Taught 1/11/2009
Ephesians 5:18-21
Walk in Harmony
Open your Bible to…
Eph. 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
Eph. 5:19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
Eph. 5:20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Eph. 5:21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.
Pray
Intro
√ Walk in harmony
Well, it’s been a few weeks since our last study in Ephesians so it would be a good idea to do a quick review so that we can get back up to speed.
You’ll remember that beginning with chapter 4 Paul turns his attention to our responsibility as Christians to live out our faith.
That is, in view of all that God has done for us in Christ Paul calls us to walk like Jesus.
To walk like Jesus speaks of the manner in which we live our lives, our behavior, attitude and speech.
So far we’ve learned that we are to…
Walk in unity ~ 4:1-16
Walk in purity ~ 4:17-32
Walk as God’s children ~ 5:1-17
In our study this morning we find that Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit calls us to walk in harmony…
…with one another and in the home!
Ap. The home
God designed the family as the building block of society.
Historically we can see how that truth has played out in every society since Creation.
That is, as look at the raise and fall of kingdoms and nations we find that as goes the family so goes the community, and the nation.
Without controversy we find that healthy families produce healthy communities and healthy societies.
Whereas unhealthy families bring chaos to every level of the human social structure.
With so much resting on the foundation of the family unit it’s no wonder that Satan has focused his resources and energy on destroying the family…
…especially the Christian family!
That’s because Holy Spirit empowered people are the only real threat to Satan’s plans and projects here on earth.
When he can destroy a Christian family then he also dismantles the godly influence and testimony to the world that God intended our family to be.
So, Satan targets Christian families…
Husband ~ wife relationships
Parent ~ child relationships
…all with the intent of dividing family members from one another and breaking up the family because he knows that if he can destroy a family the fallout will have far reaching effects on the Church, the community, and the nation.
Ex. Satan’s plan is working
With over half of all marriages in the United States ending in divorce, including Christian marriages…
…it is evident that the devil’s war against the family is working.
So, over the next few weeks we’ll study God’s instructions for building healthy relationships in our homes as we learn to walk in harmony with God and one another.
Ap. If you’ve been through a divorce
My intention is not to discourage you or put you under some kind of a guilt trip. Rather, I hope that as we look at what God says about building harmony in the home you’ll be better equipped for future relationships.
Harmony by the Power of the Spirit (vs. 18)
Eph. 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
√ Harmony by the power of the Spirit
The history of Man is a long tedious testimony that we are not able in our own strength to do God’s will!
Despite our best intentions and efforts we find ourselves always short of God’s standard.
We are simply not able to consistently walk as Jesus did!
We’re weakened by our “old nature”.
So, before he gives instructions to husbands, wives, parents and children about our individual responsibility to walk in harmony in the home he tells us how it’s possible!
“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit”
The verb “filled” is written in the perfect present tense, which literally means we are to…
“Keep on being filled”
That is being filled is an on-going process. Please don’t misunderstand!
He’s not implying that we can lose the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit…
…as if we were like an inner tube that has to be continually pumped up because it loses air pressure!
Rather, the word “filled” means to be…
“Controlled by”
We find the word being used in this sense in a number of places in the Scripture…
Acts 13:45…
“But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul.”
That is, the Jews mentioned here allowed their envy of Paul’s success to control their behavior.
Luke 4:28…
“So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath”
That is, the Jews in Nazareth who were offended by Jesus allowed their anger to control their behavior and they actually tired to kill Jesus!
Finally, note the comparison that Paul uses here of a drunk person who has come under the control of the alcohol they’ve consumed…
…in a similar way those who have surrendered to the Holy Spirit come under His influence, power, and control.
Thus Paul’s illustration here with a contrast between being filled with wine with being filled with the Holy Spirit!
That’s not to say that when we’re under the influence of the Holy Spirit we act drunk as some wrongly claim, rather it means that…
…act like Jesus!
The main point that we want to take away from vs. 18 is that we aren’t expected to walk like Jesus…
In unity
In purity
As children of God
In harmony with one another
…in our own strength!
Rather, He’s given us His Spirit to transform and empower us to live like Jesus!
Praise the Lord!
So, how do we continually get filled with the Spirit?
Back to the Greek! The verb “filled” is passive which means that we don’t fill ourselves…
…rather, the Holy Spirit does the filling.
Our part is to simply surrender to His control by daily asking Him to take control of our lives and make us more like Him!
Ap. God empowers us to do His will
Reminds us of this great truth that all through the Bible we find that God never asks anything of us that He doesn’t also provide the power by which we can accomplish His will!
What has God asked you to do?
Are you struggling to do what He’s asked of you?
God has given you the Person of the Holy Spirit to indwell and empower you to live as Jesus did…
…just ask Him to take control of your life!
Evidence of the Spirit (vs. 19-21)
Eph. 5:19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
Eph. 5:20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Eph. 5:21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.
√ Evidence of the Spirit
How can we tell whether or not we, or someone else, is truly living under the control of the Holy Spirit?
Some might point to the evidence of supernatural miracles done through our lives.
Others might suggest it is the operation of spiritual gifts in our lives.
While those are certainly true the reality is that not all of us are given those types of gifts.
So, here we find that Paul highlights three evidences of the spirit-controlled (filled) life that produces harmony that should characterize the life of every believer.
