Athanasius of Alexandria : We can thus see why Paul, not wanting the grace of the Spirit given to us to grow cold, exhorts us, "Do not quench the Spirit." The only way we can continue to be partakers of Christ is to cling until the end to the Holy Spirit, who was given to us at the beginning. Paul said, "Do not quench" not because the Spirit is under the power of men but because evil and unthankful men certainly do wish to quench the Spirit. Demonstrating their impurity, they drive the Spirit away by their unholy deeds. — FESTAL LETTERS 4.4 John Chrysostom : For it requires much zeal to stir up the gift of God. As fire requires fuel, so grace requires our alacrity, that it may be ever fervent. "I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, that is in thee by the putting on of my hands," that is, the grace of the Spirit, which thou hast received, for presiding over the Church, for the working of miracles, and for every service. For this grace it is in our power to kindle or to extinguish; wherefore he elsewhere says, "Quench not the Spirit." For by sloth and carelessness it is quenched, and by watchfulness and diligence it is kept alive. For it is in thee indeed, but do thou render it more vehement, that is, fill it with confidence, with joy and delight. — HOMILIES ON SECOND TIMOTHY 1 John Chrysostom : A thick mist, a darkness and cloud is spread over all the earth. And, showing this, the Apostle said, "For we were once darkness." (Eph. v. 8) And again, "Ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief." Since therefore there is, so to speak, a moonless night, and we walk in that night, God hath given us a bright lamp, having kindled in our souls the grace of the Holy Spirit. But some who have received this light have rendered it more bright and shining, as, for instance, Paul and Peter, and all those Saints; while others have even extinguished it, as the five virgins, as those who have "made shipwreck concerning the faith," as the fornicator of Corinth, as the Galatians who were perverted. On this account Paul says, "Quench not the Spirit," that is, the gift of grace, for it is his custom so to call the gift of the Spirit. But this an impure life extinguishes. For as any one, who has sprinkled both water and dust upon the light of our lamp, extinguishes it, and if he does not this, but only takes out the oil-so it is also with the gift of grace. For if you have cast over it earthly things, and the cares of fluctuating matters, you have quenched the Spirit. And if you have done none of these things, but a temptation coming from some other quarter has vehemently assailed it, as some wind, and if the light be not strong, and it has not much oil, or you have not closed the opening, or have not shut the door, all is undone. — Homily on 1 Thessalonians 11 Marcus Eremita : Learn from the apostle that we are the ones who grieve the Spirit, extinguishing him in our hearts. He says, "Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophecy"; and again, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit, in whom you have been sealed for the day of redemption." We introduce these testimonies not as if to suggest that every man who has been baptized and obtained grace is henceforth immutable and no longer in need of repentance, but to say that through baptism, according to Christ's gift, the complete grace of God is granted to us for the fulfillment of the commandments. Henceforth each one who receives baptism mystically and yet does not fully perform the commandments, is activated by sin in proportion to their failure—the sin not of Adam but of the one who is negligent. — ON BAPTISM, RESPONSE 5 Philoxenus of Mabbug : That is to say, do not grieve him by sin, otherwise his light will be quenched from your soul—a light which, when kindled within you, gives you the possession of a power that is beyond expression; and you will be able to contend "with principalities and powers," and fight against the evil spirits under heaven, and reject all the world with its pleasures and pains. All are effected by the fervor of the Spirit within us. — Memra on the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit Tertullian : Now, from whom shall I expect (the fulfil-merit of) all this, except from Him whom I have heard give the promise thereof? What "spirit" does he forbid us to "quench," and what "prophesyings" to "despise? " Not the Creator's spirit, nor the Creator's prophesyings, Marcion of course replies. — Against Marcion Book V