Hello
Friends!
Welcome back! As we learned and discussed in our prior
studies of The Holy Spirit: His Work & Ministry
we considered The WORK of the Holy Spirit in SANCTIFICATION
according to God’s wonderful Word…
Therefore,
let’s now consider the FIFTH critical concern regarding this
important subject matter surrounding the third PERSON
of the thrice Holy Trinity within the Godhead – GRIEVING the Holy Spirit!
The Holy Spirit: His Work & Ministry (Part 5)
GRIEVING the
Holy Spirit!
OPENING POINTS TO PONDER: As a sincere “Christian” and FOLLOWER
of “Jesus Christ” our Lord, do you ever struggle
with the pressures of on-going “sin”
issues in your life? And as a result, do you ever doubt that God is
actually PLEASED with your “life” even though the Bible states otherwise?
If we’re honest with God and ourselves, we ALL
feel this way from time to time – Our Sanctification
Struggle!
QUIZZING QUESTION: Perhaps
YOU have “grieved” the “Holy
Spirit” Himself. But, HOW do we know WHEN and IF we
have – GRIEVED the Holy Spirit?
And grieve not the Holy Spirit of
God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption – Ephesians 4:30
What does this mean? The Koine Greek text of Ephesians 4:30 literally reads: “Grieve not the Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God.”
This point is quite emphatic and is representative of a present tense
command. In other words, “we”
are always
and everyday
actually COMMANDED by “God” to NOT
grossly “grieve” the “Holy Spirit” Himself – Very SERIOUS!
POIGNANT POINT: The full context
of this VIBRANT verse FURTHER provides “us”
with the AMAZING answer! HOW? In the PREVIOUS
and PROCEEDING poignant verses 17-32,
Paul lays out a serious series of COMMANDS on HOW
the “believers” in first-century Ephesus (and “us”
today) were to LIVE before
”man” and “God”
Himself. Paul “therefore” plainly continues
his INSPIRED instruction:
This I say therefore, and testify
in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding
darkened, being alienated
from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of
the blindness of their
heart. Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with
greediness – Ephesians
4:17-19
Paul
continues to “testify in the Lord” that WE promptly “put off” the “old man”
and to be “renewed
in the spirit” of their “minds,” to “put on” the “new man” in the “righteousness”
and “true holiness” of “God”
Himself. HOW? By the “putting away”
of a “lying” tongue, to “speak
every man truth” towards “one another” in Him, to
be “angry, and sin not” and to NOT allow the “sun go down upon
your wrath” unto each other. WHY?
As to not “give place to the devil” in OUR lives! Also, do not “steal”
but GO to work. Do not speak “corrupt
communications” and to “put aside” all our
fleshly bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor,
slander,
and malice…
But ye
have not so learned Christ; If so be that
ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
That ye put
off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the
deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put
on the new man,
which after God is created
in righteousness
and true holiness.
Wherefore putting
away lying, speak
every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry,
and sin not: let
not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither
give place to the devil.
Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that
he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed
out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
And grieve not the holy
Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness,
and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with
all malice: And be ye kind
one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another,
even as God for Christ's
sake hath forgiven you – Ephesians
4:20-32
Rather,
“we” all ARE
to be “kind one to another” and “tenderhearted”
toward our “own”
by “forgiving one another” as “God”
has already DONE for us! And as “we”
also see here, to “grieve”
the “Holy Spirit”
is to DISOBEY our Holy “God” according to these very SPECIFIC captured COMMANDS
from Him. Therefore, “we” can be supremely SURE
that ANY of
these serious “sins” indeed GRIEVES the “Holy
Spirit” of God. HOW?
It greatly disappoints Him. And when “we” do not LISTEN to and OBEY
His promptings
of which SPEAK directly to our “heart” and “mind”
of CONSCIENCE He is thus “grieved” by our – Sinful ACTIONS!
And
as we LEARN throughout the New Testament early years of the “church” body, there were certain times when
the “grieving” of the “Holy Spirit”
was so DANGEROUS it became a HINDERANCE to the PURITY of God’s “elect” few. HOW? It became so SERIOUS in nature that “God”
decided to TAKE them “out” of FELLOWSHIP as
Dr. Luke excruciatingly explains…
But a
certain man named Ananias,
with Sapphira his
wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it,
and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of
the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not
thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart?
thou hast not lied
unto men, but unto God.
