Ephesians 4:30 – “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption”.
The Person of the Holy Spirit
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:,16-19. So the Holy Spirit is a Third Person in the Eternal Godhead. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. Romans 8: 9. If one does not have the Holy Spirit surely such a person is a pretender; he belongs to the other side of the divide that leads to perdition.
We cannot serve God and Mammon at the same time. No man can serve two masters: for either he. will hate the one, and love the other; or else. he will hold to the one, and despise the other, Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Matt. 6: 24.
The Command
So, the command here is “do not grief the Holy Spirit”. Believers are commanded to be careful not to grief the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit is the seal that is given to us unto the day of redemption. That is from the moment we believe in Christ until we will see him in glory, the Holy Spirit seals us and guides us. He is our guide, to remind us, teach us and comfort us along the journey that we are taking to heaven.
It is therefore important that we should see him as a friend that we should not offend him, because the Holy Spirit is actually a person. A person with the character of a dove; very gentle. So, we are admonished, we are counselled and commanded to make sure that we do not grieve him. If we grieve him he will distance himself from us. So, it is so important that as believers we are told here that not to grieve the Holy Spirit.
What does it mean to grieve the Holy Spirit?
It means to offend the Holy Spirit, to hurt the Holy Spirit, to make the Holy Spirit unhappy in taking us on in fulfilling his assignment in our lives. Therefore, we are warned not to grieve the Holy Spirit.
What are those things that can grieve the Holy Spirit?
Ephesians 4:29 and 31 give us clue to the things to do that could make the Holy Spirit to be offended. Verse 29 says, let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth. That is a warning to all believers that no corrupt communication should come out of your mouth.
Don’t be somebody who speaks things that are defiling, corrupt words, discussion that pollutes the heart. It should not be known with us. We should not be people who crack jokes unnecessarily, who talk lousily without restraint. The Bible says, let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth. Ephesians 4: 29.
Verse 31 of Ephesians Chapter 4 then says, Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger and clamour and evil-speaking be put away from you with all malice. In other words, if you’re the kind of person who is always bitter or quarrelsome, you are going to grieve the Holy Spirit. You are going to offend the person of the Holy Spirit.
We are therefore warned that we should put bitterness away from our lives. Brethren, please put bitterness, wrath, anger and fighting away from among you – family unit; community where we live or the local church assemblies. People will offend you, but be careful because you are a carrier of the Holy Spirit. So that the Holy Spirit that is guiding you, teaching you directing you do not feel offended. we must take away from our lives all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, clamour, evil-speaking, with all malice. In other words, if you are the type of person who is always bitter, quarrelling, fighting, you are going to grieve the Holy Spirit. If we have unforgiving spirit, we are telling the Holy Spirit to go out of our lives; that he should not control us. He is not happy when a person in whose life he dwells is bitter, or angry.
Marital Squabbles
Married men and women should note this. Between husband and wife, a number of times they quarrel or disagree. Many people say we can’t do without quarrelling, you are going to offend the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we need to be very careful about this matter. You will be grieving the Holy Spirit if you have corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, and you have bitterness and wrath and anger. Then the Bible says, speak words which are good; speak words which builds others, loving and kind words.
A Call to take a Decision
Beloved, have you entered into personal relationship with Jesus Christ by accepting Him as your Lord and Saviour? If you have not, you need to do so without delay. Inviting and accepting Jesus Christ into your life is the beginning of a glorious and eternally rewarding relationship with God, your Creator. It is a decision you can never regret as you walk with Him faithfully and consistently for the rest of your life. Surrender your life to Jesus Christ today by acknowledging that you are a sinner. God sent Jesus Christ to die for you and as you confess your sins to Him, He will forgive you so that you will not have to be punished for the same. Ask Jesus Christ to cleanse your heart with His precious blood, deliver you from sin and Satan and empower you by the Holy Spirit to henceforth live above sin and live totally for God. You can write and share your testimony via [email protected]