Grieving the Holy Spirit

I have to tell you that as I stand here this morning, at the very start, there's a passage that

! That would not be strange for a pastor when he stands at a pulpit, right? In fact, I would hope

! You'd be a little disappointed.

If that wasn't what was going through my mind. But I want to tell you the passage. Ephesians chapter 3,

Ephesians 3:21

verse 21. Now unto him who knows it. Here's what it says, unto him be glory in the church.

By the way, that's a good verse. And I can think of several others that are good verses. But unto him

be glory in the church. And as we look at this passage this morning, we are looking at one

particular text in Ephesians chapter 4. And I want you to put your finger on it for a moment as we

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

read the text together. You follow, and then we will take some time in prayer together. And I trust that

as I pray, what you'll do sitting right there is that you will pray. And I want to coach you a little

bit on what I want you to pray about. Two things. I want you to pray according to the instruction

that we find in Psalm 119 where it says, open thou mine eyes that I might behold wonderful truths of

thy law. I want you to open my eyes that I can see what God has. Second thing that you would do is that

you'd pray for me. Because it says in 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, it says, pray that the word of God

2 Thessalonians 3 · chapter mention

would have free course, that it would not be hindered. And that God would enable me to speak

by his power, through his spirit, and that God would be honored by you hearing the word and changing

accordingly. Our Father God this morning,

for us the matter of prayer is not a habit, but it is the absolute life breath of the believer.

We recognize what it says in John chapter 15, that without me you can do nothing. And so,

John 15 · chapter mention

in keeping with that profound truth, we who are your children acknowledge that we have the right

and the privilege to call upon your name and rely upon you to do great and wonderful things that are

beyond our imagination for the glory of the cross. We want to hear and understand and be changed by the

word of God. And we ask this because of Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Let me read the passage to you there in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 30. It says,

Ephesians 4:30

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

I want to take just a second to review with you some of the things that we have done in the last

several weeks. And I remind you that several weeks ago, I had three little children come up here

on stage. Does anybody remember what that question was that I asked them?

I asked them a little question about what man is all about, right? What is the chief end of man?

Does anybody remember the answer or do you know the answer? Wave at me if you know the answer to the

first question of the catechism. What is it? The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him

forever. And I can't help but think when you're thinking about it, in Psalm 16, verse 11, it says

Psalms 16:11

what? In Thy presence is the fullness of joy, and at Thy right hand are pleasures evermore. When we get

there, it won't be any better than that, right? It's going to be great because we're going to see

Him face to face and we will be like Him. And it says in 1 John, and I already recited that,

it says that those who have this thought, this idea, it purifies us.

Well, last week, another one of our little children came to me. I actually was out there

in the lobby doing that obligatory business of hi, hi, hi. You know how people go by and it's a time

when people tell me the most important things of their life and expect me to remember them. You

know, it's like, oh, by the way, I'll be dying tomorrow. Don't do that to me. You know, it's like,

at least send me a note, okay? But I had this little girl come up to me, and she's right down there,

you know, and she says, Pastor, when we get to heaven, will we sin anymore? I tell you,

I just got cold chills. You know, I get those occasionally. And I just, I looked at her,

I looked in her eye and I said, you know what? When we get to heaven, we won't sin anymore.

But not only that, we won't be able to sin anymore. I like that. And I appreciate that little

girl's sensitivity to the ongoing struggle of sin. Do you struggle with it? Do you struggle with it?

Go ahead and nod your head because your neighbor already knows you got the problem, so give in.

You know, it's like, yeah, you're struggling with it. And here's the truth. I really want you to

listen carefully. What we're going to be looking at this morning is profoundly significant in the

believer's ongoing struggle and battle with sin. I'm not suggesting that if you get this, it's all over

and you're home free. But I am telling you this, that to be well-informed scripturally and to understand

what the Scriptures tell us about the ministry of the Spirit of God in the life of the believer

is significant in our battle in dealing with sin. I'm reminded of what it says in Galatians chapter 5,

Galatians 5:16

verse 16, walk by the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. The unhappiest state

of the believer is not in the battles that he has with his health or with other individuals or problems at work.

