“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (Jn 14:16-17)
INTRODUCTION
The verse quoted directly above is often used as a proof-text to support the notion that once a Christian has been indwelt by the Holy Spirit that the divine Spirit will unconditionally continue to reside in that person until the day they die. But is this an accurate interpretation of what the Bible teaches? Has the church always taught & upheld such an interpretation? Is there any evidence to consider that might indicate that the Holy Spirit resides or abides with us on a conditional basis? This article attempts to answer such questions.
Of course, it should not surprise us when advocates of “once saved always saved” or Unconditional Eternal Security believe that the Holy Spirit will unconditionally reside in a Christian. But I have even personally encountered professing Christians who held to the more traditional Christian doctrine of CONDITIONAL salvation security while at the same time believing that once a person receives the Holy Spirit that the Spirit would remain in them until the day of their death, regardless of how unfaithful they might be.
Now, of course, if the passage from the Gospel of John that is quoted above (note the “forever” of John 14:16) is considered in isolation from the rest of the Bible and from the consensus of interpretation of the ancient Christian church, then it is understandable how it might be interpreted as teaching a doctrine of “once indwelt with the Holy Spirit, always indwelt with the Holy Spirit.” But is such an interpretation in harmony with what the rest of the Scriptures reveal? And is such an interpretation in harmony with the earliest traditional beliefs of the Church? And what do some more recent, reputable Christian commentators have to say on this issue? (*Please note that this article is a work in progress, the quality & content of which is intended to be improved as time & opportunity allows—and that the reader is encouraged to see the accompanying footnotes of this article as well).
For starters, let us first be honest enough acknowledge that the doctrine of Unconditional Eternal Security is not in harmony with the overall teachings of Scripture, and that it was not taught by the Christians who lived closest in time to the firsthand teachings of the apostles. And hopefully, the reader will also acknowledge that one key essential article of belief in the Rule of Faith that was universally held by the early church was the doctrine of Free Will. Early Christians believed humans had freewill both before & after the Fall, and that people have freewill both before & after becoming Christians. They also believed that God—Father, Son & Holy Spirit—has freewill (and so do the angels).
Likewise, a plain reading of the Bible will reveal (and so the early church believed) that God is relational with individuals, meaning that He responds to our freely chosen course of life. Therefore, it only makes sense that the Holy Spirit is not unconditionally locked into us once He has indwelt us (i.e., the Holy Spirit is free to depart from us if sufficiently grieved by our freely chosen actions & attitudes in life). Most Christians are willing to affirm that God does not change in nature, or in His basic character (ex. He is holy), but because He Himself has freewill, He is therefore able to change the way that He deals with His creatures at certain moments in time. He can change His mind (or “repent,” Heb. nāḥam),changing His course of action depending on the decisions we make. Whatever God has given, He can also take away (Job 1:21). Consider the Parable of the Minas (Matt 25) or the Parable of the Talents (Lk 19), where the conclusion was to “Take the mina/talent from him…” And so, all the gifts, rewards, or even the salvation/forgiveness given by God can be taken away (see Matt 18:23-35; Mk 4:25). As Tertullian wrote (c. A.D. 207) while commenting on Luke 8:18, “What shall be given? The increase of faith, or understanding, or even salvation. What shall be taken away? That, of course, which shall be given.” (ANF Vol. 3, p. 377).
INTERPRETING JOHN 14:16-17
The passage in John’s gospel (14:16-17) that is at issue concerning this whole matter and which also prompted the writing of this article does not necessarily have to be interpreted as teaching a doctrine of “once indwelt by the Holy Spirit, always indwelt by the Holy Spirit.” It can just as easily be understood to teach that the Holy Spirit abides in Christians on a conditional basis. Let us consider the passage more closely.
Concerning the word ‘forever’ in John 14:16: The presence of the Holy Spirit with or in the Church (the elect corporate body) is a permanent gift, and it is meant or intended to be a permanent gift to individual Christians as well. However, as individuals, the Spirit appears to abide in us on a conditional basis. In other words, He can depart upon being grieved (Eph 4:30). Therefore, let us be resolved not be found to be an Ichabod (“the glory has departed”—1 Sam 4:21; see 4:1-21) although being part of the visible church!
Although the condition of the Spirit abiding with individuals is unstated or implied in John 14:16, this does not necessarily mean that He will remain with us or in us unconditionally. The Holy Spirit will not simply depart from us for no good reason, but if we grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30) through disobedience to God, then the Spirit may not abide with us forever.[1]
There is plenty of Biblical evidence that in certain situations or conditions, God’s presence or His Spirit, can depart from individuals & groups without their even realizing it has happened (i.e., they’ve been deceived and they need to repent before they can be restored). As for some Biblical support for this assertion, see 1 Sam 16:14; 18:12; 28:15; Psalm 51:11; Judges 16:20; Is 63:10/Ps 78:40; Rev 2:1-7; cf. Jn 3:8; Acts 7:51; Gen 6:3. Consider Ezekiel’s picture of the glory of the Lord departing from the temple (Ezek chap 9-11, esp. 10:18-19). Consider the withdrawal of the divine presence, which is like being excommunicated by Jesus/God the Word, such as is seen in Hosea 5:6-7 & 15.[2] Consider the ancient Christian principle of the Trinity being inseparable—i.e., if the Father or Son forsakes us because we have forsaken or denied Him (2 Chron 15:2; 2 Tim 2:12; Matt 10:32, etc.), then will the Holy Spirit remain with us?
Besides also considering the implications of John 15:4, Jude 1:21, & James 1:27, when a person is “handed over to Satan” (1 Cor 5:5; 1 Tim 1:20), would the Holy Spirit be required to remain in them? See also the Wisdom of Solomon 1:3-5 which the early church regarded as Scripture and regularly quoted to support the notion that the Holy Spirit could indeed depart from a person who had once been indwelt by Him (see footnote below).[3]
Concerning the statement in John 14:17a of “the world” not being able to receive the Holy Spirit: In the Scriptures, we see evidence that God had given special charisms/gifts to people (even to Balaam & Judas) without having given them the personal indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Most Christians would likely affirm that the Holy Spirit can also work in people’s lives (through events & through God’s message) before they come to a saving faith. Therefore, most would affirm it is not necessarily improper for us to pray for someone’s conversion (i.e., that they would ultimately be regenerated, as it is God who gives the increase, working through His message & events).
