Grieve not the Holy Spirit – Ephesians 4:30
It has sometimes been argued that
the Holy Spirit is an influence or a power, but not a person. Our text should put such thoughts to rest
once and forever. You can’t grieve an influence,
whereas you can grieve a person. The
Holy Spirit is not just a reference to the outworking of the power of God in
the world, the Holy Spirit refers to the third person in the Trinity. This is of course a mystery, but we believe
it because the Scriptures teach it. The
Holy Spirit is God, as is taught in Acts 5:3-4, where the apostle Peter equates
lying to the Holy Spirit with lying to God.
The Holy Spirit is distinct from the Father and the Son, as can be seen
in the baptism of our Lord, but also in his relationship to the Son and the
Father in John 14:26 and 15:7: proceeding from the Father and being sent by the
Son. When you put these things together,
that the Holy Spirit is given personal, Divine, and distinct properties, the
doctrine of the Trinity emerges with respect to the Holy Spirit.
You don’t take statements like the
one in our text and pull them from the context in which they were found. And I don’t just mean that we should look at
the verses right before and right behind in order to establish the
context. You have to look at the entire
book or letter in order to do this properly.
In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, the holy Spirit of God figures
prominently. In fact, we meet him for
the first time in the third verse of the first chapter: “Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”
As we noted when we looked at that verse, the “spiritual blessings” are
spiritual because they come from the Holy Spirit. We become partakers of the blessings that
come to us in Christ when we become connected to Christ through the Holy
Spirit. Thus, the apostle writes in 2:18
that “through him [Jesus Christ] we both have access by one Spirit unto the
Father.” The Spirit is the link between
the righteousness of the Son that brings us into the presence of the
Father.
There are some who think that the
difference between the OT and NT is that in the OT the Spirit operated upon
people, but in the NT the Spirit operates within people. Some take this from our Lord’s saying in John
14:17, “the Spirit of truth . . . dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” Certainly, our Lord was pointing to the Day
of Pentecost and all that would follow. And
there is a difference between the ministry of the Spirit in the OT and the
ministry of the Spirit in NT. But the
difference was not that the Spirit did not change people from within in the OT
whereas he does that now. People needed
to be born again in the OT era just as much as they need new birth now (cf.
John 3:3-8). The difference is that
before Pentecost, the Spirit was not yet given as the One who mediates the
presence of the risen Christ.
This is the point of our Lord’s
promises throughout John 14-16, when he prepared his disciples for his
departure. Knowing their apprehension
and fears, he comforts them with the promise that he is not really leaving
them: he will return through the Spirit.
“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter
[Paraclete], that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of
truth. . . . I will not leave you comfortless: I will come
to you” (14:16-18). “But the Comforter,
which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach
you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have
said unto you” (14:26). “But when the
Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit
of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me”
(15:26). “Nevertheless, I tell you the
truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the
Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you”
(16:7). “When he, the Spirit of truth,
is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself;
but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things
to come. He shall glorify me: for he
shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine:
therefore I said, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you”
(16:13-15). The profound implication of
these promises is that the ministry of the Holy Spirit consists primarily in
representing Christ in his physical absence and in continuing his ministry on
earth. We thus can have no connection to
Christ apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in us.
It is thus that Paul prays in
Ephesians 3:16-17, “That he [the Father] would grant you, according to the
riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner
man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.” There is a definite connection here between
being strengthened by the Spirit in the inner man and having Christ dwell in
our hearts by faith. In fact, some
commentators on these verses see these as complimentary aspects of the same
reality.
We also see this in the unity
that the apostle speaks of in Ephesians 4.
In verse 3, he describes the unity of the church as “the unity of the
Spirit” and goes on to say that “there is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye
are called in one hope of your calling” (4:4).
