Theological Foundations: Above All by Lenny LeBlanc, Paul Baloche

Consider the following lyrics to this very popular song:

Above all powers
Above all kings
Above all nature and all created things
Above all wisdom and all the ways of man
You were here before the world began

 Above all kingdoms
Above all thrones
Above all wonders the world has ever known
Above all wealth and treasures of the earth
There's no way to measure what You're worth

 Crucified and laid behind a stone
You lived to die rejected and alone
Like a rose trampled on the ground
You took the fall and thought of me above all

 Let me say up front that I have personally led this song in worship many times. Our fellowship actually made a recording of this song with our own worship band. My goal here is not to attack, discredit, or even support the song. My goal is to look at its language and consider how Biblically founded it actually is.

 The first two verses are easy to consider. I believe that these verses simply say that God is above all our conceptions of what is glorious, wondrous, and powerful. There is no earthly power, no ruler of government, no thing that is created, no expanse of wisdom or knowledge devised by humanity that existed before God or that exists above God. There is no empire, no seat of authority, no great act or miraculous thing of history, no measure of monetary value that compares or sits above the great worth of God in His sovereign state. The question is, “Are these Biblical things to say?” Absolutely! If you want a Biblical foundation for these concepts then simply go to Job chapter 38 and begin reading. By the time you end in chapter 42 you will have a clear picture of how forcefully and undeniably God illustrates His sovereignty to Job.

 The chorus of this tune was called into question some time ago. So let’s carefully look at each line to see if the questions that have arisen about this chorus have any Biblical foundation.

 Crucified and laid behind a stone
Chapters 23 and 24 of Luke support the assertion that Jesus was in fact crucified and buried in a tomb, the entrance of which was covered by a large stone.

 You lived to die rejected and alone
Read Luke 22:39-46. In Luke’s account Jesus is praying on the Mount of Olives and he is asking the father, if it is the father’s will, to remove this cup from him. This is a clear illustration that Jesus was well aware that his physical body was about to be beaten, broken, and killed. Jesus was asking the Father to remove this cup from him but Jesus, more than anything, desired for the will of the Father to be accomplished. So if it was physical death that was required, Jesus would fulfill that requirement of his Father. We know that this is the case. So to say “you lived to die rejected and alone” is to potentially head down an easily questionable path. There is certainly Biblical evidence to say that a defined part of Jesus’ life was to die and he was aware of that. Jesus also knew that he would be rejected. The gospel accounts also teach us that at his crucifixion, Christ was not surrounded by a multitude of followers. The same people who had hailed him into Jerusalem had also called for his crucifixion. So in a sense it is true that his life was lived to die and that at the end of his physical life he was, for the most part, rejected and alone. However, I think it could also be argued that he lived to serve his Father’s purpose. I could see how someone could say, “Jesus didn’t live to die. He lived to serve God’s will. Dying was part of that but it was not his primary purpose of existence.” I know it may sound like I’m arguing semantics or that I’m just splitting hairs but considerations such as these are, I think, important to make so that we don’t run the risk of being false in our understanding of how we are to honor God. I would rather err on the side of considering the full weight of the things I say rather than making the mistake of not taking them seriously enough.

 Like a rose trampled on the ground
You won’t find this analogy in scripture. However, I don’t think that fact necessarily makes this statement unscriptural. There are a number of words and analogies that are used to describe scriptural truths that we don’t find present in the Bible. As long as those words and analogies represent the truth of scripture I believe they are acceptable to say. When I say that I believe that Jesus was beautiful I’m not saying that he was a strikingly handsome young man. His very existence, God incarnate, would have been amazing to even be around and the spirit of God that flowed forth from him would have made him an incredible person to be around. So when his physical body was beaten, broken, and killed it would have been a tragic thing to behold. For Christians this physical death takes on a transformed meaning of salvation but I believe the analogy, while insufficient to describe the full weight of what it would have felt like to see the physical body of Jesus lifeless, helps us hold the idea of the tragic nature of beating the maker of the cosmos into lifeless submission. The good news is that we know that Jesus didn’t stay that way. When Jesus returns it will not be as the humble peasant who was trampled by his own people. When Jesus comes again he will bear a marking on his leg that says, “King of Kings, Lord of Lords.” A flaming sword will come from his mouth and he will bring terrible retribution against all unrepentant and unbelieving hearts.

 You took the fall and thought of me above all
Jesus did take a fall but we know that he rose again. We know that we were part of God’s plan and so it is fair to say that we were an included consideration in the death and resurrection of Jesus. But to say that Jesus “thought of me above all” is to, I think, cross a theological line that cannot go unaddressed. I’m somewhat embarrassed to say that I never considered a potential problem with this line until someone brought it to my attention. When I actually took a moment to consider what I was really saying when I sang this line, I was startled at how strongly it bothered me. I began asking questions like, “Really? When Jesus died he was thinking of little old me above all other things? Above his Father’s will? Above the church that Christ is the head of? Above his Father’s glory? Above his Father’s sovereignty? I was elevated in importance above all those things?

