Ephesians 5:20

Be Filled with the Spirit, Part 4: Spirit-Filled Thanksgiving

Ephesians 5:20

1942

December 31, 1978

1. The Passage and Its Central Theme

Now, as I say, we have spent seven lessons, or this is our seventh lesson, on this tremendous text.  You might think that such a brief text could be covered in less time than, say, five or six hours or whatever that total time would be.  But the fact is that we haven’t even come close to exhausting the rich content that’s here.  I find – and I’m sure you do, too – that the Word of God is kind of like a limitless well, the harder you pump the richer and clearer and fuller the flow becomes.  The more I study the Bible, the more inexhaustible it becomes.  The deeper I dig, the wider the expanse of treasure that appears before my eyes.  It’s inexhaustible.  It’s one of the incredible experiences of the ministry to dig deeper and deeper and to find that the deeper you go, the bigger the subject becomes. 

Ephesians 5:18–21 is a short text, but MacArthur emphasizes that it is a “limitless well.” The more one studies it, the more its riches expand. This is his seventh message on these four verses, and he insists they are still far from exhausting it.

The central truth is clear:

All Christian living—“walking worthy,” living the Christian experience—is grounded in being filled with the Spirit.

The key phrase:

“Be filled with the Spirit” – better rendered, “be being continuously kept filled with the Spirit.”

Everything in Ephesians—our position (chs. 1–3) and our practice (chs. 4–6)—depends on this reality. You cannot:

Experience God’s power

Walk in His will

Know His blessing

unless you are living under the control of the Holy Spirit.

MacArthur ties this to Galatians 3:3:

“Having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect in the flesh?” We were born by the Spirit, indwelt by the Spirit, joined to the body by the Spirit, and we are perfected only in the Spirit. When Spirit-filling is absent, spiritual growth “flattens out.”

2. Spirit-Filled Leaders as the Pattern

In other words, as we ascend the scale of maturity, we grow only insofar as we’re filled with the Spirit.  When we are not filled or controlled by the Spirit, we flatten out and there’s no progress at all.  The growing times of our life are the times when we are controlled by the Holy Spirit.  Then and only then does the flow of the power of God function within us.  Now, every believer possesses the Spirit and needs at each moment in life to be yielded to the Spirit of God.  That’s the key to this passage, and we’ve been looking at that.  I might just expand your understanding of that by pointing this out to you, that all of the key leaders in the New Testament are characterized specifically as people filled with the Spirit. 

For example, it says of Jesus Christ Himself in Luke chapter 4 verse 1:  “And Jesus being full of the Spirit.”  And in John 3:34 it says that “God gave not the Spirit by measure unto him.”  In other words, He didn’t measure out some dose of the Spirit but rather gave unto Him the fullness of the Spirit.  Jesus even said, “The things I do, I do by the power of the Spirit of God.”  He was full of the Holy Spirit.  John the Baptist, the forerunner of our Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest man who had ever lived up until his time, of him it is said in Luke 1:  “And he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.”  And his mother, Elizabeth, and his father, Zacharias, both of them were also filled with the Holy Spirit. 

As you move further along in the New Testament, you find, for example, in Acts chapter 4 that Peter, the great apostle, is filled with the Spirit of God.  We know he was filled with the Spirit along with everybody else on the Day of Pentecost, but in chapter 4 and verse 8, it specifically says:  “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said unto them.”  Peter, filled with the Spirit.  Further, we move into chapter 6 of the book of Acts and we find the first officials selected for the early church and it says of these individuals that they should be men full of the Holy Spirit.  And verse 5 says:  “They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.”  In other words, those who were given to the leadership of the early church apart from the apostles, those who were to serve the people were those who were filled with the Spirit.  Stephen, of course, is one of them filled with the Spirit.  Later on in chapter 7 verse 55, when Stephen was being stoned, “But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly to heaven.” 

Later on we meet another wonderful individual who takes up practically all the rest of the New Testament, a man by the name of Saul who becomes Paul, and to him, Ananias says that he would receive his sight and in Acts 9:17 “be filled with the Holy Spirit.”  So the apostle Paul knew what it was to be filled with the Spirit.  In Acts 13:9, it says, “Then Saul, who is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, set his eyes on him, and said . . . .”  There was a wonderful man who was in the company of the apostle Paul, a man that we know as the one who was a comforter.  His name is Barnabas and it is said of Barnabas in verse 24 of Acts 11, “He was a righteous man, and full of the Holy Spirit.”

To underscore how central Spirit-filling is, he walks through New Testament examples:

Jesus Christ – “Jesus being full of the Spirit” (Luke 4:1); God did not give Him the Spirit “by measure” (John 3:34). Jesus Himself said His works were done “by the power of the Spirit of God.”

John the Baptist – “He shall be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb,” and his parents Elizabeth and Zacharias were also filled with the Spirit (Luke 1).

Peter – Filled at Pentecost, and explicitly “Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said unto them” (Acts 4:8).

The first deacons/servants – In Acts 6 they had to be “full of the Holy Spirit,” including Stephen, “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.”

