Let’s read Ephesians 5:18 and 4:30 to answer your question, “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit….And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were SEALED for the day of redemption” (NKJV). Believers are specifically told to “not be drunk with wine,” for in doing so we lose self-control (one of the “fruits of the Spirit”—see Galatians 5:22-23) and end up living a life of indulgent pleasure. Besides this, we “grieve the Holy Spirit of God,” for the Holy Spirit lives inside of the believer in order to empower him/her to live a holy life and when we commit sin we cause Him to grieve. Yet in spite of this, we are assured that the believer is “SEALED for the day of redemption,” which means the Holy Spirit will never depart from us.

A “seal” has the thought of “ownership” and “security.” In Ephesians 1:13-14 we are told, “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were SEALED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” The moment a sinner trusts in Jesus Christ as their Savior, the Holy Spirit comes into that person and marks them out as belonging to Christ. 1st Corinthians 6:19 says, “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own.” This is also brought out in Romans 8:9, “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” What a precious truth! The believing sinner belongs to Christ! And because we do belong to Him, the Holy Spirit is also the guarantee that we will enter into our eternal inheritance on the day of redemption. What a comforting truth! The believing sinner is kept safely until Christ comes for us to take us home to glory.

Does this mean that we are free to do whatever we want, including getting drunk? God forbid! We saw that if we do become drunk we “grieve the Holy Spirit.” Why would we want to do anything that would bring sorrow to the One who has graciously sealed us for the day of redemption? He delights to give us victory over sin if we allow Him to fill (control) us and thus it is counter-productive to refuse to yield our lives to His control. The moment we give in to the desires of the flesh, our lives become enslaved to sin. Many lives, including those of Christians, have been ruined by abusing alcohol. To all my brothers and sisters in Christ reading this, I would plead with you to yield your lives to the indwelling Holy Spirit. If you do, you will experience deliverance from every sin, including alcohol abuse. Galatians 5:16 declares, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” (317.5) (DO)