Sunday, July 12, 2009

Sovereign Grace Bible Church

Jim Kang, Pastor-Teacher

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE

Ephesians 5:18-21

INTRODUCTION

As a way of introduction, let me first begin this message by making some important grammatical observations, then followed by an interpretive issue, namely the two most popular interpretations. You will see shortly that how one interprets this text will have important theological implications and practical applications. With that in mind, let’s begin with grammatical observations.

Contextually speaking, from verse 15 to 21, there are two major commands: live wisely with your time (vv. 15-17) and be filled with the Spirit (vv. 18-21[1]). In regards to the command to be filled with the Spirit (v. 18b), it is immediately followed by five participles: 1) speaking, 2) singing, 3) praising, 4) giving thanks, and 5) submitting.

Now, here’s an interpretative issue. There are two major interpretations in regards to these participles with the command to be filled with the Spirit. One interpretation is to see these five participles as the means in which you can be filled with the Spirit. That is to say, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, one must speak, sing, praise, give thanks, and submit. Hence, these five participles are seen as the means or methods to be filled with the Spirit. And this is the normative view in charismatic or non-cessation churches, where people are exhorted to speak by unknown tongues, sing in tongues, praise in tongues, and give thanks in tongues.

One of the criticisms against that view is that “if the force of these participles are [sic] imperatival then it is possible that one might speak, sing, thank, and submit by sheer will and not necessarily with the Spirit’s power and control.”[2] That is to say, the problem with this view is that the emphasis or the focus is anthropocentric (man-centered), not theocentric (God-centered).

The other interpretation is to see these five participles not as the means, but as the results of being filled with the Holy Spirit. The major argument for this view is that Paul’s theology generally emphasizes on God as the initiator and God as the doer in the works of salvation, namely both justification and sanctification. And this is especially evident in his letter to Ephesians. Hence, these five participles are not the means to be filled with the Spirit, but results.[3] As you can see from the title of this message, you can understand which interpretation I hold to.

But before we examine the characteristics of the Spirit-filled life, I want to say a few words about the negative command that is given prior to the command to be filled with the Spirit, namely, do not get drunk with wine.

It is obvious what this verse does not say, namely, that drinking wine is wrong or sin. However, let me make a brief word about how you should use such Christian liberty. Since the focus of this message is not about drinking or not drinking, and also to save some time, let me raise a few guideline questions. And I would add that these guideline questions are applicable not only about drinking, but also other areas of our Christian liberty.

1. Is it permissible?

Is it legal? Obviously, if you are under 21, drinking alcohol is illegal. Is it permissible to drink and drive? Again, this is not only a moral issue, but also a legal issue. Also, are you allowed to watch that movie when you don’t have your parents or guardian present? Moreover, is it legal for you to possess or try illegal drugs? So, there are things that are clearly not permissible legally. One of the functions of the law is not to simply stop you from having fun, but to protect you and others in the public. Hence, we have to respect the law of the land (Romans 13).

2. Is it necessary?

If the answer is adamant yes, then you may have a bigger issue than drinking, because now the issue is about you being controlled, rather than you controlling. Again this principle is applicable not only about drinking wine but shopping, spending money, eating, etc.

• ^NAU 1 Corinthians 6:12 ¶ All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.

3. Will it offend fellow Christians?

Our freedom in Christ should stop where it begins to harm fellow Christians. In regards to eating food that was offered to idols, Paul said, “But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak” (1 Cor. 8:9). In addition he said:

• ^NAU 1 Corinthians 8:11 For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died. ¹² And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. ¹³ Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.

It is always better to offend the world than your fellow Christians. Or to say it negatively, it is worse to offend Christians or the church, the household of faith, than the world. One writer notes, “Drinking might make us more acceptable in some circles, but our lack of concern for fellow Christians would work against any positive witness we might give.”[4]

4. Will it harm Christian testimony?

Although there are some things that are not wrong in of themselves, but they may give a mixed or inconsistent message. For instance, though Scripture does not explicitly command “Thou shall not wear a mini skirt.” But what kind of message are you trying to convey by wearing a real short skirt and discussing about holiness? One of the most effective Christian testimonies is when there is consistency between the message and life.

