Church Music and Colossians 3:16

By David F. Detwiler

[David F. Detwiler is Associate Pastor, Branch Community Church, Harleysville, Pennsylvania.]

James Dunn has noted that Colossians 3:16 “is in fact one of only a handful of passages that give us some insight into the content and character of earliest Christian worship and enable us to say anything at all about it.”[1] Ralph Martin goes a step further, declaring that here exists “the best evidence we have that the early church, even in New Testament times, was a singing church.”[2] It is therefore surprising to discover that this crucial verse has received little in-depth attention in theological journals. This article seeks to rectify this situation and to encourage other Christian leaders to focus their attention—and especially their exegetical and theological skills—on what the apostle Paul said about music and worship in the church.[3]

The problem, however, as William Smith puts it, is that Colossians 3:16, presents “questions of syntax to which the interpreter is exceedingly hard put to find a certain answer.”[4] Comparing some of the best English translations of this verse makes it clear that there is considerable lack of agreement as to what it is actually saying.

The New Revised Standard Version, for example, translates the verse in such a way that each of the three clauses appears to have imperatival force in an independent sense (i.e., they read like three separate commands): “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.” The New International Version is similar, although the latter two clauses are related to the opening command (suggesting attendant circumstance): “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.”

However, the New American Standard Bible translates the verse quite differently, with the “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” being connected with “teaching and admonishing”: “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.”

Such divergent translations (however subtle the differences may be) raise the question, How do the various elements of this verse relate to each other? As Dunn asks, “Is it a coordinated series, the instruction explaining how the indwelling takes place, the singing as the means of (cf. Eph. 5:19) or the response to the instruction? Or is it an uncoordinated series, the elements appearing in different combinations in different gatherings?”[5]

After raising these questions, however, Dunn does not provide any meaningful analysis of the structure of the text. He simply remarks, “Unfortunately, we cannot tell, though the first clause is certainly the principal clause. Nevertheless, for those with liturgical interests, the details are of more than usual interest.”[6]

The Background and Setting of Colossians

Colossians, which Paul wrote while he was in prison (Col. 4:3, 10, 18), is addressed “to the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae” (1:2).[7] Colossae, mentioned in the New Testament only here, was a city of Phrygia in the Roman province of Asia Minor and was situated approximately one hundred miles east of Ephesus and eleven miles up the Lycus valley from Laodicea.[8] The population consisted primarily of indigenous Phrygian and Greek settlers (although some Jews resided there also).[9] “The Christians at Colossae lived in an environment of religious pluralism. They coexisted with people who worshipped Anatolian, Persian, Greek, Roman, and Egyptian deities and with Jews who were devoted to the worship of one god and the observance of Torah. The manner of devotion and religious expression was quite varied among the different groups.”[10]

Paul did not establish the church in Colossae (nor had he visited there before he wrote this epistle; 2:1; cf. Philem. 22). Rather, this was the work of Epaphras, a Colossian and a “fellow servant” of Paul (Col. 1:7–8; 4:12–13; Philem. 23).[11] Other Colossian believers included Onesimus, the runaway slave of Philemon, who was later converted by Paul (Col. 4:9; cf. the apostle’s letter to Philemon),12 Philemon, Apphia (probably Philemon’s wife), and Archippus (Philem. 1–2).

Almost nothing is known of the size of the Christian community in Colossae. There was at least one house church meeting in the home of Philemon, Apphia, and Archippus (Philem. 2), and perhaps two (if Nympha’s house church was located in or near Colossae, though Laodicea appears more likely; Col. 4:15). However, regardless of the number of local congregations, it is enough to conclude that such gatherings in a house for corporate worship would have been limited to what the house could hold—probably somewhere between thirty and fifty people.[13]

What is more certain about the followers of Christ in Colossae is that, while Paul was thankful for many things about them (1:3–6), they were beginning to show signs of syncretism, and this deeply concerned Paul and prompted his letter. As Arnold explains, “The fledgling Christian community at Colossae was perceived by Paul (perhaps through the report of Epaphras) as facing the threat of dangerous false teaching resembling aspects both of pagan religion as well as Judaism (see esp. Col. 2:6–23). Making an eloquent case for the sole-sufficiency of Christ in his letter, Paul admonishes these believers not to give credence to the claims of the false teachers but to hold firmly to the Lord Jesus Christ alone.”[14]

An Exegesis of Colossians 3:16

Colossians 3:16–17 concludes a marvelous passage of positive general exhortations that began in verse 12. Paul wrote these words to the believers in Colossae to encourage them to live out their new life in Christ (1:10; 2:6–7; 3:1–3), both in attitude and behavior, so that they might corporately reflect the grace and truth of Christ in a pagan society. These disciples were in fact “God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved” (3:12), and thus the life of the Christian community is the focus of these challenging verses.[15]

The concluding imperative of this section, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (v. 16), is followed by three participles (forming two clauses) that form a well-balanced sentence structure in Greek that can be arranged as follows:[16]

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly

in all wisdom

teaching and admonishing one another

[with] psalms, hymns, [and] spiritual songs

in the grace [ἐν τῇ χάριτι]

singing … to God

in your hearts.

The Imperative in the Verse

In Greek, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” is a present imperative, denoting the ongoing nature of the obedience required. The Colossian believers would have understood Paul to be saying, “Let the word of Christ continually dwell in you richly.”[17] By “the word of Christ” (ὁ λόγος τοῦ Χριστοῦ),[18] Paul meant either “the word spoken by Christ” (a subjective genitive), or “the teaching concerning Christ” (an objective genitive), or perhaps both.[19] The overall thrust of the letter seems to favor the objective genitive: “the message that centers on Christ”[20] (cf. 1:5, 15–20, 25; 4:3; Gal. 1:7; 1 Cor. 9:12; 2 Cor. 2:12).

This Christ-centered message is to “dwell” richly (ἐνοικείτω) within the Colossians (or better, in their midst),[21] meaning that it “is not merely to be present as a resident but it is to be operative as a powerful force.”[22] The adverb “richly” (πλουσίως; also used in 1 Tim. 6:17; Titus 3:6; 2 Pet. 1:11) helps clarify this understanding. Fee concludes that “the ‘riches’ of the gospel are to be present among them with great ‘richness.’ ”[23] This would be the case “if they paid heed to what they heard, bowed to its authority, assimilated its lessons, and translated them into daily living.”[24] Such joyful obedience is precisely the focus of the remainder of the verse.

