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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual exposition not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GWT = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Results of the filling of the Spirit (Eph 5:19-21)
19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
The degree of your enlightenment enables you to see problems where those with less enlightenment would not. For example, it is the degree of your enlightenment that will enable you to see that you are not filled of the Spirit while those Christians who know little about the filling of the Holy Spirit think they are doing well as Christians because they are not involved in obvious sins although they are not filled of the Spirit. The passage before us is an illustration of this point in that it is quite challenging to interpret as reflected in our English versions. Our English versions translate the Greek in ways that contain anywhere from zero to five commands. It seems to me that the best way to show this challenge is to begin with giving you sample English translations that reveal the challenges in interpretation of these three verses. A group of translators translate the section to reflect five commands. A typical English translation with five commands is the CEB that reads:
19 speak to each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; sing and make music to the Lord in your hearts; 20 always give thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21 and submit to each other out of respect for Christ.
The five commands are “speak”, “sing”, “make music,” “give thanks”, and “submit.” Another group of English versions use four commands in their translation. This approach is reflected in the NIV. The four commands in the NIV consist of “speak,” “sing”, “make music”, and “submit.” Another group of English versions used three commands as reflected in the translation of the NCV (New Century Version) that reads:
19 Speak to each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your hearts to the Lord. 20 Always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 21 Yield to obey each other as you would to Christ.
The three commands are “speak”, “give thanks”, and “yield to obey”. Another group of English versions use only two commands as reflect in the NLT that reads:
19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. 20 And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 21 And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Here the two commands are “give thanks” and “submit.” Another group of English versions contain no commands at all in their translation. A good example of this is the ESV that reads:
19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
This last group that contains no commands reflect the literal translation of the Greek text. So you see, if all you do is to read the English version that you have, you will not realize these differences in translation. Of course, I do not mean that you should read many English version unless you are a teacher of the word.
We have to admit that this kind of variations in the English versions help the less informed to doubt the reliability of the Bible. Some say that the Bible is not reliable because the English versions do not agree in their translations, implying that there must be something wrong with the Scripture to warrant these many translations. Others wonder why we should even have more than one English version or why the translators keep revising their translations. Those who are less informed that raise some of these questions are often ignorant of three facts. A first fact is that our English versions are merely translation of the Greek or Hebrew texts and so any variation in them is due to those who translate from the original. Therefore, it is improper to make the charge that the Bible is not reliable because of the variation in English versions. Interestingly, some groups of Christians think that the translation of the Authorized Version is the only inspired translation, not minding that not all Christians read English Bibles. So, does it mean that their Bible versions are not inspired? A second fact is that the English language is in a sense dynamic so that words used in an earlier version may in fact have a different connotation than they have at the present. Let me illustrate with two examples in the Authorized Version produced in 1611. The instruction of the Lord Jesus regarding prayer in His Sermon on the Mount is given in the Authorized Versions in Matthew 6:6:
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
But the instruction reads differently in the NIV as: But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Ignoring for the moment the words “prayest” and “seeth” in the KJV the major difference in the two translations is that the Authorized Version used the word “closet” while the NIV used the word “room.” Is this a conflict? No! It is a matter of the change in meanings of the word “closet.” A closet at the time the KJV was translated meant a small room for privacy while today a closet means either a tall cupboard or cabinet for household utensils or a wardrobe. Thus, it will not make much sense to a person living today when the individual is instructed to pray in the closet. Another example is the record in the Authorized Version of Luke 2:46:
And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
The NIV reads: After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. The major difference in the reading of the Authorized Version and the NIV is that instead of the word “doctors” of the KJV the NIV uses the word “teachers.” Today, the word “doctor” to most people refers to a person qualified by education that is skilled or specialized in healing arts such as a physician, a dentist or a veterinarian. But the word is also used to describe a person who has earned one of the highest academic degrees (as a PhD) conferred by a university. But in the time of KJV, the word “doctor” referred to an eminent theologian declared a sound expounder of doctrine by the Roman Catholic Church—called also doctor of the church. Of course, the word comes from a Latin word (doctor, doctoris) that means “teacher.” Those who lived in the time of the translation of KJV would understand that Jesus was sitting in the midst of expert teachers of the law but to use the same word “doctor” today could cause a person to think that Jesus was sitting in the midst of physicians in the temple which does not make sense since the temple is not a hospital, for example. The point is that the English language is constantly changing or evolving and so the need to revise English Bible translations to keep pace with constant changing of the language. A third fact that some of these who are concerned with variations in translations of the English versions are not aware is that English versions are really interpretations of the original in which a word used may have more than one meaning as in the English. In effect, when you look up a word in your English dictionary you find several meanings so you have to pick the one you think fits your context. This is what happens in translating either Hebrew or Greek words into the English. Translators in a sense interpret a given sentence with a particular meaning of a Greek or Hebrew word they believe conveys what is in the text. This accounts for several variations in the English versions of the Bible.
