5Eph18: "Be Filled with the Spirit"

And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; (KJV)

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, (ESV)

Ephesians 5:18

            Both young and old Christians know how many times this verse has been quoted. Devotionals, Bible studies, sermons, and conferences all share how important it is to be “filled with the Holy Spirit.” Most teachers who use this verse correctly notice the parallelism between being drunk with wine and being filled with the Spirit. With proper intentions, leaders define the word “fill” as “control.” Since wine and strong drink affect one’s senses and control his responses, the Holy Spirit should similarly hold the reins of a person’s heart. The conclusion is that a believer should wake up every day and surrender control of his life to the Spirit. Proper surrender ensures that his heart is pure before God, and he is ready to honor his Father that day. This application is taught widely. Believers should offer their bodies as instruments to the Lord (Rom. 6:13), and their will should be surrendered to the authority of the sovereign God. However, being “filled with the Spirit” means something quite different than giving Him ultimate control. This article will analyze Paul’s context of “filling” throughout Ephesians and conclude with a more accurate translation/ application.

            (Note: The reader should notice that no major punctuation mark ends either the KJV or ESV translation. Obviously, this verse falls within a fascinating paragraph in which Paul admonishes the Ephesians to walk in love, to impact their dark world, to understand God’s will, and to enjoy pure fellowship. Verse 18 was written in the middle of a structurally complex chapter which will not be examined in this article. The purpose of this post is to define the filling of the Spirit. Once we interpret that phrase properly, the reader can return to Ephesians 5 and analyze the passage with a new perspective. Although this verse cannot be fully applied apart from its immediate context, my aim is more specific and pointed.)

Paul used the most common word for “fill” in the Koine Greek language, plēroō. Its basic meanings include the following: fill, make full, finish, fulfill, or to complete. However, plēroō never has the sense of control. Rather, it carries the sense of either a prophecy being fulfilled or an item being filled with a certain material. The Bible student will also notice that the Greek verb is parsed as a present, passive, imperative. This simply indicates that Paul is giving a command for believers to obey on a continual basis. They are not able to “fill” themselves, per se, but they are “to be filled” by some outside agent. Therefore, in this verse, the verb plēroō (“fill”) commands the Ephesians not to be controlled, but to be filled habitually “with the Spirit.” How can this take place?

The preposition which precedes “Spirit” is en, meaning “with, by, in.” An accurate translation depends on the case of its object. Since “Spirit” is in the dative case, en must be translated accordingly. Difficulty arises when one realizes how many nuances can be associated with en + dative. In his grammar, Daniel B. Wallace lists ten such uses, including spatial, temporal, association, cause, instrumental, and possession (Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, p. 372). The reader should notice that “content” is not listed, which means one cannot be filled “with the Spirit.” In other words, someone can fill a basket with flowers, eggs, or balls, but the Holy Spirit does not fill the body of a believer on a daily basis. Again, this verse seems to make no sense because none of the options complement each other contextually. Therefore, the student must step back and look at Paul’s use of plēroō in Ephesians as a whole.

First, Ephesians 1:23 speaks of Christ as the head of the church. Moreover, Paul ascribes the action of “filling” to Christ. He fills the church with all fullness. Later in the epistle, Ephesians 4:10, Paul writes, “He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things,” (ESV). These two verses tell us exactly who is responsible for filling all things. If the reader remembers, the verb in Ephesians 5:18 is passive, meaning we do not fill ourselves “with the Spirit.” Paul indicates in other verses that Christ actually fills us. But with what does He fill us?

The last remaining verse in Ephesians which contains plēroō is 3:19. In his grammar, Wallace labels this verse as the “‘hinge’ prayer introducing the last half of the letter [which] makes a request that the believers ‘be filled with all the fullness of God,’” (Wallace, Grammar Beyond the Basics, p. 375). The preposition eis precedes “the fullness of God” instead of en. It follows, then, that the content with which we are filled is the fullness of God. Wallace interprets this best to refer to God’s moral attributes. This fits contextually since the last three chapters of Ephesians concern the practical application of the doctrine in the first three chapters. Therefore, as Paul transitions to his next section, he inserts a prayer for the Ephesian believers to comprehend the love of Christ and to be filled with a divine morality that results from knowing key doctrines.

The reader may be asking, So if Christ Himself fills believers with knowledge of God’s moral attributes, then what does Eph. 5:18 mean with reference to the Spirit? The preposition en + dative usually takes the connotation of means. An individual is not necessarily filled with wine; rather, the wine is merely used as an instrument to result in debauchery. Remember that en + dative can be used to refer to an instrument, which is called the dative of means. This knowledge indicates that the Holy Spirit is the instrument or tool that produces God’s morality within the believer. The ultimate agent is Christ. He is Lord over all believers, and He is actively involved in their sanctification. Therefore, He uses the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to produce a God-like morality within the life of a Christian.

What does this mean for us today? Truly, we have a daily responsibility to present our bodies as instruments for God’s service. Christ is our Master, and He does reign supremely over us. His will should be our goal of understanding (Eph. 5:17). However, it is incorrect to think believers are to be filled anew with the Holy Spirit every day. He already dwells inside of us, convicting and guiding our lives to become more like Christ. Our main responsibility that Paul teaches is to understand the fullness of God. Our goal is to pursue His moral attributes by learning about Him more and more. The Holy Spirit is the instrument that assists us on this journey, showing us which attributes need development in our lives. As we read and study God’s Word, we will become more familiar with His character and His holiness. Then Christ uses the Holy Spirit to purify us according to that standard. Are you having trouble remaining faithful to your wife? The Scriptures contain a vast amount of information on the faithfulness of God, even when His people rejected Him. Do you struggle with loving your friends, neighbors, or even family? God's steadfast love is repeatedly displayed and praised in both the Old and New Testaments. Perhaps you seem to turn your eye from evil, allowing it to fester where it should not be. The Bible emphasizes God's holiness more than any other attribute. Example after example could be given to demonstrate how a knowledge of God impacts our daily life. May we never stop our pursuit of knowing Who our God is and how that knowledge can mold us more into His likeness.