Being A Forgiver Series

The Spirit is invested in us. Still, that does not explain the particular wording used – grieve, which denotes sorrow. I can be invested in people without grieving over them. I am emotionally invested in the Phillies, as my wife will attest. And when Chase Utley muffs a grounder, or Jason Werth strikes out with men on base, I might be filled with grief but not for them. I am exasperated with them. I question their commitment. I don’t feel sorrow for them, like their wives and their parents do. And if they should act badly off the field, I would get irritated with them, but I would not feel shame on their behalf that their wives and parents might feel. I know I should care about them and feel bad for them when they fail, but you see, I don’t have that kind of personal relationship with them that makes such feelings natural. I mean, it’s not like we are family.

But that is precisely how it is with the Holy Spirit. Listen to Romans 8:15-16: “[Y]ou have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” What is the Spirit doing? He is welcoming us into the family! That most intimate of all relationships – God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is his pleasure to welcome us in, to unite us to the Father and to the Son, to dwell within us so that we are no longer orphans.

And so the Holy Spirit of God grieves for us when we sin. He grieves that we sin, just as a mother or father grieves when their children go astray. He grieves over what sin does to us, again, just as a parent grieves over the effect that rebellion has on his children. Parents, you know of what I speak. And you know that you grieve because you love.

Remember that and take heart. These rules of behavior are not passed out simply to make us behave and keep us in order. They come from our God who loves us, who actually cares about us. The tragedy for the Gentiles who have rejected God ( vv. 17-19) is that the Spirit does not grieve for them, that he has given them over to do what they want. So, again, take heart. A Person cares, really cares about our behavior, because he loves us.

Now then, that takes us to the next putting off putting on exhortation: 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, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

We are to put off bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander, and malice. Paul is heaping one synonym upon another to depict the ugly life of resentment. Scripture’s “ugly meter” does not scan the outer face, but rather the inner heart. How well do you measure? To go back to the Holy Spirit, the heart is where he measures beauty. What does he see?

Take this seriously, because the Spirit sees through the smiles and the pleasant exchanges. He sees through the busy work and volunteering. He knows the thoughts we have in bed at night. He hears and sees the harshness expressed in the home, the slander spoken among friends. He understands how much of what we do – even the seemingly good works we do – are motivated by inner resentment at the unfair shake we believe we have received from…well, from God himself.