Be Filled with the Spirit

"And be not drunk with wine wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." Eph. 5 vv. 18-21.

Be Filled BY the Holy Spirit

God wants to fill you with good things. In Matthew 7 v 11, we find the parallel to the passage that we read, just a minute or so ago, from Luke 11. Here it says, however, "...how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" In Luke it says that the Father will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him; in Matthew it says He will give good things.

So, in our verse in Ephesians 5, the Holy Spirit is the agent rather than the substance; not what you are filled with, but the one Who does the filling. You can look at other Scriptures which refer to being filled with the Spirit, and in the Greek they are different in construction from the phrase here. It says that John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit, but closer examination of the text shows that he was full of the Holy Spirit. And it says that Elisabeth was full of the Holy Spirit; and Zacharias was full of the Holy Spirit; Jesus, going into the wilderness was full of the Holy Spirit; Stephen was a man full of the Holy Spirit; and those seven chosen to serve, of whom Stephen was one, were men full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. Here, in Ephesians 5, the construction is different. It does not say, "Be full of the Holy Spirit"; it says, "Be filled by the Holy Spirit." This is something different from the baptism in the Holy Spirit, but is a consequence of it.

1. Do NOT be Filled with Wine

   What Paul also sets before us is a contrast between the old life and the new life. Now we need to go back to the beginning of the verse, for there he says: "Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit." Do not be soaked with wine, saturated with wine, wherein is excess. This word excess is made up of the Greek word for 'saved' with a prefix which has the effect of cancelling out the word. In other words, there is no salvation in being filled with wine. But be filled with the Spirit! Do not be filled with the wine of the old life. There is similarity here: when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, some said that they were filled with new wine. Peter pointed out that they were not drunk since it was only nine o'clock in the morning. Nevertheless, it is remarkable that when they were filled with the Holy Spirit, some people, albeit mockingly, said they were drunk. Beware of judging only by outward appearance. A lot of people bring into meetings some of the wine of the old life, to try to stimulate a bit of life, to 'pep' the services up a bit. That is not what we want. Do not be drunk with wine wherein is no salvation, but be filled by the Spirit.

   People in the world think that wine is the secret to success in social gatherings. When the wine flows, the party swings. The problem is that alcohol is a depressant drug, and the next morning people soon find how greatly they have been deceived by it by the size of their hangover. But Paul says, "Let the Holy Spirit fill you." When He fills you, He does not switch you off, but He lifts you up. A people full of the Holy Spirit and being filled by the Spirit will be a lively, rejoicing people. Do not think that the good times that this world has to offer are going to satisfy. In the end they will leave you with a giant hangover; that aching void which only God can fill. Leave the old wine behind. It brings confusion and gets rid of control, but when you have the Holy Spirit filling you, then there is perfect order and perfect control. These practical issues, which we shall be studying, will present no problem; your life will be perfectly ordered as you let the Holy Spirit fill you with good things.

   Wine results in wastefulness and destruction; but with the Holy Spirit there is productivity. He is life-giving, bringing salvation. Wine exhausts you and wears you out. It takes away your energy; but the Holy Spirit energises and empowers. You cannot get exhausted in the work of the Holy Spirit because He energises. In fact, in Ephesians 3 v 16, it says: "That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man."

   There is strength and power for you. Wine impoverishes but the Holy Spirit enriches. The old life produces the works of the flesh; the Holy Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit. Wine makes people sad - yes, merry for a while, but in excess it brings sadness - but the Holy Spirit brings blessedness. We read about the blessedness of the people who are God's people, filled with the Holy Spirit, right through the Scriptures. That well-known scripture in the Song of Solomon is so encouraging: "We will be glad and rejoice in Thee, we will remember Thy love more than wine."

2. Filled with the Word of Truth

   So the Spirit fills. Be filled by the Spirit. Let us stop looking to the world for things to fill our lives with, those bits of entertainment to fill up the gaps. Let us look to the Holy Spirit to fill our lives. Now the Holy Spirit wants to fill you with more of God's treasures. And the Bible shows us that His riches are inexhaustible. In other words, there is a never-ending supply to be poured into your life. The more He pours in, the more there is to be received. He wants to fill you with Life in every aspect of your being. He is called, in John chapter 14, the Spirit of Truth, but the world will not receive that truth. It is for you, Spirit-filled believer. The Holy Spirit wants to reveal truth to you. In John 16 and from verse 13, Jesus revealed that the Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth. Are you concerned about truth? Let the Holy Spirit fill you. He will teach you the words of Jesus (John 14 vv 25/26). In fact, a passage in Colossians 3 v 16 says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."

   Ephesians tells us to be filled by the Spirit; in Colossians we are instructed to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom. You will have noticed that the verse we have just read is, in other respects, parallel to that of Ephesians 5. When you are filled by the Holy Spirit, that is what happens. The word of Christ dwells in you richly in all wisdom. He teaches you the words of Jesus. In I John chapter 2 we have that wonderful passage about that anointing we have received, which abides. In I John 2 v 20: "But you have an unction from the Holy One, and you know all things." What me? Yes, you know all things. It is rather like a networked computer station which knows all things that are in the network. Yet the information is not in the station, but in the network. It has access to all the information, not all at once but as and when needed. God knows all things and through the Holy Spirit we have access to His knowledge and can say that we know all things. Paul told the Corinthians, "I have the mind of Christ." Amazing truth!

   And so John continues: "These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which you have received of Him abides in you, and you need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, you shall abide in Him." (vv 26/27)

   There is a teaching of the Holy Spirit as we let the Holy Spirit fill us. He fills us with truth; He fills us with Jesus' words. In John 15 vv 26/27, Jesus said, "He will speak of Me."

3. Be Filled with the Love of God

   Then Romans 5 v 5 says that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given to us. The love of God - the Holy Spirit is filling us with all these things. We have read from Ephesians 3 about being strengthened with might in the inner man. He fills with strength; He energises. Romans 14 v 17 emphasises that the kingdom of God is not meat and drink but righteousness and joy and peace in the Holy Spirit. He fills us with righteousness; He fills us with peace; He fills us with joy. It is all from the Holy Spirit. Look at Romans 15 v 13: "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit."

4. Be Filled with Assurance

   He gives us assurance. Did you know that? As you allow the Holy Spirit to fill your life, He will fill you with assurance. Doubts will evaporate.
   "Hereby we know that He abides in us by the Spirit which He has given us." (I John 3 v 24)
   "Hereby know we that we dwell in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit."
   (I John 4 v 13)
   "The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." (Romans 8 v 16)
   And the Holy Spirit is pouring all this in, all the time - truth, the words of Jesus, Jesus, the love of God, strength, righteousness, peace, joy, assurance.