Hillsong Worship – Elohim

Is it that time again to review Hillsong?  Of all the requests I received for review, Hillsong is certainly the most popular!  Not that I am surprised or anything.  I’ve already done five reviews thus far, including Oceans, So Will I, What a Beautiful Name, P E A C E, and Who You Say I Am. This will be my sixth to add to the collection and *ahem* I’ll have a new one out within a few days!

I will not bore you with details about Hillsong, except to say that with all their popularity deserves some scrutiny, especially given their reach to youth and young adults.  Thus far, I have not found any glaringly heretical songs, although their theology is a different matter; However, as per the constraints within this website, I will focus only on their 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.  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 is a worship song with shout-outs to various Biblical themes, attributes of God, and acts of God.  He is worthy of our affection, our praise, and our adoration.  We can stand firmly on Him for strength and hope.  With minimal repetition and vivid detail, Hillsong offers a clear picture of God’s majesty, touching on His creative ability and describing twelve separate attributes of God:

1. Patient
2. Kind
3. Not envious
4. Not boastful
5. Ways are higher than ours
6. Thoughts are immeasurable
7. Love
8. Almighty
9. Creator
10. Lord of hosts
11. King
12. Immeasurably valuable

While most of these are heavily used in Christian music, the usage of the first four, working the famous “love chapter” that is 1 Corinthians 13 as attributes of God was both bold and brilliant, causing me to re-read this chapter differently.  They fuse original lyrics with Biblical passages into a cohesive message about God’s greatness, fitting for the title Elohim.

Score: 10/10

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

It is not just biblically accurate.  Hillsong has quotes either directly or indirectly from the Scripture to write much of this song.  Lyrics posted with permission.*

I omitted the “outro” section since it repeats the Chorus.

[Verse 1]

I stand upon the solid rock Of faith in Christ

Jesus is the foundation to which our faith exists and flourishes (see Deuteronomy 32:4, 1 Samuel 2:2, 2 Samuel 22:47, Psalm 18:31, Psalm 28:1, Psalm 62:2, Psalm 94:22, Psalm 118:22, Isaiah 28:16, Matthew 7:24-27, Matthew 21:42, Acts 4:11, 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, Ephesians 2:20, 2 Timothy 2:19, and 1 Peter 2:6).

This steadfast hope shall not Break apart within the trial

Trials and tribulations serve to stretch our faith, producing in us a stronger, firmer, and bolder faith (see Psalm 66:8-12, Acts 14:22, Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4, and 1 Peter 1:5-9).

I am assured His promises will never fail

Though I myself have not personally studied all the promises of God (I am working on it), below are five promises I examined as of this writing:

1. He will supply all the things we need, but not necessarily the things we want (Philippians 4:19). It is according to His purpose that we receive them (Romans 8:28).

2. His grace is sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:9). When things go really bad for me and I cling to Jesus, I find that in those dark moments, I realize how blessed I am. I do not deserve them (grace literally means “unmerited favor”).

3. Whenever I face temptation, God promises to always provide the way out (1 Corinthians 10:13). That does not mean that I always take it, and when I fail to do so, bad consequences almost invariably follow. As I continue to study the Bible and spend time with God, I become more aware of what the way out is.

4. God promises to hear our request, so long that we ask in accordance to His will (1 John 5:14-15). Jesus makes a similar sentiment in John 14:14, which has the same undertone when He says “in my name”. A lot of people think that if we ask God anything, that He should always give us what we want. This is a misunderstanding of prayer. We are to pray in accordance to the will of the Father! We often ask with the wrong motives (see James 4:1-3, particularly verse 3), which is why sometimes we do not receive what we ask.

   Once I learned of this promise, I started praying according to God’s will. Sometimes I receive what I ask. Sometimes I do not. Sometimes it takes a while before I get it. I kinda see this like a traffic light: green for go, red for no, and yellow for waiting. I understand this is not a perfect analogy (especially the yellow), but that was helpful to me. Many will chalk this up as mere coincidence. I happened to get what I asked for. But, what I noticed in my life is that the more I pray, the more coincidences occur. In those times when I do not pray, the coincidences stop.

5. He promises persecution to those who follow Him (Matthew 10:16-23). This is not a pleasant promise or one that evangelists talk about much. However, when I do a proper Gospel presentation, I make sure to bring this one up. That way, should those who listen decide to follow Jesus, they will not be surprised when they are persecuted for the sake of Jesus (1 John 3:13 and1 Peter 4:12). it is because they hate Jesus that they persecute us (Mark 13:13 and John 15:18).

While this is not an exhaustive list of God’s promises, it is important that we cannot hold the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit to promises they never made.

As long as life remains He is faithful

There exists an exhaustive list of sub-topics and verses regarding Christ’s faithfulness at https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/dictionary-of-bible-themes/2021-Jesus-Christ-faithfulness.

[Chorus]

God is patient
God is kind
He does not envy
He does not boast

I see what you did there Hillsong.  Very clever!  You quoted from 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 and changed “love” to “God”.  This is legitimate given that God is love (1 John 4:8).

His ways are higher than my own
His thoughts consume the great unknown

These two lines allude to Isaiah 55:8-9, that His unfathomable thoughts are higher and greater than our feeble ones.

Of this alone I am sure
My God is love

I used 1 John 4:8 to support and legitimize the opening of the Chorus.  Hillsong quotes it here directly.

[Verse 2]

I draw my breath under His Created windswept sky

This is an act of worship, especially given that it is the breath of God that gave man life (Genesis 2:7).

I know my hope shall last Long after my flesh retires

Given that Christ is Hillsong’s foundation, they are firm in their faith, regardless of their situation, including old age (see 1 Corinthians 16:13, 2 Corinthians 1:24, Ephesians 6:11, Philippians 1:27, Philippians 4:1, Colossians 1:23, 2 Thessalonians 2:15, Hebrews 3:6, Hebrews 3:14, Hebrews 4:14, Hebrews 6:11, Hebrews 10:23, and 1 Peter 5:9).

From dusk until the dawn He calls His children home

That is, His adopted children (see 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).

His righteous love outlasts generations

It lasts forever insofar as Christ is eternal (see John 8:58, Colossians 1:13-17, and Hebrews 13:8).

[Bridge]

He is Almighty God, Elohim

The entire bridge, as we will later see, touches on several attributes of God.  The first listed here is that He is Almighty.

With 48 references in the Old Testament and 10 in the New Testament (mostly in Revelation), the Bible uses the word “almighty” both as a title and attribute of God.  The word “‘ĕlôhı̂ym”, the plural version of “ĕlôahh”, has nearly 2,600 usages, used both generically (including Genesis 1) and specifically the God of Israel, first specifically named in Genesis 2:4 as “yehôvâh” (or Jehovah).  In the context of this song, it is this specific usage that ‘ĕlôhı̂ym is attributed.

Maker of the earth

The second attribute described is Creator.  There are several references to God as the Creator, which naturally includes the earth (Genesis 1:1, Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 8:3-8, Psalm 33:6, Psalm 96:5, Proverbs 3:19, Isaiah 37:16, Isaiah 42:5, Isaiah 45:18, Isaiah 66:1-2, John 1:1-3, Ephesians 3:9, Colossians 1:16, and Revelation 4:11).

He is the Lord of hosts, Heaven’s King
God of endless worth

Hillsong describes three more properties of God:

1. Lord of hosts – This phrase appears 261 times in the Bible, including 1 Samuel 1:3, 1 Samuel 11:1-15, 1 Samuel 17:45, Psalm 24:10, Psalm 46:7, Psalm 11:1-7, Isaiah 1:9, Isaiah 6:3, Isaiah 10:16, Isaiah 33:1-24, Isaiah 47:4, Isaiah 54:5, Jeremiah 51:5, and Malachi 1:14. The word “hosts” comes from the Hebrew word “tsebâ’âh” meaning “a mass of persons”, as in an army.

   Jesus Himself once said that He could call upon twelve legions of angels in Matthew 26:53.  A “legion”, in a Roman army, is a unit of 3,000–6,000 men.  Taking the low figure, that is 36,000 angels! There was one such occasion when two angelic beings, in the appearance of men, blinded the entire city of Sodom (Genesis 19:11).  God used the angels to level both Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24).

   In other words, God’s army, His hosts, are massively powerful, just what we should expect from a being such as the Almighty.

2. Heaven’s King – Of course God is King.  Who else would rule over His creation except for the Creator Himself?  That only makes sense.  While there are numerous passages referencing God as king, majesty, or majestic, I hand-picked more relevant passages, including Exodus 15:6, Exodus 15:11, 1 Chronicles 29:11, 2 Chronicles 20:6, Psalm 24:10, Psalm 93:1, Psalm 110:2-3, Psalm 104:1, Psalm 145:5, Psalm 145:12, Job 37:22, Isaiah 24:14, Isaiah 26:10, Hebrews 1:3-4, Hebrews 8:1, Revelation 4:1-11, and Revelation 19:7-16.

3. Endless worth – How much do we value God?  It depends on our level of obedience to His commandments.  The musings of Biblical characters about God’s greatness are far too many to list.  Psalms 145-150 is a great place to look, dedicated to praising the Lord.  So is Exodus 15:2, Deuteronomy 10:21, 1 Kings 8:56, 1 Chronicles 16:28, Isaiah 63:7, Jeremiah 20:13, Daniel 2:20, 1 Peter 4:11, Revelation 4:11, Revelation 5:12, and many, many others.

His kingdom stands above, every power
Every living soul

Like any good king, God has a “dom”-inion by which He reigns the ultimate Supreme King (hence the word “kingdom”).  I commented earlier about God as King.  According to Revelation 11:15, the world’s kingdoms will become the Kingdom of God, which will last forever.  The others will be crushed (Daniel 2:44).  The old earth will pass away, ushering in the new (Revelation 21:1), with God as its ruler.

His love is like the sun, ever true
Shining over all

God’s light shines in the darkest of places, driving it out (see Psalm 107:10-16, Luke 1:79 (read in context; “child” refers to Jesus), John 1:1-13, John 12:46, Ephesians 5:8, Colossians 1:13, and 1 Peter 2:9).

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

The song title Elohim should be a dead giveaway that it is not a song about a zombie apocalypse, a drunken sailor, or your aunt’s boyfriend.  Perhaps the uninitiated would do a google search and find: a DJ? Woah, I had no idea!  Well, it also has a dictionary reference, which states “a name for God used frequently in the Hebrew Bible.”  So is the DJ reference.  So, there you have it.

It is not just the title.  There are several explicit references both to Jesus and God all over the place!  Combined with the 12 attributes of God and biblical themes, as discussed earlier, this behemoth-sized pile of evidence makes it obvious even to unbelievers that Hillsong worships God throughout these lyrics.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

Elohim.  Nuff said.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Hillsong Worship nails it yet again with Elohim.  It contains references to 12 separate attributes of God, a diverse selection of Biblical topics, and more Scriptural references than my entire movie collection, glorifying the Almighty.  This should be obvious even to those who do not follow Jesus.

Despite their theological stance, Hillsong Worship ought to be lauded for this one.  They have truly gone beyond the stale, dry, and overused themes of God’s love and forgiveness, especially with their unique usage of 1 Corinthians 13.

It is a shame that my local radio station did not play this one, at least, not during my one-hour commute to and from work.  I would have enjoyed it.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: Elohim (live) (listen to the song)

Artist: Hillsong Worship

Album: Let There Be Light (live)

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM), Gospel

Release Year: 2016

Duration: 4:29

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

*Copyright © 2016 Hillsong Music Publishing (APRA) (adm. in the US and Canada at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Updates:

05/07/2021 – Per Artist Theology announcement, I expanded the red text to encourage others to study Hillsong’s theology.