The Spirit Filled Life
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Ephesians 5:18-21
Ephesians 5:18-21
Years ago I was speaking to a man who said he was starting a new church. Being that I was a new church planter myself, I was curious to hear more about what he was aiming to do. We began to chat about our different works and I posed a number of questions to find out more about his aspirations. One of the things that became apparent was that he was seeking to plant a particular kind of church. He claimed to be Pentecostal and the church was going to be “a Spirit filled” church.
I then asked him what made him distinct from another Pentecostal church that was in the area. And he said that he was actually leading a bunch of people away from that church. They were coming out of that church. And his reason was because they were not “spirit filled.”
That of course made me inquire, “Why do you say that? Why do you consider them to be a church that is lacking in regards to the filling of the Spirit?" His response was something to the effect of “they just sit there.”
We then had one of those awkward moments where we each look at one another and then quickly look away. I didn’t probe any further because, whether he meant it or not, implied in his statement was the fact that I myself and the church that I was a part of was by no means “spirit filled.”
My friends, I would like to submit to you this morning that nothing could be farther from the truth. I would like to suggest that Hopewell church is (or at least is striving to be) nothing less than a Spirit filled church. I hope that we are a Pentecostal church in the truest sense of the term.
Now, many of you know that I spent a significant part of my early Christian life in Charismatic and Pentecostal churches. I do look back on those time with fondness. Those were treasured times because those people had a zeal for God. There was a zest and joy of life that they exuded. Most of all, they yearned for the active working of the Spirit among them. One of the things that I loved is that they held this verse in Ephesians 5 in high regard and they desired to be “filled with the Spirit.”
However, during my college years I began some intensive discipleship. And due to that training my theological positions radically shifted. And part of my transition was due to my coming to understand this verse before us and what it means to be filled with the Spirit.
And this morning I would like to share with you some of what I learned. And I want to do so so that we can be a Spirit filled church.
And what I would like to do is examine this passage under three headings. I want to talk about being filled with the Spirit (or being a Spirit filled person). And first, I want us to consider what he must not do. As is Paul’s custom, he talks about the lifestyle that must be put off. And we see in this passage that a Spirit filled person is someone who avoids drunkenness.
Secondly, I want to consider what it means to be filled with the Spirit. The passage says, “be filled with the Spirit.” And there are a number of observations that are important to make in regards to that phrase, all of which will help us understand what Paul is talking about.
Then finally, we will consider how we know if one is filled with the Spirit. In other words, there are certain acts by which a Spirit filled person may be know. There are some tell tale behaviors which will evidence if someone is or is not filled with the Spirit.
If you would like it put a little more simply, we are going to look at the Spirit filled life and its demand, definition, display.
As you look at our text for this morning you will notice that Paul issues a demand.
I. Its demand
He says that a Spirit Filled person must not do something. He must “not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery.”
Now, you will recognize here that the prohibition is not against drinking per se, but against drinking to excess. That is what drunkenness is.
There have been various people in the history of the church who have believed this to be a prohibition against all forms of alcohol. So they would deny someone a glass of wine with dinner or a nice ale to close out an evening. But this is not an exhortation to complete abstinence.
Certainly, Paul recognizes the place of drink. After all, Ephesus was one of those places where drinking the water could be extremely bad for you. The drinking of wine was a common affair for that reason.
What Paul forbids is the abuse of alcohol. His exhortation is against being intoxicated or what we might call inebriation. The background likely being the extravagant parties and indulgences that were common in ancient Ephesus.
As a matter of fact, the word for drunkenness literally means “after sacrifice.” And it likely refers to the fact that after the pagans would offer their sacrifices, they would begin to celebrate. In these parties they would go on a lavish drinking binge and consume all kinds of wine.
But the word came to indicate any kind of excessive drinking. And thus it has to do with drinking so much that he loses control of the body and/or the sense of his mind.
Just so as to make sure one gets the point he adds the the point of “debauchery” (or dissipation, excess, riot, depending on your version). Debauchery refers to the scandals that occur along with too much drink.
