Daily Light from the Lighthouse
"And do not be drunk with wine wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit."
Ephesians 5:18
This is a powerful passage of Scripture that goes well beyond dealing with the subject and issues surrounding alcoholism. Drunkenness is an analogy to demonstrate the idea of control. When an individual has become drunk on wine, they have given themselves over to the control of that substance. It affects their walk, their speech, and every other area of behavior.
The call here is for believers to come under the control and influence of the power of the Holy Spirit. The term "filled with the Spirit" could be also stated as "controlled by the Spirit". At the moment of salvation the Holy Spirit takes residence in the life of a believer, but that does not mean that we have each given Him control over our lives. We must learn to yield to the Spirit of God on a daily basis. A life that is yielded to the Spirit and therefore controlled by the Spirit shows forth the indelible marks of Christ in each area. When the Spirit is in control, we live out the will of God and reflect the Father's glory.
What does this practically mean in the context of the passage? Paul is encouraging the believers in Ephesus to walk in the light. Therefore, if they are controlled by the Spirit they will walk in the light and not walk in darkness. Sin will not have dominion over any area of their lives. One pastor recently said, "There has never been a husband or wife that are each controlled by the Spirit of God that has gotten a divorce." How far can we carry that? Would it be safe to say the following as well: There has never been a man that is controlled by the Spirit of God that has committed adultery? There has never been a teenager that is controlled by the Spirit of God that has rebelled against their parents? There has never been a woman that is controlled by the Spirit of God that has allowed her tongue to become a tool of gossip and slander?
How much we need men and women in the church today to be filled with the Spirit of God and yielded to His control! The world desperately needs to see light in a dark world, and the children of God have within them that light from Jesus Christ. Let us not be controlled by the foolish and beggarly elements of this world. Let us instead yield ourselves to the power of the Almighty through His Spirit.
May you be filled with the Spirit today!
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