Not Self-Controlled… but Spirit Controlled
“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirt…” - Ephesians 5:15-18
The day that you respond to the gospel and accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you are adopted into the family of God. You then become an heir of the promise, purpose, and power made available to you in Jesus Christ. That life-giving, life-sustaining, and life-changing power is the power of the Holy Spirit.
The book of Ephesians lays out the rights and privileges of those who have been adopted into the family of God. As a child of God, it requires us to lay down and lay aside being self-controlled in exchange for being Spirit-controlled. Verse 18 in today’s key passage makes that clear when it says, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery, instead be filled with the Spirit…”
God has given you a sense of purpose that can be accomplished if you choose to rely on His strength. He has the ability and power to do things you could never do on your own. So when Paul says do not be drunk with wine but be filled with the Spirit, he was not just making a prohibition against drinking wine; he was making a more salient observation.
Since Ephesus was in the heart of wine country, Bacchus, the wine god of Asia Minor, was worshipped and honored by people who would regularly engage in drunken parties that led to over-indulgence and excessiveness. Paul was speaking to those following the wine god, Bacchus, and instead urging them to fall under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps for you, your struggle isn’t with wine, but it is likely you can point to that one thing that seems to control you. Maybe it is an addiction, a relationship, or a habit you hide behind closed doors. Whatever it is, God is urging you to release these things, to not be self-controlled, but to be Spirit-controlled. God has an amazing plan for your life. But He can only accomplish His will when you give Him control.
The day that you respond to the gospel and accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you are adopted into the family of God. You then become an heir of the promise, purpose, and power made available to you in Jesus Christ. That life-giving, life-sustaining, and life-changing power is the power of the Holy Spirit.
The book of Ephesians lays out the rights and privileges of those who have been adopted into the family of God. As a child of God, it requires us to lay down and lay aside being self-controlled in exchange for being Spirit-controlled. Verse 18 in today’s key passage makes that clear when it says, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery, instead be filled with the Spirit…”
God has given you a sense of purpose that can be accomplished if you choose to rely on His strength. He has the ability and power to do things you could never do on your own. So when Paul says do not be drunk with wine but be filled with the Spirit, he was not just making a prohibition against drinking wine; he was making a more salient observation.
Since Ephesus was in the heart of wine country, Bacchus, the wine god of Asia Minor, was worshipped and honored by people who would regularly engage in drunken parties that led to over-indulgence and excessiveness. Paul was speaking to those following the wine god, Bacchus, and instead urging them to fall under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps for you, your struggle isn’t with wine, but it is likely you can point to that one thing that seems to control you. Maybe it is an addiction, a relationship, or a habit you hide behind closed doors. Whatever it is, God is urging you to release these things, to not be self-controlled, but to be Spirit-controlled. God has an amazing plan for your life. But He can only accomplish His will when you give Him control.
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