The Participial Clauses that Follow the Imperative

As already noted, the command in Colossians 3:16 is followed by two participial clauses, both apparently introduced by a prepositional phrase, and both in the present tense (usually denoting contemporaneous action). But what is the significance of these participles in relation to the main verb? Are they dependent on the imperative or independent of it? If dependent, are they to be viewed as adverbial (or circumstantial) participles, or do they merely reflect attendant circumstance?[25] And if they are adverbial participles, with which category should they be identified?[26] These are not easy questions to answer (as Bible translators have already shown), but they cannot be ignored if one hopes to understand what this verse reveals about the role of music in worship.[27]

Wallace notes that “one’s exegetical skills get tested more with participles than with any other part of speech”[28] (which should cause exegetes to proceed with caution!). The reason for this, as all Greek grammars observe, is that “the logical relation of the circumstantial participle to the rest of the sentence is not expressed by the participle itself (apart from the future participle), but is to be deduced from the context,”[29] and “frequently several choices seem equally plausible.”[30] What choices fall within the range of possibility for Colossians 3:16?

Imperatival participles. A large number of interpreters believe that the participles occur here with imperatival force (a view reflected in the NRSV translation),[31] although this is by no means an indication of consensus among scholars___nor do any of those who hold to this view make a particularly strong case for it. Wallace believes that such a view “should be seriously questioned” here,[32] and that one must therefore carefully evaluate this position before drawing any conclusions.

One must keep in mind that “the participle in itself is never imperative” and to view it with such force “is the work of the interpreter to a large extent rather than of the grammarian.”[33] This goes a long way toward explaining the problematic nature of an imperatival category of verbal participles. Indeed, as Porter explains, “There has been a long-standing debate over whether the participle in NT Greek has a commanding sense (imperatival participle) when it is used independently (i.e. when it is not directly dependent upon a finite verb or any other structure, but is clearly linked in some way).”[34] Some scholars believe that no such category exists,[35] while others (in fact a good many grammarians) contend that, while they do exist, imperatival participles are rare in the New Testament.[36]

Interestingly most of the verses that are considered clear examples of imperatival participles are found in Romans 12 (vv. 9–19) and 1 Peter (2:12, 18; 3:1, 7, 9, 16; 4:8, 10).[37] Concerning the references in 1 Peter, it is significant that in every case the participles are in fact “used independently of a main verb and occur in a context where the imperative would ‘normally appear.’”[38] (This, however, is not the case with Colossians 3:16, as an imperative actually does appear as the main verb). Similarly the seventeen participles that occur in Romans 12 (most of which do seem to express imperatival force) do not seem to be directly dependent on a finite verb (the three seemingly random present imperatives that appear midway through the passage do not function at all like the command in Colossians 3:16).

Perhaps, as some have effectively argued, the use of imperatival participles in Romans 12 and 1 Peter is due to Semitic influence.[39] If this is the case, then one would not necessarily expect Paul to use imperatival participles in writing Colossians 3:12–17 to Colossians believers, most of whom were probably Gentiles.[40]

All this, however, is not to suggest that the participles in Colossians 3:16 are entirely devoid of any imperatival force. According to Carson, “When a participle functions as a circumstantial participle dependent on an imperative, it normally gains some imperatival force.”[41] The question is whether this should be viewed as the participle’s primary force. Perhaps it is best not to view the primary force of a participle as imperatival (i.e., viewing it as independent) when it is clearly attached to a verb (as is the case in Colossians 3:16).[42] Robertson (followed closely by Wallace) offers this advice: “In general it may be said that no participle should be explained in this way [as imperatival] that can properly be connected with a finite verb.”[43] As a basic rule this is altogether agreeable, with one important exception: Rogers has shown that when a verb in the imperative is preceded by a participle (especially an aorist participle), the chief force of that participle may be rightly viewed as imperatival.[44] However, since this is not the structure of Colossians 3:16, the reasonable conclusion here is that the participles are not imperatival. Carson confirms this understanding: “Computer studies of the Greek New Testament have shown that although a participle dependent on an imperative normally gains imperatival force when it precedes the imperative, its chief force is not normally imperatival when it follows the imperative.”[45]

Ultimately (and in light of all that has been said above), neither the grammar nor the context provides the interpreter with any particularly compelling reason to see the participles of Colossians 3:16 as primarily imperatival.

Attendant circumstance participles. A few commentators imply that the participial clauses merely express circumstances attendant to the main verb (giving the sense of “as you teach and admonish”; a view reflected in the NIV translation).[46] While this is contextually possible, Wallace doubts that such a designation is best here, because the participles do not fit the normal pattern for attendant circumstance.[47] Further, he notes that “if a participle makes good sense when treated as an adverbial participle, we should not seek to treat it as attendant circumstance.”[48] This is indeed the case with Colossians 3:16, as will be seen.

Result participles. Among the categories of adverbial participles that seem to fit here is that of result (expressing the evidence or outcome of the indwelling word).[49] However, while this view makes a certain amount of sense contextually[50] (and at least one commentator seems to hold to it),[51] it is not the best choice.

Instrumental participles. More likely, the participles here carry either modal or instrumental force. A “modal participle” expresses the manner in which the action of the main verb is accomplished, and an “instrumental” participle expresses the means by which the action of the main verb is carried out.[52] While the two are similar, “pragmatically, the participle of manner refers to the emotion (or sometimes attitude) that accompanies the main verb. In this sense, it ‘adds color’ to the story. It could appropriately be called the participle of style. This contrasts with the participle of means which defines the action of the main verb. The key question which must be asked is, Does this participle explain or define the action of the main verb (means), or does it merely add extra color to the action of the main verb (manner)?”[53]

This being the case (and since participles of manner are relatively rare),[54] it seems reasonable to view the participial clauses of Colossians 3:16 as having instrumental force.[55] In other words the way in which the Colossians were to let the word of Christ dwell richly in their midst was by “teaching and admonishing one another” and by “singing in [their] hearts to God.” Such a view makes sense both contextually and logically, and it is the view presented in the following discussion.[56]

Clause One: “in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another”

Most commentators agree that the prepositional phrase “in all wisdom” (ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ) marks the beginning of the following clause as opposed to qualifying the preceding imperative.[57] This makes sense in light of Colossians 1:28, where Paul spoke of “admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom,” and in consideration of the phrase itself, which seems to indicate “the manner in which the teaching and admonition are to occur”[58] (cf. 1:9; 2:3, 23; 4:5).

The participles themselves, “teaching” (διδάσκοντες) and “admonishing” (νουθετοῦντες; cf. Acts 20:31; 1 Cor. 4:14; 1 Thess. 5:12; 2 Thess. 3:15; Titus 1:11), seem to “describe respectively the positive and negative side of instruction.”[59] They appear together in Colossians 1:28, where Paul described the ministry of himself and other leaders. Here, however, they are qualified by “one another” (ἑαυτούς), giving clear evidence that “Paul did not consider ‘ministry’ to be the special province of either apostles or office holders.”[60] The Colossian believers were to do far more than appreciate and benefit from the service of their leaders; they were to be committed to ministering to each other as well (cf. Rom. 15:14; 1 Thess. 5:11).

