Ephesians - Filled with the Spirit
Notes
Transcript
Last week we talked about living a life of wisdom. Now, wisdom isn't just about knowing things. It's about taking what we know and actually using it in our daily lives. It's the practical application of knowledge. Think of it this way: you can know that eating healthy is good for you, but wisdom is actually choosing the salad over the cheeseburger. Paul told us in Ephesians that we need to pay careful attention to how we live because the days are evil. He challenged us to be wise and to make the most of every opportunity we have.
At the end of that passage, Paul said something striking: "Get up, sleeper!" Now, he's talking about someone who was spiritually dead in their sin waking up to the abundant life and grace that God offers. But I think there's another layer here too. Paul is challenging those of us who already know God to stop sleepwalking through life. We can't just stumble around without giving any thought to what we're doing or why we're doing it. Paul said we need to understand what the Lord's will is for our lives.
Let me ask you something: do you think it's possible to go through life without any clear direction? Of course it is. Many people are doing exactly that today. They wake up, go to work, come home, watch television and scroll social media, go to bed, and repeat the same cycle day after day without any real purpose driving their actions. But as followers of Jesus, we aren't supposed to wander through life half asleep. We've been given a purpose, and that purpose is to love God and love others. We've been made part of God's kingdom and family, and we have the incredible privilege of serving Him.
When we don't know God's will or don't understand His direction for our lives, we tend to take one of two approaches. Some people take on every possible activity and ministry because they don't know for sure if that's what God wants them to do. They say yes to everything. They're at church five nights a week. They volunteer for every committee. They can't say no. And what happens? They quickly become burned out and exhausted. They want to leave the church because they're running on empty.
The other approach is just the opposite. Some people become paralyzed by their lack of direction. They do nothing to draw closer to God and nothing to serve Him with their lives. They sit on the sidelines, waiting for some dramatic sign from heaven before they'll take a single step forward. Both approaches miss what God wants for us.
So what's the answer? How do we find direction? How do we know God's will? How do we live the life God wants us to live? Paul gives us the answer in our passage today: be filled with the Holy Spirit. But before he tells us what to do, he tells us what not to do.
18 And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit: 19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.
Paul writes, "Don't get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living." Now, at first glance, this might seem like a strange way to introduce the idea of being filled with the Spirit. Why contrast being Spirit-filled with being drunk? To understand this, we need to know a little bit about the city of Ephesus where this letter was being read.
Ephesus was a pagan city filled with pagan worship. One of the main features of that worship was drunkenness. In the temples dedicated to false gods, getting drunk was actually part of the religious rituals. Drunkenness and sexual immorality were woven into temple worship. Paul must have been concerned that believers who had recently come out of that culture would be tempted to fall back into those old patterns. These new Christians needed to understand that drunkenness wasn't just a moral issue. It was a spiritual issue too.
You see, getting drunk is a counterfeit of the Holy Spirit. People get drunk for a reason. They want to escape their problems. They want to step out of their difficult life for a while. They want to forget their pain, their stress, their fears, their responsibilities. Alcohol promises relief, even if it's temporary. But here's the problem: when we turn to alcohol to solve our problems, we're putting our faith in a substance instead of trusting the Holy Spirit to give us real joy and lasting peace.
Getting drunk is always portrayed as wrong in the Bible. God consistently warns us about the potential for trouble and conflict that comes from drinking too much. Listen to what the book of Proverbs says:
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has conflicts? Who has complaints? Who has wounds for no reason? Who has red eyes? 30 Those who linger over wine; those who go looking for mixed wine. 31 Don’t gaze at wine because it is red, because it gleams in the cup and goes down smoothly. 32 In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper. 33 Your eyes will see strange things, and you will say absurd things. 34 You’ll be like someone sleeping out at sea or lying down on the top of a ship’s mast. 35 “They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I didn’t know it! When will I wake up? I’ll look for another drink.”
