The Spirit-Filled Life

And do not get drunk with wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18 NIV)

[Early in the service, before the praise team leads the music:] Does anyone know what the evidence of a Spirit-filled life is? Now before you go there, let me tell you that it is NOT speaking in tongues! Paul makes it painfully clear in I Corinthians 12 that tongues is not a universal gift given to every believer. So what is it? It’s found in our text today. Ephesians 5:18-20.

18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The visible evidence of being filled with the Spirit is “speaking to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Singing and making music in our hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!”

That’s what we are here to do this morning – to sing, to speak to one another in psalms of praise – to give testimony of God’s goodness, and give thanks to Him – and we’re going to do it all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…So join us in singing!

[Video Clip – Jaws[i] – Father sits at kitchen table, head in hands, little boy sits next to him, mimicking his every move.]

In Ephesians 5:1, we are commanded to be “imitators of God, as dearly loved children.” Like a child walking in the steps of his earthly father, we are called to walk a walk that reflects the character of our Heavenly Father. Paul describes that walk as a walk of love in 5:2, a walk as light in 5:8, and a walk in wisdom in 5:15. We have examined the characteristics of this walk over the last three weeks.

It’s a tall order. We are called to live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. It sometimes feels impossible to live as light in the world that is so full of darkness. And walking a walk of wisdom, carefully discerning the truth and making the most of every opportunity, seems a monumental task. Perhaps it is possible for a few “super spiritual” people, because it seems to be far beyond the reach of most of us.

On this coming Saturday, the ladies ministry here at Gateway Community Church are holding a Women’s Conference here entitled, “Becoming a Woman of Excellence – Living Above the Level of Mediocrity.” It promises to be an excellent opportunity for our ladies – but it is a call that we all need to hear. Far too many of us are living a life of mediocrity – weak, tepid, lukewarm, milquetoast – choose your adjective. The life of a believer that is described in the Bible seems far removed from what we see all around us, and, most of all, when we look in the mirror.

Have you ever wondered at the mediocrity of what passes for the normal Christian life? Why is it that so many of us are not living lives that are above the level of mediocrity - marked by peace, joy, patience, power, goodness, and love - a Christian life of excellence?

Many have concluded that excellence is only for “the few.” This is an easy conclusion to draw, and it is very tempting to do so. If we draw this conclusion then we can excuse our own mediocrity. But this conclusion has absolutely no basis in Scripture. There is no elite Christian life which can only be enjoyed by an exclusive class of super-saints while the rest of us languish in weakness. The victorious, excellent Christian life, marked by the power of the Spirit, is for every believer. The truth of the matter may be that many evangelical churches, and many of our personal lives, are lacking power and excellence because of an under-emphasis on a personal, powerful, and dynamic relationship with the Holy Spirit – the filing of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit-filled life.

Two Neanderthal men stumbled across a fire in the middle of a wide-open space. They had never seen fire before. As they investigated this new energy, they discovered several wonderful things about it. They discovered that it:

1. Creates Light.
2. Creates power, energy by which they could roast their wild boar.
3. Creates warmth.
4. Creates fellowship. They were now able to spend hours in the evening, gathered around this fire.

Months went by. One of the Neanderthal men began to get reckless with the fire. He began to experiment and use it for purposes for which it was not meant. One day the fire burned out his entire cave, and he lost his family in the process. All the Neanderthal people reacted with horror and dismay. They went out and collected water and went to every fire they had and doused it. Eventually all the fire as gone, and they were back in the dark ages for another thousand years. What happened? They over reacted because of the abuse of something, which was not only good for them, but was essential for progress and comfort in the future.

Unfortunately the same thing has happened in Christian circles when it comes to the Holy Spirit. Because of some abuses and irresponsible teachings, many Christians, and many churches, have become afraid of an essential teaching of the Bible that creates light, power, energy, warmth and fellowship. The Holy Spirit’s filling in our lives is the essential element in our ability to walk as imitators of God and rise above the level of mediocrity that identifies so many of us. And yet it seems to be an area that many of us, and many churches are afraid to talk about.

We dare not skirt this issue, however, or pull things out of context. It is of paramount importance that we get this right – that we put to rest the fear, confusion and emotion that sometimes surround what is actually a very clear teaching of Scripture.

The surprising thing is that it’s not really all that difficult – just a few basic principles to understand. So let’s dive right in!

15Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Before we look at those few basic principles that I described a moment ago, let’s remember that this is in the context of walking in wisdom – part of our imitation of God. We cannot hope to walk in wisdom and imitate God without being filled with the Holy Spirit. No matter how hard we may try in our own efforts, we will never be successful. The only result we will see is an increase in our level of frustration – because we will be trying to do the impossible. I don’t think you have to be a seminary trained theologian to figure out that it is impossible for a human being to be an imitator of God – without God Himself making it feasible.

What, then, are the principles we can learn about being filled with the Spirit from this most direct passage on the subject in all of the Scripture? To help you remember them, I’m calling them practical principles for procuring power

The premier practical principle is presented principally by paradox. Paul uses contrast to show us the pervasiveness of the Spirit’s filling. It is total. He says, “Do not bet drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery…” (Debauchery is depravity, sin, wickedness and corruption.) “Instead,” Paul says, “be filled with the Spirit.” There is a link, by this contrast to the way that a drunk is controlled by alcohol, and the filling of the Holy Spirit. In fact, Warren Wiersbe points out that the verb “fill” here has nothing to do with content or quantity – as though we were empty and we need to be made full – instead it means “controlled by.”[ii] The Jewish leaders are described as “filled” with anger, or envy. They were controlled by that emotion. In the same way, this verse is speaking about being controlled by the Holy Spirit, in the same way that a drunk is controlled by alcohol.

