The Believer's Source for a Spirit Filled Life

The Believer's Source for a Spirit Filled Life
Ephesians 5:18
Cooper Abrams

Introduction:   The Book of Ephesians lays out God's plan for the believer. It is a complete plan and covers all aspects of a Christian's life.

Ephesians 1:1-3:13 God's plan for the believer. It is God who supplies the plan and the power.
Ephesians 3:14-21 God's power turned on in the life of a believer.
Ephesians 4:1-6:9 God's blue print for the Christians life.
Ephesians 6:10-24 Dealing with the difficulties of living the God's will for our lives.
I. The key to living a successful and fruitful Christian life. (Eph. 5:18)

A. There are two commands in verse 18.

1. Be not drunk with wine which is access.
2. Be filled with the Spirit.
B. There is a lot of controversy about drinking alcohol. Some say that Jesus and the disciple drank wine so its okay. Other say, it is a sin to drink alcoholic beverages. It is not the intend of this message to go into a great detail about drinking, but I think it proper to briefly address the matter in understanding this verse.

1. Ephesians 5:15-17 says, "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is." (Ephesians 5:15-17)
2. The word circumspectly means to live one's life perfectly. Can you life perfectly? Of course the answer is no, but perfection is to be our goal and our standard. It has been said that a person will accomplish only that which he tries to achieve. You cannot hit a target you are not aiming at. Like a marksman who practices hitting the bull's-eye, Christians who strive to live a godly and perfect lives will grow more and more godly as the days and years go by.
           The fool wastes his life doing vain and foolish things that have no value. In other words he throws his life away. The child of God loves the Lord and seeks to honor Him in their lives. A Christian that lives a godly life will be eternally rewarded for his/her life. As a child of God the believer's life should honor their Savior. It is a mockery of Christ's suffering and death for a believer to waste their lives and not live according to God's good instructions.
3. God is saying in Verse 18 that if we want a good life, and seek joy, peace and comfort...we should live filled with the Holy Spirit. Christians are not to seek comfort and peace in a bottle, drugs or anything else.
4. When God saved us He knew the trials and problems of this life and in indwelling us with His Spirit enabled us to live a good life without having to use the destructive sinful things that the unsaved world uses. The only real comfort is in Christ and living a godly life. The world rejects Christ and true peace and joy the could have.
5. Wine's control over the one who drinks it is an example of how we are to allow the Holy Spirit to control us. It shows us how destructive the carnal nature of man is because he seeks a quick fix....a drink, a drug, or some other destructive thing to find peace. Yet, the only thing he gets us a temporary feeling. In a short time he is back in reality as the drug wears off and is worse than before. The tragedy is that the Christian who drinks is in true rejecting what will bring him true peace and joy.
6. Being intoxicated is never the solution to anything....it only makes things worse. Sin is progressive. A sin that is allow to remain in our lives will grow worse. A social drink can lead to alcoholicism and for many it does.
6. 1 Timothy 3:3, 8, and Titus 1:7 says that one who drinks is disqualified for leadership or even service in church. It says they should not be "given to wine."
7. The Bible calls alcoholics "drunkards" and has some harsh instructions concerning them. It is a serious matter to drink. Note who the drunkard is in company with.
           1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says " Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
In God's word, drunkardness is associated with immorality, unrestrained living, reckless living, and a wasted life.

B. What about an occasional social drink or beer. A preacher relates how that a man once ask him was drinking one occasional beer okay. The preacher asks, "Why are you asking me the question?" "Well" he replied, "It kinda bother me a little." "Do you know how stop being bothered?" was the preacher's reply. The man said, "Yep, stop drinking."

1. A true Christian will never be comfortable drinking. The Holy Spirit will bring conviction to His life.
2. 1 Timothy 4:2 speaks of a man's conscience being seared, "Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron." Continually going against one's conscience will cause it to become seared....and sin will be in control and the person would have placed themselves beyond God's help and blessings.
3. The cure is simple. Confess it to God and turn from it.

