Blaspheming the Holy Spirit

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In Matthew 12:31-32, Christ stated, “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy [Spirit] shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaks against the Holy [Spirit], it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”

What does this mean—what is the sin that Christ warns against?

To speak against the Holy Spirit (often called “the unpardonable sin”) is to knowingly deny the power of God. Notice the context of Christ’s warning. He had just cast out a demon (Mt 12:22)—and the Pharisees accused Him of performing this miracle by the power of Satan (Mt 12:24). They recognized that Christ was from God, yet accused Him anyway. Notice John 3:2: “[Nicodemus] came to Jesus by night, and said unto Him, Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that You do, except God be with him.”

Nicodemus said, “we know.” He was referring to himself and the other Pharisees. Since these leaders were well aware of the power by which Christ performed miracles, He warned about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit behind them.

The other way in which one can commit blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is by allowing it to be quenched after having received it. Notice: “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy [Spirit], and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame” (Heb. 6:4-6). Being enlightened (understanding the truth) can only happen when one has received the Holy Spirit (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; I Peter 1:22).

“Falling away” is not instantaneous. When one’s eyes have been opened to God’s truth and he continues to sin wilfully—to ignore warnings from God’s Spirit within his mind—he will eventually lose it. Once this happens, he has committed the unforgivable sin. Christ was warning against far more than the utterance of blasphemous words. (You are urged to read our thorough booklet Just What Is “The Unpardonable Sin”? to fully understand.)

Analogies of the Spirit

The Bible uses many analogies to show how the Holy Spirit works within a Christian’s mind. None of them attribute any qualities of “person hood.”

(1) God’s Word likens the Holy Spirit to wind: “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting” (Acts 2:2).

Christ likened those born as Spirit beings into the kingdom of God to wind: “The wind blows where it lists, and you hear the sound thereof, but cannot tell [from where] it comes, and where it goes: so is every one that is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).

Wind can be powerful, as in the case of a tornado or hurricane, or it can be gentle. The same is true of the Holy Spirit. God created the heavens and the earth with it; but He also can use it to gently mould our character into perfection.

(2) The Holy Spirit is also compared to oil. As a spiritual “lubricant,” it is comforting (John 14:26) and keeps God’s people cool. Oil is also burned as a fuel to create fire, produce light (Matt. 5:14; 25:1-8) and generate heat (Rev. 3:15). Christians are to be the lights of the world and the Holy Spirit is the fuel that powers them. (Again, review Matthew 25:1-12.)

We are also anointed by the Spirit, just like an anointing of oil: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He has sent Me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound” (Isa. 61:1). Also see I John 2:27, describing conversion itself as an anointing.

(3) The Holy Spirit is likened to fire. Notice: “And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them” (Acts 2:3-4).

Again, II Timothy 1:6 shows that, like a fire, the Holy Spirit must be constantly stirred up within each Christian: “Wherefore I put you in remembrance that you stir up the gift of God, which is in you by the putting on of my hands.”

Paul also exhorted, “Quench not the Spirit” (I Thes. 5:19). Quenching the Spirit is like quenching thirst or fire—when you quench either, you extinguish it. In the case of the Holy Spirit, this is done by “smothering it” with wrong thoughts, or by continual sin. Obviously, a person cannot be “quenched”!

(4) God’s Word also likens the Holy Spirit to water. Nobody can live physically without water, and nobody can live spiritually (or eternally) without the Holy Spirit. Christ stated, in John 7:38-39, “He that believes on Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spoke He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Spirit was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)”

(5) By-products of the Holy Spirit are compared to fruit. Fruit helps to cleanse the physical body. The Holy Spirit helps to cleanse His children spiritually. Fruit also provides instant energy to the body: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Gal. 5:22-23). Allowing the mind to be guided by the Holy Spirit automatically yields the above “fruit,” which cleanses one of “spiritual toxins,” and provides power to continue.

Just as no one can live physically without food, Christians must feed upon the fruits of the Tree of Life (the Holy Spirit) in order to live spiritually (I Cor. 15:21-22; John 6:30-35; Rev. 2:17).

(6) The Holy Spirit is also a gift: “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). The Holy Spirit then brings with it potentially a whole series of gifts (I Cor. 12:1-11).

(7) Also, to show that Christians are to be gentle and peaceable, we saw that the Holy Spirit is likened to a dove. Notice: “And Jesus, when He was baptised, went up straight way out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him” (Matt. 3:16). Genesis 8:8-12 records that Noah sent out a dove “to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground,” so that he could be led in what to do. In like manner, Christians are guided by the Holy Spirit in their minds.