Be Filled With The Holy Spirit

Continuing in our series through Ephesians

We’ve been looking at how Christians should live their lives in light of being in Christ.

In this chapter, Paul has been sharing with us behaviors from the past, before Christ, should be different now that we are in Christ.

He gave a negative then followed it by a positive .

In this section, Paul gives a negative followed by another positive.

The for the rest of the chapter he shows us how this looks in the realm of our relationships.

Marriage, children, and workplace.

In the verse 16 and 17, Paul instructs us to walk in wisdom and not foolishness.

As we walk in wisdom, then we will know the will of God as we seek His wisdom from the Word of God.

Paul then turns to show us how to live this way consistently starting in verse 18 through verse 33.

Let’s read our passage for today: Ephesians 5:18-21

Ephesians 5:18–21 CSB

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.

Be Filled With The Spirit verses 18

Paul opens this section by reminding us of the foundation of a healthy relationships: The Spirit.

Remember that he has told us that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit in 1:13.

He also told us not to grieve the Holy Spirit in 4:30.

Now he is telling us to be filled with the Spirit.

There is no great secret of holiness than the infilling of him whose very nature and name is holy.

Grammatically, there are only two commands in the paragraph.

Not to get drunk

Be filled with the Spirit.

These commands are then followed by 4 present participles.

Now participles if you remember your middle English class is a phrase containing both an adjective and a verb.

The present tense implies that the action is in process or a state of being with no idea of the action’s completion.

We’ll see why that is important in a moment.

Theologically speaking, this verse presents us with our Christian duty to avoid drunkeness and seeking the fullness of the Spirit.

Paul then describes four consequences of this spiritual condition of the filling.

He does this within our relationships and we’ll look closer at them next week.

The similarity of these two actions getting drunk and filling of the Spirit is found only in the idea that it means under the influence of.

When a person is under the influence of alcohol, they have lost self-control.

You all have been around someone that’s drunk.

They lose their self control.

They act loosely, rashly, and just plain stupid, right?

By comparison, when someone is under the influence of the Spirit we are just the opposite.

Instead of losing their self control, a Spirit filled person gains self control.

In fact it is one of the 9 fruits of the Spirit found in Galatians.

It’s interesting that on the day of Pentecost, those that were filled with the Spirit were considered drunk by some of the onlookers.

Allow me to quote Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones on the passage.

Writing as pastor and a doctor here’s how he compares the two.

He says: ‘Wine—alcohol—… pharmacologically speaking is not a stimulant—it is a depressant. Take up any book on pharmacology and look up ‘alcohol’, and you will find, always, that it is classified among the depressants. It is not a stimulant’. Further, ‘it depresses first and foremost the highest centres of all in the brain … They control everything that gives a man self-control, wisdom, understanding, discrimination, judgment, balance, the power to assess everything; in other words everything that makes a man behave at his very best and highest’. What the Holy Spirit does, however, is the exact opposite. ‘If it were possible to put the Holy Spirit into a textbook of Pharmacology, I would put him under the stimulants, for that is where he belongs. He really does stimulate … He stimulates our every faculty … the mind and the intellect … the heart … and the will …’

Now look at how Paul compares the results of the two.

Drunkenness lead to reckless living or debauchery as some translations has it.

People who are drunk give way to wild, uncontrolled actions.

In some sense they act like animals.

Being filled with the Spirit is just the opposite.

Instead of acting like an out of control animal seeking it pleasure.

The Spirit makes us more human for He makes us like Christ the ultimate human.

Paul now turns to the benefits or results of the Spirit filled life.

Notice as we go through these it doesn’t include miracles, tongues, or special manifestations.

First Benefit: Fellowship Verse 19a

Ephesians has many truths in it, but one is more prominent and that is the primacy of the Body of Christ.

We are going to see how our family relationships are very similar to the body of Christ or the church.

So it is natural that the benefits of being Spirit filled include benefits for the body.

The first is fellowship where we are encouraged to speak to another in psalms and hymn and spiritual song.

Did you know that our singing together is evidence of a Spirit filled life?

Paul lists three types of songs.

Psalms probably referring to the Psalter or the songs from Psalms sung in the temple.

Hymns songs similar to what we find in Revelation 4-5, Holy Holy, Holy ...

Spiritual songs perhaps spontaneous praise from the heart.

Why have different types?

Because God is infinite in His grace, beauty, and holiness

As a result, He meets us in various ways, so we can worship in different ways.

How does this lead to fellowship?

We are told to sing to one another.

These types of songs then are in reference to corporate worship.

Didn’t you miss singing during the types we couldn’t meet together?

Isn’t nice to get back together and sing once again? Even to videos?

This type of singing has a horizontal aspect since we sing to each other.

Our singing should encourage you.

Second Benefit: Worship Verse 19b

Not only are singing to one another, but also to the Lord.

I like that it says with your heart.

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

That parallel passage includes in your hearts.

This shows a since of sincerity or an inwardness authentic praise to God.

The Phillips translation says, “making music in your hearts for the ears of the Lord.”

Even the most tone deaf person can sing for God and hears it perfectly.

