Be Filled With the Holy Spirit! | Ephesians 5:15-21

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Ephesians 5:15–21 “15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

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Ephesians Overview

Chapters 1-3

Emphasis: Vertical relationship with God

Key verse: “He chose us in Him" (1:4)

Main point: Who you are in Christ

Chapters 4-6

Emphasis: Horizontal relationship with others

Key verse: Walk in a manner worthy of the calling" (4:1)

Main point: Live it out!

Our topic and our passage for today is so foundational: “Be Filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Here’s why this is so crucial: right before Paul talks about marriage, parenting, work, and spiritual warfare, he says “be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Life transforming implication: Unless you are filled with the Spirit, you won’t be able to live the life that God has designed for you. “The Holy Spirit: God’s Empowering Presence.”

What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit?

Ephesians 5:18 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,”

To be filled (plēroō), to fill, complete.

“The semantic range of πληρόω is wide. It can be used with its lit. meaning (e.g., of filling jars with oil, 2 Kgs 4:4) and also in the extended, but still physical, sense of “occupy the whole space, spread out over” (e.g., of the divine ordinance to “be fruitful” [LXX αὐξάνω G889, “grow”].” (New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis, Volumes 1–5)

What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? It is the ongoing yielding of your entire life to the control and influence of the Holy Spirit.

It has been rightly said, “The issue is not getting more of the Holy Spirit, it’s the Holy Spirit getting more of you.”

Paul uses a contrast: Do not be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit.

When someone is filled with alcohol, their whole being is affected: their brain, their body, and their behavior.

Brain: Alcohol impairs judgment and slows reaction time, making it harder to think clearly or make wise decisions.

Body: Alcohol affects coordination and balance, often causing people to stumble or slur their speech.

Behavior: Alcohol lowers inhibitions, leading people to say or do things they normally wouldn’t.

Illustration. Introverted cousin becomes very outgoing.

It’s intriguing and fascinating to me that Paul talks about drunkenness to teach about a Spirit-filled life.

Paul is saying, “Look at someone who is drunk. He or she is under the influence of alcohol. Instead of being under the influence of alcohol, be under the influence of the Holy Spirit.”

It is the ongoing yielding of your entire life to the control and influence of the Holy Spirit.

It is intriguing and fascinating to me that Paul contrasts being drunk with alcohol to being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Took the week off to work on garage (siding, painting, and electrical). Here are a couple of thoughts why people drink.

(1) People drink to deal with life’s pain and disappointment.

Alcohol is classified as a central nervous system depressant, meaning that it slows down brain functioning and neural activity. Alcohol helps people “deal” with life’s pain and disappointment because alcohol makes the problem “seem smaller” for a moment. Alcohol numbs the pain for a time.

In our passage in Ephesians, drunkenness is referred as debauchery. The basic idea of the word is wastefulness. (”which leads to reckless living,” CSB, “that will ruin your life, NLT”)

The irony is that while being drunk might seem to help with life’s pain and disappointment, in reality it makes it worse.

Contrast that with being filled with the Holy Spirit gives you a better vision, even as you deal with life’s pain and disappointment.

Ephesians 1:17–18 “[I pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,”

Being filled with the Holy Spirit gives a better perspective of reality because instead of losing control of your mind, you gain control of it.

Illustration: 2 Kings 6:13-18

A great army surrounded the city where Elisha and his servant were staying.

The servant asked, “What are we going to do now?”

Elisha didn’t say, “Here’s a bottle of whiskey to help you deal with the current situation.”

2 Kings 6:17 “Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

His eyes were opened to reality (c.f Romans 5:3-5; 8:28).

(2) People drink in order to come alive.

When people drink alcohol, they come out of their shell. They become more courageous and open. Which in turn leads them to do and say things they later regret. That’s why drunkenness is debauchery. It’s wastefulness. The irony is that while you were filled with alcohol the night before, you feel empty the next day.

When people are filled with the Holy Spirit they are filled with God’s empowering presence.

