Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.Don’t be drunken with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;And be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit;
12 sermons cite this verse
our life. Indwelt once, but continue to be controlled. The word the Bible uses for control Ephesians 5.18 says, do not get drunk with wine for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. You know, it was the Roman philosopher Seneca who said drunkenness is nothing but voluntary insanity. It is nothing but insane to allow some foreign substance in your life to influence you and control your life and have you make wrong decisions. But guess what? Drunkenness is not the only thing that can control your life. Anything that controls your life other than God is wrong. What controls your life may be TikTok. It may be social media. It might be athletic games. It might be television programs. It might be the stock market. Don't let anything control your life except what? The Holy Spirit of God. Be filled with the Spirit. That word fill, plero in Greek, refers to the wind that fills up the mast of a sail ship. That wind fills up that mast and controls the direction of the ship. …
… 1 Peter 5, 8 tells us, be alert and of what? Everybody say it aloud. And of sober mind, not altered mind, not drunk mind, not high mind. Paul says in Ephesians 5, do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. So essentially, he's saying, like, don't surrender your mind and your will and your body to the control of any other substance. You only want to be controlled and filled and directed by the Holy Spirit. Now, you may say, okay, Craig, I can kind of go with that, but, you know, marijuana is legal in my state. Well, legal answers the legal question, not the wisdom one, not the godly one. Paul said this in 1 Corinthians 6, 12. to do anything. In other words, it might be legal, it might be socially acceptable. I have the right to do anything, you say, but not everything is beneficial. So if I can be just very direct, something can be legal, something can be socially acceptable and still not wise. …
… It's interesting that when wine is mentioned in the New Testament, it is inevitably mentioned with a word of caution. For example, in Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 18, Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with a spirit. I think that's fairly clear. In 1 Timothy 3 and in verse 8, it is again mentioned as a word of caution. Dequins, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, and not indulging in much wine. When it is referred to in Titus, and chapter 2 and in verse 3, these women, the older women, are supposed to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine. And when Paul addresses it as one of the debatable matters in Romans 14, which is why in the earlier part of our worship, I read from Romans 14. In Romans 14 and 21, he points out that not drinking wine is better than causing one's fellow Christians to stumble. So, in other words, when you try to put together an understanding of it, you cannot teach from the Bible a categorical statement in relationship to the matter of this beverage. But you can understand clearly the parameters that are set in relationship to it. The word that is used here is inevitably medicinal. Therefore, we wouldn't use a medicinal reference as a ground for a view of alcoholic intake. When we look to the rest of the Scripture, we would say, well, what does it say about this? …
… We're now in the book of Ephesians in the New Testament. Paul wrote, do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. instead be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing, sing. Make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything. in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And so Paul here contrasts two ways to deal with inner chaos, inebriation or celebration. Many face their struggles with inebriation. They numb themselves, if not with liquor, with work, with busyness, with play, with entertainment, with shopping. Those of us who have tried this approach know its falsehood. We have learned, have we not? Happy hours do not make us happy. They just don't. Indeed, they do the opposite. And we find that waiting on us when we come off the bar stool are those problems we tried to drink away. The better option, Paul says, celebration. celebration, worship. Fill the air, he says, with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. …
Ephesians chapter 5, verse 15 to 20. I was asked to work on this text, and you'll see why when we get to verse 18 and 19, 20. It's about music, it's about singing, but that's not all there is here. Look carefully, therefore, how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. therefore do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is and do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery but be filled with the spirit addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ So, Father, I ask now for me and all of us that there would be granted the fullness of the Holy Spirit. this is a great miracle it's a gift and it is a precious thing that we long for now and over and over again in our lives because we want to purchase the time in these evil days don't want anything to be wasted or slip by. …
excessive drinking is the second area that's a sin before god and then drunkenness is also a sin before god it's fascinating that ephesians chapter 5 verse 18 talks about this ephesians chapter 5, verse 18, parallels, are you ready for this? Drunkenness with wine and drunkenness with the Holy Spirit. Isn't that interesting? Here the Apostle Paul said these words, and do not get drunk with wine for, that's debauchery, but be filled or controlled, or some translations say drunk with the Holy Spirit. As I said, remember, remember, we can learn a lot about God with this can of beer. So just as I can become drunk with wine, alcohol, again, you can talk about different substances, vaping, smoking weed, we can chase all those rabbits down the rabbit trails, I get it. but I can become drunk, intoxicated with wine or beer or liquor. I have that opportunity. When I do so, I cannot glorify God. When I do so, I cannot really worship God. I can't. …
… down to the end of the chapter. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father, and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. Wives, be subject to your own husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be holy and blameless. …
… a very familiar command. That command is in verse 18, be filled with the Spirit. What does that mean? How are we to understand that? How are we to experience it? Let's look at the whole passage, verse 18 through 21. I'm going to read them for you. Do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God, even the Father, and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. What we have in this command is really the key to all Christian living, the key to all Christian living. It's only in keeping this command that we can keep any other commands. Apart from the truth in this command, which is the heart of Paul's message here, Ephesians would be legalistic. Apart from the reality of this command, the work of the Holy Spirit, we would be endeavoring to live the Christian life in the flesh, in the strength of our own will, our own power. …
… Is it potentially destructive? Let's go back to Ephesians 5.18. Don't get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation. Let me make a few more comments about the word asotia. I checked a number of lexicons, and it's a very, very, it's almost a terminal word. You might put it in the category of the word addict. When we say someone is addicted, we mean they're unable to break the hold or the power. And that's what asotia is. There are lexicons that give synonyms incurable, irremediably ill, hopelessly sick, undisciplined. The literal meaning of asotia is one who by his manner of life debauches himself, destroys himself. This kind of inebriation leads to all kinds of transgressions, iniquities, and sins, and We understand that, as well as the destruction of the human body. A good illustration of the usage of asotia is found in Luke 15. And Luke 15 is the story of the prodigal son. And I just want to show you where that word appears in Luke 15. …
… 5, and I want to draw your attention to verses 18 and 19. So open your Bible, if you will, to Ephesians chapter 5, verses 18 and 19. I'm going to read them, and then we're going to talk about these verses for probably a couple of weeks because this is such an important portion of Scripture. Ephesians 5.18 says, "'And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord.'" Now, obviously, this is a context of worship. Whatever the filling of the Spirit means, whatever it produces based upon the next verse, it begins with worship. The impact of a Spirit-filled life will show up starting in verse 22 in marriage, in chapter at the beginning of that chapter in family life, and later in chapter 6 even in your public and business life with the world around you. So being filled with the Spirit is a very foundational reality, as we all know. …
… Hallelujah. If you would, turn in your Bible or tap in your Bible app to the book of Ephesians, and I want to lift up and line up for our considerations. Ephesians chapter 5, verse 18. Ephesians, the book of Ephesians chapter 5 in the New Testament record, verse 18. If it's your custom to stand, you may stand this morning out of reverence for the Word of God. Ephesians chapter 5. if you found it say amen Ephesians chapter 5 verse 18 reads like this do not get drunk on wine which leads to debauchery instead be filled with the spirit amen you may be seated in the presence of the Lord do not get drunk on wine but be filled with the Holy Spirit. With the help of the Holy Spirit in your prayers, I want to talk to you from this theme, Living Under the Influence. Living Under the Influence. Look at your neighbor and tell him, I'm living under the influence. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that was pretty good. Look at your other neighbor. Tell him the same thing. …
… The Bible says, And be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. …