Monday: Grieving the Holy Spirit – Part 1
Read Ephesians 4:30. Here Paul uses an imperative and admonishes us not to grieve the Holy Spirit. What does it mean to grieve the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is a personal being, not just a divine force. That is why He can be grieved.
Image © Jeff Preston Goodsalt.com
But how do we grieve the Holy Spirit? Perhaps we should remember that one of the tasks of the Holy Spirit is to open our eyes to sin (John 16:8). He leads us to Jesus, who forgives our sins and sanctifies us. After all, God’s Spirit is called “holy.” This means that He hates sin. But He rejoices when we are obedient to God in all things and think and speak what is pure and holy. On the other hand, this also means that He is grieved when we cherish anything that is unworthy of our divine calling. Any determination on our part to hold on to sin or to downplay the seriousness of sin grieves Him. Grieving the Holy Spirit is a serious thing.
The context of Paul’s statement in Ephesians 4:30 about the grieving of the Holy Spirit deals with the lifestyle one lived before being converted by Christ, and what came after that conversion. As new creatures in Christ, we should be patient and gentle with each other, forbearing one another in love, and being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:2-3). Being renewed by the Spirit (Eph. 4:23), we are now following Christ, our new head (Eph. 4:15) and so we do not walk in the vanity of our minds, as the Gentiles do (Eph. 4:17). Instead we live a life that is pleasing to God (Eph. 4:24-31).
Whenever we allow any of the negative things mentioned in these verses in chapter 4 to find room in our hearts, and when they manifest themselves in our words and deeds, then the Spirit is sad and grieved. Grieving the Holy Spirit means to spurn His sanctifying presence and His life-transforming power because we continue to willfully sin.
| The Holy Spirit is not indifferent to how we live. Read Ephesians 4:25-31, and list the specific moral behaviors that grieve the Holy Spirit. Why is the Holy Spirit grieved by these things? |
(26)
We grieve the Holy Spirit by living like pagans (Eph 4:17-19),by lying (Eph 4:25),by being angry (Eph 4:26-27),by stealing (Eph 4:28),by cursing (Eph 4:29),by being bitter (Eph 4:31),by being unforgiving (Eph 4:32) and by being sexually immoral (Eph 5:3-5)
To grieve the Holy Spirit is to act in a sinful manner, whether by it by though or by deed. Jesus died in the cross to cover our nakedness (sins) ,let's pray God give us the Holy Spirit that may guid us to not to act in sinful nature.
after grieving of the Holy Spirit, is there still remission of sins or your fate will be decided
Hi Mandlenkosi. Grieving the Holy Spirit is not the unpardonable sin so yes, the sins which grieve Holy Spirit can be forgiven conditional on earnest repentance. See Thursday's lesson for more on the unpardonable sin.
So what is remission of sins? In my opinion it is when a person asks for forgiveness for wrongdoing upon condition of repentance. Remission of sins is made possible by the atonement of Jesus Christ. A person obtains a remission of his sins if he has faith in Christ, repents of his sins, receives the ordinances of baptism and laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and obeys God’s commandments. Then he/she walks in the light of God's Word, trusting that Christ has forgiven his/her sins. Taking this opertunity to forget the past, and start with a clean slate. Praise the Lord. God Bless You. Matthew 26:28.
For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many(all who will ask and will recieve) for the remission of sins.
We grieve the Holy Spirit by failing to take and believe in His power to help us overcome every weakness, every sin that separates us from God. It is a sin of unbelief, and willful neglect or denial of the power and provision God has given for our transformation.
The Spirit of God is frustrated and not able to complete the work that was begun in us as God promised.
1 Thess 5:19- Quench not the Spirit and Eph 4:30 - And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Blacksmiths in olden days would work with iron by heating it, pound it into shape and sink it into water to cool it down. We quench the Holy Spirit only to our own peril for He is essential for our salvation. It is through the Holy Spirit that we become God's children. Romans 8:14 informs us that:"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God,these are sons (children) of God." The Spirit gives us life. And John 6:63 attests that: "It is the Spirit who gives life;the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. Earth without breath is dead. People without the Spirit are spiritually dead." We quench the Holy Spirit and the inevitable result is divisiveness in the community of believers.
You can only grieve a human being therefore it must follow that the Spirit who can be grieved is a Divine being. We grieve the Spirit by breaking God's moral law. Quenching and grieving the Spirit take us away from the influence of the Holy Spirit and leads God's children astray.
Mandlenkosi, Ephesians 4:30.... I commented on this verse in another section. Verse 30 answers your question. The seal in verse 30 refers to a guarantee of our redemption on that final day. Another version says, "And do not make Gods Holy Spirit sad; for the Spirit is God's mark of ownership on you, a guarantee that the Day, will come when God , will set you free." We all for the most part, do things, intentional or unintentional, that make God sad because He allows us to make choices.