Grieving the Spirit
EPHESIANS 4:30
THE SUBJECT OF GRIEVING THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD IS OF PRIMARY importance. In this week’s blog it is our privilege and responsibility to learn about this subject…
EPHESIANS 4:30 IN ITS IMMEDIATE CONTEXT OF VV. 29-31…
NAS Ephesians 4:29-31 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
“A POWERFUL MOTIVATION FOR PUTTING OFF UNWHOLESOME TALK IS that not to do so will ‘grieve the Holy Spirit of God.’ All sin is painful to God, but sin in His children breaks His heart. When His children refuse to change the ways of the old life for the ways of the new, God grieves. The Holy Spirit of God weeps, as it were, when He sees Christians lying instead of speaking the truth, becoming unrighteously rather than righteously angry, stealing instead of sharing, and speaking corrupt instead of uplifting and gracious words. Whatever violates the will of God and the holiness of the heart will grieve the third Person of the Trinity.” – MacArthur…
IT IS ALL BUT IMPOSSIBLE TO INTELLIGENTLY STUDY THIS PASSAGE AND NOT come away with the distinct impression that the Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force, as many claim, but a real Person. The prominent obvious: an impersonal force does not grieve; a personal Being grieves…
LAST WEEK I MENTIONED THE IMPORTANCE OF APPROACHING V. 30 AND its important theological principle through its context. The context of vv. 25-32, with all of its practical exhortations, has to do essentially with our speech…
“THE COORDINATING CONJUNCTION ‘AND’ (καί [kai]) is first in this section, which would suggest that v. 30 is not a new and separate injunction but is to be added to the last exhortation in v. 29. Therefore the text would read, ‘let no unwholesome words come from your mouths, and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God. Both imperatives are in the present tense which portrays the action as an ongoing process.” – Hoehner…
I CANNOT RECALL EVER HEARING EITHER A SERMON OR A SERIOUS TEACHING that has mentioned, let alone done justice to – this salient point. This important teaching on the Holy Spirit is not existing in a vacuum; it exists within a context, and the context has to do primarily with our speech. All sin grieves the Holy Spirit, to be sure, but mainly it is sins of the tongue that grieve Him…
NLT 1 Peter 3:10 For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies.
NAS James 1:26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.
SPEAKING IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOD’S WORD IS A MAJOR PART OF WALKING worthily (Ephesians 4:1). Our pleasing speech is one major way to exhibit we are indeed New Men and New Women in Christ.
“CONVERSATION THAT HELPS BUILD UP THE COMMON LIFE IN CHRIST IS a congenial instrument for the Holy Spirit to use to this end. On the other hand, conversation (or any other activity) that endangers the unity of the body of Christ ‘grieves’ the Holy Spirit.” – Bruce
THE GREEK WORD FOR “GRIEVE” (λυπέω [lu-pay-o]) is defined by BDAG, the leading Greek lexicon in the world today, as 1. to cause severe mental or emotional distress, vex, irritate, offend, insult…
ONE SCHOLAR I READ LAST WEEK AS I WORKED ON THIS BLOG LIKENED Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:25-32 to David’s words in Psalm 139, where the psalmist wrote…
NAS Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.
“PAUL HAD MUCH THE SAME GOAL IN MIND FOR THE CHRISTIANS AT EPHESUS; they were to cast aside specific sins and embrace specific virtuous actions.” – Garner…
WHILE I WAS IN THE PSALMS I CAME ACROSS ALSO PSALM 141, VV.3-4, and these words appropriate to our study…
NAS Psalm 141:3-4 Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. 4 Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, To practice deeds of wickedness With men who do iniquity; And do not let me eat of their delicacies.
A PARTICULARLY RELEVANT PRAYER IN LIGHT OF OUR RECENT STUDIES in this closing section of chapter 4 of Ephesians, which has so much to do with sins of the tongue.
SOME OTHER USES OF THE GREEK WORD λυπέω (lu-pay-o), “grieve”… (from Hoehner) Joseph told his brothers not to grieved for what they had done to him…
NAS Genesis 45:5 “And now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.
DAVID GRIEVED OVER HIS SON ABSALOM…
NAS 2 Samuel 19:2 And the victory that day was turned to mourning for all the people, for the people heard it said that day, “The king is grieved for his son.”
AND THE PROPHET ELISHA GRIEVED BECAUSE OF KING JOASH…
LXE 2 Kings 13:19 And the man of God was grieved (“angry” – NAS, NKJ, ESV) at him, and said, If thou hadst smitten five or six times, then thou shouldest have smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed them; but now thou shalt smite Syria only thrice.
