Living Spirit Filled

     If you fill a cup in a waterfall, the water doesn't just stop at the rim. It overflows, spilling onto everything nearby. This simple image captures what Paul describes in Ephesians 5:15-21. The Spirit filled life isn't meant to be contained. You are designed to overflow.
     Paul writes to the Ephesian church with urgency. "Be very careful, then, how you live," he begins. The Greek word here (akribos) means precisely or accurately. Think of a jeweler examining a diamond, checking every facet for flaws. That's the kind of careful attention Paul calls for in our spiritual lives. This isn't casual Christianity. It's intentional discipleship. Paul uses a familiar Hebrew idiom when he talks about how we "walk." In Jewish thought, your walk represented your entire way of life. Every step matters. Every choice counts. Paul contrasts two ways of walking: as unwise people or as wise ones. The difference isn't intellectual. You don't need a degree to walk wisely. You need spiritual discernment. But what does walking wisely look like? Paul gives us a concrete example: "making the most of the time, because the days are evil." The Greek phrase here is important. “Exagorazomenoi ton kairon” literally means "buying up the opportune time." It's a marketplace term. Imagine a merchant who sees a rare opportunity and purchases all the available stock. That's how we should approach our spiritual opportunities.
     Paul doesn't use the word chronos, which refers to clock time. He uses kairos, meaning strategic moments or seasons of opportunity. We all get the same twenty four hours. But we don't all get the same opportunities. When God opens a door for ministry, for growth, for service, wisdom means walking through it. The evil nature of our days makes this urgency even greater. Darkness increases, but so do opportunities for light to shine.
     This leads to Paul's next instruction: "Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." The word for foolish, aphrones, means without practical sense. It's not about IQ. It's about spiritual intelligence. Foolishness in this context means missing what God is doing. It means being spiritually oblivious to His work around us. Understanding God's will requires more than Bible knowledge. It requires spiritual sensitivity. Earlier in Ephesians 4:30, Paul warned about grieving the Holy Spirit. When we live foolishly, when we ignore God's promptings, when we choose our way over His, we grieve the very Spirit who wants to guide us. The antidote? Actively seeking to understand what the Lord wants in each situation.
     Now Paul makes a striking comparison that would have shocked his original readers. "Do not get drunk with wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." To understand this contrast, we need to grasp the religious context of Ephesus. The city was famous for its temple to Artemis, but it also had a strong cult presence of Dionysus, the god of wine and ecstasy. In Dionysian worship, people sought encounters with the god through intoxication. They believed wine could produce a state of ecstasy that connected them with Dionysus. Getting drunk wasn't just social behavior. It was religious practice. The word Paul uses for debauchery (asotia) means unsalvageable waste. It's the same word used to describe the prodigal son's lifestyle in Luke 15. It pictures a life poured out for nothing, resources squandered on emptiness.
     Paul offers an alternative. Instead of being filled with wine, be filled with the Spirit. The Greek construction here matters tremendously. Plerousthe is a present passive imperative. Let me break that down. Present tense means continuous action, not a one time event. You need fresh filling daily, even moment by moment. Passive voice means you don't fill yourself. You position yourself to be filled. God does the filling. Imperative means this isn't optional. It's a command. Think about your phone battery. You don't charge it once and expect it to last forever. You charge it daily, sometimes multiple times. That's a picture of Spirit filling. It's not about the dramatic experience you had at camp ten years ago. It's about today's fresh encounter with God's Spirit.
     But here's what many Christians miss. The contrast isn't just between drunkenness and Spirit filling. It's between two different approaches to life. One seeks fulfillment through external substances or experiences. The other finds fulfillment through God's presence. In our culture, the substitute might not be wine. It could be achievement, entertainment, shopping, social media, or countless other things we use to fill the emptiness inside. When we're truly filled with the Spirit, something remarkable happens. Paul describes it with five participles, all showing continuous action flowing from that filling. First, we speak "to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit." Notice the horizontal dimension here. Spirit filled people encourage each other through worship. The three types of songs Paul mentions cover the spectrum of worship expression. Psalms (psalmois) were the ancient hymnal of God's people, songs accompanied by instruments. Hymns (hymnois) were composed songs of praise, probably including early Christian compositions about Christ. Spiritual songs (odais pneumatikais) might have been spontaneous expressions inspired by the Spirit. Paul says we sing and make music "from your heart to the Lord." The Greek word psallontes originally meant to pluck strings on an instrument. Paul applies it to the heart. Even when circumstances silence our outward song, the melody continues within. I think of Paul and Silas singing in the Philippian jail. Beaten and chained, they still had a song. That's Spirit filled worship.
