06142020 Eph 5:18 "Who's In Control?"

Who’s in Control

Whose in control?

We look around at the world today and probably wonder - “Who’s in control” because everything seems so out of control.

“For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.” (Matthew 24:7, ESV)

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,” (2 Timothy 3:1–4, ESV)

As God’s people we know that

Psalm 104:5 NASB95PARA

He established the earth upon its foundations, So that it will not totter forever and ever.

We are given assurances that

Romans 8:28 NASB95PARA

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Psalm 94:14 NASB95PARA

For the Lord will not abandon His people, Nor will He forsake His inheritance.

Knowing these things, we are still caught in the struggle of doing these things

It’s my will against His will - my plans against His plans, will I or won’t I?

It seems that we all want to be the boss in our lives and sometimes even the boss of the lives of others.

But as we continue our journey through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we’re going to find that we had better rethink this attitude.

Although verse 18 is part of a larger section of material that starts at 5:15 and continues all the way through 6:9, let’s go ahead and place it in its more immediate context:

Ephesians 5:15–21 NASB95PARA

Ephesians 5:15–21 NASB95PARA

Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.

The overall command here is to be careful how you walk.

We do that by observing each of the three pairs of commands which are introduced by the word “not” and contrasted by the word “but”.

• not as those who are unwise, but as ones who are wise - “redeeming the time, because the days are evil” • not ... foolishly, but understanding what the will of the Lord is

This morning we’ll consider the third and last command...

• not be drunk with wine ... but ... filled with the Spirit

Then we’ll look at the four phrases describing the results of obeying this command next week.

Ephesians 5:18 NASB95PARA

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

Here are two commands that at first glance may appear to be unrelated. But I don’t think there is any doubt that Paul purposely groups these two commands.

Although Paul is giving his readers a command here that is consistent with the teaching in the rest of Scripture, his main focus here is clearly not the issue of the drinking of alcoholic beverages. Remember that Paul is writing here in a section where he has been pointing out to his readers that, as followers of Jesus Christ, they can no longer continue to live their lives in the same way that they had done before their conversion experience.

Many of these Gentile believers would have been familiar with, and maybe even participated in, the cult of Dionysius, the Greek god of the grape-harvest, winemaking and wine, of fertility, and ritual madness (The roman god, Bacchus). A major feature of that worship was the orgies where the participants became highly intoxicated with wine in order to cause Dionysius to fill the worshiper’s body so he or she would comply with the will of their god.

So the main issue here is not so much drunkenness, but rather the concept of leaving behind the life of darkness these Gentile Christians had once been controlled by. We’re not going to spend a lot of time on that part of our passage this morning, other than to say that the Bible very clearly teaches that anything to to an excess is a sin.

We’re going to spend our time this morning on the second half of this verse, the second command that Paul gives us:

...Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

This is another one of those passages that has been taken out of context and misapplied within the body of Christ. And as a result, many Christians are chasing after some experience that will “validate” the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives or assure them that they have the Holy Spirit.

But as we’ll discover this morning, it is not about getting more of the Holy Spirit; it is about the Holy Spirit getting more of us.

It’s not about an event; it’s about a lifestyle.

There is really no way that we can adequately understand this passage without a Greek grammar lesson this morning. In fact, that’s one of the main reasons I’ve chosen to only tackle this one verse, actually only the second part of this verse, this morning. While our English versions all capture some of Paul’s meaning, there is no way to really comprehend this important issue without looking at this passage word-by-word.

As we do that, we’ll discover five important observations that will help us understand:

BEING FILLED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

1. Being filled is a matter of control

The most important thing we will do this morning is to get a grasp on the meaning of this word that all of our English translations translate “filled”.

When we use the word “fill” in English we normally think of something being placed into a container - take an empty glass and fill it with water or filling the tanks in your cars with gasoline. That probably the way we consider this ‘filling’ but those examples don’t really convey the meaning of the word Paul uses here.

The Greek word that Paul uses here (πληρόω) has three shades of meaning:

A force which moves

This word was used to describe wind filling the sails on a ship providing the force which moved the vessel. When we apply that concept to our spiritual lives, we find that the Holy Spirit is the force who moves us along in our day-to-day walk with the Lord.

I remember when I was but a wee lad, we lived in a house in Greenwood, MS on Grenada Blvd. It had a creek behind it. We would often make little boats of paper and carved wood, place them into the creek and follow them as they moved downstream - the current carrying them along. Those little ships didn’t have the ability to go where they wanted by themselves. They were carried along with the force of the water’s current.