WE CHRISTIANS TODAY CAN GRIEVE THE HOLY SPIRIT, BUT WE CANNOT grieve Him away. Because we have been sealed in Him. This fact brings us great comfort, and it should compel us to “Walk Worthy” out of gratitude. We were sealed in the Holy Spirit at the moment of our salvation… – (from McGee)
“SEALED” IS THE SAME GREEK WORD FOUND EARLIER IN EPHESIANS IN 1:13…
NAS Ephesians 1:13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation– having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
THE GREEK WORD σφραγίζω (sfra-geed-zo) MEANS [from BDAG] 3. to mark with a seal as a means of identification, mark, seal.
THINK OF THE SEAL AS A MARK OF OWNERSHIP THAT CARRIES WITH IT the protection of the owner.
“THE SEAL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS NOT SOMETHING YOU FEEL. Rather, the Spirit takes up quiet residence within you at the moment you commit your trust in Christ. When the Holy Spirit takes up residence within you, He does so permanently. He has promised that, even if you grieve and offend Him, He will not leave you. No, the Spirit will never leave you, but if you grieve the Spirit you will have to live with a grieved Spirit within you.” – Steadman
HAVE YOU EVER EXPERIENCED PAIN – UNLIKE ANY OTHER PAIN – of falling out of fellowship with God? No, you don’t lose your salvation when you sin, but you lose the intimacy of fellowship with God. One writer has described this special, unconventional pain this way: “First, there is a sense of inner conflict, a tension, a restlessness. The Holy Spirit is pulling you in one direction, while the lusts of the flesh pull you in another direction.” – Steadman…
PAUL DESCRIBES THIS INNER CONFLICT AS A CIVIL WAR that rages within us…
NAS Galatians 5:17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
“IF NOTHING IS DONE about that sense of turmoil and tension, if those feelings go unheeded, then we become fragmented and divided against ourselves. Soon we become unhappy and depressed, joyless and listless. This is why Christians sometimes have to drag themselves to church and force themselves to do their Christian duty. This is why Christians often seem to lack energy for their ministry tasks. Christianity was never intended to be a chore carried out under a burden of obligation. When our lives are in harmony with the Spirit of God, we feel energized for the tasks God has given us to do.” – Steadman
IN BRIEF, CHRISTIANS GRIEVE THE SPIRIT WHEN THEY ACT IN SINFUL WAYS such as those mentioned in the context of vv. 25-32. “Believers are not to behave contrary to the nature of the Spirit in whose likeness and by whose power they are being changed. Instead, they are to please the Spirit by living in purity.” – Garner
SAID ANOTHER WAY, ANYTHING THAT TAKES AWAY FROM OUR WORTHY WALK with the Lord maybe seen as “Grieving the Spirit.” Paul’s memorable words in v. 1 of chapter 4 govern the entire rest of the book of Ephesians…
NKJ Ephesians 4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
ALL OF CHAPTER 4 MAY BE SAID TO BE AN OUTGROWTH OF VERSE 1. All of the remaining 3 chapters of the book of Ephesians, chapters 4-6, can be seen as explanation of a “Worthy Walk.”
“WALK,” OF COURSE, REFERS TO THE CONDUCT OF ONE’S LIFE. Your “walk” is you lifestyle, and your lifestyle may be said to be an expression of your beliefs. Our “walk” demonstrates to others what we believe about God.
“THE REMINDER OF WHAT WE ARE ‘SEALED’ FOR SHOULD BE AN INCENTIVE to right living and right speaking.” – Bruce
IT IS IMPORTANT IN THE LIGHT OF OUR STUDY THAT we talk for a moment about the Holy Spirit and His relationship to us as born-from-above believers.
THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS LIVED THROUGH THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Let me say that again for emphasis: the Christian life is lived through the power of the Holy Spirit. When we are born again in Christ we are immediately indwelt by the Holy Spirit. In other words, God the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us; He takes up residence in our hearts – permanently and entirely. The Holy Spirit is given to us, among other reasons, so we will have the ability to obey God’s commands. We can’t live the Christian life successfully in our own strength. In order to be obedient to the commands of God as found in Scripture we must have supernatural ability; the Holy Spirit furnishes us with that supernatural ability.
WE ACCESS THAT POWER THROUGH BEING SUBMISSIVE TO THE HOLY SPIRIT’S indwelling presence in our lives. In other words, we are empowered by the Spirit when we allow Him to control us, that is, to control our thoughts, our actions, and our speech. The Bible refers to this control as being “filled.” Paul, we will see in chapter 5, talks about being “filled by the Spirit”…
NAS Ephesians 5:18-19 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;
LORD WILLING, WE WILL STUDY THIS GREAT PASSAGE IN THE COMING WEEKS. Without reading too much into this great passage concerning our study this week, I believe it may be convincingly argued that “The Spirit especially finds expression in the utterances of Christians, and consequently, the misuse of the organ of speech is accordingly a wrong done to, and felt by, the Spirit who claims to control it.” – Foulkes
BACK IN EPHESIANS 4:30, LOOK WITH ME AT PAUL’S QUALIFYING WORDS “for the day of redemption.” Here is the NLT’s translation of v. 30…
NLT Ephesians 4:30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
ANOTHER WAY OF UNDERSTANDING THE WORD “SEAL” IS TO THINK OF IT AS a guarantee. “The Holy Spirit is our seal guaranteeing our final and complete salvation.” – Snodgrass/TAR
HALLELUJAH! ISN’T THAT A MARVELLOUS TRUTH?
