Ephesians 4:30-32

Do Not Grieve the Holy Spirit

Any involvement of Christians in the activities of the "old man" would grieve the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 63:10). Whenever we reject the teachings of the Bible, we are rejecting the Holy Spirit, thereby giving him great sorrow (Psalms 78:40: 95:10-11). Remember, the Holy Spirit is the seal, or guarantee, of our ultimate salvation in heaven (Ephesians 1:13). None would want to risk giving him cause for sorrow since that would lead to our eternal sorrow (4:30).

Paul lists a series of actions the old man might have been involved in that the new man must avoid. A bitter man has resentment built up in him that causes him to see only mud and no stars. The anger here is uncontrolled, explosive in nature and leads to rash actions such as murder. Wrath is another description of such anger. If you have ever seen two, or more, people in a shouting match, you have seem clamor. The word for evil speaking could also be translated blasphemy and suggests speaking against God or man. Our word sadistic, which describes one who enjoys inflicting pain on others, could be used in place of the word malice (4:31).

In place of the attitudes listed in the previous verse, Paul would encourage the Ephesian brethren to show others kindness. Also, they were urged to be tenderhearted, or have compassion, and a forgiving spirit toward others. Christians are forgiven because of Christ's loving sacrifice (Matthew 6:14-15; Matthew 18:21-35). Clearly, all who have been forgiven of sin ought to be prepared by that forgiveness to forgive others (4:32; Romans 6:23).