or, ACCEPTABLE MUSIC: 2ND WITNESS
The prophecy: “All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah” (Psalm 66:4).
Is
our music important to God? Absolutely.
Both of the epistles Ephesians and Colossians deal with our relationship with one another and with our God and our Lord Jesus in His corporate body, which is the church of Christ (Ephesians 1:22,23; Colossians 1:18).i Music is presented in both epistles as a vehicle in the perfecting of the members of this body.
Two or Three witnesses. Since the Law was given, truth and justice has been established at the mouth of two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15).ii Understanding of testimony can often be simplified with the test of a parallel account; e.g., the four gospel accounts (Matthew-John). The truth concerning acceptable corporate worship and service is revealed to us the same way. Colossians is a parallel revelation of the Faith as written to the Ephesians.
In Ephesians 5:10 we were commanded to prove or distinguish what the acceptable Will of God is; His will included our praising Him with our voices while making music in our hearts to the Lord. What is said to be acceptable should clearly exclude any others by us. The parallel reading in Colossians 3 puts the proverbial nail to voice music being acceptable by commanding that we are to teach and admonish ourselves with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs while singing with gratitude in our hearts to the Lord.
Risen with Christ. Context of Colossians 3:16: According to Paul, his assigned mission from the Lord is to present to the Lord each learner as a complete (perfect) person in Christ Jesus (Colossians 1:28; 2:10). The sinner is to arise from his burial of baptism believing in the new birth’s operation from God (2:12). His life is to be emptied of the world’s carnal living and putting on the new person’s clothing from above superimposed with love and governed in his heart by the peace of God (3:15). While being thankful. Ephesians says, “be not drunk with carnality but be filled in the spirit...” Colossians’ version, and hence, inspired commentary, says “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.” The writer tells us how this is to be done.
The Text. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:16,17).
Joslin, an associate professoriii at Boyce College (a Baptist institution) has an informative article on the grammar of Colossians 3:16. He deals with the different renderings among translations of this verse.iv His conclusions include this comment: “The main point I wish to press here is that corporate, musical worship is an essential, God-ordained means of our teaching and admonishing one another, such that the word of Christ might richly dwell in us.” v
“The Word of Christ” is the message which Christ has spoken, or caused to be proclaimed. This would be the New Testament (Ephesians 6:17; Colossians 1:5). We are commanded to letvi this Word dwell in us richly; i.e., “not with a scanty foothold, but with a large and liberal occupancy” (Eadievii).
The Participles.viii The Word is made to live (make its home) in us by two participles, “teaching and admonishing”, two words distinguished as (1) being required in preaching and (2) for the perfecting of people in Christ Jesus (Colossians 1:28). They are “exhortative” and required because of their relationship to the word they modify; i.e., its imperative verb “dwell.” If the Word is from the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16), as it should be, then the Spirit would be dwelling in us. This would be equivalent to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and is asserted as being the interpretation of the parallel passage in Ephesians 5:19 “being filled with spirit.”
Singing. The above mentioned grammarian argues that the “singing” may modify either the verb “dwell” or the participles, “teaching and admonishing.” He prefers the verb and I am persuaded to agree. To me, this would be equal to Ephesians 5’s “singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” Hence, the music is directed in two ways, 1. To one another, and 2. To the Lord. Both are required in order to be acceptable to the Lord as required in Ephesians 5:10, “Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord..”
Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs. The three items, “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” are “datives of means and modify the teaching and admonishing” and not singing. They are essential means of teaching and admonishing. The KJV shows this intention. Psalmsix is not referring to the specific book of the Old Testament; however, those didactic psalms and prophecies that would complement the New Testament (Word of Christ) can surely be used. However, there are some in the book Psalms that are definitely teaching eye-for-eye, Levitical and Jewish civil rulesx that were done away at the cross (Ephesians 2:14-17 and Colossians 2:14-17).
Conclusion. The body must therefore teach and admonish each other by means of songs, and it is to be done with singing to God with hearts full of gratitude.
1. What is sung must have as its purpose to teach and admonish. Therefore, some songs we can do and some that we should not do.
2. Whenever we sing we should be teaching something.
3. When we are taught and admonished by songs, we should be growing in capacity to live Christ-like.
4. Christ-centered worship is centered upon His New Testament which teaches us to love and live out the doctrine that richly dwells in us.
5. Like preaching, the songs we sing should seek also to accomplish the same goal.
6. The content of music is primary. This would exclude playing mechanical instruments.
7. Instrumental music adds to and is contrary to the divine purpose of what is acceptable.
- Gaylon West
Throw Out the Lifeline
MUSIC MENU
i There is but one body Ephesians 2:16; 3:6; 4:4, 12, 16; 5:30 and Colossians 1:24; 2:17, 19, 3:15.
ii Matthew 18:16; the apostles’ witness was backed up by the witness of the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:32) with signs; by “two or three witnesses shall every word be established” in 2 Corinthians 13:1. Examples of this: Matthew- John; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16.
iii Joslin. “Raising the Worship.” http://equip.sbts.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/SBJT-17.3-Fall-2013-Joslin.pdf
iv The ESV, NET, NAB translations see the participles as coordinate with each other and move “singing” forward in syntactical order. The HCSB, NIV add “and” before translating the third participle “singing” and move “singing” forward in syntactical order. The NRSV, RSV, NJB, NLT view the participles as imperatives. And move “singing” forward in the syntactical order. The NASB, KJV, NKJV, TNIV, NIV 2011 do not take the participles as imperatives but as circumstantial participles.
v Joslin. “Raising the Worship Standard.” http://equip.sbts.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/SBJT-17.3-Fall-2013- Joslin.pdf
vi “The imperative ποιεῖτε is to be supplied from the context.” Meyer's NT Commentary.
vii Raising the Worship Standard. http://equip.sbts.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/SBJT-17.3-Fall-2013-Joslin.pdf
viii Barth and Blanke say that these participles are imperatives (from God).
ix Psallo, 1. Walter Bauer’s lexicon, revised by Frederick Danker in 2000, the Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Old Testament used by Jews and interested nations in 1st Century), it “is usually the case” that psallo is translated as only “to sing” (2000, p. 1096).
2. In Henry Thayer’s Greek lexicon, in first century: “psallo meant “to sing a hymn, to celebrate the praises of God in song” (1962, p. 675).
3. E. A. Sophocles, a native Greek and for thirty-eight years a professor of the Greek language at Harvard University, examined a plethora of secular and religious historical documents) : there was not a single example of psallo ever used in the time of Christ that involved or implied the use of an instrument; rather, it always meant to chant or sing religious hymns.” https://apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx? category=11&article=868.
x Psalms for destruction: Psalm 5:6, 10; 18:40; 143:12; 144:6; for Temple: Psalms 92:1 (LXX Psa 91); 24:3-10; Psalm 48; 92:13; 93:5; the “song/s of ascents (Psalms 120-134); etc. https://jewishstudies.rutgers.edu/docman/rendsburg/626-psalms-as-hymns-in-the-temple/file
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