Photo by Cederic Vandenberghe
Elevation Worship, much like Bethel and Hillsong, is a church-based worship band that competes for global Christian Music dominance and influence. With their home in Charlotte, North Carolina, and led by controversial pastor Steven Furtick, it’s hard to deny how successful their worship division has become.
They released many albums and EP’s.
They also won eight awards, including two Billboard for Top Christian Artist (2021) and Top Christian Song (Graves into Gardens, 2021), two GMA Dove awards for Spanish Language Album of the Year (Aleluya (En La Tierra), 2020) and Worship Recorded Song of the Year (The Blessing (Live), 2020).
Also, check out my other Elevation Worship reviews.
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. I strongly encourage you to consider the potential blessings and dangers of this artist‘s theology by visiting Resources.
1. What message does the song communicate?
This song heavily leans on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Specifically, the beatitudes and His statement about seeking first the Kingdom of Heaven. Elevation Worship sprinkles in other truths during Bridge’s second iteration. Specifically, we should avoid making money and fame an idol, flee from trusting in one’s own wisdom and works, and seek God’s Kingdom with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Though I initially thought that “this is the Kingdom” is confusing, I’m now convinced that this is more about people coming into the Kingdom of Heaven than offering a definition of what constitutes as the Kingdom of Heaven.
The statement “ask and He will”, although likely understood as Christians praying to God and awaiting His response, is an incomplete sentence. Something should appear that tells us how God will respond.
Side Note: To those annoyed by massive repetition, Bridge’s first iteration essentially repeats the same phrase 16 times in a row. Its second iteration is still repetitive, albeit peppered with other truth statements in-between calls to seek God’s Kingdom. I counted 34 the second time around, including the partial statement, “all will be added”.
Score: 9/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
All of it aligns with God’s inspired Word. Despite “ask and He will”‘s incompletion, without a viable alternative to “God responds to prayer”, I have no reason to think it’s unbiblical.
Lyrics posted with permission.*
[Verse 1]
Blessed are the poor in spirit
For theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven
Blessed are those who mourn
For they will be comforted
Blessed are the meek
For they will inherit the Earth
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
Quotes from Matthew 5:3-6, specifically from the NIV.
[Chorus]
For they will be filled
This is the last line of Matthew 5:6.
They will be filled
Essentially repeats line 1.
This is the Kingdom
This is the Kingdom
This is the Kingdom of Heaven
According to the KJV translation of Matthew 19:14, “this is the Kingdom” carries the same meaning as “the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” in other translations. Who does it belong to? The people described in the Beatitudes.
Ask and He will
This is a potentially confusing statement. Ask who, God? Yes, based on the rest of the song, this is God whom we are asking. If so, what will He do? Most likely, He will give us blessing and the Kingdom of Heaven.
Ask and He will
Repeats line 6.
This is the Kingdom
This is the Kingdom
This is the Kingdom of Heaven
Repeats lines 3-5.
Side Note: Chorus’ third and fourth iteration replaces the word “they” with “you”, personalizing it for Elevation Worship’s audience.
[Verse 2]
Blessed are the merciful
For they will be shown mercy
Blessed are the pure in heart
For they, they will see God
Blessed are the peacemakers
For they will be called “children of God”
Blessed are those who are persecuted
Because of righteousness
Quotes from Matthew 5:7-10, specifically from the NIV.
[Pre-Chorus]
For theirs is the Kingdom
Theirs is the Kingdom
Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven
This is the second part of Matthew 5:10.
[Post-Chorus]
Kingdom of Heaven
Kingdom of Heaven
Repeats second half of Verse 1, line 2.
[Bridge]
So, seek first the Kingdom and all will be added
A paraphrased version of Matthew 6:33.
