Kanye West – God Is

Happy new year!

Kanye West has been attracting much news since he released Jesus is King in September 2019. His Sunday Service, ties with President Trump, appearance with Joel Olsteen, and controversial comments have attracted commentary from news organizations, commentators, musicians, and of course, Christians.

It’s also attracted a lot of Berean Test reviews. Thus far, I reviewed West’s Selah and Use This Gospel, receiving a critical and decent score, respectively. God Is will be the third entry in my apparent quest to review his entire Gospel album. I’ll have a fourth entry later in January: Follow God.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Kanye-west-god-is-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?

God is:

• the light in darkness
• everything
• worshipped by all who inhale
• the strength of weak believers
• faithful
• miraculous
• proclaimed by Christ followers
• king of kings
• lord of lords
• available to everyone, regardless of financial status
• changing lives and hearts to conform to Himself
• savior
• the source of living water
• the source of life breathed onto dead sinners
• the source of personal revelation
• forgiver
• rescues those enslaved to addiction
• the mission field of West, which includes his family and household
• the ultimate victor

That is quite a list!

Score: 10/10

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

All of it aligns with God’s inspired Word.

[Intro]

Lines 1 and 2: That is, God is the light that drives out darkness (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).

Lines 3 and 4: References 1 Corinthians 15:28, which itself is a reference to the sovereignty of God (Genesis 1:1, Deuteronomy 4:39, Deuteronomy 10:14, Joshua 2:11, Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 29:10, Psalm 45:6, Psalm 50:7-15, Psalm 93:1-2, Psalm 115:3, Psalm 135:6, Isaiah 43:13, Isaiah 45:9-10, Isaiah 46:10, Lamentations 5:19, Daniel 4:35, Romans 9:19-21, Ephesians 1:11, Hebrews 1:8, James 4:15, Revelation 4:11, and Revelation 20:11).

Line 5: Yes, He simply is (Exodus 3:14).

[Verse]

Line 1: Quotes Psalm 150:6.

Line 2: That is, the firstfruits.  This is an important concept that was first recorded in Genesis 4:4, with Abel bringing the firstfruits as his sacrifice, showing his trust in God for the rest of the harvest.  This concept shows up again under the Levitical law in Leviticus 23:4-21 as part of a larger Passover celebration.  Finally, under the New Testament, Christ’s resurrection from the dead, taking place during the end of Passover week, is itself the firstfruits of those who will be raised from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20–23).  Kanye recommends that we show devotion to God by offering Him the best of what He has given us.  How do we do that?  By freely giving away our possessions (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).

Line 3: Communion helps us remember what Jesus did for us (Mark 14:22-25, Luke 22:18-20, and 1 Corinthians 11:23-25).

Line 4: In both 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 and Philippians 3:12-14, the Apostle Paul describes racing as an analogy for the Christ follower’s life.  We train, practice, and perform obedience to God’s commandments.  West acknowledges God as the One who provides this power.

Lines 5 and 6: West sees God’s faithfulness around Him (Numbers 23:19, Deuteronomy 7:9, Psalm 33:4, Psalm 91:4, Psalms 119:90, Lamentations 3:22-23, 1 Corinthians 1:9, 1 Corinthians 10:13, 2 Thessalonians 3:3, 2 Timothy 2:13, Hebrews 10:23, 2 Peter 3:9, and 1 John 1:9).  His faithfulness to us in that Christ died while we were sinners cannot be explained naturally (Romans 5:6-8).

Lines 7 and 8: Jesus commanded His followers to make disciples of all nations, requiring us to tell people about what Jesus did for us (Matthew 28:18-20).

Line 9: Revelation 19:16 describes Jesus as both King of kings and Lord of lords.  Other passages that declare God as King of kings include 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, and Revelation 4:1-11.

Line 10: Financial status is not a factor for entry into heaven.

Line 11: Jesus (who is God) changes our desires (Psalm 51:10, Jeremiah 24:7, Ezekiel 11:19, Ezekiel 36:26, Romans 2:29, Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 5:17, and 2 Corinthians 7:10).

Line 12: The message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are already perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18).  Later lyrics provide the necessary elements for West’s description of salvation.

Line 13: That is, West’s trajectory from his fleshy death to spiritual life (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24).

Line 14: That is, Jesus is the living water that sustains him (Jeremiah 17:13, Zechariah 14:8-9, John 4:7-26, John 7:37-39, Acts 2:1-13, Revelation 7:13-17 (compare with Revelation 6:9-11), Revelation 21:6-7, and Revelation 22:1-5).

Lines 15-17: West experiential spiritual awakening is how he knows God is not dead and non-existent, but alive and real (John 3:3, John 9:25, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:5, Ephesians 5:14, Titus 3:5, and 1 Peter 1:3).

Line 18: That is, a dead religion of works (Hebrews 6:1, James 1:26 and James 2:14-26).

Line 19: That is, a new covenant, with its perpetual reminder in communion (Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:19-20, and 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

Line 20: See commentary in line 13.

Lines 21-23: That is, the freedom from one’s own internal prison of addiction.  This is a form of spiritual slavery.  See commentary in line 13.

Line 24: That is, Jesus has West.

Line 25: Refers to West’s Sunday Service church services.

Lines 26: A correct rejection of idols, consistent with the 10 commandments (Exodus 20:4-6).

Lines 27-29: West’s goal is to glorify God, not become a mere entertainer (1 Corinthians 10:23-33 and Colossians 3:17).

Lines 30-32: West’s family and household is part of his mission field.

Line 33: Though West might struggle, he recognizes that ultimately, Jesus will have the victory (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).

[Outro]

Line 1: Coming off the heels of Verse, line 33, it states that God is the victor.

Lines 2 and 3: Repeats line 1.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

It’s hard to think that someone who is not a follower of Jesus would interpret this song differently than I: a collection of points that shows God’s attributes, actions, and freedom offered to anyone who wishes to receive it.  He uses language that all can understand.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

God, who is.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Kanye West’s God Is is an excellent Christian song.  It provides a plethora of Biblically-centered points, some of which include God as Savior, freedom from addiction, and His ultimate victory, which bring glory to God.  His unbelieving audience will find his message easy to comprehend.

Aside from West’s Sunday Service, it seems inconceivable to find use for this in terms of corporate worship.  Perhaps if the service is tailored to a rap/hip hop audience, this might make for a worthy entry.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: God Is (listen to the song)

Artist: Kanye West

Album: Jesus is King

Genre: Soul

Release Year: 2019

Duration: 3:23

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

Updates:

03/25/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.