Ephesians 5:18-21

¹⁸Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. ¹⁹Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²¹Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Paul gives one final motivation for right living here: the indwelling and overflowing Holy Spirit. Once again, says Ligon Duncan, “Paul’s argument is very clear. You’re filled with the Holy Spirit, Christian; every one of you is filled with the Holy Spirit. You ought to seek to go on being filled by the Holy Spirit, and if you are being filled by the Holy Spirit, you’re going to want to pursue holiness. You’re going to be on a quest for godliness. And so the Apostle Paul points us today to the Holy Spirit as the ultimate incentive, and indeed, dynamic, of living the Christian life.”

Paul begins this final motivation to right living with a negative command. Don’t get drunk. And certainly don’t let your life be characterized by drunkenness. V18 prohibits drunkenness, but Paul may have more in mind here. The cult of Dionysus (Bacchus), the god of wine, practiced orgiastic worship, in which prophecy and frenzied dancing brought on by drunkenness was attributed to the deity indwelling his worshipers. Paul considered this to be “debauchery,” which is translated many ways, and it intends the suggestion that you are mastered by something negative. Now some might say that getting drunk helps them relax. Here are six things that getting drunk really does: (1) it helps you fit in with the world (something Paul says not to do); (2) it helps you cope with insecurity (our security is found in Christ); (3) it can be a potentially dangerous habit (alcohol is a depressant); (4) it sets a bad example (others who might not be inclined to drunkenness follow the drunkard’s lead, because they respect that person so much when sober); (5) it breaks the will, causing a yielding to peer pressure (as opposed to building up to strengthen the will to avoid peer pressure); (6) it oftentimes violates of the law (and Christians ought to obey the civil government).

On one hand, drunkenness makes immodesty and shame practically unavoidable; on the other hand, being filled, which alludes to deep drinking (Romans 14:17), with the Spirit, Paul’s positive command, yields, according to Erasmus, “A pleasant kind of drunkenness, which stimulates you, not to wanton dances or foolish songs, by which the Gentiles render homage to their deities, but to psalms, to hymns, to spiritual songs, by which you rejoice, and sing, and offer praise to the Lord, not with indecent roaring, as is the custom of drunk people, but inwardly in your minds and hearts.” Drinking of the Holy Spirit, being indwelled by the Spirit, is nothing less than the peace of Christ and the word of Christ governing the heart (Colossians 3:15-16; John 14:16,26; 16:12-15; 17:17). And though a person can consume too much alcohol, a person can never overindulge in the Holy Spirit.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not a one-time occurrence; it is a constant replenishing and soaking in like a sponge that will never reach saturation, because, as Bob Russell quipped, “We’re leaky vessels.” In Ephesians 3:14-19, Paul’s prayer for his audience was that the Holy Spirit would strengthen them with power in their inner being so that Jesus would dwell in their hearts through faith, and so that they would be filled up to all the fullness of God. Being filled by the Spirit is a work by which He matures us, grows us in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). Paul says it ought to be our desire, our unquenchable thirst, to see that ongoing filling, the work of the Holy Spirit, in our lives. But we may wonder what Paul has in mind in terms of what this constant filling of the Spirit looks like. And Paul gives us the answer with a series of five commands in v19-20.

In v19, Paul says that we exhibit this Spirit-filled life by speaking to one another with Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Paul speaks of this in Colossians 3:16, in the context of allowing the word of Christ to dwell in you richly with gratitude. We gather that worshipping God corporately can/should/often does involve communication with one another for mutual benefit (Colossians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 14; Hebrews 10:24). Meditate on Scripture and its application to any given moment of life (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:2; 119:97). Always look to edify one another, especially children, with your speech. But Paul is not finished with this thought. Speak to one another, he says, but also sing and make music in your heart. The Christian who is being matured by the work of the Holy Spirit devotes himself wholeheartedly in song to God. It doesn’t mean you have to like to sing, nor does this command imply that you ought to be good at singing or making music. Rather, don’t let your inabilities or lack of talents stop you. Sing to God!

So we speak to others, and we sing and make music to God. Then in v20, Paul says to always give thanks. The Lord gives and takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. I like Calvin’s comment here: “[Paul] means that [giving thanks] is a pleasure which ought never to lose its relish; that this is an exercise of which we ought never to weary. Innumerable benefits which we receive from God yield fresh cause of joy and thanksgiving. At the same time, he reminds believers that it will argue ungodly and disgraceful sloth, if they shall not always give thanks, – if their whole life shall not be spent in the study and exercise of praising God.” Vincent Cheung adds, “The Holy Spirit fills us with biblical knowledge, and as He does so, we become capable of teaching and admonishing others with theological insight, perhaps even in the form of songs and doxologies, and always with gratitude in our hearts to God.”

Finally, v21, which serves as a transitional verse, adds one final command, that of submission. The Spirit-filled life is about serving, not being served. And the result is mutual edification. It is more blessed to give than to receive. A consequence of being filled with the Spirit is living out the proper role in any given relationship, and our motive for obeying this command is fear of or reverence for Christ. No one humbled himself or served like Him, yet we ought to strive for that lifestyle (Philippians 2:4-11). Remember how Christ served you. Now don’t be ashamed to serve your neighbors; He served you. Remember what you were like, and He served you. Now you serve one another in that way. Calvin concludes: “God has bound us so strongly to each other, that no man ought to endeavor to avoid subjection; and where love reigns, mutual services will be rendered. I do not except even kings and governors, whose very authority is held for the service of the community. It is highly proper that all should be exhorted to be subject to each other in their turn…[and out of reverence for Christ], that we may not refuse the yoke, and can humble our pride, that we may not be ashamed of serving our neighbors.”

To summarize, Ligon Duncan says, “Paul has armed us now with arguments to use with ourselves as we seek to be different from the world: We’re going to remember the Judgment Day to come; we’re going to live in light of what God has made us by His grace, and not what we used to be; we’re going to live wisely because we’ve been made wise by the grace of Christ; and we are going to be matured by the Holy Spirit and live in consistency with the One who indwells us; and He is holy, so we’re going to walk in holiness.”

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” concludes Paul’s comments on the effects of being filled with the Spirit (v19-21) and opens his letter to the topic of submission in the various relationships people encounter in life (v22-6:9). The standard teaching of ethics at the time, as far back as Aristotle, taught male headship, but not for the sake of selfless service and nurturing care. Likewise Christian living is counter-cultural, upholding the value of women, children, and slaves, as well as men. We’ll hit on that, Lord willing, next time.