The body that is given unity through the Spirit is the “body of Christ”
(4:12). The apostle explains why this is
true in 1 Cor. 12:12-13, when he writes, “For as the body is one, and hath many
members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so
also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we
all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond
or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” We come to be partakers of the body of Christ
and therefore of the salvation that comes through him when we are baptized into
this body by the Spirit. The work of the Spirit is the point of entry into the
salvation enjoyed by all who belong to Christ.
This being baptized into Christ
is another way of talking about the new birth that our Lord spoke of to
Nicodemus. It is a sovereign work of the
Holy Spirit and it is a necessary work of the Holy Spirit. You cannot experience or enter the kingdom of
God apart from it. It is by him that we
are washed and regenerated: we are saved “not by works of righteousness which
we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of
regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by his grace we should be
made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Tit. 3:5-7).
This language of washing is not a
reference to baptism per se, although in baptism it is symbolized. Rather, it is a reference to the promise in
Ezekiel 36: “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean:
from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new
spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your
flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my
statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments and do them” (36:25-27). All these verses imply that we are absolutely
in no condition to save ourselves. We
are dirty and filthy because of our sin, our rebellion against God. We cannot enter his kingdom or come into his
presence. And there is nothing you can
do to yourself or for yourself that will fit you to come into God’s
presence. Indeed, such is our wickedness
that we will never even want to enter God’s kingdom or submit to his rule. We do not desire to come to Christ that we
might have life (Jn. 5:40). We need God
to change us. In particular, we need the
Spirit of Christ to come and give us spiritual life and to cleanse us from our
sin and to write God’s law upon our hearts.
However, we should not think that
the ministry of the Holy Spirit is complete when we are born again. There is an ongoing ministry of the Holy
Spirit in the lives of believers. This
is indicated in our text, and also in Ephesians 1:13-14, where the apostle
describes the work of the Spirit in terms of a “seal” and an “earnest.” The first word points to assurance of our
salvation that the Holy Spirit gives to us (cf. Rom. 8:14-16), and the second
points to the present experience of our future salvation, the foretaste of the
hope of glory. We are not only dependent
upon the Holy Spirit for the initial reception of salvation; we are also
dependent upon the Holy Spirit for working out our salvation day by day. We need the Spirit to produce in us the daily
fruit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, and temperance (Gal. 5:22-23).
You see this illustrated most
clearly in the book of Acts. On the day
of Pentecost, we read that the apostles “were filled with the Holy Ghost, and
began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts
2:4). It was the Holy Spirit who enabled
the apostles to speak in the languages of their hearers of “the wonderful works
of God” (Acts 2:11). Later, when the
church faced persecution, after praying for help to preach without fear, we are
told that God answered their prayer: “And when they had prayed, the place was
shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the
Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31). We are told that Stephen was filled with the
Holy Spirit, which is clearly meant to help us understand the unusual power
that he was given in speaking the word with power and in working miracles (Acts
6:5,8). This should not surprise us,
because this was also true of our Lord during his earthly ministry: “And Jesus
returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of
him through all the region round about.
And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all” (Luke
4:14-15).
One thing you notice about these
passages is the connection between being filled with the Spirit and speaking
God’s truth with authority and power. It
is no wonder that Paul will go on to exhort believers to “be not drunk with
wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your
hearts to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:18-20). Speaking in song and thanksgiving is a fruit
of the Holy Spirit.
And that brings us directly to
our text. Most commentators on this
verse connect it with the previous one.
Thus, the apostle is saying that a principal way we grieve the Holy
Spirit is when we use corrupt and unedifying language. The Holy Spirit influences us to speak what
is right, and healthy, and edifying. So
when we intentionally speak that which is wicked and unhelpful, we grieve the
Spirit. Note the word “and” connecting
verses 29 and 30.
We are now in a position to
understand the seriousness of this exhortation.
“Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God.”
We are totally dependent upon the Holy Spirit for every blessing of our
salvation. We are dependent upon him for
entrance into the kingdom of God and we are dependent upon him for living a
kingdom life in this world. To grieve
him therefore is to cut ourselves off from his blessed influence and
power.
