Practical Effects

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….”

Ephesians 5:18-20

What are the practical effects of being filled with the Spirit?  If we look carefully at the passage before us we follow the logic which Paul sets forth when he follows, ‘be filled with the Spirit’ with, ‘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.’  These behaviors are not the cause of our being filled with the Spirit, they are the effect of it.  Having said that, they aid and abet our being filled with the Spirit because they are means of grace whereby the Holy Spirit brings our hearts and minds to Christ.  Thus, God gives what He commands and commands what He wills.  As we do what our text enjoins us to do, we find that the Holy Spirit uses these very things to increase our depth of spirituality and our Christ consciousness.  This gives us grace to deal with the graceless, hope in situations which would otherwise be hopeless, and light in circumstances that would otherwise be dark.  As we look to Christ today, we may do so knowing that His Spirit will do in us, with us, and for us what we cannot accomplish by mere force of will.  This will give us truly thankful, singing hearts and will elevate us above the most adverse circumstances.  Jesus never fails.

Our Gracious God and Our Heavenly Father,
we rejoice that You have sent unto us the blessed Holy Spirit.
We praise You that, as He shows the thing of Christ unto us,
He brings us to sing and rejoice, 
with truly thankful hearts.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning