Sermon: Grieving the Holy Spirit
Bible Passage: Ephesians 4:30
“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption”
I. Who is the Holy Spirit? A brief discussion
1. God, the third person in Godhead (cf. Matt 3:16, 28:19-20, 2 Cor 13:14
2. Eternal, uncreated (Gen 1:2, Job 33:4)
3. Just as the Father and the Son have been active, the Holy Spirit has been active from the beginning of history such as creation, revelation, and special missions
4. He is neither inferior to the Father or the Son nor separated from them (Matt 3:16, 28:19-20, John 14:16, 26)
II. Where does He reside?
1. Community
a. Eph 1:13-14 when you (plural) heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation)—when you (plural) believed in Christ—you (plural) were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit, who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory
b. 1 Cor 3:16 Do you (plural) not know that you (plural) are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you (plural)?
c. 1 Cor 6:19 Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
d. 1 Tim 1:13-14 Hold to the standard of sound words that you heard from me and do so with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 1:14 Protect that good thing entrusted to you, through the Holy Spirit who lives within us
2. Individual (individuals form a community)
a. At the time of conversion, the Holy Spirit of God regenerates, enlightens, and leads us into sanctification
3. These are the two platforms where the Holy Spirit of God is grieved
III. Let’s look at verse 4:30 “To grieve”?
1. To cause pain, sorrow, grief, cause distress, disrespect, or disappoint
2. To show disregard or the beneficiary showing indifference to the benefactor
3. In what way, believers, i.e., Jesus followers, would grieve the Holy Spirit of God?
IV. Background Let’s do a study on the word/idea “to grieve” in the Old Testament
1. Isa 63:10 “they rebelled and offended his holy Spirit, so he turned into an enemy and fought against them”—Israel’s covenant infidelity
2. Ezek 16:43: “Because you did not remember the days of your youth and have enraged me with all these deeds, I hereby repay you for what you have done, declares the sovereign LORD. Have you not engaged in prostitution on top of all your other abominable practices? (apostasy: leaving ones’ God and being loyal to another one)
3. Gen 6:6-7: The LORD regretted that he had made humankind on the earth, and he was highly offended (wickedness)
4. 1 Sam 15:11: I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from me and has not done what I told him to do (disobedience)
5. Psalm 78:40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, and insulted him in the desert! 78:41 They again challenged God, and offended the Holy One of Israel (verse 32, lack of faith, verse 36 false and lying speech)
In the Old Testament, the word “to grieve” had consequence, resulted in divine anger/punishment
Let’s do a study on the word/idea from The Shepherd of Hermas, a Christian document, written about 50 years after Ephesians
6. Mandate 5.2
7. Mandate 3.1
8. Sin, sadness, pollution, defilement, double-mindedness, anger, and the devil’s presence in a believer or local church grieve the Holy Spirit
9. Both Paul and The Shepherd teach that sins of speech, anger, and falsehood grieve the Holy Spirit
V. With this background, let’s study the passage to see what we mean by “grieving” the Holy Spirit
Verses 17-32 is one of the practical living passages
1. Verse 17: “you no longer live as the Gentiles live” in the futility of their thinking
2. Verse 4:18 They are darkened in their understanding, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts
3. Verse 4:19 Because they are callous, they have given themselves over to indecency for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness
4. Verse 4:24 put on the new man who has been created in God’s image—in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth
5.Verse 4:25 Therefore, having laid aside falsehood, each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another
6.Verse 4:26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on the cause of your anger 6. Verse 4:27 Do not give the devil an opportunity
7. Verse 4:28 The one who steals must steal no longer; rather he must labor, doing good with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with the one who has need
8. Verse 4:29 You must let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only what is beneficial for the building up of the one in need, that it may give grace to those who hear
VI. Summary
1. We grieve the Holy Spirit of God when they lie, speak corruptly, let anger evolve into revenge, deny forgiveness, give place to the devil, steal, and show bitterness (Eph. 4:25–31)
2. Any conversation or activity that endangers Christian unity and does not build one another up
3. We claim to be Christian, yet live as though Christ had never come, then we grieve the Spirit
Why should one not grieve the Holy Spirit? The reason in verse 30
4. The Holy Spirit is God
5. The Holy Spirit is the seal
6. The seal points to the Father’s claim of His ownership over us—i.e., the believers and local church belong to Him
7. Through Him (i.e., through the seal), the Father gives protection to His people
8. The Holy Spirit leads the church on a new Exodus
9. The Holy Spirit is the down payment, who is the guarantee of our future redemption by God—this is the motivation for holiness and a privilege
How do we (i.e., you and I) grieve the Holy Spirit?
10. When failing to acknowledge the person and work of the Holy Spirit of God in our lives and church
a. By ignoring His presence
b. By ignoring His leadership
11. When failing to contribute/cooperate with the Holy Spirit in His effort to lead and grow the church and personal holiness
12. When speaking ill of other believers
Take Away:
Treat fellow believers and your family members as Christians would do