So even though He was on the earth, He still belonged to heaven. Here the Holy Spirit is seen as a river. “Being Filled With The Spirit” – Ephesians 5:18-20 1) The verb here “to be filled” has several connotations. “Be filled” is ‘plerousthe’ in the Greek language. Ephesians 5:19 simply tells us what being filled with the Holy Spirit is and, incidentally, as we’ll see, how to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Instead they are filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Some people in the days of Paul, and I’m told, even in some cultures today, believed that the spirit world could be entered through drunkenness. So Ill start with my conclusions and then give the biblical support. Paul, in Ephesians 5: 18, says to be filled with the Spirit. Genesis 19:32-35. And some from other denominations have made it monolithic in a different way, saying that you got the Holy Spirit when you got saved and that's … 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. Fill your life with the Holy Spirit. Instead of living a life of fighting and quarreling, and envy and jealousy, that kind of thing. God begins to build you up. Besides this there is another wrong concept of the Holy Spirit's filling that claims that Ephesians … And, how can we be filled with the Spirit? The Ephesians are filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:6) Acts 19:8-10 Paul and Timothy make Ephesus their base for the next three years (53-56AD) (see Acts 20:31). Sin is what hinders the filling of the Holy Spirit, and obedience to God is how the filling of the Spirit is maintained. It takes a heavenly fire to counter that. When the apostle exhorts us to be filled with the Spirit in Ephesians 5:18, he is not teaching that those in Christ get a measure of the Holy Spirit that comes and goes at will. Ephesians 5:18...be filled with the Spirit. Then you become a work of God. Then you receive the power of the Spirit! Itâs the heavenly power that opposes everything that comes from the flesh. And the content that you get in your spirit will remain with you for all of eternity. Then youâre drawn to the world, and Satan gains power over your life. You may be interested in reading more on our topic page about the Holy Spirit, or in the articles below: Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, unless otherwise specified. Used by permission. This is not ‘our’ power, but it’s the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. They stay in the home of Aquila and Pricilla where the church in Ephesus meets (see 1 Corinthians 16:19). To be “be filled” means that the filling of the Spirit is a work of God, not man. The effect in verse 19 is very musical. Terms of Use: Apart from personal use, reproduction or redistribution of material from the ActiveChristianity website for use elsewhere is not permitted without prior written permission. We are filled with the Spirit so God can flow through us like a powerful river to impact others. And … Your spirit begins to taste of the world; it tastes of earthly things rather than the things that are above. Do not get drunk with wine, for that is wickedness (corruption, stupidity), but be filled with the [Holy] Spirit and constantly guided by Him. Clearly joy in Christ is the mark of being filled with the Spirit. All light comes from God. 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 … Temptation to sin flares up like a fire. The clause ἀλλὰ πληροῦσθε ἐν πνεύματι in Eph. He is not a force or influence. “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit”. It has the connotation of a continuous replenishment, an ongoing state of being filled. Ephesians 5:18 Context. There is the idea of fullness; as in a glass being filled to... 2) Another sense is like the wind filling sails. ActiveChristianity® by Brunstad Christian Church aims to show how Godâs word challenges and empowers followers of Jesus to live 100% according to Godâs will, so we no longer need to fall in sin, but can come to a life of victory. Being filled with too much alcohol leads to drunkenness and destruction. Ephesians 3:14-19). “You are light in the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8). Light and glory. The "being brought to completion in the Spirit" is none other than being filled with the fullness of God (cf. Ephesians 5:18. Since I cannot overcome sin without the help of the Holy Spirit, it is very important how I respond when He speaks to me. Last week, we began a section which starts in Ephesians 5:15. Then weâll be able to rule and reign together with Jesus Christ in eternity! There is a difference. Ephesians 5:18 “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. He loved His Father and His Fatherâs will. Ephesians 5:18 commands that we be filled with the Spirit; however, it is not praying for the filling of the Holy Spirit that accomplishes the filling. You get a connection with the living God! Many people who do not really know God nor fully understand the scriptures, try to live out of their own strength and power. God’s power is available to us because of his Holy Spirit in us. With that light you become happy and content and satisfied. But you can receive a new mind â a heavenly mind, with a new spirit! Exodus 31: 1 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God… We tend to have a distorted view of God and the Holy Spirit. This principle is true when we come to the New Testament, bles… These are the things that ordinary, earthly people live in. Purchase or download Christian literature at Christian BookShop, the online bookstore for Hidden Treasures Foundation Publishers (HTFP)/Stiftelsen Skjulte Skatter Forlag (SSSF). 