II. The filling of the Holy Spirit.... Letting God be in control.

A. You cannot pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The filling comes through obedience to the Lord.

1. You can confess sin that is keeping you from having the Lord control your life. God is willing and wants to forgive us.
2. 1 John 1:9 clearly states God's plan for the sinning Christian. Verses 8,10 says that we all will sin. But that is no excuse to continue to sin. God's provision is that a Christian confess his sins to the Lord and God will respond by helping him/her overcome the sin.
3. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says...."There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." (1 Corinthians 10:13)

B. Verse 18 is grammatically an emphatic imperative. That means it is a command and not an option.

1. God is not suggesting that His children be filled with the Spirit, but is commanding it.
2. In our modern day there are false teachers who know nothing about God yet have a great influence on a lot of people. They say that the important thing is getting folks saved and on their way to heaven. They teach that if a person who professes Jesus Christ then goes on to life a godly life that is good....but not really necessary. Living a godly life is simply for them an option. This is one of the glaring errors of the Charismatic movement and the modern "positive" preaching.

C. Many in Christian circles divide men into three classes. The natural man who is unsaved, (1 Cor. 2:14) The spiritual man who is saved and living for the Lord. (1 Cor. 2:15-16) The last is the carnal man who professes to be saved, but lives in sin (1 Cor. 3:1-4).

1. However, the Bible uses the term "carnal" to refer to the unsaved.
2. Romans 8:5-8 "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." (Romans 8:5-8)
3. Paul wrote to the Corinthians saying "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? " (1 Corinthians 3:1-3)
           Sadly, the carnal Christian cannot be taught God's word and be blessed by it. The carnal believer separates himself from the Lord. He is not lead by the Spirit but by his carnal nature that is destructive. Letting the carnal nature control is sin hinders God from being a comfort to the believer. It only robs one of their peace and joy.
           A true believer who is controlled by their carnal nature will be miserable.
           In the 80s there was a popular country and western song that was titled "Looking for love in all the wrong places." Sadly, many Christians are also looking in the wrong places to satisfy their need for peace, joy, and the enjoyment of life.

C. Every born again believer in Jesus Christ processes the Holy Spirit in all His fulness from the moment he believers and is saved.

1. God says that every believer has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." (Romans 8:9)
2. The Pentecostals and many Charismatics teach that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is some source of second blessing that does not come when a person is saved. Some use the term "Full Gospel" in their name which means they are tongues speakers. They teach the Holy Spirit is only received when one prays to receive the Spirit and the sign that a person has received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is that they will speak in tongues. That is pure heresy and gross false doctrine.
3. All believers have the Holy Spirit....even those who are immature and carnal. "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:13)

D. 1 Corinthians 6:19 affirms this truth. "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" (1 Corinthians 6:19)
           Paul said this to carnal believers in the Corinth church. These believers were sinning against the Holy Spirit which indwelled them. Paul warned them about ignoring or Hardening their hearts against the Holy Spirit who was tiring to work in their lives.

1. "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30)
2. "Quench not the Spirit." (1 Thessalonians 5:19)

E. The command "be filled" in Ephesians 5:18 is a present passive imperative verb. It literally means "be being kept filled."

1. Because the verse is passive it means the believer is already filled and do not have to be filled.
2. That means this is a command to allow the Holy Spirit who is present indwelling the believer to have control.
3. That means we have a will and we can "quench" and "grieve" the Holy Spirit. We have a choice to let Him control us and direct our lives or to reject God's help and blessings.
4. The word "Filled" means to be full. Not partially letting the Holy Spirit lead the believer, but allowing Him complete control.

Conclusion:

1. The question is simple. Are each of us who name the name of Jesus Christ allowing the Holy Spirit to control our lives?
2. Is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which means the work He does in our lives visible to others? "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-25)
3. If you find you cannot let the Holy Spirit guide you. If sin in your life continually overpowers you....the real question is "Are you truly saved." Paul said to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith.
           "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" (2 Corinthians 13:5)
It may be you have not really believed and only have a head knowledge of Christ, but have never committed your life to Him. True salvation is accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior....and that means that we believe and follow Him.
4. You may have sin in your life that you let go unchecked. You know it is wrong, but refuse to let it go. You should immediately confess your sins to the Lord as 1 John 1:9 says and get in fellowship with your Savior. You should repent and turn to the Lord.

10-14-07

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