Posted: 22 May 2010 09:00 AM PDT
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30
In the Scripture, the Holy Spirit is often likened to a dove. The dove is known as a bird of peace and it is extremely sensitive to anything that disrupts the serenity of its environment. That is why doves are often found beside still waters. The Holy Spirit is easily grieved and chased away by sin, rebellion, disobedience, complaining, and wrong attitudes.
The Holy Spirit abides upon the life of a believer who is at peace with God and who has the righteousness and holiness of God worked out in his life. How not to grieve the Holy Spirit? The answer is given in Ephesians 4:31, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.” Here, we see the ugliness of the old man that puts off the Spirit of God:
(1) Bitterness—the longstanding resentment in a person’s heart. Bitterness often enters into a person’s heart when he has been wronged and betrayed. Disappointing circumstances can also cause bitterness. The terrible thing about bitterness is that it not only affects the one who is bitter and tormented by it, but it also defiles and affects others. To overcome bitterness, you need to develop a holy acceptance of all situations and a forgiving spirit.
(2) Wrath—hot anger or passion. It is a very intense form of anger. Wrath burns like fi re within the breast of a person, but it has the habit of subsiding just as quickly as it was stirred up. It can only be cooled by not meditating upon the person who has offended you.
(3) Anger—a strong feeling of hostility. Paul is not speaking here of the godly anger against sin (4:26), but anger that is one of the works of the fl esh. A person becomes angry when he does not get his own way and often fl ies into a temper tantrum. The antidote to anger is a submissive spirit.
(4) Clamor—a propensity to shout loudly or to create an uproar because of a controversy or dispute. The antidote is to major on the peace of God.
(5) Evil speaking—this refers to insulting language. Let us esteem others better than ourselves, and speak respectfully of them.
(6) Malice—the desire to harm others or to see them suffer. A person with malice is vicious and seeks to harm others. The antidote to malice is to seek the best for others. The attitudes mentioned above will surely grieve the Holy Spirit. The attributes that will attract the Holy Spirit are being “kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (4:32).
