Spirit Filled Living (Eph 5:18-21)

Spirit-Filled Living – Ephesians 5:18-21 [Pray & Intro] Last week – Go lose your marbles. (I am excited and having way too much fun with this section of Ephesians because God's word is immensely deep and immediately practical at the same time.)  Walk in wisdom by… making the best use of the time (these days are still evil), understanding the Lord’s purpose (for all time), and being continually filled by the Spirit (while you remain btwn the already and the not yet). We’re on this third part of walking wisely through Spirit-filled living, which itself has three evidences that show themselves in our Christian body life and relationships. [Read & Discuss] Yield to the Spirit’s influence to cultivate the fruit of Spirit-filled living. I did not in the end actually support this main statement. In the future, would need to be different. I. Spirit indwelling and Spirit filling A. Every believer is indwelt and baptized by the Spirit at the beginning of salvation. 1. Rom. 8:9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. [context – saving faith evidenced by minds set on the Spirit and not the flesh] 2. 1 Cor. 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. [context – gifts apportioned by the Spirit; many members, one body] B. Filled/supplied/controlled – To be filled with the Spirit is to follow the example of Christ and imitate God. 1. Paul deliberately contrasts the lack of self-control that accompanies drunkenness with the sobriety and levelheaded living in fear of the Lord that comes from being filled with the Spirit. a. The Bible consistently condemns all drunkenness (drinking to excess so that you lose control of your faculties). Here is just one example in connection with our context regarding wisdom: Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise. (Prov. 20:1) b. It’s possible too that Paul hints here at the problem of heathen religions using intoxication to try to conjure up ecstatic spirituality in the hope of reaching some kind of higher plane. [Getting drunk for spiritual enlightenment? – Yanomamö] 2. Spirit-filled living is to walk wisely and contrasts drunkenness (everyone is wonderfully wise when drunk, no doubt), “for that is debauchery” or dissipation (two sides of translating the Greek word – excessive indulgence as well as squandering, wasting.)  Don’t waste your life searching for fulfillment and joy in all the wrong places (passing pleasures). Gain Christ to find your place, to live a life of purposeful existence, to be truly fulfilled. 3. The present imperative in Gk indicates not a onetime act of “filling” but a regular pattern of living.  “[Believers] live continually under the influence of the Spirit by letting the word control them (Col. 3:16), pursuing pure lives, confessing all known sin, dying to self, surrendering to God’s will, and depending on his power in all things.” (MacArthur SB) – [the intimacy btwn the word and the Spirit’s influence] a. Col. 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. b. To live by the Spirit is to embrace the power of God over your life, letting the mind of Christ, through his word, take controlling influence over what you think, feel, say, and do. – The goal is to gain in practice (spiritual maturity) what we have already attained in principle (Christ’s fullness). C. Spirit indwelling takes places at conversion (by grace through faith). Spirit filling can occur continually in the life of a believer who is yielding to the Spirit’s control.  Rather than dissolute living (brought on by excessive drinking), we ought to be charactering by Spirit-filled singing, thanksgiving, and submission: II. Evidence of Spirit-filled living in the household of faith: Singing together – [Notice the three-fold reference to the Lord of our singing, our gratitude, and our submission.] A. Exegete and at the same time apply it to how we try to handle corporate singing… B. Principles for God-honoring music and singing in our (big team) large-group gatherings: [acronym] CUBE (these overlap, but each have a particular emphasis) 1. Collective (spirit) – “addressing one another” means Paul’s thinking of them doing this publicly, corporately.  When we sing, it’s not just for you or me, it’s for all of us. That means practical things too in the way we lead our singing. (I want you to know that your flawed but faithful leaders think of these things and continually work to improve the quality and spirit of our collective singing.) [See “difficulties”] 2. Unified (spirit) – Christian singing should be a Spirit-filled symbol of corporate unity.  Of the five participles in vv. 19-21 (verbals ending in ING), the first three have to do with singing, and the two parts of verse 19 are deliberately parallel. Does addressing one another in songs of truth about Jesus and praise to God sound like a divisive activity or unifying one?  (earlier in Eph. 4:1-16) Unity in diversity toward maturity. Accordingly, we sing songs that remind us of our mutual master and bind us together in his love and align us with his mission. [AND - Unity in community comes through humility. Phil. 2:1-11 Think of others first.] 3. Balanced (a spirit of balance) – “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” [ψαλμοῖς καὶ ὕμνοις καὶ ᾠδαῖς πνευματικαῖς] (The first word prob. refers to the actual OT Psalter, frequently set to music and intended to be sung. The 2nd and 3rd song types are likely intended to catch the rest of the more contemporary versions of songs composed by Christians to praise and thank God, extol and point to Christ, and teach truth.  