The Power of Participles

“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” ~Ephesians 5:17-21

As we continue our shameless use of alliterated grammatical terms, this week we will look at participles and their import on the Christian life. In Ephesians 5:17-21 there are five participles, which together provide an answer to the all-important question: what does it mean to be filled with the Spirit (v 18)?

The main imperative is to “be filled with the Spirit.” This is set in contrast with being “drunk with wine.” So whatever being filled with the Spirit is, it must be antithetical to drunkenness. What comes to mind when you think of drunkenness? Perhaps speaking unkindly as your tongue loosens, or treating others disrespectfully. The opposite of this is to speak kindly and show reverence for those in authority, or, as Paul puts it, “addressing one another in psalms and hymns… [and] submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

In other words, the five participles of Ephesians 5:17-21 (addressing one another, singing, making melody, giving thanks, and submitting to one another) exemplify the life of one who is continually being filled by the Spirit. And note that these Spirit-empowered behaviors encapsulate the first and second greatest commandments: to love God and neighbor.

Three of the participles are Godward in orientation: singing and making melody to the Lord, and giving thanks to God the Father. These three habits of the Christian life are meant to be a demonstration of our love for God. They are worship participles. We are to be continually singing songs of praise to God with our lips, making melody to God in our hearts, and giving thanks to God in our prayers. The person who is filled with the Spirit can’t help but have a mouth full of praise, a heart full of love, and prayers full of gratitude for all God is and for all He has done.

The other two participles are directed horizontally; specifically, to the body of Christ. We are to be continually addressing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, as well as submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Do you realize that when we sing in corporate worship we are addressing one another? We are sharing our faith and mutually encouraging one another with words of truth and confessions of faith. This is an integral part of corporate worship. But we are also called to be continually submitting to one another — not because we are necessarily worthy of honor, but because we revere Christ, who dwells in each Christian. This is not unlike Paul’s command in Philippians 2:3-4, when he tells us to “count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look… to the interests of others.”

So what does it look like to be filled with the Spirit? It looks like five small participles lived out in the life of the church and in our hearts: speaking, singing, making melody, giving thanks, and submitting, all out of love for Christ and for one another.

Rev. Kyle Lockhart, Associate Pastor