How can we admonish, and teach one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs? How do you sing with grace in your heart? (I am really needing help to understand cuz I don't sing at all. My music teacher said I had a voice that could never sing a note.)
Colossians 3:15-16
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Great questions! Here's what I see. Our Apostle is speaking to the church, a local assembly, as a whole telling the saints how they are to worship God corporately and edify one another.
In verse 15, Paul calls the assembly to live in peace one with another. He calls it the peace of God [Philippians 4:7] because it is the type of peace that the Godhead, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost have one with another. The Godhead is One, and Paul says that we in the Body of Christ are one also! And just like the Godhead is thankful for one another, so too should we in the Body be thankful for one another. It is a peace based upon unity in the grace message! We are to, as Paul says in Ephesians 4, “endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” He then goes on to give us the spiritual truths that make us one in Christ today.
Ephesians 4:1-6
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
When the local assembly does this, the peace of God will operate, and that is what Paul tells us to "let" or allow to happen amongst ourselves.
Now I don't know if you are fellowshipping in a local grace assembly, but if you are not, the perfect Will of God for you is that you begin to. Why? Because just like a physical body was made to have all its members both contribute and join together, so to the Body of Christ. And although you are doing much for the Lord and His saints through your time, talents and treasures, you need the “flesh and blood” fellowship of other saints. That's where the working of this peace and the songs comes in. It's these songs, sung by saints both privately and publicly/corporately to the Lord, which both pleases Him and works to edify us.
How can we sing to one another if we are not fellowshipping with one another? We are to sing both psalms (God's prophetic program with Israel set to upbeat music)...
James 5:13
Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
…and hymns, which are solemn songs that express our Lord's passion and Crosswork...
Matthew 26:26-30
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
…and spiritual songs, which have to do with singing the sound doctrine [Titus 1:9; Titus 2:1] found in God's Grace message to us today through Paul....
1 Corinthians 14:37
If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
This is why we sing as a congregation before every preaching service in our corporate worship.
So it starts with you finding a good Grace church in which to fellowship.
By the way, it does not matter to God whether or not you have a good singing voice. He has gifted some with better singing voices than others. So that is why we sing along with others, and those who have the strong singing voices take the lead. God looks at your HEART as you sing both to others and to Him.
Ephesians 5:19
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
Hopefully this helps...Maranatha!
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