Godly speech ~ vs. 19
The first evidence that we are filled with the Spirit is the testimony of what comes out of our mouths! Note that Paul writes that we ought to be…
“speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”
That is, as we’ve learned in previous studies what comes out of our mouth is the overflow of our heart! (Ref. Matt. 15:18)
So here again we find that a Spirit-filled (controlled) believer can be identified by their godly speech.
These are the people who always have a word of encouragement for others, always seem to have a scripture to share that fits our situation, and who love to speak and sing about God in private and in public!
I realize that not everyone has a bubbly personality, however, over the 32 years that I’ve walked with the Lord I’ve seen even quiet reserved personalities change to be chatty people who just couldn’t contain the joy in their heart.
My encouragement to you is that you don’t let yourself off the hook that the Spirit has you on by saying…
“I’m just not an expressive person”
Instead, ask the Lord to take control of your life and then watch as He transforms you into a person who just can’t contain the love of God…
…you know that person is filled with the Spirit.
Thankful attitude ~ vs. 20
The second evidence that is a dead giveaway that a person is filled with the Holy Spirit is that they have a thankful attitude!
“giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
That is, rather than complaining and bemoaning every hardship in life the spirit-controlled believer is able to find a silver-lining in every situation and give God thanks!
Ex. Paul’s life
Phil. 1:12 But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel,
You might be wondering what “things” had come to pass in Paul’s life that he is celebrating here…
Maybe he’d been invited to share the Gospel with Caesar and the Roman Senate!
Perhaps he’d come into a huge fortune and was now able to use his wealth to advance the Gospel message!
Maybe he signed a major league contract that would give him a larger audience to share his testimony!
No, actually the “things” that had happened is that Paul had been…
Arrested in Jerusalem, targeted by a group of fanatics for murder, ship wrecked, and was now writing this letter while chained in a Roman prison!
Yet, he was able to find something praiseworthy in his situation because he saw that Jesus used all of those hardships for the good of the Kingdom!
Phil. 1:13 so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ;
Phil. 1:14 and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Paul could see that silver lining and thank God even in difficult times because he was living under the control of the Holy Spirit who helped Paul see his situation with God’s perspective.
Ap. Are you thankful?
Unfortunately too many Christians today, and I include myself here, are not thankful to God and most of the time sound more like the lost.
For example, look at what makes the nightly news?
Typically not it’s not the story about a person thankful for their life.
What sells are the stories about the people who are angry about losing their jobs, or their homes, or who loudly complain about their situation.
Complaining becomes the accepted norm.
But Paul reminds us that a spirit-led Christian has a thankful attitude because they have God’s testimony in their heart that He’s in control of their life so they are sure that He’s going to work it all out for good.
Ap. Pray that God would give you a thankful heart
3) Joyful submission ~ vs. 21
Another evidence that a person is living under the control of the Holy Spirit is that their life is marked by Christ-like humility demonstrated by their willingness to…
“submit(ting) to one another in the fear of God.”
That is, if we are to live in harmony with one another…
Husbands and wives (vs. 22-33)
Parents and children (chap. 6:1-4)
Servants and masters (chap. 6:5-9)
…then we must be willing to put aside our own wants and desires so that we can demonstrate the love of Christ in our lives by serving one another.
Ex. Submission
Often times we wrongly think that submission means that we must abandon our position of authority.
An employer may worry that if they submit managements’ ideas for that of an employee who has a better idea that they will erode the authority structure and that the employees will no longer respect management.
Parents may be concerned that if they are open with their children about their fears and failures in life that their kids will no longer obey.
But the reality is that submission has nothing to do with the order of authority (who’s in charge)…
…rather submission is all about the operation of authority and when Spirit-led produces greater respect not less!
Ex. Jesus
It goes without saying that Jesus is the highest authority in the Kingdom of God!
He’s the king and we are His subjects.
Yet, we find Jesus submitting His needs to those of His disciples by washing their feet while they argued over who would be the greatest (had the most authority) in the Kingdom!
In so doing Jesus taught the disciples, and us, that the greatest is the person who uses his authority to minister to others.
Apparently Jesus wasn’t concerned that His act of love would in anyway erode His credibility with the disciples or undermine His authority in their lives!
The lesson for us is that the Spirit-filled Christian is happy to submit their needs, wants and desires so that they might serve others.
Ap. Harmony
The greatest threat to harmony in every human relationship is a life dominated by self!
As long as the big “I” rules our heart and mind we will not be able to walk in harmony.
So, before we can go any further in our study and learn how we can walk in harmony in our home we must first deal with the issue of our own heart…
Is our life controlled by the Spirit (continually being filled with the Spirit)?
Or is our life controlled our flesh (continually being filled with self)?
If your life is characterized by…
Godly speech
Thankful attitude
Joyful submission
Then you can be sure your life is Spirit-controlled. If not, then spend some time this week asking the Lord to help you surrender to the work of His spirit.
Close
√ Walk in harmony
Read ahead to the end of chapter 5 and make careful notes about Paul’s instructions on how husbands and wives can create and maintain harmony in the home.
Pay special attention to the instructions that apply to you rather than the instructions that apply to your spouse!
As you read ahead ask the Spirit to give you the desire, attitude, and motivation to live a Spirit-controlled life toward your spouse.
The Lord has great plans for your marriage!