Hymns in Scripture

“Music moves our emotions as well as our intellect, serving to motivate us to put into action what we have been convinced of as true. This is persuasion at its best and most legitimate.” - Olinger

“Our hymns typically have stanzas. The hymn in Philippians 2 does as well. The stanzas are easy to spot, because the phrasing is parallel, and the content progresses from ‘down’ to ‘up’ ” - Olinger

“All the New Testament passages most commonly identified as taken from hymns in the early church are about Christ. No surprise there. They celebrate his uniqueness, his glory, his powerful work in accomplishing our salvation. I’d like to begin with the classic—and controversial—passage from Colossians 1” - Dan Olinger