Photo by David Monje
Elevation Worship is a church-led band that was created in 2007. They join Bethel Music and Hillsong as the “big three” that has the biggest reach in modern Christian music. They released many albums and EP’s.
They also won eight awards, including two Billboard for Top Christian Artist (2021) and Top Christian Song (Graves into Gardens, 2021), and two GMA Dove awards for Spanish Language Album of the Year (Aleluya (En La Tierra), 2020) and Worship Recorded Song of the Year (The Blessing (Live), 2020).
Also, check out my other Elevation Worship reviews.
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. I strongly encourage you to consider the potential blessings and dangers of this artist‘s theology by visiting Resources.
1. What message does the song communicate?
Jesus’ Holy Spirit, who lives inside us, will not abandon us, pointing us to Christ. Collectively, the God-head is worthy of adoration and worship, who transforms our wants towards spiritual awakening in Jesus’ name. He has always existed and identifies as “I AM”.
My chief complaint is the “all consuming flame” inside us, which is more about God’s judgment in destruction than burning away bad things within us. Section 2 contains a deeper analysis of this concept.
Side Note: To those annoyed by massive repetition, Bridge repeats the same four-line block five times in a row.
Score: 8/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
Almost the entire song aligns with God’s inspired Word, except for “consuming fire” in Chorus. This refers to destruction, which is not something Christians will experience (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).
Lyrics posted with permission.*
[Verse 1]
Spirit of Jesus
Living within us
That is, the Holy Spirit who lives in us (Acts 6:5, Romans 8:9-11, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:16-19, Galatians 4:6, Ephesians 5:18, and 2 Timothy 1:14).
Never to fail or forsake
Unending promise
God promises not leave nor forsake His children (Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1:8-9, 1 Chronicles 28:20, Psalm 118:6, Lamentations 3:22-23, and Hebrews 13:5-6).
Heaven inside us
Whispers the sound of Your name
The Holy Spirit speaks to us, testifying about the Son (Romans 8:12-17).
[Chorus]
Holy, Holy is the Lord
Borrows from Revelation 4:8.
Worthy to be praised
While God doesn’t need our praise, He is nonetheless worthy of it (1 Chronicles 16:25, 2 Samuel 22:4, Psalm 96:4-5, Psalm 145:3, and Revelation 4:11)
Yahweh
The English pronunciation of the tetragrammaton “YHWH” or “YHVH”. We’re not sure if “Yahweh” is the correct way to pronounce it; However, we know what we mean, and God knows what we mean when we pronounce it this way. Besides, if it was that important that we pronounce His name correctly, He would have preserved it.
Fire rising in my soul
All consuming flame
References God’s “consuming fire”, which appears in Deuteronomy 4:24 and Hebrews 12:29. However, the way that Elevation uses it is incorrect. They mean “consume” to be a good thing, but the Bible says otherwise.
Deuteronomy 4:21-24 is about God’s anger and judgment. Moses tells the Israelites that he will not enter the promised land because he sinned (Numbers 20:8-13 and Deuteronomy 32:51–52). He warns Israel not to commit idolatry because God is a jealous God; a “consuming fire”. Jealous not because He is envious, but because of Israel’s unfaithfulness (compare Merriam-Webster definitions 1 and 2b).
Regarding Hebrews 12:29, the context begins in Verse 26, which quotes from Haggai 2:6. Notice in Hebrews 12:26 that it’s not just the earth that shakes. It is also heaven! Haggai 2 also mentions the heaven(s) shaking. There is also the “once more” that appears in both passages, denoting a future event. Hebrews 12:27 talks about the shaking process, leaving behind the Kingdom of God that cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12:28). Then, finally, it adds God as a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29), which takes us back to God’s judgment in Deuteronomy.
Where else in Scripture does it talk about heaven and earth shaking, God’s judgment, and the unshakable Kingdom? The book of Revelation! Specifically, the seventh bowl of wrath (Revelation 16:17-21), Christ’s judgment on unbelievers (Revelation 19:11-21 and Revelation 20:11-15), and new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:1-27).
Thus, Elevation is asking God to bring wrath and judgment on them, which is unbiblical.
Yahweh
Repeats line 3.
[Verse 2]
Filled with Your wonder
As stated in Psalm 33:8-9, deep reverence and respect for God is the beginning of wonder.
Here I surrender
We yield to God’s will (Psalm 43:5, Isaiah 64:8, Matthew 10:38, Matthew 11:28-30, Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34-38, Mark 10:28, Luke 9:23, Luke 14:27, John 15:1-11, Romans 6:13, Romans 12:1-2, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 2:5-8, Hebrews 11:6, James 4:7-10, and 1 Peter 5:6).
Held in Your mystery of grace
It is mysterious that Jesus paid the penalty for sinners (Romans 5:6-8). We don’t deserve it.
Calling me closer
Waking desire
Coming alive in Your name
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) to forsake folly and come alive in Jesus’ name (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24).
[Bridge]
He who was and is to come
God is eternal (Deuteronomy 33:27, 1 Chronicles 16:34, Job 36:26, Psalm 48:14, Psalm 90:2-4, Psalm 102:12, Psalm 102:26-27, Proverbs 8:23, Isaiah 40:28, Isaiah 41:4, Habakkuk 1:12, John 17:5, Romans 1:20, 1 Corinthians 2:7, Ephesians 1:4, Hebrews 1:11-12, 1 Peter 1:20, 2 Peter 3:8, Revelation 1:8, Revelation 11:17, and Revelation 22:13).
Is the One who lives in us
See Verse 1, lines 1 and 2.
The great I am
The name “I AM” comes from Exodus 3:14. Jesus claims to be the same “I AM” in John 8:24 and John 8:58. Though none of these passages are explicit on the qualifier “great”, He is greater (Deuteronomy 10:17, Psalm 8:3-4, Psalm 147:5, Job 26:14, Isaiah 40:28, and Isaiah 55:8-9).
Yahweh
Repeats Chorus, line 3
He who was and is to come
Is the One who lives in us
The great I am
Yahweh
He who was and is to come
Is the One who lives in us
The great I am
Yahweh
He who was and is to come
Is the One who lives in us
The great I am
Yahweh
He who was and is to come
Is the One who lives in us
The great I am
Yahweh
Repeats lines 1-4.
Score: 8/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
The song’s opening line makes it clear that this song is Christian, cemented by the name “Yahweh”. Jewish scholars will quickly point out that we’re probably mispronouncing YHWH/YHVH. Thus, some Jewish people will take offense to the name “Yahweh”. However, this is more an issue with use than interpretation. It’s difficult to say Christians are wrong if they don’t know how to pronounce it!
Some unbelievers will likely be put off by the idea that God will consume them from the inside out.
The rest of the song is easy to interpret, written in plain language.
Score: 6/10
4. What does this song glorify?
While it glorifies God that He is worthy of worship, resides inside believers, and exists forever, Elevation’s usage of “all consuming flame” is not consistent with Scripture.
Score: 8/10
Closing Comments
Elevation Worship’s Yahweh is decent. It glorifies God that He makes His residence within us, transforms our desires, and is worthy of praise. However, it does not glorify Him that his “all consuming fire” starts within us, as though He will condemn us in judgment. Unbelievers should be able to interpret most of the song, but will resist God consuming them.
I cannot recommend this song for corporate worship.
Final Score: 7.5/10
Artist Info
Track: Yahweh (listen to the song)
Artist: Elevation Worship
Album: Here as in Heaven
Genre: Rock
Release Year: 2016
Duration: 6:43
Agree? Disagree? Don’t be shy or have a cow! Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.
*Copyright © 2016 Music by Elevation Worship Publishing (BMI) (admin at EssentialMusicPublishing.com). All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Comments
pchatty
Why can’t the “all consuming fire” be the refiners fire? That is how i interpret it.
Vince Wright
pchatty,
Thank you for your inquiry!
The reason why I don’t interpret it this way is because it has a specific meaning in the Bible, which I went over in my commentary. However, there are others on this site such as Steve Barhydt who interpret it the way you do.
-Vince Wright
Abbs
Another possible reference point for “consuming flame” could be Isaiah 33:14-16, which describes the devouring fire of God as a positive thing. It is a picture of His absolute holiness.
“The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; he shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.”
Isaiah 33:14-16 KJV
This seems to imply that the question being asked ‘who can live alongside the consuming fire?’ is answered by a description of a righteous person. Thus, righteousness is needed to dwell with God, because of His incomparable holiness and absolute moral perfection. This perfection is described as a fire in this passage.
Vince Wright
Abbs,
Thank you for your commentary!
This passage isn’t saying that it’s good for Christians to be consumed by this fire. It’s asking who can live with it, and answering that the righteous can. This is so, because the righteous will not experience it. Living alongside the consuming fire is not the same as being consumed by the consuming fire, or having this fire live inside me.
This was a good find though!
-Vince Wright
Abbs
But we are also told that we must be baptized by the Holy Spirit and by fire (Luke 3:16). The ‘fire’ of God is sometimes characterized in a positive way (and I mean positive as in not referring to judgment and wrath) throughout the New Testament, such as the refining fire in 1 Corinthians 3 and 1 Peter 1:7. This baptism by fire is what we refer to as a fire inside of us, and I think that is what Elevation is trying to say.
You could argue that the “consuming fire” mentioned in the song is inappropriate specifically because the only time God’s fire is called that is referring to wrath and judgment. That may be true, but I see it a little more generally. The fire is the standard that tests us – for believers, it tests us for growth and discipline; for unbelievers, it tests for judgment and wrath. But it is still the same fire.
Vince Wright
Abbs,
Thank you for your comment!
Luke 3:16 was fulfilled in Acts 2. They were baptized (immersed) in fire, but it wasn’t a “consuming fire”. Nothing was consumed! It was a fire that rested on the early disciples of Jesus.
I think if the author meant to refer to fire as something that tests us, they should have used the phrase “refiner’s fire” as we see in Proverbs 17:3, Isaiah 48:10, Zechariah 13:9, Malachi 3:1-4, and 1 Peter 1:7. The result of this refinement/testing is faith is perseverance, endurance, proven character, righteousness, and hope (Romans 5:3-5, Hebrews 12:4-11, and James 1:2-4). “Consuming fire” communicates wrath and judgment.
-Vince Wright
J
Note the context in Luke 3: John the Baptist is speaking both to the people who would repent, and to those who won’t. The baptism with the Holy Spirit is for who are saved; the baptism with fire… The way I’m reading the text, the next verse, Luke 3:17, is about the same fire: those saved will be gathered, but the others will be burned with unquenchable fire.
So this verse is about judgment as well.
Robert Wilson
By ALL Consuming Fire it means ALL of the BAD STUFF is consumed, not the good. YOU need HIS HOLY SPIRIT in you to understand these things and NOT get them WRONG!!! So there is NOTHING wrong or incorrect with that lyric in their song, IF YOU HAVE YAHWEH’S HOLY SPIRIT LIVING IN YOU!!!