Music of the Way

Articles

Lance Byers
11/09/24 - Biblical Concepts

Music of the Way

“Music is awesome! It’s the closest thing we have to magic.” ~Mike Dirnt

“He was manifested in the flesh,

vindicated by the Spirit,

seen by the angels,

proclaimed among the nations,

believed on in the world,

taken up in glory.”

These words Paul wrote in I Timothy 3:16 are somewhat of a mystery. Typically, when we see words in verse form, we can point to a place in the Old Testament for reference, but this verse is different. When we look at the words, we understand he is talking about Christ. Scholars believe it is actually one of the first Christian hymns; the tune long lost to the passage of time.

Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs are described in Ephesians 5:19 are how we are to address each other in worship. The idea of “Psalms” is a clear reference to the original songbook of God’s people: the Book of Psalms. A “hymn” is a song which is of praise to God, and a “spiritual song” is meant for teaching and admonishment from Christians to one another.

“Awake, O sleeper,

and arise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.”

This passage from Ephesians 5:14 is likely a type of spiritual song early Christians would sing, and it would have, likely, been as familiar to the Ephesians as us saying to each other, “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound! That saved a wretch like me.”

Early Christians hymns would also sound very different from what we have today. The music we have in our hymnals is complicated. Filled with harmonies and rhythms virtually unknown before the seventh century. The song Jesus and His disciples would have sung before going to the Mount of Olives (Matthew 26:30 & Mark 14:26) would have sounded much like plain chant, still used in the traditional liturgical mass in the Catholic religion. They do this because their records show that it has been done that way since the beginning of Christian worship, and they are right. Both biblical and secular sources record Christians singing songs.

It is important to also understand that we are to sing and that, even though secular history records many Christians being fine musicians, we cannot find any record of them using those instruments in the worship service.

Be encouraged through music. In your daily life and in services. Let melodies and words wash over you and praise God for the seemingly magical properties of music.

Lance Byers

11/9/14