The New Testament emphasizes both the human and the divine sources of song. Music flows from human experience, and it no doubt also affects that experience. James seem to suggest that it is most logically associated with the emotion of Christian joy James 5:13James 5:13, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. . In Paul’s first letter to the Christians at Corinth, one verse (when read alone) seems to be saying that all musical worship should be equally emotional and cerebral 1 Corinthians1 Corinthians, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. . However, the scriptural context reveals that he is talking about two different experiences. Relating the verse to Ephesians 5:19 Ephesians 5:19Ephesians 5:19, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. and Colossians 3:16 Colossians 3:16Colossians 3:16, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. , it may be Paul is suggesting that he would sing “hymns” with the mind and “spiritual songs” with the spirit. In any experience of worship, our minds are engaged, no doubt, at different levels at different times; on occasion, perhaps most persons hear music more emotionally than rationally.

All of these functions of music in the early Christian community may be seen to support the expression of Christian faith. The passage in Colossians Colossians 3:16Colossians 3:16, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. , seems to be a clear biblical injunction to use song to learn doctrine and to teach Christian ethics. The early church sang of the divinity and the work of Christ to express their new faith; at the same time, they were teaching those doctrines to the catechumens, those who were still being trained in the faith but had not yet been baptized. Finally, and perhaps primarily, we should see Christian song as an offering to God in worship. Paul mentions this specifically in Hebrews Hebrews 13:15Hebrews 13:15, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. .

One of the Bible’s most significant contributions to church music is the broad spectrum of texts it has left for Christian worship. The psalms and canticles of the Old Testament and of Luke 1 and 2 have been the basis for worship expression for almost two thousand years. In addition, the New Testament hymns and many other passages in both Testaments have been used verbatim in anthems, motets, and cantatas, and have provided the inspiration for many of our extrabiblical hymns and Christian songs. The Scriptures will always be our best source for worship material; that which is not directly quoted or paraphrased is rightly expected to conform to Bible truth.

By inference, the scriptures also suggest proper functions for today’s church music. Both Old and New Testaments reveal a transcendent God who is the object of our adoration. From the New Testament, we understand more of the believer’s personal relationship with God through Christ, and also of his fellowship with other saints.

From Music and the Arts in Christian Worship, Abbott-Martyn Press, 1995. Used by permission.