"Let The Spirit Fill Your Life”

Financial expert and radio personality, Dave Ramsey says there are three things one can do with money: spend, give, or invest. Of course, one must become debt free first. There’s a parallel between what he says about money and what God says about life. I can spend my life, give my life, or invest my life. But first, I must make sure I am debt free. Through Christ, I can experience the freedom from the debt of sin that I need. Once freed, I can then spend, give, and invest my life in things of eternal significance.

Which brings me to a question, “How can I be sure I am doing what I really ought to be doing with my life?” As a child of God, this question should be uppermost in my mind, because I should want to live life on purpose, making sure that my life is being spent, given, and invested for both time and eternity. So, this is a very important

question; and it’s a question Paul answers in today’s passage.

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Paul says, “Be filled with the Spirit,” (v. 18) and the primary reason he gives is that it is essential to living by God’s wisdom and making the most of opportunities given us in this life (vs. 15-16); to make sure we are able to understand and walk in God’s will (v. 17).

Paul tells the Ephesians God’s will is not to get drunk on wine, but that we be filled with the Holy Spirit (v. 18). This was an appropriate thing for him to say to the Ephesians, whose city was in the heart of wine country, where over-indulgence was common. The wine god - Bacchus was honored by his devotees having drunken orgies. So Paul contrasts the way followers of the wine god, Bacchus, sought to honor him with the way God calls us to honor Him as followers of Christ.

Drunkenness degrades both the drinker and others. The activity of the pagan Greeks was demeaning. The activity of the Christian, by contrast, should be uplifting. And that’s how the Christian can live, as he allows the Spirit to fill and empower him from day to day. While the pagans lived “under the influence” of alcohol, Paul says Christians are to live “under the influence” of the Holy Spirit!

Which brings us to Paul’s command in verse 18b. Notice four things Paul says about how to live empowered by God’s Spirit.

1. This is a command for our good.

This statement is in the imperative mood, which means it’s a command, not a suggestion, recommendation, or polite piece of advice. We have an obligation to obey this command as we do any other in Scripture. To live the Spirit-filled life is not optional for the Christian, but obligatory.

Corrie Ten Boom would illustrate the importance of living the Spirit-filled life this way. She would hold up a glove and say, “I have a glove here in my hand. The glove cannot do anything by itself, but when my hand is in it, the glove can do many things. It is not the glove, but the hand in the glove that acts. The Christian is the glove. It is the Holy Spirit (the hand) in us who does the work. We have to make room for the hand so that every finger is filled.”

God did not give Himself for us only to leave us on our own to try to do our best to live our lives for Him. No, He not only gave Himself for us, but He gives Himself to us; and He does this through the presence of His Spirit in our lives. The moment I trusted Christ as my one and only Savior, God’s Holy Spirit took up residence within me.

“When you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit.” - Ephesians 1:13b (NLT)

As a Christian, the question is not “Do I have the Holy Spirit?” but “Does the Holy Spirit have me?” He resides in me, now He must be allowed to preside over me. And God commands us to allow His Spirit to fill every part of my life so I might stand firm in all the will of God. This is a positive command, for just like all of God’s commands, it is given to us for our own good, so we might experience God’s best.

“Now His commands are not a burden, because whatever has been born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith.” - 1 John 5:3b-4 (HCSB)

2. This is a command for every Christian.

The promise of the Spirit filling every area of my life to enable me to live life on purpose is the heritage of every Christian, whether I am one who’s known God a long time, or hardly any time at all. Whether you’re a spiritual giant or a spiritual infant, the promise of a purposeful life by the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit is for you!