After ἑαυτούς the phrase “psalms, hymns, [and] spiritual songs” appears in the verse. Grammatically these datives naturally qualify the preceding participles (“teaching and admonishing”), while conceptually they appear more suitable with the following participle (“singing”). However, the former is almost certainly the correct understanding.[61] To assign these datives to “singing” would create an overload of qualifying statements and destroy the symmetry of the two participial clauses. Also to assign them to “teaching and admonishing” is consistent with the unambiguous parallel of Ephesians 5:19 (“speaking [λαλοῦντες] to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs”) and with the fact that “recent study of NT hymnody has shown that within early Christian hymns both didactic and hortatory elements are featured.”[62] Moule confirms this understanding. “On the face of it, it is not obvious how one instructs and admonishes with psalms, etc.; but there is no denying that Eph. v.19 leaves no choice but to ‘speak to one another in psalms’ etc.; and presumably the use of music and utterances of praise may be didactic (cf. I Cor. xiv.26ff).”[63]

This is not to say that teaching and admonishing can (or should) only take place by means of “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” (Paul’s letters themselves suggest otherwise). However, the apostle was clearly emphasizing that Christian songs are of great importance in this regard.[64]

“With psalms, hymns and spiritual songs”

When Paul referred to “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” (ψαλμοῖς, ὕμνοις, ᾠδαῖς πνευματικαῖς), was he referring to three kinds of songs to be sung in Christian worship or are the terms essentially synonymous? Bastiaensen points out that the terms have been viewed as distinct. “In the Greek Christian world [from the third century onward] a technical terminology had come into being with regard to the songs of the Old Testament: psalmos denoting a ‘psalm’ from the Book of Psalms, humnos the song of the children in the furnace from Daniel [cf. the apocryphal additions, inserted between 3:23 and 3:24], ode the songs ascribed to Moses and to other biblical figures. But this specialization did not prevent other meanings from the Jewish-Christian tradition remaining in use.”[65]

John Calvin, at the time of the Reformation, followed the apparently common understanding of his day, namely, that “a psalm is sung to the accompaniment of some musical instrument; a hymn is properly a song of praise, whether it be sung simply with the voice or otherwise; an ode contains not merely praises, but exhortations and other matters.”[66] Today, however, the vast majority of commentators agree with Barth and Blanke, who state that “an exact specific differentiation and a generic ordering of the terms psalmos, humnos, ode are not possible based on their usage in the NT (as well as in the LXX).”[67] This is indeed what is found.

The term ψαλμός occurs seven times in the New Testament (Luke 20:42; 24:44; Acts 1:20; 13:33; 1 Cor. 14:26; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). In Luke’s writings each case refers to the Old Testament psalms, whereas this is less certain in Paul’s letters. In fact in 1 Corinthians 14:26, where Paul remarked, “When you assemble, each one has a psalm” (NASB), the context suggests that it is highly unlikely that Old Testament psalms are in view.[68] Rather, “this probably refers to songs composed by members of the congregation, which they then present in the worship service.”[69] It would appear, then, that Paul was comfortable with using the word “psalm” in a less than technical sense.

In the Septuagint ψαλμός is found in over sixty of the psalm titles, but ᾠδή (“song”) appears in thirty-six psalm titles as well (with the two often occurring together in the same titles; e.g., Pss. 65–68 [LXX 64–67]). Interestingly ψαλμός is also found in the titles of seven of the pseudepigraphal Psalms of Solomon (first century b.c.), but ὕμνος (“hymn”) is found in the titles of three others, with “no discernible difference in style or content.”[70]

Usage of ψαλμός in Philo and Josephus is similarly instructive: “Philo does not have the term, either for ‘plucking of strings,’ or for ‘song of praise’ or ‘psalm.’ Quoting from David’s psalms he uses humnos or one of its derivatives … It would appear that he deliberately avoids psalmos, unfamiliar in the meaning of ‘song’ to a heathen audience. The evidence from Josephus points in the same direction. He has psalmos and psallein several times, but always in the meaning of ‘plucking strings,’ ‘playing a stringed instrument.’

For the psalms he uses humnoi and odai, sometimes together.”[71]

The word ὕμνος occurs in the New Testament only in Colossians 3:16 and Ephesians 5:19. The verb ὑμνέω (“sing a hymn”) occurs four times (Matt. 26:30 = Mark 14:26; Acts 16:25; Heb. 2:12 [quoting Ps. 22:22]), with its first appearance (Matt. 26:30) almost certainly referring to the singing of an Old Testament psalm (or psalms).[72] In that passage Jesus and His disciples were gathered to share in the Passover meal (Matt. 26:18), and their time together ended with the singing of a hymn. In that context it is highly probable that “the ‘hymn’ here refers to the second part of the Hallel (probably Pss. 113–18), which is sung after the concluding prayer of the actual Passover meal over the fourth goblet of wine.”[73]

In the Septuagint ὕμνος occurs twenty-eight times (with the verb ὕμνέω occurring seventy-one times). This includes appearances in the titles of six psalms (Pss. 6, 54, 55, 61, 67, 76), as well as in the conclusion to Book 2 of the Psalms: B.XTE||The prayers [ὕμνοι] of David the son of Jesse are ended” (72:20). Further, turning to Philo and Josephus, “The term humnos, besides applying to David’s psalms, is frequent in both authors in its original broad meaning of ‘religious song,’ qualifying even songs in honour of pagan gods.”[74]

The term ᾠδή, aside from its appearance in Colossians 3:16 and Ephesians 5:19, occurs in the New Testament only in the Book of Revelation, and always with a modifier (5:9 and 14:3, “new song”; 15:3, “song of Moses” and “song of the Lamb”; cf. Eph. 5:19 and Col. 3:16, “spiritual songs”). This may be explained as follows: “The words psalmos and humnos have in themselves a specifically religious import, whereas the more general ode could more readily be understood as either a religious or a profane song.”[75] However, it should be noted that in the Septuagint the word always refers to a song sung in praise of God (including, as noted above, its appearance in the titles of thirty-six psalms), and in Philo and Josephus it appears “often accompanying ὕμνοι in its broad sense to denote songs in praise of God.”[76]

The modifier “spiritual” (πνυεματικαῖς) agrees in gender with the nearest noun, ᾠδαῖς, but it can as easily be qualifying all three nouns, and this may in fact be the case.[77] However “since ode is the widest term, denoting any type of song, and psalmos always and humnos usually bear a religious sense, a restriction of the meaning of ode is apposite.”[78] Πνυεματικαῖς itself ordinarily refers to spiritual things, and so Fee concludes that “this most likely indicates a kind of ‘charismatic hymnody’ in which Spirit-inspired, and therefore often spontaneous, songs were offered in the context of congregational worship” (cf. 1 Cor. 14:15–16, 26). He adds, however, that “it is doubtful, as some contemporary charismatics would have it, that it includes singing in tongues as well, since one neither teaches nor admonishes with unintelligible words.”[79]

Apparently, then, “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” are not to be understood as three specific or distinct categories of Christian songs (although the tendency to view them in this way often remains even after studying the terms).[80] The New Testament, the Septuagint, and the writings of Philo and Josephus all seem to support this conclusion. However, this is not to say that the use of the three terms is entirely insignificant (as Paul was surely expressing more than a tendency to be redundant!). There is indeed “a certain diversity about the terms,”[81] and therefore Paul was probably indicating something of the variety and richness that was to characterize the songs included in corporate worship.[82] This much can be reasonably affirmed. The question of whether New Testament believers sang Old Testament psalms simply cannot be decided on the basis of the three terms Paul used here.[83]

Clause Two: “singing in your hearts to God”

The second participial clause (also dependent on the opening imperative, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly”) is related to the previous one, in which the Colossians were called to teach and admonish one another with a variety of songs. Paul now, however, called for the believers’ singing to be directed to God. This balance is important to understand and leads Fee to observe that each of the clauses “expresses the twin dimensions of Christian worship___horizontal and vertical___with the various kinds of songs as the ‘swing component’ that conceptually ties the two parts together.”[84]

The opening prepositional phrase ἐν τῇ χάριτι is often translated “with gratitude,” which is both lexically possible (cf. 1 Cor. 10:30) and thematically consistent (cf. Col. 3:15, 17).[85] However, “there is no other place in the NT where χάρις means ‘gratitude’ when the article appears with it”[86] (and τῇ is indeed found here).

The article also appears with it in 4:18 (cf. Phil. 1:7), giving the sense of “God’s grace,” which is how it should be thought of in Colossians 3:16. With the preposition ἐν, the phrase can be translated “in the grace [of God]” (or perhaps “by the grace [of God]”), probably referring to “our standing in grace that makes such singing come from the heart.”[87] Fee concludes, “Thus the focus is not so much on our attitude toward God as we sing, but on our awareness of his attitude toward us that prompts such singing in the first place.”[88]

The participle “singing” (ᾄδοντες, from ᾄδω; cf. Eph. 5:19; Rev. 5:9; 14:3; 15:3), according to the previous discussion, probably carries instrumental force in relation to the main verb. Thus it further clarifies how the Colossians were to let the word of Christ richly dwell in their midst. With a growing understanding of God’s grace, they were to embrace the teaching about Christ with devotion and joy, singing the praises of their great and glorious God.

The phrase ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν (“in your hearts”) is often connected with ἐν τῇ χάριτι, giving the sense of “with gratitude [or grace] in your hearts” (niv, nrsv; cf. nasb), but it most naturally modifies the participle that immediately precedes it. Thus the phrase should read, “singing in your hearts.” This is not to say that the singing should remain in the heart, as if Paul were advocating some sort of silent praise. Rather, the apostle was simply underscoring the fact that true worship (when it is offered in song, or in any other way) originates in the heart and is an expression of the entire person (Isa. 29:13; Matt. 15:8). “The voice must express the praise of the heart if the singing is to be really addressed to God.”[89]

The final phrase, “to God,” makes it clear that such wholehearted singing is to be directed to the Lord. As with the previous phrase, some connect τῷ θεῷ with ἐν τῇ χάριτι, resulting in the rendering “with gratitude [or grace] in your hearts to God” (niv; cf. nrsv), but this is probably incorrect.[90] As Fee explains, “Since the dative ‘to God’ not only goes naturally with the participle ‘singing,’ but also stands closer to it in the sentence, it is altogether unlikely that Paul intended it to modify ἐν τῇ χάριτι (even if he did intend ‘with gratitude’).”[91] Thus singing that is to be directed to one another for the purpose of instruction and admonition is at the same time to be directed wholeheartedly to God.

Some Implications for Church Music

What does all this say about the role of music in church worship? The following implications may be offered as a step in applying Colossians 3:16 to Christian worship and music today.

First, church music has a horizontal as well as a vertical dimension. As Crichton has concluded, “In the liturgy there is vertical movement, the out-going of man to God. But there is also a horizontal movement. Liturgy is celebrated with others and the relationships between the members of the worshipping community are of the highest importance. Private acts of public worship are a contradiction in terms.”[92] Paul made it clear that believers are to sing wholeheartedly to God and are to teach and admonish each other with a variety of songs.[93]

This applies primarily to one’s attitude and understanding in times of corporate worship. As Christians assemble for worship, they are not merely individuals expressing personal worship to the Lord; they are also members of one congregation who have the responsibility of encouraging each another through music. Both of these dimensions must be kept in mind. Believers may benefit from asking themselves, “What am I communicating to those around me during our times of singing to the Lord?” And, “How am I building up others as we worship in song together?”

This dual understanding may also be applied to the songs chosen for corporate worship. Some should be addressed to God, while others ought to be directed to the congregation, and still others may include both perspectives. Nowhere is such balanced worship better exemplified than in the Book of Psalms (see in particular Psalms 30, 66, 95, 104, as examples of songs with a dual emphasis). Such marvelous expressions of praise serve as models of the kind of songs that will help churches today maintain these two dimensions of music in worship.

Second, church music is an important means of instructing each other in the faith. Paul’s desire expressed in Colossians 3:16 is that the word of Christ would dwell richly in the community of believers, and this could be accomplished by means of mutual edification and praise to God through song.

This may be difficult to understand and apply, but as Dunn writes, “Prior to the invention of printing, hymns and songs were a necessary and invaluable means of implanting Christian teaching___and even after.”[94] Furthermore truth set to music has the potential to engage the whole person (and not just the mind), as illustrated in the following prayer of Augustine as he reflected on the days soon after his conversion: “How much I wept at your hymns and canticles, deeply moved by the voices of your sweetly singing church. Those voices flowed into my ears, and the truth was poured out in my heart, whence a feeling of piety surged up and my tears ran down. And these things were good for me.”[95]

Music is indeed a powerful tool that can strengthen and encourage believers to obey “the word of Christ.”[96] They do well to remember this and to approach these times of singing with undivided hearts and minds that are ready to learn, eager to serve, and longing to glorify the Lord (cf. Ps. 86:11–13).[97]

Third, church music should be primarily verbal in character. While the emotional impact of the melody can (and should) greatly enhance the message being sung,[98] it is this message___the word of Christ___that is of utmost importance (cf. Rom. 10:17). As Melick states, “The medium of music, therefore, must remain secondary to the message it conveys. Music [in worship] is legitimate only when it is a medium pointing beyond itself to the exhorting and encouraging of other believers and the evangelization of unbelievers. Christian musicians must give primary attention to what is communicated and secondary attention to how it is communicated.”[99]

In other words worship leaders should be sure that lyrics of the songs they select accurately reflect biblical truth and are understandable. In addition instrumental accompaniment must serve to highlight and reinforce the words being sung.[100]

Fourth, church music should be largely Christological in content. Beyond the general implication of being primarily verbal in character, worship should specifically highlight truths concerning Christ. According to Paul there was nothing more important to the life and ministry of the church at Colossae (or anywhere, for that matter) than an ever-deepening Christology. Colossians 3:16 (and the letter as a whole) makes this explicit.