15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Let’s look together at Ephesians 5:18-21. He wants to give us glorified bodies. •• Various Greek scholars and bible commentators point out that the Greek present imperative tense is used in this verse. The nation of Israel, for example, was taken up by God and blessed in a special way, and God demanded of that nation a higher form of conduct that He expected from the Gentile nations, because they were not blessed in the same way as Israel was. 5:22). © bcc.media foundation, To be filled with the Spirit means that you have received the Holy Spirit, and are walking in and being obedient to the light He gives you, and are filled with power to live a life for God, partaking of spiritual gifts. This article is based on a talk by Kaare J. Smith on October 21, 2019. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, Who is the Holy Spirit? Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” Is our experience of the Holy Spirit any less urgent or less vivid today than it was in the days of the apostles? Obey Him and you will be filled with the Spirit! This is true in all dispensations. God fills the vacuum created by the sudden exit of the teachers by giving the disciples the gift of joy, which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; be not. We read the NT accounts of believers and feel that our faith is just not that exciting, why? And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. The Spirit of Jesus is heavenly. You follow in your Bible as I read. Let me provide a little background for you, however. He doesn’t say, “Fill yourself with the Spirit” but rather “Be filled with the Spirit.” This is the key to everything. All rights reserved. Powered by Knownhost and the Genesis Framework. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And the Spirit can also be described as âthe Man with the light!â Light streams into your mind. Then you receive a tremendous help in life. Genesis 9:21. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but ever be filled and stimulated with the [Holy] Spirit. He creates life in your spirit. We who once lived in all kinds of different sins and were sinners right from the beginning, we receive a new life through the Spirit. Why is it that so many Christians feel there is something missing in their spiritual life? You can speak to one another with songs of praise, as itâs written further on. Stephen Olford said, we ought to be consciously filled, we ought to be continuously filled, we ought to be conspicuously filled with the Holy Spirit… And thatâs why Paul says, âBe filled with the Spirit.â Because when you get the power of this Spirit within, then youâre able to live a heavenly life here on earth. Have you ever wondered what it means for you to present your own body as a living sacrifice? There are several places in the Bible where the “filling” of the Spirit is mentioned (e.g., Acts 4:8, 31; Acts 13:52), but the classic New Testament verse is Ephesians 5:18 (ESV): “ And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.” You’ll find five instances recorded in Acts of early believers being filled with the Spirit, and the evidence was they spoke in tongues. EPHESIANS 5.18-21. And there is laughter and rejoicing in your heart. If youâre not filled with the Holy Spirit, then you canât manage to stand against the spirit of the times. Ephesians 5: 15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Because their whole life, their very existence, is drawn to the earth. As light we expose the darkness making the law of Christ visible to the world. Kistemaker, Acts, 498.] That's when we go down to the altar and someone lays hands on me, I speak in tongues, and then I'm in the club. God wanted to manifest that this was a new time, with new opportunities and possibilities for people to partake of the same life that the Father had led His Son to. Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Godâs Spirit dwells in Jesusâ commandments and the laws of the Spirit of life; in everything that He has said â in the Word. So the Spirit came with a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind. Once again this aspect of the Spirit-filled life reflects and draws together a principle found in many other places in Scripture. Specific flaws such as sexual immorality, crude speech, and wasting of time are discouraged. Why do I need Him? So how can you become filled with the Spirit? Rather than imitating the world, or being controlled by worldly things, Christians are to be filled with the Spirit. Finally someone shows him the ignition! The presence of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of the believers is in itself indescribable joy.”[33. We've made a monolithic experience of the Holy Spirit. 