SERMON: The Consequences of Being Spirit-Filled (Eph. 5:18–21)
The
Consequences of Being Spirit-Filled
(Eph. 5:18–21)
Series: Ephesians: Building the Church Text: Ephesians 5:18–21
By: Shaun Marksbury Date: June
11, 2023
Venue: Living Water Baptist Church Occasion: PM Service
I.
Introduction
We’ve spent the
past two sermons in this Ephesians study on 5:18. In the first sermon, we discussed what the
Bible has to say about alcohol — in part, because of the confusion we have
about it in the West. We also wanted to
consider how being filled with the Holy Spirit contrasts to drunkenness. In summary, we learned the Holy Spirit should
so move, permeate, and control our lives — much like what we would say about a
state of drunkenness, but this filling requires sobriety of mind and heart.
In doing so, we
discussed a good deal about what being filled with the Spirit is not, and
then we looked at what it is. You may
have heard on the radio, TV, internet, or through some other source that the
Spirit’s filling means some spectacular experience. However, while what we learned may seem more
mundane by comparison, we also discussed that it is not our opinion — the Holy
Spirit has chosen to reveal this about Himself in His own Word to us.
That is the
essential descriptions of the Spirit’s filling — bringing everything in our
lives under the sway of His Word, the Holy Bible. In other words, what we think about everything
is defined by Scripture (least we be doubleminded). Moreover, what we feel must be
informed by God’s Word, meaning that we must adjust our emotions. Finally, what we choose to do in life
must conform with what the Spirit records in these pages.
That reading fits
with what comes next in the passage.
Following the command to be filled in v. 18 comes the participles speaking,
singing, and making melody (v. 19), giving thanks (v. 20),
and finally, submitting (v. 21).
They are all five present participles and all active, except for the
last one, which is passive.
These five words
describe the reality of the Spirit’s filling in our lives, which may be very
different than what you pictured the Spirit’s filling to be. His filling does affect our vertical worship
but also our horizontal interactions. We
can sum up the consequences of the Spirit’s filling into four thoughts: Those filled
with the Spirit communicate it with one another (v. 19a), sing to the Lord (v.
19b), thank the Lord (v. 20), and submit to one another (v. 21). Let’s consider the first of those.
II.
Those Filled with the Spirit Communicate it with
One Another (v. 19a)
speaking to one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs
The first point you
may note is that the verb “speaking” is used here in relationship to music. This is a communication of ideas, but in melodic
and even harmonious tones. In fact, as
one commentary notes, “The verb indicates more than conversational speech; it
may indicate singing or congregational antiphonal speech.”[1] So,
the speaking here need not mean conversation alone; as another commentator notes,
“Trumpets (Rev. 4:1) and even peals of thunder (10:4) are said to be speaking.”[2]
By way of
comparison, the parallel in Colossians 3:16 states, “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.” In
that case, we have the word “admonishing” instead of “speaking,” but it comes
against in reference to these three phrases.
Let’s study this further before determining its meaning.
The first point we
can infer here is that this is public communication, as it commands both
“speaking” and “to one another.” Several
passages affirm our need for music in our public services (Hb 2:12; cf. Pss.
33:1; 40:3; 96:1–2; 149:1; Acts 16:25; Rv 14:3). This music should be congregational. One commentary notes,
For
over a thousand dark years of its history (c. 500–1500) the church in general
did not sing. From shortly after New
Testament times until the Reformation, what music the church had was usually
performed by professional musicians. The
music they presented could not be understood or appreciated by the average
church member. In any case, they could
only sit and listen, unable to participate. But when the Bible came back into the church
during the Reformation, singing came with it. Martin Luther and some of the other
Reformation leaders are among the greatest hymn writers of church history. Where the true gospel is known and believed,
music is loved and sung. God’s Spirit in the heart puts music in the heart.[3]
Some contemporary
Christian music repeats this error in making the music unsingable except by the
musicians on stage. However, that is a
topic we’ve discussed in the past, most recently on this past Reformation
Sunday study (available online). For
now, it is enough to note this took place during the congregational gatherings.
Believers
sing. Singing is a response to
deliverance, such as when the people sang as a response to the exodus (Ex.
15:1–18). Great choirs accompanied the
reconstruction of the gates of Jerusalem (Neh 12:31, 38). Three terms for music appear here for the
Christian congregation, and most commentaries hold them to refer to separate
ideas. Let’s consider the first noun the
Spirit lists here.
