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

EPHESIANS 5:18KJV
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Ephesians 5:18 (KJV)

What does Ephesians 5:18 mean?

Ephesians 5:18 warns readers not to get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless or wasteful behavior, but instead urges them to be filled with the Spirit. The verse contrasts losing control through drunkenness with being guided and influenced by God’s Spirit.

Paul is writing to believers in Ephesus, a city known for its festivals and drinking culture. He uses a clear example from everyday life—drunkenness—to highlight the difference between destructive excess and the positive influence of the Spirit. The verse sits within a section where Paul is encouraging wise, thoughtful living that reflects God’s character.

The Greek behind Ephesians 5:18

  • μεθύσκεσθε (methyskesthe, "drunk"): This word often carries the sense of being soaked or saturated, not just having a drink but being overcome by it. Paul’s warning is about a state of being controlled by wine.
  • ἀσωτία (asōtia, "excess"): This Greek word means wildness, wastefulness, or reckless living. Paul is pointing out that drunkenness leads to a loss of self-restraint and destructive choices.
  • πληροῦσθε (plērousthe, "be filled"): This verb is in the present tense, suggesting an ongoing action—keep being filled. It’s not a one-time event but a continual openness to the Spirit’s influence.

Why Ephesians 5:18 matters

  • Ephesians 5:18 clarifies that the Christian life is not about following rules for their own sake, but about choosing what shapes and directs a person’s actions—either destructive habits or God’s Spirit.
  • The verse helps correct the idea that spirituality is passive; instead, Paul calls for an active, ongoing openness to the Spirit.
  • This contrast sets up the following verses, where Paul describes the positive results of being filled with the Spirit, like thankfulness, singing, and unity.

Where else these words appear

“be” Greek G3182 · used in 3 verses

  • Luke 12:45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

“excess” Greek G810 · used in 3 verses

  • Titus 1:6 If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.
  • 1 Peter 4:4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:

“wine” Greek G3631 · used in 25 verses

  • Matthew 9:17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.
  • John 2:3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
  • Revelation 6:6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

“filled” Greek G4137 · used in 90 verses

  • Matthew 1:22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
  • Luke 24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
  • Acts 19:21 After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.