However, Jesus may be teaching us (in John 14:17a) that the personal indwelling of the Holy Spirit is not something people of the world (or worldly people) can participate in. Jesus may be saying that the personal indwelling of the Holy Spirit is reserved for Christians who are currently in an obedient-love-faith-relationship with Jesus (Acts 5:32; Heb 5:9). According to the descriptions of conversion in the New Testament (such as in Acts), it appears that baptism completes the birth process that the seed of the Word began. But even in the unique case of Cornelius, we can at least confidently say that faith is a prerequisite to the indwelling of Holy Spirit.[4] Would the Holy Spirit therefore remain in a baptized Christian who becomes an ungodly Atheist?
WHAT SOME ANCIENT COMMENTATORS SAY ON THE ISSUE:
Hermas (c. A.D. 150): “For if you be patient, the Holy Spirit that dwells in you will be pure. He will not be darkened by any evil spirit, but dwelling in a broad region,[5] He will rejoice and be glad; and with the vessel in which He dwells He will serve God in gladness, having great peace within Himself. But if any outburst of anger take place, forthwith the Holy Spirit, who is tender, is straitened [i.e., emotionally distressed], not having a pure place, and He seeks to depart. For He is choked by the vile spirit, and cannot attend on the Lord as He wishes, for anger pollutes Him. For the Lord dwells in long-suffering, but the devil in anger.[6] The two spirits, then, when dwelling in the same habitation, are at discord with each other, and are troublesome to that man in whom they dwell.[7]” (ANF, Vol. 2, p. 23; see Commandment Fifth, chap 1)
“But anger is foolish, and fickle, and senseless. Now, of folly is begotten bitterness, and of bitterness anger, and of anger frenzy. This frenzy, the product of so many evils, ends in great and incurable sin. For when all these spirits dwell in one vessel in which the Holy Spirit also dwells, the vessel cannot contain them, but overflows. The tender Spirit, then, not being accustomed to dwell with the wicked spirit, nor with hardness, withdraws from such a man, and seeks to dwell with meekness and peacefulness. Then, when He withdraws from the man in whom He dwelt, the man is emptied of the righteous Spirit; and being henceforward filled with evil spirits,[8] he is in a state of anarchy in every action…” (Hermas, ANF, Vol. 2, p. 23; see Commandment Fifth, chap 2)
[In the Pastor of Hermas, under “Commandment Tenth,” chapters 1-2, the topic of grieving the Holy Spirit is discussed and it is repeatedly made plain that by grieving the Holy Spirit, we can “crush out” the Holy Spirit who dwells in us and fall away due to our own sinful actions & attitudes. See ANF, Vol. 2, p. 26-27, where we read…]: “…crush not the Holy Spirit which dwells in you, lest He entreat God against you, and He withdraw from you. For the Spirit of God which has been granted to us to dwell in this body does not endure grief nor straitness [i.e., emotional distress].”
Tatian (A.D. 160): “But the Spirit of God is not with all, but, taking up its abode with those who live justly, and intimately combining with the soul, by prophecies It announced hidden things to other souls. And the souls that are obedient to Wisdom have attracted to themselves the cognate [i.e., kindred] Spirit; but the disobedient, rejecting the minister of the suffering God, have shown themselves to be fighters against God, rather than His worshippers.” (ANF Vol. 2, p. 71)
Irenaeus (c. 180 A.D.): “So now let us, receiving the Spirit, walk in newness of life, obeying God. Inasmuch, therefore, as without the Spirit of God we cannot be saved, the apostle exhorts us through faith and chaste conversation [i.e., conduct, behavior, manner of living] to preserve the Spirit of God, lest having become non-participators of the Divine Spirit, we lose the kingdom of heaven;” (ANF Vol. 1, p. 535; Against Heresies, 5.9.3)
“So likewise men, if they do truly progress by faith towards better things, and receive the Spirit of God, and bring forth the fruit thereof, shall be spiritual, as being planted in the paradise of God. But if they cast out the Spirit, and remain in their former condition, desirous of being of the flesh rather than of the Spirit, then it is very justly said with regard to men of this stamp, ‘That flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God;’” (Irenaeus, ANF Vol. 1, p. 536)
“For such is the state of those who have believed, since in them continually abides the Holy Spirit, who was given by Him [God] in baptism, and is retained by the receiver, if he [i.e., the receiver] walks in truth and holiness and righteousness and patient endurance.” (Irenaeus, The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching; para. 42)
Tertullian (A.D. 198): “For since, by the introduction into an appropriation (in) us of the Holy Spirit, we are all ‘the temple of God,’ modesty is the sacristan and priestess of that temple, who is to suffer [i.e., allow] nothing unclean or profane to be introduced (into it), for fear that the God who inhabits it should be offended, and quite forsake the polluted abode.” (ANF Vol. 4, p. 18)
Recognitions of Clement (c. 150-211 A.D., alluding to Wisdom of Solomon 1:4): “For He [the Holy Spirit] is present with those who desire Him in the innocency of their spirits, who bear patiently, and draw sighs from the bottom of their hearts through love of the truth; but He deserts malevolent [i.e., wicked] minds, because as a prophet He knows the thoughts of everyone.” (ANF Vol. 8, p. 181)
Origen (c. 225 A.D.): “At the time of the Flood, when all persons had corrupted their way before God, it is recorded that God spoke in this manner, concerning undeserving men and sinners. ‘My Spirit will not abide with those men forever, because they are flesh’ [Gen 6:3 LXX]. By this it is clearly shown that the Spirit of God is taken away from all who are unworthy.” (ANF Vol. 4, p. 254)
[Origen also pointed out that just because a Christian received the Holy Spirit upon their initial salvation, this does not necessarily mean that the Holy Spirit will continue to dwell in them. See Origen’s Commentary on Romans 6.13 in Migne PG 14:1100a; See also Bercot’s commentary on Romans, p. 208]
John Chrysostom (c. 347-407 A.D.): “At the first then it was of the gift of God that the grace of the Spirit lighted upon them [the Apostles] so largely and abundantly; but after that, it was of their own virtue that they retained the Gift [i.e., the Spirit]. For they displayed a shining life, and much wisdom, and great labors, and despised this present life, and thought nothing of earthly things, but were above them all; and like a sort of light-winged eagle, soaring high by their works, reached to heaven itself, and by these possessed the unspeakable grace of the Spirit. Let us then imitate them, and not quench our lamps, but keep them bright by alms-doing, for so [i.e., in this way] is the light of this fire preserved.” (Homily on John 23.3; NPNF 1st Series, Vol. 14, p. 83)