Our explanation notwithstanding, we should ask the question: Why do we have such variations in the English translation of Ephesians 5:19-21? The answer is because of the various possible ways of interpreting the Greek words used in this passage. Actually, the Greek uses five participles (verbal adjectives) that literally translates into the English as, “speaking”, “singing”, “making”, “giving thanks”, and “submitting.” We will consider these words later in our exposition of the passage before us but for the moment, we want to bring to your awareness that the Greek used participles. A Greek participle is subject to various interpretations in the English. In our passage, there are three possible interpretations of the participles used. A first interpretation is to take the five activities mentioned in the literal translation as either occurring at the same time or subsequent to the time that one is filled of the Holy Spirit. A second interpretation is to take these five activities as those that are the result of the filling of the Holy Spirit. A third interpretation is to take these five activities as independent of the filling of the Holy Spirit in the command be filled with the Spirit of Ephesians 5:18 in which case the five activities mentioned in the literal translation are viewed as commands.
Which of these interpretations did the apostle have in mind? We cannot be absolutely certain as the interpretation the apostle had in mind. This notwithstanding, it does not seem that the third interpretation that takes the five activities mentioned as being independent of the command to be filled of the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 5:18 is intended. Firstly, because the interpretation of a participle as a command is not that common in the NT Greek. The passages that such interpretation is valid are such that the context demands such interpretation. A Greek participle is translated as a command in most of our English versions of Romans 12:9–10:
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
The two commands Hate what is evil; cling to what is good are literally abhorring the evil; cleaving to the good to reflect that the Greek used participles in the two expressions in the Greek. The context in which the apostle has been encouraging believers to act properly under different situations makes sense or in fact demands we take it that the apostle meant for believers to carry out the activities of hating evil and clinging to what is good. Therefore, it is appropriate to consider the participles in these two verses of Romans 12 as commands. Another passage where interpreting a participle as a command is appropriate is in 1 Peter 2:18:
Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.
The instruction submit yourselves to your masters with all respect is more literally subjecting yourselves in all fear to the masters. The context requires that the literally word subjecting be understood as an additional command because the preceding verse has three commands, as we read in 1 Peter 2:17:
Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
The three commands that involve the word “respect”, “love”, and “fear” are independent of each other. Therefore, it makes sense if the participle used in verse 18 is taken as a command as it makes sense. Still another passage where a participle is translated as a command is 1 Peter 3:7:
Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
The command be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner is more literally living together according to knowledge, as to the weaker, female vessel. The context is that in which the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Peter was concerned with interactions or responsibilities of husbands and wives to each other; thus, it makes sense to understand the participle that involves how the husband should live with the wife to be recognized as a command. However, the five participles used in Ephesians 5:19-21 do not quite fit these examples where the context clearly demand the participles to be taken as commands. Secondly, because a parallel passage in which the Apostle Paul mentioned singing of songs does not seem to support taking the five participles used in our passage as commands. This is because the context is the filling of the Holy Spirit but the participles are not independent of the context of being filled of the Holy Spirit. The apostle gave instruction to Colossians that contains the concept of singing in Colossians 3:16:
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.