Stephen – “Being full of the Holy Spirit” as he was being stoned looked up to heaven (Acts 7:55).

Paul – Ananias says he will “be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 9:17); later, “Saul, who is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:9).

Barnabas – “A righteous man, and full of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 11:24).

Conclusion:

There is no way an individual believer can function in the power of God apart from the control of the Spirit of God.

These people, filled with the Spirit, lived so powerfully that it was said: “They have turned the world upside down.” The same Spirit is available to believers today.

3. The Real Key to “Reproducing the Early Church”

MacArthur notes that modern Christians are obsessed with “recapturing the early church”:

How did they structure leadership?

How did they send missionaries?

How did they discipline?

What were their methods, rules, strategies?

He argues we have made this far too complicated.

The key to reproducing the early church is not their modus operandi but the same Holy Spirit who indwelt them.

When the 20th-century (and by implication 21st-century) church is:

Indwelt by the Spirit (as it already is), and

Filled with the Spirit (as God desires),

then it will be God’s church in this age, turning this world upside down. We should be less concerned with restructuring methods and more concerned with Spirit-filled lives.

4. Structure of Ephesians 5:18–21

MacArthur frames the text with three main points:

The Contrast (v.18a) – “Be not drunk with wine, in which is excess (dissipation), but be filled with the Spirit.”

Pagans sought religious “ecstasy” and communion with their gods through drunkenness.

Christians experience communion and power through the filling of the Holy Spirit, not intoxicants.

The Command (v.18b) – “Be being kept continuously filled with the Spirit.”

It is ongoing, present-tense, continuous.

God is not interested in vague future promises (“I’m going to yield later”) but in your present yieldedness.

He illustrates this with marriage vows: you do not promise affection for some hypothetical future but love now. Similarly, God is concerned with now—your present surrender.

The Consequences (vv.19–21)

Toward self – Singing: a heart overflowing with joy.

Toward God – Thanksgiving: “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Toward others – Submitting: mutual submission in the fear of Christ.

(He adds a fourth: serving.)

This sermon focuses especially on the second consequence: thanksgiving toward God.

5. Thanksgiving as the Heart of Worship

But let’s go to the second category of consequence, toward God.  A Spirit-filled person is rightly related to himself, boy, he’s a whole, healthy, together person.  I mean he can sing and rejoice and his heart is filled with song and it bursts out of him.  Why?  Because he’s controlled by the Spirit of God and he loses all of those things that tear up human personality.  He’s okay, he’s together, he’s got it made, he’s right with God, and that means he’s right inside.  But there’s a second element and that’s toward God.  There’s not only this tremendous sense of joy and rightness with self but a Spirit-filled person turns toward God and inevitably, the thing that happens is he says thanks – verse 20.  This is the second consequence, “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Listen, beloved, a Spirit-filled, Christ-conscious, Word-filled, obedient, faithful Christian gives thanks to God for everything.  We started our service this morning, I read for you Psalm 100, “Enter into his gates with” – what? – “thanksgiving.”  Why?  Because that’s the way you always enter God’s presence.  That’s the way you always enter God’s presence, with thanksgiving.  William Hendriksen says, “When a person prays without thanksgiving, he has clipped the wings of prayer so that it cannot rise.  We enter His gates with thanksgiving, we enter his courts with praise.  Oh, be thankful unto him and bless his name.”  Listen, I believe that a Spirit-filled person is going to be one who says thanks to God. 

A Spirit-filled believer is:

“Right with himself” (balanced, whole, joyful) and

“Right with God,” and that rightness shows up in thanksgiving.

From Psalm 100:

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving.” That is always the proper way to come into God’s presence.

MacArthur quotes William Hendriksen:

“When a person prays without thanksgiving, he has clipped the wings of prayer so that it cannot rise.”

He argues that the single greatest act of personal worship is not:

Stained glass

Organs

Even hymn-singing standing in a church

But rather:

A thankful heart.

Now let me say something you maybe never thought of in this way:  I’m convinced that the single greatest act of personal worship that you can render to God is to be thankful.  That’s right.  That, to me, is the epitome of worship, not stained-glass windows and organ music, as nice as that is.  Not sitting in church and singing great hymns.  But the single most magnanimous, the highest and the best and the ultimate in worship is to have a thankful heart.  That’s the key.  Because thanks ultimately crucifies self.  Thanks ultimately recognizes God as the source of everything.  Thanks always is able to say in the midst of anything, good or even difficult, “God be praised, God be praised.”  Thanks sees beyond the circumstance to the plan of God.  It sees beyond the pain to the sovereignty of God.  It sees Romans 8:28, it sees that “all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to his purposes.”  It sees the hand of God in everything, the good and the difficult

And thanks is the ultimate act of praise because it says, “God, I thank You even for the hard times.  I thank You even for those that die, I thank You even for a difficult marriage, I thank You even for a job that’s unfulfilling, I thank You for everything because I know that it can be used for my good and its intention can be to conform me to Jesus Christ.”  Job said, “Naked came I into the world, naked shall I leave.”  And that’s okay, because “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away.”  Then what did he say?  “Blessed be the name of the Lord.”  “I thank You God when you give and I thank You God when you take,” see? 

