Lesson 56

LESSON 56 - BLASPHEMY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Mark 3:22-30 And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. 23And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? 24And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. 27No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. 28Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: 29But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: 30Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

Here the scribes join the debate. They decide Jesus is demon possessed. They say that He is controlled by the ruler of the demonic. They should have known better than any, since they were in the scriptures a lot as they made copies of the sacred writings, that Jesus was the fulfilment of the prophecies about the Messiah, but they missed it completely. Instead they thought Jesus was of the devil! How wrong they were!

Jesus answered them by asking one question, which pointed out to them how silly and stupid their thinking was. No person, house, city (Matt 12:25) or kingdom can stand, if its own people rise up against it. Jesus is casting out demons and healing diseases that Satan has put on the people. How could He then be justly accused of working for and being controlled by Satan? Jesus and His work completely opposed Satan and his evil works. The scribes' accusations made no sense.

Luke 11:20-23 gives a fuller account of what Jesus continues to say to the scribes in verse 27. " ...but if I with the finger of God (where Jesus' power came from) cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. 21When a strong man (Satan) armed keeps his palace, his goods are in peace: 22But when a stronger than he shall come upon him (Jesus is the stronger One), and overcome him (Satan), he (Jesus) takes from him all his armour wherein he(Satan) trusted, and divideth his (Satan's) spoils.(possessions)"

Jesus was destroying the kingdom of Satan by leading people to God and He was defeating Satan by doing the miracles and healings, reversing what Satan had done to the people. He freed the people from Satan's hold. Jesus showed He was the stronger Person and at the cross, Jesus defeated Satan for all time as the following passage states:

Hebrews 2:14-15 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he (Jesus) also himself likewise took part of the same (flesh and blood); that through death (on the cross) he (Jesus) might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

1John 3:8 For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

In verse 28, to the Pharisees, Jesus gave a warning about making unwise remarks as to the Holy Spirit Who directed Him in all that He did. All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: 29But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: 30Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

Here's a similar passage in Matthew 12:31-32. Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. 32And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

Jesus was warning them that ugly, scornful, untrue and disrespectful remarks (blasphemy) made against Him could be forgiven (when the person repents of them and asks forgiveness and then quits doing anything like that), but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would not be forgiven. He makes it clear that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is done when a person says that Jesus was inhabited by and led by an unholy spirit, rather than the Holy Spirit of God. 30Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit. ...by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.

If a person were guilty of this sin of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, it would go on his record and not be removed. At the white throne judgment at the end of the world (after the tribulation and a 1000 years of Christ's rulership of the earth), those who have committed this sin and others would be judged for their deeds. Revelation 20:11-12 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. (This is not a judgment that Christians will go through, because Jesus on the cross suffered our judgment for us. He paid the penalty of our sin.)

True Christians would not be guilty of this sin of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit for several reasons.

First, real Christians have the Holy Spirit in them and the Holy Spirit cannot lie. Therefore He would not lead them to blaspheme. 1Cor 12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

Secondly, Christians know Who Jesus is, God in the flesh. There is no darkness in Him. Do you remember the verses that we've studied in past lessons that spoke of the purity of Jesus and His sinlessness? Let's review some of them.

Hebrews 7:26 For such an high priest (Jesus) became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners....

1 John 3:5 ...in Him (Jesus) is no sin...

1 Peter 1:19 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, ... 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

2 Cor 5:21 For he (God) hath made him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

Heb 4:15 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (Being tempted is not a sin. Giving in to the temptation by doing wrong is a sin. Jesus was confronted with temptations just as you and I are,but He didn't give in to them. Neither should we.)

1 Peter 2:22 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22Who did no sin, neither was guile (deceit) found in his mouth: 23Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not;

All of these verses tell us that the Spirit that was in Jesus and to Whom He yielded was holy. He was holy and what He did was holy. Jesus listened to His Father and obeyed the Holy Spirit; therefore, His thoughts were holy and also His actions. There are appilcations to us:

1. Be careful what you say about other people. Phil 4:8 (8Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue (excellence), and if there be any praise, think on these things) and many other verses instruct us that we are to be kind and gracious to others, not malicious or critical. Pray for them, instead of talking about them. Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying (strengthening, building up), that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

2. Walk in the ways of the Lord Jesus. Think as He thought. Listen to the Holy Spirit. Obey Him as Jesus did. Your day will be much better and you will be allowing the Spirit of God to be Lord.