Ephesians contrasts getting drunk with wine with being “filled with the Spirit.” It then describes results like addressing one another with psalms and hymns, singing, giving thanks, and submitting to one another. See Ephesians 5:18–21.
In Ephesians 5:15–21 the writer urges careful living: walk wisely rather than carelessly, since the time is limited and the surrounding days are morally dangerous. Instead of drifting into foolishness, they should learn what the Lord wants and live in line with it. This paragraph continues the letter’s shift from big-picture claims to everyday conduct. Just before, the readers are called to live as “children of light,” exposing works of darkness and waking up from moral sleepiness (5:8–14).
This paragraph treats everyday conduct (“walk”) as something to be done with alert care rather than drift. Wisdom is practical: it shows up in how time is used, how choices are made, and what influences are allowed to shape behavior (verses 15–16).
A common mistake is to turn the wording into a slogan. The better reading keeps the phrase tied to the passage, the speaker, and the problem the book is addressing.
Start with Ephesians 5:18-21, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
18Don`t be drunken with wine, in which is an abandoned life, but be filled with the Spirit,
19speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; singing, and singing praises in your heart to the Lord;
20giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, to God, even the Father;
21subjecting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ.