Photo by Pawel Czerwinski
Charity Gayle is a relatively new American artist and songwriter. She released two albums and one EP, including:
- Divine Exchange – EP (2015)
- Lord You Are My Song (2017, Deluxe Edition on 2018)
- Endless Praise (2021)
Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site! Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.
1. What message does the song communicate?
Gayle remembers her former life of sin, grateful that Jesus saved her through His shed blood. He left His throne to rescue her, trading His righteousness for her error. He rose again, granting her hope of new life. Gayle is grateful for Jesus’ payment, glorifying Him with her song.
Score: 10/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
The entire song oozes with Scriptural references properly exegeted.
Lyrics posted with permission.*
[Verse 1]
I was a wretch
I remember who I was
I was lost, I was blind
I was running out of time
Sin separated
The breach was far too wide
Gayle was a lawbreaker (Psalm 14:1-3, Psalm 53:1-3, Proverbs 21:16, Luke 15:11-24, Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:1, Colossians 2:13, and 1 Timothy 5:6) who faced eternal separation from God (Matthew 18:8, Matthew 25:41, Matthew 25:46, Mark 9:43, Romans 6:23, Jude 1:7, and Revelation 14:11).
But from the far side of the chasm
You held me in Your sight
Salvation was planned before the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34, Ephesians 1:4, Titus 1:2, 1 Peter 1:19-20, Revelation 13:8, and Revelation 17:8).
[Verse 2]
So You made a way
Across the great divide
Left behind Heaven’s throne
To build it here inside
And there, at the cross
You paid the debt I owed
Broke my chains, freed my soul
For the first time, I had hope
The plan of salvation is for Jesus to leave His throne and pay for Gayle’s sins (Philippians 2:5-8), freeing her from her former lifestyle to become like Christ (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24).
[Chorus]
Thank You, Jesus
For the blood applied
Thank You, Jesus
It has washed mе white
The shed blood of Jesus washes away her sins, purifying her (Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 9:22, 1 Peter 1:2, and 1 Peter 1:18-19).
Thank You, Jesus
You have savеd my life
Brought me from the darkness
Into glorious light
The light of Christ drives out the darkness within her (Psalm 107:10-16, Luke 1:79, John 1:1-13, John 12:46, Ephesians 5:8, Colossians 1:13, and 1 Peter 2:9).
[Verse 3]
You took my place
Laid inside my tomb of sin
Gayle describes the Great Exchange, where the Son of God trades Gayle’s error for His righteousness (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24).
You were buried for three days
But then You walked right out again
Jesus resurrected from the dead (Matthew 28:1-20, Mark 16:1-20, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-29, Acts 1:3, Acts 3:15, Acts 4:33, and 1 Corinthians 15:3-8).
And now death has no sting
And life has no end
For I have been transformed
By the blood of the Lamb
Summarizes 1 Corinthians 15:55-57. Also, see Romans 12:2.
[Bridge]
There is nothing stronger
Than the wonder working power
Of the blood, the blood
That calls us sons and daughters
Not only is there nothing stronger, but aside from the blood of Jesus, there is nothing else that will make forgiveness of sins possible (Hebrews 9:22) so that we could be God’s adopted children (John 1:12-13, John 14:18, Romans 8:14-17, Romans 8:23, Romans 9:1-8, Galatians 3:26, Galatians 4:5-7, Ephesians 1:3-14, Ephesians 2:11-22, Hebrews 9:15, and 1 John 3:1-3). Also, the phrase “wonder working power” is probably a reference to Lewis E. Jones’ hymn Would You Be Free From the Burden of Sin? (AKA Power in the Blood).
We are ransomed by our Father
Through the blood, the blood
As stated in 1 Peter 1:18-19, the blood of Jesus redeems us.
There is nothing stronger
Than the wonder working power
Of the blood, the blood
That calls us sons and daughters
We are ransomed by our Father
Through the blood, the blood
Repeats lines 1-6.
[Outro]
Glory to His name
Gayle glorifies God as her gratitude for Jesus’ sacrifice.
Glory to His name
Repeats line 1.