“See how great is the power of the Spirit; from an evil imagination It [i.e., the Holy Spirit] was able to bring forth words full of marvelous prophecy….Notwithstanding, even in this state of things the Spirit was still present. But when they [the Jewish leaders] lifted up their hands against Christ, then It left them and removed to the Apostles. This the rending of the veil declared, and the voice of Christ which said, ‘Behold, your house is left unto you desolate’ (Matt 23:38). And Josephus, who lived a short time after, saith, that certain Angels who yet remained with them [i.e., the Jews], (to see) if they would alter their ways, left them. While the vineyard stood, all things went on; but when they had slain the Heir, no longer so, but they perished. And God having taken It [i.e., the Holy Spirit] from the Jews, as a glorious garment from an unprofitable son, gave It to right-minded servants of the Gentiles, leaving the others desolate and naked.” (Chrysostom, NPNF, First Series, Vol. 14, p. 241; Homily 65 on John, section 1; commenting on John 11:51)
“But some maintain, that ‘the Spirit’ is the Gracious Gift which is extinguished when we sin. ‘In order then that this may not happen,’ says he [Paul], ‘let him be punished [i.e. through church discipline]; that thereby becoming better, he may draw down to himself God’s grace, and be found having It safe in that day.’” (Chrysostom commenting on 1 Cor 5:5)
“Even in the present life, if any soldier act unworthily towards his king, he will not be able to see the king, but being deprived of his authority will suffer the severest punishment; if therefore we steal, or covet, if we wrong or strike others, if we work not deeds of mercy, we shall not be able to go thither, but shall suffer what happened to the virgins. For where He was, they were not able to enter in, but retired, their lamps having gone out, that is, grace having left them. For we can, if we will, increase the brightness of that flame which we received straightway [i.e. in baptism] by the grace of the Spirit; but if we will not do this, we shall lose it, and when that is quenched, there will be nothing else than darkness in our souls; since, as while a lamp is burning the light is strong, so when it is extinguished there is nothing but gloom. Wherefore the Apostle saith, ‘Quench not the Spirit’ [1 Thes 5:19]. And It [i.e., the Holy Spirit] is quenched when It hath not oil, when there is any violent gust of wind, when It is cramped and confined, (for so fire is quenched,) and It is cramped by worldly cares, and quenched by evil desires. In addition to the causes we have mentioned, nothing quencheth It so much as inhumanity, cruelty, and rapine [i.e., violent seizure of property; plunder/pillage]. For when besides having no oil, we pour upon It cold water, (for covetousness is this [i.e., cold water], which chills with despondency the souls of those we wrong,) whence shall it be kindled again? We shall depart, therefore, carrying dust and ashes with us, and having much smoke to convict us of having had lamps and of having extinguished them; for where there is smoke, there needs must have been fire which hath been quenched.” (Chrysostom, NPNF, 1st Series, Vol. 14, p. 182-183; Homily 50 on John)
“All persons shall rise, but not all to life. Rather, some will rise to punishment, and others will rise to life [John 5:29]. …Life is given only to the righteous. Through the words, ‘by His Spirit who dwells in you’ [Rom 8:11b], Paul explains the cause of this reward. But what if you do not depart from this life with the Spirit still secure in you? In that case, you will assuredly perish, even though you will rise again. For if He [Jesus?] sees His Spirit shining in you, He will not allow you to be given up to punishment. At the same time, if He sees the Spirit quenched, He will not bring you into the bridal chamber, just as He did not admit those [foolish] virgins [Matt 25:12].” (Chrysostom, Homily 13 on Romans 8.11; Bercot, p. 208)
“Let this seal [i.e., the Holy Spirit] then abide…and never destroy the impression.” (Chrysostom, NPNF, 1st Series, Vol. 13, p. 120; commenting on Eph 4:30)
[In following quote, Chrysostom is expounding on Hebrews 13:25, but in the process, he reveals he understood John 14:17 to teach that the Holy Spirit cannot be received by or kept by a worldly person. And of course, a Christian can become worldly, which is what James 4:4 warns us of![9] Chrysostom writes…]: “But how does ‘Grace’ come to be ‘with’ us? If we do not despite to the benefit, if we do not become indolent in regard to the Gift [i.e., the Holy Spirit]. And what is ‘the grace’? Remission of sins, Cleansing: this is ‘with’ us….How then shall the ‘Grace be with’ thee, whether it be the good favor, or the effectual working of the Spirit? If thou draw It to thee by good deeds. For the cause of all good things is this, the continual abiding with us of the ‘grace’ of the Spirit. For this [Spirit] guides us to all [good things], just as when It flies away from us, it ruins us, and leaves us desolate. Let us not then drive It from us. For on ourselves depends both Its remaining, and Its departing. For the one results, when we mind heavenly things; the other, when [we mind] the things of this life. ‘Which the world’ (He [Jesus] says) ‘cannot receive because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him’ [John 14:17]. Seest thou that a worldly soul cannot have Him [i.e., the Spirit]? We need great earnestness that so there He [the Spirit] may be held fast by us, so as to direct all our affairs, and do them in security, and in much peace….For as the wind if it fall upon a slackened sail, would have no effect; so neither does the Spirit endure to continue in a slack soul;” but there is need of much tension, of much vehemence, so that our mind may be on fire, and our conduct under all circumstances on the stretch, and braced up.” (NPNF, 1st Series, Vol. 14, p. 521)
Aphrahat (c. 270-350 A.D.; fl. 337-345 A.D.): “I will instruct you of that which is written, that the Spirit is not at every time found with those that receive it. For it is written about Saul, that the Holy Spirit, which he received when he was anointed, departed from him, because he grieved It, and God sent to him instead of It a vexing spirit. And whenever he was afflicted by the evil spirit, David used to play upon the harp, and the Holy Spirit, which David received when he was anointed, would come, and the evil spirit that was vexing Saul would flee from before It. So the Holy Spirit that David received was not found with him at every time. As long as he was playing the harp, then It used to come.” (Demonstration 6.16; ACCS, O.T. Vol. 4, p. 264; NPNF 2 13:372-73)
Athanasius (c. 295-373 A.D. fl. 325-373 A.D.): “Therefore, when a person falls from the Spirit for any wickedness, if he repents after his fall, the grace remains irrevocably to the one who is willing; otherwise he who has fallen is no longer in God (because that Holy Spirit and Paraclete which is in God has deserted him), but this sinner shall be in him [Satan?] to whom he has subjected himself, as took place in Saul’s instance; for the Spirit of God departed from him and an evil spirit was afflicting him.” (Four Discourses Against the Arians; 3.25.25; NPNF 2 4:407; ACCS, O.T. Vol. 4, p. 264)
