Sing Today

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 5:15-21

Paul, writing to the Ephesian church, exhorted us to “Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart…” (Ephesians 5:19).

Do you see how this moves both ways? We address one another in our singing, and we make melody to the Lord. Your singing is sermonizing to your fellow believers. You are preaching the truth to each other. Yes, we are lifting our voices to the Lord, but we are also singing to be heard by each other.

I’ve been in those situations where a well-meaning worship leader will tell you something like, “close your eyes and shut out everyone around you and focus only on the Lord because our worship is for Him and not for the people around you.” I get what they are trying to do, but the problem is that isn’t the sole purpose of our singing. If that was all there was to it, we could do that in our car or out in the woods. And I think that is the conclusion some people have drawn from that kind of theology of worship.

But that is not all there is to worship. Worship is corporate because it is both horizontal and vertical. It both exalts the Savior and encourages the saints.