 No doubt someone will say, “But you’re just being overly critical. Surely you know what the writers were trying to say. They were trying to say that God values those whom he has predestined to be conformed to the image of His son. So yes God did think of us. He did think about reconciling us to him through the death of His son.” I’m not disputing that but language matters a great deal. While I think that the authors may have had good intentions, their choice of words in this last line are questionable because I think they elevate humans to a place of importance above the vastly more important qualities of God.

 Final Analysis
I think that 99% of this song is very theologically sound. It’s just the last line of the chorus that troubles me. However, I can tell you that based on the limited experience I have with other songs by these two writers I find them to be generally good, theologically sound writers. My advice is not to steer clear of this song. In fact, if this song is popular among your own fellowship I would encourage you to highlight this line and explain the deeper theology behind it so that your local body of believers does not stumble on it’s potentially confusing structure.

 I assure you that considerations such as the ones that I’ve made here in this article are considerations that I’m making with every song I write. It didn’t used to be this way though. There are a number of songs that I’ve written that have little to no Biblical foundation at all. The first batch of songs I ever wrote were largely about me. Those early songs did not elevate God like he deserves to be elevated. This is one of the reasons why I never call my songs done. There is always room for change and adaptation as God continues to shed more of His light on my mind.      

Comments

[Chris]

It was shortly after we recorded the song "Above All" that I began to notice a discomfort as I sang that last line of the chorus. And it was for the exact reasons you have already explained. So no need to rehash them.

I do hear what you are saying about splitting hairs over words. I used to get really annoyed at people who would take something like a song and disect it's language. But when you consider how important songs are to believers, and especially to the fellowship of believers--the church--then it is crucial that we consider what we are singing. We would hopefully never allow something questionable in a sermon to be spoken week in and week out without at least asking a question. Songs are, in many ways, stronger than sermons because we do not only hear them. We learn them, and we sing them again and again.

Songs have a greater influence on the development of our theology (what we believe about God) than almost anything else. Considering what we sing is a very serious thing. And I am thankful that you are being careful to consider these things on behalf of our fellowship.

Jesus thinking of "me" above all contributes to the self-esteem, self-worth mindset of our culture, which leads to valuing pragmatism ("what has Jesus done for me?") as a priority in sharing the gospel message.

Sure, Jesus has done things for us that will dramatically lift our self-perceptions (mostly because having faith in Jesus causes us to take the focus OFF of ourselves, subsequently causing us to see things as God sees them). There are good arguments on both sides of this. But ultimately it comes down to what the song actually says: What was Jesus thinking "above ALL"? That's where we need to be careful to teach the truth if we are going to sing a line such as that.

[smiles]

Yeah, guys, that last line of "Above All" has annoyed me so much... more than most lines of the many songs that I can't stand that are written by so many of the popular songwriters in the church today. If I were to pick apart a song, this one would be the first that comes to mind. Most of the song, like you said, is great, but I think it's because that line is like the climax line, that the whole song leads up to, that makes it stand out so "loud", in such a horrible way.

Things like the fact that you picked this song (pardon the pun) above all other songs, are how God keeps amazing me by showing me how like-minded we are. I keep praising Him for you guys, but please don't get disappointed when I tell you this... though I think of you guys often, I think of Jesus above all!

smiles

[Ming]

Hi, thank you for this blog, you are a great blessing to me. I encourage you to keep posting.

In response to your analysis on the last line of the chorus, I personally believe that Jesus loves me that much, that He stayed on the cross. So I am the reason He took the fall. I totally don't deserve this, but I don't know of any other reason why He would go through all the pain.
We know that God the Father loves me (John 3:16), but Jesus also does(Rom 8:35-39). And you can't love someone without thinking about him/her.
Just an analogy, when I'm buying a special gift for a special friend, I think about what he/she likes, how this gift would bless my friend, and I personalise the gift. It's from me to him/her. I wouldn't care as much about how I have worked hard to earn the money, or how expensive it is, but how my friend would be blessed.
Hope this helps.

God Bless,
Ming

[chris]

Hi Ming,

Thanks for the comments. Sorry for no response here until now. I overlooked this comment until today.

I don't think Chad is saying that Jesus didn't think about those he was saving by dying for AT ALL. But the problem with the line is words "ABOVE ALL." It begs the question, What was Jesus' highest priority in dying on the cross? Paul says in Romans that it was to vindicate God's forgiveness of sins previously committed (as well as forgive sins that will later be committed). So "ABOVE ALL" I would argue that Christ was thinking about the glory of God being revealed in his death.

Yes, he thought of you and me, too. But not above all else. Make sense?