What are “Spirit-kind-of odes” or “New odes” that Christians are to share in their gatherings?

 

 

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Paul says that “Spirit-kind-of odes” are one of three types of music Christians are to “routinely be conversationally speaking (k) reciprocally to yourselves . . . routinely singing/praising (a) and/coupled psalming (b) in your hearts to the Lord” (c) or “routinely teaching (d) and/coupled admonishing (e) reciprocally one another in all wisdom . . . routinely singing/praising (a) with unconditional-favor-of-grace (f) in/by/with your hearts to the Lord” (g).  Clearly “conversationally speaking, teaching, and admonishing reciprocally one another in all wisdom” in this context (h) takes the form of “praise-singing or psalming with instruments from our hearts to the Lord,” and this is all associated to “being routinely filled by the Holy Spirit instead of getting drunk on wine” for a genuine Christian “party” (i) and “having the logos gospel message of Christ dwelling in us richly” (j).  Although this is a “party,” the focus of singing and playing is not to entertain an audience but directed toward the Lord.  This is not just a performance from our heads but singing/praising in/by/with our hearts. <Notes> a) ado, b) psallo, c) Ephesians 5:19, d) didasko: see Teach One Another, e) noutheteo: ‘placing in the mind of’ – urgent reasoning by instruction and warning, f) here we are to be aware of/recognize “grace in/by/with your hearts,” and naturally our response would be thanksgiving expressed through “singing/praising in/by/with” those same “grateful hearts,” g) Colossians 3:16, h) other texts speak of many more grace-gifts and activities, i) Ephesians 5:18 – see Spirit-Baptism, j) Colossians 3:16, k) laleo: conversational words emphasizing the social aspect.

 

Now that we have the direction and attitude right, how are these 3 types of music different for Christian worship? We know that hymns are pre-composed acapella “without instrumentation” songs and psalms are pre-composed instrumental songs, and that we are exhorted to not only insure that these were originally composed in/by/with the Spirit instead of the flesh’s “might and power,” but that these hymns and psalms are to be routinely “plucked” as praise from our thankful hearts to the Lord.  This really covers the anointed composers and anointed singing and playing of these compositions.  So that covers 2 types of music, but what about the 3^rd kind?

 

The 3^rd kind is completely different-in-kind than pre-composed hymns and psalms.  Paul says it’s an ode, but this general term just means “hymn or psalm,” so by itself, Paul would be extremely repetitive:  “conversationally speaking reciprocally to yourselves hymns, psalms, and/also hymns and psalms.”  Clearly Paul has something different in mind, so he uses the adjective pneumatikos to clarify what kind of odes, thus best translated Spirit-kind-of odes.

 

So what does Paul mean by “hymns and psalms and pneumatikos Spirit-kind-of odes” in Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16?  Context defines every word, especially the immediate context.  Earlier in Ephesian 1:3 Paul speaks of “every pneumatikos Spirit-kind-of blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ that we have been blessed by.”  In verse 5:18 the Christian “party” is to be started by “routinely, passively being filled by the Holy Spirit,” which is what Spirit-Baptism is.  Now that’s context!  Similarly, earlier in Colossians 1:9 Paul unceasingly intercedes for Christians to be filled with the genuine, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge of God will in/by/with all (pas as ‘each of kind of’) pneumatikos Spirit-kind-of sophia wisdom and sunesis connect-the-dots understanding.”  Clearly these odes are uniquely related to the Holy Spirit’s actions and not man’s actions.

 

This is especially clear in 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 where Paul spends 3 chapters talking about the various actions of the Spirit and how to flow with them.  But here Paul says that he chose to both be proseuchomai conversationally-praying and/also psalming (a) not only with the understanding of his mind, but also without it by doing so in tongues by the means of the Spirit, thus speaking mysteries [to his mind] unto God.  Paul could have just as easily used the normal word for acapella singing which is humneo (b), but instead he uses psalming (d), which is more inclusive in that instrumental ‘psalm’ music can be played with or without the singing.  <Notes> a) Yes, Paul may be singing along to other musicians or himself playing, b) singing hymns: Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26; Acts 16:25; Hebrews 2:12, d) psallo:  “hit, twang, pluck, or twitch” out a song with/without singing to create a psalm.

 

This psallo ‘psalming’ is a much broader term than ‘hymning,’ allowing instrumental worship with or without singing, but here Paul directly links this “psalming” to speaking in tongues or more broadly to being controlled by the Spirit without the understanding of the mind being fruitful or productive!  Interestingly the OT prophecy from Psalms 18:49 cited in Romans 15:9 about the Gentiles glorifying God for His mercy naturally speaks of ‘psalming’ instead of the more restrictive ‘hymning.’  The very Jewish writer in James 5:13 also speaks of “psalming if you feel joyful.”  We see that same connection to the Christian “party” in Ephesians 5:18-19 above where it is directly related to routinely being filled by the Holy Spirit – and the dominant “flavor” of the singular fruit of the Spirit’s unconditional love is joy per Galatians 5:22!  Can you see how all this is connected?  Paul’s use of ‘psalming’ in regards to the Holy Spirit taking control of the person to speak or play through them could be made even clearer if you he wrote pneumatikos psallo, thus Spirit-kind-of psalming.  However, this is unnecessarily because the traditional understanding of psalms is that they were composed by the Spirit and meant to be performed that way!  This brings us closer to understanding what Spirit-kind-of odes means.  Odes by themselves doesn’t have that historical understanding of inspiration, so Paul needs to use the qualifier pneumatikos.

