How the Holy Spirit can be hurt.

It must be remembered that the Holy Spirit is a person, just as the Son and the Father are persons. With this in mind, it is easier to understand that the Holy Spirit can be hurt. It is because of His loving-kindness that He can be hurt.

1. How the Holy Spirit can be hurt by those who are not Christians:

People who have not put their trust in Jesus Christ can hurt the Holy Spirit. He wants to work in their lives so they will put their trust in Jesus Christ. Here are three ways people who are not Christians can hurt the Holy Spirit when He tries to show them the truth about sin.

A.         The Holy Spirit can be hurt by those who have hearts that will not listen to Him. Acts 7:51 says, “You have hard hearts and ears that will not listen to me! You are always working against the Holy Spirit. Your early fathers did. You do too.” It is sad to see how the Holy Spirit is hurt when He is working in the lives of people to bring them to see their need of putting their trust in Jesus Christ.

B.         The Holy Spirit is hurt when is showing the sinner God’s loving-favor, but is laughed at.

C.         The Holy Spirit can be hurt if bad words are spoken against Him. The person who does this will not be forgiven. Matthew 12:31-32 says, “I tell you, every sin and every bad word men speak against  God will be forgiven, but bad words spoken against  the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven in this life or in the life to come.”

This could  mean that anyone who says bad words against the special birth of Christ, or says that God’s Word is not true, or says that God did not make the world is saying bad words against  the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the One Who gave the words to the men of God who wrote them down. The Holy Spirit is the One Who came upon Mary so that she could give birth to Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the One Who made the world, as it is written in the first chapters of Genesis. To say things against what the Holy Spirit has done is hurting Him. The Bible says that a person who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven.

2. How the Holy Spirit can be hurt by Christians:

A.         The Holy Spirit lives in the Christian to be his Helper. He wants to work in the Christian’s life to make him free from his sinful old self. In Galatians 5:16-17 it says, “I say this to you: Let the Holy Spirit lead you in each step. Then you will not please your sinful old selves. The things our old selves want to do are against what the Holy Spirit wants. The Holy Spirit does not agree with what our sinful old selves want. These two are against each other. So you cannot do what you want to do.” (Also read verses 19-21 because they tell what the old sinful self is like.)

B.         In Ephesians 4:30 it shows how the Christian can hurt the Holy Spirit and cause Him to have sorrow for the way he lives. It says, “Do not make God’s Holy Spirit have sorrow for the way you live. The Holy Spirit has put a mark on you for the day you will be set free.”

C.         The Christian can stop the work of the Holy Spirit in his life if he stops obeying Him. Acts 5:32b says, “…God gives His Spirit to those who obey Him.” 1 Thessalonians 5:19 says, “Do not try to stop the work of the Holy Spirit.”