There, to my heart
Was the blood applied
See Chorus, lines 1-4.
Glory to His name
Repeats line 1. Also, the entire Outro borrows from the Refrain of E. A. Hoffman’s hymn Down at the Cross Where My Savior Died.
Score: 10/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
Gayle intermixes everyday language to explain the Christianese she uses, including the concept of sin, the sting of death, and ransom. Unbelievers should easily conclude similarly as I’ve explained in section 1 without deep study of Christianity. Gayle makes it explicitly clear that Jesus is the One who saved her.
Score: 10/10
4. What does this song glorify?
It glorifies God that Gayle is grateful for Jesus’ payment, that He saved her from eternal damnation so that she can inherit eternal life with Him, adopted as His child. Gayle explicitly states this in Outro.
Score: 10/10
Closing Comments
Charity Gayle’s Thank You Jesus For The Blood is excellent. Gayle recognizes her former state of eternal separation, that Jesus came down from heaven to rescue her, His shed blood makes forgiveness possible, and her adoption as Christ’s child. These glorify God. Those outside the camp of Christ should easily interpret similarly.
I highly recommend it for corporate worship.
Final Score: 10/10
Artist Info
Track: Thank You Jesus For The Blood (listen to the song)
Artist: Charity Gayle
Album: Endless Praise
Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)
Release Year: 2021
Duration: 5:33
Agree? Disagree? Don’t be shy or have a cow! Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.
*Copyright © 2021 ComissionMusic (ASCAP) Watershed Worship Publishing (ASCAP) McCleery MSC (ASCAP) Come Up Kings Publishing (BMI) Steven Musso Music (BMI) Gather House Music (ASCAP) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Updates:
02/19/2022 – Neal Cruco offered some great observations that deserve to be included in this review. Namely, references to two Hymns: Would You Be Free From the Burden of Sin? and Down at the Cross Where My Savior Died.
Comments
Walter Boyle
If you look carefully on the internet, you will quickly see that Charity Gayle is from a Oneness Pentecostal background. What is not clear is if she has renounced her Oneness Pentecostal background or if she still believes in Oneness Pentecostal doctrine. I am a Oneness Pentecostal and understand this song somewhat differently than the above explanation. I will give just 2 examples.
But from the far side of the chasm
You held me in Your sight
A Oneness Pentecostal believes this refers to God the Father.
So You made a way
Across the great divide
Left behind Heaven’s throne
A Oneness Pentecostal believes that God the Father left His throne in Heaven and at the Incarnation, in addition to what He already was, God the Father took on the form of a man. The sonship began when Jesus was born. Jesus pre-existed as the almighty God, there is no such thing as God the Son.
So, you can see, a Oneness Pentecostal understanding of this song is very different from a trinitarian understanding.
The question is, what does Charity Gayle think when she is singing this song? Does she believe that God the Father crossed the great divide, or does she believe that ‘God the Son’ did this?
Vince Wright
Walter,
Thank you for your comments! Although I normally make it a practice to not allow comments that speak on artist theology, as I believe songs should stand or fall on its merits and not based on what the artist intended, I wanted to address Oneness Pentecostal as a whole.
Oneness Pentecostal is the belief that the Father/Son/Holy Spirit are different “modes” of God. In the ancient world, this belief was known as Modalism (or Sabellianism) that was put forth by Sabellius. The chief problem with Modalism is that there are several instances in Scripture where the Father/Son/Holy Spirit interact with each other. See Genesis 1:26, Genesis 3:22, Genesis 11:7, Psalm 2:7, Psalm 104:30, Psalm 110:1, Matthew 3:16-17, Matthew 28:19, John 14:16. If the Father/Son/Holy Spirit are the same person, then you would have to conclude that God was talking to Himself. For example, in Matthew 3:16-17, it says that “a voice from heaven” said of the son, “this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”. Is the Father His own Son talking to Himself? It’s such a confusing mess that doesn’t make sense.
Sabellius, the originator of Sabellianism, was concemned as a heretic in 220 AD and whose teachings of Modalism were also condemned during the first and second councils of Nicaea and the Council of Rome.