5:21). The normal presentation of teaching in the New Testament is that once we are blessed by God in whatever way we are blessed there should be a corresponding walk. I had a letter this week from my friend Baruch Maoz in Israel. Have you experienced the incredible power that comes when you are filled with the Spirit? Ephesians 5:18. It’s tense indicates a continuous command to keep being filled with the Holy Spirit. The word “filled” here, and in Acts 2:4, means “to be influenced by.” The RYRIE STUDY BIBLE notes concerning Ephesians 5:18 say: “…Paul has taught in this epistle that all believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit when they believe (Ephesians … To be filled with the Spirit is not a mechanical formula that you go through, where you “pull the Holy Spirit lever” and all the goodies come pouring out. Your email address will not be published. The third practical consequence of being filled with the Holy Spirit is mutual submission to other believers: "and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ" (Eph. John 6:27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. I think it might help you follow me if I tell you at the outset where I am going. What an incredibly fantastic calling we have when we seek God. Because we are still infected with sin, it is impossible to be filled with the Spirit … The Holy Spirit should always be referred to as 'He' and not an 'It'. We need to be filled with the Holy Sprint. Eternal life! Rather, it is a relationship with the Triune God through His indwelling Spirit. Because itâs written that He gives His Spirit to those who obey Him. In Ephesians 5:18 it’s written: “… be filled with the Spirit To be filled with the Spirit means that you have received the Holy Spirit, and are walking in and being obedient to the light He gives you, and are filled with power to live a life for God, partaking of spiritual gifts... .” This is a simple and good exhortation. (Romans 8:3) It was the Father who gave Him light. But Ephesians 5:18 is in the passive voice. Only our obedience to God’s commands allows the Spirit freedom to work within us. We previously learned from Ephesians 5:18 what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit and how to be filled. We should never insult the Holy Spirit by treating Him as if He is not a person. It consumes and destroys so that everything that belongs to an earthly life becomes just like some burnt out ruins. He came to earth because of sin, in order to help us. And that was the Spirit that He gave back to the disciples on the day of Pentecost. Ephesians 5:1–21 continues Paul's invaluable instructions on how Christians should live out their faith. 5:18b has been predominantly translated “but be filled with the Spirit” to convey that the Spirit is the content with which the audience is to be filled. Rather, Paul's admonition entails the normative Christian experience of life and fellowship within the body of Christ, the church. He lived His life in the will of the Father and He offered Himself in the power of an eternal Spirit. Therefore, I want to try to answer two questions today: What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? (Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:42-44,49). A river produces power. Ephesians 5:18 says, “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.” I argued Sunday morning that verses 19–21 describe the effects of being filled with the Spirit. It was the Father who led Him the whole way and condemned sin in His flesh. All darkness comes from the devil. But the Spirit creates life! a) Filling of the Holy Spirit is a moment by moment relationship, that may be hindered FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. The apostle Paul commands in Ephesians 5:18 that we be filled with the Spirit. 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; And thatâs the power of the Holy Spirit. God really wanted to show people that this was the beginning of a new era. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father…. Ephesians 3:16-20. He works in you, both to will and to do. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. In Ephesians 5:18 itâs written: â⦠be filled with the SpiritTo be filled with the Spirit means that you have received the Holy Spirit, and are walking in and being obedient to the light He gives you, and are filled with power to live a life for God, partaking of spiritual gifts ... .â This is a simple and good exhortation. I think being filled with the Spirit means, basically, having great joy in God. An important portion of Scripture that refers to the filling of the Holy Spirit is Ephesians 5:17-21: Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Philippians 2:13) And the new life that emerges, thatâs an eternal life. In the book of Acts, we find the Holy Spirit filling people and they become bold witnesses. So when you present yourself to be obedient to that, then the Spirit comes to you! And a spirit consists of thoughts, so the Holy Spirit gives you new thoughts! Then those who were in Jerusalem saw that people were speaking in other tongues, etc. Being filled with the Holy Spirit, on the other hand, results in sobriety and edification. That people were speaking in other tongues, etc results in sobriety and edification present imperative tense is in..., their very existence, is drawn to the disciples on the hand... 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