Typically, drunkenness will lead one to commit other kinds of sins. The alcohol numbs your moral senses and so that he is no longer concerned about certain moral boundaries. And thus you can easily slip into other sins, sexual sins, brawling, or may it be something as loosening the lips.
The exhortation here to sobriety is timely as we do have issue 2 on the ballot this fall. Issue 2, of course, has to do with recreational marijuana and the ability to grow and sell it. While the legal issue may be one for discussion, we should recognize that the effects of marijuana (or other substances for that matter) are very powerful and concentrated. So they have that much more power to inhibit one’s rational powers. The commands regarding drunkenness also apply to other types of drugs.
Therefore, we would do well to remember that God calls us to be under his control, and not under the control of any kind of substance. God demands that we be sober. So being in a state of drunkenness must be avoided and recognized to be a great sin in God’s sight. Indeed, it is the direct opposite of someone who is filled with the Spirit.
That leads us then to the second point of our text, which says that we must be filled with the Spirit. And this is where I would like to flesh out more of what that entails. If we are to be filled with the Spirit, perhaps we should define that and make sure we understand what Paul means.
II. Its Definition
Now, there is obviously some parallel that Paul is making. He does not want you to be under the influence of some substance, such as wine. But he does want you to be under the influence of the Spirit. Being filled with the Spirit is juxtaposed to being filled with wine.
But what does that mean? What kind of influence is the Spirit supposed to have. Well, let me first start by saying it is a controlling influence.
It is a controlling influence
The operative word here is control; as in self-control.
I mention this because there have been many who have taken this to mean that you should become, as they say, “drunk with the Spirit.” And they believe that means that the Spirit should come upon you in such a way that you lose control and begin to do things that are abnormal; things, like shake, or laugh, or fall over. Some have even said that one of the signs of being intoxicated with the Spirit is “holy barking.”
However, it should be apparent that the Spirit does not endorse such behavior. As Galatians 5 tells us, one of the fruits of the Spirit is self control. And if you are demonstrating behaviors that are out of your control or making you appear to be out of control, then it should be understood that this is not the Spirit acting in or upon you.
But it should also be evident by virtue of what our text says. The passage here is contrasting behaviors. You must take note of the little word “but.” That word indicates an opposition or contrast.
He has just said that drunkenness is not appropriate. Having a mind that has lost its ability to make good judgments and a body that is lacks control due to the influence of wine -- that is utterly is forbidden.
In contrast, (i.e. but) you should be filled with the Spirit. There is a command to be so under the influence of the Spirit that one has greater control over his members. Instead of losing your sense of judgement because of alcohol, your powers of reason should be heightened. If the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you should be demonstrating a spirit of holiness.
So the first take away is that this is a controlling influence. It is an influence that should create a higher degree of discipline and obedience.
Secondly, we should understand this to be a continual influence.
It is continual influence
Again, there have been some mistakes in this regard. This verse has been taken to mean that you need to have a one time spiritual experience after your conversion which leads to a higher spiritual state. This is sometimes called the “second blessing.”
This is also something that has been distinct for those who have been part of different holiness movements. They believe that a person can be converted to Christ and be a believer, but they still have something that is fundamentally lacking in regards to their spirituality. They are not living, what they would call, the Spirit filled life (or the Spirit empowered life).
This has been formulated differently for different holiness groups. Pentecostals have traditionally seen it as speaking in tongues and demonstrating other miraculous gifts. Wesleyans have said that it is manifested in a sinless life where one is able to show perfect love. There are others who have various other takes.
No matter which though, each of them says it is a second outpouring of the Spirit; a one time blessing that may come after your conversion, which leads to this higher Christian life.
Now, I will admit that this is something that led me to become wary of my own Pentecostal beliefs. I saw that it really creates two kinds of Christians: one that is sort of sub Christian, and another that is a true Christian (or a higher level of Christian). When I looked at the Scriptures, I didn’t see any such division.