A literal translation of this verse is: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another with all wisdom, with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. The literal translation poses the same kind of problem as we have in Ephesians 5:19-21 in that there are three participles “teaching”, “admonishing, and “singing.” Some interpreters, of course, take the three participles as commands but that is also unlikely. This is because teaching and admonishing of someone requires that a person has some truth in the soul to be able to use to teach and to admonish others. This will mean that the teaching and admonishing in view in Colossians 3:16 are dependent on obeying the command to let the word of God dwell in the believer. It is as a believer has the word of God stored in the soul that the person is in a position to help others with teaching or admonishing. Thus, the three activities of teaching, admonishing, and singing are those that result from the word of God residing in the soul of believers. This being the case, we should expect that the approach that takes these activities as commands while possible is not likely what the apostle intended. So, based on this passage, we do not believe that the section of Ephesians 5:19-21 should be translated in such a way as to reflect commands. There is also another observation with the passage of Colossians 3:16 that is pertinent to our argument; it has to do with gratitude. Gratitude is a condition that is necessary in singing of psalms and spiritual songs so that there is no command to be grateful in connection with singing. The approach that takes all the activities listed in Ephesians 5:19-21 as concerned with commands implies that thanksgiving is also commanded. However, if we go by what the apostle wrote in Colossians 3:16, we will have to rule out giving of thanks as a command. This then puts in doubt the translation of all the other four participles used in the Greek text of our passage as commands. The point is that the reasons we have given argue against taking the five activities of Ephesians 5:19-21 as commands.
We have ruled out the interpretation of taking the five activities of Ephesians 5:19-21 as commands so again, we ask; how are we to interpret the participles used? Our answer is that the apostle most likely wanted us to understand the participles as activities that take place subsequent to the filling of the Holy Spirit as well as what result. In effect, the participles are to be considered as results that take place subsequent to the filling of the Holy Spirit. We are saying that the activities listed in the passage we are considering are to be considered as some of the results that will take place once a person is filled of the Spirit. An English version that implies we take these five activities as results is the ISV that translate the section as:
19 Then you will recite to one another psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; you will sing and make music to the Lord with your hearts; 20 you will consistently give thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah; 21 and you will submit to one another out of reverence for the Messiah.
To be clear, we are saying that the activities in view are not the only results of the filling of the Spirit, but they are those expected of those who are filled of the Spirit, especially, under the situation that believers are assembled for worship. In effect, we are saying that all of the activities listed are those that occur primarily in worship situation, but they are not all limited to worship situation. For example, the idea of thanksgiving or submitting is not to be limited to worship situation but beyond the assembling of believers for a formal worship. With this interpretation, we will examine the five activities listed in our passage that we contend are the results of the filling of the Spirit. We will, of course, use the literal translation in our exposition.
A first resultant activity that comes after the filling of the Spirit concerns a beneficial approach for believers to communicate to each other, especially in worship situation. It is this that is given literally in the Greek as speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs which the NIV rendered as speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Of course, we have already argued that the word “speaking” as it appears in the literal translation should not be taken as a command, as in the NIV; instead, it should be taken as expressing a result of the filling of the Spirit. This result is one that will be mostly evident in a worship situation when believers are assembled to worship the Lord. This notwithstanding, there is still the problem of understanding what the apostle meant to convey as he described an activity that is the result of the filling of the Spirit that he introduced with the Greek word that literally reads “speaking.” There are at least three problems that are to be resolved in order to understand what the apostle meant.
A first problem to consider in order to understand the first result of the filling of the Spirit the apostle gave in our passage is what the apostle meant in the literal translation speaking to yourselves. The word “speak” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (laleō) that means “to speak, to express oneself” as the apostle used the word twice in his instruction regarding women’s participation in the local church, as we read in 1 Corinthians 14:34–35:
34 women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. 35 If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.
When the apostle said it is not permitted for women to speak in a local church, he did not mean all kinds of expressing of oneself. He was concerned with women expressing themselves during discussions of the affairs of the local church or the congregation. This interpretation is supported by two facts. It was contrary to custom for Hellenic women to participate in public deliberations so that the Corinthians would recognize that the apostle said something that was in conformity to the normal practice among the general population of believers and unbelievers. Another support for the interpretation we have given is that women were not prohibited from participation in prayers and prophecies, as we read in 1 Corinthians 11:5:
And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is just as though her head were shaved.
