Chap 1-3Chap 4-6 See what you are in ChristBe what you are in
Christ Doctrine Truth Application The Structure of the Book
Slide 3
Fullness of the Spirit Chap 5.18-21
Slide 4
In these verses Paul says some things are inseparable. We
cannot separate praise, thanksgiving and a warm Christian
fellowship from the possession of the fullness of God's Spirit. The
fullness of God's Spirit is vital, if God is to be praised, if his
people are to be overflowing with gratitude and if the church
fellowship is to experience the warmth and harmony that encourages
growth. But what is meant by being filled with the Spirit? There is
certainly a minefield of confusing teaching about on the subject
today. Introduction
Slide 5
Paul purposefully contrasts the fullness of the Spirit with
drunkenness; "do not get drunk with wine which leads to debauchery
but be filled with the Spirit v18. One of the reasons people get
drunk is that they are looking for an emotional uplift, a happy
time. Any book on pharmacology will tell you that alcohol is not a
stimulant but a depressant. It depresses the brain; the part of
man, which gives himself control, wisdom, understanding,
discrimination, judgement, and balance. Drunkenness robs a person
of all of that! Be filled with the Spirit
Slide 6
Being filled with the Holy Spirit produces quite different
results. There is no loss of control. Unfortunately many who claim
to be filled with the Spirit blame the Holy Spirit for much of
their bizarre and outlandish behaviour I couldnt help it, it was
the Spirit of God that made me behave that way. Paul teaches that
self-control is one of the fruits of the Spirit. cf Gal 5.22-24 But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such
things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have
crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Be
filled with the Spirit
Slide 7
It is impossible to have a rational conversation with someone
who is drunk. They do not think clearly, their understanding is
dulled. In contrast the Holy Spirit stimulates the thought process.
Instead of a loss of understanding there is a heightened
understanding. cf Paul's argument in 1 Cor. 2. The presence of the
Spirit sharpens ones mental powers. cf. the apostles defence before
the Sanhedrin: "when they realised that they were unschooled,
ordinary men, they were astonished." Acts 4.13. Be filled with the
Spirit
Slide 8
But what does it mean to be FILLED with the Spirit? The word
"filled Paul uses here means, "to be controlled by." To fill
oneself with alcohol is to be controlled by alcohol. We read of the
Pharisees being filled with anger, madness, and jealousy. they were
controlled by these things. Luke 4.28, 6.11 To be filled with the
Spirit is therefore to place oneself under the CONTROL of the Holy
Spirit. Being under the control of alcohol has a destructive and
dehumanising effect but being under the control of the Holy Spirit
has a constructive and creative effect in. The Spirit does not make
man a puppet unable to determine his own actions but makes man more
human: man as God intends him to be. Be filled with the Spirit
Slide 9
Paul describes the results of this filling in v19ff... First we
see that the quality of the Christians worship is improved. Paul
speaks of "making music in your heart to the Lord". There is a big
difference between mouthing hymns and singing from our heart. The
Result of the Spirits filling To sing from the heart is to be
stirred in the depth of our being. The heart in the Bible is used
to describe the seat of our personality, emotion and will. It is
the inwardness of our praise that God is primarily interested
in.
Slide 10
Paul says, "address one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual
songs". He's not saying stop speaking to one-another and start
singing instead! The context is public worship. What is the result
of such praise? Mutual encouragement. Praise is a great tonic for
the downcast Christian because it turns our thoughts to God and his
greatness and to Christ and his glory. And it is as we see
something of the complete adequacy of Christs grace, love, mercy
and power that our troubles are reduced. We may come to church
asking, why are you cast down my soul?" Psalm 42.5. But as a result
of being caught up in praise, our spirits are lifted. One of the
derivative effects of praise is the encouragement of God's people.