     The second overflow Paul mentions is gratitude. "Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Always? For everything? This seems impossible until you're Spirit filled. The Spirit gives us eyes to see God's hand even in difficulties. He helps us trust God's sovereignty when life doesn't make sense. This doesn't mean we give thanks for evil itself. We give thanks in all circumstances because we trust the God who works all things for our good. There's a difference between thanking God for cancer and thanking God in cancer for His presence, His promises, His purposes we can't yet see.
     The next participle surprises many readers. "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." In the Greek, this participle (hypotassomenoi) continues the list of what flows from Spirit filling. The word was originally a military term meaning to arrange in order under authority. But Paul adds something revolutionary: mutual submission. In the hierarchical world of the first century, this was significant. Slaves submitted to masters. Wives to husbands. Children to parents. But mutual submission? That turned social conventions upside down. When we're filled with the Spirit, we don't demand our rights. We serve one another. We put others first. We follow Christ's example of humble service. This verse serves as a bridge to the household codes that follow in Ephesians 5:22 through 6:9. Every relationship, whether marriage, parenting, or work, gets transformed when both parties are Spirit filled and mutually submitted to one another out of reverence for Christ.
     Let's connect these truths to our daily experience. You wake up tomorrow morning. You can stumble through your day foolishly, missing God's kairos moments. You can try to fill your emptiness with caffeine, accomplishments, or endless scrolling. You can grieve the Spirit through bitter words, selfish choices, and wasted opportunities. Or you can choose differently. You can walk carefully, watching for God's opportunities. You can seek His will in the ordinary moments. You can position yourself for fresh filling through prayer, worship, and obedience. When you do, the overflow begins. Maybe it starts small. You find yourself humming a worship song while doing dishes. You notice reasons for gratitude you usually miss. You serve your family without keeping score. You speak encouraging words to a struggling friend. You submit to your boss with genuine respect, not just external compliance. These aren't dramatic manifestations. They're the normal Christian life when the Spirit fills us. The problem is we've settled for so much less. We've accepted dry, dutiful religion when God offers overflowing life. We've grieved the Spirit so often through our foolish choices that we've forgotten what His fullness feels like. Paul's command challenges our contemporary Christianity. We treat Spirit filling as optional equipment for super saints. Paul says it's standard equipment for every believer. We treat it as a one time crisis experience. Paul describes it as a daily continuous reality. We make it mystical and weird. Paul makes it practical and normal.
     The early church understood this. In Acts, we see believers repeatedly filled with the Spirit. Not just at Pentecost, but throughout their journey. They needed fresh filling for fresh challenges. So do we. The same Spirit who filled them wants to fill us. The question isn't His willingness but our readiness.
     What empties you? What grieves the Spirit in your life? Ephesians 4:30-31 gives us clues: bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, slander, malice. These create a spiritual leak that drains us faster than we can be filled. Confession and repentance aren't just about forgiveness. They're about removing barriers to fullness.
     What positions you for filling? Corporate worship matters because Spirit filled believers create an atmosphere where others can be filled. Personal disciplines matter because they create space for the Spirit to work. Obedience matters because the Spirit fills those who follow His leading.
     The Ephesian believers lived in a city dominated by pagan worship and occult practices. Sound familiar? Our culture offers countless substitutes for Spirit filling. We're told fulfillment comes through success, experiences, relationships, or possessions. Like the Ephesians, we need to reject the counterfeit and embrace the real.
     God commands us to be filled with His Spirit. This isn't about emotional experiences or spiritual manifestations. It's about daily surrender that leads to supernatural living. It's about letting God's Spirit so fill us that He overflows into every area of life. The question confronting us is simple. Will we continue trying to fill ourselves with substitutes that leave us empty? Or will we position ourselves under the faucet of God's grace, letting His Spirit fill us to overflowing? The choice we make determines not just our personal spiritual vitality but our impact on everyone around us. Spirit filled people change atmospheres. They bring worship where there's complaining. They offer gratitude where there's grumbling. They serve where others demand. They submit where others dominate. They don't do this through willpower or religious effort. They do it through the overflow of God's Spirit within them. This is God's design for normal Christianity. Not perfect people but filled people. Not sinless saints but overflowing servants. Not religious professionals but ordinary believers who've learned the secret of continuous filling. The command stands: Be filled with the Spirit. The promise remains: When we are, we'll overflow.