This verse of the eleventh chapter of 1 Corinthians implies that women were permitted to pray or prophesy during congregational worship and if so that is a clear indication that the apostle was not forbidding all manner of speaking in worship situation. Of course, some want to use the concept of prophesying to imply that women should teach in the local churches. Such interpretation ignores the nature of prophecy in a public worship in which the Holy Spirit moved a person to instantly speak God’s revelation. Furthermore, to advocate such a position is tantamount to ignoring completely the clear instruction of the Holy Spirit through the apostle in 1 Timothy 2:12:
I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.
Anyway, the speaking or expressing of oneself in Ephesians 5:19 is one that every believer is expected to participate. This being the case, the speaking is to be recognized as an expression that involves more than speaking so that it refers to singing as well as any speech that is derived from say, the Scripture that will benefit others. It is possible, as some contend, that this speaking may involve recital of psalms that one has memorized, or it can refer to a situation where two or more groups in a church may take turn in singing to each other. The idea of using the meaning “to recite” finds support in that our Greek word is used in that sense in the Septuagint of Deuteronomy 31:30:
And Moses recited the words of this song from beginning to end in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel:
The sentence Moses recited the words of this song from beginning to end in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel reads in the Septuagint Moses spoke into the ears of all the assembly the words of this song until the end. Nonetheless, the speaking involves primarily singing of some sort. This should not surprise us since our Greek word that means “to speak” is also used in the sense of “to sing” a song in the Septuagint of 2 Samuel 22:1:
David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
The sentence David sang to the Lord the words of this song in the Septuagint reads David spoke to the Lord the words of this song. The point is that “speaking” in Ephesians 5:19 has the primary meaning of “to sing” while permitting such secondary meaning of “to recite.”
The “speaking” or the expressing of oneself is primarily to be addressed to other believers as in the phrase to one another or literally to yourselves. The literal reading gives a secondary sense to the recipient of the address in that it implies that believers should also speak to themselves. In effect, you are to speak to others but then you should also speak to yourself in keeping with what the apostle states in the passage we are considering.
A second problem that has to be resolved in order to understand the first result of the filling of the Spirit the apostle gave in our passage is how to relate the phrase with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to the literal word “speaking”. The problem is really how to interpret the word “with” used in the NIV. The Greek indicates that there are two possible ways to relate the phrase to speaking. The phrase could be understood that psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs are the manner in which believers should speak to one another or that they are the means or instrument of speaking to one another. It is in the sense of means or instrument that the three words “psalms”, “hymns”, and “songs” are to be understood. This interpretation is supported by the fact that such interpretation is that which fits the use of these three words in the parallel passage where the apostle used them together in a passage we cited previously in Colossians 3:16:
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.
The clause and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God of the NIV is more literally with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Here, the manner of teaching and admonishing each other is given in the phrase with all wisdom so it becomes clearer that psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs are the instrument or means of admonishing one another. Hence in Ephesians 5:19, psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs are the instrument or means of speaking to one another as a result of the filling of the Holy Spirit. In effect, when a person is filled of the Holy Spirit a result is that of speaking to others during worship using the instrument of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. This then brings us to the third problem.
A third problem to consider in order to understand the first result of the filling of the Spirit the apostle gave in our passage is how to understand the three words “psalms”, “hymns,” and “songs” the apostle used. The problem is if there is any difference between the three words or not. Some contend that the apostle did not intend to distinguish between these three words while others assert that the apostle intended to differentiate them so that each word represents a type of song otherwise he would have settled in the use of one of them. In order to decide which of these is what the apostle meant, we need to examine each of the three words used in a little more detail.
The word “psalm” is translated from a Greek word (psalmos) that originally means plucking of the string of a bow or playing of a stringed instrument. In the Septuagint, the word translates several Hebrew words. It is used to translate the Hebrew word (šîr) that means “song” in the title of Psalm 48(LXX 47) that reads: A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. It is used for a Hebrew word (neḡînāh) that means “taunting or mocking song” or “a stringed instrument” so it is with the meaning “mocking song” that the word is used in Lamentations 3:14
I became the laughingstock of all my people; they mock me in song all day long.
The sentence they mock me in song all day long is literally from the Hebrew their mocking song all day long. But the word is used with the meaning “stringed instrument” in Lamentations 5:14:
The elders are gone from the city gate; the young men have stopped their music.
