Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:15-20
I’m going to depart from my usual approach and lead you through a Bible study that speaks powerfully to the shaping of our souls. In Ephesians 5, Paul continues his instruction on how believers ought to live as followers of Christ. He’s especially concerned that we are to distance ourselves from the ways of fallen culture and adopt the righteous ways of the Kingdom. This requires intentionality on the part of the believer, because as verse 15 reminds us, the days are evil.
However, one cannot just will themselves to live differently than the world. True spiritual transformation is something that God does in us as we yield our lives to Him. So Paul enjoins the Ephesians to not be drunk with wine which was considered in the cults of Ephesus to be a sign of inspiration. In contrast, instead of being under the influence of alcohol, believers were to be under the control of the Spirit, or as Paul put it, to “be filled with the Spirit.”
Before we explore the concept of being filled with the Spirit, we need to define terms. The Spirit is, of course, the Holy Spirit. In Romans 8 Paul identifies the Holy Spirit with the Spirit of Christ. So one way to describe the Holy Spirit is to see this dimension of the triune God as the indwelling presence of Christ – the Spirit of the living God. So the Spirit is the presence of God in the soul of the believer. What a powerful and amazing thought!
This is what Paul has in mind when at the end of verse 18 he writes, “be filled with the Spirit.” I don’t want to get too deep in the weeds, but a grammatical review of the phrase “be filled” is needed. Several things should be noted.
- It is in the imperative mood. It’s a command. And like all commands, believers are called to respond in loving obedience to the directive to be filled with the Spirit.
- It is in the plural form. The call to be filled with the Spirit is not given to only a select group of believers. All believers have the privilege and responsibility to be filled with the Spirit. So the filling with the Spirit isn’t a special blessing given to some, but is a divine imperative given to all.
- It is in the passive voice. This means that we don’t fill ourselves with the Spirit. The filling is a work of God as we open our lives to His transforming work.
- It is in the present tense. In the Greek language, the present tense suggests ongoing action. So rather than seeing the filling with the Spirit as a one time thing like the sealing by the Spirit at conversion, we need to be constantly open to an ongoing filling. Why? We continue to live in a culture that has a deluding influence on us. This constant filling with the Spirit is what empowers us to be “careful how we live.” (vs 15)
So how do we know if we have been filled with the Spirit. Are we empowered to do supernatural actions? Are we more demonstrative in our worship? Or is it something else? Paul is very helpful here. In verses 19-21 he shares four wonderful outcomes that are seen when we are filled with the Spirit.
- Encouraging fellow believers
When Paul indicates that we should speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, he is not suggesting that we quit using words and start singing to each other. Part of what he had in mind was the antiphonal songs that were used in Jewish worship. Psalms such as Psalm 95 were directed not toward God but toward one another. It was a way for God’s people to remind each other about who God was and how we should respond accordingly. And what is done in the context of worship is continued elsewhere. Believers should consistently encourage one another.
- Offering sincere worship to God
In the second half of verse 19 Paul shifts from singing to one another to singing to God. The emphasis, however, is not on the singing but on the heart from which the song originates. What Paul has in mind is an authenticity in worship. We are not simply parroting words we’ve heard a thousand times. Nor are we making commitments in our singing that we have no intention of keeping when the worship service is over. Instead there is a serious desire on the part of the believer to present to God the reality of our heart.
- Maintaining a grateful spirit
One the indicators that we are no longer full of the Spirit is that we develop a grumbling attitude. We see the devastating outcomes of this in the wilderness wandering of Israel in Exodus. Time and time again, we see God’s people grumbling not only against Moses but essentially against God, because their lives were not going as they thought they should.
In contrast Paul instructs us to give thanks for all things. This is not to suggest that we should actually thank God for such things as evil. Nor should we just limit our thanks to only what is pleasing to us. Paul helps here by reminding us that our thanksgiving is for that which is in keeping with the name of Jesus. Such an action is a powerful antidote to a grumbling attitude.
- Submitting ourselves to one another
The key to God-honoring relationships is the willingness for a mutual yielding of all parties to one another. Essentially, this means that we keep the best interests of one another in mind as we relate with them. This is true for husbands and wives, parents and children, people in authority and those who serve them. This mutual submission to what is best for the other is a sure sign of being filled with the Spirit.
Finally, we come to the how. How are we filled with the Spirit? For the sake of brevity, let me suggest that the key to the Spirit-filled life is found in acting upon the very indicators that we just covered. As we encourage another, as we offer sincere worship, as we maintain a grateful spirit and as we submit ourselves to one another, we are creating space in our hearts for God to do His filling work.
So in essence, we aren’t getting more of the Spirit. The Spirit is getting more of us. Remember the Spirit is not an it. The Spirit is a person. We get all of the Spirit the moment we are sealed and baptized by the Spirit at conversion. But the process of sanctification is the journey we all take in allowing the Spirit to have full access into every aspect of our being. The things Paul describes here are essential to this process. We should add the imperative importance of letting the word of Christ dwell in us richly as detailed in Colossians 3:16. Other spiritual disciplines such a prayer, meditation, and solitude also open us to the filling work of God.
I hope this brief review of being filled with the Spirit has been helpful. Beyond that, I pray that we will all commit ourselves to the ongoing task of opening our souls to the infilling of the Holy Spirit.