The Meaning of Ephesians 5:18 Explained

Ephesians 5:18

KJV: And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

YLT: and be not drunk with wine, in which is dissoluteness, but be filled in the Spirit,

Darby: And be not drunk with wine, in which is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit,

ASV: And be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  be  not  drunk  with wine,  wherein  is  excess;  but  be filled  with  the Spirit; 

What does Ephesians 5:18 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Specifically we should not let wine control us but God"s Holy Spirit. Both forces are internal. "Be filled" is a passive command. It amounts to letting the Holy Spirit who indwells us control us completely. We do this by trusting and obeying Him as His Word directs. The wine that fills a person controls every area of his life as long as that person consumes it. Drunkenness results in incorrigible behavior. Likewise the believer who allows the Spirit to influence and direct his thinking and behavior will experience His control as long as he maintains that relationship to the Spirit (cf. Luke 1:15; Acts 2:12-21). Another translation of the command Isaiah , "Be being kept filled by the Spirit." [1] This is our ongoing responsibility (present tense), and it is obligatory for every Christian, not optional.
"The baptism of the Spirit means that I belong to Christ"s body. The filling of the Spirit means that my body belongs to Christ." [2]

Context Summary

Ephesians 5:13-21 - "redeeming The Time"
The earlier verses remind us of Isaiah 60:1-22. Awake, thou Christian soul; arise from the, dust and put on thy beautiful garments! Stand on the mountain-peak of prayer and Christ shall shine on thee as when morning gilds the highest Alps! The child of God must arise from among those who are yet in their graves, dead in trespasses and sins. He can have no complicity or fellowship with such. Is there effort in this, and cost? Christ will more than compensate. He will satisfy.
The opportunities of life are fleeting past; let us buy them up. They are most valuable, because they form the seed plot of eternity. In the other life we shall reap the harvests which we have prepared for here. "Give every flying minute something to keep in store." Chrysostom, as a young man, kept silent for days together to break himself of a bad habit of detraction. But the Apostle's method is better. Make room for the Holy Spirit. Be filled with Him, and He will use heart and lip in the service of praise and thanksgiving. It is as much our duty to be filled with the Spirit as it is not to get drunk. Remember to give thanks always for all things. Whether you like the packing-case or not, you may be sure that the contents are the very best that God could send you. [source]

Chapter Summary: Ephesians 5

1  After general exhortations to love;
3  to flee sexual immorality;
4  and all uncleanness;
7  not to converse with the wicked;
15  to walk carefully;
18  and to be filled with the Spirit;
22  he descends to the particular duties, how wives ought to obey their husbands;
25  and husbands ought to love their wives,
32  even as Christ does his church

Greek Commentary for Ephesians 5:18

Be not drunken with wine [μη μετυσκεστε οινωι]
Present passive imperative of μετυσκω — methuskō old verb to intoxicate. Forbidden as a habit and to stop it also if guilty. Instrumental case οινωι — oinōi [source]
Riot [ασωτια]
Old word from ασωτος — asōtos (adverb ασωτως — asōtōs in Luke 15:13), in N.T. only here, Titus 1:6; 1 Peter 4:4. But be filled with the Spirit (αλλα πληρουστε εν πνευματι — alla plērousthe en pneumati). In contrast to a state of intoxication with wine. [source]
But be filled with the Spirit [αλλα πληρουστε εν πνευματι]
In contrast to a state of intoxication with wine. [source]
Be not drunk [μὴ μεθύσκεσθε]
See on John 2:10. [source]
Wherein []
In drunkenness, not in wine. [source]
Excess [ἀσωτία]
Rev., riot. Lit., unsavingness. See on riotous living, Luke 15:13. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Ephesians 5:18

