Let’s read that whole verse: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” The moment a sinner believes on Christ as his (or her) Savior, he is “SEALED with the Spirit.” We see this truth in Ephesians 1:13, “In Him (Christ) you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, HAVING BELIEVED, YOU WERE SEALED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT of promise.” This means the believer is INDWELT by the Spirit; He is “living inside of us” and this “marks us out as belonging to Christ” (see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 with Romans 8:9). He will never leave us, for the SEALING not only means we belong to Christ, but it is also a GUARANTEE of our eternal glory with Christ. We see this in Ephesians 1:14, “Who is the GUARANTEE of our inheritance until the REDEMPTION of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” We can look at this as a PLEDGE, promising us that we will experience our full REDEMPTION and our INHERITANCE in the coming day. In Ephesians 4:30 it is called the “day of redemption” which takes place when Christ comes to complete our salvation by the “REDEMPTION of our body” (see Romans 8:18-25). You can read all about the new, glorified body believers will have at the time of the Rapture in 1 Corinthians 15:35-57. It’s vital to grasp these precious truths before we answer your question.

The word “grieve” is the Greek word “LUPEO” and it means “to cause pain, or grief, to distress.” So, to “grief the Holy Spirit” is to cause Him “pain and distress.” In W. E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament words, he says that when we “grieve the Holy Spirit” He is “made sorrowful.” In short, we bring sorrow to His heart. Let’s remember, the Holy Spirit is a PERSON who has feelings and He is “hurt” when we do things that are “unholy.” What are those things that we do that cause Him pain and sorrow? We have examples of this in verses 25-29, 31: “Therefore, putting away LYING, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another. ‘Be angry and do not sin’: do not let the sun go down on your WRATH, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole STEAL NO LONGER, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no CORRUPT WORD proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers…. Let all BITTERNESS, WRATH, ANGER, CLAMOR and EVIL SPEAKING to be put away from you, with all MALICE.” These UNHOLY acts grieve the HOLY Spirit! I would encourage you to read the account of a married couple (Ananias and Sapphira) in Acts 5:1-4, who pretended to be giving more money to the poor than they did. The apostle Peter had this to, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to LIE to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself…. You have not LIED to men but to God” (verses 3-4).

I will end by saying the Holy Spirit has not only been given to us to INDWELL and SEAL us, but to TEACH us more about Christ (see John 14:15-17, 25-26 and 16:13-15). When we grieve Him, He is unable to do this; instead, He must convict us of our sin and bring us to repent and confess it before our Father so we can once again enjoy the Holy Spirit’s ministering the truth of Christ to us. How thankful we should be for God’s grace, for even though we may “grieve Him at times,” we can not “grieve Him away.” He is with us forever and is the GUARANTEE and PLEDGE of the coming “Day of REDEMPTION!”  (DO)  (732.3)