Do Not Grieve The Holy Spirit!

 

EVERYTHING THE HOLY SPIRIT DOES IN US AND THROUGH US OR IN ANY OTHER WAY, IS TO BRING GLORY TO 

JESUS!

John 16:14-15 (NKJV)

14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

So, dear readers, how do we as born-again Christians, grieve the Holy Spirit?

Before we get into the nitty gritty, let’s have a look at the Greek word for ‘grieve’ in Ephesians 4:30 so that we can get a good sense of its full meaning.

The Greek word is lupeó (loo-peh-o) and its full meaning goes like this: to grieve, to distress, to experience deep emotional pain, to bring sadness and severe sorrow.

When we look at this verse in terms of the full meaning of the word grieve, we can’t help but see that when we do grieve the Holy Spirit, it’s definitely not a good thing for us to do and something that God’s children, if they truly love God, should avoid doing at all costs!

On examination of Ephesians 4:30 we see that it is the Holy Spirit that seals us for the day of redemption (this is the day when we will receive our final deliverance from sin) and even though our sins have been forgiven we will still have to give an account of ourselves on our day of redemption.

We can still grieve the Holy Spirit when we behave in a manner that is contrary to and in disobedience to the Bible! And if we grieve the Holy Spirit in our actions and our speech, we also grieve the Father and the Son – the full Christian God head! This is not something we should be doing or take lightly!

If we love God as He loves us, we should not be grieving the Holy Spirit in anyway – you don’t cause deep emotional pain to the ones you love!

Matthew 12:36-37 (AMP)

36 But I tell you, on the day of judgment people will have to give an accounting for every careless or useless word they speak. 37 For by your words [reflecting your spiritual condition] you will be justified and acquitted of the guilt of sin; and by your words [rejecting Me] you will be condemned and sentenced.”

Romans 14:12 (NIV)

So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

So, dear readers, even though we are born-again, we will still have to give an account of ourselves on the day of judgement for every careless and useless word we have spoken – these are the words that grieve the Holy Spirit!

So, what kind of words are these? The Apostle James tells us that our tongues can set us on fire!

James is telling us here that if we allow our speech to become tainted and controlled by the flesh it will corrupt our whole body and can even set the course of our lives on fire. If we let ungodly talk of any kind come out of our mouths, we will corrupt our whole bodies, and this will grieve the Holy Spirit as our bodies (every part) is a temple of the Holy Spirit! Jesus lives in us through the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV)

19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies.

In Ephesians 4, the Apostle Paul highlights a number of ways in which we can grieve the Holy Spirit. If we as Christians do not exercise self-control – a fruit of the Spirit, we can easily grieve the Holy Spirit. I am going to bullet point them here for emphasis:

• The use of foul language – swearing.

• Allowing yourself to become bitter, angry and resentful.

• Uttering slanderous talk.

• Fault finding.

• Being malicious in tongue and action.

• Unforgiving.

• And the list can go on to anything we do and say that is contrary to the Word of God!

Ephesians 4:29-32 (AMP)

29 Do not let unwholesome [foul, profane, worthless, vulgar] words ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good for building up others, according to the need and the occasion, so that it will be a blessing to those who hear [you speak]. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [but seek to please Him], by whom you were sealed and marked [branded as God’s own] for the day of redemption [the final deliverance from the consequences of sin]. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour[perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding] and slander be put away from you, along with every kind of malice [all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence]. 32 Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted [compassionate, understanding], forgiving one another [readily and freely], just as God in Christ also forgave you.

We are told – commanded, “Do not” - to not let any unwholesome talk come out of our mouths ever!

Instead, what should we be doing to each other with our speech?

• Building each other up.

• Be a blessing with our speech.

• Be kind.

• Be helpful

• Be tender-hearted and compassionate.

• Be forgiving.

I am sad to say that even today I know many Christians who consider themselves mature in Christ, who still swear, gossip and slander others, hold on to unforgiveness in their hearts, still hold grudges and who are jealous of others etc, etc. Brothers and sisters in Christ this should not be!

James 3:9-12 (NIV)

9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Examine yourself against the plumbline of the Bible and stop grieving the Holy Spirit of God, and in this way, you will bring glory to Jesus!

Warning!

WATCH OUT FOR FALSE PROPHETS AND TEACHERS - THEY ARE WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING. DO NOT FOLLOW THEM INTO HELL! THEY ARE CONTINUALLY GRIEVING THE HOLY SPIRIT BY PREACING A FALSE GOSPEL. THEY ARE ONLY CONCERNED WITH THEMSELVES. THEY WILL ONLY LEAD YOU TO HELL!

FALSE PROPHETS AND TEACHERS ARE UNDER GOD'S CURSE! THEY LEAD YOU ON THE PATH TO DESTRUCTION!

Matthew 7:15 (NKJV)

 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 

Galatians 1:8-9 NKJV)

8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be [b]accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

2 Peter 2:1-3 (NKJV)

But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction [a]does not slumber.

Prayer
Dear Father in Heaven
In the Name of Jesus, I pray that you would help me to examine myself according to your Word and help me Father by your Holy Spirit to comply with your instructions in your Word that I may not grieve the Holy Spirit. Help me Lord to align my speech and actions to the Bible so that I may bring glory to the Name of Jesus always and help to build up and edify your Church! Amen.

All glory, honour and praise belongs to Jesus!

Jesus the Name above all names!

Remember: Reading this article is no excuse for you not reading and studying the Bible for yourself. My words are flawed, the Bible is not!

Last update: 4 August 2023.