Ephesians 5.19-Being Influenced By the Spirit Results in Music that Honors the Lord Jesus Christ
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Saturday September 5, 2026
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 5:19-Being Influenced by the Spirit Results in Music that Honors the Lord Jesus Christ
Lesson # 366
Ephesians 5:15 Therefore, each and every one of you as a corporate unit must continue to make it your habit of paying careful attention to the manner in which each and every one of you make it your habit of conducting your lives. Each and every one of you as a corporate unit must continue to not make it your habit of conducting your lives in an unwise manner. On the contrary, each and every one of you must continue to make it your habit of conducting your lives in a wise manner 16 by continuing to make it your habit of taking full advantage of your opportunity for your own benefit because these days are characterized by evil. 17 For this reason, each and every one of must continue to make it your habit of not conducting your lives as foolish individuals. On the contrary, each and every one of you as a corporate unit must continue to make it your habit of conducting your lives as wise individuals by comprehending for the purpose of personal application what constitutes the Lord’s will (for the manner in which each one of you as a corporate unit are to continue making it your habit of conducting your life). 18 Consequently, each and every one of you as a corporate unit must continue to make it your habit of not permitting yourselves to be drunk by means of the excessive intake of wine because this is non-sensical behavior. On the contrary, each and every one of you as a corporate unit must continue to make it your habit of permitting yourselves to be influenced by means of the Spirit’s teaching 19 with result that each and every one of you as a corporate unit continue to make it your habit of communicating with one another by means of psalms, hymns as well as spiritual songs so that each and every one of you as a corporate unit continue to make it your habit of singing and specifically continuing to make it your habit of making music with your hearts for the benefit of the Lord. (Lecturer’s translation)
To summarize, in Ephesians 5:19, although Paul employs three participles in this verse, he is only making two assertions, which are the result of obeying the command in Ephesians 5:18.
This command required the recipients of this letter continue to make it their habit of permitting themselves to be influenced by Paul’s Spirit inspired apostolic teaching.
In fact, both assertions have the same referent because the second assertion defines or makes explicit the first.
The first assertion states that obedience to this command in Ephesians 5:18 will result in the recipients of this letter continuing to make it their habit of communicating with one another by means of psalms, hymns as well as spiritual songs.
The second asserts that obedience to this command will result in the recipients of this letter continuing to make it their habit of singing and specifically continuing to make it their habit of making music in their hearts for the benefit or glory of the Lord.
As we noted, the third participle defines the second indicating that when Paul speaks of the members of the Gentile Christian community in the Roman province of Asia communicating with one another by means of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, he is referring to them singing to each other.
Therefore, communicating with one another by means of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs is equivalent to singing and specifically making music with one’s heart.
In fact, since the first and second assertions have the same referent indicates that singing and specifically making music by means of each facet of one’s heart for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ is equivalent to believers communicating with one another by means of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
The reference to making music in their hearts has been erroneously interpreted as not communicating with one’s fellow believers this music but to oneself.
This of course would appeal to those Christians who do not have good voices to sing with.
However, Paul is defining communicating with one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs as singing and specifically making music with their hearts for the benefit of the Lord.
This would involve composing these psalms, hymns and spiritual songs and performing them on behalf of one another (cf. 1 Cor. 14:26), which honors the Lord Jesus.
In other words, the method of communication is to be the performance of original compositions, which honor the Lord.
The reference to this music being written and performed with the heart refers to the various facets of the heart such volition, mentality of the soul, conscience, and emotions.
Therefore, the contents of Ephesians 5:19 indicate that by the members of the Gentile Christian community in the Roman province of Asia continuing to make it their habit of obeying the command in Ephesians 5:18, the recipients of this letter would continue to make it their habit of worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ through composing and performing music, which honors Him and ministers to each other.
There are four English words, “reverence,” “respect,” “awe,” and “wonder,” which express the concept of worshipping God.
Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines the noun “reverence”: “A feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe; veneration.”
Therefore, paraphrasing this definition and applying it to the unique person of Christ, we would say that the Christian’s response to a study of the unique person of Jesus Christ is to possess an attitude of deep respect and awe for Him.
Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines the noun “respect”: “esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or trait, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or trait.”
Thus, the Christian should esteem the excellence of His unique Person as manifested through His personal qualities or attributes such as love, faithfulness, mercy, compassion, justice, righteousness, truth, omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, immutability, and sovereignty.
Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines the noun “awe”: “an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc. produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful or the like.”
Thus, the Christian should possess an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration for the Lord.
Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines the noun “wonder”: “to be filled with admiration, amazement or awe; marvel.”
The Christian’s should be filled with admiration, amazement and awe in response to who the Lord is as the God-Man.
Warren Wiersbe writes, “True wonder reaches right into your heart and mind and shakes you up. It not only has depth, it has value; it enriches your life. Wonder is not cheap amusement that brings a smile to your face. It is an encounter with reality, with God, which brings awe to your heart. You’re overwhelmed with an emotion that is a mixture of gratitude, adoration, reverence, fear-and love. You’re not looking for explanations; you’re lost in the wonder of God.”
Therefore, paraphrasing this comment by Wiersbe on wonder we would say that the Spirit’s revelation in the Scriptures concerning the person of Jesus Christ should reach right into the Christian’s heart and shake them up and enrich their lives.
It should overwhelm them with an emotion that is a mixture of gratitude, adoration, reverence, fear and love for the Lord.
The Christian shouldn’t be looking for explanations but rather they should be lost in the wonder of the person of Christ.
Therefore, the Christian should approach the Lord Jesus Christ to worship Him by manifesting an attitude of deep reverence, respect and awe for Him for who and what He is and what He has done for them as their Creator-Redeemer.
Psalm 68:35 O God, You are awesome from Your sanctuary. The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people. Blessed be God! (NASB95)
Warren Wiersbe defines worship, “Worship is the believer’s response of all that they are –mind, emotions, will and body-to what God is and says and does. This response has its mystical side in subjective experience and its practical side in objective obedience to God’s revealed will. Worship is a loving response that’s balanced by the fear of the Lord, and it is a deepening response as the believer comes to know God better.”
If we paraphrase Wiersbe’s definition, we could say the following: The Christian should respond in their mind, emotion, and body to the Spirit’s revelation in the Word of God concerning the unique person of Jesus Christ.
Psalm 2:11 Worship the LORD with reverence and rejoice with trembling. (NASB95)
Psalm 95:6 Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. 7 For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. (NASB95)
Worship is the act of paying honor and reverence to Him and affection for Him and flows from love and where there is little love, there is little worship.
It is the loving ascription of praise to the Lord in gratitude and appreciation for who and what He is, both in Himself and in His ways and in His work on the Cross for us and is the bowing of the soul and spirit in deep humility and reverence before the Lord.
Psalm 29:2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in holy array. (NASB95)
The church’s destiny is to worship the Lord, as revealed in Revelation 4-5.
The contents of Colossians 3:16 echoes and parallels the contents of Ephesians 5:18-19.
Colossians 3:16 The teaching originating from and about the one and only Christ must continue to exist in a state of dwelling abundantly among each and every one of you. Each of you must execute this command by continuing to make it your habit of providing instruction, specifically by providing instruction for one another with regards to proper conduct. Each of you must provide this instruction by means of a wisdom which is absolute, by means of psalms, hymns, spiritual songs. Each of you must execute the command by continuing to make it your habit of singing with gratitude with your entire being for the benefit of God the Father. (Lecturer’s translation)
