Eph 5:19-20 | KingComments | STEP | . We are in the middle of a section that strongly reminds us of 1 Corinthians 6 that reads: “For you have been bought with a price” ( ). This means that you are not your own and so have no right or own time. You belong to the Lord for all the twenty four hours in a day. You also have received God’s nature: through this you can see things around you as He sees them. You are aware that the days are evil and dark, but you may walk in the light of Christ. You see Who Christ is, the Man of God’s counsels, and you also see that this Man will once reign in heaven and on earth. That doesn’t make you careless and you will not wander around. No, when Christ enlightens you, you want to spend every minute to show Him in this evil, dark world. What that means in practice for you, you should ask the Lord. If you don’t do that you are “foolish”. Understanding “the will of the Lord” is also in connection with the truth of this letter. God’s will is that you will show the features of His Being – love and light. You can be everywhere and do everything where the love and the light of God can shine. . Within yourself you don’t have the power for that. Only when you are filled with the Spirit will you be able to do that. And again we see a contrast. Being filled with the Spirit is in contrast with being drunk with wine. He who is drunk is dictated by the wine. Such a person has no self-control anymore; in fact, he is totally out of control, whereby dissipation rules. He who is filled with the Spirit is disciplined ( ). It is not a question of switching from one ‘vagueness’, which is the result of too much alcohol, to another, which could be the result of a kind of ecstasy. The use of a glass of wine is not forbidden ( ), but the uncontrolled use is. Believers should not be controlled by wine, but by the Holy Spirit. Being filled with the Spirit is related to the fact that you’re totally open for His working so that He can use you. In order to be filled, all obstacles should be dealt with and removed. You can fill a glass to the brim with water. That looks full, but however, when a layer of sand is on the bottom, the glass is not full of water. The glass is only full of water if the sand is removed and is replaced by water. Paul means by his call “be filled with the Spirit”: ‘Make sure that you are filled with the Spirit, so that He may totally control your life.’ To “be filled with” is not something you have to wait for. Neither is it something that as a sovereign act from God that comes over you. It is an exhortation. You are not to pray to be filled with the Spirit, but you are to examine what is hindering you to be filled with Him and you should remove that. Sure, the Spirit dwells in you, but He must have all authority over everything: your thoughts, your relationships, your time and money spending. It is neither something that is achieved once and for all. It is something that has to be realized all the time. He who is filled with the Spirit doesn’t think about himself, neither about the Spirit with Whom he is filled, but he is only focused on the Lord Jesus. That is, according to John 16, always the work of the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus is saying there: “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose [it] to you” ( ). . To be filled with the Spirit has a great effect on the life of the believer. In the following verses you see that it has to do with common life. It is reflected in the speech ( ), in giving thanks ( ) and in submitting to one another ( ). The Spirit can do what He is delighted to do: to focus the eye – not on the Spirit, as He is the Servant, but – on the Lord Jesus ( ) and on the Father ( ). He thereby doesn’t bring us in ecstasy or to an outburst of incomprehensible words. The first sign to notice what somebody is filled with, is to be noticed in his speech. Listen to conversations and you will soon find out what fills someone’s heart. In a company where the Spirit is filling the atmosphere, people will speak to one another “in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs”. The words “to one another” again emphasize the fact again that the believers are one body and therefore members of each other. Our dealings with one another should be such that the neighbor is also served by it. The harmony among believers is particular experienced when they sing together. Through the songs they speak to one another. Think for example of the famous song: ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’. Everyone who sings this song encourages the other as a Christian soldier to move forward, behind the Lord Jesus. At the same time we focus, also in our hearts, on the Lord Jesus and the Father. By “psalms” here, is meant songs that give an expression of your experiences, trials and temptations and also of solutions the Lord gives. It is about compositions of God-fearing people that originated in experiences with God. For at least three reasons it is not possible that here it is about the psalms from the Old Testament: 1. The psalmists did not know God as their Father in the Lord Jesus; 2. They didn’t have the Spirit indwelling, because they didn’t know anything about the once and for all fulfilled work of Christ for all sins; 3. The psalms often sing about revenge on their enemies, which is not fitting in the time of grace we live in. By “hymns” is meant compositions by which someone honors God with a song. “Spiritual songs” are composed by a spiritual person about spiritual things. I have tried to make a distinction between the used expressions. That doesn’t mean that you can always draw a distinctive line. You will notice in Christian songs that they have aspects of each of the three definitions. A song can be derived from a spiritual experience, it is addressed to God and can also be sung. Speaking to one another in songs isn´t limited to the meeting, but should be found among us generally. . Also “always giving thanks” isn´t limited to the meeting. Giving thanks is a real indication of the condition of your soul. To be really thankful “for all things” is only possible when you trust completely on the love of God, with the awareness that you receive everything from His hand. That awareness even makes you happy and grateful. In Acts 16 we see and hear people who realized that. Paul and Silas are there in prison with their backs bleeding. Are they grieving? No, they thank God in their circumstances and they praise Him in songs ( ). ‘Giving thanks for all things’ is only possible if you accept everything from God’s hand and you know that nothing bad can come from His hand. It is also about giving thanks “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father”. God, Who is the source of everything and Who has blessed you in His Son in a special way, is also the Father Who loves His children. You can come to Him in the Name of His Son Who is mentioned here by His full name. He is ‘our’ Lord Jesus Christ. . Also “be subject to one another” flows from being filled with the Spirit. Only by being filled with the Spirit, are you able to see your brother and sister in the light of God’s counsels. When we see each other in that way, we can submit to one another. It is a general mind toward the other. The addition “in the fear of Christ” again indicates that this exhortation must be seen in the light of the content of this letter: the great glory of the Christ. We are connected to one another in the body of Christ, and also connected with Him . If we understand that, we will not want to elevate ourselves above the other. There will be a sound ‘fear’ not to dishonor Him with a mind of pride and rebellion. Only if I totally surrender myself to the glory of Christ and if I live with reverence for Him, I will be able to submit myself to the other. Now read Ephesians 5:17-21 again. Reflection: How do you recognize the signs of being filled with the Spirit?

