The
American
Wisdom Series
Presents
Pamphlet #4593
My
highlighted verses: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.
[18]
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
Guess what?
You can't be filled with BOTH!
You can't be filled with the Holy Spirit when you are
filled with other "spirits".
That's right, when you imbibe, it "opens you up" to other
spirits, which is why it's called wine and "spirits".
People do things when they are "under the influence"
that they wouldn't do otherwise.
This should come as no surprise to some.
It is declared in the Proverbs that to be drunk is NOT
WISE.
Proverbs 20:1 Wine
is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby
is not wise.
Do not be deceived by wine or strong drink!
Now there is nothing wrong or sinful with a little wine
or an adult beverage, if you are one who can handle it.
Some can't and for various reasons, be they physical
or mental or spiritual.
In fact, a little wine is good for the stomach
sake (1 Tim 5:23).
The sin is in trying to drink your lifetime supply before
you're age thirty.
Furthermore, an excess of wine will douse your "light".
Much can be said about wine, for it is used symbolically
of both truth and religion.
But know this, both wine and religion can be
intoxicating.
In fact, it is easier to convert, bring to their senses,
one drunk with bottled wine than one spiritually drunk with the wine of
religion, better known as the wine of fornication.
Ephes 5:19 Speaking
to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making
melody in your heart to the Lord;
So give up the unwise use of strong drink and be happy
in the Lord, Who has redeemed us from sin and for some, even from the depths
of alcoholism and other "ism's".
Speak with the words of Psalms and be merry in your heart
with songs and hymns.
[20]
Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Give thanks always for ALL things, not just some,
and in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[21]
Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
This is the subject to the following verses.
It is important to realize that to submit, or subject,
one to another is a reciprocal process, a "two way street"
as we say.
Paul has been discussing the unity of the body of Christ
in his letter to the Ephesians and here he gets even more specific as to
the "oneness".
(Note: This verse must always be
remembered and brought forth when the media and the Christian bashers,
and the wacko militant feminist groups (men haters) pull the next verse
out of context.)
Paul then breaks "submitting" down even further using
the analogy of marriage to show the "mystery" of verse 32, that we are
ONE body in Christ, even as a husband and wife are "one flesh".
Not once, in this analogy, does he hint that Christ is
the husband or that the church is His wife, as is so often taught.
In verse 30 he makes it very clear that we are members
of His body, of His flesh, of His bones.
Therefore, in as much as a husband and wife are one,
in order to operate in "unity", together, as one flesh, one body, they
must be subject one to another in the reverence of the Lord.
To study the Bible is the noblest of all
pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, you accomplish both.
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