Some Christians believe being Spirit-filled means speaking in tongues (or doing the Holy Ghost Hokey Pokey). Others say you’ll be filled with the Spirit after you work hard to get rid of all the sin in your life, then the Spirit will come. The Spirit helps those who help themselves.
But look at what Paul says in Ephesians 5:18: “Don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit.”
That’s a really interesting comparison between alcohol and the Spirit. How are we supposed to interpret it? Don’t get drunk on wine, instead be drunk on the Holy Spirit? Don’t get your belly filled up with wine, instead get your spiritual belly filled up with the Holy Spirit?
No, I don’t think Paul’s comparing the effects of being filled with wine or the Spirit. He doesn’t want us fall-down drunk on the Holy Ghost. He’s not comparing the contents of the filling, like it’s either booze or Spirit – your choice. He’s comparing the motivation behind why you get filled up by anything.
Why do people get drunk on wine, or beer, or booze? To relax when they’re tense. To forget about their problems. To loosen their inhibitions and give them confidence at a party. They’re dependent on alcohol to do what they can’t do for themselves. They need alcohol to fill them up with peace, or joy, or confidence.
But Paul’s saying that’s what the Holy Spirit’s supposed to do! The Spirit is supposed to be the one filling us up with all those things. We should depend on the Spirit for peace, joy, confidence, security instead of all the other things in life we depend on.
Being filled by the Spirit means being dependent on the Spirit. It means relying on the Spirit to do for us what we know we cannot do for ourselves.
This is something Paul is commanding us to do, so it must be something we have some control over. He says, “Be filled by the Spirit!”
That command is an imperative. It’s not a suggestion, it’s not a recommendation, it’s a demand. Be dependent on the Spirit. Take action to be filled.
That command is in the plural form. He’s saying, “All you guys be filled with the Spirit.” It’s not just super-spiritual people who are filled with the Spirit. All of us are commanded to depend on the Holy Spirit for everything.
That command is present-tense. Paul is expecting us to be dependent on the Spirit in a continual, ongoing basis. You don’t have a tank that can be filled up with Holy Ghost gas to power you for a few weeks, months, or years. You have an everyday battle – either you’ll depend on the Spirit to fill all your needs, or you’ll depend on something else.