John Cassian (c. A.D. 360 – c. 435) quoting & commenting on Wisdom of Solomon 1:4-5: “In vain, therefore, does someone who does not reject the contagion of vice strive for the vision of God. ‘For the Spirit of God hates deception, and It does not dwell in a body subject to sin.’” (Conf. 14:2, p. 505; NPNF, 2nd Series, Vol. 11, p. 435)
“For when it is said that ‘all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden’ in Christ, how can a person who has scorned to find Christ or who blasphemes him with sacrilegious tongue when He is found or who has at least stained the Catholic faith with unclean works be believed to have acquired true knowledge? ‘For the Spirit of God will flee from deception, and It does not dwell in a body subject to sin.’” (Cassian, Conf. 14:16:2, p. 520; NPNF, 2nd Series, Vol. 11, p. 443)
Gregory of Nyssa [on Wisdom of Solomon 1:3-5] (c. 335-394 A.D.): “The soul whose life is in God will find its pleasure in none of those things that are deceptively presented as something good. If that soul allows its heart to be defiled by one passion, at the same time it breaks the covenant of its spiritual marriage. And, as it says in Scripture, ‘Wisdom cannot enter the soul that does evil.’ It may, in a word, be truly said that the Good Spouse cannot come to live with a soul that is irascible or full of malice or that harbors any other similar defect.” (On Virginity 16:1; SC 119:452; ACCS, O.T. Vol. 15, p. 38)
Ambrosiaster (fl. c. A.D. 366-384, commenting on Rom 8:10, alluding to Wisdom of Solomon 1:3-5): “Paul asserts that the bodies of those whom the Holy Spirit has abandoned because of sin are dead, nor does the feeling of their murder touch Him, i.e., the Spirit. For the Spirit of God cannot sin. He is given for righteousness in order to make people righteous by His assistance. If a believer returns to the life of the flesh, the Holy Spirit will leave him and he will die in his unrighteousness. In saying, ‘the body,’ Paul means that the whole person will die because of sin.” (ACCS N.T. Vol. 6, p. 204; Commentary on Paul’s Epistles)
“The Spirit of God does not know how to sin. He was given for the purpose of justification, to justify by means of His assistance. Therefore, since He does not know how to sin, He is life. …By the Spirit which dwells in him, the justified person emerges as a child of God. For the Holy Spirit can dwell in neither a false person nor in a body subjected to sins (as Solomon says [in Wisdom of Solomon 1:3-5]). If someone once again lives in a fleshly manner, he will die in his unrighteousness abandoned by the Holy Spirit.” (Ambrosiaster, alluding to Wisdom of Solomon 1:3-5; Commentary on Romans 8.10 in Bruyn, 151; see also Bercot, Romans, p. 207)
“‘The body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is alive because of righteousness’ [Rom 8:10, variant]. The apostle declares that the bodies of those who have been abandoned by the Holy Spirit are dead because of sin, yet their experience of death does not touch Him, that is, the Spirit. In fact, the Spirit of God does not know how to sin: He is given for justification and to justify by His help. Because He does not know how to sin, He is life, and He certainly cannot die, given that death is a result of sin. It is for this reason that the sinner harms himself, but not the Spirit whom he has received. The Spirit certainly cannot be affected—He whose purpose it is to justify. Thus, the sign of a person’s justification consists in this: that through the One who lives in him, the justified one shows himself to be a child of God. In fact ‘not in a false person or in a body enslaved to sin’ can the Holy Spirit live, as Solomon says. Certainly, if one returns to a carnal life, abandoned by the Holy Spirit, he will die in his unrighteousness.” (Ambrosiaster, referring to Wisdom of Solomon 1:3-5; On the Letter to the Romans 8:10; CTP 43:188-189; ACCS, O.T. Vol. 15, p. 37-38)
Cyril of Alexandria (A.D. 375-444): “Those who love evil in the world will go down to Hades and be banished from the presence of Christ. However, the lovers of virtue who have kept inviolate the earnest [down-payment, pledge or ‘guarantee’—Eph 1:14] of the Spirit will be with Him and dwell with Him.” (commenting on John 14:19; ACCS, N.T. Vol. 4b, p. 143; Commentary on the Gospel of John 9.1)
Apostolic Constitutions (compiled c. 390 A.D.): “the Holy Spirit…always continues with the faithful. …For neither lawful conjugal acts, nor childbearing, nor menstrual purgation, nor nocturnal emissions can defile the nature of a person or separate the Holy Spirit from him. Only ungodliness and unlawful practices can do that. For the Holy Spirit always abides with those that are possessed of It, so long as they are worthy; and those from whom It is departed, It leaves them desolate, and exposed to the wicked spirit. …But everyone that is baptized agreeably to the truth is separated from the diabolical spirit, and is under the Holy Spirit; and the Holy Spirit remains with him so long as he is doing good…” (ANF Vol. 7, p. 462)
Chromatius of Aquileia [on Wisdom of Solomon 1:3-5] (fl. 400 A.D.): “The city from which the inhabitants went out, pleading with the Lord to leave them, represents the synagogue, which did not want to accept the Lord and Savior of the human race, even after it had seen His divine miracles. Therefore He returned to His own city—rejected by the synagogue, He has come to His church; it is this latter that in a true and proper sense merits the name of the city of Christ. Thus one understands why the Gadarenes pleaded with the Lord to leave their town. We must, however, be attentive, that none of us find ourselves in a similar situation; I am alluding to the danger that someone, because of an unbelieving heart, would impel the Lord and Savior of the world to leave his heart, because it is written that ‘the Holy Spirit, the teacher of discipline, flees from one who is false; He will not dwell in a body enslaved to sin.’” (Tractate on Matthew 43.7; CTP 47:70-71; ACCS, O.T. Vol. 15, p. 39)
Jerome (c. 347-419 A.D.): “Again, that you may be sure that God curbs the spirit of pride, recall how the good Spirit of God departed from Saul and an evil spirit troubled him. Holy Writ says, ‘And an evil spirit of God troubled him,’ a spirit from God. Does God, then have an evil spirit? Not at all. God had withdrawn so that afterwards an evil spirit might trouble Saul. In that sense, the Spirit of God is called evil. Finally, holy David, knowing that God could take away the Spirit of princes, entreats Him, ‘And do not take your Holy Spirit from me.’” (Homilies on the Psalms 9 (Ps 75); ACCS, O.T. Vol. 4, p. 264; FC 48:66-67)