The battles that are most significant are always battles with the indwelling sin that we deal with.

And this morning, I want you to understand that the Spirit of God is significant and critical

in that ongoing struggle. Now, we are looking at a passage here that for some may seem to be a little disjointed.

Now, what I mean by that is that if you have been following the book of Ephesians, you know that

the first three chapters are profoundly theological and lay out the issues of the work of God in salvation

and in placing the believer into a body for the sake of the glory of Christ.

And then in chapter 4 and on through to the end of the book, we have the exposition of,

okay, since the believer is saved by the grace of God, empowered by the Spirit of God, how is it that we are to act?

And we find one thing after another given to us clearly, explicitly. Those who are the children of God are to live,

endeavoring to maintain the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace.

We are to remember that there is one God, there is one baptism, one Savior, one Lord, one faith,

and we are together. And then we find out that we're a body of believers that are organically under the headship of Christ,

working together for His glory. It's an amazing passage.

And then following that, we pick up there later in the part of chapter 4, and it talks to us about,

and don't act like the unbelieving world.

And Paul then goes on and explains, here's what the unbelieving world acts like.

You, believers, are to be different.

You're to speak the truth with one another.

You're not to let anger fester in your life.

You're not to steal.

You're not to use your lips as a means of causing heartache and grief.

Your lips are to be a resource of blessing.

And then suddenly, out of seeming nowhere, comes this little statement,

and don't grieve the Holy Spirit.

If you're tracking on the logic of it, you probably say, what's that there for?

In fact, in doing some studies earlier last week,

I was struck by the fact that there are some commentators that say,

this verse seems to be just a little disjointed and doesn't fit.

I think that's far from the truth.

I think the verse fits perfectly.

However, it does kind of rattle our cage and make us think a little bit about the subject of sin

in a different way than we sometimes do.

We're all dealing with sin on a regular basis, sadly.

And often when we're thinking about sin,

we are thinking about it from a very personal and humanistic perspective.

In other words, what I mean by that is we're thinking about sin about,

oh, well, if I do that, then this is going to happen to what?

To me.

That's bad news.

Sin's bad.

Sin hurts.

Sin causes problems.

Sin causes problems.

And our thoughts about sin are centered most of the time upon ourself.

And there, seemingly out of nowhere,

the Scriptures say this,

and grieve not the Holy Spirit.

Listen to me.

The purpose of preaching

is to change the way you think.

Do you understand that?

Now, that does not mean that Tim Knoyer has the right

or the responsibility of changing the way you think.

My thoughts are no more noteworthy than yours are.

But preaching is speaking explicitly and clearly what God has to say,

and that ought to change the way you think.

And if the preaching of the Word of God this morning,

through the power of the Spirit of God,

does its job in the future next week,

when you start thinking about sinning,

you will say to yourself,

I don't want to grieve the Spirit.

Amen.

That's the test.

I don't want to grieve the Spirit.

In this flow of the passage,

we find Paul addressing issues

that could be justifiably identified as sin.

It's wrong to be angry.

It's wrong to lie.

It's wrong to steal.

It's wrong to say things that are harmful.

But then Paul steps it up and he says,

and do not grieve the Spirit of God.

With this passage in mind,

I want to address three things that we find in the text.

First of all,

when we sin,

it is against the person of the Holy Spirit.

When we sin,

it is against the person of the Holy Spirit.

I do want to recognize that our text speaks in the imperative,

and Paul commands us.

It's not kind of like,

oh, by the way,

I think you probably ought to work at this a little bit.

It's a statement.

It's an obligation.

It's something that the Spirit of God speaks explicitly to a believer and says,

this is what you are not to do.

You are not to grieve the Spirit of God.

