Efésios 5

Efésios 5:18

Clarke - The heathen priests pretended to be filled with the influence of the god they worshipped; and it was in these circumstances that they gave out their oracles. See a remarkable instance of this quoted in the note on Luke 9:39, where the case of a Bacchanalian is described. The apostle exhorts the Ephesians not to resemble these, but, instead of being filled with wine, to be filled with the Spirit of God; in consequence of which, instead of those discoveries of the Divine will to which in their drunken worship the votaries of Bacchus pretended, they should be wise indeed, and should understand what the will of the Lord is. PLEROO: THREE SHADES OF MEANING For completeness, note that pleroo indicates more than just pouring water in a glass up the brim and can have at least three shades of meaning in Scripture, all of which have some relationship to the meaning of pleroo here in Ephesians 5:18. (1) Pleroo was often used of the wind billowing the sails of a ship and providing impetus to move the ship across the water. To be filled with the Spirit then to is to be moved along in our Christian life by God Himself, by the same dynamic by which the writers of Scripture were “moved by the Holy Spirit” (2Pe 1:21-note). In the spiritual realm, this concept depicts the Holy Spirit providing the thrust to move the believer down the pathway of obedience. A Spirit-filled Christian is not motivated by his own desires or will to progress. Instead, he allows the Holy Spirit to carry him in the proper directions. Another helpful example of this first meaning is a small stick floating in a stream. Sometime in our lives most of us have tossed a stick into a creek and then run downstream to see the twig come floating by, propelled only by the force of the water. To be filled with the Spirit means to be carried along by the gracious pressure of the Holy Spirit. From a negative aspect, the men in (Ro 1:29-note "being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed") are being moved by their depraved minds to do unspeakable evil. (2) Pleroo can convey the idea of permeation as of salt’s permeating meat in order to flavor and preserve it. In regard to Ephesians 5:18, this shade of meaning conveys the idea that God wants the Holy Spirit to permeate and flavor our lives so that when we’re around others they will be impacted by the One Who permeates us. This shade of meaning brings to mind Paul's description of believers in Second Corinthians where he explains that... we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? (2Cor 2:15, 16) (3) Pleroo as alluded to above can convey the sense of one being dominated or controlled by that which fills them. Some examples were mentioned above, but let's look in more detail at some Scriptural illustrations of this third meaning in order to help understand what happens (or should happen) when a believer is filled with the Holy Spirit. Note that some of these examples use pletho which is a synonym of pleroo and conveys the same meaning. For example, in Luke's description of the filling of the saints at Pentecost in Acts 2:4 he uses pletho instead of pleroo writing "they were all filled (pletho) with the Holy Spirit". With that point clarified let's look at several illustrations of filling and controlling... Luke records that when Jesus was teaching in the synagogue and reminded the Jews that in the days of Elijah only Naaman, a Gentile (to them a veritable "dog") was healed of leprosy, there was a sudden and dramatic change in the "political climate" in the room (previously they had all speaking well of Him, cf Luke 4:22)... And all (all without exception!) in the synagogue were filled (pletho) with rage (thumos describes agitated, vehement anger that rushes along relentlessly) (Lk 4:28) Comment: The rage resulted from the teaching that the Jews did not occupy an exclusive place in the blessings of God, but that God's help was available to those who had faith, irrespective of whether Jew or Gentile. What were these Jews controlled by? They were clearly controlled by what filled them and what filled them was rage! And what was the resultant action that emanated from their boiling agitation? Luke tells us that... They rose up and cast Him (Jesus) out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. (Lk 4:29) The rage so controlled these Jews that they were driven to the point of seeking to murder the Messiah! We have all experienced this type of controlling emotion, haven't we? When our anger boils and takes control, we realize that we are capable of doing things we would otherwise never consider. In Luke 6 we read the following interaction as Jesus healed a lame man's hand on the Sabbath... And after looking around at them (scribes and Pharisees) all, He said to him, "Stretch out your hand!" And he did so; and his hand was restored. But they themselves were filled with rage, (anoia = irrational anger, fury, extreme rage) and discussed together what they might do to Jesus. (Lk 6:10, 11) Comment: Observe the causal relationship between filling and "feelings" that controlled them to the point of conspiring to put Jesus to death! In Acts Peter confronts Ananias who failed to present the offering from the sale of his land, Luke recording that... a certain man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife's full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled (pleroo) your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back some of the price of the land? (Acts 5:1, 2, 3) Comment: Observe the father of lies filled Ananias' with falsehood which directly countered the Holy Spirit and resulted in holding some of the money back. What filled Ananias controlled him! In Acts 13 when Paul and Barnabas arrived at Pisidian Antioch, Paul began proclaiming Jesus as Savior to the point that people were even begging for more of Paul's expository preaching and... when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled (pletho) with jealousy (resentment), and (notice the actions that resulted from their being filled with jealousy) began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming. (Acts 13:45) What you observe is that when a person is filled with an emotion, that emotion can totally control and dominate the individual and result in actions or words reflective of that emotion. Filling is Not Baptism By the Spirit As an aside be sure that you don't confuse filling with the Spirit with the other closely related phrase baptism of the Spirit, this latter phrase describing a one time occurrence at the time of salvation, in which the believer is "immersed" into and becomes identified with the body of Christ, the church. 