Believers gather not only to celebrate Christ with joyful abandon, but also to deepen their understanding of who He is and what He has done for them.[101] As Peter wrote, Christians are to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18), and their singing should contribute to such growth. Those who compose Christian songs and those who lead in corporate worship should keep this focus in mind.

Fifth, church music should be characterized by active participation. Paul clearly stated that the Colossians were to teach and admonish one another with singing. In fact nowhere did the apostle ever suggest that those gathered for worship are to be an audience. As Webber has memorably and emphatically put it, “WORSHIP IS A VERB. It is not something done to us or for us, but by us.”[102]

Therefore “music of the congregation needs to be congregational.

Old or new or specific styles are not nearly so important as whether unrehearsed congregations can sing the music.”[103] Worship leaders must remember this.[104] However, this is not to imply that there is no place for solos or other so-called “special music” in church; it is only to emphasize that opportunities should abound for people to contribute to and participate in the musical aspects of worship (cf. 1 Cor. 14:26). The health and growth of the Christian community depends on it.[105]

Sixth, church music should include a rich variety of songs. The diversity implicit in the phrase “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” suggests that all kinds of songs should be utilized in church worship.[106] Again the Psalms are instructive here, as are the various hymns allegedly scattered throughout the New Testament. Some are joyful expressions of praise and thanksgiving, while others provide profound statements of biblical doctrine. Further many psalms give wings to troubled emotions, while others provide words of challenge and encouragement to God’s people.[107]

In addition the phrase “spiritual songs,” if referring to spontaneous songs inspired by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 14:15–16, 26), suggests that there is also a need for variety in the origin of the music shared in congregational worship. Long-established songs, such as Old Testament psalms or Christological hymns, provide a rich heritage of worship expressions for the church, but new expressions are to be just as welcome—if they serve to teach and admonish the congregation. “We should recognize that a lively, spontaneous, charismatic worship … continued to be a feature of the Pauline churches (including those he had not himself founded or visited), at least for the full length of his own ministry.”[108] Balance is the key concerning the variety that should characterize our times of worship.

Seventh, church music must be expressed with sincerity and devotion. As Best points out, “It is not what music does to us, it is what we choose to do with music, by virtue of the condition of our heart.”[109] The phrase “in your hearts” suggests that worshipers must do everything they can to ensure that they are not merely paying lip service to God (and to one another) when they sing together. May Isaiah’s words never be fulfilled among us: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men” (Isa. 29:13; cf. Matt. 15:8–9).

Furthermore each believer’s life should be a sincere and encouraging “song” to others as well as a sweet sacrifice of praise to God. As the writer of Hebrews put it, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased” (13:15–16). Augustine understood this point perfectly: “Let not your voice alone sound the praises of God; but let your works also be in harmony with your voice…. To please then the ear, sing with your voice; but with your heart be not silent, with your life be not still.”[110]

Eighth, church music is encouraged by a proper understanding of God’s grace. The phrase “in the grace [of God]” suggests that Christian singing will be greatly enhanced as believers grow in their understanding of God’s wonderful grace (cf. Zeph. 3:14–17). Paul himself frequently burst into expressions of praise as he contemplated the grace and mercy of God (see, e.g., Rom. 11:33–36; 2 Cor. 1:3–6; Eph. 1:3–14). Worship leaders would do well to emphasize God’s grace constantly, for this will lead not only to powerful, heartfelt worship, but also to joyful obedience where the word of Christ dwells richly in the Christian community.