But more than that, this type of thinking is not true to our text. You have to understand something about the grammatical construction of the passage. When Paul says, “be filled with the Spirit, he uses the present tense. And the present tense always carries with it and ongoing action.
So, instead of saying that we should be filled with the Spirit (once), Paul is actually saying, “keep on being filled with the Spirit.” This is something that you need to have happen to you not just once, but continually. It must happen tomorrow, and the next day and the day after that. It is to be a never ending process, occurring over and over and over again throughout your life.
Which leads us to the last thing I want you to note about this phrase. It is a continual influence because it is a convicting influence.
It is a convicting influence
What do I mean by that? Some of you may be thinking that I’m really trying to stretch the alliteration. But bear with me. Keep a finger here in Ephesians 5 and flip just a couple pages over to Colossians 3. Colossians is a sister epistle. There are many similarities between Ephesians and Colossians. I have not mentioned them up to this point, but this one is one that is quite enlightening.
Look at Colossians 3:16. It says, “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.”
You will notice that there is striking similarity between these passages. Both Ephesians 5 and Col. 3 talk about singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs and giving thanks. There is one difference though. Ephesians 5 tells us that we must be filled with the Spirit. And Col. 3 tells us that we must let the word of Christ dwell in us richly.
Now, I hope you can see what I’m driving at here. If we ask, “What does it really mean to be filled with the Spirit?” I hope you can see that Paul’s letter to the Colossians gives us the answer. To be filled with the Spirit is to have the the word of Christ dwelling in us richly. When God’s word fills you and dwells within you and has power over you, then you are experiencing what it means to be filled with the Spirit.
That’s why I say it is a convicting influence. And this is why it must happen again and again. You must fill yourself with God’s word. You must be renewed in your minds with the truth of God’s Word. You need to keep on going back to the Bible so that you may have discernment and wisdom. As you are convicted by the word of God and led by it in your daily decisions, then you are living the Spirit filled life.
As a side note, let me just say that this is exactly why we seek to have so much Scripture in our worship services. Some would say that it is boring or that our sitting in chairs is the farthest thing from a Spirit filled worship service. But I would beg to differ. I would like to argue, based on Paul’s epistles, that a Word filled service this is the most powerful demonstration of the Spirit’s operation among us that could ever be had.
And that is why Paul says that you need to be continually filled. It is not like you lost the Spirit and need to get filled again. It’s that today you need to have God’s word guide you. You need grounding in the word tomorrow and the next day. If you are not letting the word of God convict you and guide you, then you are not being filled with the Spirit.
Hopefully you find that helpful. I pray that in breaking this down you can better understand what it means to be filled with the Spirit. And I hope, subsequently, you can better lead a Spirit filled life.
Which brings us to our third heading. As we consider what a Spirit filled life is, we’ve look at its demand and seen how its defined. And there is a litte temptation to stop right there. But we should make sure that we peruse verses 19-21 too. For these tell us how the Spirit filled life is displayed.
III. Its Display
How do we know that someone is filled with the Spirit? If it is not by falling over and shaking, what are the tell tale indicators?
Well, Paul tells us in what follows. He gives have several participles (words ending in ‘ing’) that detail for us the types of things that a Spirit filled person will do. You will notice that a spirit filled congregation will be…
A. Addressing one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
This, of course, does not mean just ordinary conversation. It is reference to our corporate worship. It is speaking about how we edify one another by singing doctrinally rich songs.
Paul knows that worship is not an individualistic experience. It is a mutual time of uplifting.
Perhaps you have had the experience of singing a song by yourself and benefiting by it. But then you sang that exact same song in the context of the gathered saints. And somehow you came to gain even greater edification by it. What is the cause of that? How could it be so much more meaningful? Why is it that your soul seemed to benefit so much more? It is because the Lord uses the assembled body as a particular means of grace in your life. There’s something extra spiritual about it because it is, as we see here, a unique way the Spirit operates.