Why?

Thanksgiving crucifies self.

It acknowledges God as the source of everything.

It looks beyond circumstances to God’s plan.

It looks beyond pain to God’s sovereignty (Romans 8:28).

True thanksgiving can say:

“God, I thank You even for the hard times, the death of loved ones, difficult marriages, unfulfilling jobs, because You intend all of it to conform me to Christ.”

Job is the model:

“The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

6. The Logic of Thanksgiving: God’s Glory Through Our Gratitude

Now, that’s maturity, that’s a Spirit-filled person.  In 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 15, Paul says this:  “For all things are for your sakes.”  In other words, everything that God does is for you.  Sometimes it’s a blessing and sometimes it’s a trial blessing.  But everything is for you.  Why?  “That the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.”  In other words – now watch this – the ultimate goal is the glory of God, the means to the glory of God is thanksgiving, the means to thanksgiving are all things that God does in your life.  For all things are for your sakes that you might be thankful to God so that He might be glorified.  You glorify God by being thankful.  You say, “God this is to Your glory, no matter how much it hurts, no matter what the pain or what the problem.”  And later on in 2 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 11, “Being enriched in everything to all bountifulness,” why?  Why does God enrich us?  Why is God bountiful to us, why?  “Which causes through us thanksgiving to God.”  That’s why. 

You see, the ultimate expression of response to what God has done is thanksgiving.  If you’re a thankless person, you’ve missed the point.  The whole of our Christian life is to finally come to the place of thanksgiving.  In verse 12, he even calls it “abundant by many thanksgivings unto God.”  And then he closes the chapter by saying, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”  Listen, God has done all that God has done that we might be thankful to Him because when we thank God, that gives Him glory because it recognizes Him as the source and sovereign of everything.  And when you do that, you’re really giving Him glory, because He is. 

MacArthur traces Paul’s argument in 2 Corinthians 4:15 and 9:11–12:

“All things are for your sakes” – everything God does in your life is ultimately for you.

The abundance of grace “might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.”

God enriches us “in everything to all bountifulness” – why?

“Which causes through us thanksgiving to God.”

So the chain is:

All God’s actions in your life →

produce thanksgiving in you →

which redounds to the glory of God.

If you are thankless, you’ve missed the point of the Christian life.

7. “When” to Give Thanks: Always

Now, let’s look at the text and see some questions that we can answer from this verse.  What kind of thanksgiving is Paul after?  First of all, when are we to be thankful?  Verse 20, “Giving thanks” – what’s the next word? – “always.”  When are we to be thankful then?  Always.  You say, “You don’t know my problem.”  Still says “always.”  “You don’t know my wife”  Still says “always.”  “You don’t know my teenagers.”  Still says “always.”  “You don’t know the lousy job I have,” “You don’t know the dirty deal I get,” “You don’t know what they did to me at that place,” “always,” “always,” “always,” “always.”  Why?  Because this recognizes that God is in control of your life and that God is trying to conform you to the image of Christ with all the things that occur, and in all of those things, you redound to God’s glory in thanksgiving.  And so it says – watch.  In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 – great statement.  “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”  If you don’t know what God’s will is, try that for a starter.  Give thanks, give thanks, give thanks.  This is the will of God. 

Now go back to Ephesians 5:17.  “Be not unwise but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”  Verse 20, “Giving thanks always.”  It’s the same idea; God’s will is that we be thankful.  Shakespeare said, “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child.”  “Ingratitude, thou marble-hearted fiend.”  Even Shakespeare recognized what it is to have ingratitude.  Think how God must feel.  When God brings difficulties into our lives, when God brings trials into our lives and we gripe and complain and we don’t understand the meaning of James 1, which says, “When trials come into your life count it all joy because out of that trial, God is going to bring a perfection and a maturing,” see?  You see, we want to second guess God and we want to complain and we want to sort of grumble, and all the Bible asks of us is to be thankful so that God can do His perfect work.  This is the will of God.

Ephesians 5:20:

“Giving thanks always…”

Objections are anticipated:

“You don’t know my problem.”

“You don’t know my wife.”

“You don’t know my teenagers.”

“You don’t know my job.”

The text still says: “always, always, always, always.”

1 Thessalonians 5:18:

“In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Want to know God’s will? Start here. Ephesians 5:17–20 links understanding God’s will with a life of thanksgiving.

8. Three Levels of Thanksgiving (Spiritual Maturity Test)

Now, there are three categories of thankful people, and we’ll see which one you fit in, okay?  You give yourself this test.  Number one – this is the easy part:  There are those who are thankful after the blessing, right?  You say, “I’m one of those.”  That’s the easy part, right?  Sure.  After God has just blessed you, you’re thankful.  “Oh, you know, I was ill and the Lord touched my body, now I’m well, I’m so thankful” or “You know, we didn’t know what we were going to do and then the Lord gave us a new home” or “Well, we lost a job and the Lord gave us” – after the blessing, there’s always the people thankful after the blessing, that’s the easy part, right?  God has just unloaded on you and you say, “Oh, thank You, Lord.”  Easy part. 