Luke 15:13 With riotous living [ζῶν ἀσώτως]
Lit., living unsavingly. Only here in New Testament. The kindred noun, ἀσωτία , is rendered by the Rev., in all the three passages where it occurs, riot (Ephesians 5:18; Titus 1:6; 1 Peter 4:4). See note on the last passage. [source]
1 Corinthians 12:10 Divers kinds of tongues [γένη γλωσσῶν]
I. Passages Relating to the Gift of Tongues. Mark 16:17; Acts href="/desk/?q=ac+10:46&sr=1">Acts 10:46; Acts 19:6; 1 Corinthians 12:10, 1 Corinthians 12:28; 1 Corinthians 13:1; 14. Possibly Ephesians 5:18; 1 Peter 4:11. II. Terms Employed. New tongues (Mark 16:17): other or different tongues ( ἕτεραι , Acts 2:4): kinds ( γένη ) of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:10): simply tongues or tongue ( γλῶσσαι γλῶσσα , Acts href="/desk/?q=ac+2:4&sr=1">Acts 2:4; Acts 10:46; Acts 19:6; 1 Corinthians 14:2, 1 Corinthians 14:4, 1 Corinthians 14:13, 1 Corinthians 14:14, 1 Corinthians 14:19, 1 Corinthians 14:27): to pray in a tongue ( προσεύχεσθαι γλώσσῃ , 1 Corinthians 14:14, 1 Corinthians 14:15), equivalent to praying in the spirit as distinguished from praying with the understanding: tongues of men and angels (1 Corinthians 13:1). -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
III. Recorded Facts in the New Testament. (1.) The first recorded bestowment of the gift was at Pentecost (Acts href="/desk/?q=ac+10:44-46&sr=1">Acts 10:44-46. (3.) Certain disciples at Ephesus, who received the Holy Spirit in the laying on of Paul's hands, spake with tongues and prophesied, Acts 19:6. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
IV. Meaning of the Term “Tongue.” The various explanations are: the tongue alone, inarticulately: rare, provincial, poetic, or archaic words: language or dialect. The last is the correct definition. It does not necessarily mean any of the known languages of men, but may mean the speaker's own tongue, shaped in a peculiar manner by the Spirit's influence; or an entirely new spiritual language. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
V. Nature of the Gift in the Corinthian Church. (1.) The gift itself was identical with that at Pentecost, at Caesarea, and at Ephesus, but differed in its manifestations, in that it required an interpreter. 1 Corinthians 12:10, 1 Corinthians 12:30; 1 Corinthians 14:5, 1 Corinthians 14:13, 1 Corinthians 14:26, 1 Corinthians 14:27. (2.) It was closely connected with prophesying: 1 Corinthians 14:1-6, 1 Corinthians 14:22, 1 Corinthians 14:25; Acts 2:16-18; Acts 19:6. Compare 1 Thessalonians 5:19, 1 Thessalonians 5:20. It was distinguished from prophesying as an inferior gift, 1 Corinthians 14:4, 1 Corinthians 14:5; and as consisting in expressions of praise or devotion rather than of exhortation, warning, or prediction, 1 Corinthians 14:14-16. (3.) It was an ecstatic utterance, unintelligible to the hearers, and requiring interpretation, or a corresponding ecstatic condition on the part of the hearer in order to understand it. It was not for the edification of the hearer but of the speaker, and even the speaker did not always understand it, 1 Corinthians 14:2, 1 Corinthians 14:19. It therefore impressed unchristian bystanders as a barbarous utterance, the effect of madness or drunkenness, Acts 2:13, Acts 2:15; 1 Corinthians 14:11, 1 Corinthians 14:23. Hence it is distinguished from the utterance of the understanding, 1 Corinthians 14:4, 1 Corinthians 14:14-16, 1 Corinthians 14:19, 1 Corinthians 14:27. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
VI. Paul's Estimate of the Gift. He himself was a master of the gift (1 Corinthians 14:18), but he assigned it an inferior position (1 Corinthians 14:4, 1 Corinthians 14:5), and distinctly gave prophesying and speaking with the understanding the preference (1 Corinthians 14:2, 1 Corinthians 14:3, 1 Corinthians 14:5, 1 Corinthians 14:19, 1 Corinthians 14:22). -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
VII. Results and Permanence. Being recognized distinctly as a gift of the Spirit, it must be inferred that it contributed in some way to the edification of the Church; but it led to occasional disorderly outbreaks (1 Corinthians 14:9, 1 Corinthians 14:11, 1 Corinthians 14:17, 1 Corinthians 14:20-23, 1 Corinthians 14:26-28, 1 Corinthians 14:33, 1 Corinthians 14:40). As a fact it soon passed away from the Church. It is not mentioned in the Catholic or Pastoral Epistles. A few allusions to it occur in the writings of the fathers of the second century. Ecstatic conditions and manifestations marked the Montanists at the close of the second century, and an account of such a case, in which a woman was the subject, is given by Tertullian. Similar phenomena have emerged at intervals in various sects, at times of great religious excitement, as among the Camisards in France, the early Quakers and Methodists, and especially the Irvingites. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
[source]

