Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit …
Summary: As a boy, I had a dream. Building an underwater boat never became a reality, but the lessons learned from chasing that dream provide insight into Paul’s words for today.
When I was a kid, I had dreams of building a submarine.
My dad had property on a small lake, and in the summer, we spent many hours boating and swimming in the warm water. The project I had in mind wasn’t all that ambitious. What I hoped to be able to do was build a small chamber that could keep the water out and allow me to drive around just under the surface.
The first design challenge was what to use for building materials. Since I didn’t have large amounts of thick steel plates and the metal working equipment needed to fabricate a steel hull, I decided to look for alternatives. Since my plan involved staying close to the surface, I wondered if plywood might be suitable material.
To answer that question, I asked questions like, “How much does water weigh?” In today’s world, the answer is at our fingertips using phones and computers. Back in the summer of my submarine ambitions, there was no internet. I didn’t even have an encyclopedia handy. Heck, nobody even had a calculator!
Slowly, I worked through the exercise of weighing a gallon of water and then figuring out how many gallons it took to fill up a cubic foot. Then I realized that for every foot of depth below the surface of the lake, there was the weight of the water on top of that. This increased the pressure on my imaginary boat tremendously. When I started thinking in terms of tons of water pressure on the surface of the hull, I gave up. Plywood was not strong enough, and nothing I had at hand would work.
Even though I never built a submarine, I learned something interesting from this forgotten dream: It takes tremendous strength to sustain a vacuum. The pressure around a one-foot square box underwater might not seem like much, but keeping that space water-free is a big challenge.
I share this story because Paul’s instruction to avoid getting drunk also includes the solution.
Trying to force ourselves to give up something we like is hard. If it is more than a “like,” if it is perceived as a “need,” it is even harder to give up. Some people reach the state of chemical addiction, and for them the task might seem impossible, and it is … if we try and do it ourselves.
Paul doesn’t say, “give up getting drunk,” and stop there. Instead, he adds, “Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” Just like a box filled with oil could stand enormous pressure underwater, a human filled with God’s Holy Spirit can stand up to any amount of pressure, too. Filled with God’s Spirit, there is no room for darkness or dark thoughts. There is only the light of Christ (Ephesians 5:14).
Application: Stop trying to make yourself good enough for God. Instead, fill yourself with God’s Spirit and Word, and his goodness will become your own.
Food for Thought: How do we get “filled with the Spirit?”
I used to be consumed by money. All I ever thought about was how much I had and how much I didn’t. It was a crazy dynamic of fear and lack of self-control. It took me a long time to fully give that to Jesus. I would say now the Holy Spirit controls my finances, a way of accounting and accountability that holds no fear. What may appear to be great self control though is really me asking the Holy Spirit if I should give or spend. Nothing I could put in a spreadsheet or financial plan. Seems like everything now goes to providing for others and simple daily living. The thing is, I dont view the Spirits guidance as someone standing over me with a clipboard, or feel like I am missing out “on the good life.” Its the opposite. The Spirit has shown me time and time again He is here to release me from fear and lack of self-control, to give me peace, and enable me to love. I trust Him, and I sense and feel a connection through His guidance. That His Spirit is present.
How do we get “filled with the Spirit?”
Matthew 16:25 ESV For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Don’t just “let it all go.” Give it all to Jesus, the good and the bad. Trust that he will diminish and build up to reflect His image. Look for Him in your thoughts and in your heart. Read His Word, bind it in your heart.
BTW, I only just now figured out the pun in the title. That’s pretty good 🙂 I guess I was to “submersed” in the content of the devotion.
Some people might say you are “all wet,” but I know better. You caught my drift! 🙂
Chris,
Thank you for your thoughts this morning. I especially appreciate the practical advice to “Look for Him in your thoughts and in your heart,” followed by the essential double-check, “Read His Word, bind it in your heart.”
I think the starting point to being filled with the Spirit is to know Christ. Without a relationship with Christ there is no filling of any kind. The initially indwelling takes place upon receiving the gospel message regarding Christ (Ephesians 1: 13 – 14).
Then, since being filled with the Spirit is a command and thus God’s will, we should seek God in obedience and ask to be filled with the Spirit. Being filled, I believe, is being given power to perform a function or purpose God has given to us, such as when Peter was filled with the Spirit to speak to the rulers of the people (Acts 4: 8). This will also show itself in the fruit of the Spirit ( Galatians 5: 22 – 23). Through prayer, study of Scripture, obeying Jesus as Lord and seeking Him and serving Him we should regularly be filled with the Spirit and God’s power to do His will.
Rich,
Thank you for your comment today. You are absolutely right! Without Christ and his redemption and forgiveness (Eph 1:7-8), we would have no standing before God that would warrant receiving His Spirit.
Your second point, obedience to the Spirit, is equally important. If we choose not to obey or are so distracted by the world that we do not hear the Spirit’s prompting, then what is the point of having the Spirit?
I take comfort in your reference to Galatians 5:22-23, the “fruit of the Spirit.” One of the ways we can know that we have God’s Spirit is we see changes in our behavior. God himself remakes us in his image. Where we were once people obsessed with self and stressed with all kinds of fears, being filled with love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control testify not to our own power and greatness but to the power and greatness of God’s Spirit within us.
Which brings me to the gifts of the Spirit that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 12.
While we are all given the fruit of the Spirit mentioned above, we are not given the same gifts. Paul talks about this at length in 1 Cor 12. He talks about the different parts of the body and the functions they have. They are all important, but as Paul says, “If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?” (1 Cor 12:17)
It is good to desire the greater gifts (1 Cor 12:31), but not all receive them. When we hear stories of God doing miracles through other people but not us, we can feel discouraged. But as Paul goes on to explain in 1 Cor 13, love is a gift (or, more accurately, a ‘fruit’) that puts others first. Given that we are all blessed with the fruit of the Spirit, we are all blessed with the love God gives us to be patient, kind, and humble. Trusting God’s wisdom is taking his hand and following blindly, because spiritually, without God, we are blind.
Great Comments, as always!
08-30-2022, How do we get filled with the Spirit?
1 Corinthians 12:13 and Ephesians 1:13 teach that at the moment a person has saving faith that person is placed and sealed in the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:9, 11 and Galatians 5:25 also teach the Holy Spirit continuously lives within every believer. If not, the person is not a believer.
Romans 8:9, 11 and Galatians 5:25, teach the Holy Spirit continuously lives within every believer. If not, the person is not a believer.
1 Corinthians 2:14, The person without the Spirit not only does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
I have studied the book of John 4 times. The first 2 were with God pointing me to personal application and growth. During the 3rd time our Lord pointed me to John 16:8-15 which was a real eyeopener. Also see Romans 1:20.
The passage in John begins , V8, When He ( The Holy Spirit ) comes, He will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:
We live knowing God is making Himself known to all mankind as He clearly reveals His righteousness, our sinfulness and the judgement to be faced by all. As believers, we do not need to make these truths known to the world. We need to focus on ourselves, allowing Christ to Grow in our lives as we let His light shine in our lives and allow Him to express His Love toward all mankind. Each is accountable to God for their life decisions.