The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:18 said, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” Earlier in Ephesians 4:29-32 he told them to control their mouths. To make sure their words are useful for building others up and not for tearing them down. And in the very middle of this subject, he goes on to say, and “do not grieve the Holy Spirit.”
Did you know you can grieve the Holy Spirit? I’m afraid as Christians, many of us have all but erased him from our Christian lives. In a sense we’ve become like the TV movie, “Ghost Busters” and have all but removed him from our Christian faith. Many only associate him with charismatic worship services, speaking in tongues and healing of the sick. Yet, in these passages, Paul I believe is showing how we grieve the Spirit when we walk by the flesh and not by the Spirit. In other words, we need the Spirit to help us in our ordinary day to day living.
Many Christians’ struggle in this life because they try to do it all on their own. You cannot do it on your own. You will never defeat the ruler of this world without the help of the Holy Spirit. That is why it is so important not to downplay the importance of him. The Holy Spirit is a person. The Holy Spirit is God. No less than God the Father nor God the Son. He is God the Spirit. They are all equal. For there is only one God. Every time you place the Spirit beneath God the Father, or God the Son, you lessen his importance. The Holy Spirit has the same characteristics as God, he is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent.
My prayer for you is that you will trust enough in God to see the power of God in the person of the Holy Spirit. As he works in you making you the person God designed you to be all along.
