(June 6 is Pentecost Sunday)
“And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, in whom ye were sealed unto the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30
To grieve someone means to injure or to harm, to try, or to occasion grief to someone. There is no doubt but that on the human level of interpersonal relationships, we repeatedly grieve one another. In family relationships, between husbands and wives, between parents and children, among friends, we do and say things, often unintentionally, that cause grief to other persons. Hardly need we illustrate that, for the hurts of our society are all too obvious—divorce rates, runaway children, family quarrels, child abuse, abortions, etc. It would be quite impossible to measure the grief borne in men‘s hearts in a broken world.
God also experiences being grieved. Oh, not because someone is returning injury for injury. Not either because there has been a lack of communication from Him to us. But because, wholly unwarranted, we say things and do things that cause injury to Him, that hurt Him, that occasion grief to Him. Even those who love Him because He first loved them are found guilty at this point. In fact, those who don‘t love Him do not just grieve Him, they hate Him. We are not hurt by those who have never made a commitment of love or friendship to liS in the first place, but by those who are dear to us and loved by us. So with God. It is His people who have the potential for grieving Him. And that gives rise to some sober reflection on our part.
Grieve the Holy Spirit of God? We cringe at the thought of it! “Surely, not intentionally,” we say.
“But when? and how?” Well, pause and think a moment about who this One is whom Paul exhorts us not to grieve. He is “the Holy Spirit of God.” He is the One apart from whom we cannot be saved. He is the originator of whatever good there is in us. From Him we receive life, and by Him that life is sustained. He is the One who, through the tool of the Word of God, causes our life to develop and ultimately to reach its destiny. He is the author of every good fruit that is produced in our life. In fact, that Holy Spirit makes us His temple and dwelling place.
And He is Holy, set apart completely from sin unto purity. In Him there is no sin nor motion of sin. Ethical, moral, spiritual spotlessness is His character. For He is the Spirit of God.
Understanding that, do we not begin to sense the multitude of possibilities and the tremendous potential within us for grieving the Spirit? Whenever we give in to the lie, or are inclined to any kind of deceit; whenever we act out of revenge or jealousy; whenever we yield to sinful coveting; whenever we have evil thoughts and suggestions echoing through our minds, we are grieving the Holy Spirit.
He is not only the One who applies the merits of Christ’s atoning work to us, but He is the One who fills us with the assurance of our salvation and therefore with great joy. Paul put it this way: “in whom ye were sealed unto the day of redemption.” His reference is to the fact that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are guaranteed a final and complete deliverance from sin, and shall some day enter the new heaven and the new earth where sin shall be no more.
Do we ever doubt the Holy Spirit’s power to accomplish that? Do we ever give in to doubts about our own salvation? Do we question His ability to forgive our sins, or wonder if He will keep His promises to us? Then we grieve the Holy Spirit of God, for we do not take Him who cannot lie at His word. What He promises, He will do. What He begins, He will finish. If He has made our heart His home and dwelling place, He will never leave us or forsake us! If in Him we are sealed unto the day of redemption, then any attempts on our part to earn our own salvation, or any thoughts of meritorious works, or any fears of the insufficiency of Christ’s perfect sacrifice. cause hurt to the Holy Spirit of God.
Oh, there are attitudes more tragic than grieving the Holy Spirit. In Acts 7:1, there is a stern warning about the evils of “resisting the Holy Spirit.” And in I Thessalonians 5:19, Paul urges that we “quench not the Spirit.” But doing the one easily leads to the other. Repeated and unconfessed grieving of the Spirit may soon turn into resisting and then quenching the Spirit. Let such a thought be the motive for each of us to be more conscious of the ways in which we may be grieving the Spirit, and then thankfully and willfully give ourselves to a more conscious yielding to the Spirit’s guidance.
Thank God for Pentecost! For when He gave us the Holy Spirit, He “gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and discipline” (I Tim. 1:7). Let us not grieve the Spirit, but pray for an ever-increasing sense of His Presence in our lives.
Spirit divine, attend our prayer And make our hearts Thy home; Descend with all Thy gracious power; Come, Holy Spirit, come.
Come as the dew; on hearts that pine Descend in this still hour, Till every barren place shall own With joy Thy quickening power.