The allowance of flesh in the least degree in a Christian is to grieve the Spirit of God, by which
he has been sealed until the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30). What a motive to holiness is the
fact_true of every believer_that the Holy Spirit of God dwells in him! He may, alas, grieve Him
in many ways. Rejection of light which God has given; worldliness; in fact, everything that has
not Christ for its motive and object must grieve God’s Spirit and hinder our growth and
communion.

To quench the Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19) is to hinder His free action in the assembly. While there are
special permanent gifts in the Church (Eph. 4:11), there are also the "joints and bands" (Col.
2:19) which work effectually in the measure of every part, and by which the Body of Christ
increases. If they are hindered in true spiritual service, the Spirit of God is quenched.

There are dangers to be avoided on both sides, especially by those who seek to walk in the truth
of the Church of God. On one side the danger is that because there is liberty for all to "prophesy
one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted" (1 Cor. 14:31), there may be the
undervaluing of special ministry which is a permanent thing as long as the Church of God is here.
On the other side there is the danger of quenching the Spirit in the various helps _the joints and
bands by which nourishment is ministered in the body of Christ_by putting special ministry in
the place of the free action of the Holy Ghost in the members of Christ. Both are to be cherished,
and the most spiritual are those who will value all that God gives.

First Thessalonians 5:20,21 shows that it is ministry which the apostle has in his mind. While in
verse 12 he exhorts them to own those who labor among them and esteem them highly in love for
their work’s sake, in verses 19-21 they were not to quench the Spirit in any, but at the same time
to "prove all things" which were said and "hold fast that which is good."

(From Scripture Notes and Queries.)

FRAGMENT. Verses 25 through 29 of Ephesians 4 are summed up in verse 30:"And grieve not
the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." Inasmuch as the Holy
Spirit indwells the believer, He naturally is grieved by every manifestation of the old man, of our
former sinful self. It does not say that we will grieve the Holy Spirit away, as it is sometimes
wrongly quoted. No, indeed; He is ever with us, for we are sealed with the Spirit of God until the
day of redemption, until the Lord Jesus conies to take us home to glory. The serious thing is that
the Holy Spirit is ever with us, so that when we sin, we deeply grieve Him, for He indwells us.
And when we grieve Him, He has to leave His pleasant work of occupying us with the loveliness
of Christ, and begin to show us our own unloveliness. A realization that He, the Holy Spirit of
God, is our ever-present Host will keep us in a great measure from saying and doing things to
grieve Him. We grieve the Spirit when we do things that we are told not to do; we quench Him
when we do not do things we are told to do.

(From Ephesians.)