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The Gospel Observer
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them
to observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:19,20).
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September 30, 2012
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Contents:
1) Ephesians 5:18-19 (Tom Edwards)
2) News & Notes
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-1-
Ephesians 5:18-19
by Tom Edwards
As we continue in Paul's letter to the Ephesians, he next instructs
them by saying, "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is
dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit" (Eph. 5:18).
The heathens of that day had "Bacchus" as the "god of wine"; and
their celebration or festival to him was, therefore, known as a
"Bacchanalia." Albert Barnes writes that during these
festivals, "men and women regarded it as an acceptable act of
worship to become intoxicated, and with wild songs and cries to run
through streets, and fields, and vineyards."
Isn't it interesting that after Paul instructs them not to get
drunk, that he then exhorts them toward the singing of spiritual
songs? For if there is an implication toward the Bacchanalia
in the previous verse, then the spiritual songs would be in clear
contrast to that. But even if not the Bacchanalia, there is
still a major distinction between being drunk and the sober state of
mind one needs to truly sing spiritual songs acceptably unto God.
According to this passage, getting drunk is dissipation
(asotia). The Greek word for it is defined as "1) an
abandoned, dissolute life 2) profligacy, prodigality"
(Thayer). It is the same word that is also used in Titus 1:6
as one of the qualifications for an elder that he is "not accused of
dissipation or rebellion." But dissipation is not only to not
be a part of the elder's character, but also every Christian.
For Peter implies this in 1 Peter 4:4, where we find the third and
only other place this Greek word is used. He states, "In all
this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same
excesses of dissipation, and they malign you." And note, too,
what he previously spoke of in 1 Peter 4:3: "For the time already
past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the
Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness,
carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries."
In 1 Peter 4:3, three stages of drinking are seen: "drunkenness,
carousing, [and] drinking parties."
Strong defines the Greek word for "drunkenness" (oinophlugia) as "an
overflow (or surplus) of wine..."; and Thayer just calls it
"drunkenness." It, therefore, indicates being inebriated or
intoxicated.
The Greek word for "carousing" (komos) is defined as "a nocturnal
and riotous procession of half drunken and frolicsome fellows who
after supper parade through the streets with torches and music in
honour of Bacchus or some other deity, and sing and play before
houses of male and female friends; hence used generally of feasts
and drinking parties that are protracted till late at night and
indulge in revelry."
And the Greek word for "drinking parties" (potos) is defined as
simply "a drinking, carousing" (Thayer). The KJV renders this
as "banquetings," but it is not referring to a banquet of food, as
we would usually think of that term. Rather, it refers to the
drinking of alcohol. The New English Bible translates it as
"tippling," and what we see in this word is that it doesn't require
intoxication in order to be so. According to Webster's
Dictionary of the English Language, tippling means "to drink
spirituous or intoxicating liquors habitually; to drink frequently,
but without getting drunk. To drink, sip, or imbibe
often." R.C. Trench, in his "Synonyms of the New Testament,"
defines the Greek word "potos" as "the drinking bout, the banquet,
the symposium, not of necessity excessive...but giving opportunity
for excess." Barnes explains that this word "...means properly
drinking; an act of drinking; then a drinking bout; drinking
together."
In our time, people often try to justify social drinking on the
basis that Jesus turned the water into wine for a wedding feast in
John 2. But what kind of wine did Jesus make? Why should
people assume that it was fermented wine? One thing we do know
about it is that it was better (quality-wise) than what they had
previously had. We also know that Jesus would not want to make
anyone drunk. In this account, mention is also made of the
"governor of the feast." One of his responsibilities was to
test the wine to make sure that it was mixed with the proper
portion of water. For wine in those days was often only about
3 percent alcohol, but then mixed with a good portion of water; so
it would be very diluted. Wine today, however, can be anywhere
from 10% to 14% alcohol; and if it is fortified, then
20%. But, again, why should one assume that there was an
alcoholic content in the wine that Jesus had just made?
Others have also cited Timothy as justification for the drinking of
wine today. But note in 1 Timothy 5:23 the reason for why
Timothy was told to drink wine: "No longer drink water exclusively,
but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent
ailments." So Paul is prescribing wine to Timothy for
medicinal purposes, not merely for the sake of drinking in
itself. And we can also infer from this that Timothy appears
to have been a total abstainer, since Paul had to instruct him to
drink a little wine.
