Grieving the Spirit.

     Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
                          Ephesians 4:30 NASB

     As Christians, we are called to maturity. We are not to be like children, falling for everything that we hear, but we are to grow up in all aspects of our lives, into Christ, who is our head (Eph 4:14,15). We are to live our lives according to the truth, the truth that is revealed to us in the word of God. It is one thing to know and study the truth, but unless we allow it to shape and mold our lives, unless we become Christlike in our behavior, it is useless knowledge.
     It is the job of the Holy Spirit to take the truth and reveal it to us. The Holy Spirit will take the word of God and illuminate it to our hearts and minds so that we can understand it and know how we need to apply it to our lives. It is His job to sanctify us, or to make us holy, set apart in every aspect of our lives. To be holy, is to be separated from sin, selfishness, and all the ungodly ways of this world, and be devoted to the service of God. The Holy Spirit will convict us, promt us, lead and guide us, and empower us, to the end that Christ is formed in us.
     Those who follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, exhibit lives filled with the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, are all marks of the Spirit filled life (Galatians 5:22,23).
     Paul exhorted the Believers in Ephesus to put off the old man, the corrupt way of life that they once lived, and to put on the new man who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness, and holiness of the truth (Eph 4:22-24). This involves a renewal of mind, a looking at life through the lens of scripture with a determined willingness to obey God in everything at all times. We must cooperate with the Holy Spirit, or we will grieve Him. The Spirit is filled with sorrow when we go against Him. It grieves Him when we are dishonest with one another. He is grieved by anger, theft, vain and foolish conversation, bitterness, wrath, clamor, and slander (vss. 25-31). All of these sinful behaviors are the fruit of yielding to our fleshly, selfish desires. These are the results of failing to follow the Spirit, and this grieves Him. A loss of the fear of the Lord, a lack of respect for Him and His presence grieves the Spirit. This only shows that we are living for ourselves, and not for Him.
     To grieve the Spirit is to lose communion with Him. It is to lose that peace that comes from a right standing with God. It is to lose the inner witness that the Holy Spirit bears with our spirit. If persisted in, it leads to spiritual death (Gal 5:21, 6:8).
     The only remedy is found at the cross of Christ. True confession of sin, confession to God, and confession to those we have offended, and a honest repentance, are needed. When sin is dealt with, and dug out from the root, when the blood of Christ has been applied by faith, we will once again enjoy the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.