The Result of the Spirits filling
Slide 11
The second result is thankfulness v20. When the Spirit controls
our lives, he brings a heightened understanding of what God has
done as he unveils the riches of Gods grace. cf. The role of
Interpreter in Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress. He helped Pilgrim to see
the rich provision that has been made available to him. Result,
praise! Paul wants God to be honoured in the hearts of the
Ephesians, and for this reason has prayed for the eyes of their
understanding to be opened by the Spirit to see what God has done
for them. There is something seriously wrong, if our hearts are not
bursting with gratitude to God for all he has done. The Result of
the Spirits filling
Slide 12
Some today teach that the secret of Christian victory is
unconditional praise. The husband is encouraged to praise God for
his wife's adultery and the wife for her husbands drunkenness. We
are urged to praise God for every disaster, for floods, famine and
earthquakes and for those who died in them. What a perversion of
Pauls meaning, when he says give thanks for everything. Of course
the child of God learns in their suffering and can thank him for
his ability to bring good out of evil. Cf. Josephs words to his
brothers concerning their harsh treatment of him. You meant it for
evil but God meant it for good. Gen 50.20. But that is praising God
for being God, it is not praising him for evil. The Result of the
Spirits filling
Slide 13
The third practical result of the Spirits filling is described
in v21 as submission to one another out of reverence for Christ.
What kind of submission does Paul have in mind here? Is it a
submission that accepts peace at any price and which is prepared to
compromise the truth and is never prepared to disagree? No! One
only has to think of Pauls refusal to submit to Peter when Peter
sought to compromise the gospel. cf. Galatians 2. 11-14 What then
is the submission in view? The Result of the Spirits filling
Slide 14
The Holy Spirit is a humble Spirit and those who are filled
with him will display the meekness and gentleness of Christ. The
Spirit controlled Christian is neither a rampaging bull nor a
flashing light that draws attention to himself. Self-interest must
not to be the controlling drive in the Christians decision making.
It is so easy to suppress the claims of Christ's kingdom in favour
of selfish self-interest as the church at Philippi discovered. For
everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus
Christ. Phil 2.21 The Spirit of God helps us to submit one to the
other as we yield ourselves to his control and are filled by Him.
The Result of the Spirits filling
Slide 15
Being filled with the Spirit is not presented as suggestion but
as a command! A command, we are to take seriously. It is good to
ask, Is there more evidence of what God has accomplished in my life
than there was 1,5,10 years ago? The fullness or control of the
Spirit is something which every Christian must actively pursue.
Sadly some have viewed this as a once in a lifetime experience. BUT
and this is extremely important: the apostle purposefully uses a
continuous tense, we are to, go on being filled. An Exhortation to
Filling
Slide 16
But how are we to be filled with the Spirit? First, we need to
recognise that if we are Christians then he already lives within
our hearts. He cant control us unless he is present to take the
control.Secondly, we must want him to exercise control. He will
never seize the controls of our lives but waits for us to hand them
over. Illustration: Monopoly is a popular board game in the West.
Its goal is to purchase and develop as much property as possible.
Similarly the Spirit wants to control more and more of the board of
our lives. The more control he is given, the more able is he to
develop and build something beautiful for God. An exhortation to
filling?
Slide 17
Thirdly, we must guard against grieving him [4.30]. He is
grieved whenever lusts and passions break out of the cellars of our
lives because we have failed on a daily basis to put them to death.
Finally, we must be prepared to obey the word of God. Note, the
parallel passage in Colossians does not read, let the Spirit fill
you but Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. We must not
separate the Spirit from Scripture, he is its author. To obey the
Word and to surrender to the Spirit are virtually identical. Note
the connection between the Spirits fullness and obedience in Acts
5.32 we read: We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy
Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."
Slide 18
In this block of scripture Paul has been telling us how to live
a life, which will please God. We should not be surprised that he
concludes this subject with an appeal to be filled with the Spirit.
For only then will we begin to praise God as we ought, only then
will we begin to appreciate God as we ought and only then will we
be able to serve him as we ought. Conclusion Be filled with the
Spirit also ensures the freshness of the fruit of the Spirit in our
lives: love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
meekness, and self control.