As long as it is joyful and melodious, it is acceptable.

As a Spirit filled Christian we should have a song of joy in our hearts.

And Spirit filled public worship is a joyful celebration of God’s mighty acts.

The vertical aspect of worship is giving it to God.

Third Benefit: Gratitude Verse 20

Paul in verse 20 speaks of giving thanks as part of that worship.

He often brings thanksgiving into his letters.

So we see it hear as well.

It is also important to note that giving thanks is a result of the Spirit

Grumbling is not compatible with the Holy Spirit.

Remember that grumbling or murmuring was one the sins that God Israel into so much trouble.

As a Spirit filled believer we should be full of thanksgiving and not grumbling or complaining.

The verse says we are to give thanks always and for everything.

Now, we know we should be thankful for evil, but there is so much more that we many times take for granted and not think about the blessings.

One result of filling of the Spirit is constant gratitude.

Paul again may have corporate worship in mind here.

In other places he tells all humans to give thanks, and that thanksgiving is an important part of worship especially during the Lord’s Supper.

I would say that without the help of the Spirit, we would never really give thanks because we are prone to complain.

Remember that as Paul wrote these words he’s in prison, so he knows how hard it is to be thankful while suffering.

The word gratitude comes from the same root word as grace.

If we have experienced the grace of God, then we ought to be grateful for what God brings to us.

Thank and think also come from the same root word.

If we would think more, we would thank more.

Fourth Benefit: Submission Verse 21

Some translations begin a new paragraph here.

They would translate this an another imperative, but it is in fact another present participle, dependent on the command ‘be filled with the Spirit’, like the other three.

Sometimes a person who claims to be filled with the Spirit becomes aggressive, self-assertive and brash.

But the Holy Spirit is a humble Spirit, and those who are truly filled with him always display the meekness and gentleness of Christ.

It is one of their most evident characteristics that they submit to one another.

This idea of submission is important in the following sections, but before we go there, we need to understand what submission really is.

First of all, Paul says we are to submit to one another in the church.

It seems that the Spirit will lead us into community.

A place where acts of love are demonstrated.

The Holy Spirit enables us to do what is not natural - to love and submit to peopel.

You can be sure that if a person is acting brashly, arrogantly, or in a self-assertive way, they are not walking in the Spirit.

One commentator says this, The Holy Spirit is a humble Spirit, and those who are truly filled with him always display the meekness and gentleness of Christ. It is one of their most evident characteristics that they submit to one another.

The word submit means “to arrange under.”

It was often used in the military to refer to subordination of soldiers to those of a superior rank.

Good soldiers surrender control.

They turn loose their selfish agendas and live in submission for the good of others.

That’s how it should be with Christians.

The motive of being submissive is the “the fear of the Lord.”

It should be out of reverence for Christ.

We submit to others because Christ is the ultimate authority over our lives.

We should stand in awe of Christ, who is King and Judge.

We stand in awe not only of His holiness, but also His forgiveness.

So we gladly submit to His rule and serve others with compassion.

One Last Thought

Let’s now return to the imperative and these four participles I mentioned at the beginning.

It is the command Be filled with the Spirit.

This command is what the four participles depend upon for the results to happen that we’ve just talked about

So, let me explain how much is packed in that one command.

First, it is in the imperative mood.

‘Be filled’ an authoritative command.

We can no more avoid or evade this responsibility than any of the others we find in Ephesians.

To be filled with the Spirit is obligatory, not optional.

Secondly, it is in the plural form.

In other words, it is addressed to the whole Christian community.

None of us is to get drunk; all of us are to be Spirit-filled.

The fullness of the Spirit is not an elitist privilege, but available for all the people of God.

Thirdly, it is in the passive voice.

That means there is no technique to learn and no formula to recite.

What is essential is such a remorseful turning from what grieves the Holy Spirit

To live in such a way to be fully open to him that nothing hinders him from filling us.

It is significant that the parallel passage in Colossians reads like this ‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly’ (3:16).

We must never separate the Spirit and the Word.

To obey the Word and to surrender to the Spirit are virtually identical.

Fourthly, it is in the present tense.

In Greek there are two kinds of imperative, an aorist describing a single action, and a present when the action is continuous.

When Jesus said during the wedding reception at Cana, ‘Fill the jars with water’ (Jn. 2:7), the imperative is aorist, since the jars were to be filled only once.

But when Paul says to us, ‘Be filled with the Spirit’, he uses a present imperative, implying that we are to go on being filled.

For the fullness of the Spirit is not a once-for-all experience which we can never lose, but a privilege to be renewed continuously by continuous believing and obedient appropriation.

We have been ‘sealed’ with the Spirit once and for all; we need to be filled with the Spirit and go on being filled every day and every moment of the day.

Wow

The message for us today is for to be filled with Holy Spirit.

As we do He will give us a new love, joy, peace, patience,kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self control.

Are you open to the Spirit working in your life?

Commit to letting Him have control.

Salvation

Prayer

John R. W. Stott, God’s New Society: The Message of Ephesians, The Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1979), 208–209.