MacArthur then outlines three levels of thanksgiving and uses them as a diagnostic:

1) Thankful after the blessing (the easiest level)

This is normal and right: after God answers prayer, heals, provides a job, parts the “Red Sea.”

Example: Israel at the Red Sea (Exodus 14–15)

God drowns the Egyptian army.

Israel sees “the Egyptians dead on the seashore.”

They “feared the Lord and believed the Lord,” and then:

“Then sang Moses and the children of Israel” (Ex. 15:1).

This is thanks after deliverance.

Example: Revelation 15 – the saints who get victory over the beast sing “the song of Moses and the Lamb” after judgment.

This is good, but it is the beginning level of thanksgiving.

2) Thankful before the battle (faith in anticipation)

Let’s go to step two.  This is the ability to give thanks before the battle begins for the victory that you know is going to come, all right?  First is after the fact, second is in anticipation of the fact.  Now, this is where the people of faith come in.  These are the people who believe God before anything happens.  These are the people who are celebrating before the war.  These are the people saying, “Lord I see a problem coming, how wonderful.  I’m going to believe You for victory in the midst of this, before it even gets there.”  This is Jesus.  This is Jesus in John chapter 11 as He stands by the tomb of Lazarus.  Everybody around Him is crying, they’re all weeping.  He says, “Remove that stone,” and Martha gets all upset about doing that.  Verse 41:  “Then they took the stone from the place where the dead was laid.  And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.’”  Thank You Lord for what You are going to do.  Now, that’s faith, isn’t it? 

And then He said, “Lazarus, come out.”  And he came out.  Thanks in advance.  Now, people, that’s another level of spiritual maturity.  That’s the ability to say thanks before the thing really even unfolds.  Are you one of those people who says thanks in advance?  You see something coming and you can believe God for the victory before it even arrives?  Can you say thanks like Jesus did in anticipation of death?  Can you say, “I see a death in my family, I see a death of someone I love.  Thank You, Lord, thank You that I know what’s going to happen, he’s going to come through in resurrection life.”  Can you be thankful in the face of death?  I’ll give you another one.  Look at this, this is fabulous, Second Chronicles chapter 20, that’s the Old Testament.  Second Chronicles chapter 20.  This is really great.  Now, God’s people, Judah, are about to have a war with a couple of real strong enemies, Ammon and Moab, the Ammonites and the Moabites.  And they’re getting ready for a wholesale war here, but Jehoshaphat is a pretty faithful man of prayer, so he goes to the Lord and he just tells the Lord all about it.  He says, “Lord this is going to be Your battle, I mean I just can’t handle this thing, we can’t do it on our own.”  He bowed before God and he pours out his heart, and he says, “Lord, You’re going to have to do with these people just what You did when You drowned the Egyptians.  You’re going to have to do some wondrous miracle.  You’re going to have to take care of this deal, Lord.  I can’t handle this problem, I can see it coming, I can’t handle it.” 

Here, believers thank God in advance for victory before anything changes.

Example: Jesus at Lazarus’s tomb (John 11:41)

Before calling Lazarus out, He prays:

“Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me.”

That is thanks in advance.

Example: Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20

Surrounded by Ammon and Moab, he confesses, “We cannot handle this.”

He lays it before the Lord and then leads the people to believe God for victory.

He appoints singers to go before the army:

“Praise the Lord; for His mercy endures forever.”

“In Israel the Marines didn’t land first; the choir did.”

God causes the enemy armies to turn on each other, and Judah arrives to find only dead bodies and three days’ worth of spoil.

This is a higher level: thanking God before anything changes, trusting Him for the outcome.

3) Thankful in the midst of the battle, when it looks like you’re losing (the highest level)

Now, this is harder than after the fact, but God wants this, too.  God wants your thanksgiving before the battle even begins, and this is tough – this is the test of your spiritual maturity.  When you crack up and fall apart in anticipation of the problem, then you haven’t reached this level yet.  Thank God after the blessing, that’s easy.  Thank God before the battle begins, that’s harder.  But the hardest of all – are you ready for the third one?  The hardest of all is to thank God in the midst of the battle when it looks like you’re losing.  That’s tough.  You can do it after the fact and you can do it in anticipation of, but can you do it right in the middle of it?  Well, God’s choice people have.  The king set out a decree in the day of Daniel that nobody else should be worshiped or prayed to but him.  Didn’t bother Daniel.  It says in Daniel chapter 6 and verse 10, “Daniel went into his room as his custom was and threw open the doors as they always were open toward Jerusalem and three times a day he bowed down and gave thanks unto the Lord his God.”  And he knew what it would cost, and they took him and threw him in the lion’s den, but that was all right.  He was going to give thanks to God in the midst of the trouble.

You know, it says about Jonah – what a fantastic thing – can you imagine if you were in Jonah’s situation?  I mean you hear it as a Bible story, but try to imagine what it would be like to be swallowed by a huge fish, floating around in the acid of his stomach.  And worse than that, to be alive and awake floating around in there.  And Jonah – in chapter 2 – kind of gets his act together and this is what he says – this is amazing:  “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.”  And what was your prayer Jonah?  “I will offer the sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving.  I will pay that that I have vowed.  Salvation is of the Lord.”  Here is Jonah in the middle of an acid-filled stomach of some giant monster of the sea saying, “Thank You, Lord.” 