And behind the idea of grieving the Spirit of God is a recognition that sin has some significant consequences,

not only in the life of the believer,

but to the Spirit himself.

There's more at stake when we sin than just our personal comfort or dignity.

Or honor.

And the truth of the matter is,

is that every sin has an effect on the Holy Spirit who indwells each believer.

And the sin's impact on the Spirit of God is not something that is easily managed in our own thinking,

apart from humility.

I'm going to use a word that,

and not for the sake of showing a vocabulary,

but I can't think of another way to say it succinctly,

but there are a number of antinomies in Scripture.

Ante means what?

Against, nomos, law.

There are seemingly opposing principles in Scripture.

Namely, I'll give you a couple of illustrations of it.

Probably the classic one would be the absolute sovereignty of God

and the absolute responsibility of man.

That's an antinomy.

They're hard to fit together.

The deity of Christ and the humanity of Christ would be another illustration.

And here's another one.

How can the Spirit of God be inside me?

How can the Spirit of God, who has the nature of God,

also be affected by me?

The fact that sin has an effect on the Holy Spirit

is really a challenge to our understanding,

our theological understanding of the nature of God.

What does it say in Malachi 3, verse 6?

Malachi 3:6

I'm going to recite it for you.

It says,

I am the Lord.

I do not change.

Let me go over that slowly.

I am the Lord.

I, what?

I do not change.

Aren't you glad He doesn't change?

He doesn't change.

He never changes.

And it is because, as He was reciting there in Malachi,

it says,

I am the Lord.

I do not change.

And it's because I do not change that you,

O nation of Israel, are not consumed.

It is because of His unchangeableness

that my salvation is secure in His person

and in His promises,

and it is completed work.

God doesn't change.

And yet, and yet,

we read here that our sin grieves the Holy Spirit.

Now, the idea here is that it really affects Him deeply.

And so here we have that kind of conundrum,

that difficulty of saying,

okay, an unchangeable God, however,

is affected deeply by the things we do.

It changes His feelings.

And the statement reflects the sobering thought

that when we sin,

and in the context of the passage in Ephesians chapter 4,

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

when we honestly are not endeavoring to maintain the unity of the Spirit,

when we're not loving the brethren,

when we are less than edifying or honest in our words,

we are grieving the Spirit.

We also grieve Him when we indulge in secret lusts,

when we covet,

when we're embittered towards others.

And beloved, I think that the Scripture wants us to recognize

that grieving the Spirit is a profoundly significant thing.

The fact that we're told this here is instructive,

for it points to the principle that every sin we commit,

let me put it this way,

the principle crime of every sin is its offense against God.

Do you follow that?

When we sin,

the most significant thing about the sin that we commit

is what it does to God.

While it's true,

and it is a sub-point that is worth remembering,

His commandments are for our blessing,

and when we sin,

we harm ourself.

The larger and more significant truth

is not what sin does to us,

but what sin does to the character,

the name of God.

And for a believer to be dominated

by his thinking exclusively

about how sin affects himself

is to have a low view of God

and a high view of himself.

And here is the unintended consequence

of not having a God-word focus

when we're dealing with the subject of sin.

It is that we are often overwhelmed

in the battle with sin,

and we don't know what the solution is

because as it says in the Scripture,

you have given up the streams of living water.

Let me bring two classic texts to your mind

to help you understand

that sin really is against God.

I think about the one in Genesis chapter 39, verse 9,

Genesis 39:9

where Joseph was tempted by Potiphar's wife.

Very familiar passage.

I think the thing that is most significant in that text

is that Joseph, as he is reasoning

with this perverted, wicked woman

who is tempting him sexually,

he says, listen,

your husband has given me

these tremendous responsibilities and respect,

but then he concludes by saying,

and how can I do this great sin against God?

When was the last time you concluded your argument

in your own thinking?

How many of you realized that sin in most cases

is not something that just kind of creeps up on us

and kind of strikes us,

and boom, we do it?

