Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 22, 23, 24; Luke 12:1-30
Memory Verse: “And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.” Luke 12:10 (KJV)
Many wonder why there is any sin that is unforgivable particularly when Jesus Christ himself said, any word spoken against him shall be forgiven. But he also said blaspheming against Holy Spirit is unforgivable. Before looking at the details of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit, let’s look at other sins that one can commit against the Spirit. These include resisting Him, grieving Him and Quenching Him.
Resisting the Holy Spirit is when you want your will and not the will of God to be done; refusing to be broken by not allowing the word of God to penetrate your heart. This entails maintaining carnality by being self righteous and self sufficient. This was well captured by Stephen when he told the religious leaders of Israel in concluding his sermon to them in Acts 7:51 (KJV), “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.”
Grieving the Holy Spirit means harbouring bitterness or wrath and anger in our hearts and letting corrupt communication proceed out of our mouth. Whenever we harbour or say things that run contrary to the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, we grieve the Holy Spirit. So only children of God can grieve the Spirit because it means sadening the Spirit of God already in you. That’s why Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 4:30 (KJV), “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
Quenching the Spirit on the other hand applies to Christians only. It means silencing the Spirit. And this is done when you refuse to obey the instructions or promptings of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes the Spirit asks us to preach the gospel, do something or go somewhere but rather, we do things contrary just to satisfy our flesh. That way we silence the Holy Spirit and if it continues, the Spirit will leave the vessel. To avoid this situation, Apostle Paul wrote the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 5:19 (KJV) “Quench not the Spirit.”
So one can move from resisting to grieving and then to quenching the Spirit. However the height of it all is blaspheming the Spirit. This applies to anyone who knows the work of Holy Spirit and recognises all the good things He has done but attributes them to the work of the devil. It is speaking against the work of the Holy Spirit. Now if you were a believer and now degenerated to the level where you speak against the Holy Spirit, then you have committed an unforgivable sin. Thus Jesus said in Luke 12:10 (KJV), “And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.” This explains why the Lord said in Luke 9:62 (KJV), “And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God”
Prayer Point: Father, in anyway I have grieved or quenched the Spirit, have mercy on me. Let me never get to the point of committing the unforgivable sin in Jesus name.
Bro. Biodun Oyapero