Seek first the Kingdom and all will be added
Seek first the Kingdom and all will be added
All will be added, all will be added
Seek first the Kingdom and all will be added
Seek first the Kingdom and all will be added
Seek first the Kingdom and all will be added
All will be added, all will be added
Seek first the Kingdom and all will be added
Seek first the Kingdom and all will be added
Seek first the Kingdom and all will be added
All will be added, all will be added
Seek first the Kingdom and all will be added
Seek first the Kingdom and all will be added
Seek first the Kingdom and all will be added
All will be added, all will be added
Repeats/essentially repeats line 1.
Side Note: Bridge’s second iteration contains these lines, alongside a lot of filler and a few substantial lines, including:
- Don’t chase the money (Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13, 1 Timothy 6:10, and Hebrews 13:5).
- No, don’t chase the fame (Matthew 6:1-7, John 12:41-43, and 1 John 2:15-16).
- Don’t trust in your own wisdom or own way (Proverbs 3:7, Proverbs 26:12, Proverbs 28:26, and Romans 12:16).
- Oh, with all your might, with all your mind, with all your soul, with all your strength. Most likely, alluding to Deuteronomy 6:5, Matthew 22:37, and Mark 12:30.
[Outro]
Yes, it is
That is, this is the Kingdom.
Yes, it is
Yes, it is
Repeats line 1.
Score: 10/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
Unbelievers have probably heard of the beatitudes and “seek first” statements and will immediately associate them with Christianity. I’m not 100% certain if they will walk away confused when hearing “This is the Kingdom of Heaven” or “ask and He will”. More to the point, they probably won’t know what the Kingdom of Heaven is about, much less how to seek it, without additional research. While I don’t expect songs to be sermons, Elevation Worship is probably expecting their believing audience to know these things. Unbelievers, however, will likely not know what Elevation Worship is talking about.
Score: 4/10
4. What does this song glorify?
It glorifies God that we are blessed based on the beatitudes and that we should seek His Kingdom.
Score: 10/10
Closing Comments
Elevation Worship’s This Is the Kingdom is good for believers. It spends most of its time quoting from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and includes a few vices to avoid, alongside a push to seek God’s Kingdom with all our hearts, glorifying God. However, the statement “ask and He will”, while understood as Christian prayer, is incomplete. Unbelievers who are unfamiliar with the Christian concept of the Kingdom of Heaven will likely think it’s Christian, but not understand its meaning purely from the lyrics.
While I cannot recommend this song for corporate worship, it could be useful during a church service to remind us to count our blessings and seek His Kingdom.
Final Score: 8.5/10
Artist Info
Track: This Is the Kingdom (listen to the song)
Artist: Elevation Worship (Feat. Pat Barrett)
Album: LION
Genre: Rock
Release Year: 2022
Duration: 9:57
Agree? Disagree? Don’t be shy or have a cow! Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.
*Copyright © 2022 Housefires Sounds (ASCAP) Capitol CMG Genesis (ASCAP) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com), Music by Elevation Worship Publishing (BMI) My Magnolia Music (BMI) Be Essential Songs (BMI) (admin at EssentialMusicPublishing.com). All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Updates:
01/06/2023 – Added commentary at the end of this review about potential church service usage for this song.
11/08/2022 – After a lengthy conversation with Spirit and Truth Ministries, I changed my mind about the two confusing statements. Therefore, I updated my review, raising the overall score from 7/10 to 8.5/10.
Comments
J
I’m a bit concerned about the omission of “these things” in the “all will be added” paraphrase of Matthew 6:33.
Jesus lists three very specific things God will provide for: food, drink and clothing (Matthew 6:25,31). Without “these things”, “all will be added” could be misinterpreted as being about health, wealth et cetera
(Of course, Romans 8:32 could be similarly misinterpreted as promising prosperity now… But for Matthew 6:33 omitting “these things” actually changes the meaning of the verse.)
Spirit and Truth Ministries
Two more things (My thought processing sometimes works best after posting a comment: 1) The only reason I had brought up the mentioning of God was because you mentioned the son does not mention the King at the beginning of the review.
