Speak to one another
with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,
always giving thanks to God the Father for everything,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:19-20
Mostly when I hear people talking about verse 19 of Ephesians 5 they are using it to argue for the different styles of songs that can be used in times of praise. It’s good for that. It also tells us so much more than that though. We tend to miss out the first line, but it sets the scene. It includes the verb, the doing part of the verse. It tells us what to do with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. It tells us, that we should use them to ‘speak to one another’.
Now don’t get me wrong, above all, I believe our praise should be giving God the glory that he rightfully deserves. We sing and make music in our hearts to give God thanks for ‘everything’. God must be our focus. But there must also be an awareness of others around us when we praise as part of a community or gathering. I like to think of it as a direct parallel, when we praise God together, we should also be building up the body of Christ in Spirit and truth. So does that mean praise isn’t just about us and God? Should we think of corporate praise as being about ourselves and those around us and how we interact with God together?
I think we have to understand it like this.
I also think we need reminded of this.
It’s easy to get carried away with the notion that praise times are times for God and me to do business on our own. Fair enough it might well be that there are lots of other people in the room, but the interaction taking place is really just God, me and nobody else. Paul’s teaching in his letter to the Ephesians however reveals something different. The next time you gather to praise God think about those around you. Never ever allow anything other than giving God glory take centre stage during praise, but endeavour to make it more than just about how you make God centre stage by yourself. Make sure you are making every effort to edify those around you as you exalt God to the highest place. There couldn’t possibly be a better built community of believers than one that emerges from our praises to God.
Tim Beattie
with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,
always giving thanks to God the Father for everything,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:19-20
Mostly when I hear people talking about verse 19 of Ephesians 5 they are using it to argue for the different styles of songs that can be used in times of praise. It’s good for that. It also tells us so much more than that though. We tend to miss out the first line, but it sets the scene. It includes the verb, the doing part of the verse. It tells us what to do with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. It tells us, that we should use them to ‘speak to one another’.
Now don’t get me wrong, above all, I believe our praise should be giving God the glory that he rightfully deserves. We sing and make music in our hearts to give God thanks for ‘everything’. God must be our focus. But there must also be an awareness of others around us when we praise as part of a community or gathering. I like to think of it as a direct parallel, when we praise God together, we should also be building up the body of Christ in Spirit and truth. So does that mean praise isn’t just about us and God? Should we think of corporate praise as being about ourselves and those around us and how we interact with God together?
I think we have to understand it like this.
I also think we need reminded of this.
It’s easy to get carried away with the notion that praise times are times for God and me to do business on our own. Fair enough it might well be that there are lots of other people in the room, but the interaction taking place is really just God, me and nobody else. Paul’s teaching in his letter to the Ephesians however reveals something different. The next time you gather to praise God think about those around you. Never ever allow anything other than giving God glory take centre stage during praise, but endeavour to make it more than just about how you make God centre stage by yourself. Make sure you are making every effort to edify those around you as you exalt God to the highest place. There couldn’t possibly be a better built community of believers than one that emerges from our praises to God.
Tim Beattie
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