1Cor 12:13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized (see word study on baptizo) into one body (the Church universal, the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ), whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. This baptism by the Spirit occurs the moment we trust Christ, is not repeated, is not commanded and does not need to be prayed for, because it is a sovereign once-for-all act of the Spirit of God at the time of conversion. When the Spirit came at Pentecost, the believers were baptized by the Spirit and the body of Christ, the Church, was born. Luke records that Jesus... gathering them (the apostles He had chosen) together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised (See Acts 2:33, Isa 32:15; 44:3,4, Joel 2:28, 29, 30, 31, 32; Lu 24:49; John 7:39; John 14:16, 26, 27, 28, 15:26, 16:7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,13, 14, 15), "Which," He said," you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." (Acts 1:4-5) In Acts 2 the apostles were baptized into the body of Christ with all the other believers present at Pentecost. On this occasion, Luke records that in addition to the baptism Jesus had promised, the believers were also “filled with the Spirit” (see Acts 2:2, 3, 4 below), and it was this filling that gave them the power they needed to witness for Christ, Who had instructed them earlier declaring... "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority but you shall receive power (see word study on dunamis) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." (Acts 1:7-8) In summary, the Jewish believers were baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ in Acts 2, but it was not until some 8 years later that Luke records the baptism of the Gentiles into the body of Christ. At that time the Gentiles also were filled with the Spirit as deduced by the fact that they demonstrated the same sign of filling that the Jews did on the day of Pentecost, i.e., they spoke in tongues. This demonstration of supernatural power was necessary to convince the Jews (who had been raised to despise the Gentiles) that the Gentiles had truly been born from above and were truly part of the body of Christ (cf the unity Paul explains in Ephesians - see Ep 3:4; 5; 6; 4:1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6 notes Ep3:4; 3:5; 3:6; 4:1; 4:2; 4:3; 4:4; 4:5; 4:6). Compare Luke's record of these events in Acts 10 and 11... (Peter speaking to Cornelius and the other Gentiles at Caesarea) "And He (referring to Jesus) ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. 43 "Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins." 44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those (Gentiles) who were listening to the message. 45 And all the circumcised believers (Jewish believers) who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Gentiles also. 46 For they were hearing them speaking with tongues (a sign that they had been filled with the Spirit) and exalting God. Then Peter answered, 47 "Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized (here he refers to water baptism that represented the Spirit's baptizing them into the body of Christ at the time of their conversion, see verse 45 above) who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?" 48 And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days. (Acts 10:42-48) (Peter describes his experiences at Joppa and Caesarea in order to explain to Jews in Jerusalem who were disturbed by the reports that Gentiles had received the Word of God. Peter declares...) "And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them (the Gentiles at Caesarea, Acts 10), just as He did upon us at the beginning (Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem, Acts 2). 16 "And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, 'John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' (So the Gentiles were baptized in Acts 10) 17 "If God therefore gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?" 18 And when they heard this, they quieted down, and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life." (Acts 11:15-18) Eddie Rasnake also emphasizes that being filled with the Spirit is distinct from being sealed with the Spirit... Being “sealed” with the Spirit (Eph 1:13-note) is a once and for all experience that occurs at salvation and is concurrent with being “baptized” by the Spirit into Christ’s family (see 1Cor 12:13). Being “filled with the Spirit” is a repeatable act that is part of the sanctification process. Being “sealed” with the Spirit deals with you getting the Spirit; whereas, being “filled with the Spirit” involves the Spirit getting you. Paul contrasts being drunk on wine with being filled with the Spirit. In both cases, an outside agent is influencing the person. With both, it is initiated by an act of the will, and both are results of the outside agent’s work on the inside. With wine, it is alcohol released from the stomach into the bloodstream and brain. With filling, it is the already present Spirit released into all parts of the body. Both result in altered personalities consistent with the altering agent. Being filled with the Spirit is not an optional accessory to the Christian life. It is the hub of walking consistently with God. There is no other way to experience the victorious Christian life except for the indwelling Christ to be in control (see John 15:5). To not be “filled” (directed and empowered) with the Spirit is to disobey a direct command of Scripture and is therefore sin. (Ibid) The famous preacher Donald Grey Barnhouse put it bluntly... No one may ask a believer whether he has been baptized with the Spirit. The very fact that a man is in the body of Christ demonstrates that he has been baptized with the Spirit, for there is no other way of entering the body. Warren