You say he’s – that’s not faith that’s stupidity.  No.  Thank You, Lord, thank You.  And you know something?  God liked that prayer so much He poked that big fish and it vomited out Jonah, and didn’t just vomit him out. it vomited him on the place he was supposed to be.  Here was a man who thanked God in the midst of the belly of a great sea monster – incredible.  God honored it.  Now, you never had it that way, did you?  You read Hebrews chapter 11 about all those people who thanked God in the midst of those terrible trials, and then you hear the writer of Hebrews say, “You haven’t had it so bad, you haven’t suffered unto blood yet, have you?” 

This is the most difficult and most mature form of thanksgiving—thanking God while the trial is actively painful.

Examples:

Daniel (Daniel 6:10)

A decree forbids prayer to anyone but the king.

Daniel continues to pray with windows open toward Jerusalem and gives thanks to God knowing it will cost him the lions’ den.

Jonah (Jonah 2)

Trapped alive in the belly of a great fish, floating in stomach acids, he prays:

“I will offer the sacrifice unto Thee with the voice of thanksgiving… Salvation is of the Lord.”

God “pokes” the fish, and it vomits Jonah onto the exact shore where he was supposed to be.

The apostles in Acts 5

Beaten and forbidden to preach, they rejoice that they were “counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.”

Paul and Silas in Acts 16

Feet in stocks, muscles stretched and in pain, they are singing hymns and giving thanks to God at midnight.

Paul in Philippians 1

Imprisoned and facing possible execution, he is filled with thanksgiving and joy.

MacArthur notes:

“It’s indicative of your character how you give thanks.”

Level 1 – after the blessing

Level 2 – before the battle

Level 3 – in the battle, when you appear to be losing

Very few believers know level 3 in practice.

Joni Eareckson (Tada) is cited as an example of this attitude. Paralyzed in a diving accident, she says:

“Giving thanks is not a matter of feeling thankful; it’s a matter of obedience.”

Thanksgiving is an act of faith, recognizing that your life, circumstances, and destiny are in God’s sovereign hand and that everything is working to conform you to Christ.

9. “For What” Do We Give Thanks? – All Things

So when do you give thanks?  Always.  For what?  For what, giving thanks always for what?  All things.  You say, “For all things, you mean for everything?  Even stuff that’s troublesome and difficult?”  Sure.  Count it all joy when you fall into diverse trials.  Why?  Because that’s the way God perfects you.  I’m not going to give you a big, long list.  I have one written down here.  I won’t take the time to do it, but I listed about 40 things that the Bible specifically says you’re to be thankful for.  And they’re not just individual things; they’re categories in which you could be thankful for a hundred different things within that category.  We’re to be thankful for everything, for everything, for everything.  There’s no limit to it.  Just the fullness of all the things that God has done for us.  All of His attributes are listed, all of the things He’s done.  We’re to be thankful.  Do you know the Bible tells us to be thankful for all men?  For all people.  It tells us to be thankful for all things, to be thankful to God for Christ, for our salvation, for the Holy Spirit, for everything we have, to be thankful in the midst of difficulty as well as in the midst of prosperity.  To be thankful for all things. 

Now, let me tell you something:  There’s only one kind of person who can be thankful for everything and that’s a humble person.  That’s right, that’s a humble person.  You say, “What do you mean by that?”  Just this, listen.  A humble person knows he doesn’t deserve anything, right?  So the smallest thing for him is a cause of thanksgiving.  If you have a problem in your life being thankful, the problem is not a lack of thanksgiving, that’s the symptom.  The problem is pride.  You’re saying, “God, I just can’t be thankful because I think I’m not getting what I deserve,” see.  But if you know you deserve nothing, if you see yourself as a sinner for whom nothing is really deserved, then for anything that God would give you, there could be nothing but thanks, see.  It’s really a pride problem.  A thankful person always has a humble heart. 

And by the way, people, you see, humility is part of being filled with the Spirit because you’re only filled with the Spirit when you deny yourself, right?  When you die to self, when you crucify self, when you set self aside and you respond to the Spirit, it is an act of humility that makes you filled with the Spirit; therefore, it is an act of humility that causes the thanksgiving which proceeds from that filling.  We come right back to the first sin of all sins which corrupts the whole system and that is the sin of pride, right?  That’s what Satan started it all with, right?  He looked around heaven and he said, “Uh-huh, God shouldn’t have all this, I should have it,” so he said, “I will do this and I will exalt myself and I will” – so forth, so forth, so – it was I, I, I, I.”  And even Eve in the garden, she knew that she could be like God, I, I, I, it’s always that way.  Pride is the key to sin. 