Another thing for the Christian to consider is the stigma that is
attached to alcohol in our country. America has the highest
known rate for alcoholism. It is one of the biggest problems
in our nation, which branches into other problems, as well -- such
as violence, broken homes, and accidents and death on the
highways. In addition, alcohol is a dangerous thing to try and
has been likened to Russian Roulette. For it is said that 1
out of ever 15 social drinkers will become an alcoholic; and 10% of
all alcoholics become that way from their first drink.
Alcohol can be very deceptive. Consider, for example, Proverbs
23:31-35: "Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles
in the cup, When it goes down smoothly; At the last it bites like a
serpent And stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange
things And your mind will utter perverse things. And you will
be like one who lies down in the middle of the sea, Or like one who
lies down on the top of a mast. 'They struck me, but I did not
become ill; They beat me, but I did not know it. When shall I awake?
I will seek another drink.'" Proverbs 20:1 declares that "Wine
is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, And whoever is intoxicated by
it is not wise."
Alcoholic drinks contain ethyl alcohol which is a habit-forming,
narcotic drug -- poisonous and harmful to every form of life.
So these are just some of the reasons why people should be total
abstainers. James Burton Coffman writes, "Alcohol is the
greatest single killer in the United States today. It produces
more sorrow than may be attributed to any other single source on
earth. It corrupts government, aggravates poverty, destroys
spirituality and eventually destroys a society stupid enough to
indulge the unrestrained use of it."
Rather than being drunk and filled with the spirit of intoxication,
Paul exhorts the brethren in Ephesians 5:18 to be filled with the
Spirit -- the Holy Spirit. That is quite a clash! In one
we see of a drunken mind, but in the other a very sober mind that is
in tune to God.
To better understand this and see how it is acquired, it is helpful
to consider the parallel passage in Colossians 3:16. First of
all, we can note that in Ephesians 5:19, as well as Colossians 3:16,
Paul is speaking about the same thing -- the music of the
church. It is to be a cappella, which is music without
instrumental accompaniment. The Latin actually means "in the
style of the church." But notice that in Colossians 3:16, it
is preceded with not "be filled with the Spirit," as in Ephesians
5:18; but, rather, with "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within
you." Therefore, we can easily infer that it is by letting
God's word to rule in our lives that we are then filled with God's
Spirit.
So rather than singing the Bacchanalian songs that so many would
engage in while giving themselves to alcohol, the Christian, who is
to be filled with the Spirit of God, is to sing psalms, hymns, and
spiritual songs, as Paul goes on to say in Ephesians 5:19: "speaking
to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and
making melody with your heart to the Lord." Because of the
specific instruction to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, I
would think that most people realize that that rules out singing
other types of songs to try to worship God with. For specific
commands rule out any other kind or method -- such as in God's
command for Noah to use gopher wood in building the ark.
Therefore, to try to make an argument that "God did not say that
Noah could not use cedar, oak, pine, maple, etc.," will not
stand. For all those different kinds of wood are automatically
eliminated by the specific command to use gopher wood.
And though many people can clearly see that, why do so many folks
have trouble in using this same reasoning for the specific command
to sing? Throughout the New Testament, there is no authority
for using musical instruments to worship God. But in every
verse where music in worship is mentioned, it is always a cappella
music: Acts 16:25, Romans 15:9, 1 Corinthians 14:15, Ephesians 5:19,
Colossians 3:16, Hebrews 2:12, and James 5:13. Consider also
Hebrews 13:15 where, though the term "singing" is not specified, it
does say that the Christian is to "continually offer up a sacrifice
of praise to God, that is, THE FRUIT OF THE LIPS that give thanks to
His name" (emphasis mine). Singing songs of praise is one of
the ways that this command is carried out.
