Jesus used the curious phrase as reported by Matthew,
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. And 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."
Blasphemy is from the Greek, 'blasphemia,; with a range of closely related meanings from slander, detraction, speech injurious, to another's good name, up to impious and reproachful speech injurious to divine majesty.
Jesus' extraordinary statement puts speaking against the Holy Ghost in a special class, even beyond blaspheming or speaking against the Son of God. Natrurally, this has generated a lot of interest and discussion to find what it means specifically, for as it is impossible to be forgiven for it, here or in the next world, it is certainly to be avoided.
The missiona of the Holy Ghost is to bear witness of the Father and the Son. According to Jesus, the Holy Ghost or Spirit, takes things of the Father and shows them to men. The Holy Ghost also testifies of Jesus Christ, and of the ever living God, the Father of Jesus Christ, and He bears witness of the truth.
The Holy Spirit is given to men when they repent of their sins and come before the Lord. Then they receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands of those who are authorized of God to bestow his blessings upon the heads of the children of men. The Savior told his apostles that the Comforter would dwell in them and testify of the Father and the Son; would guide them in all truth, and show them things to come. The apostles taught at Pentecost,
"Repent and be baptised for the remission of your sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
Though a man may commit all manner of sin and blasphemy, if he has not received the testimony from the Holy Ghost following his submission to Jesus Christ, he may be forgiven by repenting of his sins, humbling himself before the Lord, and obeying in sincerity the commandments of God.
Every soul who abandons his sins and acknowledged Jesus as Savior, and obeys his voice, and keeps his commandments shall see his face and know that he lives. Such a one shall be forgiven, and receive of the greater light from the Holty Spirit so that he knows in his soul and thus passes from idle belief into active faith. By these means he enters into a solemn covenant with God, a compact with the Almighty, through the Only Begotten Son, whereby he becomes a son of God, an heir of God, and a joint heir with Jesus Christ, as the Bible promises. Then, after that is in place, if he sins against the light and knowledge he has received, and deny the Holy Ghost's witness to him, then he has blasphemed and spoken against the Holy Ghost.
This sin is also spoken of by John as "a sin unto death," and by the author of Hebrews as one which cannot be forgiven, in these words:
"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 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."
It has been said,
"the testimony of the Holy Ghost is the strongest testimony that can be given. It is better than a personal visit. It is for this reason that the Savior said that all manner of sin and blasphemy against the Holy Ghost could not be forgiven."
The reason blasphemy against the Son of God may be forgiven, even if the Son has been made manifest in a vision or a dream, is that such manifestation does not impress the soul as deeply as does the testimony of the Holy Ghost. The influence of the Holy Ghost is 'Spirit speaking to spirit', and the indelible impression is one that brings conversion and conviction to the soul as no other influence can. The Holy Spirit reveals the truth with a positiveness wherein there is no doubt and, therefore, is far more impressive than a vision given to the eye.
When a person denies the truth which has been made manifest to him by power of the Holy Ghost, and which, perhaps, has been repeated time and time again, and then he denies Christ and turns away from the truth and puts Christ to open shame, there can be no forgiveness. Therefore the Savior spoke in this emphatic manner of those who turned against him after once having the light and who crucified him spiritually again.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this subject?
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