Here's a good email question I received:

Mr. Steve

In Matthew 12:32 (Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come), why if we speak against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven? The Holy Spirit is greater than Jesus??

This is a very good question and I'm pleased to see you working through these type of issues.

Jesus is equal with the Holy Spirit so this passage is not talking about relative importance. The only sin which is unforgivable is the sin of unbelief. It is one thing for us to reject Jesus before we have been properly introduced, but once the Holy Spirit brings us face to face with the reality of Christ, rejection - which is speaking against the Holy Spirit - cannot be forgiven.

Also, we need to look at the context in which Jesus spoke these words. The Pharisees had seen Jesus performing miracles (which were being done with the power of the Holy Spirt, who's purpose was to proclaim Jesus as the Son of God) and said that the miracles were being done by the power of satan. This again is a rejection (or blasphemy) of the Holy Spirit through unbelief when He is proclaiming the reality of Christ.

I pray this helps.

Dear Steve

Thank you so much for this message. I just came accross it while I was searching for some answers. It really make me think. You opened my eyes again.

God Bless You.

My pastor once told us that it is because the scripture says, "No man comes to the Father unless the Spirit draws him." In this context, YES, the Holy Spirit is more crucial to your contact to the Father...similar to a lamp and the cord that connects it...if you cut the cord (the Holy Spirit) NO you won't get any value from the lamp (Jesus, the light of the whole world). just my thoughts, jan

My understanding of this is that the unforgiveable sin is not a matter of unbelief. It really is just what it states in context with the verse Steve mentioned... Attributing the works of God to the works of the devil...and I don't think its accidental either. Personally, I believe the pharisees knew in their hearts who they were dealing with and still purposefully chose to attribute the work of the H.S to the enemy.

Well Jesus died to forgive every sin we commit & if we confess our sins he is faithful & just to forgive us our sins - so that is why attributing the act of Jesus who was powerd by the Holy spirit to the devil falls under the category of unbelief or rebellion because if we believe & obey then there is no sin that we can commit that will not be forgiven. But if we are in a state of rebellion & unbelief then every thing we do is sin & unable to be forgiven as a result of our refusal to repent.

I have a friend that wanted to nit pick it even more based on the passage in Mark saying that it was because they said that Jesus had an unclean spirit (calling the Holy Ghost unclean), however I am pretty sure that unbelief/ rebellion is the unforgiveable sin as if we are penitent & humble then God gives grace to the lowly but the proud shall be made low.

If it was simply attributing the acts of God to the devil then I think many Christians are guilty of that as I have heard them blame the devil for some calamity or another but the scripture says in Isaiah that God creates evil (or calamity) - just another reason why it's not as simple as a mistaken identity of a spirit - it is a choice - a concious willful & deliberate decision to reject God - so I guess you could say that aithests are blasphiming the Holy Spirit as they refuse to allow Him to have any influence in their lives. That's what the pharasees were doing, they were refusing to acknoledge that Jesus was of God because they didn't want listen to his words or to repent (acknoledge that their behavior & attitudes were wrong & effect a change). Jesus said it in Jn chapter 3 when he said - this is the condemnation - that light has come into the world but men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.

GREAT ANSWER STEVE

In addition to unbelief & rebellion it was revealed to me today that unforgiveness also qualifies as blasphemy of the Holy Ghost.