On the word "psalms" (Eph. 5:19), David Lipscomb writes that "Psalms
are songs devoted to the praise of God, extolling his name, power,
character, and works. The songs of David are mainly of this
character, hence were called psalms." Psalms is from the Greek
word "psalmos" and refers to the psalms of the Old Testament that
were originally accompanied with instrumental music; but now in our
time are to be sung a cappella. This word stems from the Greek
word "psallo," which is translated in Ephesians 5:19 as "making
melody." Thayer shows that "psallo" had originally meant "1)
to pluck off" or "pull out." It then also came to mean "2) to
cause to vibrate by touching, to twang." Then "2a) to touch or
strike the chord, to twang the strings of a musical instrument so
that they gently vibrate 2b) to play on a stringed instrument,
to play the harp, etc." But this did not include the
singing. Later, however, it came to also mean "2c) to sing to
the music of the harp." But then, as Thayer shows, it came to
also eventually mean "in the NT to sing a hymn, to celebrate the
praises of God in song."
So the Greek word "psallo" has changed in meaning over the
years. During the writing of the New Testament, "psallo" did
not even imply the use of a mechanical instrument. Sophocles,
a Greek who was a professor of the Greek language at Harvard
University for 35 years and also wrote a Greek lexicon, had studied
the word "psallo" very extensively. He searched through more
than 1200 years of history (from 146 B.C. to A.D. 1100). He
studied, and I quote, "146 secular and 77 ecclesiastical authors of
the Roman period, and 109 secular and 262 ecclesiastical, modern
Greek, and scholastic authors of the Byzantine Period. This is
a grand total of 594 authors and covering a period of more than 1200
years, and he declares that there is NOT A SINGLE EXAMPLE OF PSALLO
THROUGHOUT THIS LONG PERIOD INVOLVING OR IMPLYING THE USE OF AN
INSTRUMENT, but says that it meant always and everywhere, 'to chant,
sing religious hymns!'"
I often like to compare this evolving of the meaning of "psallo"
from Old Testament to New Testament times to the word "lyric," which
originally meant to play a "lyre." Later, it denoted singing
with the accompaniment of a lyre. But in our time, we think
of lyrics as primarily being just the words to a song -- and
without the thought of any instrument inherent in the word or even
the melody.
But if "making melody" literally involves the use of an instrument
to fulfill Ephesians 5:19 then what would that mean? For one
thing, it would mean that the church has been in error for the many
centuries it has not used an instrument. Among those who
called themselves Christians, the first instrument wasn't introduced
until the sixth century after the church was established -- but it
didn't really become popular until just a few hundred years ago,
though through those years many well-known religious leaders of
various denominational backgrounds had continued to stand opposed to
its use in worship to God, such as Martin Luther (Catholic/Lutheran,
1483-1546), John Calvin (1509-1564), John Wesley (Methodist,
1703-1791), Adam Clarke (Methodist, c. 1760-1832), John Gerardeau
(Presbyterian, 1825-1898), Charles Spurgeon (Baptist,
1834-1892). And, prior to these men, Thomas Aquinas (Catholic,
1225-1274). I cite these not as authority, but to show that it
has not been just those in the church of Christ who have seen the
error in using mechanical instruments in worship to God, as going
beyond the things that are written in the Scriptures for our New
Testament Age.
But if the term "psallo" did imply using a mechanical instrument,
would we not then each need to learn to play one so we could
"psallo" or "make melody" acceptably unto the Lord?
However, Ephesians 5:19 does show what "instrument" (in a manner of
speaking) we are to use in "making melody" or "to psallo." It
is the instrument of the heart: "making melody with your
heart." This might also remind you of Paul's statement that
"...I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also"
(1 Cor. 14:15). That is what is to be emphasized -- rather
than the melody. For our singing is not only to worship God,
but also to teach and admonish one another (cf. Col. 3:16).
Concerning this, Adam Clarke writes, "It is too often the case that,
in public worship, men are carried off from the sense of the words
by the sounds that are put to them. And how few... singers are there
in the universe whose hearts ever accompany them in what they call
singing the praises of God!" That would be a sad state, if
true. For though it is important for our physical presence to
assemble with the saints, isn't it even more important for our
hearts to also be in the right place and filled with the proper
devotion toward God?
Not only are we to sing psalms, but also "hymns." Lipscomb
defines the word "hymns" as "...songs of praise, thanksgiving, and
supplication, teaching our dependence on God and his willingness to
hear and bless."