Now, should you ever wonder if you should go to worship, this is your answer. Maybe you wake up and you say, “Well, I don’t know if I should go to worship today.” You just don’t feel like it. Or maybe you are making plans and you are thinking you could go somewhere or do something else. Well, just remember that worship is not just for your benefit.
It is not just you and God, no matter how important that individual experience is. It is much more than that. You never know how much your presence and your voice might be adding to the edification of the entire church body.
Secondly, a Spirit filled person will be…
B. Singing and make melody to the Lord with your heart.
Here I should tip my hat to my bluegrass families. The word make melody is the word for psalms. You could say, “singing and psalming to the Lord.” But literally it means to pluck or to twang. They are always telling me our songs need some more twang to them. Well, here you go. Now you have biblical support.
But the idea here is that you are letting praise come from the depths of your soul. If you are filled with the Spirit, you are going to erupt with tunes of adoration.
Years ago we had Bible study in my living room with some folks and we would, as we often do, start by passing out the hymn books and singing some different songs. One evening we had gotten the living room set up with the chairs and hymnals. One of my children, being only a toddler, took one of those hymnals down onto the floor and opened it up. She could barely speak, she hadn’t learned many words yet. But that did not stop her from making melody with her heart. She belted out what bits of the tunes she knew and, of course, improvised the rest (as only a little child can do).
How much spirituality she may have had at that time I do not know, but it is certainly illustrative of what a spirit filled person should do.
Next, in verse 20, it tells us that we are to be
C. Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Notice that a Spirit filled person (and a Spirit filled congregation) will be a thankful people. Their complaining will be quite limited. And their gratitude will be effusive. They are giving thanks always and for everything. The superlatives should not escape you. There’s always something to be thankful for. There’s never a time when giving thanks is not appropriate.
I might add that there are some commentators who believe that it might be better stated “Giving thanks always and for everyone.” It is not just that your are thankful for your circumstances or the blessings you receive, but you are thankful for the people around you. You know that might be a reference back to the unity discussions that we had earlier. What better way to unite mixed congregation of Jews and Gentiles than having them voice their gratitude for one another.
But, if you really want to strengthen the church body, be a person who gives thanks for others. There’s always something or someone you can complain about. And a church that is lacking the Spirit will be a place of constant griping and gossip. But when there’s appreciation being expressed and thanks being rendered to God, then you know that the Spirit has filled the place.
One last item Paul mentions as a tell tale evidence of the Spirit’s filling is there in verse 21. He says that we will be…
D. Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Now, this is a verse that is not only taken out of context, it is utterly massacred by so many in our world today. This verse is used by people to promote a radical egalitarianism. Everyone has to submit to everyone else. And they will use this verse to counteract the following verses about women submitting to their husbands, because, you see, we are to submit to one another.
So, when it comes to marriages, they say that a man’s headship is really discounted because he needs to submit to her just as much as she needs to submit to him.
But you see the folly of that. If everyone is submitting, there’s no one leading. And typically what people mean by submitting to one another is that you do not have the power to tell me what to do. You need to submit to me.
What does Paul mean? Well, you have to take this phrase in its context. Paul is about to talk about various people in relation to their respective authorities. Wives and husbands, children and parents, slaves and their employers. In other words, there are groups of people who need to submit in their different places and relations. And, Paul says, one of the signs of your being filled with the Spirit is that you are able to submit to your authorities.
To put it another way, this becomes an introduction to the next segment of Paul’s letter. This is not a blanket statement that everyone needs to submit to everyone else. Not at all. It is merely a preparation statement for what follows. God calls his people to be filled with the Spirit. And that means you will submit to one another where you are biblically bound to do so.
Obviously, we will have more to say about that in the coming weeks. But it is enough to say for now that Spirit filled people are not people who buck authority. They willingly give obedience where they need to “out of reverence for Christ.”
There you have it. Those are the tell tale signs. One who is filled with the Spirit will display a certain kind of life. And Paul has described their conduct in the form of the edification they bring to one another, the songs that they sing, the gratitude they show, and the submission they willingly give.
