He's Already Lifted! This Is Not a Gym.

There is a song by our sister Chevelle Franklin that goes, “Be lifted high, be lifted high, O Lord, be lifted high, for you are holy, awesome, and worthy Lord. O Lord, be lifted high.” I am not sure whether she is the original artist or was singing a song composed by someone else, but the words got me thinking.

There are several other songs with similar lyrics. We sing about lifting Jesus higher through our praise, worship and adoration. Think of one praise song such as; “inua Bwana inua, inua inua, inua Bwana inua, sababu yu mwema.” Another one could be when a soloist calls on us to "inua Bwana inua, inua!”

The impression one gets is that our praise and worship is what lifts him, exalts and gives him the honor due to Him. We might be wrong. I suspect much of this thinking comes from Jesus' words in John 12:32: “...and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” The assumption seems to be that the more we lift Him through praise, the more He draws people to Himself.

But does that interpretation hold when we read the passage in context?

Let's go back to Isaiah 52:13–15. God speaks of His servant who will be exalted and lifted high, yet whose appearance will be terribly marred. Many nations will be amazed at Him, and kings will be left speechless. This is a picture of the suffering servant who would ultimately be exalted.

Now, in John 3:14–16, Jesus compares His coming death to the bronze serpent Moses lifted up in the wilderness (Numbers 21:4–9). Those who looked at the serpent lived; Jesus says that the Son of Man must similarly be lifted up so that those who believe in Him may have eternal life.

Then, in John 8:28, Jesus tells the Pharisees, “When YOU have lifted up the Son of Man, then YOU will know that I am he.” Finally, in John 12:32–33, He says that when He is lifted up from the earth, He will draw all people to Himself. John makes it clear that Jesus was referring to the kind of death He would die.

So, He was not asking us to lift Him through music. He was talking about the cross.

This is where I think we have confused the message. We have taken a statement about Jesus' death and turned it into a formula for worship: lift Him higher, and He will draw more people. Yet the passage is not about our ability to elevate Jesus through praise. It is about His death and the drawing power of what He would accomplish.

Now, don't get me wrong. We should praise God, worship Him, adore Him and proclaim His greatness. He is holy, awesome and worthy. The issue is not whether we should worship; the issue is what we mean when we say we are lifting Him higher and whether we've studied the scriptures in order to have a biblical basis for our lyrics.

Jesus is already exalted. We do not need to promote Him into a higher position. This is not a gym, and Jesus is not waiting for us to spot Him! 😂 Our singing does not make Him more exalted, and our worship does not give Him more authority. We praise Him because of who He is and what He has done, not because He needs our help to become greater.

So, what is our role? First, we point people to the Jesus who has already been lifted up on the cross and exalted. We point them to Him, not to our church buildings, denominations, congregations or favourite ministers. Him and Him alone. Christ alone.

Second, we disciple those who believe, teaching them the Lord's commands, correcting them when they go off track, rebuking them when they knowingly persist in sin, and training them to become fellow ministers (2 Timothy 3:16–17; Ephesians 4:11–12).

We do not take over Christ's role. He draws people to Himself; we make disciples.

Perhaps the next time we sing about lifting Jesus higher, we should pause and ask ourselves what the words actually mean. Are we proclaiming His greatness, or are we misunderstanding a statement?

Let's read the Scriptures carefully, even when they challenge the songs we have grown up singing.

He's already lifted, exalted and glorified.

He does the drawing; we do the discipling.

Go and make disciples of all nations friends.