Cyril of Alexandria [on Wisdom of Solomon 1:3-5] (375-444 A.D.; fl. 412-444): “The first man, formed of mud and earth, had in his power the choice between good and evil and had under his control whether he inclined to the one or the other. He was snared by a grave deception and, fallen into disobedience, returned to the mother earth from which he was born; subject to corruption and death, he transmitted this punishment to all his descendants. Evil increased and multiplied among us, and our hearts fell ever lower; sin reigned, and thus, finally, human nature was deprived of the Holy Spirit that had lived in it. ‘The Holy Spirit of instruction flees from deceit,’ as it is written, ‘and He does not dwell in a body enslaved to sin.’ Because, therefore, the first Adam did not preserve the grace given to him by God, God the Father sent us the second Adam from heaven. He sent us His own Son, made in our likeness, who did not know change or alteration and did not know sin, so that, just as by the disobedience of the first we merited divine wrath, so by the obedience of the second we would escape the curse, and its evil would cease.” (Commentary on the Gospel of John 2.1; CTP 111:196; ACCS, O.T. Vol. 15, p. 39)
Fulgentius of Ruspe [on Wisdom of Solomon 1:3-5] (c. 467-532 A.D.): “In the book of Wisdom it is clear that what separates people from God is not the distance of place but evil thoughts and wicked actions. It says, ‘Perverse thoughts separate people from God; the excellence of virtue banishes fools, because Wisdom will not enter a heart that does evil or dwell in a heart enslaved to sin. The Holy Spirit of instruction flees deceit and departs from foolish speech.’ Who cannot see that this alludes to the Trinity of Persons, each according to Their properties? In fact, it is said that ‘perverse thoughts separate people from God,’ using a name by which the person of God the Father can be recognized. Then it adds that ‘Wisdom will not enter a heart that does evil’; by this name Christ is indicated, whom Paul calls ‘the Power of God and the Wisdom of God’ [1 Cor 1:24]. Then it says, ‘The Holy Spirit flees from deceit, and departs from foolish speech.’ Moreover, in order that no one would think that an evil or godless person could distance himself, spatially, from this holy Trinity who is the one, true and good God, Scripture then says, ‘Wisdom is a spirit that is a friend of people; but He will not leave unpunished one who blasphemes, because God is witness of his inmost feelings and a true observer of his heart, and He hears the words of his mouth. In fact, the Spirit of the Lord fills the universe’ [Wis 1:6-7].” (Book to Victor Against the Sermon of Fastidiosus the Arian 4; CCL 91:287-288; ACCS, O.T. Vol. 15, p. 37)
“The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit come and go in Their own incomprehensible way. One cannot speak of a ‘change of locality’ of the Father or of the Son or of the Holy Spirit. They come and go in such a way that, physically, They neither go to a place nor depart from it. Consequently, this coming of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit does not demonstrate the mobility of God but His piety. It is said in fact that the unique divinity of the Trinity, who fills all things and contains all things, comes to the one to whom He deigns to manifest Himself, and He distances Himself from the one to whom He hides the light of his love. But this does not mean a local absence, when He justly abandons one who is unworthy; nor does He make Himself present in a place if He visits with His mercy one whom He has made worthy. Therefore, even though God says, ‘I fill heaven and earth’ [Jer 23:24], of some it is said, ‘God is not with them’ [Ps 10:4; 9:25 LXX]. And though the Father fills all things, the book of Wisdom says, ‘Perverse thoughts separate human beings from God.’ And if it also says of the Son—that is, of the Wisdom of God, ‘She reaches from end to end with power and orders all things well’ [Wis 1:8], the same Wisdom says of Itself, ‘The perverse will seek me, but they will not find me’ [Prov 1:28]. And again, ‘Wisdom does not enter a soul who does evil or dwell in a body enslaved to sin.’ And of the Holy Spirit, of whom it is said that He is immense in every way, it is said, ‘The Holy Spirit flees from deceit and departs from foolish speech.’ (Fulgentius of Ruspe, Three Books to Trasamundus 2:11; PL 65:257-258; ACCS, O.T. Vol. 15, p. 38)
“Let no one hold that the three Persons are separable, since he would not be able to find any one of the Persons existing or acting before another or after another or without another. Just as by nature there can be no separability of action, in the same way there remains, by nature, an immutable unity of the will. We will now consider in what way both angels and human beings have been separated from God, in order to enable us to grasp without a shadow of doubt that the Trinity is inseparable. For holy Scripture says, in fact, that ‘perverse thoughts separate people from God,’ and that ‘Wisdom does not enter into a malignant spirit, nor does it dwell in a body given over to sin’ and that ‘the Holy Spirit of discipline flees from deceit and distances Himself from thoughts lacking in reason.’ In effect, Isaiah also proves that iniquities dig a trench between God and humanity [Is 59:2]. The holy Trinity, therefore, is the same faithful God in whom no wickedness can exist: ‘The Son of God came to take away sins; there is no sin or iniquity in him’ [1 Jn 3:4-5].” (Fulgentius of Ruspe, Letters 14.14; CTP 149:288-289; ACCS, O.T. Vol. 15, p. 40)
Gregory the Great [on Wisdom of Solomon 1:3-5] (c. 540-604 A.D.): “The Spirit goes elsewhere when His grace distances itself from the proud and from those who are insincere. Thus it is written, ‘The Holy Spirit of instruction flees deceit.’ Therefore Christ himself says in the Gospel, ‘The Spirit blows where He wills, and you hear His voice, but you do not know where He comes from or where He goes’ [Jn 3:8]. The Spirit comes and goes, because He abandons the reprobate, taking to Himself the elect. And because God’s judgment is omnipotent and inscrutable, human beings do not know where they come from or where they go. Indeed, it is not possible to know whether someone will persevere to the end in the grace he has received. It is said therefore that the Spirit leaves one who has fallen and goes to one who will persevere, because, in this earthly life, He abandons some and takes others to Himself, whom He does not abandon.” (Six Books on 1 Kings 5.460; PL 79:460; ACCS, O.T. Vol. 15, p. 39-40)
Bede (c. 672/673-735 A.D.): “Let us call to mind that He promised that [Jesus] would send the grace of the Spirit to His disciples, and He did send it. And let us take care with all watchfulness, lest by our seductive thoughts we grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom we have been sealed for the day of redemption. For so it is written, ‘The Holy Spirit will flee the pretense of discipline, and will remove Himself from thoughts that are without understanding’ [Wisdom 1:5]…[the psalmist, in Ps 51] entreated that first a clean heart be created in him and then that an upright spirit be renewed in his inmost parts, because he knew that an upright Spirit could have no place in a defiled heart.” (Homilies on the Gospels 2.11; ACCS, O.T. Vol. 4, p. 8-9)