The sentence the young men have stopped their music is literally young men no longer play stringed instruments. It is used for harps or musical instrument in Amos 5:23:
Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.
In the NT, it is used seven times, four times in Luke and Acts and three times in Pauline epistles. Three of the four times it is used by Luke in the plural it is as a reference to the OT Psalms as a whole. Thus, it is used to refer to Jesus’ quotation from psalms in Luke 20:42:
David himself declares in the Book of Psalms: “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand
It is used in plural in Peter’s quotation in Acts 1:20:
“For,” said Peter, “it is written in the book of Psalms, “‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and, “‘May another take his place of leadership.’
Once it is used by Luke in the singular for a particular passage of Psalms during Paul’s sermon in Pisidian Antioch, as we read in Acts 13:33:
he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: “‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father.’
Three times the word is used by the Apostle Paul, it has the sense of Christian songs of praise used in Christian worship, as for example, in 1 Corinthians 14:26:
What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.
The sentence everyone has a hymn is more literally each one of you has a psalm. The psalm that a person has in this context of Corinthians probably refers to words of psalms in the OT that are sung in a worship situation. The other two usages of the word by apostle in our present passage of study and in Colossians 3:16, it is in the sense of songs of praise from the OT psalms that it is used. We should bear in mind that Psalms as a whole is concerned with the praise of God by all His creation as we can see, for example, in Psalm 148:1–2, 11–12:
1Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights above. 2Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
11kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, 12young men and maidens, old men and children.
There are psalms that are sung in a special day, for example, we have the psalm for Sabbath as indicated in the title of Psalm 92 that reads: A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.
The word second word “hymns” of Ephesians 5:19 is translated from a Greek word (hymnos) that is used in the Septuagint to translate several Hebrew words. It is used to translate a Hebrew word (neḡînāh) that means “a stringed instrument” or “mocking song” although it is used with meaning of stringed instrument in the title of Psalm 76 that reads: For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph. A song. It is used only in the Psalms in the Septuagint to translate a Hebrew word (tehillāh) that means “praise, songs of praise”, as in Psalm 119:171:
May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees.
It is used to translate a Hebrew word (šîr) that means “songs” in Isaiah 42:10:
Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them.
The word appears twice in the NT in our present passage of Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 with the meaning “hymn” or “song of praise.”
The third word “song” of Ephesians 5:19 is translated from a Greek word (ōdē) that is used in the Septuagint to translate several Hebrew words. It is used to translate a Hebrew word (šîrāh) that means “song” which is the word used to describe Moses’ song in Exodus 15 following the deliverance of Israel. Let me cite a portion of the song in Exodus 15:1–5:
1Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: “I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea. 2The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. 3 The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name. 4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea. 5The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone.
It is used to translate the Hebrew word (šîr) that means “songs” in Psalm 137:4:
How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?
It is used to translate a Hebrew word (neḡînāh) that means “a stringed instrument” in Habakkuk 3:19:
The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights. For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.
The Greek word may mean any kind of song such as battle song or song of festival but in the NT it is used for song of praise to God or to Christ as we find, for example, in Revelation 5:9:
And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
We have considered the Greek words translated “psalms,” “hymns”, and “songs” in Ephesians 5:19. The use of the Greek words in question in the Septuagint indicates that they have a common meaning of either “songs” or “stringed instrument.” However, there are some distinctions we can note between the Greek words translated “hymns” and “songs” as they are used in the Septuagint that we presume the apostle was aware since he definitely studied the Septuagint. The Greek word (hymnos) translated “hymns” is used to translate a Hebrew word that means “praise, songs of praise” and it is used only in Psalms, as we mentioned previously, suggesting perhaps that there is a connection between this Greek word translated “hymn” and the Greek word translated “psalms.” Furthermore, it is probably because of the connection between these two Greek words in the mind of the apostle that later when he used the verb forms of the Greek words he used in the first result of the filling of the Holy Spirit that he did not use a Greek verb form related to hymns, as we will note later. The Greek word (ōdē) translated “songs” has this distinction in its use in the Septuagint: it is used to translate a Hebrew word (šîrāh) that means song but it is used in the Septuagint for songs that are unique. These songs are unique in that first, the songs were those used to celebrate deliverance from the enemies as we have already indicated with Moses’ song of deliverance when the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. It is also used to describe David’s song of deliverance recorded in 2 Samuel 22 but let just note where our Greek word (ōdē) is used in the Septuagint, in the passage we cited previously, that is, 2 Samuel 22:1:
David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
The second unique thing is that the song described with our third Greek word in the Septuagint rendered “song” is that it is used to describe the wordings of the song that God taught directly to Moses that we mentioned previously in Deuteronomy 32. These distinctions that are noticeable in the usage of the three Greek words in the Septuagint translated “psalm,” “hymn” and “songs” are such that when the apostle used them in Ephesians 5:19, he probably meant for the readers to recognize that while the words have common meaning of “song” but there is a slight distinction to be made of them, otherwise, there seem not to be any point for the apostle to use the three words together if he did not have in his mind any kind of slight distinction between them.
