Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by
whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath
and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in
Christ also has forgiven you. --Ephesians 4:30-32
Why are we not to grieve the Holy Spirit?
Many have taken this passage to mean that they can push the Holy Spirit to the
place where He will either leave or God will severely punish them. However, we
must first look at why the Holy Spirit is given. Acts 9:31, “So the church
throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and
going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it
continued to increase.” The Comforter is technically a Helper. John 14:16, “And
I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with
you forever,” and John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your
remembrance all that I said to you.” So, then, how does the believer grieve the
Holy Spirit? Simply by refusing His help.
Often I have had the unpleasant experience
of “helping” someone learn the computer. I must admit that most of the time it
has been a grievous experience, for, out of necessity, the person learning must
be at the keyboard, the control center. The problem is that he is always asking
questions, and then before I can suggest the answer, he starts moving the mouse
all around, madly clicking here and there and already creating a problem much
worse than if he had done nothing. He wants help but does not want help, and I
am grieved. I am the helper there to make his life easier, but to the extent
that he refuses to listen, his life will be less than productive and he will
know nothing. I was there for his good, not my own, and if he does not listen,
I am grieved for him but have not cut him off.
The same is true for our children. As
parents we are helpers. However, if our young ones refuse to listen and go
their own way, we are grieved for their sake. The Holy Spirit only tells us the
things that will make us happy; if we follow, the Holy Spirit is not grieved.
It is a difficult concept, but sin no longer hurts Jesus; He already died for
the sin of all men. We are not to sin because sin hurts us, and when we are
hurt, the Helper is grieved. Therefore, to be happy and not grieve the Helper,
do the following, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and
slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven
you.”
It has been my experience as a pastor to
see very few Christians ever giving thought to whether or not they are
“grieving the Holy Spirit.” Most of them
because they do not think they have committed a “big” enough sin that qualifies
for that. To even think of “refusing the
Spirit’s help” is not even what most Christians would consider as something
that would grieve the Spirit.
The “difficult concepts” are those that
keep us from experiencing God.
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