“The Spirit comes to the saints [and] goes from the saints, so that they may be refreshed from time to time by the frequently recurring light of the return of Him whom they are not capable of having always. However, the Spirit remains continually in the only Mediator between God and human beings, the man Jesus Christ, in whom He does not find any stain of unclean thought, which He would shun.” (Bede, Homilies on the Gospels 1.15; CS110:153; ACCS, N.T. Vol. 4a, p. 117; commenting on John 3:8)
“He [i.e. Jesus] calls ‘the world’ the inhabitants of this world who are given over to love of it. In contrast, the saints are on fire with a desire for heavenly things….And so, anyone who is searching for consolation outwardly in the things of the world is not capable of being reformed inwardly by the favor of divine consolation. Whoever yearns after lowly delight cannot receive the Spirit of truth. The Spirit of truth flees from a heart It discerns is subject to vanity and restores by the light of His coming only those It beholds carrying out the commandments of truth out of love.” (Bede, Homilies on the Gospels 2.17, ACCS, N.T. Vol. 4b, p. 140; commenting on John 14:17)
Pseudo-Augustine [on Wisdom of Solomon 1:3-5]: “Certainly, every year we celebrate the day of the coming of the Holy Spirit [Acts 2:4]. However, we must act in such a way as to invite him, with pure actions and feelings, so that He comes to us every day. We must be pure and clean in our senses and in our thoughts, and we must dedicate ourselves to watching over our speech and our hearts, so as to render ourselves always worthy of His visitations and His illumination and so that it may be evident that we are free from all impurity in our thoughts. He has said in fact that ‘perverse thoughts separate people from God.’ Let us make every effort to be free from all backbiting and malice, because ‘Wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul or dwell in a body enslaved to sin.’ By their anger and pride, the hearts of the careless find themselves without the vigilance and protection of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, let us not sadden the Holy Spirit by these passions. Rather, let us invoke him, that with the grace of humility and the mildness of peace He would enter our hearts and that we would gladden Him by our works and our initiatives. He himself has said, ‘With whom will I make my resting place? With the humble one, who has a contrite spirit and trembles at my word’ [Is 66:2 Vg.].” (Sermon 182.6; PL 39:2090; ACCS, O.T. Vol. 15, p. 37)
Anonymous Italian [on Wisdom of Solomon 1:3-5]: “See brothers, what pride did and what humility merited. Pride divided the tongues, when people wanted to raise a tower that would reach to heaven. Before there existed but a single language, Hebrew, which was called the human language. But, so that the prideful could not complete what they had begun, seventy-two languages were born. In our day, however, when the faithful in their humility received the Holy Spirit, they began to speak in every language. For this reason, keep pride far from you, because all the prideful are children of the devil; and be humble, so that you will be worthy to receive the grace of the Holy Spirit and to be called children of God. May your bodies and your hearts be pure of all defilement of sin, because the Holy Spirit ‘does not dwell in a body enslaved to sin.’” (Sermon 13, For Whitsunday 2; SC 161:224-226; ACCS, O.T. Vol. 15, p. 38)
WHAT SOME MORE RECENT COMMENTATORS SAY ON THE ISSUE:
Matthew Poole (1624–1679), commenting on Eph 4:30: “viz. by corrupt communication [cf. v. 29]. The Spirit is said to be grieved when anything is done by us, which, were He capable of such passions, might be matter of grief to Him; or when we so offend Him as to make Him withdraw His comfortable presence from us: see Isa 63:10.”
John Wesley (1703 – 2 March 1791), commenting on Eph 4:30: “By any disobedience. Particularly by corrupt discourse; or by any of the following sins. Do not force Him to withdraw from you, as a friend does whom you grieve by unkind behaviour.”
Joseph Benson (1748-1821), commenting on Eph 4:30, says the Holy Spirit: “acts…as men do who are grieved. And the purport of the caution is, Do not cause him, by any sinful temper, word, or work, to withdraw from you, as a friend does whom you grieve by unkind or improper behaviour.”
Adam Clarke (A.D. 1762 – 1832): “By the world [in John 14:17], St. John means those who are influenced only by the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eye, and the pride of life, 1 John 2:16. Now these cannot receive the Spirit of the truth, because they see Him not, have no spiritual discernment, attend to nothing but the dictates of their corrupt passions and affections, and will admit of no influence but what can be an object of their senses. Hence all the deign and irreligion in the world. God, in the operation of His hands, and in the influences of His Spirit, is found everywhere except in the perverted passions of men. In these alone do men of corrupt minds seek Him; here only He is not to be found, and therefore they become infidels and atheists.”
[commenting on Eph 4:30]: “By giving way to any wrong temper, unholy word, or unrighteous action. Even those who have already a measure of the light and life of God, both of which are not only brought in by the Holy Spirit, but maintained by his constant indwelling, may give way to sin, and so grieve this Holy Spirit that it shall withdraw both its light and presence; and, in proportion as it withdraws, then hardness and darkness take place; and, what is still worse, a state of insensibility is the consequence; for the darkness prevents the fallen state from being seen, and the hardness prevents it from being felt.”
B. W. Johnson (1833-1894), commenting on Eph 4:30: “Such sins as those described above grieve the Holy Spirit, nor will He continue to dwell [in] those addicted to them.Sealed unto the day of redemption: The sealing of the Holy Spirit is an earnest, a proof, an assurance of the final redemption. See 1:13. If we grieve Him away, the seal will be gone.” (see The People’s New Testament Commentary)
Alexander Maclaren (1826 – 1910), commenting on Eph 4:30: “We have here a plain warning as to the possibility of thwarting these influences [of the Holy Spirit]. Nothing here about irresistible grace; nothing here about a power that lays hold upon a man, and makes him good, he lying passive in its hands like clay in the hands of the potter! You will not be made holy without the Divine Spirit, but you will not be made holy without your working along with it. There is a possibility of resisting, and there is a possibility of co-operating. Man is left free. God does not lay hold of any one by the hair of his head, and drag him into paths of righteousness whether he will or no….We have to work with God, and we can resist. Ay, and there is a deeper and a sadder word than that applied by the same Apostle in another letter to the same subject. We can ‘quench’ the light and extinguish the fire.”
