Outside of the command for unbelievers to trust in Christ for salvation, there is no more practical and necessary command in Scripture than the one for believers to be filled with the Spirit. [VB076 Podcast Notes]

Be Filled With The Spirit

Eph 5:15-21 (NKJV) – See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, [16] redeeming the time, because the days are evil. [17] Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. [18] And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, [19] speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, [20] giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, [21] submitting to one another in the fear of God.

Mankind is designed with a built-in mechanism for desire. This mechanism is called the will, and is a part of the living soul. The soul and the spirit of man is difficult to study or explain without referring to the manufacturer’s handbook. Only the Bible defines the spiritual part of man. The mystery unfolds more easily if you are born of the Spirit. Otherwise the desire for God is confused with selfish desires, which are the foundation of sin.

The Holy Spirit can be resisted (cf Acts 7:51), quenched, (1Th 5:19 - we can “throw water on the fire” by disobedience, etc), or He can be grieved (cf Eph 4:30). He is often grieved by unwholesome words (cf Eph 4:29). Believers need to be sensitive, submissive and obedient to the leading (or urging) of God’s Spirit in their daily lives.

Eph 5:18 -And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

The connecting word “and” clearly links this with the preceding verses (our daily conduct in Eph 5:15, our redemption of opportunities God presents in Eph 5:16, the will of God in Eph 5:17). The obvious implication is that being continually filled with the Spirit is intimately related to the will of God, and also to making the most of one’s time in our daily conduct during our life on earth.

Drunkenness is a work of the flesh (Gal 5:21). To be “under the influence” of alcohol hinders the “influence” or leading of Holy Spirit.

“Be filled with the Spirit” is a command, not a suggestion. The heathen finds his happiness in filling himself with wine and with worldly pleasures; the Christian finds his happiness in being filled with the Spirit. If you are not filled with the Spirit — you’ll be filled with something else.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is in the present tense, making it a continual command for the believer. In the book of Acts, the same people who were filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost were filled again (cf Acts 2:4 with 4:31). Most people don’t get drunk on just one drink. Likewise, being filled with the Holy Spirit is not just a one-time experience. There is an initial filling of the Holy Spirit and many subsequent fillings.

Just as drunkenness can change people’s personalities and make them act totally different, being filled with the Holy Spirit gives us the characteristics of Jesus.

Some of the effects of being filled with the Holy Spirit are listed in the following verses, 5:19-21. They include instruction from the Scriptures, worshiping with spiritual songs, giving thanks unto the Lord, and submission to one another.

It is easy to say we are filled with the Spirit because of some emotional feeling that we have, but Paul related the filling of the Spirit to life’s relationships. If you are truly filled with the Holy Spirit, godly actions will prove it. Three areas are mentioned; the husband-wife relationship (Eph 5:22-23), the child-parent relationship (Eph 6:1-4), and the slave-master relationship (Eph 6:5-9). Each relationship calls for a submission to one another as being service rendered unto the Lord.

Eph 5:19-21 (NKJV) – speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spir...