‏ Ephesians 5:19-20

Be Filled With the Spirit

Eph 5:17. We are in the middle of a section that strongly reminds us of 1 Corinthians 6 that reads: “For you have been bought with a price” (1Cor 6:20). This means that you are not your own and so have no right or own time. You belong to the Lord for all the twenty four hours in a day. You also have received God’s nature: through this you can see things around you as He sees them. You are aware that the days are evil and dark, but you may walk in the light of Christ. You see Who Christ is, the Man of God’s counsels, and you also see that this Man will once reign in heaven and on earth.

That doesn’t make you careless and you will not wander around. No, when Christ enlightens you, you want to spend every minute to show Him in this evil, dark world. What that means in practice for you, you should ask the Lord. If you don’t do that you are “foolish”. Understanding “the will of the Lord” is also in connection with the truth of this letter. God’s will is that you will show the features of His Being – love and light. You can be everywhere and do everything where the love and the light of God can shine.

Eph 5:18. Within yourself you don’t have the power for that. Only when you are filled with the Spirit will you be able to do that. And again we see a contrast. Being filled with the Spirit is in contrast with being drunk with wine. He who is drunk is dictated by the wine. Such a person has no self-control anymore; in fact, he is totally out of control, whereby dissipation rules. He who is filled with the Spirit is disciplined (2Tim 1:7). It is not a question of switching from one ‘vagueness’, which is the result of too much alcohol, to another, which could be the result of a kind of ecstasy.

The use of a glass of wine is not forbidden (1Tim 5:23), but the uncontrolled use is. Believers should not be controlled by wine, but by the Holy Spirit. Being filled with the Spirit is related to the fact that you’re totally open for His working so that He can use you.

In order to be filled, all obstacles should be dealt with and removed. You can fill a glass to the brim with water. That looks full, but however, when a layer of sand is on the bottom, the glass is not full of water. The glass is only full of water if the sand is removed and is replaced by water. Paul means by his call “be filled with the Spirit”: ‘Make sure that you are filled with the Spirit, so that He may totally control your life.’ To “be filled with” is not something you have to wait for. Neither is it something that as a sovereign act from God that comes over you. It is an exhortation.

