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EPHESIANS 5:18 “AND BE NOT DRUNK WITH WINE, WHEREIN IS EXCESS: BUT BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT.” (KJV)
“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.” (NKJV, NASB)
“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” (NIV, RSV)
“And be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit.” (ASV)
“Don’t drink too much wine, for many evils lie along that path; be filled instead with the Holy Spirit and controlled by him.” (TLB)
This is not the first or only Scripture in the Bible where Paul gives us “Do’s and Don’ts.” He is very clear here: Do not be drunk. Do be filled with the Spirit.
I will not delve into the doctrine of abstinence for this study. I will admit that I come from a holiness background in which I was raised that insists on abstinence. I am licensed as a minister with an association that believes, “since tobacco, alcoholic beverages and drugs are poisonous and habit forming and components of the old sinful nature, no Christian can advance spiritually and continue their use because using either in any manner is a lustful habit of the flesh. Therefore, we refrain from the use of tobacco, alcoholic beverages and hallucinogenic drugs in any form.”
Whether you agree with drinking to this extent or not, Paul makes it very clear that drunkenness is wrong. Dissipation refers to a wasteful or thoughtless spending or activity. Debauchery means excessive indulgence in sinful pleasures.
I’m sure in the Roman-influenced world of Paul’s time, he had to deal with lots of leftover indulgences that needed to be left behind when one was converted to the faith. We aren’t much different.
I tried to use a fairly innocent picture above to portray one with drunkenness. There are many, many more examples I could have used of far worse conditions of those who give themselves over to the excess of alcohol…or any other excess the world offers that so easily drags us away from any semblance of Christ-likeness. I’m sure we all know of some who have ruined their lives with drinking, gambling, smoking, promiscuous sex and drugs. What they thought was an innocent pleasure soon controlled them so that they destroyed themselves.
Surely, Paul was not talking to Christians in this Scripture! In fact, he was. We recognize that when we get saved we become a new creature. “Old things are passed away and all things become new.” Yet every one of us knows how some of that old nature takes longer to eliminate than the miraculous, instant experience of salvation. To that extent, Paul may be using drunkenness as his example in Ephesians, but he could just have easily used foul language, lust, or a hundred other temptations that we can bring along with us into the new life that absolutely need to be eliminated.
Read the previous three verses. “Be careful how you live, as wise.” (15) “Don’t be foolish” and “Understand what the Lord’s will is.” (17) Sometimes, the life Paul exhorts Christians to live is a pretty tall order. And, in ourselves, we often find it is impossible to measure up to those standards. There must be some answer.
The answer is not just “don’t do that” (First lady Nancy Reagan told teens about drugs, “Just say ‘no’.”) After telling us not to be drunk with wine, he states “Be filled with the Spirit.” In fact, the filling of the Holy Spirit is the only solution, the only way for us to have the kind of victory over any kind of “dissipation” that disables Christ-likeness in us.
Be filled with the Holy Spirit. “Baptism in the Spirit is the new birth which places one in the Body of Christ, which is the Church (1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:27). The evidence of the new birth or baptism in the Spirit is the love of God (1 John 3:14, Colossians 1:4, Galatians 5:22,23). On the day of Pentecost there was a two-fold operation of the Spirit which formed the Church, the Body of Christ, and they were also immediately filled with the Spirit (Acts 1:5, Acts 2:4). Every Christian who has received the Spirit through the new birth, or baptism into Christ, should yield to the Spirit to be possessed or filled with the Spirit.”
Your background, upbringing or the part of the body of Christ to which you may belong can teach many different approaches to what Paul meant by being filled with the Spirit. That’s OK. What we probably cannot deny however, is that Paul recognized (not just here in his writing to the Ephesians) that trying to live a Christian life that overcomes all the habits of our past cannot happen without the power and assistance of the Holy Spirit.
Ephesian, Christian, Baptist, Methodist…do not be drunk with wine! Do not let excesses rule your life. That kind of behavior is not what the Lord wants for you. We are the temple of God. He lives in us now. You might need to do a little “house cleaning.” Being able to do that housecleaning and live the kind of holy life the Lord wants you to live is most likely only going to come about by applying the rest of Ephesians 5:18. Be filled with the Spirit! You work out what that means in your life. But I can promise you, doing it with your willpower, with your own strength doesn’t work for very long. Only by being filled with the Spirit, every day, can we ever expect to live victorious lives like the Lord wants us to. Be filled with the Spirit.
Questions to ponder: Paul says don’t be drunk. Surely, a little wine cannot be a bad thing. How much wine can I have before it is sin? Ask that question about some other potential sins in our lives: How much looking at another man’s wife can I have before it is sin? Is total abstinence the answer to all issues that can bring harm or sin back into my life? Can I even be able to live a life without sin? See Titus 1:7-9 to learn how to be blameless. There sure is a lot more Scripture on this topic than I realized (see below). Why do we not emphasize holiness in our churches any more?
Other Scriptures to consider: 1 Tim 3:8, Qualifications for a Deacon. 1 Tim 5:23, Wine for your stomach’s sake? Titus 1:7-9, Qualifications for bishops. Blameless? Is that every Christians’ goal? Titus 2:3-8, Qualities of normal Christians (aged women?) 1 Peter 4:3-How we used to walk. Luke 7:33-34 John the Baptist and Jesus. Romans 14:14.
 
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