The Fruit of Being Filled With the Spirit

Minister:
Date: AM
Text: Ephesians 5:19,20
Psalters: 372, 76, 48, 311
Sacrament of Baptism
  1. Speak, sing.
    1. Believers with the Spirit will give jubilant expression to their refreshing knowledge of God’s will, and they will do so together.
      1. To “speak” is to utter a voice or to emit a sound.
      2. To “sing” is to sing with the voice to the praise of someone; to “make melody” is to use an instrument.
    2. “Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” are different forms of Christian poetic expression.
      1. They imply a joy which plain prose cannot express.
      2. This is not making a distinction between psalms and hymns; nor does it express what must be in worship services.
    3. Believers, filled with and influenced by the Spirit, come together for mutual edification, i.e., for the benefit of each other.
      1. We walk in an evil world carrying a depravity which clings to us all our life long.
      2. Singing with each other out of hearts filled with praise to God is a constant helpful reminder.
  2. And “giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father.”
    1. “Giving thanks” is literally to be “well-graced,” i.e., to be in a state of heart and mind in which one is well-graced.
      1. Objectively, we are the recipients of grace, i.e., we are made pleasing in God’s sight.
      2. Subjectively, we are grateful, completing the circle whereby blessings given to us return to the Giver in adoration.
    2. The grateful person recognizes four things.
    3. We express our thanks and praise “unto God and the Father.”
      1. How do we express thanks? “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
      2. Because of Jesus we can and must give thanks to Jesus for “all things.”
    4. When do we give thanks? “Always.”