I've had people say to me,

I didn't mean to say that,

and I would agree,

you probably didn't think carefully enough,

but you did mean to say it.

We've all had those little arguments in our mind

after a conversation,

well, I should have said this.

How many of you done that?

Yeah, well, the next time they say that,

I'm going to say this.

You know, it's like, God forbid, stop me.

We think, we think, we think, we think,

we think we've got the math figured out,

we know how it's going to work out,

and then lo and behold,

when was the last time when you were kind of weighing

whether or not you would commit that offense against God,

when was the last time you said,

you know, and if I do this,

this is supremely,

this is supremely offensive to God.

Psalm 51, verse 4,

Psalms 51:4

David,

when he walks out in public

and hands a brief song to John Kroll

and says,

would you sing this Sunday?

And John Kroll helps us with music here,

so, but if you looked at Psalm 51,

by the way, you know that the Psalms

were the songbook of the Old Testament,

and this is a song that David wrote,

and songs that were written

were used in public worship,

and so David hands it to the choir director

and says, listen,

next Sabbath,

I want to get on record

with what God's been teaching me

about my wicked, despicable heart,

and so I want you to sing this,

and so here we go in verse 4,

King James, bear with me,

against thee and thee only have I done this,

all right?

Hey,

what had David done?

He had murdered a man.

He had been involved in adultery

with a woman.

He had then,

for two years,

it is estimated by Bible scholars,

had been kind of carrying on

as if everything was okay.

He had played the game.

And finally,

when he is convicted,

he says,

it's only against you that I've sinned.

A practical use of this Bible truth

would be the next time that you find yourself

entertaining temptation

and weighing Satan's lies.

The next time

you

find yourself

entertaining temptation

and weighing Satan's lies,

stop and think,

if I yield to this temptation,

I am going to grieve the Holy Spirit

that indwells me

and is so incredibly

involved

in helping me

with every part

of my spiritual life.

Second thing that I want us to see

in the passage

is that when we sin,

it is against the work

of the Holy Spirit.

Look at the passage.

Because the logic

of the outline

does not come

from my thinking,

but from

the word

itself.

Don't grieve

the Holy Spirit.

It's against the person

of the Spirit of God.

But then secondly,

by whom you were

sealed.

The text tells us

more,

for it speaks of the Spirit's work

in sealing

the believer.

I want you to keep your finger there

in Ephesians chapter 4

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

and turn back just for a moment

to Ephesians chapter 1

Ephesians 1:13

verse 13.

By the way,

the book of Ephesians

is one that is riddled.

It's shot through

with recurring emphasis

upon the ministry

and the significance

of the Spirit of God.

This summer,

earlier on,

and I'm going to take a tangent

for a moment,

but this summer,

in the evenings,

we did a series,

a theological series,

and I preached

for two weeks

upon the ministry

of the Spirit

in the believer's life.

And if you were to ask me,

what are some of the things

that in the last 30 years

God has been at work

changing in my thinking,

one of them,

I think,

I pray,

is evident to you,

and that is a growing affection

for the Lord Jesus Christ

and a dominant thinking

that He is supremely worthy

of my affection

and my interest.

But another

is a greater dependence

upon the Spirit of God

actively engaged

in my life,

and I have no hesitation

to admit

I desperately need

His work every day.

The Spirit is significant

in the book of Ephesians,

and there in verse 113

it says this,

In Him you also,

when you heard

the word of truth,

the gospel of your salvation,

and believed in Him,

were sealed

with the promised Holy Spirit.

The genuine convert

is sealed

with the promised Holy Spirit.

I'm going to have to take the time,

I will not take the time

this morning

to take you back

to the book of Romans

and chapter 8 in particular

where it argues,

I think very persuasively,

that every believer

is indwelt

with the Spirit of God.

If you're a child of God,

you have the Spirit of God

in you.