At the risk of being painfully obvious, I’ll explain: Please weigh your preferences on the balance of preferring others for the sake of Christ. – perhaps connect the dots to verse 21 on mutual submission 4. Edifying (a spirit of edification) – Notice the song types mentioned are grounded in God’s word and Spirit-directed. And this public act has a private component as well, to edify individuals. Our singing and plucking musical instruments is to be done with a right heart in the Lord, with the aim for the hearts of others to do the same.  It should be done well as we steward the abilities God has given us, but not showy or distracting. – This means too, and especially, that music and lyrics matter. Not every kind of music that might be permissible for believers to appreciate is necessarily profitable or conducive to the aim of collectively singing. Music can motivate and set a mood b/c music tugs on our hearts. (Which means we also try not to make our music manipulative.) – Lyrics must also be biblically sound and substantive. (but we might even have different opinions about that) III. Evidence of Spirit-filled living in the household of faith: Expressing gratitude to God – which is tightly woven to the evidence of Spirit-filled singing. A heart making melody to the Lord Jesus is a grateful heart. (A thankful heart spills over in our prayers.) A. “Giving thanks always in everything” – [all things at all times, for the church, & each other] 1. 1 Thess. 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 2. Col. 3:17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. B. For sure, to be a grateful person you don’t have to have my bubbly disposition. (Glass half full, glass half empty… the glass is flippin overflowing!) Whatever your personality, a grateful heart (yielded to the Spirit) is marked by peace and joy. Peace with God and a resting in him, a peace with others in calmness and gentleness. Joy in knowing God and trusting him fully, and a marked meekness of joy in your interactions with others. C. You might say, “It’s not always easy.” Or you might ask, “What’s the secret to a thankful heart?” – Here’s my response: Stay glued to God and you will be grateful. An ungrateful heart has lost its footing in grace b/c an ungrateful heart keeps tripping over self. God’s greatest gift to you is HIMself. (When we waste our time in self-love or self-loathing, what we’ve really missed is…) The opportunity missed is loving God for all he’s worth. D. [Next Week] Spirit-filled Submitting to one another  All that follows about Christian households flows directly from the spring of the Spirit’s filling (controlling/supplying) in our lives to enable us to walk in wisdom in our normal relationships. IV. I want to end where I began. – By the work of the Spirit, God's word is powerful to recreate our hearts and minds and it is practical to guide our momentary steps. – This is not pie in the sky talk. It is deep truth that affects your daily living. The Holy Spirit of God dwells in the believer, availing himself to guard and to guide your heart if you will yield to God’s will. A. Here’s just how practical this can be. Consider the context of gratitude to God and singing together in a collective gathering of believers as a church family: 1. Be thankful to God for cooperation and balance and unity and age diversity. Be thankful that you get to meet together and sing with fellow believers who love Jesus even though they don't have the same exact preferences that you do. Be thankful that others are praising God with a tune more closely tied to their heart music. 2. Be thankful that you're not the person in charge of organizing collective singing in the church and listening to everyone's opinions. Be thankful that other people get to minister to the body for the sake of Christ with their gifts and abilities at their level of growth in the Lord. Be thankful to God that you have a church family that embraces you with all your own idiosyncrasies. 3. Don't be a malcontented burr under our “worship” saddle; instead, sing and serve with a melody in your heart to the Lord. – Principle: If they're not sinning, give deference to your brothers and sisters in Christ who do things differently than you do. 4. Be thankful to God for your church family. Be amazed at the powerful working of the Holy Spirit for us and in us and through us. B. But you can lose the path to walk wisely if you get practical without measuring the powerful depth of the grace of God to give you a relationship with him through the gospel of Jesus Christ. – Here are some questions to fathom your depth: 1. Are you complacent about wise living? Don’t be complacent about seeking and finding the supreme value of knowing Christ. – Phil. 3:8a Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. 2. What attitude (feeling) or area of thought-life or behavior do you realize you need to consciously yield to the control of the Holy Spirit? (memorize correlating scripture) – At home, look carefully over the lists in Gal. 5:19-26 and pray for guidance. 3. Where do you find yourself pursuing paltry pleasures when what you should be desperately panting for is a growing relationship with God? – Psalm 34:1-8  What about when you are hurting and afraid and desperate for help? God grants deliverance by giving us himself. Even in times of great trouble, you can have Spirit-filled singing from a grateful heart to God because Christ has made you his own. – Psalm 42:1-6a Closing: Reading together aloud Psalm 63:1-8 (ESV)