That’s the picture of how a Spirit-filled Christian is to live. Instead of focusing on our own wants and desires, we’re to allow the Holy spirit to be the current that determines where we go in our lives.

Permeation

Before some of you came here this morning you grabbed a cup of coffee. Some of you added sugar, sweetener and/or one or more of those little packages of flavored creamer to your coffee. And once you stirred it into your coffee that flavor permeated every drop of coffee in that cup.

Every sip took on the flavor of what you added to the coffee.

If we’re filled with the Holy Spirit then every part of our lives ought to bear the flavor of His presence in our lives and permeate every area of our lives.

Total control

The third shade of meaning, and the one most often used in the New Testament, conveys the sense of total control. One of the most significant ways to determine what a word means in the Scriptures is to see how the same word is used elsewhere in our Bibles

John 16:5–6 NASB95PARA

“But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.

Jesus was pointing out that the disciples’ grief was so overwhelming that it dominated their thoughts. It filled their hearts. It controlled them.

We see this even more clearly in Acts 5 in the account of Ananias and Sapphira where Dr. Luke writes...

Acts 5:3 ESV

But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?

The way Luke uses that word to describe Peter’s response to Ananias pictures how Satan had filled his heart - had total control of the heart of Ananias.

This idea of total control is also confirmed by the context.

Remember that Paul has already contrasted for us being filled by the Holy Spirit and being drunk.

What do we call it when someone drives their car while under the influence of alcohol or drugs? [Wait for responses]

It is called, DUI, “Driving under the influence”. Which is really just another way of saying “driving under the control” of something. And, as we’ve already seen, for Paul’s readers, there was an association between becoming drunk and being controlled by the pagan gods.

Those in the first century who may have heard those words would have clearly understood the message:

Don’t be under the control of your wine, instead, be under the control of the Holy Spirit.

We are not simply empty vessels into which the Holy Spirit is poured like a liquid nor is He is merely some power socket that we plug into to be charged up for service. He is the third person of the triune God who brings us into a right relationship with God the Father through the finished work of God the Son, Jesus Christ, and who dwells permanently in our lives.

We don’t need to get more of the Spirit.

We do need to allow the Spirit get more of us.

It is a matter of control - His control, not ours…being filled by the Holy Spirit is a matter of control....

2. Being filled is not an option

The verb translated “be filled” is an imperative. That’s just another way of saying that it is a command.

And that command is also in the second person plural. Instead of you (singular) be filled, it’s you all (ya’ll) be filled.

It’s like saying, “Ya’ll come on in.” “You all find your seat!”

This gives us several insights into this passage:

First of all, this is addressed to all Christians, not just one. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not just for “Super-Christians” or for some elect group that has an extra dose of the Holy Spirit. Every follower of Jesus Christ is to be filled, or controlled, by the Holy Spirit.

Second, This is a command, which means that it is not optional. Although, the filling of the Holy Spirit is all God’s work, this is not merely some prayer request or something that we are to ask God for.

Since the Bible commands it, this must be something that is possible for every follower of Jesus Christ to obey and God will never command us to do something that he doesn’t give us the grace to do and obey.

Being filled by the Holy Spirit is a matter of control. It is not optional. Being filled . . .

3. Being filled is a process

The command to be filled is in the present tense. The present tense indicates an action that is ongoing - continuing. So we could accurately translate this command:

Keep on being filled, keep on being controlled, with and by the Holy Spirit.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not some one-time emotional event or experience. It is something that needs to occur on a day-to-day, moment-by-moment basis, breath by breath basis.

Too many people picture being filled with the Holy Spirit similar to the way we fill up the gas tanks in our cars. We fill up our tanks, and then we drive around for a while.

We watch to see when the price per gallon is going up, so we can top off the tank before the next price increase.

There is a sense in which the Holy Spirit works a little like that in Old Testament. God would give the Holy Spirit to a specific individual for a specific period of time in order to accomplish a specific task.

But since the day of Pentecost, all that has changed. As we saw back in Ephesians 1, at the very moment of our conversion, our regeneration, faith and repentance - the Holy Spirit dwells permanently in our lives.

We get all of the Holy Spirit we will ever have right then and there. The rest of our lives we live learning to die more and more to our own selfs and live more and more to righteousness. It’s not that we have more of the Holy Spirit as time goes on, but as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling - dyeing more and more to self - more and more of the Holy Spirit shines in us.

We don’t get filled up with the Holy Spirit and then expend Him as we live out our lives and engage in ministry and service. He is not some energy or force that fills us that eventually runs out and has to be refilled like the gas tank in our cars.

He is a person who lives continuously and permanently in us. And the process of allowing Him to take control of our lives is something that we are engaged in 24/7.