 

The verb form of ode is ado, which is very significant!  Ado means “to praise by singing or chanting, the lyrical emotion of a devout and grateful heart,” but we know that odes includes both hymns and psalms!  Paul uses ado as “the lyrical emotion of a devout/grateful heart” of singing/praising as the common element of hymns, psalms, and Spirit-kind-of odes in Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 above, whether a word is even sung!  Remember that psalms need not be sung, yet they can still express “lyrical emotion!”  Every anointed, prophetic musician will tell you they can feel the Spirit within them “singing” through their instrument, even without vocals, to express “the lyrical emotion of a devout/grateful heart.”  In fact, “ado singing and/coupled psalming in your hearts to God” in Ephesians 5:19 are coupled together!  The only other 3 places that use ado in the NT are from Revelation 5:9 and 14:3 about singing/praising completely different-in-kind, superior New (a) odes, which may have to do with the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb in Revelation 15:3.  It’s no coincidence then that ado is used in the OT for singing/praising a completely different-in-kind, superior New (a) ode (b).  So everywhere ado is used, it is in connection with odes because they are Greek forms of each other!  And this has to do with hymns and psalms that are completely different-in-kind, superior (a) to other types of hymns and psalms. <Notes> a) chadash, kainos: fresh, completely different-in-kind, unprecedented, sharing nothing with its predecessors, unique, and superior – see New Covenant, b) Psalms 33:3, 96:1, 98:1; 144:9, 149:1; Isaiah 42:10.

 

So how are these “New odes” different-in-kind?  Because they are Spirit-kind-of (a), controlled by the Spirit without the mind having to understand them, making the mind unfruitful and thus not the one producing the fruit or results, just like with tongues in 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 above!  Tongues are produced through a person without them understanding in their mind what is being said.  Even as I’m writing I’m periodically proseuchomai conversationally-praying in tongues because my mind doesn’t have to keep track of the Spirit’s words.  When I play my drums, I can often feel myself insides singing/praising the Lord.  Since psalming primarily means “to pluck,” it may very well be that we are “plucking” our heart-strings when we are “psalming to the Lord.”  The same thing can happen for you while you are playing your instrument!  You can even be totally focused on singing/praising (b) and/coupled “plucking” to the Lord from your grateful heart and not even be thinking about how to play your instrument AT ALL, and yet the Spirit will play right through you the most kalos beautiful/joyful music you have ever heard in your life!  And what is produced is absolutely not someone else’s pre-composed hymns or psalms that you are ‘singing/praising and psalming” in/by/with the Spirit, but completely different-in-kind and superiorly New (c).  Thus Spirit-kind-of psalming from 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 is  clearly an aspect of Spirit-kind-of singing/praising (b) and/coupled psalming that produces Spirit-kind-of odes, which is exactly the completely different-in-kind “New (c) Songs” spoken of in the OT and NT.  Now can you see how this all comes together? <Notes> a) pneumatikos, b) ado, c) chadash, kainos: fresh, completely different-in-kind, unprecedented, sharing nothing with its predecessors, unique, and superior.

 

I’ve found that after proseuchomai conversationally-praying/singing in tongues throughout the day as I do anything and everything, and doing this for a day or two, I will have a ton of directly-spoken/heard prophetic rhema words, visions, and dreams!  I encourage you to get Spirit-baptized over and over, routinely being filled to overflowing, “let go” of the mind’s “might and power” that wants to be in control by “understanding everything and being fruitful,” and instead by trusting-relying-faith (a) “let God” have control by proseuchomai conversationally-praying and singing/psalming by the Spirit’s power, even in tongues in your mouth or head!  <Notes> a) pistis: relational conviction of trusting reliance.

 

Let’s not put God in a box, because by definition prophecy does not need to involve words.  A picture given by God is just as prophetic because it reveals the mind/heart of God, and we all know that “a picture is worth a 1000 words” – I’d say 10,000 words!  Every musician knows that music is just another language, frequencies arranged to convey meaning, just as many languages are not only picture-based but also music-based so that tone differences change the meaning of identical-looking words.  So even if a musician isn’t proseuchomai conversationally-praying in tongues unto God or even under his breath while they are playing, the Spirit can just as easily be communicating the mind/heart of God to people through the arrangements of frequencies that their inward man may understand even if their human mind doesn’t, and so the music is still prophetic, and still communicating the directly-spoken/heard prophetic rhema words of God!  What really matters is if the anointing of God is on the musician and the music, or is not!