So if you aren’t thankful, it isn’t really that you need to sort of stir up thanksgiving, it’s that you need to experience humility, and humility backs you up to the concept of being filled with the Spirit because it’s only as you crucify self and deny self and yield to the Spirit that humility can be a reality.  But if you’re a humble person, then you’ll be thankful for everything.  Everything.  You say – well, some people say, “Well, boy, my husband isn’t perfect.  How did I get stuck with him?”  And the husband says, “My wife is – doesn’t make it, she’s – gosh there must be other women in the world that people are really happy with.  How did I ever get into this?”  People say, “Well, my job isn’t what it ought to be, they don’t treat me the way they ought to treat me, my family doesn’t treat me the way they ought to treat me, people don’t understand me, they’re unkind to me” and they get a bitter, sour, gripey kind of approach to life and you know why?  Because they think they deserve better, right?  “Boy, I should have a perfect person.”  “I should have a perfect job.”  “I should have everybody treat me just the way I ought to be treated.”  You see, it’s all pride, you see?  As long as we’re proud, we’ll never be thankful.  And when you break the back of your pride and it grovels in the dirt, then you can experience what it is to be thankful for everything.  Everything. 

Ephesians 5:20:

“Giving thanks always for all things…”

James 1:2–4 – “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials,” because that is how God perfects you.

MacArthur says he could list 40+ biblical categories to be thankful for, but it all boils down to this:

We are to be thankful for everything.

Scripture calls us to be thankful:

For all men

For all circumstances (prosperity and adversity)

For Christ, salvation, the Spirit, every spiritual blessing

The Heart Issue Behind Thanksgiving: Humility vs. Pride

Only a humble person can be thankful for everything.

A humble person knows he deserves nothing, so anything is a cause for thanks.

If you struggle with thankfulness, your real problem is not “weak gratitude” but pride:

“God, I can’t be thankful because I’m not getting what I deserve.”

Pride says:

“I deserve a better husband/wife.”

“I deserve a better job, better treatment.”

“People don’t understand me, I should be treated better.”

As long as we think we deserve better, we will not be thankful. When God breaks the back of our pride and it “grovels in the dirt,” we can then be thankful for everything.

Since Spirit-filling requires self-denial, humility is at the core of being filled with the Spirit—and therefore at the core of true thanksgiving.

10. “How” Do We Give Thanks? – In the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ

So when are we to be thankful?  Always.  For what are we to be thankful?  All things.  How?  Look at this – fabulous statement.  How are we to be thankful?  Look at it in verse 20 again.  It says this:  “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father” – here it comes – “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Oh, this is so fantastic. 

Listen, it simply means – in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ means consistent with who He is, consistent with what He has done.  In other words, no matter what happens to me I can give thanks because of who Christ is and what He has done.  No matter what happens in my life, it’ll turn out to my good and to His glory, right?  That’s the fabulous truth of it all.  Remember what I told you before?  When we sing, it is Christ singing through us, remember that?  And when we say thanks, it is Christ saying thanks to the Father through us. 

According to a medieval legend, two angels were sent to earth.  One had the task from the Lord of gathering together all the petitions and the other had the task of gathering the thanksgiving.  The angel who went to gather the petitions couldn’t carry the load back.  The angel that went to get the thanksgivings came back with a few in his hand.  Well, that’s the legend, and legends can be far-fetched and fantastic, but I’m afraid that one’s not too far-fetched at all.  We’re so long on requests, aren’t we?  Which is like signing your name, “Your self-indulgent servant, John.”  And we’re very short on thanks.  Maybe that’s the most common sin of all the saints.  When do we give thanks?  Always.  For what do we give thanks?  All things.  How do we give thanks?  In Christ’s name.  Finally, to whom do we give thanks?  God the Father.  Verse 20 again:  “Unto God and the Father.” 

Ephesians 5:20:

“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

“In His name” means:

Consistent with who He is, and

Consistent with what He has done.

Because of Christ:

Everything, good or bad, is used to conform us to His image.

He intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father.

He indwells us.

We are sons, joint-heirs, cleansed, and kept.

If you are outside of Christ, you cannot truly give thanks for everything, because not everything is working for your eternal good. But if you are in Christ:

You can be thankful for everything because everything is woven into God’s saving, sanctifying purpose.

Moreover, when we give thanks, it is Christ Himself thanking the Father through us, just as when we sing, it is Christ singing through us.

Christ’s Own Example of Thanksgiving

Jesus was continually thankful (Matthew 11:25; John 6; John 11:41) despite a life of:

Exchanging heaven’s glory for humility

Receiving hate instead of love

Receiving rejection instead of worship

Receiving scorn instead of praise

Becoming poor instead of enjoying riches

Bearing sin rather than dwelling in pure holiness

He did not deserve any of it, yet remained thankful because He saw “the joy set before Him.”

By contrast, we deserve judgment, but:

We receive glory instead of humiliation in Christ.

We receive divine love instead of deserved hatred.

We receive sonship instead of rejection.

We receive affection instead of scorn.

We receive riches instead of poverty.

We receive righteousness instead of condemnation.

And yet, when things do not go our way, we “gripe.” That is a profound inconsistency.