You are not to pray to be filled with the Spirit, but you are to examine what is hindering you to be filled with Him and you should remove that. Sure, the Spirit dwells in you, but He must have all authority over everything: your thoughts, your relationships, your time and money spending. It is neither something that is achieved once and for all. It is something that has to be realized all the time. He who is filled with the Spirit doesn’t think about himself, neither about the Spirit with Whom he is filled, but he is only focused on the Lord Jesus. That is, according to John 16, always the work of the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus is saying there: “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose [it] to you” (Jn 16:14).

Eph 5:19. To be filled with the Spirit has a great effect on the life of the believer. In the following verses you see that it has to do with common life. It is reflected in the speech (Eph 5:19), in giving thanks (Eph 5:20) and in submitting to one another (Eph 5:21). The Spirit can do what He is delighted to do: to focus the eye – not on the Spirit, as He is the Servant, but – on the Lord Jesus (Eph 5:19) and on the Father (Eph 5:20).

He thereby doesn’t bring us in ecstasy or to an outburst of incomprehensible words. The first sign to notice what somebody is filled with, is to be noticed in his speech. Listen to conversations and you will soon find out what fills someone’s heart. In a company where the Spirit is filling the atmosphere, people will speak to one another “in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs”. The words “to one another” again emphasize the fact again that the believers are one body and therefore members of each other. Our dealings with one another should be such that the neighbor is also served by it.

The harmony among believers is particular experienced when they sing together. Through the songs they speak to one another. Think for example of the famous song: ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’. Everyone who sings this song encourages the other as a Christian soldier to move forward, behind the Lord Jesus. At the same time we focus, also in our hearts, on the Lord Jesus and the Father.

By “psalms” here, is meant songs that give an expression of your experiences, trials and temptations and also of solutions the Lord gives. It is about compositions of God-fearing people that originated in experiences with God.

For at least three reasons it is not possible that here it is about the psalms from the Old Testament:

1. The psalmists did not know God as their Father in the Lord Jesus;

2. They didn’t have the Spirit indwelling, because they didn’t know anything about the once and for all fulfilled work of Christ for all sins;

3. The psalms often sing about revenge on their enemies, which is not fitting in the time of grace we live in.

By “hymns” is meant compositions by which someone honors God with a song. “Spiritual songs” are composed by a spiritual person about spiritual things.

I have tried to make a distinction between the used expressions. That doesn’t mean that you can always draw a distinctive line. You will notice in Christian songs that they have aspects of each of the three definitions. A song can be derived from a spiritual experience, it is addressed to God and can also be sung. Speaking to one another in songs isn´t limited to the meeting, but should be found among us generally.

Eph 5:20. Also “always giving thanks” isn´t limited to the meeting. Giving thanks is a real indication of the condition of your soul. To be really thankful “for all things” is only possible when you trust completely on the love of God, with the awareness that you receive everything from His hand. That awareness even makes you happy and grateful. In Acts 16 we see and hear people who realized that. Paul and Silas are there in prison with their backs bleeding. Are they grieving? No, they thank God in their circumstances and they praise Him in songs (Acts 16:25).

‘Giving thanks for all things’ is only possible if you accept everything from God’s hand and you know that nothing bad can come from His hand. It is also about giving thanks “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father”. God, Who is the source of everything and Who has blessed you in His Son in a special way, is also the Father Who loves His children. You can come to Him in the Name of His Son Who is mentioned here by His full name. He is ‘our’ Lord Jesus Christ.

Eph 5:21. Also “be subject to one another” flows from being filled with the Spirit. Only by being filled with the Spirit, are you able to see your brother and sister in the light of God’s counsels. When we see each other in that way, we can submit to one another. It is a general mind toward the other.

The addition “in the fear of Christ” again indicates that this exhortation must be seen in the light of the content of this letter: the great glory of the Christ. We are connected to one another in the body of Christ, and also connected with Him.

If we understand that, we will not want to elevate ourselves above the other. There will be a sound ‘fear’ not to dishonor Him with a mind of pride and rebellion. Only if I totally surrender myself to the glory of Christ and if I live with reverence for Him, I will be able to submit myself to the other.

Now read Ephesians 5:17-21 again.

Reflection: How do you recognize the signs of being filled with the Spirit?