Now I am not saying that a
genuine believer can lose his or her salvation.
Paul is addressing true believers here who are “sealed unto the day of
redemption.” Whatever else that might
mean, being sealed certainly seems to convey the idea that the salvation of the
believer is sure. Nothing can separate
us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:38-39). Our Lord himself said that “My sheep hear my
voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life;
and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my
Father’s hand. My Father, which gave
them to me, is greater than all: no man is able to pluck them out of my
Father’s hand” (Jn. 10:27-29).
This does not negate the reality
that unsaved people can be influenced by the Spirit to some extent and yet
remain unregenerate. This is the kind of
person described in Hebrews 6:4-6. Such
people can reject and resist the Spirit of God (cf. Acts 7:51). And it is a very fearful thing to do despite
to the Spirit of grace (Heb. 10:29).
However, the apostle is not
addressing the unsaved in Eph. 4:30. The
assumption here is that they are saved, sealed unto the day of redemption. If we cannot fatally lose the influence of
the Spirit, what is meant here?
It means, first of all, that we
are in danger of losing the sense of the assurance of our salvation. I am talking about that inward sense and
awareness of the love of God toward us as his children. It is what the apostle is talking about in
Romans 8:14-18. He writes, “For as many
as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of
bondage again to fear: but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we
cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself
beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if
children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that
we suffer with him, that we may be glorified together.”
Note the connection in this
passage between obedience (ver. 14) and the experiential enjoyment of belonging
to the family of God (ver. 16). The
Spirit bears witness to [better, “with”] our spirit that we are God’s children
when we are being led by the Spirit to put to death the deeds of the body (cf.
ver. 13). This is an amazing
blessing. Being able to come before God
and cry out to him, “Abba, Father!” with assurance that he hears us as a father
hears his child is the crowning privilege of our salvation.
Commenting on these verses,
theologian Sinclair Ferguson explains, “The fact is that the Christian’s own
spirit does display an awareness of sonship . . . amazing though this is. The problem is that this awareness is often
weakened, and God’s children may even find themselves doubting their gracious
status and privileges. What Paul is
saying, however, is that even in the darkest hour there is a co-operative and
affirmative testimony given by the Spirit.
It is found in the very fact that, although he may be broken and
bruised, tossed about with fears and doubts, the child of God nevertheless
cries out, ‘Father!’ as instinctively as a child who has fallen and been hurt
calls out in similar language, ‘Daddy, help me!’ Assurance of sonship is not reserved for the
highly sanctified Christian; it is the birthright of even the weakest and most
oppressed believer. This is its glory.”[1] We should rejoice with Ferguson that this
assurance can never be totally taken away, but we need also to be aware, as he admits,
that this assurance can be weakened. And
one of the ways this is often weakened is through sin.
I think this is why, after
saying, “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God,” the apostle goes on to say,
“whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” Can we be unsealed? No.
But our inward sense of this sealing can be strong or weak. And when we sin, when we refuse to walk in
the path of obedience, we lose this sense of closeness to God as Father. We sense instead his displeasure. It is an awful place to be, but thank God it
is this way, for this is often precisely the way we are brought back to
obedience and joy. The true child of God
cannot do without the sense of her father’s smile. We would rather give up our sins than lose
the sense of his pleasure.
But the apostle is saying, “Don’t
go there in the first place. Don’t
grieve the Spirit through sin. Don’t
grieve him by wicked and worthless speech.
Be holy. Speak holy and helpful
words. In doing so, you will not lose
that sense of belonging to the family of God and will continue to be able to
rejoice in your salvation.”
This has been the testimony of
the people of God in every age. If you
belong to God, if you are truly one of his, then you cannot sin with
impunity. You cannot live in sin and be
happy about it. It is a mark of the work
of the Holy Spirit in the heart. King
David describes his own experience in this way: “When I kept silence, my bones
waxed old through my roaring all the day long.
