We read of that in Ephesians 5:18-21, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”

This portion speaks of control.  We should not be controlled by wine by falling under its influence by being filled with it.  Rather, we should be filled with the Spirit and allow Him to control our thoughts and actions.  In doing so, that will produce:

A REJOICING HEART – “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”

A THANKFUL HEART – “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

A HUMBLE HEART – “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”

Let us look more carefully at verse 19, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”  All believers are “indwelt” by the Holy Spirit (see Romans 8:9, Ephesians 1:13-14), however not all believers are ‘filled’ with the Holy Spirit.  We will be filled with the Spirit when we give ourselves over to the Lord to guide us in all things.  When we empty ourselves of ‘self’, the Lord will fill us with Himself.  There is an undeniable link between being filled with the Spirit and being filled with the Word of God…the results are the same.  We read in Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

Those who are drunk with wine will sing the songs of the drunkard…songs that celebrate their inebriation and debauchery.  Those who are filled with the Spirit will sing the songs that honor and celebrate the Lord…psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.  The impact upon our hearts when we are filled with the Spirit is wonderful and obvious.  We will speak to each other using psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.  The singing is not confined to our lips: our hearts will be filled with melody.  We will constantly praise the Lord in our hearts.  This is akin to having a song in your heart!  We read in 1 Chronicles 16:8-9, “Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. SING UNTO HIM, SING PSALMS UNTO HIM, talk ye of all his wondrous works.”

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High.”  (Psalm 92:1).

To learn more about being filled with the Holy Spirit, please click on this Answers From the Book link: https://answersfromthebook.net/can-you-please-explain-what-it-means-by-being-spirit-filled/    (CC)  (490.4)