Conclusion
Knowing this, and knowing what it is to be filled with the Spirit, may God grant that we continue to be a Spirit filled people.
I then asked him what made him distinct from another Pentecostal church that was in the area. And he said that he was actually leading a bunch of people away from that church. They were coming out of that church. And his reason was because they were not “spirit filled.”
That of course made me inquire, “Why do you say that? Why do you consider them to be a church that is lacking in regards to the filling of the Spirit?" His response was something to the effect of “they just sit there.”
We then had one of those awkward moments where we each look at one another and then quickly look away. I didn’t probe any further because, whether he meant it or not, implied in his statement was the fact that I myself and the church that I was a part of was by no means “spirit filled.”
My friends, I would like to submit to you this morning that nothing could be farther from the truth. I would like to suggest that Hopewell church is (or at least is striving to be) nothing less than a Spirit filled church. I hope that we are a Pentecostal church in the truest sense of the term.
Now, many of you know that I spent a significant part of my early Christian life in Charismatic and Pentecostal churches. I do look back on those time with fondness. Those were treasured times because those people had a zeal for God. There was a zest and joy of life that they exuded. Most of all, they yearned for the active working of the Spirit among them. One of the things that I loved is that they held this verse in Ephesians 5 in high regard and they desired to be “filled with the Spirit.”
However, during my college years I began some intensive discipleship. And due to that training my theological positions radically shifted. And part of my transition was due to my coming to understand this verse before us and what it means to be filled with the Spirit.
And this morning I would like to share with you some of what I learned. And I want to do so so that we can be a Spirit filled church.
And what I would like to do is examine this passage under three headings. I want to talk about being filled with the Spirit (or being a Spirit filled person). And first, I want us to consider what he must not do. As is Paul’s custom, he talks about the lifestyle that must be put off. And we see in this passage that a Spirit filled person is someone who avoids drunkenness.
Secondly, I want to consider what it means to be filled with the Spirit. The passage says, “be filled with the Spirit.” And there are a number of observations that are important to make in regards to that phrase, all of which will help us understand what Paul is talking about.
Then finally, we will consider how we know if one is filled with the Spirit. In other words, there are certain acts by which a Spirit filled person may be know. There are some tell tale behaviors which will evidence if someone is or is not filled with the Spirit.
If you would like it put a little more simply, we are going to look at the Spirit filled life and its demand, definition, display.
As you look at our text for this morning you will notice that Paul issues a demand.
I. Its demand
He says that a Spirit Filled person must not do something. He must “not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery.”
Now, you will recognize here that the prohibition is not against drinking per se, but against drinking to excess. That is what drunkenness is.
There have been various people in the history of the church who have believed this to be a prohibition against all forms of alcohol. So they would deny someone a glass of wine with dinner or a nice ale to close out an evening. But this is not an exhortation to complete abstinence.
Certainly, Paul recognizes the place of drink. After all, Ephesus was one of those places where drinking the water could be extremely bad for you. The drinking of wine was a common affair for that reason.
What Paul forbids is the abuse of alcohol. His exhortation is against being intoxicated or what we might call inebriation. The background likely being the extravagant parties and indulgences that were common in ancient Ephesus.
As a matter of fact, the word for drunkenness literally means “after sacrifice.” And it likely refers to the fact that after the pagans would offer their sacrifices, they would begin to celebrate. In these parties they would go on a lavish drinking binge and consume all kinds of wine.
But the word came to indicate any kind of excessive drinking. And thus it has to do with drinking so much that he loses control of the body and/or the sense of his mind.
Just so as to make sure one gets the point he adds the the point of “debauchery” (or dissipation, excess, riot, depending on your version). Debauchery refers to the scandals that occur along with too much drink.
Typically, drunkenness will lead one to commit other kinds of sins. The alcohol numbs your moral senses and so that he is no longer concerned about certain moral boundaries. And thus you can easily slip into other sins, sexual sins, brawling, or may it be something as loosening the lips.