[A. Maclaren] “What extinguishes it? Look at the catalogue of sins that lie side by side with this exhortation of my text! They are all small matters-bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, evil-speaking, malice, stealing, lying, and the like; very ‘homely’ transgressions, if I may so say. Yes, and if you pile enough of them upon the spark that is in your hearts you will smother it out. Sin, the wrenching of myself away from the influences, not attending to the whispers and suggestions, being blind to the teaching of the Spirit through the Word and through Providence: these are the things that ‘grieve the Holy Spirit of God.’”
[A. Maclaren] “‘Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God.’ A father feels a pang if he sees that his child makes no account of some precious gift that he has bestowed upon him, and leaves it lying about anywhere. A loving friend, standing on the margin of the stream, and calling to his friends in a boat when they are drifting to the rapids, turns away sad if they do not attend to his voice. That Divine Spirit pleads with us, and proffers its gifts to us, and turns away…sick at heart, not because of wounded authority, but because of wounded love and baffled desire to help, when we, in spite of It, will take our own way, neglect the call that warns us of our peril, and leave untouched the gifts that would have made us safe.” [Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture: Ephesians, pp. 267-270]
F. L. Godet (1812-1900) comments: “The life of the Spirit is not realized in the believer without his concurrence merely from the fact that the Spirit has once been communicated to him. There is needed on man’s part a persevering decision, an active docility in giving himself over to the guidance of the Spirit. For the guidance of the Spirit tends constantly to the sacrifice of the flesh; and if the believer refuses to follow it on this path, he renounces the life of the Spirit and its glorious privileges.” [F. L. Godet, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, p. 307; bolding mine]
Robert Shank (1918-2006), an illuminating series of quotes taken from his book Life in the Son: “The great promises of the faithfulness of God in performing His work of grace in our hearts by His Spirit until the day of Jesus Christ (such as Phil 1:6, 1 Cor 1:8, 2 Thes 3:3, 1 Thes 5:24, and 2 Tim 4:18) all assume a corresponding faithfulness on the part of man. To suppose that there are no qualifications attached to such promises, simply because they are not expressly stated in the verses themselves, is as unwarranted as to assume that all the world must be saved because John 3:17 declares that ‘God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.’ We are not at liberty to accept John 3:17, while ignoring verse 18 and a multitude of other passages of Holy Scripture. Let us not insist that the whole of God’s revelation be compressed into a single verse.” (p. 110-111)
“…while the Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance and the pledge of God’s faithfulness, He is no surety of our corresponding faithfulness. The coming of the Spirit of grace into our hearts at conversion is no guarantee that we shall not subsequently grieve, quench, and finally do despite to Him who comes to guide our steps toward the Jerusalem which is above.” (p. 111-112)
Concerning Rom 8:12-14 [p. 112]: “Men who have no concern to live after the Spirit of God cannot remain His sons….The faithful ministry of the Holy Spirit avails nothing for men who become indifferent toward His nurture and guidance and who despise His reproof. (p. 112)
“Many contend that, although believers may offend and grieve the Holy Spirit, He will never depart from one in whom He has come to dwell. The quenching of the Spirit against which Paul warned can never become total or final, they believe. In evidence, they cite the promise of Jesus, ‘And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever” (John 14:16).” (p. 113)
“The Spirit’s indwelling within the believer is a blessed fact. A precious intimate relationship between the Spirit and believers was implemented after Jesus, through His death, secured access into Heaven’s Holy of Holies through Himself for all who abide in Him. But our Lord’s words, ‘that He may abide with you forever,’ [John 14:16] do not constitute a promise that apostasy has somehow become impossible, and that the Holy Spirit can never withdraw from one in whom He once has taken up residence, regardless of his [or her] subsequent response to His ministry of guidance and reproof. Many have missed the meaning and significance of Christ’s promise.” (p. 113)
[As Jesus neared the end of His earthly life He prepared His apostle’s minds for His departure.] “Despite their limited understanding, the eleven of them had remained steadfast in their faith in Him in past months, in the face of growing opposition and the distressing fact that many had turned back to walk no more with Him [John 6:66. But now He was preparing to leave them, and] “Jesus had two wonderful promises for them. One was a promise concerning Himself. He would return and they would see Him again, though the world would not (no unbeliever saw Jesus after His burial and resurrection); and they would know His spiritual presence and abide in His love, even while He was bodily with the Father in Heaven.” (p. 114)
John 14:18-21, 23; 15:9-10 [Williams N.T.]: 18 “I will not leave you helpless orphans. I am coming back to you. 19 In just a little while the world will not see me anymore, but you will be seeing me. Because I am to live on, you too will live on. 20 At that time you will know that I am in union with my Father and you are in union with me and I am in union with you. 21 Whoever continues to hold and keep my commands is the one who really loves me, and whoever really loves me will be loved by my Father; yes, I will love him myself and will make myself real to him.”… 23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone really loves me, he will observe my teaching, and my Father will love him, and both of us will come in face-to-face fellowship with him; yes, we will make our special dwelling place with him…15:9 I have loved you just as the Father has loved me. You must remain in my love. 10 If you continue to keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in His love.” (p. 115)
“Although He was to be absent from them bodily, He would still be with them spiritually. They could remain in His love, if they would, and know intimate fellowship with Him and with the Father. If they would but continue in His word and teaching, He and the Father would make their spiritual dwelling-place within their hearts. What a precious promise! (p. 115)
“The other reassuring word of the Master was His promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit to abide with them during the time of His own bodily absence: “And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Helper, to remain with you to the end of the age” (John 14:16 Williams). The abiding presence of the Comforter, however cannot be dissociated from the spiritual presence of Jesus Himself, which He promised to His disciples for “all the days until the consummation of the age” (Matt 28:20). (p. 115)