And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. And the
young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. And it was
about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done,
came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether
ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the
Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door,
and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down
straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in,
and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. And great fear
came upon all the church,
and upon as many as heard
these things – Acts
5:1-11
Here
“we” find that a FOOLISH
yet BORN-AGAIN married couple named “Ananias”
and “Sapphira” had “agreed together”
to greatly “tempt” the “Holy Spirit” of God. HOW? They actually “lied”
to the third PERSON of the Holy
Trinity by the “filling”
of “Satan” himself! WHY? It was “because” they had “conceived”
of a WICKEDNESS in their “heart” of which ANGERED God. WHAT?
They DESIRED the applause of MAN rather than GOD
regarding their financial “offering” derived from the “sale”
of a certain “possession” mentioned in CONTEXT of the previous chapter:
And the
multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said
any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they
had all things common. And with
great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus:
and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them
that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and
brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them
down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according
as he had need. And
Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted,
The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, Having land, sold it, and
brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet – Acts 4:32-37
Therefore,
due to such SELFISH and SINFUL intentions, God KILLED them both! WOW! And as a result, “great fear”
came UPON the “church”
as well as “many” others OUTSIDE
of God’s “faithful” family flock – I’m quite SURE it DID!
And
the Apostle Paul further demonstrates for “us”
another SERIOUS situation where
“God” decided to REMOVE
the CORRUPT Corinthian CARNALITY
when they had “come together” during their COMUNNION service represented by the
“Lord's
supper” fellowship meal:
When ye
come together
therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one
is hungry, and another is drunken. What? have ye not
houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? what
shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not – 1
Corinthians 11:20-22
…Wherefore
whosoever shall eat this
bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of
the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so
let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For
he that eateth and
drinketh unworthily,
eateth and drinketh damnation
to himself, not discerning
the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly
among you, and many sleep
– 1 Corinthians 11:27-30
Things
had gotten so EVIL within the CARNAL and IMMATURE
caustic “Corinthian” assembly that “many”
had actually INSTIGATED God’s great JUDGEMENT upon themselves. HOW? Sadly, “many”
of these PHONY followers had “eateth
and drinketh” during the “Lord's supper”
in such an “unworthily” manner, they became “guilty”
before the “Lord” unto “damnation”
of their SOUL!
Therefore, they actually became so “weak and sickly”
to the pivotal point that these FOOLISH
folks would thus “sleep” unto their DEATH! Both in the – PHYSICAL and SPIRITUAL!
Finally,
the Apostle John also pronounces this incredible WARNING regarding “sin”
that CAN actually LEAD
to the “death”
of a “brother”
who is IN the Lord “Jesus Christ” Himself:
If any
man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life
for them that sin not unto
death. There is a sin
unto death: I do not say
that he shall pray for it – 1 John
5:16
In
these caustic cases, God “says” that “we” should NOT even “pray” for such a
bothersome “brother” living in such UNRPENTANT serious “sin”
of the HEART unheeded – SERIOUS Sin!
Although
“we” do indeed BELONG
to “God” Almighty, the ready results
of “grieving” the “Holy
Spirit” can indeed BECOME
a sharp short-circuiting of HIS
mighty POWER in “ministry” and HIS
gracious influence in “our”
lives. Subsequently, the MORE
a FOOLISHLY fickle “follower”
of “Jesus Christ” does WILLFULLY
go on “sinning” against ones CONSCIENCE without care, the LESS they are SURE
of God’s “love” for them. This CANTANCEROUS condition leads to spiritual
CONFUSION and thus, the LESS of GOD’S
wonderful “joy” they will experience
in their life – TODAY!
Beloved,
we MUST readily REPENT of our “sins”
unto “God”
as necessary. And WHEN we diligently DO so – He will ANSWER
our PRAYERS!
REAL REFLECTIONS: Our “walk” with the Lord is NOT one of PERFECTION but one of DIRECTION!
There is a distinct
difference concerning
our eternal RELATIONSHIP with God verses our earthly FELLOWSHIP with Him. There are MANY FILLINGS received FROM
the “Holy
Spirit” in your
“sanctification” and YOU have ALL of HIM at
the MOMENT of your “salvation”
in “Jesus Christ” alone – HOWEVER… Does HE have ALL of
YOU?
Don’t miss our next exciting study – “The Holy Spirit: His Work &
Ministry”
We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!
If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com
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Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><
Encouraging Concepts
Truth for Today
"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"Lighthouse Publications <><
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