December 9, 2015

Ephesians 4:30 NLT - "And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live.  Remember, He has identified you as His own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption."

Commentary:

The Holy Spirit was given to us as a down payment on our eternal salvation.  Having the Spirit in us guarantees that we have a home in heaven free of any judgment.  Christ was judged for us.  We have been saved from God's wrath!
Now, what Paul is stressing here is that we never offend the Sprit of God by our ungodly behavior, especially in our temperament towards other believers.  Other versions of this verse tie the idea of abusive language directed toward other believers.  This grieves the Spirit and causes Him sorrow.  We should understand that our emotions come from a God who knows how behavior can have an emotional behavior on Him!  He certainly can rejoice with us, He can cry with us, and He can show disappointment with us.  God wants our unity in spirit and He wants us to avoid those actions that can cause division within the Body of Christ.  We should live our lives not to please ourselves, or even try to please our brothers and sisters in Christ as much as we should live to please our Savior and His Spirit.  We will always have the Spirit living in us and He is the one who wants to direct our conduct for the glory of Christ.  He certainly doesn't want us to live our lives in a way that brings shame on us and heart-felt sorrow for Him.