When you first read, Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God what came to your mind? Well, let me take a shot.
Growing up as a Church attendee, I learned an idea suggesting that those with the Holy Spirit of God can lose the Spirit by simply sinning. Those who pioneered the idea apply that to certain statements of scripture, one of which is Do Not Grieve The Holy Spirit Of God found in Ephesians 4:30.
However, I do not believe the statement supports that idea, as the words that followed to complete what Paul said implied otherwise. How so?
In this message, we will look at Ephesians 4:30 and examine Paul’s statements to know what it means to grieve the Holy Spirit, how people do it, and why we should not.
Meanwhile, have you seen the message, I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me? You should give it a read!
What Does It Mean To Grieve The Holy Spirit?
The word translated as grieve in the Bible is the Greek word Lypeite (λυπεῖτε). It simply means to cause sorrow to or make sorrowful.
The usage of the word appears in Ephesians 4:30 WEB, which says, “Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
What does it mean to grieve the Holy Spirit of God? The Greek rendition of that text begins with a Kai (an And), which implies the statement should not be a standalone. And as much as I love using the World English Bible, KJV gives a more literal translation of the statement.
| Ephesians 4:30 KJV says: And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. |
To grieve the Holy Spirit would mean to bring sorrow to the Holy Spirit. Does that mean the Holy Spirit has emotions? Some find it presumable, but I am not making an argument for or against that idea. But stay with me.
The statement does not suggest that the Holy Spirit leaves the believers; it rather confirms the Holy Spirit remains with the Believers till the end.
According to Ephesians 1:13–14, the sealing with, in, or by the Holy Spirit is something that happened when we believed in the Good News of Christ Jesus, to the praise of the glory of God. We were sealed or secured by the Holy Spirit for the day of final deliverance from evil and the consequences of sin when we believed in Christ Jesus.
However, Paul points us to some things he said in the previous verses, and we can see from verse 25 exactly what he meant.
“Therefore putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor. For we are members of one another.
‘Be angry, and don’t sin.’ Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath,
neither give place to the devil.
Let him who stole steal no more; but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need.
Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for building up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:25–29 WEB.
So when he added, ’And grieve not…,’ he meant do not grieve the Holy Spirit, which we can see as doing what he instructed them not to do. That is to say, going against the Holy Spirit or doing what is contrary to the Spirit.
How Do We Grieve The Holy Spirit
I have already shared an idea surrounding that with you, but let me share something personal and outline what Paul instructed the believers against.
I have come to realize that there were things I did that I was not comfortable with. One of which is talking about a brother or sister negatively. I mean talking about their wrongdoings with another person.
Maybe I should not have brought this up, but the point is that I always see it as something that has to stop on my end because it is not an act of love towards them, though I meant no harm. It would be perfect if I present a case against a brother or sister to them if they are at reach or look for a medium to reach out to them rather than making them a subject of private discussion.
To the things Paul said before saying, Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, below is a point-by-point summary:
- Speak the truth with one another.
- Do not let anger make you sin, like where we looked at an eye for an eye.
- Stop stealing, and work to support those in need.
- Use the right words in your communications to the benefit of listeners.
Looking at the list, it starts from you and points you to others; that is an act of love. As to the question, how do we grieve the Holy Spirit? We do so by working away from love for one another or committing a sin. In other words, we grieve the Spirit by:
- Lying
- Getting angry and sinning
- Stealing
- Indulging in corrupt communications. Etc.
Do we grieve the Holy Spirit? Yes, and it is not as if we make the Spirit cry or feel hurt, but we offend the Spirit by hurting one another with things we say and do.
“This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he commanded.” 1 John 3:23 WEB.
We believed and were sealed with the Holy Spirit and expected to walk in love with one another as the Lord commanded. The reality is that people tempt us to respond to their attitudes by saying or doing the wrong things, but we can respond in love.
If you look at the earthly leaders of church organizations and denominations today, you will see hostility, and I wonder if they are born of God. They could or could not, and it could be about their businesses and not the ministry of reconciliation. God knows.
The point is that though we are humans, we have the Spirit and enough instructions in the scriptures to know when we do wrong, repent, and do the right thing for one another.
Do Not Grieve The Holy Spirit
“Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander, be put away from you, with all malice.
And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:31–32 WEB.
One of many things that amazes me about Christ was how He surrendered to the soldiers till His crucifixion on the day many believe to be Good Friday. According to Luke the Historian, before giving up His Spirit, Christ prayed, saying, Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do.
Christ forgave them, and God forgave us in Christ. What can we learn from that? We are to be the forgiving ones. That may not align with how you feel, but Christ is our standard for imitation.
So when you hear do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, what should you do? Put away all those things that steer you up: bitterness, anger, and wrath. Remember that the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God.
Therefore, stop shouting, slandering, and malice keeping. Be kind, tender-hearted, and forgive one another. In other words, Let love lead.
