a) Grieving the Spirit.
Eph. 4:30, 31; Isa. 63:10 (R. V.). To grieve means to make sad or
sorrowful. It is the word used to describe the experience of Christ
in Gethsemane; and so the sorrow of Gethsemane may be endured by
the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the most sensitive person of the
Godhead. He is called the "Mother--heart" of God. The context
of this passage (v.31) tells us how the Spirit may be grieved: by
"foolish talking and jesting." Whenever the believer allows any of
the things mentioned in this verse (and those stated also in Gal.
5:17-19) to find place in his heart and expression in his words
and life; when these things abide in his heart and actively manifest
themselves, then the Spirit is sad and grieved. Indeed to refuse
any part of our moral nature to the full sway of the Spirit is to
grieve Him. If we continue to grieve the Spirit, then the grief
turns into vexation (Isa. 63:10).
b) Lying to the Holy Spirit.
Acts 5:3, 4. The sin of lying to the Spirit is very prominent when
consecration is most popular. We stand up and say, "I surrender
all" when in our hearts we know that we have not surrendered
_all_. Yet, like Ananias, we like to have others believe that
we have consecrated our all. We do not wish to be one whit behind
others in our profession. Bead carefully in this connection the
story of Achan (Joshua 7), and that of Gehazi (2 Kings 5:20-27).
c) Quenching the Spirit.
1 Thess. 5:19-"Quench not the Spirit." The thought of quenching
the Spirit seems to be used in connection with fire: "Smoking flax
shall he not quench" (Matt. 12:20); "Quench the fiery darts" (Eph.
6:16). It is therefore related more to the thought of service than
to that of life. The context of 1 Thess. 5:19 shows this. The
manifestation of the Spirit in prophesying was not to be quenched.
The Holy Spirit is seen as coming down upon this gathered assembly
for praise, prayer, and testimony. This manifestation of the Spirit
must not be quenched. Thus we may quench the Spirit not only in
our hearts, but also in the hearts of others. How? By disloyalty
to the voice and call of the Spirit; by disobedience to His voice
whether it be to testify, praise, to do any bit of service for God,
or to refuse to go where He sends us to labor--the foreign field,
for example. Let us be careful also lest in criticizing the manifestation
of the Spirit in the testimony of some believer, or the sermon of
some preacher, we be found guilty of quenching the Spirit. Let us
see to it that the gift of the Holy Ghost for service be not lost
by any unfaithfulness, or by the cultivation of a critical spirit
on our part, so that the fire in our hearts dies out and nothing
but ashes remain--ashes, a sign that fire was once there, but has
been extinguished.
From what has been said the following may be summarily stated:
_Resisting_ has to do with the regenerating work of the Spirit;
_Grieving_ has to do with the indwelling Holy Spirit;
_Quenching_ has to do with the enduement of the Spirit for
service.