This passage shows us what happens when someone drinks too much. Alcohol can make you sad. It can start fights. It can make you complain about everything. You might get hurt and not even know how it happened. Your eyes start playing tricks on you. You say things that don't make any sense.
And here's the scary part: after all that pain and all those problems, what does the person do when they wake up? They go looking for another drink. That's the trap. That's what happens when alcohol takes control of someone's life.
Now, this leads to an important question that many Christians wrestle with. Should a Christian Drink Alcohol? This is a fair question, and it's one that deserves a thoughtful answer. The issue isn't as simple as some people make it out to be. Let me give you a few facts to consider.
First, some places in the Bible contain strong warnings about the use of wine. We just read one in Proverbs. But other places in the Bible actually promote wine's use for good health. Paul told Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach problems. Wine was a normal part of meals in biblical times.
Second, there's a question about whether the wine in Bible times had the same alcohol content as today's liquor. Some scholars believe it was often diluted with water. Others believe it was similar to what we have today. We can't know for certain.
Third, and this is important: the Bible never condemns the drinking of alcohol in moderation. It condemns drunkenness, but not the moderate consumption of wine or other alcoholic beverages. Jesus Himself drank wine. He turned water into wine at a wedding in Cana. So we can't make a blanket statement that drinking alcohol is always sinful.
So if the Bible doesn't forbid drinking alcohol, how should a Christian approach this question? Instead of asking "Is it allowed?" we should ask "Is it wise?" This is a much better question because it requires us to think carefully about our choices and their consequences.
I think there are two central issues when it comes to drinking that every Christian should consider carefully.
The first issue is this: Am I being controlled by God or by a substance? Paul wrote these words to the Corinthians:
12 “Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything.
Notice what Paul is saying. Just because something is permissible doesn't mean it's beneficial. And more importantly, Paul refuses to be controlled by anything other than God. This is the heart of the issue. When we drink, are we in control, or is the alcohol controlling us? If we need a drink to relax, to have fun, to cope with stress, or to feel confident, then we're being controlled by alcohol instead of being controlled by God's Spirit.
The second issue we need to consider is this: Am I harming myself or others by doing this? This question has two parts: physical harm and spiritual harm.
Let's talk about physical harm first. Paul says that getting drunk "leads to reckless living." Alcohol impairs our judgment. It lowers our inhibitions. It makes us do things we would never do when we're sober. Over thirty percent of all violent deaths in our country are alcohol related. At least thirty percent of all traffic fatalities involve drinking drivers. Alcohol hurts almost every part of your body: it clouds your brain, harms your liver, weakens your heart and immune system, messes up digestion and hormones, raises cancer risk, and can make you dependent, with no safe amount to drink.
Now, I know these statistics might sound preachy or like a lecture from a health class. But these aren't just numbers. These represent real people. Real families. Real pain. And many of you know this pain personally because it's touched your life or the life of someone you love. Our community has been hit hard by substance abuse. We've seen families torn apart. We've seen promising lives destroyed. We've attended funerals of people who died too young. This isn't an abstract theological discussion. This is about real life and real consequences.
But there's also spiritual harm to consider. Even if drinking doesn't harm us physically, we need to ask: does my drinking hinder my witness for Christ? Does it cause someone else to stumble in their faith? Paul addressed this issue directly:
19 So then, let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another. 20 Do not tear down God’s work because of food. Everything is clean, but it is wrong to make someone fall by what he eats. 21 It is a good thing not to eat meat, or drink wine, or do anything that makes your brother or sister stumble.
Paul is saying that even if something is permissible for you, you should be willing to give it up if it causes problems for someone else. If your drinking causes a recovering alcoholic to stumble, then you need to stop. If your drinking damages your witness to your neighbors or coworkers, then you need to stop. Love for others should always outweigh our personal freedom.
