The title may seem a bit shocking coming from a former full body tatted Baptist and now Assembly of God lad. Stay with me! It is not as shocking as it sounds, but you may be shocked as we study a few verses in Galatians and Ephesians.
Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.
As we see, Paul’s preaching clearly presented the Gospel in such a way it was as if they could see it happening before their eyes. Others felt Paul’s oratory was rude or not very sophisticated. But when it came to the Gospel the power of the Spirit let him paint a picture with words with such passion and urgency that you had to be moved to either accept or reject.
Yet, when men came from Jerusalem trying to add the Law to the Gospel these same people who heard that message were bewitched or fascinated by the robes, titles and profound oratory that they were ready to leave the simplicity of the Gospel. They were ready to be circumcised and whatever else these Rabbis told them to do.
Paul had to take them back to the beginning and asked how did you get saved and receive the Holy Spirit, by law or faith? Obviously, by faith as being Gentiles they had no knowledge of Jewish law until the Judaizers appeared. They had been walking in the Spirit and now they wanted to revert back to the flesh.
You cannot add to the work of Christ. When you start in the Spirit, you must end in the Spirit. So many times the Word shows that the flesh profits nothing and gets you away from what Christ is doing in you by the Holy Spirit.
They had obviously suffered some persecution when they became Christians. We do not know the complete background of the Galatian Christians. Yes, they were pagans and idol worshipers, but they may have come from various false gods to the living God. A few may have been Jews that were converted to the Messiah. No matter what, they were going to be ridiculed by family and friends for their faith especially for believing in only one God and Savior in a polytheistic culture which we still have today.
Paul asked if they had suffered all of that in vain if they were going to cast away their faith in grace and take on the Law? I think many Christians have to ask themselves the same thing. Many start out in simple faith and receive the blessings of the Spirit transforming them into Christ’s image. Then somehow they start resting in their works instead of His work. Maybe a modern Judiazer lured them away showing them they had to keep a certain list of things to progress in Christ. We don’t smoke and we don’t chew and we don’t kiss the girls that do. They keep that dirty dozen list and then think they are more sanctified when in many cases they, like Samson, do not realize that the Spirit has left off working with them because they are trusting in their plan and not Him. In the NT, the Spirit does not leave us like Samson but we can resist, quench and grieve Him so that He cannot work. Your faith is in the wrong things rather than in Him.
For pastors and other teachers or leaders it can easily become falling into relying on our education, experience and even seeming success. We have a plan. We work the plan and if the plan works we rejoice and if not, we work a new plan rather than seeking Him. Older saints rest on their laurels and past victories, even past miracles rather than seeking fresh oil and fire. In essence, we are relying on flesh and not the Spirit.
I can see how that is easy to do for people who do not expect the Spirit to act as He did in the early church, but it ought not be in a Pentecostal Church. Unfortunately, even people who expect great things can also rely on flesh or man made laws. I think it can happen if we have a wrong perspective on what the Spirit is here to do besides lead us into all truth and convict the world of sin and righteousness.
Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
We need to get drunk in the Spirit, but not as some define it. We all know how it is like to be drunk with alcohol, wine being the common drink of the region. We get slurred speech. We cannot walk properly. We say things to bosses and members of the opposite sex we would never say if we were sober. We spend money like water and cannot pay bills. We get in car wrecks and a myriad of bad things. We are out of control.
Having read on some Pentecostal sites people bemoaning that things are not like the good old days and what they miss I think we expect to be as out of control being drunk in the Spirit like when we are drunk with alcohol. That is not how I see it.
Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
When we are in the flesh we are out of control even without alcohol because we are not controlled by God. Paul tells us that God is a God of order and decency so it stands to reason so is the Holy Spirit since He is God. Paul warns the Corinthians about being so out of control that someone walking in for the first time might think they are crazy. He gives rules of worship even to how many can speak in tongues and if there is no interpreter to not speak if you have the gift of tongues which indicates there may not always be someone to interpret and those gifted would know that through the Spirit or the pastor would know what gifts are in the Body and correct the one who speaks with no interpreter.
One of the lamenters remembered Bro. Homer who when in the Spirit would bend over and start running smashing headfirst into a wall and it sounded like he just bounced off and ran off to the next wall bouncing a bit like a pinball or one of those toys that change direction when it hits an obstacle. I see nothing like that in Scripture.
Verses 19-21 of Ephesians shows some of the things we should do if we are filled or drunk in the Spirit. It is the opposite of alcohol drunks who sing bawdy or sad songs. Most complain about their Boss or spouse and have no concept of submission to anyone because they are the boss in their life with no one telling them what to do.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
If the Spirit is in control of us we should be the opposite of what we are in the flesh drunk or not. Alcohol- out of control. Spirit – in control. If you are unloving then you will be loving. If you are joyless you will have joy. If you are without peace you will have peace. If you are impatient you will be patient. If you are rough or callous you will become gentle. If you are not good you will become good. If you are faithless you will have faith. If you are selfish you will become meek or selfless. If you have no control over temper, habits or whatever you will be in control of those things. If you are a jerk you won’t be a jerk. If you are a gossip you won’t be a gossip. If you are a whiner and complainer you will be grateful and full of praise.
I am not saying that when you are drunk in the Spirit that you will not experience some strong emotions such as joy or even tears of repentance. I just do not believe the Spirit would lead you into doing something that would cause you to have a concussion or neck/spinal injury. The Holy Spirit is not weird.
I think if we rethink what it means to be drunk in the Spirit we will have a better barometer of where we are in our Christian life. Usually, we know our flaws and the sins that so easily beset us. If you do not then you need to ask a close friend as they often see what you do not. Get an accountability partner or battle buddy that is mature in the Lord that you can trust. Of course, the main one to go to is the Lord. Ask the Holy Spirit if He has all the control of you that He wants to have. I doubt any of us will go without an answer of something He wants that we have not been willing to give Him. He may also reveal things about you that you are blind to or lies you believe that hinder your walk and relationship with God. It may be a control issue. Surrender! Flesh control can kill you or give you a life way below what God wants you to have.
Do not be bewitched, but be drunk in the Spirit. In the Greek, being filled with the Spirit indicates to keep on being filled. Just as if you quit drinking alcohol you will eventually get sober with a hangover so also we must keep being filled or drunk in the Spirit or we will lose His control and revert back to the flesh. A story is told of a man who when called on to pray would always say, “Fill me, Lord!” One lady grew weary of that and said, “Don’t do it, Lord! He leaks!” What she did not realize is that we all leak, even her.
Let us drink freely of the new wine by faith and watch what the Holy Spirit can do in your life. Allow Him to transform you into someone none of your friends or you know. It will glorify God and make you addicted to His Presence! That is an addiction we all need. Maranatha!!!