Acts 16:25 records that while Paul and Silas were in the Philippian
jail, they were giving themselves to praising God in song: "But
about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of
praise to God...." And this was just soon after they had been
severely flogged and had their feet fastened in the stocks in the
inner prison.
Matthew 26:30 declares that "After singing a hymn, they went out to
the Mount of Olives." This doesn't mean, necessarily, that
they sang only one hymn. For the phrase "singing a hymn" is
actually from just one Greek word (humneo), which Thayer defines as
"to sing the praise of, sing hymns to...." As Barnes comments,
"The word rendered 'sung a hymn' is a participle, literally meaning
'hymning' -- not confined to a single hymn, but admitting
many." Virtually every source I looked this up in pointed out
that the hymns that Jesus and His apostles were probably singing at
this time were from Psalms 113-118. For the Jews celebrated
the Passover by singing or chanting from those psalms, with Psalms
113,114 sung during the Passover, and the rest at the
close. These psalms are referred to as the "Hallel," which
literally means "praise" and is defined as "a Hebrew liturgical
prayer consisting of all or part of Psalms 113-118, recited at the
beginning of each new month of the Jewish calendar and on various
festivals, as Passover and Hanukkah." So it is thought that
Jesus and His apostles probably sang the latter portion of this,
before going out to the Mount of Olives. And this also shows
that some psalms could also be considered hymns.
A third description of what is to be sung, when worshiping God, is
"spiritual songs," which is from the Greek word "ode" and
transliterated into our English language as "ode." Thayer
defines it as "a song, lay, ode." So we also see in this
passage that it is not merely any kind of song, but a spiritual song
that is to be sung unto God. All of these songs, the psalms
and hymns, would also be spiritual songs; and sometimes the same
song can contain the characteristics of a psalm, as well as a hymn;
so there is some overlapping. Lipscomb defines the spiritual
songs as "...those intended to inspire and cultivate feelings of
spiritual devotion and to bring the spirit of man into harmony with,
and under the control of, the Spirit of God."
In thinking back of all the church services you have ever attended,
could you imagine what they would have been like if there were never
the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs? The singing
of these is truly an important part of our worship to God, and one
of the ways in which we each are actively involved in doing our part
in the building up of the saints.
So let us do as Paul instructs in Ephesians 5:18-19, to "not get
drunk with wine...but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making
melody with your heart to the Lord." If just a little tune in
our heart can sometimes make for a better day, how much more so
should the songs of praise, with their lyrics that exalt the Lord,
do for us? It is one of the ways in which we can dwell on
spiritual things and, thus, be spiritually-minded, setting our
affections on things above and looking to Jesus with a heart of
reverence and thankfulness.
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News & Notes
Let those of us who are Christians continue to remember in prayer
the following:
Richard and Cheryl Crews who have both come down with a bad
case of the flu; Pam MacDonald who is to hear this week of
the test results of her back trouble; Abbie Jathym who was
not able to be with us recently due to sickness; Linda Lefort (Harris
Lefort's sister-in-law) who has throat cancer and is receiving
hospice care; Bill Barfield (Virginia Fontenot's brother)
who was admitted to ICU last March and has been in a step-down unit
ever since; Jean Calloway who has been having a foot
problem; Shirley Young, who continually experiences
fibromyalgia.
We are glad for the new job that Kelly Anderson recently
acquired, but sorry to see her have to move away from us to Houston
for it. She had been attending with the church here since a
baby. But also on a positive note, she has family in Houston;
and there are many good Christians and churches there; so we can be
glad for that for her -- and wish her well in her recent move!
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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation
1) Hear the gospel,
for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30,31).
2) Believe in the
deity of Christ (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent of sins
(Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith in
Christ (Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized in water
for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4;
Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet. 3:21).
6) Continue in the faith;
for, if not, salvation can be lost (Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet.
2:20-22).
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Park Forest
CHURCH OF CHRIST
9923 Sunny Cline Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70817
Sunday services: 9:00 AM (Bible class); 10 AM & 6 PM (worship)
Tuesday: 7 PM (Bible class)
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/go (Gospel Observer website)
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/audioser.html (audio sermons)