11. “To Whom” Do We Give Thanks? – God the Father

Ephesians 5:20:

“Unto God and the Father…”

“Father” emphasizes:

God’s benevolent, fatherly love

His role as the source of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17)

Even gifts that come through people are ultimately from Him. MacArthur gives an illustration of helping someone financially and receiving a note that thanked the Lord alone—not him personally. That was refreshing because it reflected Ephesians 5:20 perspective: God is the source.

If you are filled with the Spirit:

Toward self – you sing.

Toward God – you give thanks.

Scripture is full of calls to thanksgiving (Psalms 30, 50, 69, 92, 95, 100, 105, 116, etc.). By contrast, Romans 1:21 characterizes the heathen this way:

“When they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful.”

Thanklessness is a mark of an unregenerate world; thanksgiving is a mark of God’s people.

Philippians 4:6:

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

12. Three Kinds of “Thanksgivers” (Luke 12, 18, 17)

MacArthur finishes with three examples from Luke to show different attitudes toward thanksgiving.

1) Those Who Never Give Thanks – The Rich Fool (Luke 12:16–21)

A rich man’s ground brings forth plentifully.

He plans to tear down barns and build bigger ones and says to his own soul:

“Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.”

God calls him “Fool,” because that very night his soul will be required of him.

His error: He thinks he did it all himself; he never acknowledges God as the source of any blessing. That is one category: no thanksgiving at all.

2) Those Who Give Hypocritical Thanks – The Pharisee (Luke 18:9–14)

The Pharisee stands in the temple and “prayed thus with himself”:

“God, I thank thee that I am not as other men… or even as this tax collector.”

He is really thanking himself for his own perceived goodness.

Meanwhile, the tax collector says:

“God be merciful to me, a sinner.”

Jesus says the tax collector went home justified, not the Pharisee, because “everyone who exalts himself shall be abased, and he that humbles himself shall be exalted.”

This is “thanksgiving” as a form of self-congratulation—pious language masking pride.

3) Those Who Truly Give Thanks – The Samaritan Leper (Luke 17:11–19)

A city missionary in London was called to an old tenement building.  A lady was dying and in the last stages of disease.  The room was tiny and cold and the woman was lying on the floor.  This missionary tried to help this lady and asked if there was anything she wanted, and this is what she said, “I have all I really need.  I have Jesus Christ.”  Well, the man never forgot it, and he went out of there and he wrote these words:  “In the heart of London City mid the dwellings of the poor, these bright golden words were uttered, ‘I have Christ, what want I more?’  Spoken by a lonely woman dying on a garret floor, having not one earthly comfort, ‘I have Christ, what want I more?’  He who heard them ran to fetch her something from the world’s great store, it was needless, died she, saying, ‘I have Christ, what want I more?’  Oh, my dear, my fellow sinner, high or low or rich or poor, can you say with deep thanksgiving, ‘I have Christ, what want I more?’”  Let’s bow in prayer. 

Ten lepers cry out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”

Jesus tells them to show themselves to the priests; as they go, they are cleansed.

One returns, with a loud voice glorifying God, falls on his face at Jesus’ feet, and gives Him thanks.

He is a Samaritan, a despised outsider.

Jesus asks:

“Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?”

MacArthur’s point:

Ten men received what they wanted (healing), but only one gave Christ what He wanted: glory.

Many believers are content simply to receive, but the truly thankful one is concerned that Christ be glorified.

He concludes:

“Gratitude is man at his best; ingratitude is man at his worst.”

Even if we had nothing but Christ, we would have enough to be thankful for eternally.

He ends with the story of the dying woman in London who had nothing but Christ and repeatedly said, “I have Christ, what want I more?” That is the spirit of Ephesians 5:20.

Key Sections in This Sermon (Quick Reference)

The centrality of being filled with the Spirit for all Christian living.

NT survey of Spirit-filled leaders.

The error of chasing early-church methods instead of early-church Spirit-dependence.

The threefold structure of Ephesians 5:18–21: contrast, command, consequences.

Thanksgiving as the highest act of worship and expression of Romans 8:28 faith.

The three “times” of thanksgiving: after blessing, before battle, and in the midst of battle.

Thanksgiving for all things as a fruit of humility; ingratitude rooted in pride.

Giving thanks in Christ’s name and modeled on Christ’s own thankful life of suffering.

Giving thanks to God the Father as the source of all good, including through human instruments.

The three categories of “thanksgivers”:

Rich fool (no thanks),

Pharisee (self-righteous “thanks”),

Samaritan leper (true, Christ-exalting thanks).

Teaching Outline (Preaching / Teaching Use)

Title: Spirit-Filled Thanksgiving Text: Ephesians 5:18–21 (especially v.20)

Introduction: The Inexhaustible Well of Scripture

Seven messages and still not exhausted.

Main theme: Spirit-filling as the foundation of Christian life.

Spirit-Filling: The Heart of Christian Living

“Be being kept filled with the Spirit.”

Galatians 3:3 – begun in the Spirit, perfected in the Spirit.

Growth only when controlled by the Spirit.

Spirit-Filled Leaders: The New Testament Pattern

Jesus, John the Baptist, Peter, Stephen, Paul, Barnabas.

