So last night, during the Texas A&M game, I posted a lengthy comment on the interpretation of Eph 5:19, and it wasn’t exactly my best piece of organization — being distracted by the game and all.
So I figure I should rewrite the comment as a post while watching the Oklahoma v. Clemson playoff, as it does not involve an SEC team (although Dabo Swinney played for Alabama and is very popular in these parts).
Situation addressed
My studies lead me to believe that the passage is speaking of the symposia that followed a Christian agape (love feast) — a time of discussion and fellowship after the meal. Hence, “don’t get drunk on wine” fits the context well, as does “be filled with the Spirit.”
Structure of Eph 5:18-21
(Eph. 5:18-21 ESV) 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
The ESV is much truer to the Greek than the KJV, which confusingly separates each participle (verb ending in -ing) with a semicolon, which in modern English indicates an independent clause (that is, a sentence with a subject and verb). Continue reading →