Elevation Worship – Jesus I Come

This will be my fifth review of Elevation Worship’s music.  Thus far, I have reviewed Do It Again, Here Again, Yours (Glory and Praise), and their greatest hit O Come to the Altar with mid to high scores.

Several months ago, they quietly released Paradoxology, a collection of songs from their Grammy-nominated album Hallelujah Here Below. So, their new album is the study of paradoxes?  Probably not.

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?

It has all the hallmarks of a typical Christian worship song: the need for God’s grace in weakness, desire to bring God glory, and greatness of His love.  However, Elevation Worship has not told us what this “grace” is nor why His love is so amazing.  It dances around the idea of the cross and Christ crucified, teasing and hinting at it, and expects their audience to implicitly comprehend its meaning.  Still, they are clear that we praise God for becoming our righteousness.

There is a healthy balance between singing about self and singing about God.  Particularly, His glory, righteousness, and amazing love.

Score: 8/10

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

Despite its hinting and prodding, this song agrees with Scripture.

Lyrics posted with permission.*

[Verse 1]

Oh how I need Your grace
More than my words can say

Grace is unmerited favor.  Since works cannot save us, God’s grace is the only thing that can save us from the consequences of our sins (Matthew 5:20, Luke 18:9-14, Acts 13:39, Romans 3:20-30, Romans 4:1-7, Romans 8:3, Romans 9:16, Romans 9:31-32, Romans 11:6, Galatians 2:16, Galatians 2:21, Galatians 3:10-12, Galatians 3:21, Galatians 5:2-4, Ephesians 2:8-9, Philippians 3:3-9, 2 Timothy 1:9, Hebrews 6:1-2, and James 2:10-11).

Jesus, I come

Maybe I am just nitpicking, but it seems to me that something here is missing.  Come where?

Jesus, I come

Repeats line 3.

In all my weaknesses
You are my confidence

It is through weakness that God’s grace becomes sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).  Trials serve to help shape our character (Romans 5:3-5, Hebrews 12:4-11, and James 1:2-4).

Jesus, I come
Jesus, I come

Repeats line 3.

[Chorus]

I will rise, stand redeemed

That is, we stand justified before God because of Christ’s atoning sacrifice (Isaiah 53:1-12, Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 1:29, John 3:16, John 19:30, Acts 4:12, Acts 20:28, Romans 5:6-10, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 1:3-4, Galatians 3:13, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 2:14, 1 Timothy 2:6, Titus 2:14, Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 9:15, Hebrews 9:22, Hebrews 9:26, 1 Peter 1:17-21, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Peter 1:18-19, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 2:1-2, and Revelation 5:9).

Heaven open over me

A prayer offered to God for His help.

To Your name eternally
Endless glory I will bring

Our obedient actions bring God glory (2 Corinthians 9:13).

[Verse 2]

Oh what amazing love
We need Your cleansing flood

Alludes to the blood of Jesus to wash away sins (Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 9:22, 1 Peter 1:2, and 1 Peter 1:18-19).

Jesus, I come
Jesus, I come

Repeats Verse 2, line 3.

In every broken place
You are my righteousness

See commentary in Chorus, line 1.

Jesus, I come
Jesus, I come

Repeats Verse 2, line 3.

[Bridge]

Thank You, Jesus

That is, for becoming our righteousness.  See Verse 2, lines 5 and 6.

Just as I am I come

Yes, we can come to God as we are, but we should not stay as we are.  The cleansing process requires pruning and discipline (eww John 15:1-11 and Hebrews 12:4-11).

Hallelujah

A compound Hebrew phrase, with “hallelu” meaning “a joyous praise in song” and “jah” or “yah”, which refers to the Tetragrammaton YHWH. Put together, we are singing “we joyfully praise God in song” when we use this word.

Oh what amazing love

Indeed, God’s love is amazing!  He demonstrated it on the cross (Romans 5:6-8).

[Outro]

Ooooooo
Ooooooo

Elevation Worship ends with a nod to Casper the friendly ghost.

Score: 9/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Those who are not Christians will easily recognize this as a Christian song.  However, the subtle hints to the cross and Christ crucified will probably sail over their heads, making it difficult to use for evangelism, except in the case of a seeker-sensitive church.  Perhaps hinting would be far more useful in that setting.

Score: 6/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God, but the issues laid out in earlier sections makes it difficult to score this perfectly.

Score: 8/10

Closing Comments

Elevation Worship’s Jesus I Come is mediocre at best.  Sure, it has all the building blocks of a good Christian song; However, they could improve by explicitly writing about why they love God so much.  Some might see this as excessive nitpicking and that is their right, but when I worship God, I want to tell Him why.

Worship leaders can decide if they want to use this one or not.  It might be best for a seeker-sensitive church, looking to introduce Christianity to their audience.

Final Score: 8/10

Artist Info

Track: Jesus I Come (listen to the song)

Artist: Elevation Worship

Album: Wake Up The Wonder

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2014

Duration: 5:51

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

*Copyright © 2014 Elevation Worship – Jesus I Come, Elevation Worship Publishing (BMI) Be Essential Songs (BMI) (admin at EssentialMusicPublishing.com). All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Updates:

09/14/2021 – Per Artist Theology announcement, I expanded the red text to encourage others to study Elevation Worship’s theology.

03/24/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.