What Does It Mean to Be Filled with the Spirit?

Ephesians 5.15-21

What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? Many of us have a distorted understanding of this. We think that it means a life full of excitement, passion, and joy. Or a life that is full of the miracles of God. Or a life where circumstances suddenly turn favorable.

In this passage, we see that being filled with the Spirit is very different from our typical understanding. Being filled with the Spirit simply means that we can live like Christ in our everyday lives! Paul mentions three things: we live in obedience to God through our current calling, we live in thankfulness to God as we encourage others, and we live in reverence toward Christ as we submit to others. In all three of these points, the focus is simple: pleasing God through very ordinary means.

This sermon will therefore be a tremendous encouragement for us. Many of us feel trapped in our own Groundhog Day (i.e., a time loop where everyday feels the same). The gospel reminds us that even in the ordinariness of life, there are opportunities for us to honor and glorify God! The daily responsibilities and the relationships that God has given us are all opportunities for us to express worship to God that is meaningful!

However, this sermon will also challenge the way we look at the gospel. Many of us have a myopic understanding of what it means to live in Christ. We think that our lives should always feel extraordinary or supernatural. But this is both biblically inaccurate and grossly selfish. The Bible usually describes the Spirit-filled life as one that is simple and God-centered. Do we see the gospel in a self-centered way, being so focused on how God should benefit our lives? Or do we see the gospel in a God-centered way, being more focused on how God can be glorified and honored through our lives?

Questions:

1. Read Ephesians 5.15-21 together and review your sermon notes. Share with one another what the Spirit might have been placing on your heart through the sermon.

2. Before this sermon, what were your impressions of a life that is filled with the Spirit?

3. Paul's description of a Spirit-filled life is, on the one hand, very ordinary and simple: a life that is focused on pleasing God through ordinary things like daily responsibilities and everyday relationships. On the other hand, this life is extraordinary: rebels who were enslaved to their sinful nature are now able to live the way they were meant to (i.e., to live like Christ)!

In what ways does this provide encouragement in your current situation? In what ways does this challenge the way you've been viewing Jesus and his gospel?

4. Which of the three do you need the filling of the Spirit the most? (You can pick more than one!)

• Obeying God through your current calling (e.g., your daily responsibilities, work, etc.)

• Thanking God with others (e.g., sharing with one another how God has been faithful to you, singing praise songs together)

• Revering God by submitting to others (i.e., interacting with those around you with humility and love)

5. Close your time by thanking God together and praying for each other's prayer requests.