“What a Beautiful Name” by Hillsong is a well-known favorite within the world of Contemporary Christian Music, often sung in churches and featured on Christian radio stations. But the question arises: should we be singing this song in our worship gatherings? In this article, I want to explore why this song, like many others from Hillsong, may not be the best choice for corporate worship.
Before diving in, it's important to clarify what I’m not doing here. This post will not analyze every word of the song. Generally speaking, most songs I would discourage churches from singing aren’t filled with heresy from start to finish. The issues are often more subtle. Usually, it’s just a line or a verse that conflicts with Scripture. While some might argue that it’s petty to reject a song over one phrase, I would counter that words matter—especially in worship. What we sing to the Lord matters. If there is even one statement in a song’s lyrics that doesn’t align with biblical truth, it’s not fit for corporate worship.
With that in mind, let’s look at a specific line in “What a Beautiful Name” that raises concerns. The line in question is:
“You didn’t want heaven without us, so Jesus, You brought heaven down.”
On the surface, this may sound like a poetic expression of God’s love for us and His desire to be with us. However, this statement communicates much more than that. It suggests that God was somehow lacking or unfulfilled without us, and that His solution to this need was to
send Jesus to earth. But is that what the Bible teaches about God’s character and nature?
What Scripture Says About God’s Self-Sufficiency
First and foremost, God does not want or need anything. This doesn’t mean that He isn’t pleased with our obedience or that He doesn’t desire a relationship with us as His creation. But the idea that God is somehow incomplete without us is simply unbiblical. The lyric implies that heaven was somehow deficient or that God was lonely, and that the cure for this was to include us in His divine plan. This is more than just careless language—it’s a distortion of God’s nature. A god who is incomplete or unfulfilled without something outside of Himself is not God at all.
Let’s examine what Scripture has to say about the character and nature of God in relation to His self-sufficiency:
Acts 17:24-25: “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”
This passage emphasizes that God doesn’t need anything from us because He is the source of all life and sustenance. He is entirely self-sufficient.
Psalm 50:10-12: “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.”
Here, God declares His ownership over all creation, underscoring that He lacks nothing and does not need anything from His creatures.
Job 41:11: “Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.”
This verse highlights that no one can give anything to God that He does not already possess. He is entirely self-sufficient and independent.
Colossians 1:16-17: “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
This passage demonstrates that all things were created by and for God, and He existed before all things. He is not dependent on creation for His fulfillment or existence.
Exodus 3:14: “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And he said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: “I AM has sent me to you.”’”
This declaration of God as the self-existent “I AM” emphasizes His eternal, independent, and self-sufficient nature.
These verses together affirm that God is entirely complete, self-sufficient, and lacks nothing. He created us out of His love and for His glory, not because He needed something from us. He has total and perfect fellowship within the Trinity. Therefore, singing a song that seems to imply God is somehow lacking or lonely without us is not only unbiblical, but it also diminishes His majesty and sufficiency.
A Proper Understanding of God’s Motivation
As John 3:16 clearly states, God loved the world so much that He sent Jesus to save us from our deserved judgment. It’s not wrong to say that God’s love for creation was a driving force in His decision to send His Son. However, the phrase “You didn’t want heaven without us” suggests that something was missing from heaven itself. This simply isn’t true.
We must understand one crucial point: God sent Jesus to accomplish what we could not do for ourselves—to save us from our sin and to bring us into an eternal relationship with our Creator, all for His glory. He didn’t do this out of a need or because He was bored. The ultimate goal behind everything God does is His glory.
Conclusion
In closing, we must be diligent in the songs we choose for worship. Lyrics that imply God is incomplete without us do not accurately reflect His nature as revealed in Scripture. As A.W. Tozer wisely said:
“Almighty God, just because He is almighty, needs no support. The picture of a nervous, ingratiating God fawning over men to win their favor is not a pleasant one; yet if we look at the popular conception of God, that is precisely what we see. Twentieth-century Christianity has put God on charity. So lofty is our opinion of ourselves that we find it quite easy not to let God take care of us but to do Him a favor by accepting Him.” — The Knowledge of the Holy
Let us strive to sing songs that honor the true nature of God—His complete, all-sufficient, and sovereign self. Our worship should reflect His glory, not our own.
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