“Don’t be drunk
with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy
Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among
yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for
everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”
(Ephesians 5:18-20, NLT).
This may seem like an unusual passage to use when
writing about “calm in a time of confusion.” Let me try to clarify.
Paul had challenged the Ephesian church to an increased
vigilance about the conduct of their lives because, he said, “the days are evil” (5:16). Paul follows
this challenge with (and I’m paraphrasing), “For pity’s sake don’t be getting
high—that’s not going to solve anything! Don’t fill yourself with chemicals to
try to find some calm. Instead, let the peace of God, through the power of His
Spirit, continually fill your life!”
Do you think it’s possible that before Paul’s
conversion, during the days of his terror campaign against the Church, he
experienced first-hand the need to find a way to calm himself? Is it possible
that he fueled his attempts to find personal peace by getting drunk? I realize
this is conjecture on my part, but Paul seems to know what this is all about.
Our
world is growing increasingly chaotic and difficult to live in. The “perilous times” (hard to
live with, hard to bear) that Paul predicted in 2 Timothy 3:1 are here now!
Paul’s
message in these verses is a vital truth for us to lay hold of. A lot of
Christians in the contemporary Church are filling themselves with things other
than the Spirit of God! The calm of “chemical peace” is short-lived, is often
followed by pain, and can easily lead to ruinous behavior; the calm of the Spirit
is lasting, free of pain and readily refreshed!
The filling of the Spirit Paul was talking about was not a one-time
happening. That is not what he is saying. The original language here is that we
are to “be being filled.” In other words, this teaching is speaking of a
continual filling.
When Paul wrote this letter to his
friends in Ephesus, the Bible as we know it did not exist. Yes, they had
portions of the Old Testament and copies of some of Paul’s earlier letters to
other churches. But a large portion of the early Church could neither read nor
write and they were dependent on what they heard as others read Scripture to
them.
Paul was attempting to provide some practical ways
for his friends to continually be full of the Spirit of God. He knew that one
of the ways was to stay “in the Word.” Why? Because “all Scripture is breathed
out by God and profitable” (2 Timothy 3:16, ESV). The Word of God is full of
and superintended by the Holy Spirit. This is why Satan fights so hard to keep
people out of the Word and causes them to question its relevancy. Satan knows
how powerful the Word of God is!
So Paul encouraged the Ephesians, “Take
a psalm and sing it or speak it to yourself and those around you, or a Scripture-based
hymn and do the same. Or get really adventurous and make up a new song based on
Scripture and sing it to the Lord as an act of praise and worship.”
If I understand the intent of the writer
here, he is underscoring the importance of Scripture set to music in the public
and private worship experience. Here at home, Carol and I love to have worship
music playing in the house during the day. The Word of God coming to us through
music has a calming and yet uplifting impact on our lives.
The primary responsibility of
continually being filled with the Spirit is not with our church nor with our
pastor . . . it is with us! Paul is teaching us that the power and presence of
the Spirit can be ours, continually. We are to cultivate the fullness of the
Spirit through worship and praise, both corporate and private, and through our continual
interaction with His Word!
A couple of other points about
cultivating the fullness of the Spirit:
· “But You are holy, enthroned in (or
by) the praises of Israel” (Psalm 22:3, NKJV). We are the spiritual Israel and when we truly worship we are “enthroning”
Him in our lives. God responds to our praise and worship and He graces us with
the fullness of His Spirit (see Isaiah 57:15).
· “Blessed are those who
hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6, NKJV). The key to being Spirit-full is found in
this verse. If you don’t hunger for it, you won’t be full. The word “filled”
means “to satisfy” and “shall be filled” means “satisfaction guaranteed!”
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