Stop Resisting the Spirit!

And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18

This command seems to be ignored today, and yet it is clearly God’s plan for believers for this age. In Romans 8 the Apostle Paul even says that the ethic of this age is characterized by the law of the Spirit. The Old Testament law is righteous, but bondage in that human beings are unable to keep it. The law of the indwelling Spirit is liberating and effective in the life of the believer. But what actually does it mean to be Spirit-filled? The Ephesians 5:15-21 text gives us some indication.

Ephesians 5:15-17 explains that it is part of what is necessary to walk wisely in the will of the Lord.

Being Spirit-filled is a command.

The book of Ephesians is written to believers, not unbelievers—“to the saints who are in Ephesus” (Ephesians 1:1). The obvious conclusion then that is possible for a believer to not be Spirit-filled, otherwise the command is pointless.

That fact differentiates Spirit-filling from Spirit-baptism and Spirit-dwelling. 1 Corinthians 12:13 says that ALL believers are baptized into the body of Christ. Romans 8:8-11 clearly claims that if a person does not have the indwelling Spirit, he is “none of his” (not a true believer). All believers are baptized in the Spirit and indwelt by the Spirit. Not all believers are filled with the Spirit, but all believers are commanded to be filled with the Spirit.

If being Spirit-filled is a direct command of God, we not only must consider it important, we are also forced to consider it sin NOT to be Spirit-filled.

Being Spirit-filled is a passive command.

Now that is an odd construction. The filling is something that is done TO us, and not BY us. “Allow yourself to be filled by the Spirit.” I do not fill myself with the Spirit. He fills me with His Spirit. Remember Peter when Jesus was about to wash his feet? Peter would have none of it. But Jesus stated that unless He washed his feet, Peter could not have fellowship with Christ. Peter had to allow Jesus to wash his feet. I think of being Spirit-filled in the same way here. It is the Spirit that does the work if we will allow Him to do so. Like Peter, we have to stop resisting. I know words like “yield” and “surrender” are held in suspicion these days by those who want to avoid any hint of Keswick theology. The problem is that if you avoid those terms, you have to avoid some of the most important New Testament passages for Christian living. How else do you characterize allowing yourself to be filled with the Spirit, or presenting your bodies a living sacrifice, or simply honestly addressing Jesus as Lord? We hurt our people by not commanding what the scripture itself commands.

Being Spirit-filled is a continuing command.

The command to be Spirit-filled is a present tense command. In most contexts the present tense indicates a continuing action. In other words, there is no “second blessing” aspect of this command. This verse is not describing a particular event that must occur for a believer subsequent to salvation. It is describing a continuing heart attitude and spirit that should characterize a believer at all times. Just as my desire should be to keep my relationship with my wife vibrant, strong, and free from offense, so I should desire for my relationship with the indwelling Spirit to remain vibrant, strong, and unhindered by my own wicked willfulness or sin.

Being Spirit-filled is associated with “one another” ministry.

“Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord.” Is this the means to Spirit-filling or the result that accompanies it? The text seems to indicate the latter. The filling of the Spirit is what the Spirit does. It is not a concocted formula of human activities, not matter how good. The blessed expressions of verses 19 and 20 are the expressions of the heart of a Spirit-filled person. The fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 is similar. The passage is not describing fruit that produces walking in the Spirit, but rather the fruit that walking in the Spirit produces.

So that we do not get too mystical about what being submitted to the Spirit looks like on a day to day basis, remember that the Spirit of God inspired the Word of God. It is profitable for doctrine, correction and instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). The scripture is sufficient to give us all the information we need to be everything God wants us to be. The Spirit guides to the information that we need in scripture, helps us to understand what we read, convicts our hearts when we violate its precepts, opens our eyes to understand how it says we should respond, and empowers us to act in obedience to the revealed will of God.

Our conclusion must be, then, that the New Testament Spirit-filled life is born out of a RELATIONSHIP with Godhead and supernaturally enabled by the Spirit of God on a continuing basis as God’s child walks in a heart of submission. After all, if He is Lord and we want to walk in a right relationship with Him, we must recognize Him as such. There is just no way to avoid such words as submit, yield, and surrender.