Worship in the Spirit – Ephesians 5:19 – Martyn Lloyd-Jones

The sermon of this post is from MLJTrust.

Worship in the Spirit – A Sermon on Ephesians 5:19

May 24, 2017

https://www.mljtrust.org/sermons-onli…

Description by MLJTrust:

What is the role that singing is supposed to play in the church? What are the Lord’s instructions for how He is to be praised through song?

In this sermon on Ephesians 5:19 titled “Worship in the Spirit,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones answers these questions and more.

In this passage, Paul is concerned with how the Holy Spirit is manifested when believers gather together for worship.

But what is his intent in this section?

Is it meant to prescribe the exact style of worship that every church should have?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones uses Scripture to provide helpful commentary on why this is not the case. Paul here is calling for a unified expression of joy through singing, specifically through “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.”

Though they might sound as if they are the same, Dr. Lloyd-Jones is careful to show the differences. A psalm is a sacred song intended to be sung with the accompaniment of a musical instrument.

A hymn is a song of praise to God.

Finally, a song is an ode or lyric, which is why Paul describes it additionally as needing to be “spiritual.”

Dr. Lloyd-Jones ends with a note on the permanence and importance of singing in the lives of believers, drawing on thousands of years of church history to show why this should have such a vital place in the spiritual walk of Christians.

HIGHLIGHTS [bracketed statements, emboldening and underscoring are mine]:

Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

Paul was demonstrating how people filled with the Holy Spirit (HS) demonstrate that in practice
Fundamental doctrine therein: as Christian lpeople we should go on being filled with the HS, being controlled in every aspect of our being
How does that manifest in daily life and living?
His comparison of being filled with wine vs being filled with the HS was to focus on HS joy and happiness
Paul’s comparison suggests he called them to remember their pre Christian days when they gathered to drink and feel happy
When the Christian is filled with the HS he/she will demonstrate joy differently than formerly with wine
Via praise, rejoicing, and thanksgiving
Paul wasn’t herein prescribing church worship, he was dealing with one aspect of what happens in church (not mentioning preaching…)
Verse 19 has often been misinterpreted
Speaking to yourselves = using your voice
Speaking among yourselves; speaking to one another
That is, they must give expression ‘among’ themselves to joyous emotion
Was he referring to antiphonal singing?
Not likely. He seemed to be concerned with their expression of happiness in the Lord
Controversy around verse 19
Some say all three words = psalms only
Commentators such as C Hodge say that is not right, but that the three terms have different meanings:
Psalms = in general, a sacred poem, as in the Bible, designed to be sung with musical accompaniment
Hymn = primarily a song of praise to God, a divine song, a sacred poetical composition, per St. Augustine
Spiritual song = an ode, a lyric with spiritual significance, qualifying it for spiritual use
A spiritual song is the natural outburst of a heart that had been moved by the HS: as follows
1 Samuel 2:1 And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation…
Luke 1:46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord…
Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation…
That is how we will be expressing our joy in glory, but even here we begin to express selves so
Hymns may also be composed under the inspiration of the HS
But some have believed Paul’s words in verse 19 to have referred only to Psalms and that it is sinful to sing hymns and spiritual songs
MLJ believes such a position militates against the whole context of Paul’s statement
MLJ believes this position is erroneous for the followihg reasons:
ONE: the epistle was written to a Gentile church; most of them would not have known Psalms; but the Jewish members of that church were free to sing Psalms
TWO: Eusebius: “besides the Psalms, other compositions were sung in the early church”
Tertullian: in describing the early Christian love feasts (150-220 AD) he noted that at a certain point a believer could either sing a Psalm or from one’s heart – extemporaneously giving expression to the Lord via song…
THREE: 1 Corinthians 14:26 [KJV] How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying
The above is a fuller expression of an early church meeting
Context: people speaking under the inspiration of the HS
Paul was addressing excess: 2-3 people speaking at a time… noting that a stranger would think they were crazed
Paul’s writings indicated that they should order their ecstatic expressions when they were filled by HS
1 Cor 14:15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit [freely via ecstatic state], and I will sing with the understanding also [reading from Psalm book?]
Ecstatic expression is the subject of the 14^th chapter, not likely a reference to singing out of the book of Psalms from the Old Testament
The first century church meeting that Paul is addressing herein is very different from our dead meetings today
But Paul’s meeting is in a less formal setting. Like what used to take place in Wales, they called it a ‘happy meeting.’ Though it was secular, similar things occurred therein. Members experiencing happiness via drink; freely talking, singing…
Also, a sing-song session of informal group singing` has similarities
In the meetings Paul was describing there was a tendency to disorder because all were anxious to express themselves
In the meetings, one had a song, one a tongue, one a doctrine… each was busting and wanted to contribute, and as they did, the others rejoiced and praised God
These meetings were like a revival in terms of experiencing the HS, but in revivals, there is also a pouring out of the HS
If you think that Paul’s instructions are to people to have a drab, solemn, dull meeting wherein nothing is sung but Psalms; then you have misunderstood the apostle
The argument that nothing is worthy to be sung to God but the Psalms, then, we must say that extemporary prayer is wrong, as is praise worship, thanksgiving…
It cannot be wrong if it is inspired by the HS
We must not limit or quench the HS; the same Spirit can enable a little man to preach; to paint a picture; to compose a piece such as The Messiah, by Handle
He wrote the Messiah in a few weeks and stated that it was as if all heaven were open before him
Our hymns are not scripture, but that does not mean that the HS did not inspire them in an effort to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ
Yes, there are blasphemous hymns
The history of the church shows us those genuine revivals when the HS came down, always leads to the composition of numerous hymns: Martin Luther; Charles Wesley; Philip Doddridge…
Such hymns born in revival are examples of Spirit filled people seeking to praise God
It can occur in the opposite fashion too; for example, the hymnal of William Williams lead to revival in 1763
Don’t limit the HS in terms of what He can do with a Spirit filled person