A companion passage

would be over

in 1 Corinthians chapter 6

1 Corinthians 6 · chapter mention

where Paul is arguing

that the believer

should not be involved

in immorality

because when the believer

involves himself

in immorality,

he drags the Spirit along.

That's offensive.

Hey, Holy Spirit,

come with me.

I want to look

at some pornography.

That's offensive.

Not right.

And so,

in Ephesians,

Paul says,

you need to understand

that you were sealed

with the Holy Spirit.

I want you to understand

that as this passage

is played out,

the thing that we need

to recognize

is that one of the blessings

of our salvation

is not just that we have

a promise of where we will

eventually spend eternity,

and that's good news.

we also have

the promise

that we don't have

to stay the way

we used to be,

and the reason

we can be certain

of that,

now listen,

if you're here today

and you know Christ,

you won't stay

the way you are.

And one of the reasons

I can guarantee that

is not because of me,

it's because the Spirit

of God is in you,

and the Spirit of God

will not let it

keep on going.

Recognizing that

the ongoing battle

with sin

is pretty difficult,

however,

you can understand

why we would be

concerned about

having assurance

of where we will

end up someday.

and one of the things

that we receive

early on

in our spiritual life

is assurance

of our eternity,

and that assurance

does not come

through our own

accomplishment,

but it comes through

the ministry

of the Spirit of God,

namely this business

of sealing us.

and we find it

over and over again

that you're sealed,

you're sealed,

you're sealed,

and what that is

talking about

is that guarantee

that you have,

how do I know

I am saved?

How do I know

that I will spend

eternity in heaven?

How do I know

that God has done

a miraculous work

in my life?

I have received

the Spirit

of the living God.

That's proof.

And yet we live

with our daily frailties,

do we not?

We struggle.

And Paul encourages us

over and over again

through the book

of Ephesians

to understand

that the Spirit

is at work,

He is at work,

He is at work,

He Himself

as the guarantee

of our salvation

and here's how we see

that He is at work.

For one,

He is reminding us

of the promises

of Scripture.

And just as our salvation

was a work of grace,

so our eternal destiny

rests on His power

to save

and the Scriptures

stand clearly

to make that evident.

Second,

we find stirring

in our hearts

with a desire

for godliness

and growth

over in Philippians

Philippians 2:12

chapter 2

verse 12 and 13,

a passage that I would hope

every believer knows.

It says what?

It says,

that you are to work

out your salvation,

what, what, help me,

with fear and trembling

because it's God.

Now listen to this.

I don't think

we appreciate this enough

because it's God

who is working in you,

now track this,

both to will

and to do

His good pleasure.

Now what does it mean

to will?

It means to want to.

Lord,

Lord,

how many of you

would like it

for the Spirit of God

to help you

be diligent

and persistent

in exercise?

You know?

I mean,

five days a week,

minimum of 30 minutes

at a time,

and you don't need

to look like

Arnold Schwarzenegger,

but you need

improved health.

Right?

We could all do,

well, maybe not,

but most of us

could do

if the Spirit of God

would give us

the will,

right,

to exercise.

I'd take that.

Spiritually speaking,

it says that

the Spirit of God

is in the believer

working to make you

want to do

the right thing.

Do you see

the evidence of that?

Oh, I am blessed!

Now I wish he'd gotten

it done sooner

and he would keep

at it harder.

Now you're thinking,

that's a theological

conundrum.

Bear with it, okay?

I just,

I wish

that I'd been

smarter younger.

How many would join

me in saying that?

Everything I've learned,

I've learned

through heartache

and challenge

because of my

insufferable stubbornness

and my disobedient

spirit

and my arrogance.

And I'm thankful,

I'm really thankful

that he never quits.

He enables

every step

of our growth.

Colossians chapter 1

Colossians 1:29

verse 29.

Let me come to

one other point.

Ephesians chapter 4

Ephesians 4:30

verse 30,

it says this,

when we sin,

let me read the passage,

you were sealed

for the day

of redemption.

