I woke up like a she-bear today under the influence of raging anger, but then next thing you know, I would be crying. There was no circumstantial reason for it, but I was having a melt-down moment of hormonal emotions. I’m not using it as an excuse I'm just trying to state the condition of my emotional being at the time. It's been awhile since this kind of thing has happened. I went back to bed and I'm feeling much better now. It’s amazing how I set myself up for a lesson from God before I did my studying today. This is what I went over….
Every believer has the Spirit’s presence in his life but not every believer has the Spirit’s power.
“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” --Ephesians 5:18. The word “filled” here is not speaking of possessing a certain quantity of the Spirit as we might speak of a glass “filled” with water. It expresses, rather, the idea of “control” as when we speak of someone being “filled” with rage. We mean by the phrase that anger is such a dominant part of his life at the moment that he is controlled by it. We might speak of someone being “filled with fear” or “filled with lust” in the same way. The person described as “being filled” with these passions is son consumed by the fear or lust that his behavior is noticeably affected.
In our verse Paul compares being filled with the Spirit to being drunk with wine. A man filled to the extent of drunkenness behaves differently when he is under the influence than when he is sober. The alcohol affects every part of the man’s life but in a destructive way.
A Christian under the control of the Holy Spirit is also transformed but in a useful way. He, too, comes “under the influence”—the controlling influence of the Holy Spirit. It transforms him so that he “walks” differently.
We are not to allow circumstances or our emotions control us. We then are “walking in the flesh”. We are then destructive and unusable to God. Do you find yourself consumed with anger, fear or lust. I found myself dong that very thing earlier today. It’s not right. When we’re caught up in the moment we might think it is out of our control but that’s wrong. We must make the choices to do right. God commands us to be filled with the Spirit.
Every believer has the Spirit’s presence in his life but not every believer has the Spirit’s power.
“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” --Ephesians 5:18. The word “filled” here is not speaking of possessing a certain quantity of the Spirit as we might speak of a glass “filled” with water. It expresses, rather, the idea of “control” as when we speak of someone being “filled” with rage. We mean by the phrase that anger is such a dominant part of his life at the moment that he is controlled by it. We might speak of someone being “filled with fear” or “filled with lust” in the same way. The person described as “being filled” with these passions is son consumed by the fear or lust that his behavior is noticeably affected.
In our verse Paul compares being filled with the Spirit to being drunk with wine. A man filled to the extent of drunkenness behaves differently when he is under the influence than when he is sober. The alcohol affects every part of the man’s life but in a destructive way.
A Christian under the control of the Holy Spirit is also transformed but in a useful way. He, too, comes “under the influence”—the controlling influence of the Holy Spirit. It transforms him so that he “walks” differently.
We are not to allow circumstances or our emotions control us. We then are “walking in the flesh”. We are then destructive and unusable to God. Do you find yourself consumed with anger, fear or lust. I found myself dong that very thing earlier today. It’s not right. When we’re caught up in the moment we might think it is out of our control but that’s wrong. We must make the choices to do right. God commands us to be filled with the Spirit.
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