[Eph 4:30] Do not grieve the Holy Spirit
I want to answer three questions -
- understand who is the Holy Spirit and the role of Him,
- so we can then ask the question how can we grieve the Holy Spirit
- and then answer what we can do to not grieve the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit is a Person in the GOD HEAD
Holy Spirit is the third person of the One True Living God of the Bible. He is referred to as the Spirit of God, Holy Spirit of God and Spirit of Jesus in various verses.
We know Holy Spirit was a Person of the God Head, by the following verses.
Jesus, who we know was God (another post on this when we do one of the Gospels), was filled with and full of Holy Spirit [Luke 4:1], which meant his being was God hence proving the statement.
[Acts 28:25] says the Holy Spirit spoke through Prophet Isaiah, and since it was God who spoke through the Prophets in breathing the Word, we prove the above statement. [1Pe 1:12] mentions Holy Spirit was sent from heaven and angels long to look, signifying the Godliness. [Eph6:17] mentions the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God and from [John1:1] we know that Word was God. And finally, [Mat1:18] talks of Mary conceived Jesus of the Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit is a person of the Triune God Head.
When we become belivers, we receive gifts of Holy Spirit according to God's will [Heb 2:4] and He becomes the foundation for our sanctification [Rom15:16]. As we know from [Titus3:5] He is used in the rebirth and regeneration of the believers. The life of a dead sinner is renewed as being born in Holy Spirit causes the change - a new life, new self and opening of the veil. Once we are renewed, we see Jesus as our Lord and Savior and Holy Spirit is indwelt in us. [1Sam10:10] confirms even in OT that the Spirit of God was namong men who prophesied. [Eph4:30, 1:13] confirms that our very redemption is sealed with and by the Holy Spirit.
Hence, we become sons of God [Rom 8:14] lead by the Spirit of God and then He testifies with our spirit that we are the children of God [Rom8:16]
Being filled with Holy Spirit causes you to be filled with joy, peace, hope and righteousness [Rom14:17,15:13]
How can we grieve the Holy Spirit and what is the result [1Cor3:16, 1Cor6:19] Holy Spirit is indwelt within believers, which then means we are the temple of God - our body, mind and soul. We know from OT the directions given by God around how to treat His presence either in the tabernacle, tent or the temple. In addition to [Eph4:30] [1Th5:19] warns to not quench the Spirit. Hence it will be important to know how we can grieve the Holy Spirit,
[Is63:10] gives us the answer. Rebelling against God causes grieving of the Spirit. And OT is filled with notes on what constitutes rebellion.
[Josh22:16,19] and [1Sam12:14] talks of not keeping the commands of the Lord God [Neh9:26] mentions killing prophets and committing great blasphemies [Ez20:8,13 and others] talks of blatant idolatory even when being pious and not walking with the Lord and stopping to walk with the Lord [Ez20:21]. We already saw here. about what it means to walk with the Lord.
The result of grieving the Holy Spirit is destruction, death as a result of this rebellion [Hos7:13] and God becomes our enemy and fights against us [Is 63:10] [Mark3:29] and [Luk12:10] confirms this, as blaspheming against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
Ensuring we dont grieve the Holy Spirit
From the rest of the text [Eph4:25-32] we can discern the following -
- Dont speak falsehood, but speak the truth [25]
- Dont sin in anger, but make sure to reconcile before the day is out [26]
- Dont steal, but labor, work hard and contribute [28]
- Dont speak unwholesome words, but edify according to the need of the moment, showing grace [29]
- Dont be bitter, wrathful, clamor or slander, but be kind, tender hearted and forgive eachother modeling Christ's behavior [31,32]
[Ps51:10-13] is a great summary of a prayer to end this writing-
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.