Acts 2:4 “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

The apostle Peter is one of the people filled with the Holy Spirit who addresses the crowd with boldness. That’s right—it is the same Peter who, just a few weeks earlier, had given in to fear and denied Jesus three times in a short period. What made the difference? Being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 4:31 “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”

Acts 13:52 “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”

I love the fact that the call to be filled with the Holy Spirit is given to every single Christian.

How do I become filled with the Holy Spirit?

Prioritize time with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:16)

Be filled with the Spirit.

The phrase is in the passive voice: Be filled with the Holy Spirit. The opposite would be the active voice “Fill yourself with the Holy Spirit”

The passive voice could also be translated: “Allow yourself to be filled with the Holy Spirit.” In other words put yourself in the position where you can be filled.

“The passive voice of the verb is suggestive of yielding to the Spirit and cooperating with the Spirit, who desires to fill the lives of believers in increasing measure.” Clinton Arnold, Ephesians

The phrase is also in the present tense which simply means that it’s a continuous action: lit. “be being filled with the Holy Spirit.”

The baptism in the Holy Spirit occurs one time at conversion: 1 Corinthians 12:13 “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”

The filling of the Holy Spirit is a continuous, ongoing experience.

It is the ongoing yielding of your entire life to the control and influence of the Holy Spirit.

Here’s the reality: You and I need to make spending time with the Holy Spirit a top priority. By spending time, I mean unhurried time.

Ephesians 5:16 “making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Spend time on what truly matters.

The Great Alienation

October 6, 2025 by Cal Newport

Last week, I published an essay about the so-called Great Lock In of 2025, a TikTok challenge that asks participants to tackle self-improvement goals. I argued that this trend was positive, especially for Gen Z, because the more you take control of your real life, the easier it becomes to take control of your screens.

In response, I received an interesting note from a reader. “The biggest challenge with this useful goal Gen Z is pursuing,” he wrote, “is they don’t know what to do.”

As he then elaborates:

“Most of them are chasing shiny objects that others are showing whether on social media or in real life. And when they (quickly) realize it’s not what they want, they leave and jump on to something else…this has been a common problem across generations. But Gen Z, and youngsters after it, are making things worse by scrolling through social media hoping to find their purpose by accident (or by someone telling them what they should do).”

Here we encounter one of the most insidious defense mechanisms that modern distraction technology deploys. By narrowing its users’ world to ultra-purified engagement, these platforms present a fun-house mirror distortion of what self-improvement means: shredded gym dwellers, million-subscriber YouTube channels, pre-dawn morning routines. Because these “shiny” goals are largely unattainable or unsustainable, those motivated to make changes eventually give up and return to the numbing comfort of their screens.

By alienating its users from the real world, these technologies make it difficult for them to ever escape the digital. To succeed with the Great Lock In, we need to resolve the Great Alienation.

Immerse yourself in God’s Word (Col. 3:16)

To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to be filled with God’s Word is the same thing.

Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

Jennie Allen quotes

“When you and I choose to believe a lie about ourselves, it’s one of these three lies we believe: I’m helpless. I’m worthless. I’m unlovable.”

“One God-honoring thought has the potential to change the trajectory of both history and eternity. Just as one uninterrupted lie in my head has the potential to bring about unimaginable destruction in the world around me.”

“what is the one thought that can successfully interrupt every negative thought pattern? It’s this: I have a choice. That’s it. The singular, interrupting thought is this one: I have a choice. If you have trusted in Jesus as your Savior, you have the power of God in you to choose! You are no longer a slave to passions, to lusts, to strongholds, to sin of any kind. You have a God-given, God-empowered, God-redeemed ability to choose what you think about. You have a choice regarding where you focus your energy. You have a choice regarding what you live for.”

“What we believe and what we think about matters, and the enemy knows it. And he is determined to get in your head to distract you from doing good and to sink you so deep that you feel helpless, overwhelmed, shut down, and incapable of rising to make a difference for the kingdom of God.”

Make corporate worship a priority (Eph. 5:19)

Ephesians 5:19 “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,”

Practice gratitude daily (Eph. 5:20)

Ephesians 5:20 “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,”

Surrender your personal agenda (Eph. 5:21)

Ephesians 5:21 “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

Conclusion: Confession

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30)

Do not quench the Spirit (1 Thess 5:19)