Before we examine the characteristics of the Spirit-filled life, let me raise one question. What is the correlation between being drunk and being filled with the Spirit? In other words, why is this particular command given here? Why did Paul mention it?

The clue is the first word in verse 18, that is, and. What this implies is that verse 18 does not stand on its own. Rather, it is a continuation, namely from verse 15 to 17.

The correlation between being drunk and being filled with the Spirit is to point out its clear distinctions between the two. In other words, they are antithetical to each other. In fact, up to this point, Paul labors to point out several distinct contrasts. We can see this immediately from verse 15 to 17, namely the difference between foolish and wise.

We can go beyond the immediate context to verse 3 to 14. We find all sorts of distinct contrasts. For instance, the difference between holy and impurity, light and darkness, visible and invisible, awake and sleep, and alive and dead. We can even go beyond chapter 5 to the previous chapters. For instance, the difference between old and new, and put off and put on.

Similarly, the correlation between being drunk and being filled with the Spirit is to point out that they cannot coexist or mixed. Rather, Paul wants to clearly impress on his readers that the people who have been born-again or the spiritually regenerates do not habitually get drunk and be filled with the Spirit at the same time. Rather, these two are diametrically opposite.

With that in mind, let us now examine what type of life is the Spirit-filled life? From our text, there are four specific characteristics.

I. Speaking To One Another (v. 19a).

This particular verb is found only twice in the Gospels, namely in Matthew (10:20) and Mark (13:11), and both times it conveys the type of communication which the Holy Spirit will speak through you, with the proper words at the proper time and place. And please keep in mind that the Holy Spirit will speak to you with his word, namely Scripture, not with some “new” revelations of God or from God.

For those of you that are familiar with the NT should see that verse 19 looks familiar also from elsewhere, namely Colossians 3:16, which says:

• ^NAU Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Paul then tells us how we are to speak to one another, namely in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Although there are different views as to what this means exactly, many do agree that Paul’s point is to speak to one another in manner of worship, namely instruction, edification, and exhortation.[5] That is to say, since psalms and hymns and spiritual songs convey certain truths about who God is and what he has done, especially, in relation to creation and redemption, speak to one another about such things.

Since Paul is making vivid contrasts throughout this Epistle, here too, in light of its context, Paul’s point is stop wasting your life and live unwise. But redeem the time and be Spirit-filled. And what that looks like is for God’s community of the redeemed to speak one another in this fashion.

Let me point out a few implications from all this. First, the emphasis here is on the corporate worship, not individual worship. The obvious clue is this phrase: “one another.” That is far from staying home on Sunday and “worshipping” on your own. The entire epistle of Ephesians has a repeated theological theme about what church is and what she is called to do. You are not a church if you are simply by yourself. So, to those who say that they don’t need to go to church, my question to them is what do you do with verse 19?

Another implication is that these manners of speaking to one another serves as a means to encourage and edify one another. In other words, the purpose of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs is to encourage and edify one another, not entertainment. Since the only thing that encourage and edify our soul is God’s truths, psalms and hymns and spiritual songs have to be so saturated with biblical truths, such as who and what God is like, and what he has done. Let me hear and speak about God’s amazing saving grace, his absolute sovereignty, his thrice holy trinity, his omnipotence, his holiness and glory, and so on. Frankly, beholding some truths about God is truly assuring and uplifting, whereas, singing about man-centered things or glorifying man is not only depressing and frightening, but blaspheming.

II. Singing and Making Melody (v. 19b).

This is another result of being Spirit-filled. Whether a person can sing or carry a tune, the Spirit-filled individual is a singing Christian, because singing expresses his joyful and thankful heart. He knows the difference between having to sing and wanting to sing, but for him he wants to sing.

In addition to a hunger for God’s Word, one of the first evidences of a new life in Christ is a great desire to sing praises unto God. This is evident not only in the way he sings but also what he sings. In other words, not only the style is important but also the substance of music.

It is worth noting that biblically there is a close connection between the words “new” and “songs.” For instance:

• ^NAU Psalm 33:3 Sing to Him a new song;

• ^NAU Psalm 40:3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;

• ^NAU Psalm 96:1 Sing to the LORD a new song;

And generally, singing a new song is connected to what God has done.

