this is a gifted response

i was listening to some music this morning at the gym. yes, i said the gym. i may not look like i have ever stepped foot in a gym, but i am trying to change that. :)

anyways, so i was at the gym and i heard a song that i have heard plenty of times before but for some reason is stuck in my head and is keeping me thinking. i have posted the lyrics here for you to think about too.



this is a gifted response
father we cannot come to you by our own merit
we will come in the name of your son as he glorifies you
and in the power of your spirit

we have come to something so mysterious
too deep for words to comprehend

through the open door where the angels sing
and the hosts of heaven are antheming


and we'll sing the glory of your name
celebrate the glories of your grace
we will worship you, we will worship you
and we'll make your praise so glorious
singing songs of everlasting praise
we will worship you, we will worship you

- gifted response, matt redman

there is a tremendous amount of deep theology here. the idea of a "gifted response" in itself is amazing. the opportunity to even worship comes only through the redemption of jesus. the scripture says god turns a deaf ear from those that are not of the family of god (john 9:31). does worship of any sort count as well? sure, why not? because any form of worship is completely tainted through our sin and therefore not pleasing to god (see the story of cain and abel for more on that)...unless of course, through faith we have been credited righteousness (romans 4:5). this allows us to worship god without the stain of our sin, and our offerings become pleasing to god, a fragrant aroma if you will (ephesians 4:5 / phillipians 4:18), as was abel's sacrifice in genesis.

we approach god ONLY through the son. what an amazing truth.

and in addition to that, we see that when we worship, we enter through the open door to where the angels sing and everything in heaven is antheming (anthem - a song, as of praise, devotion, or patriotism). this is basically what we see in the book of revelation (shout out to the college bible study heads!!) when john finds himself before the throne in revelation chapter 4.

see, we think about that passage most of the time as what we see when we enter heaven. the living creatures, the elders, everyone basically worshipping god. but essentially, everytime we offer worship we enter into this room. the hosts in heaven are antheming constantly. they worship god with no end. and so when we worship, we simply....join them.

the mysteries of god are deep and overwhelming. they are beyond our comprehension, and that should drive us to our faces before a completely holy and completely loving god. we should always choose to worship him, remembering that it is indeed a gift.