Paul has reminded us to “be filled with the Spirit”, and so Paul is stating what will happen to our communications when we are filled with the Spirit. Jesus said Luke 6:45: “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.” Or, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. This overflow from our hearts to our mouths really lets us (and others) know what’s inside us. And when we’ve been letting the Holy Spirit mold and sculpt our hearts from the inside out, it’s going to come out. What are we to communicate? We’re to teach and admonish one another in the Word of God, so that it continually flows out from us. Let His Words be our words. We see this clearly in the parallel passage in Col 3:16, as Paul exhorts: 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord
The apostle Paul in our verse today lets us know that as Christians, we should have that kind of joy and delight that puts a song in our heart for all that God has done for us, letting the Joy of the Spirit flow out through us. “Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” Eph 5:18–19—our verses today. As Christians, we should be continually making melody in our heart to the Lord, singing praises from our inner self to Him. We joyfully praise the Lord, sometimes by ourselves, sometimes all together, sometimes acapella, sometimes with instrumental accompaniment. But always with joy in praise and worship bubbling up to the Lord. Singing and creating songs with instruments played a significant role in the life and worship of Israel. The psalms are filled with calls to praise the Lord, sing, shout for joy, and make melody to Him (see Psalm 5: 11 But rejoice, all who take refuge in You, Sing for joy forever! And may You shelter them, That those who love Your name may rejoice in You. Music and singing were part of special occasions and celebrations (1 Chronicles 15:27–28 27 Now David was clothed with a robe of fine linen with all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the leader of the singing with the singers. David also wore an ephod of linen. 28 So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the horn, with trumpets, with loud-sounding cymbals, with harps, and lyres. God loves to hear His people singing in praise and worship. In the dedication of the Temple of God in Solomon’s time, it was the praise and worship that God acknowledged with His presence. We read in 2 Chronicles 5:12–13 12 and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and kinsmen, clothed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, standing east of the altar, and with them 120 priests blowing trumpets 13 in unison when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to glorify the Lord, and when they raised their voices accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other musical instruments, and when they praised the Lord saying, “He indeed is good for His [e]kindness is everlasting,” then the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not rise to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. How wonderful it is when the presence of God shows up in such a palpable manner, that it’s like a fog, a thick presence in response to the praises of His people.
But it’s not always like that. In fact, the most famous verse that points to this—Psalm 22:3 “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel” in the King James, Is from Jesus’ point of view on the cross. It follows psalm 22:1-2 My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my help are the words of my groaning. 2 My God, I cry out by day, but You do not answer; And by night, but I have no rest. So, it’s a time when Jesus felt rejection and abandonment from God for the first and only time, as He took on the world’s sin. Yet, immediately, through all the suffering, we see Jesus strongly declare His trust in God: or Yet You are holy, You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. In the seemingly endless silence in which God does not answer—perhaps the worst moment of torment Christ would ever know—the Son reminds Himself of God’s sovereign position: “Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel” In Psalm 22:3, Jesus expressed His absolute trust in God, no matter what was happening at that moment or how alone He felt, the Jesus knew that God was present and in control, ruling over His hour of greatest need. 1 Peter 2:23-24 23 and while being abusively insulted, He did not insult in return; while suffering, He did not threaten, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed. God the Father had not abandoned Him. God was working out His sovereign plan, and the Messiah would soon be delivered. Again in Psalm 22:4-5, we see Jesus’ declaration of trust in God from the cross In You our fathers trusted; They trusted and You rescued them. 5 To You they cried out and they fled to safety; In You they trusted and were not disappointed. Since we are “the temple of the living God” and “temples of the Holy Spirit” where God’s presence dwells, it makes perfect sense that there should be worship and praise in the temple of God, whether we’re talking about the Church building, or about our own Temple of God, our bodies. Heb 13:15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. Since 1 Pet 2:9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” Our purpose is to Glorify and Magnify the Lord, singing praises and worshipping Him. God still inhabits the praises of His people.
With Your Hearts To the Lord
The verse says that the singing should be from our hearts. This means that the heart must be involved in the singing of songs and psalms. Just singing along with our lips is not enough. The inward part is where the Holy Spirit resides, and it’s our heart that the Lord Looks at. So, it is important that we sing from our heart, the center of us in order for it to be true worship of God!
“always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”
Col 3:17 indicates this, for it states: “whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Thus, thanksgiving to God should encompass all things that come into life’s path, and when believers are filled by the Spirit this will be their response instead of dissatisfaction and complaints. “Thanksgiving” includes praise to God for himself, for his gifts, and for each other. I Chronicles 16:34–Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.
It’s because of Jesus that we have access to God the Father through Jesus atoning for our sins, and justifying us before God. And, so we pray to God the Father, always in Jesus’ name, acknowledging that we owe all to what He has done for us on the cross.
5:21. “submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.”
We submit to one another–the word literally means “ ‘to order oneself under’ a leader” or to place oneself in humility under others, considering their needs as primary. Not an easy thing to do. As Spirit-filled believers, we are to submit to one another in the body of believers, caring about other’s needs, as we care about our own.