“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.”
Ephesians 5:18-19
After the command to walk in wisdom (Eph. 5:15), Paul exhorts the church in Ephesus to “be filled with the Spirit,” and then describes the five results of Spirit-fullness (3/10/24 message):
- “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.”
There is an internal change when we walk closely with the Spirit: we are filled with gratitude even in the most difficult circumstances and our hearts sing with joy in the Lord. And there is an external change in our relationships: we address one another with uplifting, worshipful words and happily submit to each other. Significantly, this passage flows right into a household code, applying that overflowing love and mutual submission to marriage, parenting and work.
Here in chapter five we marvel at the blessings of being filled with the Spirit, but Paul does not tell us HOW to experience such fullness. For that, we must turn to his prayer in chapter three.
“That according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 3:16-19
Did you catch that promise at the end? “That you may be FILLED with ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD.”
To be filled with the Spirit is not to be filled with something less than God, but to have inside of you “all the fullness of God.” As the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19) the believer is filled with the Spirit. However, we must daily seek this filling. Why don’t we just stay full?
It must be that we are very leaky pots.
“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”
2 Corinthians 4:6-7
Yes, we house the glory of God in our hearts – but these human hearts and minds and bodies of ours are cracked and broken jars of clay. So in order to be filled, we must seek God’s “free refills” every day, and even throughout the day. Thankfully sip-stealing is not forbidden in this case.
If you haven’t been encouraged and equipped recently in the realm of spiritual disciplines, a great book is Habits of Grace by David Mathis. That book will kindle your joy in the Lord and give you practical ways to “rake the leaves” of Bible reading and “mine for gold” through prayerful meditation on Scripture.
Another inspiring and practical resource I just came across is the Fight Hustle, End Hurry podcast. Comer and Bethke both wrote books confronting the modern culture of hustle and hurry and they summarize the Biblical call back to sabbath rest, unceasing prayer and other classical disciplines like silence, solitude, fasting, slowing (yep, that’s a discipline!) and more. One more resource.
Gary Thomas just released (2020) an updated and expanded version of his 2010 book. It is so helpful and freeing to realize that there are vastly different ways people tend to connect with God. Lean into the primary pathways God wired for you, and experiment with the other ones, as you might be surprised to enjoy them greatly.
The point is to be intentional with how you cultivate your spiritual life, making time to connect with God through His Word and the standard disciplines of prayer, meditation, fasting and study.
You don’t have to live your life on spiritual “empty.” God calls us to a life of fullness in the Holy Spirit. Find your pathway to an overflowing life!