Do not grieve the Holy Spirit

Ephesians 4:30-32 (NIV)

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 

The Bible says that if you are a reborn believer in Jesus Christ that you must not grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30 above) and you must not quench the Holy Spirit (I Thessalonians 5:19).  The Greek meaning of “grieve” is to “make sorrowful”; the Greek meaning of “quench” is to “extinguish”.  Grieving the Holy Spirit is something that you do that is unbiblical while quenching the Holy Spirit is something that you don’t do that biblically should have been done. 

Earlier in the letter to the Ephesian church, Paul described 7 spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3-14) the last of which is the sealing of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer in Jesus Christ (v 13-14).  What is difficult to comprehend is the fact that the Holy Spirit is a person within the life of a born-again believer.  Throughout Scripture the Holy Spirit is referred to as “he”, not “it”.  The Holy Spirit possesses a personality.  Only a person can be grieved.  The Holy Spirit is grieved when a Christian does things that are not acceptable to God.  As you read Ephesians 4:17-5:21, you learn that the Holy Spirit is grieved such actions as

·  living like a pagan (living your daily life as if God doesn’t exist)

·  lying

·  being angry

·  stealing

·  cursing

·  being bitter

·  being unforgiving

·  being sexually immoral

So every time that you commit one of these sins you grieve the Holy Spirit. 

Every time that you fail to do something that God desires you to do (or to be)—e.g. being joyful, thankful, prayerful, unselfish—you quench the Holy Spirit.  Quenching the Holy Spirit suppresses or prevents Him from leading your life according to the will and ways of God.  Fire is one of the descriptions of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11, Acts 2:3).  Of course, a fire can be quenched if it is not “fed” with air.  The fire of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer can be quenched as well if you do not allow Him to fill and guide you.

Grieving and quenching the Holy Spirit hinder you from living a godly life.  Sins of commission and omission will do this.  It is impossible, humanly, never to grieve or quench the Spirit, but it is humanly possible to keep growing in Christ and minimize your sins.  You do this by saturating your mind with God’s Word and everyday pray for forgiveness and help to do the right things and be the right person. 

Someone once said that you grieve only someone who loves you.  Your enemies don’t grieve when you fail.  May you be encouraged by this truth of such magnificent divine love that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have for you.