Finally, thanks for letting me know that Charity Gayle is Oneness Pentecostal. However, I am struggling to find hard evidence that ties her to this movement. I’ve seen writings of her enemies that claim she is Oneness Pentecostal, but that’s about it.
-Vince Wright
Walter Boyle
Thank you, Vince. The Pentecostals of Alexandria is one of the largest Oneness Pentecostal churches in the USA. It is a United Pentecostal Church. It holds a conference each year called Because of the Times. If you go on YouTube, you will see Charity Gayle at BOTT2019 and BOTT2022. It is highly unusual for UPCI churches to permit trinitarians on to their platforms So, she certainly mixes with Oneness Pentecostals.
Jonathan
First of all, since Jeus ascended, he’s been seated at the “right hand” of the father, that’s how Joseph the patriarch was seated at Pharoah’s court, and it’s mentioned a lot of times that all authority was given to Jesus, not shared with Jesus, that doesn’t sound “co-equal”, what you quoted was the pharisees’ twisted logic; also, there’s no comparison because the trinity is not in the same dimension – God is in heaven, Holy Spirit is on earth, and Jesus is the WAY in between, that’s the simplest way to understand.
Frank
The lyric “we are ransomed by our father” is not trinitarian. We are ransomed by the Son (Jesus Christ), not the Father. I’ve read that she is from United Pentecostal Church which is a Oneness church (Jesus is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), which is not biblical theology. Liked the song up until this lyric about being ransomed by the Father. This crosses the line.
Neal Cruco
Frank,
Vince previously responded to this objection in an earlier comment. If you wish to respond to his argument, I’m sure he would welcome it.
“Gayle explains that Jesus paid our ransom at the beginning of Chorus and the end of Verse 3. However, this presents an interesting question: can the Father be credited as One who ransomed? I would like to present a case for why I think the Father also ransomed us. One, because He sent Jesus to die for our sins (John 3:16). Two, because Jesus wasn’t acting on His own behalf. He came to do the will of the Father (Matthew 26:39, Mark 14:36, Luke 22:42, John 5:19, John 8:28, John 12:49, John 14:10, and John 18:11).
“Had this song said, “We are ransomed by our Father Through His blood, His blood”, then I would have taken exception. Chiefly, because the Father doesn’t have blood to ransom us! It says “through the blood”, which Gayle already explained belongs to Jesus.”
As for the claim about artist theology, that is not within the scope Vince has set for this website. Only lyrics are judged.
Jonathan
There’s nothing wrong with the lyrics. God the Father did ransom us – through the Son. Jesus the Son is the manifestation of the Father in this material world. In other words, the physical presence of the Father in the likeness of man. This requires a correct understanding of the Trinity that challenges the canonical doctrine: God the Father is the Creator of the universe and the ultimate redeemer of His people; Jesus the Son is the one and only WAY to the Father, and through His death and resurrection we are redeemed; Holy Spirit is Spirit of truth that directs us to the WAY. The Son always honors the Father, and the Spirit always points to the Son. Therefore, the Trinity is indeed three persons as one, but NOT necessarily “co-equal” and “interchangeable”.
Frank
Jonathan – you stated “Therefore, the Trinity is indeed three persons as one, but NOT necessarily “co-equal and interchangeable.” Yes, they are not “interchangeable”, but as far as coequal Scripture is clear on this – John 5:18: “For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself EQUAL with God”, and Philippians 2:5-6: “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider EQUALITY with God something to be used to his own advantage” (emphasis mine in both verses). The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ARE coequal in nature, essence, and attributes..
Jonathan
That’s a poetic way to describe the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. “On this rock I’ll build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not overcome it.”
John
Thank you for the analysis! I had a question regarding:
“So You made a way / Across the great divide / Left behind Heaven’s throne / To build it here inside”
What is the author intending in the last stanza by “it” and “here inside”? Jesus left Heaven’s throne to pay our debt on the cross (as the lyrics go on), but I wanted to properly understand what exactly Jesus is building and inside where. Thanks!
Dan Hilburn
I strongly disagree with your analysis of Charity Gayle’s song “Thank You Jesus For The Blood Applied” contains at least one line that is heretical. The line states; “We are ransomed by the Father through the blood”. The Father did not ransom us. Jesus did! He paid the ransom. And to whom was the ransom paid? It was paid to the Father.
Vince Wright
Dan,
Thank you for your comment!
Yes, Jesus paid for our lawbreaking, but the Father sent Jesus to atone for our sins (see https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/The-One-Who-Sent-Christ). Thus, the Father was also involved in our ransom.
-Vince Wright
Dan Hilburn
This song contains the following lyric: “We are ransomed by the Father, Through the blood, the blood”. If this is the case, to whom did the Father pay the ransom, since the song seems to teach that the Father paid the ransom? It seems to me that we are ransomed by the Son, not by the Father, since the ransom was paid to the Father, not by the Father, as this song seems to be teaching.
Vince Wright
Dan,
Thank you for your comment!
Gayle explains that Jesus paid our ransom at the beginning of Chorus and the end of Verse 3. However, this presents an interesting question: can the Father be credited as One who ransomed? I would like to present a case for why I think the Father also ransomed us. One, because He sent Jesus to die for our sins (John 3:16). Two, because Jesus wasn’t acting on His own behalf. He came to do the will of the Father (Matthew 26:39, Mark 14:36, Luke 22:42, John 5:19, John 8:28, John 12:49, John 14:10, and John 18:11).
Had this song said, “We are ransomed by our Father Through His blood, His blood”, then I would have taken exception. Chiefly, because the Father doesn’t have blood to ransom us! It says “through the blood”, which Gayle already explained belongs to Jesus.
Thoughts?
-Vince Wright
Johnnie Hilburn
Jesus being sent to die for our sin did not pay the ransom. It was the death of the Savior that paid the Ransom. Further, Scripture teaches that Jesus came to give his life as a ransom, Matthew 20:28 and gave himself as a ransom 1 Timothy 2:6. Jesus paid the ransom to the Father. Even though Jesus is God incarnate, He lived as a man in perfect submission to the will of the Father, Philippians 2:5-11. He laid aside the free exercise of His prerogatives as God. I do not think it can be said that He was not acting on His own behalf, see Hebrews 12:2,and since Christ is God, He, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit, determined in eternity past, the counsels and purposes of God, that the Son would give His life as a ransom. It was the death of Christ that satisfied the justice of God the Father, not Christ being sent to die. In addition, the blood of Christ in Scripture is a term that is typically used to signify His death. For these reasons, I think it is a bit of a stretch to say that the Father ransomed us, but all this may just be a matter of semantics.
Jonathan
There’s no “whom”. Sin is not a “whom”. It’s a natural deterioation that ultimately leads to DEATH. God is not paying a ransom to Satan or anybody, the purpose is to illustrate the cost of His Son that saves us from the deadly CONSEQUENCE of our sin through the blood. God had established a sacrificial ritual to cover the sin of mankind since Adam and Eve – by killing an innocent animal to make coats for them. That was just a temporary covering for sin. The crucifixion of Jesus on the other hand is the ULTIMATE sacrifice that paid this penalty for sin once for all, herein described as a “ransom”, therefore the lyrics is accurate.
clint
Nice Catch!
Gayle is a ONENESS PENTECOSTAL Believer. They are JESUS ONLY Believer. So, when she said “We are ransomed by the Father, Through the blood, the blood” she means that Jesus is also a Father. Because that’s their belief.
You can tell it another way around that ” it is through Jesus Blood and not really the Father and that the Father worthy to receive the credited for this great salvation.
However, we can’t deny that Jesus is another mode of the Father based on their belief. Modalism
I hope someone will read this. Correct me if I’m wrong about her belief.
XS Lindsey
This song is one of the most bold proclamations of the Gospel I have heard from any contemporary worship song in (possibly) years. It is a wonderfully scriptural song, full of heartfelt gratitude and rich theology. The only teeny-tiny little miniscule thing that seems lacking is one small phrase in the third verse: “laid inside my tomb of sin.” Well…yes, spiritually speaking, that makes sense. However, such wording could possibly give the impression that the tomb is figurative, spiritually constructed by the individual’s sin. At the risk of overstating the obvious, Jesus was placed in a literal tomb for a physical burial that had eternal implications for all mankind (Hebrews 10:10). Furthermore, the physical death and burial of Jesus also point to His physical resurrection. This is where the physical meets the spiritual. Reducing the phrasing to “my tomb of sin,” could be misunderstood as an entirely figurative spiritual phenomenon (just as “resurrection power” often is). Maybe that’s splitting hairs, and I don’t think the song should be “docked” for it theologically. The song is written from a personal testimony standpoint (and sometimes a songwriter just needs a phrase to rhyme!)
Vince Wright
XS Lindsey,
Thank you for your comments!
I think the next two phrases covers this, when Gayle sings,
You were buried for three days
But then You walked right out again
This shifts the focus from a spiritual truth to a literal bury/resurrection, which most (if not all) people will immediately recognize. There’s always potential that people can misunderstand lyrics, but in this case, I think the artist is clear in their presentation. Lines 1 and 2 are spiritual whereas lines 3 and 4 are literal and point towards the physical tomb and subsequent resurrection.
-Vince Wright
Meg
The lyric I can’t get past is “You walked right out again.” The word “again” implies that he walked out of his tomb once before…Can you help reconcile this specific word choice?
Neal Cruco
Meg,
You appear to be using again to mean “once more”; Gayle used it to mean “to a previous place, position, or state”. Jesus went from life to death and back to life.
See definition 2 below, in contrast with definition 1. The New Oxford American Dictionary includes a similar definition.
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/again
Meg
Hmm. I understand what you’re suggesting, but it still feels strange to me. I know I shouldn’t lead with skepticism, but it feels like she’s compromising on clarity for the sake of a rhyme scheme.
Neal Cruco
Meg,
Well, I do not know what else to say. You asked for an explanation of that line, and I have provided it. It does not seem complex or opaque to me. I assume you are not familiar with this definition of the word, but it is rather natural and mainstream, so I’m not sure what “compromise” there could be.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/again
https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/again
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/again
https://www.wordnik.com/words/again
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/again
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/again
Meg
I appreciate your effort — thanks for trying to help!
Michelle Nezat
This song!!! I made the comment on the way to church this morning that if people attending church only knew God by the lyrics we sing, what would we know? Well, if this song is in the playlist, you would have the entire gospel message. Love love love this song. So glad you agree.
Vince Wright
Michelle,
Thank you for your comments! I couldn’t agree more.
-Vince Wright
Jonathan
Is there a review of this song on your podcast?
Michelle Nezat
Jonathan,
It’s coming soon! I have it slated to release March 7th. I’m already studying for it…in Leviticus. I can’t wait.
Neal Cruco
My church is singing this song on Sunday, so this review was well-timed! It looks like a great one.
I thought I’d mention that the Outro appears to quote from the hymn “Down at the Cross”. Also, the Bridge’s use of the term “wonder working power” may be a reference to “Power in the Blood”- it’s pretty thin, but I’ve not heard that phrase in any other context.
https://www.hymnary.org/text/down_at_the_cross_where_my_savior_di_dow
https://www.hymnary.org/text/would_you_be_free_from_the_burden_jones
Vince Wright
Neal,
Thank you for your comments!
I hadn’t heard of this hymn. You’re correct! It’s the same exact words as Refrain.
As for “wonder-working power”, I agree that it’s thin. However, I could have mentioned its possibility in my initial review. These are great observations that deserve to be included. I updated my review.
-Vince Wright
Jonathan
Finally, there’s the review on this great song! I gotta say that in regard of terminology, the lyrics is kind of similar to Living Hope, as it conveys the same message of Jesus bridging the “chasm” between man and God. The focus in the chorus part though is different, this one is about salvation through the blood, while Living Hope praises the resurrection. Both are extraordinary, of course.
Vince Wright
Jonathan,
Thank you for your comments!
I was thinking about Living Hope also when I wrote this review! However, I didn’t realize that their focus was different until you said it. I agree, both are extraordinary songs!
-Vince Wright