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God's
Will For You. Have you ever wondered what God’s will
is for your life? Did you know that the Bible reveals His will for
us? One very important part of the will of God is “to be filled
with” or “controlled by” the Holy Spirit.
So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit . . . (NASB) Eph. 5:17-18 To be filled with the Holy Spirit means that the Holy Spirit has complete
control of us. Notice God’s illustration in Eph. 5:17-18. He commands
us to not become drunk with wine but to be drunk with the Holy Spirit.
To be drunk means that wine has taken control of our senses. That illustrates
the meaning of the Greek word “filled.” It means “to
make full, complete.” It was also used to refer to someone who
was filled full of food. The will of God is that we be filled full of
the Holy Spirit or controlled by Him. When we allow this to happen, we
will be . . .
. . . speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. (NASB) Eph. 5:19-21 A Spirit filled Christian will have joy in the heart, thankfulness,
and humility towards others or submission. These are the marks of a Spirit
filled Christian. The passage does not talk about any other experiences.
Ephesians 5:19-21 is not talking about smiles on the face
but melody and joy in the heart. A pastor who commented about the familiar
statement that a Christian should have a happy smile on their face observed, “Where
the sun always shines, there is a desert.” That is true. A person
who does not experience suffering is a shallow Christian. The great saints
of the ages suffered. The great preacher C. Spurgeon suffered greatly
with depression between his messages. The saints in Hebrews 11:35-38
suffered great torture. The prophet Jeremiah is called the weeping prophet.
This passage is also talking about humility on the inside that causes
wives to submit to their husbands (Eph. 5:22), husbands to love their
wives Eph. 5:25-28), children to obey their parents (Eph. 6:1), and slaves
to obey their masters (Eph. 6:5).
Colossians 3:16-22 is a very interesting
passage because it is very close to Ephesians 5:17-6:5.
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God . . . Wives, be subject to your husbands . . . Husbands, love your wives . . . Children, be obedient to your parents . . . Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth . . . (NASB) Col. 3:16-22 In Ephesians 5:17-18 the list starts with “be filled with the
Spirit,” and in Colossians the list starts with the “Word
of Christ.” In both Ephesians and Colossians we are commanded to
do something and then the results which follow are identical. In Ephesians
we are commanded to be “filled with the Spirit” and in Colossians
we are commanded to dwell richly in the “word of Christ.” Then
singing, thankfulness, and submission to others follows. Why? Because
being filled with the Spirit and spending time in the Word of God go
together. One who is filled with the Spirit will “dwell richly” in
the Word. The Greek word for “dwell” means to “live
in” like a person living in a home. This is an important spiritual
insight. It implies we want to spend as much time as we can reading,
meditating on and studying the Bible. The Spirit then uses the Word of
God to make us more like Jesus Christ.
Conclusion. Now let us put it all together.
It is a command and it is the will of God for every Christian. To be
constantly filled with the Spirit results in victory over sin, peace
and joy in the heart, and submission/humility towards others. But in
order to be filled with the Spirit, we must ask God to have the Holy
Spirit take control of us – “to fill us” - just as
the apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesians. You must want Him to take
over your life. It is also important to remember that in order to continue
being “filled with” or “walking in” the Spirit,
you must confess your sins to God the Father every time you realize that
you have sinned and ask for the Holy Spirit to take control of your life
again. You should also spend as much time reading the Bible as you can.
This is what it means to live our life in the Spirit of God. The Holy
Spirit will change your life gradually, give you increasing victory over
sins in your life, provide peace and joy in your heart and give you a
tremendous longing to know Him. You will never be perfect. Even though
you will sin, you will see God at work. Come – walk in the Spirit!
Just remember that only those who are
trusting in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins can be filled
with the Holy Spirit. |
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