When we sin,

it disregards

the completion

of his work.

there's one more jewel

in Paul's statement

here,

and it draws our attention

to the future,

and it speaks

of the day

of our redemption,

and it's talking

about that wonderful

day of the

consummation of all

things,

when this present

life and the

difficulties and

heartache,

the troubling rain

that we see

in the world

that faces us,

that is pervasive

in its wickedness,

is going to be

wiped away,

and the king

of kings

will reign forever.

I find myself,

I struggle

with listening

to too much

news.

I stopped

a number of years

ago receiving

the newspaper,

because I would

read the newspaper

and somewhere

in the process

of getting from

the front to the

back,

I would find

my sanctification

reaching a boiling

point.

How many of you

understand that?

I know of a

dear brother

in the Lord

that calls

himself a

news junkie.

Well, I am

not a news junkie,

and I'll tell you

why, because I

just can take

about so much

of what's going

on in the world

before I find

myself saying,

even so,

come Lord Jesus.

Right?

It's like,

Jesus, you need

to be a stomping

on down here,

and you need

to put the

smack down

on those people.

And then I

think to myself,

okay, and

you're part of

the problem,

Tim.

Paul, in

this last

little part,

lifts up our

heart and

lets us know

that the end

is good.

When we

sin against

the Holy

Spirit, we

sin against

the one who

has sealed

us for the

day of

redemption.

Sin is

such a

short-sighted

thing.

It tempts us

to live with

an eye on

the moment.

We steal,

thinking only

of the moment.

We lie

under the

pressure of

the moment.

Every act

of sin

that we

commit,

whether it

is drunkenness

or anger

or violence

or sex

or whatever

it is,

it's all

the promise

of the

moment,

and Satan

is a

liar.

There's no

lasting benefit

or consequence.

Scripture

wants us to

think way

into the

future of

where things

will be

perfect,

and things

will be

blessed,

and we

shall see

him as

he is,

and we

will be,

what?

Do you

know the

passage?

And we

will be

like him.

And so

Paul says

this,

he says,

listen,

don't grieve

the Holy

Spirit.

When we

sin,

we offend

the Holy

Spirit who

has sealed

us for

the glory

to come.

We who

are his

children,

we who

are his

children,

are not

going to

spend all

of eternity

as

subjects to

the frailty

and frustration

of this

life.

Do you

understand

that?

And it

would do

us well

to think

more often

of how

things

someday

will be.

and that

is what

this

passage

reminds

us of.

The day

is coming

when every

one of you

who are

here will

enjoy the

glory and

the presence

of Christ

forever.

And do

you know

what?

When we

sin,

we are

saying to

God,

I don't

care about

tomorrow.

I don't

care about

what you

have made

for me.

I don't

care about

my future

blessings.

I don't

care about

seeing

Christ.

And the

Holy Spirit

pens these

words for

the believer.

He says,

don't

grieve

me.

Don't

grieve

me.

So let

me close.

Preaching

aims to

change the

way you

what?

What?

Think.

God's

love.

And this

passage

intends to

instruct the

believer that

when we find

ourselves struggling

with the battle

of sin,

the thought is,

I don't want to

grieve the

Spirit of God

who indwells

me.

And God's

people cried

out and said,

Holy Spirit,

convict us.

that we don't

sin against

you.

Let's close

in prayer.

Oh, Holy

Spirit, this

morning we are

so desperate

for you.

We are

frail,

easily

distracted,

far too

comfortable

with sin,

and most

often thoughtless

of your

presence and

ministry.

we ask that

you do

whatever is

fitting

to give

to us a

greater

sensitivity

to your

presence,

that we

who are

your

children

would know

the sweetness

of communion

and relationship,

that the

sin that

does so

easily

beset us

would grow

to be less

of a

struggle

and a

battle,

that Christ

would be

seen

preeminent

in every

thought

and every

action.

And we pray

this in Jesus'

name.

Amen.