“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30 NKJV
Reflection: what role does the Holy Spirit have in your life?
“I have been thinking about what I said yesterday. And I was wrong. I realize I was being used by the evil one. Please forgive me”, a brother told me not so long ago. The details are unimportant, as we can all relate to this. We all have hurt someone else, whether or not we fully realize it in the moment. But then later what we said starts bothering us, more and more. It is almost like indigestion, like having eaten something that didn’t settle well in our stomachs. We know the right thing to do is to go to that individual, confess what we did, and ask for their forgiveness. And, if we do, while being very humbling, it offers immediate relief. That nagging feeling is gone, like taking an anti-acid pill for your upset stomach. But, what if we decide to resist to go? Interestingly, the nagging feeling eventually subsides, but perhaps never is completely gone. So what is this nagging feeling?
It is the work of the Holy Spirit.
Truthfully, what had been said was deeply hurtful, and had the intention from the devil to do harm. To cause division and split brothers apart. And, in this simple, but general example, we can understand one of the functions that the Holy Spirit does in our lives. And, we can also recognize that the Spirit doesn’t force us to do anything. Just convicts us and nudges us to take action. The action is ours to take. MacLaren wrote an amazing sermon on this topic, so I will take a number of quotes from him, starting with “Christianity is intensely ethical, and it sets forth, as the ultimate result of all its machinery, changing men into the likeness of God. Holiness is that for which Christ died, that for which the Divine Spirit works.”
The key function of the Holy Spirit is therefore to form each of us into the likeness of Christ; to make us holy. You might think this is not possible. And Peter reminds us what the Lord said “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”” I Peter 1:15-16 NKJV. This is not a future thing, but a here and now thing. As we walk through this world, we are to become more and more like Christ. MacLaren wrote “the central gift and possible blessing of Christianity, to make us holy, or, if you do not like the theological word, let us put it into still plainer and more modern English, to make you and me good men and women, like God.
That is the mightiest work of that Divine Spirit.”
The Holy Spirit is our helper, persuading us away from sinning, convicting us of sin we have done, and leading us to paths of righteousness. But He is also our teacher, as Jesus said “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”John 14:26 NKJV. Which means we need to read and study the Word. We need to spend time with Him, to let the Helper teach us. We cannot expect to hear Him if we always have the television on, or scroll content on our phones, or whatever. He needs our undivided attention, so He can teach us. MacLaren wrote of His work in us “This remains-not tongues, nor gifts of healing, nor any other of these miraculous and extraordinary and external powers-but the continual operation of a divine influence,
moulding men into its own likeness.”
So what is meant by not to “grieve the Holy Spirit of God”? It is simply to ignore and therefore reject His guidance, His help, His teaching, and remain in the flesh. MacLaren wrote “You will not be made holy without the Divine Spirit, but you will not be made holy without your working along with it. There is a possibility of resisting, and there is a possibility of co-operating. Man is left free. We have to work with God, and we can resist.” And, he goes on, concluding “Dear brethren, surely such a dissuasive from evil, and such a persuasive to good, is mightier than all abstractions about duty and conscience and right, and the like. ‘Do it rightly’ says Paul, ‘and you will please Him that hath called you’; leave the evil thing undone, ‘and my heart shall be glad, even mine.’ You and I can grieve the Christ whose Spirit is given to us. You and I can add something to ‘the joy of our Lord.”