Being filled by the Holy Spirit is a matter of control. It is not optional. Being filled is a process. Being filled is something we can’t do ourselves.

4. We cannot fill ourselves

The next thing we see is that the verb “be filled” is passive voice. In other words, the people to whom Paul addresses this command are not the ones who are doing the action. Someone else is doing the action to them.

Go back to the gas tank analogy. You drive to the gas station to fill up your tank in your car. The gas tank in our car does not and cannot fill itself up. Someone else has to do the filling. Years ago, it used to be a gas station attendant. Today that is you. If you wait for the tank to fill itself, it’s not going to do it.

The same thing is true when it comes to the filling of the Holy Spirit. You can’t fill yourself up with the Holy Spirit. Someone else has to do that. And this verse gives us a very clear picture of who is doing the filling.

Every English translation I could find translates this passage “be filled with the Holy Spirit”, which would indicate that the Holy Spirit is what, or more maybe better put - whom, we are filled with. But let’s compare that translation with a couple of other passages where this same Greek phrase is used:

Romans 15:16 ESV

to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:3 ESV

Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:13 NASB95PARA

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

In each of these cases, this same Greek phrase is translated “by the Spirit” rather than “with the Spirit”.

This tells us that the Holy Spirit is the instrument by which the action is carried out. That certainly seems to fit much better with what we’ve already learned this morning. If the concept of filling is a picture of control, then it makes more sense that we are to be controlled by the Holy Spirit rather than with the Holy Spirit.

When we put together everything that we’ve learned so far this morning, we could very accurately translate our passage something like this:

All of you keep on being controlled by the Holy Spirit.

In the context Paul is writing this command, he makes it quite clear that we cannot live the kind of life he has been describing as a result of our own religious effort or even as a result of our spiritual discipline.

Only God can cause that to happen as we submit ourselves to the control of the Holy Spirit who lives within us.

I think we would all agree with that statement. But the question is “How do I do that?”

That leads us to our final principle about being filled by the Holy Spirit...

5. The Holy Spirit fills me as I let the Word of Christ dwell in me

One of the best commentaries on what Paul writes here is what is found in other letters he has written. The letter to the Colossian church is often called a sister epistle to Ephesians. In this case, what Paul writes in Colossians is invaluable in helping us understand how to be filled by the Holy Spirit.

Let’s start by reading from chapter 3:16

Colossians 3:16 ESV

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.

Does this sound familiar?

Those words are nearly identical to those in Ephesians 5:19-20 where Paul is describing the results of being filled, or controlled, by the Holy Spirit. And what both of those passages have in common is that they make it quite clear that the result of being filled by the Spirit is that all of our attention and focus is removed from ourselves and transferred to our relationships with God and with others. Let’s read through both of those passages again and see where the focus is:

Ephesians 5:19–20 NASB95PARA

speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;

The idea of being filled, or controlled, by the Spirit seems to be connected with the idea of getting the focus off of self.

OK - but how do I do that?

And if we go back to the words that Paul wrote at the beginning of Colossians 3:16, right before the passage we just looked at, we find that practical instruction. Let’s look at those words:

Colossians 3:16 NASB95PARA

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

Can we get any more practical than this? “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you” - To be filled by the Spirit is to be filled with God’s Word. To be filled by the Spirit, I must allow God’s Word to infuse every part of my life. When you think about it, that makes a lot of sense. The Holy Spirit is the author of the Word of God, when we allow that word to permeate every area of our lives, we allow the Holy Spirit to fill, or control us.

Let’s return one last time to this contrast between being drunk on wine and being filled by the spirit. The word translated “get drunk” comes from a word that means to be saturated. In effect, the person who is drunk has been saturated with alcohol.

The clear contrast that Paul draws here is that we need to be saturated with the Word of God in the same way that a drunk is saturated with liquor.

That obviously takes more than just the feeding we receive here on Sunday mornings.

If we want the Holy Spirit to fill us, then we must feed ourselves a steady diet of the Word of God. We must continually allow God’s Word to saturate our lives as we listen to it, read it, study it, memorize it and meditate upon it.

And then we need to put it into practice in our day-to-day life as we submit ourselves to the power of God’s word....

It really is a matter of control…is it my will that I want done or the will of God in me?

Will I or won’t I submit and keep in step with His Spirit.

Even here, Christ as our Great High Priest struggled in his humanity with the very same thing - submitting his will to the will of the Father. Where the first Adam failed miserably obeying, submitting to the word and the will of God, the last Adam (2 Cor 15:22) submitted perfectly to the Father’s will when he said,

“Not my will, but your will be done.”