The Holy Spirit is an active presence of God within the Church, and Acts witnesses to the role of the Spirit. When the 120 were gathered in the upper room, the Spirit came upon them like tongues of fire (Act. 2:1-4). When Peter met with Cornelius, he found the same Pentecost experience on the gentile (Act. 10:44-46). When the crowds asked Peter what they must do to be saved, Peter told them to repent and be baptized while God will forgive and offer his Spirit to them (Act. 2:28) which fulfills Joel 2:38-32 (e.g. Act. 2:17-21). Even a casual reading through Acts reveals that Luke is more concerned with the movements of the Spirit than he is about the movements of the Apostles.
Paul is no stranger to the place and role of the Spirit in the life of the Church or in the lives of Christians. While most are familiar with his Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23), his less known, but far from less important exhortation to embrace the Spirit, is found in Ephesians 5:18-22.
The structure is a contrast. On one side Paul encourages his readers to avoid a destructive and disorderly life of drunkenness and debauchery. Excessive and unhealthy indulgence in sensual pleasures leads to a harmful and detrimental end. Relationships, not only with each other but also with God, are ruined by investing in such behavior. On the other side, as an alternative, he encourages the Ephesians to ‘be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). Of course the language is stronger than a simple encouragment, as the force is stated in the imperative.
What happens next is that Paul offers four ways where the Spirit is evident in the Church’s/Christians’ life. He does so with four participles (e.g., words ending in “ing”) with the force of commands. A Spirit filled life will produce the following.
● Speaking to One Another . . . out of the gate, Paul looks at the horizontal role the Spirit plays among God’s people. Sure we sing, and we sing all kinds of songs, but we sing to each other. No doubt Paul has in mind the assembly in a home as song is used to bring everyone together and we engage each other in those closer quarters. In those moments our songs say something to each other (e.g., Col. 3:16).
● Singing & Making Music . . . building on the theme of song, the Spirit points us upward in praising God. No longer are we exhorting one another while we sing, we turn heavenward and through song extol God the greatness he deserves and demands. With the plucking of the heartstrings, not only are our voices accentuated, but our singing invests our entire being. We throw ourselves into singing.
● Always Giving Thanks . . . when November rolls around, we usually pause for a time of thanksgiving, but Paul wasn‘t talking about holidays. When the Spirit is activated in our lives we are a thankful people. We’re not only thankful for salvation, but for a salvation that continues to shape and define our living. We are appreciative and grateful for people and events that come our way.
● Submitting to One Another . . . before Paul addresses the relationship between husbands and wives (v. 22ff), he expresses the relationship within the Church and between Christians through mutual submission. When the Spirit fills people, no one demands their own way as my will now defers to others. Paul says elsewhere, “do nothing out of vain conceit . . . consider others better than yourself” (Phil. 2:3).
The Holy Spirit is an active presence of God with the Church and his witness is realized when God’s people are singing, greatly appreciative and willing to submit to each other. So turn the music up a little louder, look for reasons to be grateful and allow others to have their way. Who knows, but it may be the Spirit overflowing in your life.
Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e., only God is glorified!)