“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,” (Ephesians 5:18, ESV)
As we dig deeper into the ministry of the Holy Spirit in leading us on the right path, we need to understand how this works and, more importantly our part in this. In the previous devotion we saw that the Holy Spirit works to move us in the direction that the Lord wills for us. However, there is a problem. Often, we veer from the path. Thus, there must be a part that we play in this. I alluded to this in the previous post, that we must surrender to the leading of the Spirit. As previously mentioned, this will take a few devotional thoughts to develop.
The key verse in understanding this is seen in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. In Ephesians 2:18 we read, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.” In this verse we have two commands, one is in the negative and the other is in the positive. They are contrasts, one is to be avoided and the other to be embraced. Both commands are in the passive voice, which implies something that is done to the believer in this case. Both are also in the present tense, which also implies that they are to be continuously obeyed by the believer.
The first command in negative. “do not get drunk with wine.” Since it is a continual or characteristic command in the passive voice, it could be translated this way. “do not let yourself be being made drunk with wine.” By understanding this first command, we will understand something vital about being “filled with the Spirit.”
Years ago, I was driving to our home in a Chicago suburb from a job in Cincinnati Ohio. It was late at night and I was travelling on a highway under construction. Concrete barriers lined each side of the one useable lane on the highway. I ended up behind a car that was totally out of control. The driver must have been driving under the influence of alcohol. He would weave to the left and drive for a quarter of a mile or so scraping the concrete barrier with sparks flying. Then sensing his error, he would go to the right and drive scraping the barrier on the right side of the car, sparks a flying. This routine went on for miles.
Now, I am positive that if the man was sober, he would not have driven like that. He was operating his car while under the influence of the alcohol. In a sense the alcohol was controlling his driving. This is the issue. Things can get into our lives that will influence our actions. The contrast that Paul presented here is that instead of being under the influence of the wine, the believer must function under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
Now let us look at this metaphorically. A person under the influence of alcohol does not act rationally. They act irrationally. Looking at this from a broader perspective. There are many things that can take control of our lives and affect the way we respond to situations. They can get us off track with the purposes of God. Alcohol abuse is just one example. People often imbibe in worldly things that will get them off the track of God’s purposes. John wrote of these things of the world system.
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.” (1 John 2:15–16, ESV)
While we are in the world, we are not to allow the things of the world to be our influencers. We are commanded to allow the Spirit to be the influencer of our lives. He is to lead us and to empower us to fulfill the higher and more glorious purposes of God for us.
So, here is the first principle. If we are to be led by the Spirit, we must avoid being controlled by the things of this world. What are they? They are too numerous to list. They will include lusts for what we see. They include the lusts of our flesh. They will include the prideful attitudes that so plague us. We must also realize that often we can be controlled by our emotions rather than the Spirit.
While this does not give us the full picture, for just avoiding things does not equal being led by the Spirit, it is a starting point for our understanding. In the next several devotions, we will deal with the second command in this verse, the contrast. It is, “but be filled with the Spirit.”
Renewing the Heart 