In the classic mockumentary “This Is Spinal Tap,” a reporter asks lead guitar player Nigel Tufnel about the volume knob on his amps. Nigel points out that his are louder than the garden variety gear used by most bands. Instead of simply stopping at ten, “these go to eleven.” Here in his letter to the folks back in Ephesus, Paul writes about the level of praise and worship that should be heard in a church filled with God’s Spirit. We should be “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart” (v19). Our praise should be loud.
It should go to eleven.
The apostle makes it clear that music is to be a very important part to each believer and every local church. That truth is impossible to avoid. He lists three different kinds of tunes we’re to use in our praise of Jesus. “Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (v19). The first is the word psalmos. This Greek word gives us the title for the OT songbook we know as the Psalms. Paul is almost certainly talking about singing these classic number one hits composed by dudes like David. We see the term used elsewhere for songs of praise or sacred tunes. But the psalmos literally describes a specific kind of instrumental music. It’s the plucking the strings on a harp or lyre. It’s string music.
Hmm. Stringed instruments? Sure sounds like that could include...bum, bum, BUM...the guitar. Sorry to my friends in the Church of Christ but Paul is talking about using musical instruments as part of our worship. We all know about the worship wars being fought over both styles and instruments used to praise God. But I think it’s clear that the only thing that God really cares about are the lyrics and our hearts. Whether it’s belting out great old hymns like “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” or rockin’ to the latest from Lecrae, it just doesn’t matter. Instruments and styles are just tools in God’s toolbox. Don’t throw somebody under the bus just because they don’t sing in your style. Do the lyrics honor Jesus? Is your heart focused on Christ? That’s all that really matters.
The second kind of tunes are “hymns” (v19). This is humnos, a song praising God expressing thanksgiving, a piece of music used to indicate faith or a song of celebration. It comes from a word that means to celebrate. Paul is NOT talking about turning to number 489 and singing verses one, two and four from the hymnal. They didn’t have books like that in the back of pews in the first century. These are songs of celebration. Songs that praise God for who He is. Songs that thank God for what He’s done. Music was clearly an important component of these first gatherings.
Smart dudes who tuck their shirts in say there’s a good chance that Paul quotes from some of these first century praise songs in his letters. That’s really not too surprising. The apostle had a habit of dropping pop culture references into his teaching when it helped drive his point across (Acts 17:28-29; Titus 1:12). Just as preachers today will use song lyrics in their sermons, Paul does the same. Look back at Ephesians 5:14. It probably comes from a hit song Jesus’ followers sang when they got together for worship. Check out Philippians 2:6-11 for another. These words celebrate Jesus’ great sacrifice for our sin that results in His glory. Flip over to Colossians 1:15-20 for one of the greatest lyrics about our Lord ever written. When believers would sing this tune, it reminded them that Jesus is more God than we can wrap our brains around on this side of eternity. And in his final letter just before his execution, the apostle drops a lyric about Christ’s unwavering faithfulness despite our continual lack of faith (2Tim 2:11-13).
Batting third in this lineup of tune types are “spiritual songs” (v19). This idea is a little harder to peg. It could mean songs sung with passion and from the gut. But chances are that the apostle is referring to singing tunes when under the influence of God’s Spirit. Remember, he’s just told us to “be filled with the Spirit” instead of getting wasted (Eph 5:18). In other words, don’t get drunk and sing karaoke. Allow God to fill you to the brim with His Holy Spirit and bust out in song. This could well be what our charismatic friends call singing in the spirit. Pentecostals will freestyle their own lyrics while the band plays on. I admit this can be a bit intimidating if you’ve never experienced this before. But think of it as writing your own personal note onto a greeting card. You’re adding something from your heart to what someone else has written.
Just in case you try to dismiss Paul’s encouragement to sing as not your style, he makes it perfectly clear as he continues to crank it up in the remainder of the verse. Think of this last part as the face-melting guitar solo toward the end of the song. He tells us that we should be “singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart” (v19). “Singing” is just that. Cut it loose. So you don’t have a good voice? Don’t let that stop you. Consider it practice for that glorious day when you’ll be belting it out in the heavenly choir. Let’s face it, some of us make a little noisier joyful noise than others.
It should go to eleven.
We should be “making melody” to praise Jesus (v19). Here Paul uses the verb form of the noun “psalms.” It literally means to strum the strings. My personal opinion is that we’re encouraged to both sing with our voices and play our instruments as key part of our worship. I certainly don’t think the man from Tarsus is limiting us to first century lyres and harps. Use what works in your cultural context. An organ and piano. Nice. An orchestra. Awesome. A rock band. Sweet. Two turntables and a microphone. Fantastic. A djembe and a pan flute. Tremendous. The instruments aren’t the focus. The One we’re worshiping is. No matter what we’re using, let’s crank it up.
It should go to eleven.
Let’s not miss the last three words. “With your heart” (v19). None of the above matters if my heart’s not in it. If I’m not mentally and emotionally engaged as I sing, then I’m wasting my time. Remember who Jesus. Remember what He’s done. We sing to Him because He’s lived the perfect life that we completely bungled. We sing to Him because He died the death for our sin that we should have died. We sing to Him because He rose to the glorious new life that we certainly don’t deserve. We sing to Him because everything we need we already have in Him! Let that fill your heart. You can’t help but explode in celebration and thankfulness!! Let’s crank our passion all the way up. I’m not talking specifically about volume. I’m talking about your heart and mine.
It should go to eleven.
So what do you think? Yeah, you. Agree? Disagree? Do you think guitars and drums are the devil's rhythm section? Drop a comment below and let's talk.
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