• ^NAU Psalm 98:1 A Psalm. O sing to the LORD a new song, For He has done wonderful things, His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.

• ^NAU Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

• ^NAU Revelation 14:3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth.

Let me make a few more observations from the text. The fact that there are different genres of songs, namely psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, it is difficult to argue that only one genre of singing is superior. This does not mean that we would worship in punk-rock or hip-hop ways, but within the choices that are given it is difficult to argue that only one genre is better than the other two. I say this because there are churches that exclusively use psalms, or hymns only, or only the contemporary songs.

Another observation is to point out that music is one of the wonderful ways in which Christians serve and encourage one another and worship God together. And if you are wondering what type of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs should be used, the answer is simple, namely anything that would exalt the tri-unity of the Godhead by certain emphasis on their character and their works in relation to creation, redemption, and consummation. All that is to say, the genre of the music or songs have to be Bible-saturated.

III. Giving Thanks (v. 20).

Notice the usage of the superlatives – “always giving thanks for all things.” That is not an exaggeration but a description of a person who is Spirit-filled. That clearly implies that the fundamental driving force or driving engine or the primary cause to sing is the attitude of thanksgiving. It is the overflowing thanksgiving heart that mouth exalts.

• ^NAU 1 Thessalonians 5:18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

IV. Submitting (v. 21).

There are two popular interpretations on what this word means. One is the popular evangelical view that refers to submission that is mutual. This point of mutual submission gets special attention and especially more emphasized when discussing about the relationship between husband and wife.

There is another interpretation that argues against the previous view because of the exegetical reason. First, the verb for subject or submit in Greek means to place one’s self under the authority of someone else, as in the military or any other organization that has a chain of command. It has clear emphasis on obedience and submission that is unilateral (one way), not bilateral (both ways). In fact, this particular verb is used only twice in the NT, here and 1 Peter 2:18, which speaks of the relationship between servants and their masters.

• ^NAU 1 Peter 2:18 ¶ Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable.

It is unfortunate that the true meaning of this word has been watered-down because it is not politically, socially, and culturally accepted, especially, in a country where being independent is highly valued and being a rebel or challenging authority is viewed as one’s right and normative practice.

Also, if you would to examine this verse in light of its context, the meaning of submission is not that of mutual or bilateral, but unilateral. There is no bilateral submission between church and Christ (vv. 22-33). There is no bilateral or mutual submission between children and parents (6:1-4). There is no bilateral or mutual submission between slaves and masters (6:5-9).

The chief evidence of genuine spiritual conversion is obedience and submission. This is true of all Christians. And such obedience and submission is initially evident by one’s desire to be baptized, as a basic or baby-step obedience to Christ and his explicit command. The moment you became a Christian until you die is a life of obedience and submission. This is also true in all areas of leadership. Benjamin Franklin said, “He who cannot obey, cannot command.”

CONCLUSION

Let me conclude with two final thoughts. One, to say or describe someone as a Spirit-filled Christian is redundant. That is to say, there is no Christian who is not Spirit-filled. In Romans 8:9, Paul said, “But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”

Second, to live a Spirit-filled life is not another level of Christian life, as if there is a high level or low level but it is a normal Christian life.

---

[1] In these four verses, there are eight verbs – out of which seven are participles with imperative sense: 1) do not be drunk, 2) be filled, 3) speaking, 4) singing, 5) making melody, 6) giving thanks, and 7) submitting.

[2] Harold W. Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004), 706.

[3] According to the study notes regarding this verse, the NET Bible states the following:

It seems out of Paul’s character to reduce the filling of the Spirit to a formula of some kind. To the extent that this is true, it is unlikely then that the author is here stating the means for being filled by the Spirit. Because it is in keeping with Pauline theology and has good grammatical support, it is better to take the participles as indicating certain results of being filled with the Spirit.

[4] John MacArthur, Ephesians (Chicago: Moody Press, 1986), 243.

[5] Peter T. O’Brien, The Letters to the Ephesians, PNTC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), 395.