He is Worthy

Andrew Peterson’s song Is He Worthy? is one of my all-time favorite Christian songs. The song comes from Revelation 5, and if you haven’t heard this song, I would strongly encourage you to stop reading this and listen to it right now. Once you’ve done that, we can pick back up here!

There’s a lot that can be said about this masterpiece of a hymn, but for this devotion, I’d like to focus on the third verse of the song:

Although there is one God, God is three persons. This is a concept we cannot fully understand in our limited human minds, but it is an essential doctrine of our faith as Christians. One beautiful part of the doctrine of the Trinity is the unique role of each person of the Trinity. 

These lines display the work of the Trinity in the life of the Christian, both here and in the future in eternity. 

It starts by affirming God the Father’s true love for us. “Does the Father truly love us?” Peterson asks. As all the questions will be, this is answered by a choir singing, “He does.” The Bible is filled with affirmations of God’s love for the world. His love is staggering to consider when we recognize that He loves us despite our sinful rebellion. Romans 5:8 says, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” The love of God is shown in its unconditional nature, that although we do not deserve and cannot earn His love, He gives it to us freely. 

The song’s verse continues by asking, “Does the Spirit move among us?” We know that He does. The Holy Spirit first came to believers after Jesus’ ascension, and through His power, they were emboldened and empowered to do God’s work. He allowed them to preach, heal, and further the gospel to the ends of the earth. This is still our mission: to be Jesus’ witnesses, and we can do this because we have received power from the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). He is the Helper that Jesus promised (John 14:16-17), and through Him, God Himself abides within us. What a wonderful reality.

The lyrics then move to Jesus. It asks if He, our Messiah, holds forever those He loves. We know that He does, for Christ Himself answered this question in John 10:28-29: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” 

Dear reader, if you are in Christ, you are secure. To know Jesus and rest in His care is to be wrapped in His hand, which no one can take you from. His hand is secure because He willingly spread His arms on the cross and allowed them to be pierced, paying the price for our sins. Now, if we turn from our sin and follow Him, He holds us forever. He will never let you go, even when you mess up or feel unworthy. He keeps His beloved safe.

Finally, this verse of the song ends by asking, “Does our God intend to dwell again with us?” We know that God loves, the Spirit moves, and Jesus holds; now, we see that all of these actions point to a future where we dwell with God Himself. We will walk with God our Father who loved the world so much He gave His only Son so that it might not perish (John 3:16). We will see the Spirit who lived in us on earth, guiding us into all truth (John 16:13). We will fall and worship our risen Messiah who was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our sins, who took upon Himself the punishment that brought us peace, and healed us by His wounds (Isaiah 53:5). 

Yes, on that day, we will no longer long for God’s presence. We will no longer be troubled by the presence of sin. We will no longer groan over the woes and troubles our earthly existence presents. We will no longer seek cheap substitutes for our Holy Father. We will dwell again with our creator. The one who spoke the stars into existence, who breathed life into man, and who saved us will physically live with His redeemed creation. 

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” Revelation 21:3

Is He worthy?

He truly is. God—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is worthy. Let us live and share His truth until we dwell with Him again. 

Seriously, if you haven’t ever heard this song, I’d strongly encourage you to give it a listen! You can do so on YouTube by clicking the link here. Chris Tomlin also has a very popular version.