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[Perfect]

What quenchs and grieves Holy Spirit?

[jimwalton]

Ephesians 4.30: "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."

Grief like this is the result of profound loss: the death of a beloved family member or friend, when one’s country has fallen to enemies, or when one’s life is ruined by some turn of events. A parent feels it when their child turns against them or destroys their life with something like drugs or crime. A patriot feels it when his country becomes something it was never intended to be. We feel such grief in the face of severe loss or ruin.

In Isaiah 63.10, it refers to Israel's rebellion in the wilderness. Here in Ephesians, when the Church is steeped in sin, the Holy Spirit feels the intense loss of life, of ruin, of what could have been. Such loss actually causes pain, not to mention the psychological agony that something went terribly and unnecessarily wrong.

1 Thessalonians 5.19: "Do not put out the Spirit's fire;"

The Holy Spirit is motivating us towards tolerance, prayer, joy, gratitude, goodness, and using our lives to fulfill God's will. Acting against these urges quenches the Spirit. It seems we can also quench the Spirit by treating prophecies with contempt (1 Thes. 5.20).