EPHESIANS: ETERNALLY ENCLOSED IN GOD’S PLAN

Part XVI: The Filling Of The Holy Spirit

(Ephesians 5:18-21)

I. Introduction

A. Paul wrote Ephesians to encourage believers of God’s work to edify the Church regardless what happened to him in his imprisonment (Ryrie St. Bible, KJV, 1978, p. 1672: “Intro. to the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians”).

B. Ephesians 5:18-21 teaches the practice of believers’ being filled with the Holy Spirit for blessing in one’s life and ministry, and we view the passage for our insight, application and edification (as follows):

II. The Filling Of The Holy Spirit, Ephesians 5:18-21.

A. “From the viewpoint of practice and experience, the filling with the Spirit is the most important aspect of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. It is the filling ministry that makes this doctrine experimental (experiential), so much of which is basically nonexperiential . . . But, like many other aspects of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit it is not always clearly understood” (Charles Caldwell Ryrie, The Holy Spirit, 1973, p. 93; parentheses ours). We thus focus in this lesson on the filling of the Holy Spirit.

B. We learned back in Ephesians 1:13 that when one believes in Christ for salvation from sin and hell, he is sealed with the Person of God the Holy Spirit, obtaining all of the Holy Spirit that he will ever have!

C. However, the Holy Spirit may not always control the believer, requiring the need for His “filling.” We clarify:

1. When Paul told his readers to “be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18a), this order was made in contrast with one’s being drunk with wine, what was “in excess” (KJV), from the Greek term asotia, meaning “riotous, wasteful” (U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 675; R. C. Trench, Synonyms of the N. T., 1973, p. 53-56).

2. Thus, “filled” in this verse implies one’s being “controlled by the Spirit” in contrast to being filled with wine so that one is “controlled by” the wine’s alcohol, leaving him to act in a riotous, wasteful manner.

3. Since the believer already has all of the Holy Spirit he will ever have, he is thus “filled” or “controlled by” the Holy Spirit when he relies on the Spirit by faith as a way of life as is taught in Galatians 5:16 and 2:20.

4. The WAYS one’s being “controlled by” the Spirit will be expressed in the believer’s experience is described in Ephesians 5:19-21 in a general manner, and we explain:

a. Five participles in Ephesians 5:19-21 modify the verb “be filled” in Ephesians 5:18, and they describe four different ministries of the Holy Spirit’s “control” of the believer’s actions in his life.

b. The first participle is “speaking” in Ephesians 5:19a, and it describes how a Holy Spirit-controlled believer ministers to other believers in music through the means of performing psalms, hymns and spiritual odes. Such a ministry must be rich in theological content according to Colossians 3:16 so that believers can teach and admonish one another through musical expression. [The use of mantras like “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus . . .” or “Praise God, Praise God, Praise God . . .” that may be theologically correct but lack instructive or admonishing content to the mind and heart, what often occurs in contemporary worship services, are more like the “riotous, wasteful” actions of one who is drunk rather than one who is under the Spirit’s control!]

c. The second and third participles of “singing” and “making melody” refer to musical expressions that are directed toward the Lord in worship, Ephesians 5:19b,c. Thus, even one’s worship of God in music is to be characterized by expressions of rich doctrinal and theological content as implied in Colossians 3:16.

d. The fourth participle is “giving thanks,” what believers should always do in prayer for all things unto God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus, Ephesians 5:20. Significantly, prayer can be made publicly in a church meeting or even silently, rapidly and privately as in the case of Nehemiah in Nehemiah 2:4-5. Showy prayers are not fitting (Matthew 6:5-8) where true, heartfelt thanksgiving, whether it be expressed in a public meeting or in silent, individual prayer, are expressions of the Holy Spirit’s control!

e. The fifth participle is “submitting” to one another in the respect of the Lord, Ephesians 5:21. Paul built his case for the submission of wives to their husbands (Eph. 5:22-33), of children to their parents (Eph. 6:1-4) and of slaves (today’s employees) to their masters (today’s employers, Eph. 6:5-9) off of this participle, revealing that a Spirit-controlled life shows up in an attitude that is displayed in one’s role in daily living!

Lesson: The “filling” of God the Holy Spirit is simply the believer’s being controlled by the Spirit, and it is expressed in a believer’s communicating Biblical, edifying content to other believers in music and to the Lord in worship, in giving thanks to God in prayer and in an attitude of proper submission to superiors in one’s daily life.

Application: May we practice the “filling” of the Holy Spirit to live lives that are controlled by God to His glory.