So should a Christian drink alcohol? That's a question each believer needs to answer before God with wisdom and honesty. But what's absolutely clear from Scripture is this: a Christian should never get drunk. Drunkenness is sin. It's putting our trust in a substance instead of in God. It's allowing something other than the Holy Spirit to control us. And that brings us to what Paul really wants to talk about: being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Paul doesn't just tell us what not to do. He tells us what we should do instead. He says, "Be filled by the Spirit." This is the key to living the Christian life. This is how we find direction. This is how we experience God's power. This is how we become the people God created us to be. But what does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? This is where many Christians get confused.
Let me start by telling you what being filled with the Spirit is not. It's not a dramatic experience that temporarily energizes us and then fades away. It's not trying to do what God wants us to do in our own power while asking for His blessing. It's not the same as possessing the Holy Spirit. Every believer possesses the Holy Spirit from the moment they accept Christ. It's not receiving a portion of the Holy Spirit doled out in rations, like God gives you ten percent of the Spirit today and maybe another five percent tomorrow if you're good. It's not being sealed or baptized by the Spirit. That happens to every believer the moment they receive Christ.
So what does it mean? To understand this, we need to know that the word "filled" was used in three different ways in the ancient world, and all three help us understand what Paul is talking about.
First, being filled with the Spirit is like wind filling a sail and propelling a ship forward. This is actually a great picture because the word translated "Spirit" in our Bibles can also mean "wind" or "breath." Jesus used this image when He talked to a man named Nicodemus:
8 The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
Think about a sailing ship. That ship has a destination. It's heading somewhere specific. For us as Christians, our destination is perfection in the likeness of Jesus Christ. We should be becoming more like Him every single day. The Holy Spirit is like the wind that moves the ship toward that destination. But here's the key: we have to put out our sails. We have to decide to let the Spirit move us. We have to be prepared and obedient for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. If you aren't moving forward in your Christian walk, then you don't have your sails up. You aren't expecting and allowing the Holy Spirit to work.
Second, being filled with the Spirit is like salt penetrating meat to flavor and preserve it. In the ancient world, before refrigeration, people would rub salt into meat to preserve it and give it flavor. The salt would penetrate every part of the meat. In the same way, every part of our lives should be infused with the Holy Spirit. He should affect how we think, how we talk, and how we act. The Holy Spirit shouldn't just influence us on Sunday morning. He should penetrate every aspect of our lives, every day of the week.
Third, being filled with the Spirit means being totally controlled by the Spirit. This is crucial to understand. We don't receive more and more of the Holy Spirit and gradually come under His control. We receive all of the Holy Spirit when we are saved, and He should control our lives at all times. Think of it this way: imagine your hand inside a glove. The glove can't do anything on its own. It can't decide what it will or won't do. Only the hand can fill it and make it useful. We're like the glove, and the Holy Spirit is the hand. We need to surrender control and let Him work through us.
Now, this all sounds good in theory, but how do we do this practically? How do we actually be filled with the Spirit in our daily lives? The Greek phrase Paul uses here is important. When he says "be filled," it literally means "be being filled." It's a continuous action. It's not a one-time event. It's a constant state of obedience and submission to the Spirit's control. Just like a sailing ship must keep its sails prepared to catch the wind, we must continually prepare ourselves to be used by the Spirit.
So what does this preparation look like? Let me give you four practical steps.
First, prayer. We need to talk to God regularly. Not just when we need something, but as a way of life. Prayer is our communication line with God. When we pray, we're acknowledging that we need Him and that we're dependent on Him.
Second, confession of sin. When we sin, and we all do, we need to confess it immediately. Don't let it build up. Don't ignore it. Don't make excuses for it. Confess it to God and receive His forgiveness. Sin blocks the Spirit's work in our lives.
Third, read the Bible. This is where so many Christians fail. We won't read the Bible, but we'll read everything else. We'll scroll through social media for hours. We'll binge-watch entire seasons of television shows. We'll read novels and magazines and news articles. But we won't spend fifteen minutes a day reading God's Word. The Bible is how God speaks to us. It's how we learn His will. It's how we grow in wisdom. If you want to be filled with the Spirit, you must read the Word.
