30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
V. 30 - “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” - You cannot come to the Father without believing and accepting Christ as Lord and Savior. This is not a mental acquiescence only, but a full surrender of your life, your mind, your heart to Him. Likewise, you cannot live the Christian life fully unless you surrender to the Holy Spirit and let Him live in and through you.
If you tend to try to do it yourself, there will be failure. The failure to live in the power of the Holy Spirit leads to an life that is not abundant. Trying to live by your old nature is what grieves the Holy Spirit. He has been given to you to lead and teach you. (See: John 14:16, 26) We can rest in Him.
The Holy Spirit is God, and as such you can blaspheme the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:29; Luk 12:10). The debate about what constitutes ‘blaspheming the Holy Spirit’ has been discussed almost forever. I think the Holy Spirit is blasphemed the same way that God the Father is blasphemed, or that Jesus is blasphemed. Blasphemy is always against a person, especially the person of God.
Generally it means to ascribe to evil or evil forces acts that are clearly from the Holy Spirit or God. It can also be when a person claims to be God but is not. (Jesus was accused of blasphemy when He claimed to be the Son of God. Their thought was no man could be God, therefore Jesus was sinning.)
“By who you were sealed” - (See: Eph 1:13; John 7:39, 14:17, 15:26, 16:7, 13, 14:23, 26; 2 Cor 1:22, 5:5; Matt 28:19; Luk 11:13, 12:12) The Holy Spirit was promised and is given to us when we believe. He is the guarantee that Jesus’ death paid the full price for our sin. The Holy Spirit is not something that is to be put away somewhere safe like you would a legal document - a deed or a license. The Holy Spirit is a person, fully God, and given to us for our benefit. We have the Holy Spirit and are to be filled with Him. The Holy Spirit is not an essence or a feeling, but a real person - God Himself living in us. We are to be filled (Acts 1:8, 2:4, 4:33, 38, 9:17; Rom 5:5, 8:2, 9, 16, 26-27) by the Holy Spirit.
V. 31 - “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.”
“Let all bitterness... wrath... anger... clamor... slander... malice” - Let's look at these characteristics:
Bitterness - hard feelings because of a perceived or real insult.
Wrath - getting revenge because of the bitterness and anger.
Anger - harboring bitterness and hurt feelings. The end result is hating the person and seeking ways to harm them.
Clamor - Loud and boisterous demanding that you get your way in circumstances.
Slander - making false accusations, spreading lies about another person.
Malice - Letting your anger build to the point you seek to do harm to another. This is letting anger take over your life. Decisions made in anger or fear will almost always lead to personal disaster.
V. 32 - “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”
“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other” - These are the opposites of the behaviors and attitudes in verse 31. No bitterness, replaced with kindness. No anger or wrath, replaced with love and compassion. No slander or malice, replaced with forgiveness.
“Just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” - These are not changes you can will yourself into. That is why this list follows the verse 31 list: kindness, tender-heartedness, and forgiveness all coming from the Holy Spirit working in you. God’s kindness and grace is demonstrated by Jesus coming to earth and sacrificing Himself for us. God’s tender heart is demonstrated by Him taking your burden away in Christ. You do not need to prove yourself to God. You cannot pay the price for your sin. Only a perfect sacrifice - that is Jesus Christ - can satisfy God’s justice without sacrifice of His love and compassion. We are not worthy to be forgiven. God did it anyway. God loves you and wants you to be with Him. He wants that for you.
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