VB076 Be Filled With The Spirit (Eph 5:15-21)
Be Filled With The Spirit (Eph. 5:15-21)
[Eph. 5:15-21]
Eph 5:15-21 (NKJV) – See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, [16] redeeming the time, because the days are evil. [17] Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. [18] And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, [19] speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, [20] giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, [21] submitting to one another in the fear of God.
Mankind is designed with a built-in mechanism for desire. This mechanism is called the will, and is a part of the living soul. The soul and the spirit of man is difficult to study or explain without referring to the manufacturer’s handbook. Only the Bible defines the spiritual part of man. The mystery unfolds more easily if you are born of the Spirit. Otherwise the desire for God is confused with selfish desires, which are the foundation of sin.
The Holy Spirit can be resisted (cf Acts 7:51), quenched, (1Th 5:19 – we can “throw water on the fire” by disobedience, etc), or He can be grieved (cf Eph 4:30). He is often grieved by unwholesome words (cf Eph 4:29). Believers need to be sensitive, submissive and obedient to the leading (or urging) of God’s Spirit in their daily lives.
Eph 5:18 -And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
The connecting word “and” clearly links this with the preceding verses (our daily conduct in Eph 5:15, our redemption of opportunities God presents in Eph 5:16, the will of God in Eph 5:17). The obvious implication is that being continually filled with the Spirit is intimately related to the will of God, and also to making the most of one’s time in our daily conduct during our life on earth.
Drunkenness is a work of the flesh (Gal 5:21). To be “under the influence” of alcohol hinders the “influence” or leading of Holy Spirit.
“Be filled with the Spirit” is a command, not a suggestion. The heathen finds his happiness in filling himself with wine and with worldly pleasures; the Christian finds his happiness in being filled with the Spirit. If you are not filled with the Spirit — you’ll be filled with something else.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit is in the present tense, making it a continual command for the believer. In the book of Acts, the same people who were filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost were filled again (cf Acts 2:4 with 4:31). Most people don’t get drunk on just one drink. Likewise, being filled with the Holy Spirit is not just a one-time experience. There is an initial filling of the Holy Spirit and many subsequent fillings.
Just as drunkenness can change people’s personalities and make them act totally different, being filled with the Holy Spirit gives us the characteristics of Jesus.
Some of the effects of being filled with the Holy Spirit are listed in the following verses, 5:19-21. They include instruction from the Scriptures, worshiping with spiritual songs, giving thanks unto the Lord, and submission to one another.
It is easy to say we are filled with the Spirit because of some emotional feeling that we have, but Paul related the filling of the Spirit to life’s relationships. If you are truly filled with the Holy Spirit, godly actions will prove it. Three areas are mentioned; the husband-wife relationship (Eph 5:22-23), the child-parent relationship (Eph 6:1-4), and the slave-master relationship (Eph 6:5-9). Each relationship calls for a submission to one another as being service rendered unto the Lord.
Eph 5:19-21 (NKJV) – speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, [20] giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, [21] submitting to one another in the fear of God.
Verses 5:19-21 is the worshipful fruit of being continually filled with the Spirit (v.18). Speaking to one another – speaking to yourselves is a better translation. Psalms are scriptural lyrics in song; hymns are humanly inspired lyrics in song; spiritual songs are impromptu rhythmic lyrics given by the Holy Spirit in one’s language or in tongues.1 1Cor 14:15, “…I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.”
The unity of the church and the harmony of the home both depend on the Spirit (4:3; 5:18). It is power from within, not pressure from without, that holds the church and the home together. Note the evidences of a Spirit-filled life: Joy (v. 19), gratitude (v. 20), obedience (v. 21ff). Compare Colossians 3:15-17 and you will see that when Christians are filled with the Word of God they will have these same characteristics. In other words, to be filled with the Spirit of God means to be governed by the Word of God. The marks of a Spirit-filled Christian are not unusual emotional experiences, miracles, and loud praying in tongues, but rather Christ-like behavior.
A Word-filled Christian is a Spirit-filled Christian, a believer who is so controlled by the Word of God that it dominates his or her entire life. Their life demonstrates that they are filled with the Holy Spirit.
The Word of God teaches the Children of God how to live, and the Spirit of God supplies the power to live for the Glory of God.
Be filled[4137] (pleroo) means literally to be filled to the brim (a net, Mt 13:48, a building, Jn 12:3, Acts 2:2, a city, Acts 5:28), and then figuratively to make complete, to cause to abound, to furnish or supply liberally, to diffuse throughout, to pervade, to take possession of, and so to ultimately to control.
Pleroo here in Ephesians 5:18 does not mean to get more of the Spirit since the Spirit indwells us completely when we are born spiritually.
The more common figurative meaning of filled in the NT is to be controlled by that which “fills” one’s heart and mind. Here in Eph 5:18 Paul is commanding “all” saints, since the verb is plural, not just a select few are to be filled. It is one thing for you to have the Holy Spirit. It is another thing for the Holy Spirit to have you.
Since this filling is commanded by God, if you are not being continuously filled with the Spirit, then you are out of the Lord’s will!
How do I obey this command, and be filled with the Spirit?
The filling of the Spirit is the most important doctrine of the spiritual life. It is foundational to everything else. There is nothing we need more. It is when the Holy Spirit is free to do all that He came into my life to do. Being filled with the Spirit would be impossible if it depended on us. But God’s Spirit can fill us.
We need two things – emptiness and openness. You can’t fill a jar that’s already full, and you can’t fill a jar that is not open. There must be a sense of need. Pray, “Lord, I’m empty and I need to be filled with Your Spirit.” Pray, “Lord, I’m open to You. Fill me Holy Spirit.” The filling of the Spirit is really as simple as that. As long as we are conscious of our need, and as long as we are willing to yield to the Lord, we can be filled with the Lord all day long.
Genuine “holy” actions can only be energized or enabled by the Holy Spirit Who dwells in us. If we are filled with or controlled by Him, yielded to Him, depending on Him, and casting off any self-reliance, then we can successfully keep Paul’s commands on holy living. And as we do so, we are in effect also fulfilling Paul’s command to walk by the Spirit, which effectively prevents us from carrying out the desires of the flesh (cf. Gal 5:16).
We cannot do any of God’s will apart from God’s Spirit. Outside of the command for unbelievers to trust in Christ for salvation, there is no more practical and necessary command in Scripture than the one for believers to be filled with the Spirit.
I believe that chapters 4-6 of this epistle are the answer to how to be filled, as well as the fruit of being filled with the Spirit.
Our declaration:
We are blessed as we do the word by faith. By walking in obedience, yielded to Holy Spirit, we can “be imitators of God.” We have godly relationships. Jesus will sanctify His bride, and present to Himself the church without spot or wrinkle, holy and blameless, amen. We are “strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.” We do “put on His armor and stand against all the tactics of the devil.”
God bless you my friend,
1The Spirit-Filled Life Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991), 1794.
