Immediately following Paul’s instruction in Ephesians 4 regarding unity in Christ, assured and enhanced by every member properly exercising their spiritual gifts, Ephesians 5 suggests evidences and outcomes of those dedicated to Christ with a specific call to being “filled.”
Ephesians 5:18: “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”
- Grammatical Usage: “drunk” in the Greek, “methyskesthe” meaning, “to be intoxicated; stimulated”; “debauchery” or “asōtia” meaning, “wastefulness; incapacitated”; “be filled” or “plērousthe” meaning, “fulfilled; complete.”
- Literal Interpretation: Don’t get your stimulus from wine (for there is always the danger of excessive drinking leading to your incapacitation), but let the Spirit stimulate your souls making you full and complete.
- Contextual/Comparison: God keeps His Word, God continually uses His Word. In Ephesians 5:18 a contrast is made between the person who is under the influence of alcohol and the person who is under the controlling influence of the Holy Spirit:
- The Spirit-filled life is a command. In Ephesians 5:18 there are two commands, both of which require obedience; they are not optional, they are imperative.
- The Spirit-filled life is a command to every Christian. The experience of the Holy Spirit’s fulness is not for a select company of believers, but for every born again person. Notice the word “all” in Acts 2:4 and 4:31.
- To be filled with the Spirit is more than being indwelt by the Spirit. The Christians at Ephesus were “sealed” by the Holy Spirit (1:13; 4:30), and thus they were indwelt by the Holy Spirit, as every Christian is (1 Corinthians 6:19), but we may possess Him without His possessing us.
- Being filled with the Spirit is not our getting more of Him; it is Him getting more of us. The Holy Spirit is a Person, and to be filled with Him means to allow Him to take full possession of our personalities, priorities, actions and reactions.
- To be filled with the Spirit is sanity. The most sane people in the world are those who are filled with God’s Spirit. The Lord Jesus is our example.
- The Spirit-filled life is to be the normal experience of God’s children. God’s plan for each of us is that they may be filled with the Holy Spirit so that they may live lives that are glorifying to Him in all our personal (5:15-21), domestic (5:22-33 and 6:1-4), and business (6:5-9) relationships.
- The Spirit-filled life is marked by definite and easily discernible characteristics. Just as a drunken man can easily be recognized, so can a Spirit-filled Christian be recognized; the same characteristics are true of both. What are they? Based upon Ephesians 5:14-21, consider the following.
- A Spirit-filled person is Possessed by an Immense Sense of Well-being.
He is exhilarated, exuberant. The Greeks have a word for it – “Euphoria”, which means “an immense sense of well-being”. The first Christians were accused of being drunk (Acts 2:15); the early disciples were noted for their intense joy (Acts 13:52).
- A Spirit-filled person is Recognized by his Face.
Many of our faces are shadowed instead of shining! There should be a radiance about us, as there was with Moses (Exodus 34:29); with Stephen (Acts 6:15); with the Lord Jesus (Luke 9:29).
- A Spirit-filled person has a Characteristic Savor about him.
Ephesians 5:2 states, “And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Our Lord Jesus Christ was as holy incense before the Father and before the world; Christians, by being filled with His Spirit are to be, and may be, the same. The Spirit-filled life is God’s provision for making our lives beautiful, graceful and gentle…enticing to those without Christ.
- A Spirit-filled person can be Detected by the Way he Walks.
Our walk is our manner of life. According to Ephesians 5:15 a drunkard’s walk is careless, whereas the walk of the Spirit-filled man is very circumspect – that is, disciplined and consistent. The drunkard cannot walk straight, but the Spirit-filled Christian is enabled to live before God and the world in a way that is upright and honest in every respect.
- A Spirit-filled person is Portrayed by the Way he Speaks.
Many a drunkard has a stammering tongue, and often his speech is impure and foul. A Spirit-filled Christian will be very careful in the words he uses and in the matters of which he speaks, and, of course, a Spirit-filled Christian will be a testifying Christian (Acts 4:20).
- A Spirit-filled person Relies upon the Spirit for every Action.
A Christian, if he is filled with the Holy Spirit, will produce from his life fruit which is supernatural (Galatians 5:22-23), and works which are, humanly speaking, impossible but not with the Holy Spirit who, “intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God” (Romans 8:26–27).
- A Spirit-filled person has a Deep Desire.
(A) A Real Thirst (Isaiah 44:3; Matthew 5:6; John 7:37-39)
(B) A Great Capacity (Psalm 8l:10)
(C) A Simple Faith (Luke 11:13; 1 John 5:14-15)
- A Spirit-filled person is Obedient.
When we obey the Lord, we can live a life of joy, without shame, rooted deeply in the Lord and confident in our everlasting hope. Our obedience to being filled with the Spirit is actually part of our assurance that we truly know God (1 John 2:3).
- Conclusion: Have I asked the Holy Spirit to take complete control of my life?