Notes

1. James D. G. Dunn, The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996), 236.
2. Ralph P. Martin, The Worship of God: Some Theological, Pastoral, and Practical Reflections (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982), 51.
3. Besides Colossians 3:16 Paul also addressed the subject of music in 1 Corinthians 14:15, 26 and Ephesians 5:18–21.
4. William Sheppard Smith, Musical Aspects of the New Testament (Amsterdam: Uitgeverif W. Ten Have N. V., 1962) 168.
5. Dunn, The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, 236.
6. Ibid.
7. Scripture quotations are from the New International Version unless noted otherwise.
8. Churches existed in both of these important cities, and, no doubt because of proximity, the Colossians apparently enjoyed a special relationship with the believers in Laodicea (cf. Col. 2:1; 4:16).
9. Peter T. O’Brien, “Colossians, Letter to the,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. Gerald F. Hawthorne and Ralph P. Martin (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1993), 147.
10. Clinton E. Arnold, The Colossian Syncretism: The Interface between Christianity and Folk Belief at Colossae (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996), 310.
11. Epaphras was probably converted and commissioned as a church planter sometime in Paul’s two-and-a-half-year ministry in Ephesus (Acts 19:10).
12. Probably Philemon was sent at the same time as Paul’s letter to the Colossians (see Col. 4:9 and Philem. 10–19).
13. Robert Banks, Paul’s Idea of Community, rev. ed. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994), 35–36.
14. Clinton E. Arnold, “Colossae,” in Anchor Bible Dictionary, ed. David Noel Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 1:1089.
15. While Curtis Vaughan believes that “verses 16, 17 focus attention on matters that have to do more directly with the personal life” (“Colossians,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1978], 11:216), Gordon Fee is surely correct in stating that “these are not words for the individual believer, but for believers as the people of God in relationship with one another” (God’s Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul [Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994], 649). See also Dunn, The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, 237; and Joachim Gnilka, Der Kolosserbrief (Freiburg: Herder, 1980), 200.
16. Commenting on this verse over a century ago, H. A. W. Meyer rightly suggests that “the symmetry of the. .. participial clauses, each of which begins with ἐν .. . ought not to be abandoned without some special reason” (Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Epistles to the Philippians and Colossians [New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1875], 448). Cf. Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, 653, n. 68; and Richard R. Melick Jr., Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman, 1991), 303, n. 44.
17. “The present aspect is used in this context to urge continuing and ongoing activity” (Dave Mathewson, “Verbal Aspect in Imperatival Constructions in Pauline Ethical Injunctions,” Filologia Neotestamentaria 9 [May 1996]: 34).
18. “Instead of the unusual expression ‘the word of Christ,’ which occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, several witnesses substitute the more customary ‘the word of God’ or ‘the word of the Lord’ ” (Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament [New York: United Bible Societies, 1975], 625).
19. Dunn writes, “It can denote both the word (gospel) of which (the) Christ is the content, and the word which (the) Christ spoke (Jesus tradition); there is no reason why the genitive form should be pressed to an either-or decision (either objective or subjective)” (The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, 236).
20. Peter T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon, Word Biblical Commentary (Waco, TX: Word, 1982), 206. See also Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, 650; Murray J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon: An Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 166; Eduard Lohse, Colossians and Philemon, Hermeneia (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1971), 150; and Michael Wolter, Der Brief an die Kolosser (Gutersloh: Gerd Mohn, 1993), 189.
21. Concerning the prepositional phrase ἐν ὑμῖν, Fee writes, “even though it modifies the verb ‘indwell’ and would ordinarily mean ‘within you’ [cf. Rom. 8:11; 2 Tim. 1:14], [it] must here mean ‘in your midst’ ” (God’s Empowering Presence, 649). Also Petr Pokorny says the community as a whole is in view, and he renders the phrase “among you,” (Colossians: A Commentary [Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1991], 173, n. 80), as does F. F. Bruce (The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984], 157) and, with less certainty, Dunn (The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, 237). See also T. K. Abbott, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles to the Ephesians and to the Colossians, International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: Clark, 1897), 290.
22. Harris, Colossians and Philemon, 167.
23. Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, 650. Or as O’Brien puts it, “the gospel is to have its gracious and glorious way in their lives” (Colossians, Philemon, 207).
24. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, 158.
25. See the helpful discussion of these two subcategories of dependent verbal participles in Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 622–45.
26. Most recent grammars list up to eight categories of dependent verbal participles (see, e.g., Stanley E. Porter, Idioms of the Greek New Testament, 2d ed. [Sheffield: JSOT, 1994], 187–92; Richard A. Young, Intermediate New Testament Greek: A Linguistic and Exegetical Approach [Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1994], 153–57; and Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics, 623–37).
27. It is surprising to discover that most commentators say little or nothing about these important syntactical questions. None explores the full range of possible answers before stating a preferred position.
28. Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics, 613.
29. F. Blass and A. Debrunner, A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, trans. and rev. Robert W. Funk (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1961), 215. Wallace adds, “The context has more influence on participles than on any other area of Greek grammar. In other words, for most participles, one cannot simply look at the structure to determine what kind of participle it is” (Greek Grammar beyond the Basics, 613 [italics his]).
30. James L. Boyer, “The Classification of Participles: A Statistical Study,” Grace Theological Journal 5 (1984): 169. A. T. Robertson adds, “Only the context can tell, and men do not always interpret the context correctly” (A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research [Nashville: Broadman, 1934], 1125).
31. Commentators include Markus Barth and Helmut Blanke, Colossians, Anchor Bible, trans. Astrid B. Beck (New York: Doubleday, 1994), 427; Hans Hubner, An Philemon an die Kolosser an die Epheser, Handbuch zum Neuen Testament (Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1997), 108; Lohse, Colossians and Philemon, 150, n. 141; and J. B. Lightfoot, St. Paul’s Epistles to the Colossians (New York: Macmillan, 1886), 222. Grammarians include James Hope Moulton, “Prolegomena,” in A Grammar of New Testament Greek, 3d ed. (Edinburgh: Clark, 1908), 1:181; Blass and Debrunner, A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 245; and, with much less certainty, Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament, 1133; Nigel Turner, Syntax, vol. 3 of James Hope Moulton, A Grammar of New Testament Greek (Edinburgh: Clark, 1963), 343; Stanley E. Porter, Verbal Aspects in the Greek of the New Testament with Reference to Tense and Mood (New York: Peter Lang, 1989), 377–78; and Buist M. Fanning, Verbal Aspect in New Testament Greek (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990), 387.
32. Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics, 652.
33. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament, 1133.
34. Porter, Idioms of the Greek New Testament, 185. See his detailed discussion in Verbal Aspects in the Greek of the New Testament, 370–77.
35. See, for example, Boyer, “The Classification of Participles,” 173.
36. “This is a peculiarity of koine Greek, found in the New Testament and the papyri. Only a few examples of it, however, occur in the New Testament” (H. E. Dana and Julius R. Mantey, A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament [New York: Macmillan, 1955], 229). See also Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics, 650; James A. Brooks and Carlton L. Winbery, Syntax of New Testament Greek (Boston: University Press of America, 1979), 152; and Young, Intermediate New Testament Greek, 160. Fee observes that “the so-called imperatival participle is not nearly as certain as some avow” (God’s Empowering Presence, 719). Turner, by contrast, believes that “it is common in the Koine” (Syntax, 343).
