"And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Holy Spirit; 19. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20. Giving thanks always to the Lord, for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21. Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
Every Christian receives the Holy Spirit when he or she is saved, but that doesn’t mean that it is always evident. There are times in our Christian experience when we are endued with a filling of the Holy Spirit, perhaps to meet a special need and or carry out some ministry for the Lord. I think that the “filling of the Spirit” does not mean that we have more of the Spirit at various times, but that at that time the Holy Spirit has more of us. Whatever, the meaning and however we interpret it, it is important that we be filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 5:19-21 tells us how we can know that we are filled with the Spirit. There is heartfelt evidence: “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart.” This does not mean that you will have burning desire to join the church choir. It might be that you “can’t carry a tune in a bucket.” This is not about public singing; it is about having a singing heart. The infilling of the Holy Spirit will put a song in your heart. I have sung about three or four solos in church over my fifty-four years in the ministry. That will give you some idea that my best songs are in my heart, for I was never asked to sing a solo again after each one. But I do have a song in my heart. There are times when I sing the old hymns that I have sung for all of my conscious life, and this is particularly true when the Holy Spirit has more of me. That is where it has to start, otherwise it might be false evidence for a show to the world instead a genuine filling. There is prayerful evidence: “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we have a sense of thanksgiving no matter what is happening in the world around us. We don’t need to be reminded that when the Holy Spirit fills us we will be more prayerful. We do need to be reminded that our primary prayers will be prayers of thanksgiving. Notice: “Giving thanks always for all things…” It is not in human nature to be thankful “always for all things…” That is a supernatural thing and can only be brought about by the filling of the Holy Spirit. Our thankfulness is “unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He is enough to make us thankful in all things. There is outward evidence: “Submitting yourselves to one another in the fear of God.”Think about it: When do churches get out of sorts with each other. It is when the membership is not filled with the Spirit. When we are filled with the Spirit we are not inclined to seek to have our own way, but seek to really discover what God’s will is in the matter before the church. This is what it means to “submit” to each other. In other words, when we are filled with the Spirit, we are easier to get along with, because we know that all things are not about us and what we want but what God wants. Based on Ephesians 5:18-21, are you filled with the Spirit? You probably are if you have a song in your heart, are prayerfully thankful and in good fellowship with fellow Christians. It is certainly something to think about, isn’t it? Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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