The Suffering of the Holy Spirit

Many times the Holy Spirit suffers at the hands of man. Here is how–

1. He is blasphemed by the presumption of man, Matthew 12:31, 32. If we compare verses 24 and 28, this sin becomes very clear: they attributed the work of the Holy Spirit to the work of the Devil; this is what is meant by blaspheming the Holy Spirit. The question becomes, do we do this today? Perhaps not. But is attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to the cleverness or excitement of a preacher any worse a sin?

2. He is insulted by the pride of men, Hebrews 10:29. To deny the divinity of of Christ and the preciousness of the Blood is to despise the testimony of the Holy Spirit and to insult Him to His face. Those who do without the Blood have to do without the Spirit, 1 John 5:8.

3. He is vexed by the disobedience of men, Isaiah 63:9, 10. Consider how often He reveals the ugliness of some hidden sin in your life. Instead of being thankful for the discovery, the proud heart rebels and refuses to confess and repent. And so the Holy Spirit is vexed and He cannot give the blessing He would like to because of the stubbornness of our will.

4. He is resisted by the unbelief of men, Acts 7:51, Hebrews 3:19. In doubting the Word of God, the Spirit of God is resisted, for the Word is His sword and the medium through which He communicates with us. If the Spirit is to have full possession of the Canaan Land of the heart, and all that would pollute the holy sanctuary of your heart, the the promises of God must be believed or the Spirit will be resisted.

5. He is tempted by the insincerity of men, Acts 5:1-9. Ananias and Sapphira in seeking to deceive their brothers, tempted and lied against the Holy Spirit. One is guilty of this when he pretends that he is wholly devoted to God, yet at the same time is indulging in some secret sin. Beware of the being more holy before man than you are before God. In attempting to lie to the Holy Spirit, you deceive only yourself.

6. He is quenced by the prejudice of men, 1 Thessalonians 5:19, 20. This passage is problematic to some, but seems pretty simple to me. What is forbidden here is a very common sin indeed; that of treating with indifference the message of God, perhaps because the messenger of God is not exactly after our own heart. This is a secret prejudice, which is frequently the result of “religious pride,” yet is known and felt by the Holy Spirit and hangs like a veil between His presence and your soul.

7. Grieved by the carelessness of men, Ephesians 4:30. This solemn verse hangs between these other two: verse 29 and verse 31. How often, do you think, is the Spirit grieved by questionable conversationand the foolish talk of so many Christians? The Holy Spirit wishes to be a part of our lives, yet He cannot join in questionable, unprofitable talk, much less in outright sinful speech. The Holy Spirit cannot be tainted with anything kind of careless speech.