Based on our consideration we believe that “psalms” are songs that are contained in the OT psalms that the early church adopted from the Jewish worship practice although we cannot be certain they used instruments to sing them as in the OT worship practice. “Hymns” are songs of praise that include the wordings of praises found in psalms, but they are not limited to the words found in psalms as they may include wordings from other parts of the Scripture that praise God. This distinction is similar but a little different from the explanation of Trench in his Synonyms of NT that takes hymns as primarily a reference to direct praises to God. This aside, we insist that hymns should contain words of praise to God that are derived from the entire Scripture probably similar to Mary’s song (Magnificat) recorded in Luke 1:46-55. Although we do not have the content of the hymn of the Apostle Paul and Silas in Jail in Philippi, it is probably this kind of song of praise that they sang, as we read in Acts 16:25:
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
The “spiritual songs” are those that describe salvation in Christ in words that are familiar to the worshippers but song or composed under the filling of the Spirit. Thus, they are probably of two kinds. The type of songs spontaneously offered in worship situation where the one who sings is enabled by the Spirit to utter the words that describe salvation in Christ. This kind of song will be similar to that of Zechariah who under the special filling of the Holy Spirit sang the song known as Benedictus recorded in Luke 1:67-79. We say this because as we have indicated, he was under special filling of the Spirit when he sang the song, as conveyed in Luke 1:67–68:
67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: 68“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people.
Zechariah’s song elaborated on what redemption for Israel involved so a person who sings a spiritual song will use words that elaborate the meaning of salvation in Christ in words that people will understand. The second kind of the spiritual song is that composed by Christians that speak more to salvation received in Christ and do not have to involve exact wordings found in the Scripture but are words of those who truly understand the doctrines of salvation as given in the Scripture. It is in part because the wordings of the songs classified as “spiritual songs” are those of believers who are immediately prompted by the Spirit or those who understand the word of God and so could be considered spiritual individuals that the apostle used adjective “spiritual” to qualify the word “song.” The word “spiritual” is translated from a Greek word (pneumatikos) that can mean “from the spirit”, “spiritual”, “filled with the Spirit.” It is used to describe one who possess the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 14:37:
If anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command.
The phrase spiritually gifted may be translated “or one who possesses the Spirit” or simply “spiritual.” It is used to describe evil forces in Ephesians 6:12:
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
In our context, it applies to being filled of the Spirit so that the sense of “spiritual songs” is that they are songs composed by those filled of the Holy Spirit that certainly understand what salvation means so that they can sing about it in words that speak to others.
Having considered the problems of verbal phrase speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs which the NIV rendered as speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, we return to answer the question of what the apostle meant to communicate. He means that a resultant activity of being filled of the Spirit is that in worship situation believers express themselves with words and praises to God that speak to other believers about their salvation and about the Lord. In other words, the songs believers sing in their worship service if they are full of the Holy Spirit should have the effect of communicating to each other something that is true of God and of the work of salvation in Christ. In effect, the wordings of the songs used in worship at all times are to be those that encourage or teach believers truth about God and about their salvation. This explanation is keeping with the same concept of believers admonishing one another that involves psalms, hymns, and songs in Colossians 3:16:
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.
So, we have examined the first result of the filling of the Holy Spirit, we will continue with the second in our next study.