“THE SEAL OF THE SPIRIT IS THE MARK OF A CHRISTIAN.” – Steadman
THE “DAY OF REDEMPTION” IS the day when we will be fully set free from the presence of sin. Currently, we are saved from both the penalty and the power of sin. This is our blessed reality, of course, due to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross. Someday we will also be free from even the presence of sin. Paul calls that day the “day of redemption,” a phrase unique in the N.T. to the book of Ephesians. Paul referred to this term earlier in chapter 1…
NAS Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace,
“THE DAY OF REDEMPTION”: “Believers’ present experience of redemption involves the forgiveness of sins, but the future day of redemption will presumably include, as it did for Paul in Rom 8:23, the redemption of their bodies.” – Lincoln
THIS GUARANTEE OF FUTURE COMPLETE SALVATION SHOULD greatly encourage us today as we live our lives.
“THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD’S PERSONAL MARK OF AUTHENTICITY ON US, His stamp of divine approval. How can we grieve the One who is our Helper, Comforter, Teacher, Advocate, Divine Resident in our hearts, and Guarantor of our eternal redemption? How can we ungraciously grieve God’s infinitely gracious Holy Spirit? He has done so much for us that, out of an irrepressible gratitude, we ought never to grieve Him.” – MacArthur/TAR
A TRULY THANKFUL HEART HAS LITTLE DIFFICULTY IN BEING OBEDIENT. When we come to realize just what God has done for us in Christ it should be our overwhelming desire to want the Holy Spirit to control our lives so that our lives manifest our appreciation. When we come to understand just who Jesus is and what He has so graciously, so lovingly done for us, we should have little trouble in walking worthy.
“GRIEVING,” IN MANY WAYS, COULD BE SAID TO BE THE RESULT OF ingratitude.
EPHESIANS 1:13 AGAIN, this time from the NET Bible, and this time including v. 14…
NET Ephesians 1:13-14 And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation)– when you believed in Christ– you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory.
“WE ARE SO ACCUSTOMED TO THE HOLY SPIRIT AS A TITLE for the third Person of the Trinity that we are prone to forget the significance of the adjective.” – Foulkes… I think that is a good reminder. Holy means to be set apart. God is set apart from His creation; we are set apart for service to God…
NKJ 1 Peter 1:16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
BLUNTLY, TRUTHFULLY, IF YOU ARE NOT SEALED, YOU CANNOT ACCURATELY CALL YOURSELF a Christian.
“THE LANGUAGE OF GRIEVING THE HOLY SPIRIT IS DERIVED FROM ISAIAH 63:10, where the prophet is describing Israel’s rebellion to God.” – Snodgrass…
NAS Isaiah 63:10 But they rebelled And grieved His Holy Spirit; Therefore, He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them.
WITH BOTH PAUL’S AND ISAIAH’S WORDS FRESH IN OUR MINDS, I would like to call your attention to the shameful incongruity of grieving the Holy Spirit. When something is incongruous it is inconsistent; it is inappropriate; it is unsuitable. It is absolutely and tragically incongruous that Christians grieve the very One who is proof we belong to God. Do you see what I am saying? It is an absurdity that we live in conflict with the very One who is our Helper, our Advocate, the very One who supplies us with power.
“WHY LIVE CONTRARY TO HIM WHOSE OWNERSHIP SEAL WE WEAR? Why live in violation of our destiny?” – Snodgrass… It is totally inappropriate for us to do so. Forgive me, but you might even say it is stupid. It is stupid of us to live in opposition to such a One as God, the One who created us, who saved us, who loves us more than anyone else in the world, and who is now living inside us.
ONE COMENTATOR I READ THIS WEEK MADE THE STATEMENT THAT THE WORD “grieve” is related directly to love. He makes a great point, I believe; I’d even say an unforgettable point. He said…
“IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO GRIEVE SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT LOVE YOU. If someone who does not love you is offended by what you do, he is not grieved, but merely angry. Grief is always an indication of love. So this word which sounds so distasteful is actually a word that reveals that God loves us.” – Steadman
ISN’T THAT BEAUTIFUL? And isn’t that convicting?
“THE HOLY SPIRIT IS IN US ONLY TO HELP US, to bless us, to strengthen us, and to teach us how to live. And because He loves us, the actions that grieve the Spirit are those actions that bring harm to us.” – Steadman
WITH ALL GOD HAS DONE FOR US IN MIND, WE OUGHT NOT TO GRIEVE the Holy Spirit – amen?
– Professor Thomas A. Rohm
