Filled

Ephesians 5:15-21 So be careful to live your life wisely, not foolishly. Take advantage of every opportunity because these are evil times. Because of this, don’t be ignorant, but understand the Lord’s will. Don’t get drunk on wine, which produces depravity. Instead, be filled with the Spirit in the following ways: speak to each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; sing and make music to the Lord in your hearts; always give thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; and submit to each other out of respect for Christ. 

Paul has been talking about how the Christian life should look. Part of me thinks that this life would be difficult; but then I realize it is Christ who equips us, fills us and gives us all we need. He is reminding the readers, and us, that life with Christ is not foolish, but it is very intentional in how we think and how we give thanks for what we have been given.

We have been given the invitation to be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is not talking about a one time filling; but rather a filling that continually takes place. We are all called to allow Christ to fill us on a daily basis. Christ has identified himself as the Living Water. This means whenever we get thirsty, we get to be filled again with the source of Life.

Life is difficult and we have many differing opinions on how we should live and what our convictions should be, but there is the Lord’s will for our lives that is so much more than we could ever imagine. This will for us help us to navigate these “evil times.” How does this happen? Paul outlines what this would look like for us.

He says to be filled with The Spirit and not filled with the spirits of alcohol. The Spirit gives life and direction; the spirits in alcohol reduce our inhibitions and can cause depravity. How can we know someone is filled with the Spirit? It is how we speak to each other and our attitude. Paul is reminding us we should have an attitude of gratitude and when we speak to each other, we should speak in a way that brings people to faith in Christ.

When we believe in and accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ we are different people and as such we will treat those around us differently so that we live a life that is worthy of our calling and is a life which brings people to faith.

#TheGospelChangesUs