Ephesians 5:18, Ephesians 5:19-21, Acts 4:31
A Command, Not a Suggestion
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit. — Ephesians 5:18
Paul's instruction to be filled with the Spirit is a command — not a suggestion or an optional upgrade. The verb is present tense and plural: keep on being filled, all of you. This is not a one-time experience but a continuous, ongoing reality that every believer is called to pursue.
What Filling Is Not
Being filled with the Spirit is not the same as receiving the Spirit — that happens once, at conversion, and is permanent. Nor is it an ecstatic state that overrides the believer's normal faculties. The context of Ephesians 5 — Paul goes on to discuss marriage, family, and work — makes clear that Spirit-filled living is thoroughly practical and grounded.
What Filling Looks Like
Paul immediately describes the evidence of Spirit-filling (Ephesians 5:19-21):
- **Speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs** — the filled life is a community of worshippers
- **Singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart** — genuine, heart-felt worship
- **Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father** — a pervasive gratitude
- **Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ** — humility and mutual deference
The Spirit-filled person is characterised by worship, gratitude, and humility — not ecstatic religious experience disconnected from ordinary life.
How to Be Filled
The filling of the Spirit is God's work — we cannot manufacture it. But we can cooperate with it or resist it. Several things cultivate the conditions for Spirit-filling:
The Word of God. Colossians 3:16 gives an almost identical list to Ephesians 5:18-21, but replaces "filled with the Spirit" with "let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." The parallel is instructive: the Spirit fills us as His Word fills us.
Prayer. The disciples were filled with the Spirit in the context of united, persistent prayer (Acts 1:14, Acts 4:31).
Confession and repentance. Unconfessed sin grieves the Spirit and hinders His filling. Regular, honest confession creates space for the Spirit's work.
Surrender. Being filled requires yielding — letting the Spirit have control rather than insisting on our own agenda, comfort, and preferences.