The Trinity of Music

For centuries, scholars have tried and often failed to give an accurate description of the trinity of God. This has used illustrations such as an egg, water, and other tangible means to try to explain an intangible being. I take a different approach.

Consider music. Like God, music is a trinity; Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm.

God the Father

God the Son

God the Holy Spirit

We see the Trinity at work in Creation.

The Father spoke and Spirit moved over the face of the deep and the Word formed
all things and by Him, all things exist.

We see the Trinity at work in Redemption.

At the baptism of Jesus, the Father spoke, the Spirit descended and the Son of God began his earthly ministry of redemption.

In music, the Melody speaks of the vastness, holiness, and beauty of God and His creation.

“Nothing penetrates the heart faster than the melody,” Carlos Santana.

“The song is ended, but the melody lingers on,” Irving Berlin.

“I’ve forgotten many things, but I’ll never forget a melody,” Michael Jackson.

“Music creates order out of chaos,” Yehudi Menuhin.

“You can study orchestration, you can study harmony and theory and everything else, but melodies come from God,” Quincy Jones.

In Harmony, there is the intertwining of at least two tones. They can be dissonant or harmonic, but in either case, they are codependent and coequal. Thus we have a clear picture of the dichotomy of Jesus Christ, the God-man. One hundred percent God and one hundred percent man. The theological term used to describe this is the hypostatic union. (Christ’s humanity and divinity united in one personhood).

The third aspect of the trinity of music is Rhythm. This speaks of movement.

Without it you have one long boring tone like a fog horn. Rhythm, like the Holy Spirit, functions in sync with the melody and harmony, never against them. When the rhythm is out of balance it distorts the picture of God’s character. If the Rhythm throbs— you’re injured. If it pulsates—you’re sick. If it’s offbeat—you’re confused. If it has polyrhythms—you’re having a heart attack. Since God is holy (unique, distinct, and different) it goes without saying that His music should also be the same.

The spoken word involves breath; the movement of air across strings, vocal cords, a reed, etc. In the same way, holy men of God wrote the scripture as they were moved, or carried along by the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God conveyed the Word of God (Jesus Christ) which is the exact expression of the Thoughts of God. In the same way, Rhythm moves the Melody and Harmony along. together, they make music.

There is yet another aspect to the trinity of music that we must explore. In practical application as beautiful as melody, harmony, and rhythm are, they form only one part of the whole. Melody needs participation. The morning stars sang on creation morning, the angels sang the morning of Jesus’s birth. Jesus led His disciples in a hymn after the Last Supper and before He went to the cross. Jesus, speaking of that grand and glorious day in which He gathers His family of believers together said, “Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee, Hebrews 2:12. The Apostle Paul encouraged the church to sing and make melody in our hearts to the Lord.

In Ephesians 5:19, we are instructed to speak to ourselves in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. To sing and make melody in our hearts to the Lord. here is the music; the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs gives us the second part of the whole. Along with the Melody, there is the Message of Music. It is vital to the worship of God that we maintain the highest standard in choosing the words to our worship music. Paul, please give us the guidelines. Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs.

The third aspect goes without saying, but I will mention it as we conclude our thoughts and that is the Focus of Music. We who participate in singing must focus our attention, energy, and praise on Him who is worthy, singing, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.” Revelation 5:12.

By Bryan M. Powell
ACFW, CAG, PCWG
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