The exhortation here to sobriety is timely as we do have issue 2 on the ballot this fall. Issue 2, of course, has to do with recreational marijuana and the ability to grow and sell it. While the legal issue may be one for discussion, we should recognize that the effects of marijuana (or other substances for that matter) are very powerful and concentrated. So they have that much more power to inhibit one’s rational powers. The commands regarding drunkenness also apply to other types of drugs.
Therefore, we would do well to remember that God calls us to be under his control, and not under the control of any kind of substance. God demands that we be sober. So being in a state of drunkenness must be avoided and recognized to be a great sin in God’s sight. Indeed, it is the direct opposite of someone who is filled with the Spirit.
That leads us then to the second point of our text, which says that we must be filled with the Spirit. And this is where I would like to flesh out more of what that entails. If we are to be filled with the Spirit, perhaps we should define that and make sure we understand what Paul means.
II. Its Definition
Now, there is obviously some parallel that Paul is making. He does not want you to be under the influence of some substance, such as wine. But he does want you to be under the influence of the Spirit. Being filled with the Spirit is juxtaposed to being filled with wine.
But what does that mean? What kind of influence is the Spirit supposed to have. Well, let me first start by saying it is a controlling influence.
It is a controlling influence
The operative word here is control; as in self-control.
I mention this because there have been many who have taken this to mean that you should become, as they say, “drunk with the Spirit.” And they believe that means that the Spirit should come upon you in such a way that you lose control and begin to do things that are abnormal; things, like shake, or laugh, or fall over. Some have even said that one of the signs of being intoxicated with the Spirit is “holy barking.”
However, it should be apparent that the Spirit does not endorse such behavior. As Galatians 5 tells us, one of the fruits of the Spirit is self control. And if you are demonstrating behaviors that are out of your control or making you appear to be out of control, then it should be understood that this is not the Spirit acting in or upon you.
But it should also be evident by virtue of what our text says. The passage here is contrasting behaviors. You must take note of the little word “but.” That word indicates an opposition or contrast.
He has just said that drunkenness is not appropriate. Having a mind that has lost its ability to make good judgments and a body that is lacks control due to the influence of wine -- that is utterly is forbidden.
In contrast, (i.e. but) you should be filled with the Spirit. There is a command to be so under the influence of the Spirit that one has greater control over his members. Instead of losing your sense of judgement because of alcohol, your powers of reason should be heightened. If the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you should be demonstrating a spirit of holiness.
So the first take away is that this is a controlling influence. It is an influence that should create a higher degree of discipline and obedience.
Secondly, we should understand this to be a continual influence.
It is continual influence
Again, there have been some mistakes in this regard. This verse has been taken to mean that you need to have a one time spiritual experience after your conversion which leads to a higher spiritual state. This is sometimes called the “second blessing.”
This is also something that has been distinct for those who have been part of different holiness movements. They believe that a person can be converted to Christ and be a believer, but they still have something that is fundamentally lacking in regards to their spirituality. They are not living, what they would call, the Spirit filled life (or the Spirit empowered life).
This has been formulated differently for different holiness groups. Pentecostals have traditionally seen it as speaking in tongues and demonstrating other miraculous gifts. Wesleyans have said that it is manifested in a sinless life where one is able to show perfect love. There are others who have various other takes.
No matter which though, each of them says it is a second outpouring of the Spirit; a one time blessing that may come after your conversion, which leads to this higher Christian life.
Now, I will admit that this is something that led me to become wary of my own Pentecostal beliefs. I saw that it really creates two kinds of Christians: one that is sort of sub Christian, and another that is a true Christian (or a higher level of Christian). When I looked at the Scriptures, I didn’t see any such division.
But more than that, this type of thinking is not true to our text. You have to understand something about the grammatical construction of the passage. When Paul says, “be filled with the Spirit, he uses the present tense. And the present tense always carries with it and ongoing action.