2) I think the corporate worship section needs to be adjusted a bit. It seems like songs about our personal journey would more likely than not receive a “not recommended for corporate worship.” Can we not at least praise God by declaring to Him what he’s done in our lives? Pat Barrett’s song “Canvas and Clay” is a good example of this. I’ll post a comment there on it.
Vince Wright
Spirit and Truth Ministries,
Thank you for your comments!
1) Understood.
2) We can look at them on a case-by-case basis. I’m a different reviewer than I was a year ago, much less two years, when I first wrote my review of Canvas and Clay. I used to think that no testimonials belonged in corporate worship. I don’t believe that anymore. That’s the great thing about The Berean Test: I learn things and adjust my reviews to reflect my current thinking. It shows my journey as a reviewer and all the errors I made along the way. While humbling for me, others seem to appreciate my approach. At the very least, I’ve never received any complaints about showing all the updates.
-Vince Wright
Dave
Vince, I very much appreciate seeing your reaction to the conversations about this song. You are truly an anointed person in your ministry to discern the nature of songs as they relate to a worship context. In most cases you are very much spot on. In this case I think there is a bit of over thinking. Per your analysis, this has all the elements of a good corporate worship song. It is true to scripture, provides a basis for humble adoration of our God, and expresses a sense of hope found only in Him. It has a few phrases that can be misunderstood by seekers, but that is not necessarily a criteria for exclusion. That it musically creates a bond, and is singable, adds to the reasons why congregations should consider adding to their lists. Please keep up the good work! Blessings and best wishes to you in the New Year!
Vince Wright
Dave,
Thank you for your comments and compliments!
First, I don’t think it’s a good fit for corporate worship because it doesn’t strike me as a song that, in its primary focus, is meant to proclaim to God His value and worth. At best, it holds God in high favor indirectly, but doesn’t focus on speaking to Him and telling Him how awesome He is.
Second, another commentator suggested that I go through my reviews and look for ones that, although I can’t recommend them for corporate worship, could still find use in the church. I should talk about what that use might look like in my reviews as I’ve started to do recently, and I should place some sort of symbol (perhaps an asterisk) in the Song Review Index page on “no” ratings that indicates usage during a worship service, but not necessarily for the intent of proclaiming directly to God His value and worth. This song would fit under that category. I’m strongly considering a different category altogether with its own color: “Other”. I think this word best summarizes the explanation I just offered. I’ll also add a blurb to the Song Review Index page that explains the rating.
This reminded me that church service isn’t just about worshipping God. It is also about edifying the church and reorienting us to follow God’s commands. This song is calling us to remember God’s blessing and seek His Kingdom. We should be hearing this during a church service, even if it does not directly call us to worship.
Finally, I haven’t “officially” announced this yet, but I’m going through all my reviews with an 8+ rating that contains a corporate worship rating of “no”. I updated the conclusion for this review to reflect the things I just shared about church service usage.
-Vince Wright
Dave
Vince, I think it should be a life lesson for many that disagreement is not the basis for a sheep and goats determination. I see this as a specific song for a specific worship moment. Context is important. I also see and respect your challenges with this song. Continued blessings and best wishes my friend.
Dave
“I cannot recommend this song for corporate worship.”.
Wow. Any time we cannot embrace the Beatitudes as a familiar and worthy direction for worship, we are missing the point. There is a time a place to take a deep, critical dive, and this is not it. This song is what it is, a corporate celebration of the things that draw us together, an affirmation of the path Christ described for us.
I would guess many of us can find comfort, joy and strength from a worship experience like this. In my case, I am lucky to be alive, and seek experiences that bring a closeness to our Creator, to Christ our hope, and to the Holy Spirit, our connection to all that is good. This song reminds us of that place and time.
Yes for corporate worship.
Vince Wright
Dave,
Thank you for your comments!
There are two primary reasons why I cannnot recommend this song for corporate worship:
1. The confusing statements that I critiqued.
2. The beatitudes are primarily focused on explaining the various facets of people who are blessed and what their blessing is. Bridge is a single commandment that is given to the people; a command that they should seek the Kingdom first. Corporate worship is about proclaiming to God His value and worth. This song isn’t focused on doing that. Thus, I cannot recommend it for corporate worship. However, if my critiques are overcome during the service, it could be useful in other aspects. For example, stirring the people to receive God’s blessing and compelling them to seek His Kingdom. Appropriateness for the service is NOT the same as appropriateness for corporate worship.
-Vince Wright
Spirit and Truth Ministries
Hi Vince!!!!
I have a couple things about this review which I dissagree:
1) I noticed that in your above comment you stated that corporate worship is about proclaiming to God His worth and value. Question: Are you therefore saying that we can not use songs that declare what God has done in our lives to declare God’s value and worth? The way I see it, the best way to declare to God how great He is is to declare His work in our lives. This song does that. It declares that the Christian has been filled by God after seeking not only God’s kingdom, but also His righteousness.
2) Now as for the “ask and He will” line, if you look at it in the context of the final chorus, it can be read as “ask and He (God) will fill you with His righteousness.”
3) The “This is the Kingdom” line also could be saying “these are the members of the kingdom” which, at least in my eyes, is fine to say.
4) And finally the song might not mention God’s name a lot but neither does “Breathe” by Marie Barnett which you gave a 10/10 review. In fact for every 2 times “This Is The Kingdom” mentions God by name “Breathe” mentions God by name zero times in total.
Those are my thoughts. I am not a Bible scholar or have professional training, but I just wanted to share my thoughts.
Vince Wright
Spirit and Truth Ministries,
Thank you for your comments! Responses are below.
1) Any person can use whatever songs they want for any reason they want. It’s not my job to play gatekeeper for other people’s worship services or personal song choices. However, when I think about “corporate worship”, I think about proclaiming back to God His value and worth. As far as I can tell, declaring the beatitudes and singing, “So, seek first the Kingdom and all will be added” over and over again doesn’t accomplish that goal. Saying what God has done in our lives is what I call “inspirational”, and as I said in response to another commenter, there might be a place in the service to help the congregants with such a song, reminding them that they are blessed and that they should seek God’s Kingdom. However, in my opinion, it’s not worship as it doesn’t directly say to God, “God, we value you and here are our reasons why”.
Also, the two unclear statements strengthen my resolve to not recommend this song for corporate worship.
2) With all due respect, the phrase “with His righteousness” isn’t anywhere close to existing in the final iteration of Chorus. There is a change from “they” to “you”; However, if “with His righteousness” isn’t in the lyrics, or alluded to in the lyrics, then I don’t have any good reason to interpret it that way. We could also insert, “fill you with God’s blessing”, as that is part of Verse 1, or “give these things that are added”, which points to Bridge, or even “give you what you seek”, which again points to Bridge. All of these interpretations are Biblical, and they are potentially valid. Which one is it, your interpretation or any of my alternatives? I don’t know. I maintain that the statement, “ask and He will” is unclear.
3) It could be, but it could also be my interpretation as well. Which is correct? I don’t know. That’s why I say that it’s unclear.
4) I’m not sure how this point applies to this review. My deductions have nothing to do with the lack of the name “God” in these lyrics. I deducted points because two statements are ambiguous. It would have received 10/10 in sections 1, 2, and 4 if they were clear and Biblical, as well as increased points in section 3. It is abundantly clear that this song is about the Christian God because the beatitudes are so well-known among westerners, especially Christians. I deducted more points in section 3 because, in my opinion, most unbelivers don’t know what this is. Again, I don’t respect songs to be sermons, but if Elevation Worship wanted them to understand what the Kingdom of Heaven is about, an explanation would have been helpful.
Bear in mind, section 3 should often be taken with a grain (or perhaps a pound) of salt. Many of my favorite worship songs have points deducted in section 3. If I wrote a song, I’d probably deduct points in section 3!
