Ephesians 5:18-33 Joyful, Thankful, and Submissive

WOW!  Super timing, God!

"'Be filled with the Spirit' is God's command, and He expects us to obey ... The verb is in the present tense -- 'keep on being filled' -- so it is an experience we should enjoy constantly ... In the Bible, filled means controlled by ... To be filled with the Spirit means to be constantly controlled by the Spirit in our mind, emotion, and will," my commentary began.

"Paul stated that there are three evidences of the fullness of the Spirit in the life of the believer:  he is joyful, thankful, and submissive ... Christian joy is a deep experience of adequacy and confidence in spite of the circumstances around us ... This kind of joy is not a thermometer but a thermostat.  Instead of rising and falling with the circumstances, it determines the spiritual temperature of the circumstances."

"The sincerely grateful person realized that he is enriched because of others, which is a mark of humility.  Paul commanded his readers to be thankful for all things at all times.  This in itself proves our need of the Spirit of God, because in our own strength, we could never obey this commandment ... When a Christian finds himself in a difficult situation, he should immediately give thanks to the Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, by the power of the Spirit, to keep his heart from complaining and fretting.  The devil moves in when a Christian starts to complain, but thanksgiving in the Spirit defeats the devil and glorifies the Lord."

"To be filled with the Word of God produces joy, thanksgiving, and submission.  In other words, when you are controlled by the Word of God, you are filled with the Spirit of God ... All Christians need to spend time daily letting the Word of God dwell [feel at home] in them richly, for then the Spirit of God can work in our lives to make us joyful, thankful, and submissive.  And this means heaven wherever God may put us."

Thank You, Father!  I needed this so much right now!

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Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford