Written By Pastor Lincoln Graham, Jr.
1 Cor 14:7-8 And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? For if the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
Revelation 10:7 (KJV) But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
The Apostle Paul writes in the book of 1 Cor. 14:7-8 that all things – whether alive or dead – that create sound should give a sound that is articulate and distinct. Inarticulate sound is nothing but noise, and noise leads to confusion. When it comes to the Glory of God, all of creation echoes an articulate and distinct sound that reaffirms his creative power. In Psalms 19:1-3 (KJV) the chief musician declared “1The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth his handywork. 2Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. 3There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.”
This distinct and articulate sound issues out of God’s eternal purpose and binds all created things on a pathway that leads either to judgment or salvation as they are judged by his holiness. The sound, without guidance, from natural or spiritual law guides every man, woman and child on a pathway of yearning for the face of God.
Sound, when it is harmonious, pleases the spirit and soul of man. Harmonious sound is music, and music influences us to be happy, sad, angry or militant. On the other hand noise is “sound that is loud, unpleasant and causes disturbance; that obscure or contain no meaningful data or information.”
Noise makes us angry, stressed, and even sick. Sound in of itself is powerful, but the sound and music of God’s divine purpose is unparalleled and absolute. In the first chapter of Genesis, the Spirit of God moved across the face of the deep, brooding over the face of chaos’ darkness. Things were bleak until God spoke these momentous words, “Let there be light.” At that moment an act of sound (His voice) and even music issued out of the creator and began to organize the nothingness according to his purpose.
It was an act of sound, for as God brooded, His internal purpose impacted the chaotic equilibrium of darkness, disturbed the air of chaos; bringing into subjection the discord to the order of His divine will. In the moment that He expressed those faithful words -“let there be…”, action, movement, and change moved through the deadness of what was. The Logos began to unveil His eternal purpose. Gods words “let there be…” was not only spoken into the tumultuous ether – it touched it and changed it.
It was an act of voice, for it was the verbalization of God’s purpose, God’s character and God’s nature. It was an act of music because it was art. God, through the creative processes, formed balance and symmetry; martialed and coalesced from himself unimaginable forms that interacted. It was a balance and symmetry that spewed out to a mathematical certainty the degree and correlation of all things formed.
And so the declaration “let there be…”, propagated a controlled, modulated melody of harmony that not only impressed itself upon a dissonant environment, but combined to create a cascading song of articulated creative processes that brought creation to a state of completion.
God interacting with man in the cool of the day was Music as well as language for it gave centrality, order and composition to man’s life. Although Man fell in sin, thereby creating a rift between he and his maker, the sound and the music of God did not stop, nor was it abated. From dispensation to dispensation God slowly added tone, pitch and modulation to his rendering. Down throughout history, as the sound and the music of God played, things began to happen that seemingly were contrary to each other but worked out to be the perfect will of God.
The Sound and music played and Abraham was caught up in faith and began to walk, looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. The Sound and music played in Egypt – the sound moved through the night sealing those who had been covered under the blood and protecting them from the relentless onslaught of the death angel. The Sound and music carved a pathway through the Red sea when Moses stretched forth a rod and called on God.
Not only was the music playing, but it was getting louder, more distinct and melodious as instance upon instance combined to add chorus to the music of God’s purpose. It got more distinct and clearer as God revealed Himself in fire, darkness, thunder, and shaking as he presented his law to the children of Israel on Mount Sinai.
Mathew expounds on the change in melody, rhythm, and timbre as he points to the focal point of this new stanza of sound and music – It is the Christ: the Christ who has direct lineage to Abraham. Luke expounds further as lyrically the sound gets richer, for he points him from Abraham to Adam who was the Son of God. This was a Sound and song filled with mystery: but John raises a crescendo as he, moved by God, begins to tie together the various parts and gives an explanation. ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…’ (John 1:1-12).
But God changed the Sound and the music again; for that same Word is condemned to be cursed and crucified on a cross on Golgotha’s hill. Satan thought he had stamped out the music of this mysterious song of God. But Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:7–9 ‘But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him’.
What God was preparing musically was more wonderful than what He started in Genesis. FOR THIS SAME JESUS WHO WAS CRUCIFIED, WHOM GOD RAISED FROM THE DEAD, HAS BECOME THE CORNER OF THIS MYSTERIOUS SONG.
For there is salvation in no other, for there is no other name given among men, whereby we must be saved. This same Jesus, after he was raised but before he ascended, instructed his disciples go tarry in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. This power from on high is the basis for the music. We discover in the book of Acts chapter 2 that suddenly the music rose as a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled all the house that they were sitting and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.
And so we see the purpose of the music is that we, who were His creation, should become one with Christ – to the extent that He would be in us and we in Him. For if we have been buried in Christ, we have put on Christ; and our lives are hid in Him.
As long as we are hid in Christ, the music and the sound of God resonates within us and EMPOWERS, EMBOLDENS and ENERGIZES us to continue in Christ. (Ephesians 5:2; 8-10; Galatians 5: 22-25; Jude 1:20-25)