Be Filled With the Spirit
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, Ephesians 5:18 (NIV)
Paul has already told his readers that they have been ‘sealed’ with the Holy Spirit (1:13) and that they must not ‘grieve’ the Spirit (4:30). Now he tells them to ‘be filled with the Spirit’ (5:18). Grammatically, this section has two imperatives (the commands not to get drunk but to be Spirit-filled) followed by four present participles – speaking, singing, thanking and submitting. Theologically, it first posits our Christian duty (to avoid drunkenness but seek the Spirit’s fullness) and then describes four consequences of this spiritual condition, in terms of our relationships (5:22-6:9).
Paul begins by drawing a comparison between drunkenness and the Holy Spirit’s fullness: ‘Do not get drunk on wine … Instead, be filled with the Spirit’ (5:18). There is a superficial similarity. A person who is drunk is said to be ‘under the influence’ of alcohol and a Spirit filled Christian is ‘under the influence’ of the Holy Spirit. But there the comparison ends and the contrasts begin. Drunkenness ‘leads to debauchery’ (5:18). The word Paul chose here involves not only the uncontrolled action of a drunken man (cf. Titus 1:6; 1 Peter 4:4) but also the idea of wastefulness. The corresponding adverb is translated ‘wild living’ in Luke 15:13 of the prodigal son. Both the wastefulness and the lack of self-control implied by this word should not be seen in the lives of those who belong to Christ.
The Greek construction of ‘be filled with the Spirit’ (5:18) is more literally ‘be filled in Spirit/spirit.’ Romans 8:9 speaks of being ‘in the Spirit’ to describe the Christian’s experience, as against the non-Christian’s life which is ‘in the flesh.’ Ephesians gives a special significance to this phrase ‘in the Spirit’ (2:18,22; 3:5; 6:18) as well as to ‘in Christ.’ It is as if the two thoughts of being filled with the Spirit and living ‘in the Spirit’ are being expressed at the same time. To make the expression ‘filled in Spirit’ alone would deprive it of the force of its meaning in the context, and obviously the only way we can be ‘filled in spirit’ is by the Holy Spirit.
The tense of the verb in ‘be filled with the Spirit’ (5:18) is present imperative, implying that being filled with the Spirit is not a once-for-all experience. In the early chapters of Acts it is repeated that the apostles were ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’ (e.g. Acts 2:4; 4:31). The practical implication is that we are to keep our lives open to being repeatedly filled with the Spirit.
Neither be drunk with wine, which is rebellion; instead be filled with the fullness of the Holy Spirit Ephesians 5:18 (The Passion Translation)