Good Grief; Bad Grief

Today's Three-minute Bible Study
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Title: Good Grief; Bad Grief ------------------- Date: 5/4/2001
Keywords: "grieve" "Holy Spirit"
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Passage: Ephesians 4:30*

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Questions

1. What synonyms can you think of for the word "grief"?

 

2. Is it possible for a "thing" to be grieved? An impersonal force? What do we learn about the Holy Spirit when we read that we are not to "grieve" Him?

 

Practical help

From Ephesians 4:30, we can deduce that the Holy Spirit is a Person, just as the Father and the Son are Persons (not human beings, but Beings with personality -- will, intellect and emotions). No person/Person enjoys the sensation of being grieved by another person’s thoughtlessness. If we are "grieved" we may become angry, offended or deeply saddened. We may lash out for retribution, or weep, or withdraw.

Paul says that we should not "grieve the Holy Spirit," the third member of the Trinity. Amazing. It is possible for you and me to bring God to grief! How might we do that?

Embedded in the passage in which we find this warning is a list of "for instances." The list includes "lay aside falsehood" "be angry -- and yet don’t sin" "stop stealing" "speak only words that are edifying" and "walk in love." In other words, lying, stealing, sinful anger and lovelessness are the kinds of things that "grieve" the Holy Spirit.

The sins of "impurity and immorality" (Ephesians 5:3) are also listed in this section of Scripture, the kinds of evil that are represented by pornography.

The Holy Spirit -- the One who sealed you for the day of redemption -- ("marked you as belonging to God") is grieved when you carry out lustful fantasies in front of the phosphor screen. As a believer, you don’t want to grieve Him. The relational loss is too great and the discipline He will bring will be severe.

For you, the first step toward living a Spirit-grieving-free life may be to stop surfing for porn!

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*"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission."