Zack DiPrima is an assistant pastor at Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Sandy Springs, Georgia.  

I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. (1 Tim. 3:14-15)

Suppose that on Monday morning you strike up a conversation with Andrew, your Christian coworker. The topic of church comes up, and you ask, “Andrew, what do you like about your church?” 

He replies, “Well, my church has a wonderful children’s program. The messages are always encouraging. And I love the worship.”

You then ask, “What exactly do you enjoy about the worship?”

“My goodness!” he answers. “We have an amazing worship band. They’re so talented and can play any style. They play a mix of hymns and contemporary songs. We even have services for each and members get to choose based on what they enjoy. For me, I prefer the contemporary service. The songs get me into a worshipful mood. You know, our worship leader actually went to Juilliard and toured with the band Third Day?”

There are many aspects of Andrew’s answer that are worth highlighting. I wish to highlight only one: when asked about worship, he only speaks of music.

Is Andrew odd?

Probably not. My guess is that most evangelicals merely think of music when they think about worship. The words aren’t synonymous, but they’re close. You’ve surely heard something like this at church: “Before we move back into a time of worship, I’m going to lead us in prayer.” Fifteen minutes later, a pastor delivers a thirty-minute message, followed by (you guessed it) more “worship.” Why are so many of us inclined to reduce corporate worship solely to the musical portions of our gatherings?

Perhaps the main reason is this: we equate worship with music because we have been trained to think that singing is the only way in which congregations actually participate in worship.

But Scripture is clear: corporate worship encompasses much more than music. In fact, every element of Christian worship involves the active participation of the entire congregation.

THE ROLE OF EVERY MEMBER IN EVERY ELEMENT OF WORSHIP

In order to understand corporate worship, we need to first understand what a church is. The Apostle Peter says of the church: “You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5).

According to Peter, Christians are stones. Together, they form a spiritual house which we call a local church. Every time a church gathers in the name of Jesus, the people form a habitation of praise—an environment of exultation that exists for the sole purpose of glorifying God.

Such a vision for the church should shatter any desire for one-sided performance in corporate worship. If every member is essential to what a church is and if corporate worship is essential to church life, then every member is essential to corporate worship. Congregations are never audiences; they are eager and active participants.

Let’s examine the congregation’s role in different elements of corporate worship.

The Congregation’s Role in Singing

Most of us intuitively recognize singing as participatory. Nonetheless, many Christians sadly refrain from singing. Perhaps they don’t like the songs, or maybe they think they’re bad singers. Such Christians would do well to read the 400+ references to singing in Scripture. This includes fifty direct commands to sing. The largest book in the Bible, and the most quoted book in the New Testament, is the Psalms, which is essentially a songbook. Evidently, it’s of paramount importance to God that his people—every last one of them—sing his praises.

The apostle Paul makes no exceptions when he says in Colossians 3, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” The only instrument referred to in New Testament worship is the human voice. That matters. It’s God’s design that the local church’s music ministry be comprised of an untrained choir of blood-bought saints.

The Congregation’s Role in Prayer

A cursory reading of the New Testament reveals the priority of prayer in gathered worship (Acts 4:23–31, 1 Cor. 11, 1 Tim. 2). We see churches pray together in one voice, and we also see individuals lead congregations in prayer. And we should do this all to edify or build up the whole body (1 Cor. 14).

When individuals stand before a congregation to give prayers of confession, pastoral prayers, and prayers of thanksgiving, these shouldn’t be personal spiritual performances. They are congregational cries to God. Christians don’t merely listen to prayers—they are led in prayer. When someone leads a prayer in corporate worship, they speak as a mouthpiece for the congregation. That’s why their words demand the attention and “amen” of every saint.

The Congregation’s Role in Scripture Readings

Paul charged Timothy to devote himself to the public reading of Scripture (1 Tim. 4:13). This was no empty exercise. Paul knew that active listening was one of the chief means of implanting truth into the hearts of congregations. In our age of high literacy, we can forget that early believers studied the Bible chiefly by meditating on what they had memorized in the context of corporate gatherings.

As Christians, we would do well to stand in awe of God’s Word every time it’s read. We should have the same posture as David, who says in Psalm 19, “More to be desired are they [the Scriptures] than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.”

The Congregation’s Role in Preaching (Yes, Preaching!)

At least the congregation has a passive role in preaching, right? Wrong.

Preaching is an active element of congregational worship. John Piper is right to define preaching as “expository exultation.” Peter exhorts preachers to “speak as the oracles of God” (1 Pet. 4:11). This means that when people hear true preaching, they are engaging with God. The preacher’s task is to facilitate fellowship between the congregation and the Lord. True preaching upholds Christ in such a way that hearers meaningfully commune with the Almighty. In this way, preachers are simply instruments through which believers behold their God.

In Nehemiah 8, God’s people—after years of rebellion and neglect of Scripture—recommit themselves to God’s Word. After Ezra and others expounded the Scriptures, Nehemiah 8:6 reads, “And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen,’ lifting up their hands; and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.”

Notice how the people actively interacted with the Lord in the context of biblical exposition. And this was described as worship. How could it not? The people were engaging with God. Commenting on this text, Charles Simeon (1759–1836) asserted:

They did not look to the creature, but to God, whose voice they heard, and whose authority they acknowledged, in every word that was spoken. What a contrast does this form with the manner in which the word of God is heard amongst us! How rarely do we find persons duly impressed with a sense of their obligation to God for giving them a revelation of his will! How rarely do men at this day look through the preacher unto God, and hear God speaking to them by the voice of his servants!¹

Consider that phrase “look through the preacher unto God.” Think of that the next time you sit under preaching! So long as the sermon is faithful to the Scriptures, you are communing with the living God.

The Congregation’s Role in Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

The congregation’s role in the sacraments is tremendous, though perhaps it’s not obvious with regard to baptism. Christians tend to think that baptism is merely about a new believer’s profession of faith: someone’s personal decision to express their allegiance to Christ. And that’s certainly one necessary element. But it’s only part of the story.

In baptism, the believer declares both his union with Christ and his union with Christ’s church. In other words, baptism is best understood as an avenue of entrance into formal membership of a local church. The New Testament has no category for a Christian who’s not a part of a local body of believers. This means that when a congregation witnesses a baptism, they are formally welcoming that new Christian into their family. It should be a sweet occasion in which the whole church celebrates the goodness of God.

Similarly, when we take the Lord’s Supper, a Christian communes with Christ. But we must never forget that the Lord’s Supper is a family meal in which we acknowledge our bonds and fellowship with one another. The “He” and “me” of communion becomes the “we.” What He has done for me on the cross has purchased the fellowship we together share.

APPLICATION

The congregation has a role in every element of the Sunday morning gatherings. Again, congregations are not audiences. In light of this, consider three practical applications.

1. Think about corporate worship before you worship corporately.

I pastor a church that uses a bulletin which includes the order of service. I have long made it my practice to read our bulletins before our gatherings. This helps me prepare my heart for worship!

Whether your church has a bulletin or not, I encourage you to arrive early on Sundays. Take a moment to consider the different elements of your church’s worship. And then think, “How will I participate this morning? What’s my role in the songs? In the prayer of confession? In the Scripture reading? In the sermon?”

Don’t let the elements of the service wash over you without pondering their significance.

2. Look at others during corporate worship.

I occasionally have the privilege of leading the singing at my church. One of the sweetest parts of this is getting to face hundreds of saints as they sing. Unfortunately, the average church member misses out on this because our sanctuary is designed to emphasize what’s happening up front. Nevertheless, I encourage members to look around at each other throughout our service.

Remember, one of the ways we let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly is by encouraging one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. This means when I worship God in song, I’m not only addressing God, I’m reminding the saint next to me of the goodness of God and the beauty of his promises.

3. Plead for God’s blessing upon your gatherings.

If you’re a member of a local church, the most important thing in your life is what happens when your church gathers on Sundays.

Corporate worship is the rushing river that runs through every current of your life. So make it a priority to plead with God that he would greatly bless your church’s gatherings. He’s already made special promises to his gathered people: the risen Christ is in your midst! With your whole heart, seek and anticipate God’s rich supply of grace in corporate worship.

God created man in His own image and placed Him as head over His creation. But mankind has been alienated from God since Adam's fall in the Garden of Eden.

That alienation is seen most vividly in our refusal to obey the two greatest commandments: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind" and "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matt. 22:37, 39).

Because of God's love for the world He sent His Son into the world to save us from our sins and to reconcile us to Himself. Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of the Living God who perfectly kept the law of God and then suffered as our substitute on the Cross outside Jerusalem. After His resurrection He commissioned His followers to go into all the world and proclaim the good news about salvation in His name. They preached that:

• God raised from the dead Jesus, the crucified Messiah, vindicating His claim to be one with the Father.
• Jesus has been exalted to the right hand of the Father but is vitally connected to His people on earth.
• The risen Christ will come again in power and glory to fulfill all the prophecies about Him, bringing history to a climactic closure in a display of divine judgment and wrath.
• In the meantime, God has opened the door of salvation for Gentiles as well as Jews.
• The basis for acceptance with God, for Jews and Gentiles alike, is receiving the righteousness of Christ by faith apart from human merit. The futility of righteousness through human effort is seen in a true appreciation of Christ's atoning death on the cross. Jesus said, "Come to me." When a person comes to Him and believes upon Him as Savior and bows before Him as Lord he will surely receive forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life.

The Holy Spirit was sent from the Father and the Son to regenerate and unite the believer to Christ. He is the "Spirit of Adoption" who witnesses to the heart of the Christian that he is not a slave but a son and enables him to live a life that is Christ-glorifying as he walks under His influence ( Romans 8:9-10; Galatians 5:16).

Water Baptism by immersion is the believer's outward testimony to all of his personal faith in Jesus Christ ( I Peter 3:21).

Every Christian is a minister and the responsibility of pastor-teachers is to equip and challenge them to do their work of ministry. The Holy Spirit has gifted every believer and motivates them to meet needs which others may overlook. This is how new ministries are to be given birth in the local church ( Ephesians 4:11-16).

The Lord's Supper is a commemoration of the Person whose body was given and blood shed for our salvation. It is to be taken only by believers as a vital part of living in fellowship with Jesus Christ ( I Corinthians 11:23-26).

The Lord Jesus is preparing a place for us so that we might be with Him forever. We live in expectancy of His coming to judge the world and bring in His eternal kingdom ( Daniel 7:27; John 14:2-3; I Thessalonians 4:17).

Controlled by the Love of Christ PDF

Jesus said, "If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.' But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive." ( John 7:37-39). If you are thirsty for sprititual reality come to Christ, by believing on Him as Savior and Lord, and He will quench your thirst.

"Only as the church binds together those whom selfishness and hate have cut apart will its message be heard and its ministry of hope to the friendless be received.

"The need of the secular world is greatest at the very points where its criticism of the church is most intense. Only God's truth can set people free; for the church to concede the secular assumption of a chance universe is to deny both Christ's lordship and its own meaning. The church is the community of the Word, the Word that reveals the plan and purpose of God. In the church the gospel is preached, believed, obeyed. It is the pillar and ground of the truth because it holds fast the Scriptures ( Philippians 2:16)."
— Edmund P. Clowney

Calvary Community Church was established to join with all the other Christ-exalting, Bible-believing local churches in this area in the advance of the gospel of Jesus Christ both here and around the world. 

"Do we have a good spiritual appetite for the word of God and an experience of the grace of God? Some people hear the preaching merely in order to have their own ideas confirmed. Others go to pass judgement on the preacher. Only a few prepare themselves to receive the word of God into their hearts. As we grow older we lose much of our natural appetite for food. We say it does not taste as good as when we were younger. But the change is in ourselves, not in the food. So it is with the word of God which the Palmist says is sweeter than honey and the honeycomb ( Psalm 19:10). If we were hungry, we would find a sweetness in its bitterest reproofs." — John Owen

It was common for Christians to express their joy and gratitude for this great gift. Our church services were characterized by joyous and enthusiastic singing and praise. With all this there was a great deficiency in my understanding of grace. Along with the pleadings to receive salvation as a gift by faith were the warnings to believers to be careful not to lose this gift that they had received. The gift of salvation was somewhat like receiving a three million dollar home sitting on the ninth fairway at Pebble Beach. It would be a wonderful gift to receive but the maintenance of that gift would be a heavy load to bear. Even if I received such a home as a pure gift of grace possessing it would be an unbearable burden for me. With no mortgage payment at all I would be unable to pay the taxes, insurance, country club fees, and utilities. Because of my deficient understanding of grace, that was the feeling I developed regarding salvation. I always believed that I had been saved by grace and that it was a pure undeserved gift. But I also assumed that it was my responsibility to maintain this very costly gift. At times the burden of maintaining the gift was just too much to bear. I kept waiting for God to take away the gift because of my neglect.

I was continually warned about a false teaching called "once-saved-always-saved." I understood that this was a doctrine taught by those who wanted to live like the devil and still go to heaven when they died. I was taught that salvation was forgiveness for my past sins and the offer of divine help to enable me to live the kind of life that would make me fit for heaven. But without my best efforts God's hands would be tied. Even though He really wanted me to persevere to the end, God could not and would not "violate my will." Since God would not force me to persevere in faith and obedience, my destiny was in my hands. If I chose to cooperate with God He would gladly save me to the end, but if I refused to cooperate with Him He would cast me away and I would forfeit the salvation He had graciously given. He had "saved me" (i.e. forgiven my past sins) in response to my coming to Him and He would keep me (i.e. get me to heaven) only if I continued to choose to believe and obey Him.

What a shock to discover that the salvation God gave me was far greater than I had assumed. From childhood I had given God thanks for His gift of salvation not knowing that this gift was a billion times greater than I had ever imagined. At the heart of my naivete was my ignorance of the sin problem. Oh I was aware that I needed forgiveness for the sins I had committed but in no way was I aware of just how serious sin was and how sinful I was. I had always thought that I was a "sinner" because I had committed "sins." But from the Bible I discovered it was the other way around: I committed sins because I was a sinner. My sins were expressions of my sinful heart. The Bible taught, and my experience verified, the fact that at the very center of my being I was a God-hater and law-breaker. Even though I was confident I could keep the laws of men (including the man-made laws for Christians, like, "don't smoke, don't chew and don't go with the girls who do") I learned God's law was out of my reach. God's righteous requirement for me was that I (1) love God with all my being and (2) love my neighbor as myself. But even as a Christian I miserably failed to obey the law of God. So here I was under the sentence of death! My true situation was that I had a bad heart, a bad record, and a bad life. As time went on my record was getting worse and my life was increasingly characterized by a failure to become truly righteous. On the contrary I was learning just how unrighteous I really was! To top it all off I discovered that the Bible described the sinner's condition as "death." Apart from Christ a person was as dead as a door nail! Incapacitated. A spiritual corpse.

I remember having lunch with a friend and college class-mate, who was on the same journey as me. He too had been raised in churches that taught that salvation was a cooperative effort between God and the sinner. But we both had been confronted with the biblical teaching of the sinfulness of sin. We were talking about these issues and he pulled out a napkin and wrote this question, "How can a dead man make a choice?" If the Bible's description of our spiritual condition was accurate how could a sinner chose to come to Christ? What a troubling question that was to me. I had always assumed that I had come to Christ because of my good sense and through my own free will and that others did not come because they were much more corrupt than me. But if the Bible was accurate (and I knew it was) my bad heart would never have chosen to come to Christ. Go to a cemetery and plead with the corpses in their graves to come forth. Beg, invite, coax, bribe, brow-beat, command, taunt and command all you want but they will not respond. Why? They are dead and therefore incapable of responding to your commands. So how can "spiritual" corpses respond to the call to come to Christ? They must be made alive before they can come! In order for a sinner to come to Christ, he must first be made alive by Christ. That is exactly what the resurrection of Lazarus illustrates. Lazarus' lifeless, powerless, rotting body was lying in the tomb when Jesus called out, "Lazarus, come forth." That command came from the one who had said, "Let there be light" and light came into existence. When Jesus uttered that command He was not just uttering words He was manifesting His creative power as the Living God. Lazarus came forth because Jesus had imparted life to his dead body. His response was the exercise of the life that Christ had supernaturally given to him. The same is true of those who respond to the gospel with true saving faith. Their coming to Christ is proof that they have been made alive. John said, "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God" ( 1 John 5:1). The tenses of the verbs in this sentence emphasize the fact that being born of God precedes the believing and the believing is proof that spiritual birth has already occurred. In other words, faith in Christ is the immediate evidence that a person has been born of God.

What a discovery! God had initiated my salvation and not me! With my old wicked heart I would never have exercised true faith in Christ so God gave me a new heart and with that heart I believed. I did exercise my will in coming to Christ, but only after He changed my heart. So my salvation experience began with a new heart. Of course my need for a new record and a new life were also a part of this gift of salvation.

What a shock it was for me to discover that God had initiated my salvation and not me! But a greater shock was yet to come. Soon I began to hear that God had actually chosen me for salvation before the world began. Now that was too much for me to swallow. In fact it made me angry! Back then I didn't know why it made me so angry. Now I realize it made me angry because it put God in the driver's seat and threw me out of it. If this were true (and I discovered that the Bible was filled with this teaching) then God was completely sovereign over this work of salvation. It meant that it was not a synergistic work whereby God and I worked all things together for good. Instead it was totally of God. It meant that "salvation belongs to the Lord" ( Psalm 3:8). It meant that salvation was a work of God and I was not God. I really hated this doctrine when I first heard it. It meant that my salvation was not a proof of my good judgment or good character but rather it was proof of God's sovereign grace, wisdom, mercy and love. For over a year I struggled against this doctrine. I read books that were written to disprove it, I talked to Bible teachers who ridiculed those who taught it, I wrote a paper explaining why it wasn't true and yet every time I came back to the Bible there it was staring me in the face: "You did not choose Me, but I chose you" ( John 15:16). I once asked a Bible teacher who was well respected in our denomination if he could help me with this issue of election. He said, "It's simple. God votes for you, Satan votes against you and you hold the deciding vote." A witless witicism indeed!

At the height of my struggle over this issue I remember falling on my knees and crying out for God to give me the answer to this "dilemma." I prayed something like this, "Oh God please give me the answer to this. Please show me what the truth about election really is." God didn't speak to me, I didn't hear a voice or "feel the brush of angels wings" but a thought hit me like a Mack truck. It was as though God were gently rebuking my unbelief, "Isn't it enough that I said it in my Word?" The issue became crystal clear to me. It was an issue of faith. Either I was going to believe God's word regarding this truth or I wasn't. No teaching of Scripture is clearer: God "chose us in Him (Christ) before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before Him" (Eph. 1:4). When I humbled myself before this sovereign God and by faith embraced the revelation of His electing love I found that this truth that had been a bitter pill to swallow became as sweet as honey to my inner man. Oh the joy of being the object of His sovereign electing love.

But how will this knowledge affect the work of evangelism? God has chosen some for salvation in eternity past (Eph. 1:4) and then sent Christ at the fullness of times to redeem these elect ones through His blood (Eph. 1:7) and then Christ sent the Spirit to dispense the salvation He had purchased for His people (Eph. 1:13). One by one the Spirit will regenerate the elect until "as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself" ( Acts 2:39) are all "sealed" in Christ. But the Spirit's work of dispensing salvation does not stop with sealing. Rather it is the beginning of the work of sanctification that will last a lifetime. The ultimate result of this work of the Spirit is the believer being conformed into the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29).

The salvation which God gives, Christ purchased and the Spirit dispenses deals with all three problems: (1) The Father deals with our old record through justification; (2) The Son deals with our old heart through regeneration; (3) The Spirit deals with our old life through sanctification. All of this was planned by the Father, aquired by the Son, implemented by the Spirit.

So how should we take the good news of this great salvation to a lost world? Follow the example of our Lord and His apostles. Tell unbelievers the truth about sin and the judgment that is coming on all the world. Tell them how, by raising Christ from the dead, God has appointed Him judge of the living and dead and that He has set a day in which all men will be judged for the deeds of their bodies and the motives of their hearts. But go on to tell them that this one who has been raised to judge sinners had already died to save sinners. He has promised that all who will come to Him in repentance and faith will receive forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life. Then appeal to them to come to Christ and receive this salvation as a gift (See Acts 17:30-31 & 10:38-48).

Who will believe such a message? Listen to Jesus explain why some believe and others do not: "But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one" ( John 10:25-30).

When the gospel comes to the ears of His sheep for the first time it produces life in them, they believe and follow Him. Our responsibility is to publish this gospel far and wide because Christ "was slain, and did purchase for God with His blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And He has made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth" (Rev. 5:9-10). Christ's sheep are all over this globe and the gospel will reach the ears of all His sheep and all will hear His voice and all will come and be saved. Our great privilege and responsibility is take His word to all the world so His sheep will hear.

God's grace is shocking when seen in its glorious fullness.

1. We Can Promote The Gospel With Our Prayers [Col 4:2-4]

Prayer is the most frequently urged activity for promoting the gospel. In Colossians 4 Paul instructs the Colossians:

2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

In those biblical texts concerning our role in prayer two principal themes emerge.

First, we are to be praying for people who have yet to be persuaded to faith in Christ so that they might be saved. So Paul writes in Romans 10:1 "Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved." We’re to pray then for unbelievers.

Second, we are to be praying for the ongoing work of those whose task it is to evangelise unbelievers. Paul writes in Ephesians 6:19 "pray also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak." Therfore we are to promote the gospel by praying for those who are doing the work of the gospel, here and around the world. Many of us will not feel confident speaking to others about the message of salvation but all of us can feel confident speaking to God about the salvation of others.

And so we need to make evangelistic prayer a priority in our lives. If there are people you’d like us to pray for that you’re helping to engage with the gospel then let us know.

2. We Can Promote The Gospel With Our Money [Phil 1:1-5]

This point is really about showing what we value by financing it. Paul opens his letter to the Philippians with these words:

1:1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

Paul’s thanks for the Philippians was fuelled by their gospel partnership. In Chapter 4 it becomes clear that he wasn’t talking merely about prayerful support or encouraging words he was talking about cash.

3. We Can Promote The Gospel With Our Good Deeds [Matt 5:14-16]

This point is really about being active as a loving community. Jesus said,

14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

The theme of the light of the world was well known in Jesus’ day. It fell to Israel and in particular city of Jerusalem and her inhabitants to prove to the nations that their Lord was the God of the whole world. In Matthew 5 Jesus picked up this idea of a world saving light and applied it to his disciples. And so the task of promoting God’s salvation to the ends of the earth became the mission of Jesus’ followers. The effect of the world saving light would be that the nations would give glory to God. In other words they would pay God the respect that He deserves. Jesus expected that the world would be brought to its knees in worship by witnessing the good deeds of the church. The word translated ‘you’ in verse 14 is plural. Jesus had in mind that the acts of kindness and goodness of his collective followers would illuminate a watching world. We need to be wary here and not misunderstand Jesus’ advice. He’s not telling us to pursue good works because it’s an effective strategy for softening up people who have yet to be persuaded by the gospel. It’s because good deeds are an essential fruit of following Christ that they so powerfully promote the gospel.

In our efforts to be faithful followers of Christ we’re also commending the gospel to others. Simply by doing the normal sort of things we’d expect of Christians we’re promoting the gospel.

4. We Can Promote The Gospel With Our Personal Conduct [ Titus 2:1-10]

This point is really about individually deciding to live for Christ. It’s the individual application of Jesus’ point in Matthew 5.

2:1 But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. 2 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behaviour, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. 6 Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. 7 Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. 9 Slaves are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour.

Paul states his point in negative and positive terms. Negatively in verses 5 and 8, he argues that godly behaviour can silence our critics. Imagine the effect if some of the strongest critics of the Christian faith had Christians for neighbours who were just terrific. Paul then puts his point in positive terms in verse 10. Good works promote the Word of God. When people look at who we are and how we live they’ll learn something about our Father in heaven. In naming us as His children God has put His reputation in our hands.

We’re the public face of the Kingdom of God and what we are and how we behave will affect what people think of God. But that’s a terrific opportunity. Implication Some of us may be the only Christian others know. That’s a terrific opportunity to show them how wonderful it is to know God, the forgiveness of sins, live for Christ and be confident in the present and also about the future.

5. We Can Promote The Gospel With Our Public Praise [1 Cor 14:23-26]

This point is really about recapturing our Sunday meetings for the gospel. To the Corinthians Paul writes,

23 If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, 25 the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you. 26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.

In chapter 14 of his letter to the troublesome congregation at Corinth Paul gets to the stage in his argument where he must explain that our gifts must be used for the sake of others in seeking to build them up. He describes a situation where someone walks in off the street to check out what’s going on. If what is happening is unintelligible he’ll think we’re all mad and find it easy to dismiss what’s happening. But if what happens is intelligible they’ll be troubled, intrigued and convicted and realise that there’s something different about this gathering. So Paul stresses the missionary significance of normal, intelligent congregational spoken contributions. It happens in our singing, our relaxed conversations over coffee, when we pray together at the end of the meeting and in our regular preaching and teaching times.

We’ve perhaps forgotten the significance of our Sunday meeting for the visitors who regularly turn up to see what we’re doing. There’s a temptation to underplay the importance of what we do as Christians every week as we gather together as church. We may have got out of the habit of asking people to come to church either expecting them to come or expecting them to enjoy it. Now of course, if we’re not enthusiastic about what happens at church we’re unlikely to invite anyone along. In our own assessment of what happens here we must be wary of substituting professionalism for authenticity. If we’re looking for professional perfection we’ve come to the wrong church. Almost everything we do here is work in progress, as we ourselves are. Nothing we do is done as well as it could be but it’s done because we believe it matters. I think people recognise that sort of integrity. In fact people are more forgiving than we think after all no one comes to church expecting it to compete with the entertainment on offer in the world. Usually they’re just delighted to hear someone talk about spiritual things in a way that they can understand. But if we undertake to improving the quality of everything we do in the church meeting will we also commit to inviting friends to some of the things that we do on a Sunday?

You can promote the gospel by being here, listening and engaging in what we are doing whether that's singing our hearts out, concentrating when we pray, taking notes in the teaching and preaching times.

6. We Can Promote The Gospel With Our Apt Reply [ 1 Peter 3:13-16]

This point is really about being prepared to speak to others about Jesus. Many of us ask what, when and how does the Lord require me to speak up about my faith. Some ask out of zeal because they’re straining at the leash to be let loose on an unsuspecting world. Others ask out of fear because we’re worried that we might be asked to do more than we can imagine we can handle. There are two New Testament passages that are instructive for us. In Colossians 4 and 1 Peter 3 the apostles Paul and Peter urge us to be prepared to give an answer to everyone. This is 1 Peter 3.

13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; 16 yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behaviour in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

Peter reminds us that we each have a responsibility to answer for the faith. It is important for you to be able to give a logical explanation for the hope that you have in the face of the darkest moments in life. How would you explain it to someone who asks? By telling the truth about the hope that the gospel gives you, you are promoting the gospel.

What is the role of singing in the life and worship of the church? According to most “church growth” experts a church’s approach to music is a key factor in its potential for numerical growth. A large cement company in our area has their motto emblazoned on their trucks, “Find a need and fill it.” If our motto was “Find the seeker’s desire and fill it” then opinion polls on the role of music in the life and worship of the church would be crucial. But our motto must be, “Find the Seeker’s desire and fulfill it” ( Luke 19:10).

Christ has revealed His design for singing in the life of the Church. We are not left to our own preferences and prejudices when it comes to the basic principles. In Colossians 3:16 and Ephesians 5:19 Paul gives a brief, pointed and clear exhortation to the church regarding the role of singing.

By taking the words of these two epistles at face value we learn that both were written by Paul at approximately the same time, to very similar audiences and regarding similar issues. It is no surprise, therefore that Paul speaks to some common issues and even uses the same phrases in doing so.

Ephesians 5:18-20 - And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.

Colossians 3:16-17 - Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

In both epistles Paul's words about singing come in the midst of a series of exhortations to live lives worthy of their new identity in Christ. He appeals to the Colossians based upon their having been raised up with Christ (Col. 3:1) and to the Ephesians on the basis of their having become the beloved children of God (Eph. 5:1). In both contexts the series of exhortations form a strong contrast between life in Christ and life without Christ. In Colossians the contrast is between their life before regeneration and their life after regeneration. In Ephesians the contrast is between those who are children of light and those who are children of darkness.

Together these two passages give us a full and rich picture of the role of singing in the life and worship of the church. Seven principles are evident.

1. Singing Is To Be A Manifestation of the Fullness of The Spirit

There can be no God-honoring singing in the congregation of the saints apart from the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The command to be singing to one another and to the Lord in Ephesians 5:19 is subordinate to the command to be filled with the Holy Spirit in verse 18.

In Ephesians five the Apostle is pointing out the very real difference between those who are in Christ and those who are not. In sexual morality they as different as darkness and light (verses 1-14). In lifestyle they are as different as folly and wisdom (verses 15-20). Paul shows that wise living is Spirit-filled living. There are three exhortations in verses 15 through 20. Each of these exhortations are given in the form of a contrast between negative and positive behavior.

15-16 • Negative Behavior to Avoid:
Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men,
• Positive Behavior to Cultivate:
but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days
are evil.

17 • Negative Behavior to Avoid:
So then do not be foolish,
• Positive Behavior to Cultivate:
but understand what the will of the Lord is

18-20 • Negative Behavior to Avoid:
And do not get drunk with wine,
for that is dissipation,
• Positive Behavior to Cultivate:
but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your
heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;

First, Paul urges the readers to be careful that they live as wise people instead of unwise. Wise living will be characterized by having a wise attitude toward time. We must not squander the time given to us but instead make the most of the opportunities to do good. This is the one and only way we can counteract the evil climate of this present evil age.

Second, he contrasts foolishness with acquiring a practical knowledge of what the Lord requires of us.

Third, he contrasts the folly of getting drunk with wine and the wisdom of being filled with the Spirit. Drunkenness is a fool's method of pursuing joy because it involves squandering all the good things God has provided to be enjoyed (1 Tim.. 6:17) in order to artificially produce a joyful feeling.

The Psalmist said to God, “In Thy presence is fulness of joy; In Thy right hand there are pleasures forever” (Ps. 16:11). Since God’s heavenly residence is characterized by joy and pleasures and since the church is the “holy temple of the Lord” and “dwelling of God in the Spirit” it is to be expected that God wants the atmosphere in the local church to be joyful. But the joyful celebration that should characterize our individual and corporate lives will not come from getting drunk on wine. It will come instead from a “deep drinking” of the Holy Spirit of God.

Paul has already spoken of the church being “the fullness of Him (i.e. Jesus Christ)” (Eph. 1:23) and he has prayed that they would be “filled up to all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:19). Now the third member of the Trinity is mentioned as the one who will fill them so full they will overflow with expressions of gratitude, joy and worship in “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.”

Living under the influence of the Spirit will manifest itself in our corporate life and worship. Spirit-filled fellowship and worship will be characterized by our speaking to one another and edifying one another with all types of Spirit-prompted songs as we sing praises to Christ from the heart and as we offer thanksgiving to our God for all that He is for us in Christ.

Paul describes this joyful celebration in worship in verses 19 and 20 in three clauses: (1) speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, (2) singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; (3) always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.

The effects of being filled with the Spirit include Christ-centered, Spirit-produced, God-honoring worship in the church. Singing in the church is to be a manifestation of being filled with the Spirit.

2. Singing Is To Be An Overflow of the Word of Christ

In Colossians 3:16 singing in the church is a manifestation of the word of Christ being “abundantly poured into your memories, and coming out largely into your language.”

In chapter three the Colossians are admonished to make radical changes in their attitudes and life patterns that correspond to the radical changes that God had accomplished in them when He raised them up with Christ. The change that Paul now demands of them is pictured as a stripping off of an old garment and the putting on of a new. The language reminds one of the account of Lazarus being raised from the dead. When Jesus stood at the tomb of Lazarus and gave the order, “Remove the stone,” Martha protested, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days” ( John 11:39). Because Martha loved her brother she wanted to shield from the sight of others the corrupting effects of death on his lifeless body. Jesus calmed her with the assurance that what she was about to see was not the desecration of her brother’s body but the glory of God. When Jesus shouted his command, “Lazarus, come forth,” Lazarus did not hesitate. John describes it very simply, “He who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings; and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go’” ( John 11:44). Although the text does not give us the details we can safely assume that they not only removed the grave clothes but replaced them with an appropriate garment. In the next chapter we encounter Lazarus again and he is reclining at table with Jesus. Now he is wearing a garment fit for a dinner with his Lord and his friends. How inappropriate it would have been for Lazarus to show up at the dinner table in his grave clothes!

Like Lazarus, the Colossians had been raised up with Christ and now Paul wants them to know that the old grave clothes that carry the smell of spiritual death must be replaced by new garments which are fitting for us to “celebrate the feast.” For that is what life and worship in the church really is (1 Cor. 5:8). The old garments are the attitudes and life patterns of the old self and they are totally out of place in the new situation. So Paul insists that they strip off the clothing of the old man and put on the clothing of the new man. This means two things: First, they must put away the old attitudes and pattern of living that characterized the old self that was in the process of personal (3:5-7) and relational (3:7-9) corruption; and secondly, they must put on a new set of attitudes and pattern of living that are fitting for the new self which is being renewed to a true knowledge of God (3:10-14).

It is in this context that Paul exhorts the Colossian believers regarding the atmosphere in the church. Singing is a fitting and necessary part of a healthy church atmosphere. Christ designed the local church to be the place where His people, who have been raised from spiritual death, could experience spiritual health and growth. The three imperatives found in verses 15, 16 and 17 reveal the characteristics of a healthy spiritual atmosphere. The atmosphere of the church must be ruled by the peace of Christ (verse 15), filled with the word of Christ (verse 16) and motivated in all it does by the name of Christ (i.e., doing everything they do for the glory, honor and reputation of Christ) (verse 17).

The role and importance of singing in the church flows directly from the second imperative: “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you.” Paul uses this unique title for the Word of God to emphasize the fact that the source and subject of the word we believe is Christ. In a sermon on this passage Spurgeon appeals to his people,

Remember, dear friends, that Christ himself is the Word of God, and recollect also that the Scriptures are the word of the Word. They are “the word of Christ.” I think that they will be all the sweeter to you if you realize that they speak to you of Christ, that he is the sum and substance of them, that they direct you to Christ, in fact, as John says of his Gospel, that they were “written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”

Remember, also, that the Scriptures do, in effect, come to us from Christ. Every promise of this blessed Book is a promise of Christ, “for all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us;” they all come to us through Christ, God speaks them to us through him as the Mediator. Indeed, we may regard the whole of Sacred Scriptures, from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation, as being “the word of Christ.”

But Paul’s main point here is to tell the Colossians how to treat the word of Christ and how to profit by it. Paul exhorts, “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”

One day I noticed a neighbor moving out of his home. I had been talking with him for several months about his need of Christ and he hadn’t mentioned to me that he was moving. He had been very troubled about many things but especially the situation in his home. He and his brother had purchased the house together. He was a bachelor and his brother was going through a divorce. For two single men the house they had purchased together was quite spacious. But recently there had been a reconciliation and the brother’s wife and two children had moved in. Now after a couple of months of attempting to “make things work” my friend was moving out. As I talked with him he began to pour out his bitter feelings toward his sister-in-law and brother. “They have squeezed me out of my own house. There just isn’t any room for me anymore.”

Paul’s appeal is to let the word of Christ “inhabit you as if you were the house and home of this Word, let it do this in a rich way by filling every nook and corner of your being with its blessed, spiritual wisdom.” Earlier in this letter Paul confessed, “we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:9-10). Now Paul is exhorting them to let the word be deeply implanted within them so that it controls their thinking. This would happen when “they paid heed to what they heard, bowed to its authority, assimilated its lessons and translated them into daily living.”

The prerequisite for singing that truly edifies the church and glorifies the Lord is the rich dwelling of the word of Christ in the hearts of His people. Jesus said, “the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart” (Matt. 12:34). When it is the word of Christ that fills the heart the mouth will not only speak, it will also sing.

3. Singing Is To Be An Exercise In Mutual Edification

In Ephesians 5:19 we learn that the most immediate expression of Spirit-filling is singing. Spirit-filling enables us understand our Lord's will (verse 17). Singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs is a means of teaching and reinforcing the knowledge of that will. Singing is to make a significant contribution to our wise living in the world. Paul pictures the church as speaking to itself through the singing of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.

When Paul refers to our singing as “speaking” he is emphasizing its function as verbal communication. Hearts that are full of the word of Christ cannot be silent.

This singing is certainly to be a part of the regular worship meetings of the church, but the context does not limit this singing to those meetings. “The reference in the text is not solely or chiefly to public worship as such. Clement of Alexandria treats it as applying to social gatherings; and again Tertullian writes of such singing at the agape, and of the society of husband and wife.”

A congregation that is being filled with the Spirit and has the word of Christ dwelling richly in it will be a singing church. Its gatherings— scheduled and impromptu, large and small, formal and informal—will be marked by songs that communicate spiritual realities.

Drunkenness can also loosen the tongue. But there is a great difference in the quality and effects of the sounds. Drunkenness is manifested most clearly in abusive, corrupting and blasphemous speech. The drunk makes sounds that are offensive and irritating to the hearers as well as dishonoring to God. Spirit-filling is manifested in melodious sounds of grace that edifies the hearers and glorifies God.

Colossians 3:16 reveals how singing is to edify the church; by teaching and admonishing. This describes the manner and effects of the word of Christ dwelling in us richly.

Unless the word of Christ dwelt richly within them, they could not fulfill this duty; for they could not teach and admonish unless they knew what lessons to impart, and in what spirit to communicate them; but the lessons and the spirit alike were to be found in the gospel. Mutual exhortation must depend for its fitness and utility on mutual knowledge of the Christian doctrine. Sparing acquaintance with Divine revelation would lead to scanty counsel and ineffective tuition.

Singing is one of the ways in which the church instructs itself and thus exercises “the true use of Christ’s word.” In 2 Timothy 3:16 Paul says that the word of God is profitable for teaching, admonition, correction and training in righteousness. When the singing of the church is a manifestation of the rich dwelling of the word of Christ that singing will admonish as well as instruct. The singing will confront the minds of the congregation about those things in their lives that need to change. This phrase is used by Paul in Colossians 1:28 to describe his own ministry of preaching Christ. There, he says the goal of “admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom” is to “present every man complete in Christ.” The implication seems clear that singing in the life and worship of the church should lead to spiritual maturity in the lives of her members.

This teaching and admonishing through singing must be done “in all wisdom.” Wisdom has been an important issue in the epistle to the Colossians. It is vital for the ministry of music in the church. Listen to the music that plays on Christian radio and television for a week and you will become convinced that much that passes for “Christian music” neither instructs nor admonishes. Using wisdom in song selection is vital. Among the questions we must ask is: “Does this song manifest a rich dwelling of the word of Christ in our midst?” and “Does this song instruct and admonish?”

Singing with wisdom also implies a wise use of singing in our meetings. Not only must the words of the songs we sing reflect the truth of Scripture but the manner in which we include them in our meetings is important. It is apparent that at least some of the meetings of the early church were quite spontaneous (1 Cor. 14). For this reason Paul gives several guidelines to guard against communication in speaking and singing that would not edify the body and glory her Head (1 Cor. 14:26ff). Music is a powerful tool. It must be used with spiritual wisdom.

It would be difficult to overstate the power of the musical language. It has emotional-mental stimulation unmatched by any other means of communication. Words alone can be and often are very strong, but couple them with the “right” music and they can be burned into the mind and consciousness indelibly… An idea (either good or bad) set to a good melody, given rhythmic intensity and harmonic consistency, can really work its way into our minds. Science tells us we are what we eat; the Bible tells us we are what we think. The devil has made such use of music that one could almost come to the conclusion that it is the music which is evil. The fact is, that it is the heart which is deceived and the mind polluted. The devil simply knows what God has always known, that music is a powerful way to get his ideas implanted and affect the behavior of mankind.

Like every other powerful tool music must be used with wisdom, but it surely ought to be used for the good of the church and the glory of God. Singing is one of the best means of extolling God for who He is and what He has done. It allows us, with one voice, to say something of real importance to and about God. According to the Word of God it is an effective way to teach biblical truth. “God’s word, both directly and conceptually set to music, can penetrate the mind and heart and stay there. What we sing, we remember, because we have combined the power of intellect with emotion.”

4. Singing Is To Be A Rich variety of Expression

The edifying communication that comes from the fullness of the Spirit and the rich dwelling of the word of Christ in the assembly is to be done by means of “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” After looking at over thirty sources I became convinced that no one knows for sure what the distinctions are between these different forms of musical expression. Some think the author is simply “piling up synonyms” rather than referring to three different kinds of songs. These are the most common terms in the LXX for religious songs and they are used somewhat interchangeably in the titles of the psalms.

According to Trench Paul had no intention of classifying the different forms of Christian poetry,

“but neither, on the other hand, would he have used, where there is evidently no temptation to rhetorical amplification, three words, if one would have equally served his turn. It may fairly be questioned whether we can trace very accurately the lines of demarcation between the 'psalms and hymns and spiritual songs' of which the Apostle makes mention, or whether he traced these lines for himself with a perfect accuracy. Still each must have had a meaning which belonged to it more, and be a better right, than it belonged to either of the others; and this it may be possible to seize, even while it is quite impossible with perfect strictness to distribute under these three heads Christian poetry as it existed in the Apostolic age.

One thing seems clear: in the early church there was not any one particular, approved style but rather there was great diversity in the songs they sang. They sang some psalms, some hymns and some spiritual songs. Stop and think about the tremendous diversity of musical expression the churches around the world “continually offer up” as “a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name” (Heb. 13:15).

On the day of Pentecost we have a vivid picture of the ultimate result of the work of the gospel in the world. One hundred and twenty were waiting in an upper room in Jerusalem for “what the Father had promised” ( Acts 1:4). Suddenly a noise filled the room where they were and what appeared to be tongues like fire rested on each one of them. “And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance” ( Acts 24). Through the supernatural enablement of the Spirit these disciples begin to speak “the mighty deeds of God” in the languages of the nations of the world ( Acts 2:11). This was a prophetic picture of the scene we find in Revelation 5 where a hymn of praise to the Lamb of God is sung by a truly international chorus of believer-priests from every tribe and tongue and people and nation (Rev. 5:9-10).

The true worshipping congregation of God has a variety of musical styles that blend together as a great chorus of worship to God.

Psalms refer primarily to the Old Testament psalms. These have “supplied a chief vehicle for Christian praise from primitive times.” It may also refer to regular poems modeled on the Psalms of the Old Testament (cf. the songs in the first chapter of Luke and the book of Revelation). This may be the meaning of the term in 1 Corinthians 14:16. Jesus and His disciples used the Psalms at the Feast of Tabernacles and at the Passover. Many of the greatest composers in history have taken the Psalms and set them to music and they continue to be used to the honor and glory and praise of God today.

Hymns are songs of praise addressed to God. In classical Greek a hymn was a festive lyric in praise of a god or hero. In Colossians 3:16 the singing is addressed to God the Father and in Ephesians 5:19 it is addressed to the Lord Jesus. Hymns “would more appropriately designate those hymns of praise which were composed by the Christians themselves on distinctly Christian themes, being either set forms of words or spontaneous effusions of the moment.”

For Christians in the early church these were new expressions that talked about the teachings of Christ. They taught New Testament doctrines and they were applied to the Christian life and faith. Some believe the hymn in Revelation 4:11 was a previously written Christian Hymn that John incorporated into his book. For us the most familiar hymns are those written since New Testament times.

Edward Paronet came to faith through ministry of John Wesley and grew very rapidly in his faith. He became so overwhelmed with the reality of Jesus as the King of the universe that he wrote, “All hail the power of Jesus name. Let angels prostrate fall; Bring forth the royal diadem, And crown Him Lord of all.”

John Newton almost lost his life in a terrible storm off the northwest coast of Ireland. In the midst of the storm he cried out to God for mercy and help. God delivered him and as he later reflected on the grace and mercy of the Lord that he wrote “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.”

Spiritual Songs “denotes the natural outburst of an excited bosom…prompted by the Spirit which filled them.” An Ode is an expression of deep feelings. It is obvious from the description given in First Corinthians 14 that the early church service was very spontaneous. Although there is some overlap in the field of meaning covered by these three terms it seems clear that “spiritual songs” would correspond to much of what we would call “praise and worship music.”

In a message delivered to the Trinity School of Divinity, Dr. John Piper began his sermon with these comments:

In the last twenty years or so there has been a phenomenal explosion of worship singing that is good… Hundreds of worship songs that if I were to start singing them right now you could all finish them. Thou Art Worthy… Father I Adore You… Open Our Eyes Lord… We Worship And Adore You… Thou O Lord Art A Shield About Me… You Are Lord.

I could start twenty five songs right now and every person in this room could finish them with me. And not only here but all around the world. It is a phenomenal thing.

Some of the songs are poetically, grammatically, musically deplorable. Which we should not make too much if we grew up on “Do Lord.”

One thing is unmistakable as a trend in these songs. They are Godward… addressed directly to God. Not sung about God in His presence but to God in each other's presence. And therefore these worship songs force the issue of authentic worship. Are you right now engaging in a spiritual authentic genuine real way with the Living God. That's what those songs force as an issue on Sunday morning in a way that many of the old choruses that my parents and I sang did not force.

Added to this, the tunes that are being written today are very, very engaging tunes. They have a way of awakening the affections. They're not excessively complex by and large, or intellectual or demanding. But they catch up the emotions and the spirit in their mood. So two things are happening in the best worship songs. … The mind is being brought with God-centered lyrics in an amazing way into engagement with God and the heart stirred by these contemporary tunes is being engaged with tenderness, devotion and enjoyment. At least for millions of people this is true even if not for a lot of musical classicists. So I look at this worship awakening and what stands out above all things to me and strikes me and makes me ask questions is its God-centered lyrics… God is exalted, He's Lord, He's risen from the dead, He's majestic, He's mighty, He's Holy, He's conquered the power of death, He's a shield, He's glory, He's the Lifter of our heads, He's great, He's wonderful, He's a Rock, He's Fortress, He's Deliverer, He's the coming King, Redeemer, Name above all names, Messiah, Lamb of God, Holy One, He is God and Our God reigns… If you don't like the drums, if you don't like the guitars, if you don't like electricity, if you don't like platforms all cluttered with black microphones and boxes and everything and T-shirts. If you don't like that you still have to admit that by and large the lyrics of this phenomenon are Godward. They are almost pure Scripture again and again and again even if clumsily set to the music. And the hoped for effect is a relentless addressing of God directly for the engagement of the heart.

Although some brethren would argue that we should only sing the inspired words of Scripture in the church it seems clear from this expression (“with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs”) that along with the singing of the songs of Scripture there is to be a continuing flow of new and fresh expressions of musical praise and worship that faithfully teaches and admonishes the church as we sing to our Lord and God. What is important is that God's people worship Him through a variegated expression of music in the form of psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. You may prefer one more than the other but a wonderful thing happens when the people of God use all the means He has given them to minister to one another with singing as they worship Him.

5. Singing Is To Be A Response to God's Grace

The expression translated “with thanksgiving” (NASB) in Colossians 3:16 is literally, “in the grace.” The heart is moved to sing in response to all that God has done in His loving kindness. This grace is greater than circumstances. This grace enables believers to sing even when they are suffering pain or indignity, as Paul and Silas did at Philippi ( Acts 16:25).

My earliest memories are filled with the sounds of the saints singing about the sweetness of fellowship with Jesus and the life-dominating hope of seeing Him someday. Most of those dear old saints were very poor and lived in hard circumstances (and with no therapist to feel their pain!) but they could fill the atmosphere with the sweetest sounds I have ever heard.

Fanny Crosby was totally blind by the time she reached her sixth birthday. But God gave her spiritual sight through the New Birth and she was so overwhelmed at the greatness of God that she wrote, “To God be the glory great things he hath done.” In one of her most popular songs she wrote “Blessed assurance Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine. Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long.” She went on to write 8,000 hymns and songs in her lifetime.

The grace of God will be the sphere in which the worshipper moves. His singing will be the outward expression of his inner experience of God's grace—he will sing “in the grace.”

6. Singing Is To Be Accompanied by the Heart

Our singing must be accompanied by a well-tuned instrument. That instrument is to be the heart, and in the context, a heart filled with the Spirit. When Paul adds, “singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord” (Eph. 5:19) he is explaining how they were to be “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” The singing commanded in the expression “speaking to one another in psalms, etc.” emphasizes a horizontal and corporate dimension. This second clause, “singing and making melody in your hearts,” reveals that it also has a vertical and individual focus.

The voice is used in singing and the heart is the instrument that is accompanying it. The words “making melody” are a translation of the verb psallo. The word means to pluck a string and therefore to play a lyre or harp and then to play any instrument as an accompaniment to the voice. So Paul is picturing the heart as a musical instrument that accompanies the voice as it sings psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. He is not speaking of two different types of singing here but rather one singing that is audible, musical and with and engaged heart.

Our singing should be expressing the true aspirations of our hearts and the truths we sing require an inner reflection and assent. The Spirit was poured out so that God would not have to say to us as He did to Israel, “…this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote” (Isa. 29:13).

7. Singing Is To Be A Sacrifice Offered To the Father and Son

“New-covenant worship is essentially the engagement with God that He has made possible through the revelation of himself in Jesus Christ and the life he has made available through the Holy Spirit… The important practical consequence of all this is the need for Christian teaching and preaching to centre on the person and work of Jesus Christ.”

When Christians sing they are “speaking to one another” by “teaching and admonishing one another” and at the same time “singing “to the Lord” (Eph. 5:19) and “to God” (Col. 3:16). According to Pliny, Christians in his day, “recited to one another in turns a hymn to Christ as to God.” A church that is characterized by the fullness of the Spirit and the rich dwelling of the word of Christ will delight to sing the praise of Christ. We must be sure that when we sing we “offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name… for with such sacrifices God is pleased” (Heb. 13:15-16).

“Beyond a doubt, God is not impressed with the musical sounds which strike human ears in a worship experience. The true measure of our sacrifice of praise, then, is the sincerity with which we offer our best adoration to God.” Singing is edifying but we must not imagine that is its chief function. Its primary reference is Godward and its edifying work is an outcome. If our singing is not worship it will not be edification. The more we keep its Godward aspect in view, the more we'll be built up as our minds and hearts are drawn towards Him.

Conclusion

During the middle ages the “laity” were not allowed to sing. Since the average church member didn’t have the ability to read, let alone interpret, the Scriptures they were not be allowed to sing. Only small groups of professionals were allowed to sing in the church. Martin Luther changed that. He believed that the people must be allowed not only to read the Scriptures but to sing in the worship of the church. He said, “Let God speak directly to His people through the Scriptures and let His people respond with grateful songs of praise.” Based upon this conviction he wrote thirty seven hymns. He called music “God’s greatest gift.”

As Jesus approached Jerusalem near the descent of the Mount of Olives, “the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, saying, ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’ And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to Him, ‘Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.’ And He answered and said, ‘I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!’” ( Luke 19:37-40). May the chorus of praise that rises up from His church around the world be such a sweet, sweet sound in His ear that the stones never have to cry out.

Without diminishing a great spiritual reality, but only by way a parallel, it is also true that God?s people have a distinguishing mark. That mark is the very presence of God Himself. Moses recognized this when he said in his prayer to God concerning Israel; "If Thy presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. . . Is it not by Thy going with us that we, I and Thy people may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?" ( Exodus 33:15, 16) Moses understood that the presence of God is what sets His people apart. This presence is often real and sensible, something that the people of God are conscious and aware of as a reality in their midst. This marked the early Church. Luke?s words in describing it were, "and everyone kept feeling a sense of awe." ( Acts 2:43) Luke described God?s presence as real and felt, something that produced a feeling of awe. The idea of a sensible, distinguishable presence of God is often ridiculed. It is viewed as a mystical tendency that reflects a spiritual immaturity and imbalance. To some the Spirit of God works in and through ordained means such as; preaching, prayer, and the Word, but He always works in a secret and gradual way so that His presence isn?t clearly evident and distinguished from our own minds. Jonathan Edwards pointed out this tendency to deny or ridicule the sensible, felt presence of God. He said, "How great has the doctrine of the inward experience or sensible perceiving of the immediate power and operation of the Spirit of God been reproached and ridiculed by many. . .They say the manner of the Spirit of God is to cooperate in a silent, secret and indiscernible way with the use of means and our own endeavors, so that there is no distinguishing by sense, between the influences of the Spirit of God and the natural operations of the faculties of our minds."1

We believe the Bible teaches the reality of a sensible presence of God in and amongst His people. This is true both in the individual devotional life and in corporate, public worship. I say "often" because God?s presence is always a reality, even if it isn?t at times as clear and evident. While it is not right to expect the Holy Spirit to operate apart from specific means, such as the Word of God and preaching, it is right and biblical to expect the Spirit to often operate beyond these means. In other words, God desires to bless His people with a sudden sensible, felt experience of His presence through the Word of God, whether read or preached, or sung in praise and worship.

The reality of God?s supernatural presence is constantly affirmed in scripture. To begin with, it is seen in the supernatural nature of salvation and conversion. Salvation is described as a "making alive," a "new creation," or a "begotten again." (Eph. 2:5; 2 Cor. 5:17; John 3:3, 5) In other words, a supernatural power external from ourselves acted upon us and made us new. In addition, the effects of preaching are described as supernatural and sensible. Paul, when speaking of his preaching said, "My message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." (1 Cor. 2:4, 5) In other words, God so acted that hearers knew that God was there. In their experience, God Himself had spoken directly to them. The Spirit did indeed use the means of preaching and the Word, but He also went beyond the means to an experiential felt demonstration of the presence and power of God. Would not a supernatural power outside of us that acts upon us "seem" to have acted upon us? In fact, should not such a power be felt and experienced as such? Edwards said it this way, "But, if there is indeed a power entirely different from and beyond our power, or the power of means? then certainly it is in no wise unreasonable to suppose that this effect should very frequently be produced? as to make it very manifest and sensible that it is so? why is it unreasonable to suppose it should seem to be so, to them who are the subjects of it? If persons tell of effects that seem to them not to be from the natural power or operation of their minds, but from the supernatural powers of some other agent, should it at once be looked upon as a sure evidence of their being under a delusion because things seem to them to be as they are?" 2

The fact that this is often ridiculed and belittled is again referred to when Edwards says, "They declare that what they are conscious of seems to them evidently not to be from themselves but from the mighty power of the Spirit of God, and others condemn them, and determine that what they experience is not from the Spirit of God, but themselves or from the devil. Thus unreasonably are multitudes treated as this day by their neighbors." 3

Along these lines also, is the fact that God?s desire is to make Himself known in a conspicuous way. He doesn?t act in such a way as to hide Himself. He acts and intervenes so that His people know it was Him Who acted on their behalf. This is seen in His deliverance of Israel from Egypt and in the account of Gideon. He stripped Gideon?s army from 32,000 to just 300 lest, in God?s words, "Israel became boastful saying, ?my own power has delivered me.?" ( Judges 7:2)

It must be recognized that not all external actions upon believers are from God. Satan often works through impressions that do not originate in our minds. This is not an appeal for open-ended, blind acceptance of every experience. The Word of God must be the source and the means of such experience. However, having said that, a felt, sensible experience of God?s presence is a reality clearly affirmed in Scripture. This reality is not to be the object of reproach. It is the birthright and heritage of the church. It is the Church?s birthright, both in preaching and corporate praise. May we seek it, for in so doing we seek the Lord Himself.

We have a God Who desires to intervene on behalf of His people. We have a God Who acts to make His presence known among His people. He acts to comfort, guide, instruct, deliver, or to discipline and judge. When He acts, He often, (though not always), acts so as to make His presence sensible and known. The church must not overreact to excesses and extremes so as to deny the very reality of the felt presence of our God. Abuses must be guarded against, and fabricated, self-induced substitutes must be rejected, but the supernaturally given sense of God?s presence must be contended for, charges of imbalance or immaturity to the contrary. How much God?s people, whether as His individual sheep or together as His corporate flock, need the sense of His presence through the Spirit and the Word. This we long for, and for this we will contend.

1 Jonathan Edwards, Works, Volume I, p. 248
2 Ibid., p. 248
3 Ibid., p. 248

According to one report, test-tube baby Louise Brown "brought the world's press to her door, made a fortune for her parents, and started a major debate on the medical, ethical, religious, and social aspects of conception" outside the mother's body.

However, the births of many babies who have affected human history much more directly and much more drastically than Louise Brown have been unheralded and unheeded. The world has often mistakenly focused its attention on people and events seemingly more important at the moment.

Let me cite an excellent example. Years ago, when I was under contract with Moody Institute of Science in Whittier, CA, as one of their Producer-Writer's, a colleague attended Chuck Swindoll's church in Fullerton. He gave me a bulletin insert in which Swindoll listed some of leading lights of world history born in the year 1809. It so intrigued me that I went to a local library and began researching the matter further--and with astounding results!

Imagine that the epitome of reliable television news reporting, Walter Cronkite, had been broadcasting in 1809. His evening news would doubtless have focused on Austria and headlined the campaigns of the diminutive dictator from France, who was rampaging across the hapless hamlets of Austria, cutting a swath through History! Napoleon was the cynosure of all eyes. His name was on all lips. When he spoke, the world listened; when he moved, the earth trembled. By the middle of 1809 he had brought the completely exhausted Austrians to their knees. That year nothing seemed more important that the fall of Austria.

However, somebody should have paid attention to the crop of babies being born that year, for it was a vintage year! But while bloody battles are being fought and history is being forged, who is interested in babies and bottles? Yet the thinkers and statesmen who first drew breath that year in America and Britain and Germany and Russia and even France were a veritable Who's Who that between them drastically reshaped history!

That year WILLIAM GLADSTONE, who emerged as the dominant personality of Britain's Liberal Party, serving twice as Chancellor of the Exchequer and four times as Prime Minister, was born in Liverpool.

That year ALFRED TENNYSON, who became Britain's Poet Laureate, the highest honor that an English poet can achieve, and remained so for forty-two years, began his life in Somerset, Lincolnshire.

That year OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, an eminent doctor who also wrote many humorous poems and essays and became known, first, as an apostle of good humor and, later as the first American psychological novelist, drew his first breath in Cambridge, Mass.

That year EDGAR ALAN POE, poet, short-story writer, and literary critic, began his brief and tragic but brilliant life in Boston.

That year FELIX MENDELSSOHN first wiggled the fingers that would play so skillfully his oratorio, Elijah, or the Overture of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which he wrote when he was only 17, and all his other compositions that have thrilled music lovers ever since.

And there were others. NIKOLAI VASILYEVICH GOGOL, the masterful Russian author and dramatist. BRUNO BAUER, the German philosopher who was one of the fathers of "scientific socialism." BARON GEORGES EUGENE HAUSSMANN, the one largely responsible for the layout of "the world's most romantic city." What would Paris be without his series of rond points from which broad, straight avenues radiate?

That year in Caupvray, France, LOUIS BRAILLE first opened his eyes that would be permanently blinded at the age of 3 by a leather-working awl in his father's saddle making shop and would lead him to invent the widely used touch system of reading and writing for the blind, which, ironically, used an awl-like stylus to punch marks in paper which could be felt.

That year a physician and his wife named Darwin, christened their infant son, CHARLES ROBERT, a child who showed little promise, was lazy, and a poor student, but who very early became an avid collector of bugs, shells, and coins, etc.

And that year in Hardin County, Kentucky, a rugged log cabin owned by an illiterate wandering laborer reverberated to the healthy screams of a hearty newborn boy named ABRAHAM LINCOLN!

What a gallery of greatness! Think of how the combined contributions of these men sculptured history, shaping and sizing it to many of the dimensions of today's living. Yet not one of their births made headlines, not one of their births caused more than a ripple of joy among parents and friends.

And eighteen centuries before that the whole civilized world had been caught napping at the most important birth of all time. Those who bestirred themselves had their eyes riveted on Rome and all her splendor. Their attention was focused on a cynical Caesar named Augustus, who had decreed that a census should be taken so that he could enlarge his tax base. In all the dislocation and upheaval his decree caused, who was interested in an insignificant couple from an obscure village making a ninety-mile trip to be registered along with hordes of other hustling people? Yet, from the perspective of history-and prophecy-where was the future of mankind being reshaped? The mighty emperor Augustus was merely a pawn in the hand of Jehovah, a piece of lint on the pages of history, a speck of dust on the lens of time, a footnote in the chronicle of prophecy!

Battered in succession by Alexander the Great, Herod the Great, Augustus the Great, the world overlooked Jesus the Baby, God's Miracle Baby, the Hinge of Human History! While Rome was busy making history, God arrived in human flesh and utterly revolutionized human history. Yet the birth heralded by angels was largely unheeded by men. It caused hardly a ripple!

However, the story of God's "good news" of salvation for mankind in the New Testament begins with "that Baby" and "that birth." Quite apart from the supernatural elements in the story itself, I wonder if you have truly grasped the magnitude and magnificence of the miracle of the babe of Bethlehem, God's Miracle Baby? This One, born in the fullness of time-i.e., the propitious moment in human history-is the only Jew who ever lived who could possibly lay claim to the throne of Israel in fulfillment of the unconditional promise originally given to David that one of his male heirs would occupy it forever. God had placed a lock on the throne of David, and only Christ, who holds the key of David, could open it.

The unconditional promise was given to David when he wanted to build the temple. God affirmed the rightness and goodness of his thought but stipulated that not he but his son should build the temple. Through the prophet Nathan God gave David this remarkable promise:
"And it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, when you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son; and I will not take My mercy away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. And I will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever." - 1 Chron. 17:11-14, NKJV

In 2 Samuel 7:14 God specifically pledges that sin would not break this promise. Sin would be duly disciplined, but the promise of an everlasting kingdom was to be conveyed through David's progeny unconditionally.

The primary and immediate application of this promise was to Solomon. Both David and Solomon so understood it. David in his solemn charge to Solomon referred specifically to this promise, applying it to Solomon (1 Chron. 22:8-11). Then, later, in one of his last official acts he convened a general assembly of all his officials and officers and in addressing them referred again to this promise and applied it to Solomon (1 Chron. 28:6,7). For his part Solomon, as he began to make preparations to build the temple, construed it to himself ( 1 Kings 5:5). Then at the impressive dedication ceremony, while addressing the huge crowd assembled, he alluded to the promise, suggesting that it was being fulfilled that very day ( 1 Kings 8:20).

Obviously, however, neither Solomon's temple nor his dynasty endured forever. So there must be a secondary and final fulfillment of this unconditional promise in Christ, David's Greater Son. The Scripture bears this out. That David himself recognized the Messiah, the Anointed One, as the promised Son seems clear from Psalm 2:7. That this reference should be properly interpreted as a reference to Christ is categorically clear from Hebrews, where the writer under inspiration applies it to Christ (1:5). In the first sermon of the new Pentecostal or Church Age, Peter affirms David's "knowing" and "foreseeing" that the promise referred to Christ ( Acts 2:30,31).

The Pharisees, who prided themselves on the accuracy of their interpretations of the Old Testament, identified Christ the Messiah as the promised Son of David. It was precisely at this point that our Lord tripped them up with His pointed question, "How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him 'Lord'?" (Matt.22:41-46) quoting from Psalm 110:1. Our Lord was pressing home the point that the promised Messiah would come in fulfillment of a promise given to David, as David's Greater Son.

Finally, to the troubled Mary the mighty archangel Gabriel quoted almost the very words given centuries previously to David, applying them directly to the child that should be miraculously conceived by her: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end" - Lk. 1:30-33, NKJV

So the promise channeled initially through Solomon is culminated in Christ. How God preserved the Davidic line and held the throne open in perpetuity for the promised Christ is an incredible story of intrigue and suspense chronicled through the pages of Old Testament history and climaxed in the Gospel narratives.

Soon after the unconditional promise was given to David, he became embroiled in the sad, sinful episode with Bathsheba and came under the judgment of God. Unwittingly, he pronounced his own judgment, saying self-righteously, "The man who has done this shall surely die! And he shall restore fourfold" ( 1 Sam.12:5,6). The prophet Nathan replied scathingly, "You are the man!" and in pronouncing God's judgment upon David, stated that the sword would not depart from his household.

God graciously pardoned David and restored him, but as predicted the sword hung heavy over his house. Four sons died as a result of Uriah's murder: the tiny son born to Bathsheba; Amnon, who was murdered by Absalom because he had seduced his beautiful sister Tamar; Absalom himself, who was killed in the coup he so cunningly and callously instigated; and Adonijah, whom Solomon executed when he requested that Abishag the Shunammite be given to him as his wife. But despite these deaths, David's line seemed secure. After all he had many wives and left a prolific progeny. Surely his line would never lack a son to sit upon the throne!

Then some 138 years after David's death, the sword struck with bloody and brutal force. The prophet Elisha sent a young student to anoint surreptitiously as king a general of the army named Jehu. Almost the first thing that Jehu did was to slay both the king of Israel and the king of Judah. Then he disposed unceremoniously of Jezebel, the dowager queen-mother, having her thrown out of an upstairs window. Next he set about exterminating the whole house of Ahab in a ferocious putsch. The strange story is told in 2 Kings, chapter 10.

Seventy sons of the royal house of Ahab were being raised in Samaria by duly-appointed guardians. Jehu had their heads sent to him in baskets; none survived. Later, on his way to Samaria, he met some relatives of Ahaziah, king of Judah, and had all forty-two of them slaughtered by a well; again there were no survivors. When he finally arrived in Samaria, Jehu rounded up all who were left of Ahab's family and butchered them all.

This savage slaughter was in fulfillment of God's judgment pronounced against the atrocious wickedness of Ahab and Jezebel, who were the most notorious couple in the annals of Israel's royalty, and who led the nation into awful apostasy. However, in the process Jehu managed to wipe out systematically practically all the male descendants of Israel and Judah, leaving only a fee scattered survivors. The Davidic line was suddenly in jeopardy.

The very next year, 882 B.C., the sword struck savagely again, this time through Athaliah, the queen-mother of Judah and daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. When she learned that her son Ahaziah was dead, she proceeded to massacre the whole royal family. The sickening story of her mad spree is recorded in 2 Kings 11:1-3. Jehosheba, the quick-witted sister of the deceased king, snatched up Joash, his one-year-old baby boy, and hid him and his nurse in the bedroom. Later he was smuggled into the temple, where he remained in hiding for six years, the lone survivor. David's royal line hung by the slender thread of a single, small life!

Then over 400 years after David's death, in the year 609 B.C., Jehoiakim ascended the throne. He was an evil king. During his reign Nebuchadnezzar subjugated the land and Jehoiakim became his vassal. After three years he rebelled but only became more deeply defeated in costly skirmishes with the surrounding nations Jeremiah, sometimes called "the weeping prophet," ministered during this period. What Thomas Becket was to Henry the Second and Sir Thomas Moore was to Henry the Eighth, Jeremiah was to Jehoiakim--his conscience!

The Lord told Jeremiah to write all His words on a scroll and have them read to the people. Toward the end of the fifth year of Jehoiakim's reign, during a day of national fasting, the messages of the scroll were read from the balcony of the temple. They were then shared with the royal officials, who in alarm determined that the king should hear them.

The king was sitting comfortably in his winter apartment, a warming fire burning before him. As the words of the scroll were read to him, he cut them off section by section and, to the horror of his officials, tossed them contemptuously into the fire. This utter disregard for the Word of the Lord brought down the judgment of God on him. The sentence was dire: "You have burned this scroll... Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: "He shall have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night..." - Jer. 36:29,30, NKJV

The clause concerning his ignominious death was literally fulfilled. He died unmourned, unburied, his body dragged away like a donkey's and thrown outside the gates of the city (Jer. 22:18,19). The clause concerning no son to sit on the throne seemed not to be immediately fulfilled, for his young 18-year-old son Jehoiachin did ascend the throne. Within three months, however, he was deported to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, and his uncle was installed as a puppet king ( 2 Kings 24:6-16).

But there is another tremendously interesting and illuminating aspect to the pronouncement that Jehoiakim would have no son to occupy the throne of David. Jehoiakim gave his son Jehoiachin another name, a name that was expressive of his callous complacency toward the Word of God. That name was Jeconiah (1 Chron. 3:16), meaning "Jah is establishing," and suggesting security, stability, strength. Despite God's pronouncements through the prophet Jeremiah, Jehoiakim, with contemptuous disdain, gave his son a name that ignored the predictions of impending doom.

But God called Jeconiah merely Coniah, and while literally Coniah signifies "Jah is creating," there does seem to be a play or pun on words in Jer. 22:24,25. Jehoiakim called his son Jehovah's signet ring. God called him merely signet ring. The Lord said, in effect, "Even if he were a signet ring on my finger, I would wrench him off!" God repudiated him, his name, and all that he stood for, because he was evil in the sight of the Lord. In fact, God pronounced a curse on Coniah, the terms of which debarred any of his descendants from ever occupying the throne of David: "Thus says the Lord: 'Write this man down as childless, a man who shall not prosper in his days; for none of his descendants shall prosper, sitting on the throne of David, and ruling anymore in Judah.'" - Jer. 22:30, NKJV

Through this curse on Coniah, the succession to the throne of David was abruptly terminated, and the Davidic line seemed doomed. The curse appeared to jeopardize God's unconditional promise to David. The promise and the curse were at variance. The promise meant that an authentic, legal heir of David would occupy the throne forever. The curse effectively cut the line after Coniah, debarring any of his descendants from ever occupying that throne.

That's where God's Miracle Baby comes in! Joseph was a direct descendant of Coniah (Jehoiachin) and therefore stood under the sanctions of the curse pronounced upon him (Matt. 1:6,11,16; Lk. 1:27). So were all of Joseph's sons-James, Judah, Joseph, Jr., and Simon (Matt. 13:55). So although Joseph was a direct descendant of David through the royal line of Solomon, neither he nor his sons could claim the throne because they were all under the curse of Coniah.

Mary, on the other hand, was a direct descendant of David through Nathan's line. Nathan's line was not the royal line and had no legal claim to the throne of David, but it was a blood line of David. His blood flowed in Mary's veins.

So God's Miracle Baby, the Lord Jesus Christ, through Mary has a legitimate claim to the throne of David, because He is the son of an actual, direct descendant of David through the line of Nathan. Mary's blood flowed in His veins. Through Joseph, his legal guardian, he also has a royal claim to the throne of David, having escaped the curse of Coniah through the miracle of the virgin birth. Joseph's blood did not flow in His veins.

In the terrible tension between the promise and the curse God had placed a lock upon the throne of David which only Christ could open. In the letter to the church in Philadelphia (Rev. 4:7), Christ is introduced as the One who holds the key of David. In a since Christ not merely holds the key, He is the key! HE IS THE ONLY JEW WHO EVER LIVED WHO CAN LAY CLAIM TO THE THRONE OF DAVID, AND TODAY HE SITS AT THE FATHER'S RIGHT HAND!

And there's an intriguing footnote of history to the case. When the legions of Titus overran and destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D., all the records and genealogies of the Jewish people, meticulously kept over the centuries, were destroyed-all, that is, except the two preserved for us intact in the gospels. And those two establish beyond any reasonable doubt Christ's legal claim to the throne of David!

When the angels appeared to the astonished shepherds that holy night centuries ago, they brought good news of great joy for all people: "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." - Luke 2:11, NKJV

In fulfillment of the unconditional promise given to David centuries before, the Greater Son of David was born in the very city of David. He is the Christ, the Anointed One, the Sovereign Lord, who will establish an eternal kingdom based on righteousness and peace.

At last through God's Miracle Baby--the Hinge of History--the curse was broken, and the promise was finally fulfilled. No wonder the angelic throng broke into praise, saying: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!" - Luke 2:14, NKJV