Fourth, live as if God was standing next to you at every moment. Because He is. The Holy Spirit lives inside every believer. God is with you when you're at work. He's with you when you're at home. He's with you when you're alone in your car. He's with you when you're online. He's with you when you're making decisions. Live with that awareness. Ask yourself throughout the day: what would Jesus do in this situation?
When we do these things consistently, we're preparing our sails to catch the wind of the Spirit. We're positioning ourselves to be controlled by Him. We're making ourselves available for His work. And when we're filled with the Spirit, it will show. There will be evidence in our lives.
Paul doesn't leave us guessing about what a Spirit-filled life looks like. He gives us three clear evidences, three signs that the Holy Spirit is in control of our lives.
The first evidence is singing and making music. Paul writes that we should be "speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord." Now, notice that Paul says "speaking." This means any sound made to glorify God. It doesn't matter if you can't carry a tune in a bucket. It doesn't matter if you sound like a dying cat when you sing. The work of God in our lives should produce a joyful noise. Singing is a symptom of a heart that's been transformed. It's the overflow of gratitude and praise.
God gives us a new song to sing about His mercy and grace. The psalmist wrote:
1 Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones; praise from the upright is beautiful.
And again:
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and they will trust in the Lord.
Singing shows up again and again throughout the Bible in moments when God's people experience His power and presence. Moses and the Israelites sang after being freed from slavery in Egypt. There were four thousand musicians serving in the Temple at Jerusalem. Jesus and His disciples sang a hymn after the Last Supper. Paul and Silas sang hymns in prison at midnight after being beaten and thrown in jail. And one day in heaven, the four living creatures and twenty-four elders will sing a new song to Jesus:
9 And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slaughtered, and you purchased people for God by your blood from every tribe and language and people and nation.
Paul uses three different words to describe our singing. He mentions psalms, which are the Old Testament Psalms put to music. These songs are mostly about God's character and His works in our lives. He mentions hymns, which are songs of praise, especially about Jesus. And he mentions spiritual songs, which are songs of testimony about what God has done for us personally.
Here's what's important to understand: singing is strongly connected with our passion and emotion. We should sing out of the joy and thanksgiving we have in our hearts for the salvation that God gives. When we're filled with the Spirit, we can't help but sing. We sing together as an act of unity, encouragement, and fellowship. We sing to one another to build each other up. And we sing to the Lord because He is the only one worthy of our praise.
If you find yourself going through the motions in worship, just mouthing the words without any feeling, then something is wrong. If you can stand silent during worship while everyone else is singing, you need to ask yourself why. A Spirit-filled heart is a singing heart.
The second evidence of being filled with the Spirit is giving thanks for everything. Paul writes that we should be "giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Always. For everything. That's a tall order.
A thankful heart is a humble heart. It acknowledges that only God can provide the things we need. Think about your prayer life for a moment. Are you more likely to ask God for something or to thank Him for something? If we're honest, most of us are much better at asking than thanking.
We're quick to ask and slow to thank. But Paul says we should thank God always and for everything. A truly thankful person trusts God no matter what the circumstances look like. They know without a doubt that anything they're experiencing is working for their good and making them more like Jesus.
Let me give you three levels of thankfulness. The first level is being thankful after receiving a blessing. An unexpected refund check comes in the mail, and you thank God. That's good, but it's basic. The second level is being thankful for a blessing that's still in the future. The nation of Israel faced this situation once. A powerful enemy army made up of Moabites and Ammonites was about to attack them. Israel's King Jehoshaphat led the people in fasting and prayer. He acknowledged that Israel was weak and that only God could help them. But then watch what happened:
21 Then he consulted with the people and appointed some to sing for the Lord and some to praise the splendor of his holiness. When they went out in front of the armed forces, they kept singing: Give thanks to the Lord, for his faithful love endures forever. 22 The moment they began their shouts and praises, the Lord set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir who came to fight against Judah, and they were defeated.
