Podcast Notes:

Last time:

1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children

1-2 Follow God’s example – living a life of love

3 -6 Living holy lives

7-14 Living in the light

10 and find out what pleases the Lord

Today:

Ephesians 5:15-20 Living in the Spirit

15 Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise,

16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,

19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,

20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul continues the theme of how we should live as Christians.

In verse 15 we are to be careful how we live. In other words, we are to be careful to live lives of love, live holy lives and live in the light.

In verse 16 we are to make the most of every opportunity. What does Paul mean by this? Looking back to the section on living in the light it seems that Paul is saying that we should take every opportunity by our right living to expose the works of darkness.

In verse 17 we are told not to be foolish but to understand what the will of the Lord is. This takes us back to the theme of our last talk which we based mainly on verse 10 where Paul tells us to find out what pleases the Lord.

In fact, the remainder of his letter is devoted to this theme. It is the will of the Lord that:

We be filled with the Holy Spirit (5:18)

We live in right relationship with each other

Husbands and wives (5:22–33)
Children and parents (6:1-4)
Slaves and masters (6:5-9)

We know how to stand against the devil’s schemes (6:10-20)

So today we will begin to look at what Paul means by being filled with the Spirit.

What does he say in verses 18 to 20?

18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,

19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,

20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit

The meaning of do not get drunk is perfectly clear.

Note that Paul does not teach total abstinence but he does clearly teach moderation.

He warns of the dangers of what drinking can lead to – debauchery

Drunkenness is one of the works of the flesh listed in Galatians 5:19-21

By contrast, self-control is part of the fruit of the Spirit – Galatians 5:22-23

Did the disciples act in a drunken manner when they were filled with the Spirit at Pentecost?

Acts 2:13 Some made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much wine’.

Although many have interpreted the verse in this way, I personally see no need to do so. Would the Holy Spirit really cause people to appear to be manifesting the works of the flesh?

There is a far more satisfactory alternative explanation. Luke does not tell us that the disciples looked drunk. But imagine 120 people all speaking different languages at the same time! That in itself would be enough for the disciples’ critics to say they were drunk – something which, of course, Peter quickly denies.

But does Paul’s contrast with drunkenness mean that to be filled with the Spirit is the same as sanctification?

By no means. The role of the Holy Spirit in sanctification is a very important one.

But the book of Acts makes clear that being filled with the Spirit is being clothed with power which leads to charismatic manifestations.

Beware of the suggestion that Paul’s understanding was different from Luke’s.

If the Bible is God’s word, then systematic theology must be possible

We must be able to harmonise the different emphases of different writers because the same Holy Spirit inspired them all.

Luke was one of Paul’s travelling companions and it’s hardly likely that they would have had different views on such an important subject.

Consider the value of narrative passages of the NT (e.g the Gospels and Acts) to help us understand the terminology used in the epistles.

Paul tells us to be filled with the Spirit. Luke tells us what it looks like!

Paul is telling us to maintain the experience we received when we were first filled with the Spirit. And keeping filled with the Spirit will certainly help us to overcome temptation.

So, what more can we learn from verses 18-20?

18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,

19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,

20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

First, notice that ‘be filled with the Spirit’ is a present imperative in the passive voice!

This means that:

It’s a command

It’s a continuous command. We are to keep on being filled.

And it’s a command in the Passive Voice

Consider the implications of this:

It’s our responsibility to do it. Compare 2 Timothy 1:6-7 fan into flame.

With the command comes the enabling. Compare the command be healed

Second, note that Paul tells us how we can do this

Verse 19 says literally:

speaking to yourselves with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs singing and making music from your heart to the Lord, giving thanks…

Note:

The connection between being filled with the Spirit and speaking (cf. Acts 2:4)

The Greek is literally to yourselves

ἑαυτοῖς not ἀλλήλοις

(cf. 1 Corinthians 14:28 where Paul refers to speaking in tongues as speaking to oneself and to God)

In the phrase ‘spiritual songs’ the word used is pneumatikos which is used in 1 Corinthians 12 to describe the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The speaking will include tongues, but not exclusively so. Cf. 1 Corinthians 14:14-15.

Finally, in verse 21 Paul tells us to submit to one another ἀλλήλοις in fear of God.

Note both the personal and collective aspects of being filled – privately and in church.

Next time:

Living in right relationship with each other

Husbands and wives (5:22–33)
Children and parents (6:1-4)
Slaves and masters (6:5-9)