Called to Be Filled With the Spirit

Minister:
Date: AM
Text: Ephesians 5:18
Psalters: 275, 67, 383, 390
Sacrament of Baptism
  1. The meaning.
    1. Obedience to this command is a continuous moral and spiritual activity (present tense; a continuous action).
      1. The idea is that of being under the influence of the Holy Spirit (a person) as one can be under the influence of alcohol.
      2. We are to go on being filled with the Spirit as a constant condition.
    2. This is a command, so it is something we (must) do, not something that God does to us.
      1. Obedience begins with not grieving (do something against His love) Him, nor quenching His making us willing.
      2. Constantly realize that He is within us – so much so that our bodies are His temples (I Cor. 6:19).
  2. When we are filled with the Spirit, then the fruit of the Spirit will be manifest in us, and we will speak to one another, give thanks, submit one to another in the fear of God, submit to husbands, love wives, obey parents and masters.
    1. To be “drunk” is to drink freely until full, i.e., “excess,” which is literally: “not save.”
    2. The Christian is able to live a life of self-control because of the presence of the Spirit.
      1. The Spirit gives us the right motive to exercise the power of self-control, of a wise, circumspect (careful) walk, disciplined.
      2. And there is the positive influencing power of the Spirit to do that which is right.
    3. The presence of the Spirit has clear implications.
      1. First, the Christian life cannot be forced on anyone from the outside by rules and regulations.
      2. Second, we can talk about our callings in marriage and the home only because the Christian has the Spirit.
      3. The only way to live the Christian life is to be “filled with the Spirit.”