In Ephesians 4:30, we read the following words: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” There are many interesting things to study in this simple verse of Scripture. For example, it would be very nice to understand the “sealed” in this passage. Perhaps we will enter into a study of that word at some later time. It would also be beneficial for us to study what is meant by “the day of redemption,” and perhaps we will study that phrase in the not too distant future. But for today we wish to ask the question, what does it mean to “grieve” the Holy Spirit of God? Whatever it means, it must refer to something that is quite serious!
The word that is translated “grieve” in this passage comes from the Greek “lupeite,” from “lupeo,” which means to cause distress, heaviness, or grief; to be made to have “sorrow.” The concept of the word is the very same that we experience at the passing of a loved one, or something of such a grave nature. Think about the fact that it is within the capacity of a mere human being to bring grief to the Godhead by the things that we do, or fail to do, or by the things that we believe or fail to believe! It seems to me a thing almost unbelievable that mere human beings have the capacity to grieve the Godhead, and yet we read of instances in the Bible when they did just that!
In Genesis 6, when God resolved to destroy the people of the world with a great flood, he made that resolve because he was sorry (grieved) that he had ever created man and given him the earth. Out of a population that could have been several millions, God found only one family that was righteous in his sight. That was the family of Noah, that great patriarch who “walked with God.” The Jews under the law of Moses, at various times and in various ways, caused God not only to grieve, but to become angry as a result of the terrible sins committed by them.
Since those of us who are Christians are not likely to wallow in idolatry as did the Jews in the days of Isaiah, Ezekiel and Jeremiah, how can we cause grief to the Holy Spirit of God? We believe that the very paragraph which gives us the warning not to grieve the Holy Spirit mentions several ways in which it may be done. One may grieve the Spirit by lying, being angry and sinning, letting the sun go down on our wrath, giving place to the devil, stealing, refusing to work, allowing corrupt communication to come from our hearts by the way of the mouth while refusing to speak in such a way as to edify those Christians around us.
But in verse 31, Paul mentions some other characteristics which, if they are found in our lives will also “grieve the Holy Spirit of God.” The first of these is to be bitter, that is, to have an acrid, sharp, harsh personality. The second of these is for us to be wrathful, that is have feelings of hostility and rage against another person. This, among other things, will cause a person to become bitter, and give him the capacity to grieve the Holy Spirit. The third thing which Paul mentions in this passage by which we may grieve the Holy Spirit is anger, that is impulsive wrath, or what we call “blowing our tops.” We generally refer to a person who does this as one who cannot control his temper. The fourth thing that Paul mentions in this verse is that we can grieve the Spirit by engaging in clamoring. To clamor means to scream, or shout at the top of one’s lungs during a heated exchange. Such behavior, and the attitude that brings it on, have no place in the life of the Christian. And if we allow our “tempers” to take over so that we scream, or clamor, we lack self-discipline and faith in God.
Next, the Apostle Paul speaks of that which may be found in the midst of a clamor, and that is, speaking evil of another person. To speak evil here actually means to “blaspheme.” But we can also speak evil of others at various times in our lives. We may do so by slandering another, particularly one with whom we have had a difference. But the Apostle brings this list to an end by telling the Ephesians that these characteristics are to be removed from our lives along with all malice. The word “malice” refers to a corrupt depraved disposition. Another way of describing malice is to say that a certain person has a “hateful disposition.” So, by removing such things from our lives, by faith, we will not be found grieving the Spirit of God.
However, that is not all there is to the matter. As some things are to be removed from our lives, so some things are to be added. Paul expressed these things in verse 32 when he said that we are to be kind (gentle and patient) with one another. He said that we are to be tenderhearted, that is, compassionate toward one another, and we are to be forgiving toward one another to the same extent that God, because of the death of Christ, is forgiving toward us. Let us all resolve not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God!
