough in turning from evil, not to manage your image.

This week, you will hear teaching at church, in a small group, or in a podcast. You might be tempted to tune out if the speaker is dull or if you think you already know the material. Paul says: don’t despise it. But also don’t accept everything uncritically. Test it. Ask: Does this match what Scripture says? Is it good? If yes, hold it tight. And if something in your life has even a look of evil about it, step away. You don’t need to see how close you can get without crossing the line.