Drunk in the Holy Spirit: Is it Biblical?
As some of my readers may have noticed, I do occasionally
like to walk on thin ice. And so today I
want to look into a topic I was somewhat naïve about until fairly recently. I decided to do a study on the concept of
being “drunk in the Spirit.” I will be
using the New American Standard Bible for my references in case you wish to
follow my thought process, as I pray you always do.
For the last several years many Christians have begun to
practice a new paradigm. Getting “drunk
in the Holy Spirit” has become a popular concept in some churches. Although it was birthed in Pentecostalism it
has crossed denominational boundaries. It
seems to have literally changed biblical traditions for what is now called a
“new thing” of the Spirit.
But is it biblical?
Unfortunately feelings, nor experience can be a test for
truth especially in an atmosphere that resembles more of a laboratory
experiment then a normal Church service with the authentic gifts operating. They must be examined by Scripture to see if
they are the nature of the Holy Spirit. He
is the Spirit of Holiness (See Romans 1:4), and the Spirit of Jesus Christ (See
Romans 8:9; Philippians 1:19), meaning he represents Christ and he communicates
these same properties into the believer which become the fruit of the Spirit in
one’s life. “But the fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
I might as well begin by saying that nowhere in the Bible
does it say we are to be drunk in the Spirit. When
the Bible speaks of being drunk, it always has a negative connotation. Drunks are very self-centered people,
concerned with their feelings and having a good time, they are obnoxious and
mostly out of control. The only way one can validate this behavior is to use
the flat bible affect. Slide two
scriptures over to each other, and mix to match. Such as Joy of salvation = “holy laughter.”
Preachers who promote being drunk in the Spirit point to
Acts 2:13 as justification for their peculiar practice. “But others were mocking and saying,
“They are full of sweet wine.” The accusation was obviously mocking the
apostles, and in verse 15 Peter flatly denies any possibility of inebriation. Yet today’s Word of Faith teachers take this
joke from an ungodly crowd and use it as “evidence” that Peter and the apostles
were preaching in a drunken state. Such
twisting of Scripture not only demeans the apostles, it also dishonors the Holy
Spirit.
In Ephesians 5:18-19 the Apostle Paul admonishes us, “And
do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and
making melody with your heart to the Lord…” He tells us that joy and contentment comes
from those controlled by the Spirit; it is peaceable and it exhibits communion
with the Lord.
Paul contrasts drunkenness (See Proverbs 20:1; Isaiah
28:7; Titus 2:11-12; 1 Thessalonians 5:8) with the filling of the Spirit. (See Acts 6:3; Acts 7:5; Acts 4:31) The drunk is not in control of himself, but
is under the power of a foreign substance. In contrast, the Spirit-filled
Christian is entirely in control of himself under the direction of the Holy
Spirit. There is absolutely no case in
the New Testament of the Lord Jesus, or the Apostles, or early Christians
staggering about in a drunken stupor, unable to attend to necessary duties.
To be fair, the only example of “spiritual drunkenness”
in the Bible is in the prophets, yet taken in context, it is referring to God’s
judgment upon sin and apostasy. (Isaiah 29:9-14; Jeremiah 51:37-40) These prophecies sound a serious
warning. They have rejected the sound
teaching of the Bible; they have refused to be sober and vigilant; they have
mocked careful Biblical discernment; they have exalted experience over
doctrine; they have gone chasing after feelings and “signs and wonders”; and
they have been blinded by demonic delusions. God warns that those who refuse to
obey the truth will be blinded by lying wonders. (2 Thess. 2:9-12)
God wants every aspect of our lives as believers to be
under the complete control of the Holy Spirit. This does not come by drunkenness, and it does
not mimic its effects.
Acting drunk and blaming it on the Spirit of God is sin. Those who teach spiritual intoxication are
more closely allied with Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and drunkenness, than
with the true God of the Bible. Being
filled with the Spirit is not some ecstatic or emotionally charged experience. It is not a heavenly high or a spiritual buzz.
Being filled with the Spirit is a steady
submission of one’s life to the God of glory.
“And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him,
and He in him. And we know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He
has given us.” (1 John 3:24)
Can God change your life?
God has made it possible for you
to know Him, and experience an amazing
change in your own life.
Discover how you can find peace
with God.