“Christ’s promise of the presence of the Holy Spirit to abide ‘forever’ (eis ton aiona, unto the age) during His own bodily absence from the earth has been fulfilled thus far, and will continue to be fulfilled throughout all the days of the age, until Jesus comes again. But to assume that the promise of Jesus constitutes a pledge that the Holy Spirit must remain in every person in whom He once takes up residence, regardless of how that person subsequently responds to His ministry of guidance and reproof, is to ignore the many grave warnings in the Scriptures, including our Savior’s solemn warning spoken on the same occasion, ‘Remain in me, and I in you.’” (John 15:4; p. 116)
“We have earlier declared that throughout his [or her] earthly sojourn, the relation of the believer to Christ is never a static relationship existing as the irrevocable consequence of a past decision, act, or experience. Rather, it is a living relationship—a present mutual indwelling of the believer and the Savior, the sharing of a common life that emanates from Him ‘who is our life.’ For the believer, it is a living participation proceeding upon a living faith in a living Savior. The foundation principle governing the relationship is reduced to its simplest statement in our Savior’s words, ‘Remain in me, and I in you.’ The believer’s relation to the Holy Spirit cannot be dissociated from his relation to Christ; it is one and the same. The relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Christian is not static and indissoluble.” (John 15:4; p. 116)
“‘If we live by the Spirit,’ writes Paul to the Galatians, ‘then let us walk by the Spirit (5:25). If our very life in Christ depends on the Spirit, as Paul has shown them, then by all means let us walk in the Spirit! We cannot live by the Spirit if we refuse to walk in the Spirit! Paul’s admonition follows his warning that we cannot live after both the flesh and the Spirit (v. 17), and it is only as we walk after the Spirit that we avoid living after the flesh (v. 16). There is a terrible penalty attached to living after the flesh: ‘I warn you again, even as I have warned you in the past, that they who practice such things [the works of the flesh] shall not inherit the kingdom of God’ (vv. 19-21). ‘Be not deceived,’ he warns them, ‘God is not to be mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap destruction [phthora, Thayer: perishing, loss of salvation, eternal misery]; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not’ (6:7-9).” (p. 116-117)
“Paul warns the Romans that ‘to be carnally minded—death, but to be spiritually minded—life and peace’ (8:6). ‘Brethren,’ he writes, ‘we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God’ (Rom 8:12-14).” (p. 117)
“The Blessed Spirit of God has come to abide forever and to guide the steps of pilgrims toward the Father’s house and the everlasting inheritance of the faithful. But His gracious ministry cannot avail for men who despise His guidance and reproof, and who turn from sowing to the Spirit to sow to the flesh. Such men cannot remain in Christ and His Spirit. The Holy Comforter cannot continue to dwell in men who close their hearts against His loving ministry.” (p. 117-118)
Conclusion
Such thoughts as are contained in this article may be disturbing for those who have been deceived into believing that once a person has been “saved,” that they can never subsequently be lost despite how wicked & unfaithful they might become. But the idea that the Holy Spirit can depart from a person He has once indwelt should not be surprising to those of us who hold to conditional salvation security. However, every Christian needs to be reminded of the sobering possibility of being forsaken by the Holy Spirit of God! The Holy Spirit is Holy—and He will not remain in unholy people! Let us, therefore, be resolved to completely give up the old selfish & worldly life in order to make room for the Spirit. We must die to self and the world, and then the Spirit will be able to dwell in us, renew & transform us.
NOTES
[1] See Acts 5:32: “And we are witnesses of these things. And so is the Holy Spirit, Whom God gave to the ones obeying Him.” (Disciples’ Literal New Testament)
“We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep on obeying him.” (International Standard Version)
“And we are the eidus (witness) of these matters and so is the Ruach Hakodesh whom Hashem gave to the ones obeying Him.” (Orthodox Jewish Bible)
“And we be witnesses of these words, and the Holy Ghost, whom God gave to all obeying to him.” (Wycliffe Bible)
“…and we are His witnesses of these sayings, and the Holy Spirit also, whom God gave to those obeying him.” (Young’s Literal Translation)
[2] Hosea 5:6-7—“With their flocks & herds they [the rebellious Israelites] shall go to seek the LORD, but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them. 7 They have dealt treacherously with the LORD, for they have begotten pagan children. Now a New Moon [LXX: “cankerworm”] shall devour them and their heritage.”
The Targum of this Hosea passage says: “He has withdrawn his Shekinah from them; against the Word of the Lord they have dealt falsely.” And the Targum of Hosea 5:15 says: “I will withdraw my Shekinah; I will return to my holy dwelling in heaven, until they acknowledge their sin.”
God is able to withdraw from us (Hos 5:6-7, 15) or hide Himself/His face from us (Deut 31:17-18; Is 1:15; 8:17; 45:15; 54:8; 57:17; 64:7; Jer 33:5; Ezek 39:23-24, 29) or turn His face from us (2 Chron 30:9). According to Jewish tradition, “the miracles indicating the presence of the Shekinah in Israel ceased forty years prior to the destruction of the temple by the Romans” (John Ronning, p. 44, The Jewish Targums and John’s Logos Theology). This ceasing of miracles would have been about the time that Jesus was crucified!
[3] Wisdom of Solomon 1:3-5 (NRSV): “For perverse thoughts separate people from God, and when his power is tested, it exposes the foolish; 4 because wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul, or dwell in a body enslaved to sin. 5 For a holy and disciplined spirit will flee from deceit, and will leave foolish thoughts behind, and will be ashamed at the approach of unrighteousness.”
Wisdom 1:3-5 (Brenton LXX):“For froward thoughts separate from God: and his power, when it is tried, reproveth the unwise. 4 For into a malicious soul wisdom shall not enter; nor dwell in the body that is subject unto sin. 5 For the holy spirit of discipline will flee deceit, and remove from thoughts that are without understanding, and will not abide when unrighteousness cometh in.”
[4]Luke 1:15—“For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.”
Note: John the Baptist was evidently a special case. Surely we can safely assume that he was not filled with the Spirit in the same way or under the same terms & conditions as obedient Christians are filled with the Spirit. Just as with the thief on the cross, and with Cornelius and his friends & relatives that were present in Acts chapter 10, John the Baptist was an obvious exception to the rule or the procedures that God normally follows when working in people’s lives.
[5] Notice here that space is attributed to the heart or soul, and that joy & goodness will expand the heart and produce width, whereas sadness & wickedness will contract and “straiten” (i.e., narrow or constrict) the heart.
[6] See Eph 4:26-27
[7] See James 3:11
[8] See Matt 12:45; Luke 11:26
[9] James 4:4—“Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” We read in the O.T. that God can change from being our Savior to being our enemy who fights against us if we grieve His Holy Spirit.
Isaiah 63:8, 10—“For He said, ‘Surely they are My people, children who will not lie.’ So He became their Savior….10 But they rebelled & grieved His Holy Spirit; So He turned Himself against them as an enemy, and He fought against them.”