Ephesians 4.17-32 (5)
Pray Psalm 139.1-5.
O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.
You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Sing Psalm 139.1-5.
(Ripley: Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah, O My Soul )
You have searched me, LORD, and known me, when I sit and when I rise;
from afar, my thoughts discerning, all my path before You lies.
Every word, before it’s spoken, You behold and know it well.
Both behind me and before me, Your sweet Presence I can tell!
Read Ephesians 4.17-32; meditate on verse 30.
What would cause the Holy Spirit to grieve?
Preparation
1. What does Paul not want us to do?
2. What has the Holy Spirit done for us?
Meditation
Sometimes the only way Paul—and other writers as well—can explain our relationship with God is by analogy, that is by saying “See this? This is a bit like God.” So here Paul says, “See that grieving person?” Or, “Have you ever grieved?” Well, that’s how the Holy Spirit “feels” when you (or I) fail or falter in putting off the old person, being renewed in our mind, and putting on the new person who is created in Christ Jesus.
There’s a formal term for this analogical way of thinking about God. It’s called anthropopathism, that is, ascribing to God human emotions to give us some insight to the nature of our relationship with Him. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of life and joy. Always. He indwells us so that we may increase in these, and when, because of sin, we do not, then He is “thwarted” in His work in us and “grieves” at our foolishness.
In other words, we may not take seriously our dabblings or lapses in sin, but the Holy Spirit does. Be sure that, if we persist, conviction will come and with it shame and, yes, grief. And maybe worse (Heb. 12.3-11).
When we refer to God with some tangible human body part—say, a hand or an eye—that’s called anthropomorphism, speaking of God in the form of a human being. God will always remain a mystery to us. We will never completely or fully know Him. But we can grow in knowing Him, as His Spirit continues showing us Jesus in His Word, and these analogies can help to fix in our mind things about God it’s important for us to know. The Holy Spirit has saved us, sealed us, and settled into us. Why would you want to grieve Him?’
Exactly.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Saul, the king, made it a regular habit to disobey and disappoint God.
“Now the Word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying,
‘I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king,
for he has turned back from following Me, and
has not performed My commandments.’
And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the LORD all night” (1 Sam. 15.11).
God, and the prophet Samuel, were both greatly grieved about Saul’s behavior.
Anthropomorphically speaking, God experiences emotion.
“Kiss the Son, lest the LORD be angry, and
you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled
but a little” (Ps. 2.12).
“Your fathers tested Me; they tried Me [even] though they saw My work.
For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said,
‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know My ways.’
So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest’” (Ps. 95.9-11; Heb. 3.7-11).
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,
who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them,
for God has shown it to them” (Rom. 1.18, 19).
I don’t think we need more convincing of the multiple possibilities we have for grieving our heavenly Father.
And His Holy Spirit, “by Whom [we] were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph. 4.30).
And the thing is, He is not hard to please. He has not set us up for failure. He has set us up to be His. To follow Him. To love Him. To obey Him. To serve Him and adore Him. To appreciate the Gift of salvation that He has lavished upon us.
“I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD and the praises of the LORD,
according to all that the LORD has bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel [now His Church], which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies, according to the multitude of His lovingkindnesses. For He said, ‘Surely they are My people, children who will not lie.’ So He became their Savior. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bore them and carried them all the days of old” (Is. 63.7-9). Look at all the emotions and feelings of God displayed here: love, kindness, goodness, mercy, affliction, and pity.
And it would be pleasant if the story ended there. But it doesn’t. It is a familiar outcome.
“But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit;
so He turned Himself against them as an enemy,
and He fought against them” (Is. 63.10). Grieved.
We do not have to repeat this bad storyline. We can create a new one—as it were to put on a new persona; “renewed by the Spirit” (Eph. 4.23, 24). God has made a way for us to be new. To tell, and be, a new and better story—the truth.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation;
old things have passed away; behold,
all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5.17).
Causing no grief to our Father’s Spirit.
Reflection
1. Do you think it would be a good idea to start each day by asking the Father to keep us from grieving the Spirit? Explain.
2. How can you know when you have grieved the Spirit? What should you do then?
3. What in your mind is the best way to keep from grieving the Holy Spirit?
When Paul says the Spirit is “grieved,” he speaks metaphorically on our account to show that the Spirit leaves us to our own self-will when we have, so to speak, wounded him by despising his admonitions. Ambrosiaster (fl. 366-384), Epistle to the Ephesians 4.30
Pray Psalm 139.23, 24.
Spend some time in prayer, waiting on the Lord and focusing on Jesus. Listen for any conviction of sin the Spirit may want to bring to mind. Confess, repent, and declare your intention of following a righteous course.
Sing Psalm 139.23, 24.
(Ripley: Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah, O My Soul )
Search my heart, O LORD, and know me, as You only, LORD, can do.
Test my thoughts and contemplations, whether they be vain or true.
Let there be no sin in me, LORD, nothing that Your Spirit grieves.
Lead me in the righteous way, LORD, unto everlasting peace!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest: This week: In our ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” we wrap-up our discussion of the Biblical teaching on justice. Our Read Moore podcast is working through The Gospel of the Kingdom, looking for the true Gospel of the Lord. The Crosfigell teaching letter continues our study of the life of Brigit, a contemporary of Brendan. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
