And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Ephesians 4:30
Recommended Reading: 1 John 1:8-9
Everyone knows what it feels like to experience grief or pain and to inflict grief or pain on another person. Ephesians 4:30 is an important verse about the Holy Spirit being a person rather than an impersonal force. Only a person can be grieved.
To determine what can grieve the Holy Spirit, we only need to read the verses surrounding Ephesians 4:30. Paul warns against unwholesome speech (verse 29) and actions such as bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander, and malice (verse 31, NIV). Instead, we are to be kind, compassionate, and forgiving toward others as God is toward us (verse 32). So acting in a carnal or sinful way can grieve the Holy Spirit, but acting like God—being “imitators of God” (Ephesians 5:1)—will please the Holy Spirit. What should we do when we know we have grieved the Spirit? We must confess our sin and receive God’s forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9).
Don’t delay confession when you realize you have sinned and grieved the Spirit. It is the only way to continue to experience His filling.
We may grieve the Spirit as truly by not joyfully acknowledging His wonders as by not praying to Him.
Robert Murray M’Cheyne
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