A.
First, We Should Sing Psalms
This is the
inspired music of the OT, and it was usually instrumental and set to music. The church often used psalms in their
gatherings. In his letter to the
Corinthians, Paul noted that Christians were sometimes wrongly utilizing psalms
(1 Cor 14:26), but they certainly should be a part of worship.
We’ve noted in the
past that a number of the songs in our hymnal are psalms. This includes some less obvious ones like “All
People that on Earth do Dwell” (based on Psalm 100) and “A Mighty Fortress is
Our God” (based on Psalm 46). The
advantage to this is that we get to sing inspired Scripture, which is certainly
filling the service with the Holy Spirit. Even so, the Spirit does not require exclusive
psalmody, for He commands:
B.
Second, We Should Sing Hymns
These are songs
that are composed by human authors that exalt the Lord. We also find examples of this in
Scripture. For instance, before they
left the Upper Room on the night of His betrayal, Jesus and His disciples sang
a hymn (Mt 26:30). Paul and Silas were also
singing hymns while in prison (Acts 16:25).
As one study notes, these are “compositions addressed directly to God,
like the modern song ‘How Great Thou Art.’ ”[4]
Hymns for Him!
C.
Third, We Should Sing Spiritual Songs
If we were to talk
about psalms exalting God and hymns lifting up Jesus Christ, how would these be
different? One commentary notes that
these are probably “songs of personal testimony expressing truths of the grace
of salvation in Christ.”[5] Another
similarly says they are “about the Christian experience, like ‘Amazing Grace.’
”[6] We
read about such songs existing in heaven (Rv 5:9).
Again, such music
should mark the Christian church. Even
more so, such should be the communication of believers with one another. When we see someone in need of encouragement,
you may find the right thing to say in words of the Spirit in the psalms or in
His work as recorded in hymns and spiritual songs. Of course, not all music is equal (psalms
being inspired), but Christians who are filled with the Holy Spirit should be
able to speak spiritual truths with one another, however haltingly or, at
times, off-key. This should be our
heart, bringing us to the next point:
III.
Those Filled with the Spirit Sing to the Lord
(v. 19b)
singing and making melody with your heart
to the Lord
We have the second and
third of five present participles here, but they seem to speak of the same
reality. One word communicates the idea
of singing while playing instruments, while the other focuses on just the
singing. Either is acceptable in the
worship of our Lord; I had a worship professor (Dr. Paul Plew) who often told
us that the most beautiful instrument ever created is the one which God made,
the human voice.
The main point is
that this music is conducted in both mind and spirit, not to be
separated (1 Cor 14:15). The biblical
concept of the heart includes the mind, everything a person thinks. Thus, music to the Lord should be a lifestyle
for a believer, whether in the gathered assembly or in private.
To put this another
way, praise is not to be lip-service but heart-service. God isn’t interested in the person who sings
to Him when they have no care for His ways.
He says, “Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even
listen to the sound of your harps. But
let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing
stream” (Am 5:23–24). In context, this
would be the Lord Jesus, though the parallel in Col 3:16 says “to God.” This would not be a strong argument for
Trinitarian theology, but it is nonetheless interesting.
As tempting as it
was to stop the sermon here, there are a couple more consequences of
Spirit-filling in this passage. Let’s
examine those briefly.
IV.
Those Filled with the Spirit Thank the Lord (v.
20)
always giving thanks for all things in
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;
The fourth of five participles here continues the
consequences of being Spirit-filled.
Paul had already said that we should have gracious speech toward one
another (v. 4). This should be speech
not just toward each other, but also toward God. Following the prepositions in this
verse, our thankfulness should result in out giving thanks for everything, in
Jesus’s name, to God the Father.
A.
First, We Always Give Thanks for Everything
Again, consider the
parallel passage. Paul said the same
thing there: “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. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in
the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” (Col
3:16–17). Other passages communicate
this reality (1 The 5:18; cf. 2 Cor 4:15; 9:12, 15; Phil 4:6; Col 2:7; Hb
13:15).
This Spirit-filled
mindset challenges how we encounter life.
When we recognize that God has a purpose in everything (Rm 8:28),
even in what we would consider to be bad or negative, then we cease viewing our
experiences as obstacles to our success and happiness. As an example of this, Corrie Ten Boom talks
about praising God for fleas while in the concentration camp — it kept the Nazi
guards out and granted freedom of study.