No power apart from Spirit-control.

“They turned the world upside down.”

The Misplaced Obsession with Early Church Methods

Our fixation on structure and method.

The real key: the same Holy Spirit, not identical methodology.

Application to the contemporary church.

Ephesians 5:18–21: Contrast, Command, Consequences

Contrast: drunk with wine vs. filled with the Spirit.

Command: continuous filling, present tense, now, not future promises.

Consequences:

Toward self: singing.

Toward God: thanksgiving.

Toward others: submission (and serving).

Thanksgiving as the Supreme Act of Worship

Psalm 100 and Hendriksen’s “clipped wings” image.

Thanksgiving crucifies self and exalts God’s sovereignty (Rom 8:28).

Job’s “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.”

When to Give Thanks: Always

Ephesians 5:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

God’s will: perpetual thanksgiving.

Three Levels of Thanksgiving

After the blessing: Israel at the Red Sea; Revelation 15.

Before the battle: Jesus at Lazarus’ tomb; Jehoshaphat (choir first).

In the midst of suffering: Daniel, Jonah, apostles (Acts 5), Paul and Silas (Acts 16).

For What Do We Give Thanks? All Things

James 1:2–4; categories of gratitude.

Only a humble person can be thankful for everything.

Pride as the root of ingratitude.

How We Give Thanks: In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ

In line with His person and work.

Christ as the model of thanksgiving in suffering.

Our inversion: we receive what He deserved, yet often complain.

To Whom We Give Thanks: God the Father

Father as the loving source of every good gift.

Recognizing gifts through others as ultimately from Him.

Three Types of Thanksgivers (Luke 12, 18, 17)

The rich fool – no thanks at all.

The Pharisee – hypocritical, self-centered “thanks.”

The Samaritan leper – true, God-glorifying thanks.

Conclusion: “I Have Christ, What Want I More?”

The London woman’s testimony.

Call to Spirit-filled humility and lifelong thanksgiving.

Discussion Guide (For Small Groups or Personal Reflection)

Understanding Spirit-Filling

How does this sermon define being “filled with the Spirit”?

What is the difference between having the Spirit and being filled with the Spirit?

Where do you see “flattened out” seasons in your life that may correspond to a lack of Spirit-filling?

Spirit-Filling and Thanksgiving

Why does MacArthur call thanksgiving the highest act of personal worship?

How does thanksgiving relate to Romans 8:28?

In what ways does thanksgiving “crucify self”?

Three Levels of Thanksgiving

Which level best describes your typical response:

After the blessing,

Before the battle,

In the midst of the battle?

Discuss each biblical example (Israel, Jehoshaphat, Daniel, Jonah, apostles, Paul and Silas). Which one most convicts or encourages you?

Pride, Humility, and Gratitude

MacArthur says your problem isn’t lack of thanksgiving but pride. Do you see areas where you feel “I deserve better”?

How can meditating on your sinfulness and God’s grace cultivate humility and thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving in Christ’s Name

What does it practically mean to give thanks “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”?

How does Christ’s own thankful life in the midst of suffering reshape your view of your own trials?

The Three “Thanksgivers” in Luke

Which of the three do you most resemble at times: the rich fool, the self-righteous Pharisee, or the Samaritan leper?

What would it look like, in a concrete situation this week, to imitate the Samaritan leper’s response?

Practicing Thanksgiving

Identify one past blessing you can thank God for again.

Identify one upcoming trial or uncertainty and thank God in advance for what He will do through it.

Identify one present struggle and deliberately thank God in the midst of it, trusting His sovereign purpose.

Application Points

Pursue Spirit-Filling Daily.

Confess sin, deny self, yield to the Spirit now—not someday.

Make “be being kept filled” your present pursuit.

Cultivate a Lifestyle of Thanksgiving.

Build thanksgiving into your prayers, not just petitions.

Make specific lists of trials and blessings and thank God for both.

Attack Pride as the Enemy of Gratitude.

When you catch yourself thinking you “deserve better,” repent of that pride.

Actively thank God for the imperfect spouse, imperfect job, imperfect circumstances as His tools of sanctification.

Learn to Thank God at All Three Levels.

Start where you are (after the blessing).

Grow into thanking Him before the battle.

Aim, by grace, to thank Him in the very midst of the hardest battles.

Shift from “What I Want” to “What Christ Wants.”

Don’t be satisfied simply to get your prayers answered.

Aim to give Christ what He most desires: glory through your thanksgiving.

Anchor Your Contentment in Christ.

Let the dying woman’s words shape your heart:

“I have Christ, what want I more?”

Suggested Memory Verses

Ephesians 5:18–20 – Spirit-filling and thanksgiving.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 – “In everything give thanks…”

Romans 8:28 – God working all things for good.

Philippians 4:6 – Prayer “with thanksgiving.”

These capture the heart of the sermon: Spirit-filled Christians are thankful Christians—always, for all things, in Christ, to the Father.

Reference

John MacArthur. https://www.gty.org/sermons/1942/be-filled-with-the-spirit-part-4-spirit-filled-thanksgiving