Chris Tomlin – How Great is Our God

Chris Tomlin is a man who requires no introduction.  Beginning his career in 1993, he released sixteen albums, including:

• Inside Your Love (1995)
• Authentic (1998)
• Too Much Free Time (1998)
• The Noise We Make (2001)
• Not to Us (2002)
• Arriving (2004)
• See the Morning (2006)
• Hello Love (2008)
• And If Our God Is for Us… (2010)
• Burning Lights (2013)
• Love Ran Red (2014)
• Adore: Christmas Songs Of Worship (2015)
• Never Lose Sight (2016)
• Holy Roar (2018)
• Chris Tomlin & Friends (2020)
• Miracle of Love: Christmas Songs of Worship (2020)

He is a 26-time award recipient, including 23 Dove Awards, 2 Billboard awards, and 1 Grammy.

Also, check out my reviews of Resurrection Power, Noel, God’s Great Dance Floor, Jesus Loves Me, My Deliverer, Wonderful Maker, Our God, At The Cross (Love Ran Red), and Home.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Chris-tomlin-how-great-is-our-god-lyrics.

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?

Tomlin strings together a plethora of Bible verses that evidences God’s greatness.  Rationale includes:

• Ruler
• Majestic
• Clothed in light
• Timeless
• Exists as a trinity of persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
• Christ is the Lion and the Lamb
• Jesus’ name is above all others

In response:

• Christ-followers worship God
• Unbelievers shirk

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

This entire song aligns with God’s inspired Word.

[Verse 1]

Line 1: Tomlin speaks of the glorious splendor of God’s majesty (Psalm 145:5).

Line 2: Tomlin calls for the entire world to praise God (Psalm 69:34, Psalm 96:11, Psalm 97:1, and Psalm 150:6).

Line 3: Essentially repeats line 2.

Lines 4 and 5: As stated in Psalm 104:2, God is cloaked in illumination.  In response, those in darkness flee (John 3:20).

Line 6: Essentially repeats line 5.

[Chorus]

Line 1: Refers to God’s unfathomable greatness (Psalm 8:1, Psalm 8:9, and Jeremiah 10:6).  Tomlin asks us to join him in song.

Line 2: The first part repeats the first part of line 1.  The second part will occur when the world bows the knee to Jesus (Romans 14:11 and Philippians 2:10-11).

Line 3: Essentially repeats the first part of line 1.

[Verse 2]

Lines 1-3: That is, God is eternal (Deuteronomy 33:27, 1 Chronicles 16:34, Job 36:26, Psalm 48:14, Psalm 90:2-4, Psalm 102:12, Psalm 102:26-27, Proverbs 8:23, Isaiah 40:28, Isaiah 41:4, Habakkuk 1:12, John 17:5, Romans 1:20, 1 Corinthians 2:7, Ephesians 1:4, Hebrews 1:11-12, 1 Peter 1:20, 2 Peter 3:8, Revelation 1:8, Revelation 11:17, and Revelation 22:13).

Line 4: Repeats line 3.

Lines 5 and 6: References the trinity.

Line 7: Jesus is the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5) and the sacrificial Lamb (Isaiah 53:7, John 1:29,  John 1:36, Acts 8:32, 1 Peter 1:19, Revelation 5:6-8, Revelation 5:12-13, Revelation 6:1, Revelation 7:9-17, Revelation 12:11, Revelation 13:8, Revelation 14:1-10, Revelation 15:3, Revelation 17:14, Revelation 19:7-9, and Revelation 21:9).

Line 8: Repeats line 7.

[Bridge]

Line 1: This title was bestowed upon Jesus by the Father (Philippians 2:9).

Line 2: God is worthy of our worship (1 Chronicles 16:25, 2 Samuel 22:4, Psalm 96:4-5, Psalm 145:3, and Revelation 4:11 ).

Lines 3 and 4: Tomlin sings the first part of Chorus, line 1 with his whole heart (Psalm 86:12, Psalm 103:1-2, Psalm 103:22, Psalm 119:10, and Psalm 138:1).

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

This entire song is easily understood by unbelievers.  It’s a song that explains why God is great and invites others to worship Him.  Tomlin intermixes Christianese with everyday language that is accessible to an unbelieving audience.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God as the Exalted, eternal Ruler of the universe, whose light causes those in darkness to flee.  Yet, every knee will bow and confess Jesus as Lord.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Chris Tomlin’s How Great is Our God is an awesome song.  Jam-packed with Scripture, it declares God as great and explains why, including His Majesty, light, and eternality.  In response, we worship Him, knowing that the entire world will bow their knees to Jesus.  After all, His name is above all others, bringing God glory.  Unbelievers should have little to no problem comprehending this song.

I highly recommend it for corporate worship.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: How Great is Our God (listen to the song)

Artist: Chris Tomlin

Album: Arriving

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2004

Duration: 4:27

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