-Vince Wright
Spirit and Truth Ministries
Thanks for the reply!
This does clear up a lot. I am glad to learn some new insight from others. May God continue to bless your ministry!
Spirit and Truth Ministries
Hey Vince!!
It’s me again.
After re-reading your comments, I realized something about the songs lyrics: every single line quotes or paraphrases a scripture.
The “this is the kingdom” is a reference to Matthew 19:14. Jesus says this of children, and in Matthew 18 He says “unless you are like a child you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” So considering the context of the song and the verses it quotes, I got the interpretation I gave earlier.
The ‘ask and He will” section is a paraphrased version of either Matthew 7:7 or John 14:14. In those verses Jesus simply says, “ask and I will do it” or “ask and it shall be given.” If Jesus did not specifically say what they were to ask for but only gave the guideline of “that the Father may be glorified,” then according to your standards the Bible is unclear.
I have never heard a good sermon that only quotes scripture and does not use the context and other scripture to interpret its meaning. So why should we not do so with our songs? Scripture is explained by scripture and this song is full of it from beginning to end. Saying that this song is unclear is kind of saying that the scriptures it quotes are.
That is all I have to say. hope I am not sounding ignorant to your points, for they are valid.
Vince Wright
Spirit and Truth Ministries,
Thank you for your comments!
For “this is the Kingdom of heaven”, I think I’m finally seeing your point. It took reading the King James Version to see what you are saying. The KJV of Matthew 19:14 reads (emphasis mine), “But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” In this translation, the word “is” and the phrase “belong to” in other translations mean the same thing. This is confirmed in Pre-Chorus, when Elevation Worship sings,
For theirs is the Kingdom
Theirs is the Kingdom
Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven
I’ll make the change once our conversation comes to a head.
As for “ask and He will”, After re-reading my comments, your comments, praying, and thinking about it more, I asked myself the question, “aside from asking God through prayer and receiving based on His timing and glory (John 14:13-14), what else could this possibly mean?” The only thing I can come up with is James 4:3, that we asked and did not receive, because we asked with the wrong motives. However, this doesn’t make sense given Bridge, which I doubt that anyone will interpret based on Bridge. Most Christians will probably tie this with Matthew 7:7 or John 14:14, as you stated. Maybe it’s just the grammatical part of me screaming, but the sentence still seems incomplete. Something should appear that tells us what God will do. This affects the song’s message and unbeliever’s interpretation more than its Biblical accuracy or glorification of God.
I think the fairest thing to do is to give a small penalty in section 1, give section 2 a “10”, leave section 3 alone (this is still really confusing for unbelievers), and give a “10” for section 4.
What do you think?
-Vince Wright
Spirit and Truth Ministries
That is a fair proposition. And looking at the “ask and He will” section, yeah. It is confusing for non-Christians.
Vince Wright
Spirit and Truth Ministries,
Awesome! I updated my review. I still can’t recommend it for corporate worship though. Still, it will receive a theological depth rating of “mixed” because the beatitudes are theologically deep and the rest of the song is milk.
-Vince Wright
Spirit and Truth Ministries
I have been blessed discussing this song with you and have learned alot from your points as well. May God continue to use you!!
Vince Wright
Spirit and Truth Ministries,
Agreed! This conversation led to a better, and more accurate, review. May God continue to use you to help me become a better reviewer!
-Vince Wright
Mark Migel Smith
I truly understand you and appreciate your view here. I love the Berean Tests and often use it to make sure songs align. One of the things I have come to learn is that there is a stiffer eye of critique on certain churches and their music, and this is one of them. The songs literally quotes scripture, and it gets scored 4/10 on how an outsider would interpret the song. Outsiders definitely aren’t as critical. Clarity should be provided to point the outsider to the end that states being filled with righteousness. However, a 4/10 was pretty telling of the mindset when reviewing this song. I wouldn’t give that section at 10/10. But 4/10 is pretty heavy.