37. So Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics, 651; and Young, Intermediate New Testament Greek, 160.
38. Cleon Rogers, “The Great Commission,” Bibliotheca Sacra 130 (July-September 1973): 259.
39. This case is argued extensively by David Daube, “Participle and Imperative in 1 Peter,” in Edward Gordon Selwyn, The First Epistle of Saint Peter, 2d ed. (London: Macmillan, 1947; reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1981), 467–88, and has been defended more recently (presenting a new source, The Manual of Discipline [1QS]) by Philip Kanjuparambil, “Imperatival Participles in Rom 12:9–21, ” Journal of Biblical Literature (June 1983): 285-88. C. F. D. Moule writes that “a strong case can be made for tracing at least some [imperatival participles] to Semitic influence” (An Idiom Book of New Testament Greek, 2d ed. [London: Cambridge University Press, 1959], 180).
40. O’Brien, “Colossians, Letter to the,” 148.
41. D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), 8:595. Cf. Fanning, Verbal Aspect in New Testament Greek, 386.
42. “Certainly no participle should be explained as an independent participle if there is any other way to explain it” (Brooks and Winbery, Syntax of New Testament Greek, 152).
43. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament, 1133–34. Cf. Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics, 650.
44. Rogers supplies numerous examples from both the Septuagint and the Gospel of Matthew (“The Great Commission,” 259–61).
45. Carson, “Matthew,” 597.
46. This seems to be the position of John Eadie, Commentary on the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians (1856; reprint, Minneapolis: James and Klock, 1977), 251; and O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon, 195 (reflected in his translation).
47. Wallace identifies five features that occur in at least 90 percent of the instances of attendant circumstance participles: (1) The tense of the participle is usually aorist; (2) the tense of the main verb is usually aorist; (3) The mood of the main verb is usually imperative or indicative; (4) the participle precedes the main verb___both in word order and time of event; and (5) such participles occur frequently in narrative literature and infrequently elsewhere (Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics, 641–42).
48. Ibid., 640.
49. Wallace writes, “Although most grammars do not include this as a separate category, such is not due to linguistic principle (contra Young, Intermediate Greek, who calls it ‘rather rare’ and a ‘debated category’ [157]). The result participle is usually mixed in with the attendant circumstance participles, following Burton’s lead (Moods and Tenses, 173–74 [§449–51]). But that is looking at the matter purely from an English viewpoint. The two should be distinguished because of structural and semantic differences” (ibid., 637, n. 63).
50. A community in which the word of Christ was dwelling richly would surely be well equipped to teach and admonish one another.
51. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon, 207. While his translation suggests attendant circumstance participles (which, in his mind, may include the idea of result [ibid., 195]), his comments on the verse suggest that the participles carry resultive force.
52. See Brooks and Winbery, Syntax of New Testament Greek, 149–50. Porter does not distinguish between participles of manner and means (both are included in his instrumental category) (Idioms of the Greek New Testament, 192). See Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament, 1128; and Wallace, who explains that “there is much confusion between [the participle of manner] and the participle of means. The reason is that both answer the question, ‘How?’ However, beyond this initial question, there is usually little similarity” (Greek Grammar beyond the Basics, 627). “Most grammars and commentaries,” he adds, “make either little distinction between these two or define manner in a way that is much closer to our definition of means.. .. However, there are usually clear semantic differences. What is at stake is for the most part a terminological issue, not a substantive one. When commentators speak of the ‘modal participle’ (a term that fits both means and manner), it is best to regard most such identifications as participles of means” (ibid., italics his). It may be helpful to note that some grammars and commentaries use the term “conjunctive” when referring to a participle that carries modal or instrumental force.
53. Ibid., 627.
54. Ibid.
55. Barth and Blanke reject the idea that these participles are instrumental. However, their argument is based on their understanding of Colossians 1:6, where they view the “word” being discussed as a sovereignly acting person. This leads them to conclude that “after the elucidation about sovereignty over the world, it would be difficult to agree on a statement according to which the dwelling of this word is brought about through human action” (Colossians, 426–27).
56. Many scholars hold this view, including Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, 651, n. 61); Harris, Colossians and Philemon, 168; Pokorny, Colossians: A Commentary, 174; Meyer, Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Epistles to the Philippians and Colossians, 448; and David Peterson, Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), 222, n. 7. Peterson writes, “The lengthy clause in Col. 3:16 beginning with the words en pase sophia didaskontes kai nouthetountes heautous gives a definition of the way in which they are to let the word of Christ dwell richly in their midst” (ibid., italics his). Interestingly O’Brien believes that a modal (by which he seems to mean “instrumental”) definition is given to the preceding clause. Thus he says, “As the word of Christ richly indwells the Colossians, so by means of its operation they will ‘teach and admonish one another’ ” and “the teaching and admonishing in all wisdom arise from the indwelling of the word” (Colossians, Philemon, 207). This then seems to give the participial clauses a resultive force, which is contextually possible but not preferable.
57. See Dunn, The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, 211, n. 14; and Gnilka, Der Kolosserbrief, 200.
58. O’Brien, Colossians and Philemon, 208. Cf. Harris, Colossians and Philemon, 167; Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, 652; Barth and Blanke, Colossians, 427; and Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, 158.
59. Lightfoot, St. Paul’s Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, 222.
60. Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, 649.
61. Supporters of this position include Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, 652–53; O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon, 208–9; Gnilka, Der Kolosserbrief, 200; Pokorny, Colossians: A Commentary, 174; Lightfoot, St. Paul’s Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, 222; Wayne A. Meeks, The First Urban Christians: The Social World of the Apostle Paul (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1983), 146; and Martin Hengel, Between Jesus and Paul, trans. John Bowden (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983), 7. Note also Dunn, The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, 211, n. 14, and 237.
62. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon, 209.
63. C. F. D. Moule, The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and to Philemon, Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1957), 125.
64. Writing at the end of the fourth century, John Chrysostom commented on this understanding of Colossians 3:16. “Observe also the considerateness of Paul. Since reading is laborious and very tiring, he did not lead you to histories but to psalms, so that you could by singing both delight your spirit and lighten the burden” (In Colossenses, Homilies 9.2, quoted in James McKinnon, Music in Early Christian Literature [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987], 87). Cf. Hengel, “Hymns and Christology,” 80.
65. A. A. R. Bastiaensen, “Psalmi, hymni and cantica in Early Jewish-Christian Tradition,” in Studia Patristica 21 (Leuven: Peeters, 1989), 23.
66. John Calvin, The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philemon, Colossians (reprint, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965), 353.
67. Barth and Blanke, Colossians, 427. Hubner is the most recent commentator to disagree with this position (An Philemon an dieKolosser an die Epheser, 108).
68. Ralph P. Martin writes, “In a Hellenistic environment such as Corinth there is no certainty that psalmos would be interpreted according to its LXX background [where it occurs frequently in the psalm titles], and in any case the ‘hymn’ of 1 Corinthians 14:26 seems clearly to be a newly produced composition made available by a gifted member of the church” (“Worship,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. Gerald F. Hawthorne and Ralph P. Martin [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1993], 986).