For day and night thy hand was heavy upon: my moisture is turned into
the drought of summer. I acknowledged my
sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto
the LORD: and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin” (Ps. 32:3-5). As long as David had unconfessed and
unrepented sin in his life, he was miserable, he could not get
comfortable. Have you been like
that? But then when he got honest with
God, things changed. He then experienced
the blessedness of forgiveness and justification (32:1-2). Even so it is with every child of God.
But there is another reason
implied in this verse for why we should not grieve the Holy Spirit. I take it from the connection between verse
29 and 30. As we have seen, the ministry
of the Holy Spirit is especially connected to the ministry of the word in the
NT. If you use wicked words, you are
undermining this aspect of the ministry of the Spirit in your life.
This is important because we not
only have this great privilege of knowing Christ but also of making him known. However, the gospel is only powerful in a
saving way when it is accompanied by the witness and power of the Holy
Spirit. Our witness is not effective
because we are eloquent or brilliant in our gospel presentation. It can only be effective when we are
presenting in the power of the Spirit, when he takes our broken words and takes
them like arrows shot at a venture and causes them to pierce the heart. This is how Paul himself explained the
effectiveness of his ministry among the Corinthians: “And my speech and my
preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of
the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men
but in the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:4-5).
In fact, Paul studiously avoided the rhetorical flourishes of popular
speakers, afraid lest people would be attracted to a preacher rather than to the
Lord.
I sometimes think we do not
adequately appreciate just how helpless we are in terms of our witness. There is so much emphasis in our day upon
techniques in evangelism that it gives the impression that if we just do it
“right” we will win souls. But this is
not the impression you get when reading the NT.
Yes, we need to speak the word faithfully and humbly and meekly, but in
the end we are absolutely dependent upon the Holy Spirit to make our words
convincing and powerful to those we speak to.
The power resides not in us as the speaker but in God, the author of the
gospel.
And this is true in every other
aspect of our lives as followers of Christ.
We are completely dependent upon the power of the Spirit to strengthen
us in the paths of obedience. To grieve
him is to undermine our ability to grow in grace. It is to undermine the path to joy and peace
and assurance and fruitfulness in the kingdom.
We are like a man shooting at his own kneecaps. It is spiritual idiocy. Why would you do that?
Finally, this verse confronts us
with the reality that the most important thing to a true Christian is to please
God. “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of
God.” That ought to be the greatest
motivation to obedience right there.
Don’t sin. Why? Because it grieves God. It grieves the Holy Spirit. Why would you grieve One who has done so much
for you and in you? Why would grieve him
who unites you to Jesus Christ and makes you a partaker of all saving
blessings? The godly man or woman is one
who lives before God, and who lives for Him before anyone else. When faced with pleasing human authority or
God, Peter responded, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). The Christian man is the man who lives before
an audience of One. He studies to show
himself approved unto God (2 Tim. 2:15); he cares little for the approval of
men.
Does this describe you? Are you a man or woman who lives before
God? Is your religion something you are
doing because of what other people think of you, or can it only be explained
because of who God is to you and what he has done in you? Are you a person to whom this exhortation
means something? Does it move you to
obedience and holiness when you hear the apostle say, “And grieve not the Holy
Spirit of God”? If not, then you need to
examine yourself. Above all things, we
need to be men and women who can stand before God, for we shall all do this in
the end. You cannot escape it, either.
And therefore, we need Jesus
Christ because it is only through him that we have access to the Father,
through the Spirit. It is only through
the blood of Christ that we will ever be able to stand before God without fear
and shame. You cannot live before God
and for God as long as you are condemned by him. We need the guilt of our sins to be
removed. We need to be released from the
grip of sins. We need the redemption
from sins that comes through the death of Christ upon the cross. Thank God that the promise is ours that all
who come to him and believe on him, trust in him and turn from their sins will
be forgiven and receive eternal life in the presence of the Father forever.
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