Feb
22
Be filled with the Spirit–a command?
Filed Under Christian Living
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit… [Ephesians 5:18].
Paul commands believers to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul is not saying, “Wait for God the Spirit to do something to you.” Paul does not say to the Christian, “Be justified,” because every Christian is perfectly justified. Justification is not a process; it is a once-and-for-all action of God in which he declares the believer righteous in Christ. We cannot be more justified today than we already are, any more than an expectant mother can be more pregnant than she already is. Paul does not say, “Be adopted into the family of God,” because all who have received Christ have been given the right to be called the sons of God. We cannot become more the sons and heirs of God than a boy can become more the son of his parents. Paul does not say, “Be united with Christ; be in Christ,” because every Christian at the new birth has the privilege of union with Christ, and we spend the rest of our lives working out the great privileges of this status. Justification, adoption into the family of God and union with Christ are all perfect works of God, but being filled with the Spirit is a command we have to obey like all the commands in this section; “walk in love,” “have nothing to do with the fruitless works of darkness,” “make the most of every opportunity,” “do not get drunk with wine” - all such commandments are duties we must obey. We must see to it that we are filled with the Spirit, just as we see to it that we are not drunk.
In Acts we see occasions where people are filled with the Spirit. Sometimes it happens in times of crisis or urgent need. Peter had already been filled with the Spirit to preach the Word of God to thousands at Pentecost. Then a few days later he is again facing another crisis when the Sanhedrin seized Peter and John and put them in prison. Luke records the scene like this in Acts 4:5-8, “The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest’s family. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: ‘By what power or what name did you do this?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them . . .” Peter was given extraordinary courage and wisdom to confront this evil court. He was filled with the Spirit to do this.
This was the case with Paul when he was on the isle of Paphos in Acts 13. Elymas the Sorceror was trying to dissuade the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, from becoming a Christian. Then Paul was filled with the Spirit (13:9) and he confronted this sorcerer and delivered a rebuke so solemn and effective that we are told about the proconsul, “when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.”
There are crises that come into our lives, as pastors face difficult confrontations, as a family goes through a time when a loved one has a terminal illness, when a husband loses his job, then we are under an obligation to be filled with the Spirit to face that providence. God’s answer to the suffering and the nervousness and the uncertainty and the ignorance and need is to fill us with his Spirit, who lovingly ministers to us and enables us to go on with confidence. He fills us to keep trusting, keep praying, keep counting it all as joy, and keep looking to Jesus.
Thus, the Greek present imperative verb is well-translated as Go on being filled…
Paul gives us a negative contrast to help us understand; Do not be drunk with wine, but be filled…. We speak of people being “under the influence of alcohol.” Their speech changes, their behavior changes—the shy person becomes loud and outgoing, etc.—and attitudes change. Scripture says to you, “Let your life be under the influence of the Holy Spirit, with your mind and heart and will surrendered to the Spirit, who will produce in you the desire and the power the glorify Christ.”
Some folk miss the meaning here and wrongly believe that being filled with the Spirit means being giddy, irrational, with no inhibitions or self-control. Pharmacologically speaking, alcohol is a depressant, and it hinders the faculties of self-control. That is why people do such stupid and dangerous things when they are drunk. But the person filled with the Spirit shows self-control–a sound mind, keen discernment, disciplined emotions expressed in ways that build others up rather than tear them down.
What influences your life? Are you under the influence of the Spirit, or are you drunk with the wine of this age and its goals and values?
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