Ephesians 5:18
"And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but ever be filled and stimulated with the [Holy] Spirit.". - Amplified Version
"Don’t drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him.". - The Message
"Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,". - NIV 2011, 1984
There was a time in my life when I read this verse very legalistically. I read it as "don't drink alcohol". I believe the next time that The Holy Spirit lead me to this verse, it was to convict me that I was drinking too much, so I read it as "don't get drunk." I was great at stifling the Spirit as He convicted me about my habits. I used this verse to leverage and justify my drinking. I was the best at overlooking this verse. Strangely enough, it just kept surfacing... What a strange coincidence, right? (as if there is anything as a coincidence that is outside what God has orchestrated)
After a long struggle against God and a few extra verses thrown in there from Proverbs and various passages about idolatry and slavery, I finally admitted that I was a slave to my cravings. I began to walk away from the habits that had tripped me up in life.
Before I go on, I have to verbalize some of my thoughts on the three versions of this verse that I chose. The Amplified version is trying faithfully to expound on the original Greek. I like the Amplified because it is seeking the faithfulness and acknowledging that the Greek of the New Testament was using far more words in their common speaking language than modern English today. The most common example is the word for "love". In Greek, there are three words for love with three slightly different meanings. In English today, we have one word for love, and some adjectives that we can associate with that love. So, a faithful version will try to expound on that Greek and give you an amplified text. The Message is an interpretation. It is on the other end of the spectrum. It is one person's (Eugene Peterson's) interpretation. I have deep respect for Peterson and alway appreciate his understanding. It is easy to read and at times a very powerful tool. The last version that I chose is the NIV which is a form of interpretation that takes the whole thoughts or phrases from the Greek and seeks to interpret them in their original context and meaning. This makes it easy to read, and remains very faithful to the understanding. The last type that I did not cover is a word for word translation which examines every word from the Greek and attempts to put every word from Greek into their interpretation. (Examples are KJV and ESV). For those of you who are scholarly, please understand that this is a simplified breakdown - show me some grace.
So, after I walked away from the slavery of alcohol. I came across this verse again. There was a huge difference. The legalism was gone. I no longer focused on the "don't" in this verse, but I was freed up by the Spirit to look at the "do" if the verse. There is a powerful word in this verse and that is the word "but". See this "but" is probably best understood as "instead".
We are called to be filled with the Spirit in the same way as we were drunk on wine. Don't get drunk on wine, instead be drunk on the Spirit. All of those things that hold us back from doing what that still small voice says are to be thrown to the wind. We are to have all our inhibitions gone as we follow the Spirit's leading with reckless abandon! There is a beautiful word picture here. Anyone who has ever been drunk knows that they do things that they would not ordinarily do if they were sober. This is how we are to approach being filled with the Spirit.
He should be allowed to completely control my. I have to trust Him as I go into evangelism. I have to reach out to everyone of those people who I hear Him calling me toward. I must be uninhibited by those things that would keep me frozen in fear. I want to be so intimately lead by God that I am ready to tell anyone at anytime about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Am I really filled with the Spirit this way? Am I uninhibited? I would like to think that I am, but I know this is a constant renewing that must take place.
"Heavenly Father, I want to be filled with your Spirit (that picture of Who You are as we walk intimately together). As a matter of fact, I want to be "ever" filled with your Spirit just like Your Word says. Help me to be completely controlled and part of Your work today. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Created about 1 year ago
