What is meant by blaspheming the Holy Spirit (the third Person of the Trinity)?
After Jesus performed many miracles, healed the sick, and taught many people to do good and stay away from wickedness, some of the scribes and Pharisees accused Jesus of being demon possessed. So Jesus spoke against them, saying that anyone who blasphemes against the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit) is guilty forever.
“Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” — because they were saying, ‘He has an unclean spirit.'” (Mark 3:28-30)
Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is to speak evil against the Holy Spirit. Jesus has the Holy Spirit dwelling in Him. So anyone who accuses Him of having an unclean spirit blasphemes against the Holy Spirit.
Blaspheming the Holy Spirit: a deliberate sin
Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is a deliberate sin, not one made casually. It is also not something that is done by accident, or something that is not meant by the person committing it. The scribes in Jesus’s day came from Jerusalem and said on purpose, “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons” (Mark 3:22).
So they were not only saying these things against Jesus, but they were saying these things against the Holy Spirit who dwells in Jesus and by whose power Jesus casts out demons.
Jesus said, “If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matthew 12:26-28).
While Jesus was on earth, He gave up His own godly powers and relied on the power of the Holy Spirit to perform miracles. Jesus did this to be an example to us, because we don’t have any powers of our own and we must rely on the Holy Spirit also.
Anyone who deliberately and willfully accuses the Holy Spirit of being evil blasphemes the Holy Spirit. Such a person reviles the Spirit of truth. This person also cannot receive the Spirit of God who gives eternal life, because he hates Him.
Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17).
So the Holy Spirit dwells in believers, but the world does not know Him.
“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14)
Since the Spirit of God is given to believers as a pledge, those without the Spirit of God does not belong to Christ (Romans 8:9). And if the world cannot receive God’s Spirit and is judged for refusing Christ, how much more would a person be judged, if he not only doesn’t receive the Holy Spirit of promise by believing in Jesus, but accuses the Spirit of God of being evil?
Do not be fooled
If you’re not a believer, do not attempt to commit this sin by blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Do not be fooled into doing this. You do not know what will happen in the future. Why should you cut off from yourself any possibility of a lifeline?
Trust God to keep you from all evil
Christians, by believing in Christ, recognize Jesus as Lord who comes from the Father. We know that the Holy Spirit given to us is within us and is from God. We do not blaspheme the Holy Spirit, because we have accepted Jesus into our hearts, and we have received the Spirit of Christ (Holy Spirit).
Christians won’t deliberately blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit is in us, showing that we love God and confess Jesus is Lord. As long as you can say, “Jesus is Lord”, then you have the Holy Spirit.
“Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus is accursed’; and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3)
If you are a believer, “do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30). Walk in God’s ways, rest in the Holy Spirit, and trust God to keep you from sin. God will keep your feet from slipping and protect you from falling.
“My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber….
The Lord will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.” (Psalm 121: 2-3,7)
Take comfort in the fact that God cares for you, and “He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you'” (Hebrews 13:5).
Read Mark 3 in the Bible.
To learn more about the Holy Spirit, see this article on the Holy Spirit.