When a person gets pulled over for drunk driving, the charge is called “DUI,” – what does that mean? It means “Driving Under the Influence.” In a drunk, the alcohol influences everything that drunk does. It affects his speech, both the words he uses and how he says them. It affects his judgment from decision making to distances. It affects his emotions, creating wild swings of anger, sadness, fear, jealousy or others. In short, the alcohol controls his mind, emotions and will.

Being filled with the Spirit means “LUI” - “living under the influence.” That the same level of control happens in the life of a believer, but it is the Spirit of God that affects our speech, judgment, emotions and will. Being filled with the Holy Spirit means that the Spirit of God has control over me in the every day events of my life. He influences the stuff I watch, the places I go, the way I speak, and the motives of my heart. This is amazingly practical – not confusingly theological. The filling of the Holy Spirit is a street-level, day-to-day, reality. This is a critical truth, because there’s a widely held idea that this “filling with the Spirit” is some wildly experiential “event” that happens to a few, and as a result, many Christians are afraid of it, feel they have missed it, or are unworthy of it. Not so! The filling of the Holy Spirit is for every believer, and is the will of God for you – in fact it is commanded in this verse “Be Filled!”

This second principle is profound because of it’s own paradoxical properties. The statement “Be filled with the Holy Spirit” is both participatory and passive. It is a command, God’s command, and He expects us to obey it. That makes it participatory. I have a decision to make, an act of the will to exercise, a choice to apply. With any command, there must be obedience, and that implies the participation of the one to whom the command is made.

There are some who get really confused about the participatory part of being filled with the Spirit. I have talked to people who have rushed to an alter, and been urged, begged and even coached in how to be filled with the Spirit. That’s not what I see here, or anywhere else in Scripture. We are commanded to “be filled”, and our participation in that is to simply obey – to “be filled.”

You see, in this case, the command of God is to do something that is passive in nature. The verb “filled” is passive. We do not fill ourselves – it is God who fills us. We do not accomplish a filling of the Holy Spirit by our own efforts – but we do permit the Holy Spirit to fill us. Our participation is not to jump through all sorts of spiritual hoops to somehow convince the Spirit we are ready to be filled. Our participation is to permit the Holy Spirit to fill us as He has promised. We do that by granting Him control of our entire being on a daily basis – more correctly, on an hourly, even moment-by-moment basis. Which speaks to our third practical principle.

When Paul wrote this command, he chose very carefully to write the verb “filled” in the present tense in the original Greek. Which means that it literally means, “Keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit.” The filling of the Holy Spirit is not something that is limited to special occasions when some special speaker gets us all worked up into frenzy – it is to be a perpetual state of life for the believer in Jesus Christ. Living under the influence of the Holy Spirit is an experience that we should enjoy constantly, not just on a few occasions at a retreat or church service. Be filled while driving your car. Be filled while at work. Be filled while at Piggly Wiggly (with the Holy Spirit, not the free samples!). Be filled at home on Tuesday night – not just at church on Sunday morning.

The filling of the Holy Spirit us meant to be an on going, permanent, continual state for each and every one of us who has trusted in Jesus as Lord and Savior. It is not reserved for a select few “holy rollers,” it is the expected condition of every believer, at every moment of every day. Now that doesn’t mean that I won’t face challenges, struggles, depression, anger, frustration, fear or temptation – Jesus faced every one of those things, so did Paul, Peter, James, John and the rest. What it means is that I face them with the Holy Spirit’s influence. He is in control of me while I face those things. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not an escape from real life – it is the only way to face real life conditions in a powerful, victorious way!

I started the service this morning by asking, “What is the evidence of a Spirit-filled life?” Do you remember the answer? It’s found in verse 19&20. The Spirit filled life is effective – it influences every part of our lives – and it gives us the power to face real life circumstances in a God-honoring way. Look at verses 19&20. Right after telling us to “Be filled with the Holy Spirit,” Paul says, “Speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

As I thought about those words, I was reminded of a time when this principle was evidenced in Paul’s life. He had been preaching in Philippi, falsely accused, beaten, shackled and placed in the deepest, darkest part of a prison, without a fair trial.

What did Paul do? HE SANG! He and Silas, his ministry partner, were in this dark, damp cell, their backs bleeding and bruised, not knowing if they would live to see another day, and they were “speaking to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs!” They made music in their hearts to the Lord, and even the rest of the jail heard it. Why? Because they were filled with the Holy Spirit. That filling did not keep them from difficult times, unfair treatment or even death, but it gave them power to face life with joy and peace and love.

A pervasive, perpetual, powerful presence of the Holy Spirit that we permit God to fill us with – will you do that? Not just now, but each and every moment of every day? You want to be an imitator of God, as a dearly loved child? It’s all about surrender – giving Him control over every part of your life.

Father, I want to be obedient to Your word. I want to obey this commandment. So I surrender myself to You. Here and now, and for all time, I give you control of my life, my very being. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, keep filling me as I keep surrendering, and release your power in me – power to face the world with psalms of praise in my heart because of the peace of God that is there. Do this for me, and for every person in this room, as we give ourselves to you. AMEN.