Titus 1:6 That believe [πιστα]
Added to what is in 1 Timothy 3:4. “Believing children.” Not accused of riot (μη εν κατηγοριαι ασωτιας — mē en katēgoriāi asōtias). See note on 1 Timothy 5:19 for κατηγορια — katēgoria and Ephesians 5:18 for ασωτια — asōtia “Not in accusation of profligacy.” Unruly See note on 1 Timothy 1:9. Public disorder, out of doors. See also Titus 1:10. [source]
Titus 1:6 Not accused of riot [μη εν κατηγοριαι ασωτιας]
See note on 1 Timothy 5:19 for κατηγορια — katēgoria and Ephesians 5:18 for ασωτια — asōtia “Not in accusation of profligacy.” [source]
Titus 1:6 Not accused of riot [μὴ ἐν κατηγορίᾳ ἀσωτίας]
Lit. not in accusation of profligacy. For κατηγορία see on 1 Timothy 5:19. Ἁσωτία , lit. unsavingness; hence, dissoluteness, profligacy. Comp. Luke 15:13, of the prodigal son, who lived unsavingly ( ἀσώτως ). Only here, Ephesians 5:18, and 1 Peter 4:4(note). [source]
1 Peter 4:4 Riot [ἀσωτιάς]
From ἀ , not, and σώζω , to same. Lit., unsavingness, prodigality, wastefulness; and thence of squandering on one's own debased appetites, whence it takes the sense of dissoluteness profligacy. In Luke 15:13, the kindred adverb ἀσώτως , is used. The prodigal is described as scattering his substance, to which is added, living wastefully ( ζῶν ἀσώτως )Compare Ephesians 5:18; Titus 1:6. [source]

What do the individual words in Ephesians 5:18 mean?

And not to be drunk with wine in which is debauchery Instead be filled with [the] Spirit
καὶ μὴ μεθύσκεσθε οἴνῳ ἐν ἐστιν ἀσωτία ἀλλὰ πληροῦσθε ἐν Πνεύματι

μεθύσκεσθε  to  be  drunk 
Parse: Verb, Present Imperative Middle or Passive, 2nd Person Plural
Root: μεθύσκω  
Sense: to intoxicate, make drunk.
οἴνῳ  with  wine 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: οἶνος  
Sense: wine.
ἀσωτία  debauchery 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: ἀσωτία  
Sense: an abandoned, dissolute life.
ἀλλὰ  Instead 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ἀλλά  
Sense: but.
πληροῦσθε  be  filled 
Parse: Verb, Present Imperative Middle or Passive, 2nd Person Plural
Root: πληρόω  
Sense: to make full, to fill up, i.e. to fill to the full.
Πνεύματι  [the]  Spirit 
Parse: Noun, Dative Neuter Singular
Root: πνεῦμα  
Sense: a movement of air (a gentle blast.