That brings us back to the question of what exactly would cause the Holy Spirit to grieve or mourn. Our answer is found in the context of the bible and Paul’s letter. Ephesians encourages the believer to actually believe and act on the wonderful truth and power of life in Christ. In Ephesians chapter 3, Paul prayed, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or imagine, according to the power that works in us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Can you hear the hope and expectation in Paul’s words? Since the Spirit inspired these words, it makes sense that a key part of causing the Spirit grief would be anything that would cause a semblance of death instead of life. In other words, believers behaving as though they were separated from God or in fact behaving as the spiritually “dead.”
From a biblical perspective, it is fair to define “death” as a “separation.” For example, “spiritual death” is actually a separation spiritually from God, a severing of relationship with God. When Adam sinned, he and all mankind died.
