Grieve Not the Holy Spirit - Part 2

Scripture:  Ephesians 4:30-32 - And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:  32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Ephesians 1 – 3 teach us about salvation, and how we should worship and praise God who chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight, and how God in love predestinated us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ.  In Christ we have forgiveness of sins through His shed blood!  When we heard the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation, when we believed in Him, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30).

In Ephesians 4 – 6 we are taught about right  Christian living – since we have believed on Jesus Christ.  Ephesians 4:1 says “As a prisoner for the Lord then, I urge you to live worthy of your calling.”  We are called to be holy and blameless in His sight.  We are to live a set apart life for Christ (which is called sanctification).  Therefore, we can put away things that don’t glorify God – i.e., lying (v.25), anger (v. 26), yielding to temptation (v. 27), stealing (v. 28), correct communication (v. 29).  Those things grieve the Holy Spirit of God.  Ephesians 4:30 says “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby we are sealed unto the day of redemption.”  To grieve means to feel or cause to feel great sorrow or distress.  As we see the seriousness of obeying the Lord concerning grieving the Holy Spirit, we will confess our sins (I John 1:9) and turn away from whatever grieves the Holy Spirit.  Having the right relationship/fellowship with the Holy Spirit affects all other relationships in our lives.  As a result of not grieving the Holy Spirit, we will be kind and compassionate to others, and we will be able to forgive others. Ephesians 4:32 says “ And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ”.  

Prayer:  Dear Heavenly Father:  I am so grateful for how You have forgiven me of my sins and how I have a personal relationship with You.  Help me not to grieve the Holy Spirit.  I want to always sense Your presence and be led by You.  I want to live a life that is pleasing to You.  All this I pray in Jesus’ name.

(by Marsha Williams)