So, instead of saying that we should be filled with the Spirit (once), Paul is actually saying, “keep on being filled with the Spirit.” This is something that you need to have happen to you not just once, but continually. It must happen tomorrow, and the next day and the day after that. It is to be a never ending process, occurring over and over and over again throughout your life.
Which leads us to the last thing I want you to note about this phrase. It is a continual influence because it is a convicting influence.
It is a convicting influence
What do I mean by that? Some of you may be thinking that I’m really trying to stretch the alliteration. But bear with me. Keep a finger here in Ephesians 5 and flip just a couple pages over to Colossians 3. Colossians is a sister epistle. There are many similarities between Ephesians and Colossians. I have not mentioned them up to this point, but this one is one that is quite enlightening.
Look at Colossians 3:16. It says, “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.”
You will notice that there is striking similarity between these passages. Both Ephesians 5 and Col. 3 talk about singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs and giving thanks. There is one difference though. Ephesians 5 tells us that we must be filled with the Spirit. And Col. 3 tells us that we must let the word of Christ dwell in us richly.
Now, I hope you can see what I’m driving at here. If we ask, “What does it really mean to be filled with the Spirit?” I hope you can see that Paul’s letter to the Colossians gives us the answer. To be filled with the Spirit is to have the the word of Christ dwelling in us richly. When God’s word fills you and dwells within you and has power over you, then you are experiencing what it means to be filled with the Spirit.
That’s why I say it is a convicting influence. And this is why it must happen again and again. You must fill yourself with God’s word. You must be renewed in your minds with the truth of God’s Word. You need to keep on going back to the Bible so that you may have discernment and wisdom. As you are convicted by the word of God and led by it in your daily decisions, then you are living the Spirit filled life.
As a side note, let me just say that this is exactly why we seek to have so much Scripture in our worship services. Some would say that it is boring or that our sitting in chairs is the farthest thing from a Spirit filled worship service. But I would beg to differ. I would like to argue, based on Paul’s epistles, that a Word filled service this is the most powerful demonstration of the Spirit’s operation among us that could ever be had.
And that is why Paul says that you need to be continually filled. It is not like you lost the Spirit and need to get filled again. It’s that today you need to have God’s word guide you. You need grounding in the word tomorrow and the next day. If you are not letting the word of God convict you and guide you, then you are not being filled with the Spirit.
Hopefully you find that helpful. I pray that in breaking this down you can better understand what it means to be filled with the Spirit. And I hope, subsequently, you can better lead a Spirit filled life.
Which brings us to our third heading. As we consider what a Spirit filled life is, we’ve look at its demand and seen how its defined. And there is a litte temptation to stop right there. But we should make sure that we peruse verses 19-21 too. For these tell us how the Spirit filled life is displayed.
III. Its Display
How do we know that someone is filled with the Spirit? If it is not by falling over and shaking, what are the tell tale indicators?
Well, Paul tells us in what follows. He gives have several participles (words ending in ‘ing’) that detail for us the types of things that a Spirit filled person will do. You will notice that a spirit filled congregation will be…
A. Addressing one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
This, of course, does not mean just ordinary conversation. It is reference to our corporate worship. It is speaking about how we edify one another by singing doctrinally rich songs.
Paul knows that worship is not an individualistic experience. It is a mutual time of uplifting.
Perhaps you have had the experience of singing a song by yourself and benefiting by it. But then you sang that exact same song in the context of the gathered saints. And somehow you came to gain even greater edification by it. What is the cause of that? How could it be so much more meaningful? Why is it that your soul seemed to benefit so much more? It is because the Lord uses the assembled body as a particular means of grace in your life. There’s something extra spiritual about it because it is, as we see here, a unique way the Spirit operates.
Now, should you ever wonder if you should go to worship, this is your answer. Maybe you wake up and you say, “Well, I don’t know if I should go to worship today.” You just don’t feel like it. Or maybe you are making plans and you are thinking you could go somewhere or do something else. Well, just remember that worship is not just for your benefit.
