“We Crown You”

The phrase “We Crown You” as part of a worship song is new. I hadn’t heard it before last year when my church introduced a song during worship that repeated this phrase in the chorus over and over. Without thinking deeply about it, I did not like it. So, during the song, I would either rephrase it to “You are Crowned” or skip it entirely. I did not worry too much about it because I figured that this specific song would eventually get out of the rotation of worship songs, and I would not have to deal with it any longer.

However, much to my chagrin, my church introduced a new song with this phrase in it as well. Now, it does not repeat “We Crown You” nearly as much as the other song, but the phrase still hits my spirit as unacceptable. Even worse (or maybe better?), I love every other part of this song. It is a beautiful worship song. If only it didn’t have the phrase “We Crown You” pulling me out every time it comes up.

Is it Actually a Problem?

But I do not want to rely only on my feelings or gut reactions, so I searched the Bible. I thought maybe it had been pulled from a Psalm that I was unfamiliar with, or perhaps there is a verse I had glossed over that mentioned this. There is not. There is nowhere in the Bible that mentions us crowning Jesus.

The only place close would be in Revelation when the 24 elders lay their crowns before Jesus and worship Him. This does not say that all believers do this, but only the 24 elders. And there is a vast distinction between our laying down our crowns before Jesus and us crowning Him. The idea of us crowning Jesus imbues us with an unearned and unbiblical authority that places us over Jesus.

Therefore, this phrase creates a significant problem in worship. When we worship, we recognize our position and the Lord’s position. We show God that we acknowledge that He is Creator and we are creation.

Is That the Intent?

I did not write the songs, so I cannot say with certainty what the intent was when they were written. However, the other lyrics in both songs indicate the purpose is to recognize Jesus’ position as King of Kings. Regardless of intent, though, does not make it acceptable. Just because they wrote the music intending to worship God does not mean that is what is being achieved.

The phrase “We Crown You” intends to show our surrender to the Lord. We are “crowning” Him as Lord of our lives. We are giving everything we have to Jesus. That was the intention in the phrase, but it is not explained like that anywhere in the song; I had to infer it.

The Main Issue

For most things, I believe that God cares more about the person’s heart attitude than if they get all doctrine 100% correct. In fact, I think unity is more precious to the Lord than correct theology (See article soon to be posted). And I believe that the people who wrote these songs were worshiping the Lord when they wrote them.

But now they are not the only ones singing them. Repeating the phrase “We Crown You” repeatedly is dangerous in that we are teaching ourselves that we are the ones who crown the Lord. Jesus’ position as King of Kings and Lord of Lords is not dependent upon us. Whether we choose to worship Him or not, Jesus will be.

There is a reason God calls Himself “I Am.” He does not depend on us for anything—in fact, it is the opposite. Everything that we have comes from Him. And Jesus sits on the throne already. He does not need us to crown Him.

A Symptom of a Trend or an Outlier

I hope this is an outlier and that some songwriters simply use imprecise language instead of a trend. I did not mention the songs or who wrote them because I do not think they need to repent or anything of the sort. I trust that they were worshiping and wanted to express their own surrender to the Lord.

It is unfortunate that they expressed it in a way that could be so badly misunderstood and steer people down this dangerous line of beliefs centered on their own glory.

However, the purpose of this article is not to hammer anybody for making a mistake. Instead, I want to encourage everybody to consider the words that you sing during worship. Do not be thoughtless during worship, just repeating the words (See Matthew 6:7). Engage your whole self in the worship, from your spirit to your brain. If something seems off, don’t engage with it, but change to words to make a beautiful and pleasing noise to the Lord. Or move your heart into prayerful reverence of the Lord. He will see that and be pleased.

And if you do not know what to trust or what to sing, go back to basics: sing the Psalms.