They thanked God before the battle was won. They praised Him in advance. That's faith. But there's a third level, and this is the highest level of thankfulness. This is being thankful during a trial when it appears that you're going to fail. This is thanking God for a battle with cancer because you see it as an opportunity to witness for Him. This is thanking God when you lose your job because you trust that He has something better planned. This is thanking God when your heart is breaking because you believe He will heal you and use this pain for His glory.
This kind of thankfulness doesn't come naturally. It only comes when we're filled with the Holy Spirit. Our lack of thankfulness must hurt God deeply. Think about how it feels when someone you love complains about what you've given them or asks for more when you've already given them so much. That must be how God feels when we fail to thank Him for all He's done.
The third evidence of being filled with the Spirit is submitting to one another. Paul writes that we should be "submitting to one another in the fear of Christ." This is an attitude of humility. It's looking out for the needs of others and placing their welfare before our own.
The word "submit" comes from a Greek word that means to arrange or rank yourself under someone else. When was the last time someone else came to mind before you thought of something you wanted? When was the last time you considered another person's needs before your own?
What kind of attitude do you have toward other believers? Most of us, if we're honest, are looking out for our own self-interests. We want things done our way or no way at all. We don't stop to consider another person's needs and circumstances before we charge ahead with our plans. We fail to listen to those who are truly in need and suffering. We're so focused on ourselves that we miss opportunities to serve and love others.
But when we're filled with the Spirit, submission becomes natural. We start thinking about others first. We listen more than we talk. We serve more than we demand to be served. We become like Jesus, who came not to be served but to serve.
So let me ask you: are you being filled with the Holy Spirit? Are you allowing Him to propel you forward like wind in a sail? Or has something else filled your heart instead?
Maybe it's alcohol or drugs. Maybe it's a relationship that's controlling you. Maybe it's your job or your career ambitions. Maybe it's bitterness or unforgiveness. Maybe it's some selfish desire that won't let go. Whatever it is, if it's controlling you instead of the Holy Spirit, you need to deal with it today.
Here's what you need to understand: you must first have a relationship with God to possess the Holy Spirit. You can't be filled with God unless you've taken care of a few things first. You must believe in Jesus, God's Son. You must confess your sin to Him. You must want to make Jesus the boss of your life, the Lord of your life. If you've never done that, today is the day. Don't leave this building without settling that issue with God.
If you've already accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then you must throw out anything in your life that would take the place of the Holy Spirit. The first step to being filled with the Spirit is confession. Confess those sins that are preventing the Holy Spirit from having full control of your life. Don't make excuses. Don't minimize them. Just confess them honestly to God and ask for His forgiveness and His help.
Next, you have to set your sail in preparation for the Holy Spirit's moving. Let me give you some practical steps you can take this week. Commit to praying just five minutes a day. Set a timer if you have to. Talk to God about your day, your struggles, your needs, and your gratitude. Open your Bible each day and read it to find out what God wants to say through His Word. Start with one chapter a day. If you don't know where to start, read the Gospel of John. Commit to building a relationship with a mature believer who can help you grow as a follower of Jesus. Find someone in this church who loves God and ask them to meet with you regularly.
Being filled with the Spirit isn't complicated, but it does require action on your part. It requires obedience. It requires surrender. It requires preparation. You can't be filled with the Spirit while you're holding onto sin. You can't be filled with the Spirit while you're refusing to obey God's Word. You can't be filled with the Spirit while you're trying to control your own life.
The question is simple: who's in control of your life? Is it you? Is it some substance or person or ambition? Or is it the Holy Spirit? That's the question you need to answer today. Don't put it off. Don't walk out of here without making a decision. God is calling you to a life of purpose, power, and joy. He's calling you to be filled with His Spirit. Will you answer that call?