It is not just you and God, no matter how important that individual experience is. It is much more than that. You never know how much your presence and your voice might be adding to the edification of the entire church body.
Secondly, a Spirit filled person will be…
B. Singing and make melody to the Lord with your heart.
Here I should tip my hat to my bluegrass families. The word make melody is the word for psalms. You could say, “singing and psalming to the Lord.” But literally it means to pluck or to twang. They are always telling me our songs need some more twang to them. Well, here you go. Now you have biblical support.
But the idea here is that you are letting praise come from the depths of your soul. If you are filled with the Spirit, you are going to erupt with tunes of adoration.
Years ago we had Bible study in my living room with some folks and we would, as we often do, start by passing out the hymn books and singing some different songs. One evening we had gotten the living room set up with the chairs and hymnals. One of my children, being only a toddler, took one of those hymnals down onto the floor and opened it up. She could barely speak, she hadn’t learned many words yet. But that did not stop her from making melody with her heart. She belted out what bits of the tunes she knew and, of course, improvised the rest (as only a little child can do).
How much spirituality she may have had at that time I do not know, but it is certainly illustrative of what a spirit filled person should do.
Next, in verse 20, it tells us that we are to be
C. Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Notice that a Spirit filled person (and a Spirit filled congregation) will be a thankful people. Their complaining will be quite limited. And their gratitude will be effusive. They are giving thanks always and for everything. The superlatives should not escape you. There’s always something to be thankful for. There’s never a time when giving thanks is not appropriate.
I might add that there are some commentators who believe that it might be better stated “Giving thanks always and for everyone.” It is not just that your are thankful for your circumstances or the blessings you receive, but you are thankful for the people around you. You know that might be a reference back to the unity discussions that we had earlier. What better way to unite mixed congregation of Jews and Gentiles than having them voice their gratitude for one another.
But, if you really want to strengthen the church body, be a person who gives thanks for others. There’s always something or someone you can complain about. And a church that is lacking the Spirit will be a place of constant griping and gossip. But when there’s appreciation being expressed and thanks being rendered to God, then you know that the Spirit has filled the place.
One last item Paul mentions as a tell tale evidence of the Spirit’s filling is there in verse 21. He says that we will be…
D. Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Now, this is a verse that is not only taken out of context, it is utterly massacred by so many in our world today. This verse is used by people to promote a radical egalitarianism. Everyone has to submit to everyone else. And they will use this verse to counteract the following verses about women submitting to their husbands, because, you see, we are to submit to one another.
So, when it comes to marriages, they say that a man’s headship is really discounted because he needs to submit to her just as much as she needs to submit to him.
But you see the folly of that. If everyone is submitting, there’s no one leading. And typically what people mean by submitting to one another is that you do not have the power to tell me what to do. You need to submit to me.
What does Paul mean? Well, you have to take this phrase in its context. Paul is about to talk about various people in relation to their respective authorities. Wives and husbands, children and parents, slaves and their employers. In other words, there are groups of people who need to submit in their different places and relations. And, Paul says, one of the signs of your being filled with the Spirit is that you are able to submit to your authorities.
To put it another way, this becomes an introduction to the next segment of Paul’s letter. This is not a blanket statement that everyone needs to submit to everyone else. Not at all. It is merely a preparation statement for what follows. God calls his people to be filled with the Spirit. And that means you will submit to one another where you are biblically bound to do so.
Obviously, we will have more to say about that in the coming weeks. But it is enough to say for now that Spirit filled people are not people who buck authority. They willingly give obedience where they need to “out of reverence for Christ.”
There you have it. Those are the tell tale signs. One who is filled with the Spirit will display a certain kind of life. And Paul has described their conduct in the form of the edification they bring to one another, the songs that they sing, the gratitude they show, and the submission they willingly give.
Conclusion
Knowing this, and knowing what it is to be filled with the Spirit, may God grant that we continue to be a Spirit filled people.