69. Hengel, “Hymns and Christology,” 79. Cf. G. Delling, “ὕμνος, ὕμνέω, ψάλλω, ψαλμός,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Friedrich, trans. and ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972), 8:499; and Horst Balz, “ψάλμος,” in Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Horst Balz and Gerhard Schneider (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), 3:495.
70. Delling, “ὕμνος, ὕμνέω, ψάλλω, ψαλμός,” 8:493, n. 34.
71. Bastiaensen, “Psalmi, hymni, and cantica in Early Jewish-Christian Tradition,” 17.
72. K. H. Bartels, however, differs with this view (“Song, Hymn, Psalm,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, ed. Colin Brown [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1978], 3:669–70).
73. M. Rutenfranz, “ὑμνέω, ὕμνος,” in Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament, 3:393. Cf. Carson, “Matthew,” 539; and Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992), 662.
74. Bastiaensen, “Psalmi, hymni, and cantica in Early Jewish-Christian Tradition,” 17.
75. Smith, Musical Aspects of the New Testament, 61, n. 7.
76. Bastiaensen, “Psalmi, hymni, and cantica in Early Jewish-Christian Tradition,” 17.
77. See O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon, 210; Barth and Blanke, Colossians, 428; Wolter, Kolosser, 190; and Lohse, Colossians and Philemon, 151.
78. Harris, Colossians and Philemon, 169.
79. Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, 653–54, and n. 71. Cf. Dunn, The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, 239; Wolter, Der Brief an die Kolosser 190; and Smith, Musical Aspects of the New Testament, 61, 79–80.
80. It is interesting to note that most commentators, even after confirming the virtual impossibility of differentiation, can scarcely resist the temptation to suggest three categories of songs that Paul might have had in mind. For example Harris believes that the phrase might be referring to “songs from Scripture, songs about Christ, and songs from the Spirit” (Colossians and Philemon, 169). Noted church music scholar Donald P. Hustad goes a step further and sees “a trinitarian outline here: psalms were prayers to YHWH; hymns expressed the truth that Jesus was God’s Son, our Redeemer; and spiritual songs were a gift of the Creator Spirit” (“Christian Worship: Is This One of God’s Terrible Springtimes?” Crux 28 (December 1992) 33 [italics his]. See also Donald P. Hustad, Jubilate II: Church Music in Worship and Renewal (Carol Stream, IL: Hope, 1993), 146–48.
81. Arthur G. Patzia, Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, New International Biblical Commentary (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1990), 81.
82. “Taken together, [these terms] describe the full range of singing which the Spirit prompts” (Lohse, Colossians and Philemon, 151). N. T. Wright adds, “Together, these three terms indicate a variety and richness of Christian singing which should neither be stereotyped into one mould nor restricted simply to weekly public worship” (Colossians and Philemon, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986], 145). Cf. Smith, Musical Aspects of the New Testament, 63.
83. “It is sufficient here to state by way of summary that the three terms in themselves do not decide the question one way or the other as to what the New Testament church sang” (ibid., 65 [italics his]). On psalmody in the early church see J. A. Smith, “The Ancient Synagogue, the Early Church and Singing,” Music and Letters 65 (January 1984): 1-16; James W. McKinnon, “On the Question of Psalmody in the Ancient Synagogue,” Early Music History, ed. Iain Fenlon (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), 6:159-91; and Hughes Oliphant Old, “The Psalms of Praise in the Worship of the New Testament Church,” Interpretation 39 (January 1985): 20-33.
84. Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, 653.
85. Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 2d ed., rev. F. Wilbur Gingrich and Frederick W. Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), 878; and O’Brien, Colossians and Philemon, 210.
86. Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, 654. There is obviously nothing wrong with the idea that one’s singing should be characterized by gratitude. In fact Colossians 2:7 (cf. 3:15, 17) affirms that believers are to be constantly “overflowing with thankfulness.” Such an emphasis may be implicit in 3:16, but it does not seem to be the meaning of ἐν τῇ χάριτι.
87. Ibid., 655. Cf. Dunn, The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, 239; Gnilka, Der Kolosserbrief, 201; Lohse, Colossians, 151-52; and Harris, Colossians and Philemon, 170.
88. Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, 655.
89. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, 159. Cf. Dunn, The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, 240; and Lohse, who sees this as a Semitic expression: “Man should not only praise God with his lips. The entire man should be filled with songs of praise” (Colossians and Philemon, 151).
90. Wright, Colossians, 144–45.
91. Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, 656.
92. J. D. Crichton, “A Theology of Worship,” in The Study of Liturgy, rev. ed., ed. Cheslyn Jones, Geoffrey Wainwright, Edward Yarnold, and Paul Bradshaw (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), 20.
93. Some believers struggle with the concept of the horizontal dimension “perhaps because it seems more natural to praise God through music than it does to speak to other people or allow ourselves to be challenged through it” (Wayne A. Mack and David Swavely, Life in the Father’s House: A Member’s Guide to the Local Church [Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R, 1996], 105).
94. Dunn, The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, 237.
95. Augustine, Confessions 9.6, quoted in McKinnon, Music in Early Christian Literature, 154.
96. This is perhaps why it is to be approached “in all wisdom” or “in a wise and tactful manner” (ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ). This of course has particular ramifications for those who are responsible for planning and leading corporate worship.
97. For more on the practical implications of the didactic role of music in worship, see Mark Edwards and Allen Walworth, “The Teaching Ministry of Congregational Song,” Southwestern Journal of Theology 38 (spring 1996): 33-39.
98. “Melody can allow a text to unfold in a way that allows time for contemplation. Music appeals to the emotions rather than to reason, and this too is important when we remember that the Spirit appeals to the whole person” (J. Gelineau, “Music and Singing in the Liturgy,” in The Study of Liturgy, 493).
99. Melick, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, 305.
100. “Because congregational song is the central musical action of the church, the main function of instruments in congregational song is to introduce and support the singing” (Harold M. Best, Music through the Eyes of Faith [San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1993], 196).
101. “Christ is the ground and the content of Christian song. Christians sing about Christ. If they sing about God, it is especially what God has done through Christ; if about the Holy Spirit, it is the Holy Spirit as the gift of Christ; if about instruction to one another, it is the life in Christ” (Everett Ferguson, The Church of Christ: A Biblical Ecclesiology for Today [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996], 269).
102. Robert E. Webber, Worship Is a Verb: Eight Principles for a Highly Participatory Worship (Nashville: Abbott Martyn, 1992), 2 (capital letters his).
103. Paul Westermeyer, “What Music Should We Use in Worship?” in What Is “Contemporary” Worship? vol. 2 of Open Questions in Worship (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1995), 11.
104. As Marva J. Dawn emphasizes, “Those who lead music function only to help the congregation sing better” (Reaching Out without Dumbing Down: A Theology of Worship for the Turn-of-the-Century Culture [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995], 190).
105. For more on this important aspect of church life, see Paul Westermeyer, “The Future of Congregational Song,” The Hymn 46 (January 1995): 4-9.
106. However, Russell M. Yee observes that “even while the basic significance of Paul’s meaning persists—that believers should employ a rich variety of music in their worship—the real-life application changes, if only because the available variety of music and people’s relation to the music are always changing” (“Shared Meaning and Significance in Congregational Singing,” The Hymn 48 [April 1997]: 7).
107. There is practical value to such variety in singing as well. Basil the Great pointed this out back in the fourth century: “I think it useful to have diversity and variety in the prayer and psalmody at these appointed times, because somehow the soul is frequently bored and distracted by routine, while by change and variety of the psalmody and prayer at each hour its desire is renewed and its concentration restored” (Basil the Great, quoted in McKinnon, Music in Early Christian Literature, 68).
108. Dunn, The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, 239.
109. Best, Music through the Eyes of Faith, 57.
110. Augustine, quoted in Everett Ferguson, “Toward a Patristic Theology of Music,” in Studia Patristica (Leuven: Peeters, 1993), 24:277.