We have trouble remembering to thank God for our food; one of the
hindrances to the Spirit’s control in our lives is certainly our ingratitude.
B.
We Always Give Thanks in Jesus’s Name
Jesus had told us
to pray in His name. In John 14:13–14,
we read, “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” This doesn’t mean that we use His name
as an incantation to get what we want; this is about being filled or controlled
by the Holy Spirit. Praying in Jesus’s
name means that we pray according to His will (cf.1 Jn 5:14–15). This is why it’s so important to understand
the will of the Lord (v. 17) — we must learn through the Spirit to pray better.
C.
We Always Give Thanks to God the Father
This really goes
back to the first point. Eventually,
Jesus will hand over the kingdom to our “God and Father” (1 Cor 15:24). We need to understand that everything comes
under the plan and sovereignty of the Lord God.
If we can stop thinking about what we want and more about what
would glorify God, then we would become more thankful.
There is one other
consequence of Spirit-filling.
V.
Those Filled with the Spirit Submit to One
Another (v. 21)
and be subject to one another in the fear
of Christ.
Of the five participles we’ve noted today in
connection to the Spirit’s filling, this is the only one not translated by the
NASB with an -ing ending. However, the
ESV has “submitting,” keeping the participial pattern. Of the five, though, this one passive, which
the NASB captures with the word “be”; perhaps “be submitting” is a bit
clunky.
This verse, with its command for submission, is an
important hinge into the rest of the chapter.
Whenever we talk about submission in a 20th and 21st
century context, it’s popular to go to another book to note that all are
equal in Christ (Gal 3:28). Of course,
that statement alone is true, but Galatians is addressing salvation, not social
order. All Christians have freedom in
Christ, but as Paul said in Galatians 5:13, do “not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through
love serve one another.”
Paul gives a number
of examples that follow through the end of this chapter and into the next. He isn’t the only one; Peter also said this. He said we are to submit to “every human
institution, whether to a king as the one in authority” (1 Pt 2:13). He also said in 1 Peter 5:5, “You younger
men, likewise, be subject to your
elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for
God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
In the following verses here, the Holy Spirit
defines this submission in hierarchy. This
is a military term meaning “to line up under.”[7] From
5:22–6:9, we read about Christians lining up under one another within the
Christian household: wives under husbands, children under parents, slaves under
masters. We’ll take time to examine each
of those in the coming weeks.
Note for now that this is to be done “in the fear
of Christ.” The Spirit-filled believer
submits in reverence to the Lord.
Indeed, the verses after this will also emphasize the duties of those in
authority. As the Reformation Study
Bible notes here, “Regardless of their social rank, all Christians should
pattern their social behavior on the humility and kindness of Christ (4:32–5:2;
cf. Luke 22:24–27; John 13:14–16).” That
is a life under the sway of the Holy Spirit.
VI.
Conclusion
Again, the filling
of the Holy Spirit means that everything falls under the sway of the Bible. What we think about everything is
defined by Scripture. What we feel must
be informed by God’s Word, meaning that we must adjust our emotions. Finally, what we choose to do in life
must conform with what the Spirit records in these pages.
If this is the
case, then we will communicate spiritual truth with one another. We will sing to the Lord and be thankful for
all that He gives us. We will submit to
the authority He’s ordained in our life.
If you find that you fell short in this this year, know that He’s
gracious; He forgives but also grants you the ability to grow in your
submission to Him.
[1] Glenn Graham, An
Exegetical Summary of Ephesians, 2nd ed. (Dallas, TX: SIL International,
2008), 466.
[2] John F. MacArthur Jr., Ephesians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody
Press, 1986), 258.
[3] John F. MacArthur Jr., Ephesians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody
Press, 1986), 258.
[4] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald Barclay Allen, and H. Wayne
House, The Nelson Study Bible: New King
James Version (Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers, 1997), Eph 5:19.
[5] John MacArthur Jr., ed., The MacArthur Study Bible, electronic ed. (Nashville, TN: Word
Pub., 1997), 1812.
[6] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald Barclay Allen, and H. Wayne
House, The Nelson Study Bible: New King
James Version (Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers, 1997), Eph 5:19.
[7] A.T. Robertson, Word
Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), Eph
5:21.