Christological Hymns
A few passages in the New Testament are considered to be fragments of early Christian hymns. Such hymns existed in order to honor and praise God. This is a record of the most serious and beautiful messages about Christ.
Word Became Flesh (John 1:1-18)
One of the most important verses in gospel of John is John 1:18. It says: "No one has ever seen God: only begotten God who is at the bosom of the Father, He made Him fully known." (translation from Greek). This is how the gospel begins and Jesus is right when He answers Philip, that who ever...
Hymn of Peace (Ephesians 2:14-16)
Paul breaks his speech to the Ephesians in verses 2:14-16, and begins a short discourse that is composed as a hymn. This is well discerned by a change of the personal prepositions from the first person plural (we) to the third person singular (he). In this discourse, Paul brings to the...
Exaltation of Christ (Philippians 2:6-11)
This passage is considered to be a fragment of an early Christian hymn. Such hymns existed in order to honor and praise God. There is, of course, a pastoral frame around the hymn. The function of the hymn here is to persuade and motivate Philippian Christians to imitate Christ in his humbleness...
Christ’s Supremacy in Cosmos and Atonement (Colossians 1:15-20)
The hymn of Colossians 1:15-20 focuses on the agency of Christ in the creation of all that is. The flow of the text is interrupted by the hymn in the change of the personal pronouns from the first and second person (I, you) to the third person (he). In the end, It is then resumed back to previously...
Mystery of True Godliness (1 Timothy 3:16)
This short hymnic passage of 1 Timothy 3:16 interrupts Paul’s address to Timothy with an exposition of “the mystery of true godliness.” This break is apparent by the change of personal pronoun from the second person (you) to the third (he) as well as also pointed by relative pronoun “which (ὃς...
God's Supreme Revelation (Hebrews 1:1-4)
Opening verses of the Epistle to the Hebrews do not start with greeting nor addressing the recipients as is typical for biblical epistolary literature. Although the epistle is placed among epistolary literature it does not share its form. It is rather closer to homily (sermon) by its own literary...
Suffering of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:18-22)
The 1 Peter 3:18-22 is arguably the most challenging passage in the entire list and maybe in the entire New Testament itself. This Christological text might have contained fragments of an ancient hymn (among others in the list: 1 Peter 1:18-21; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 1 Peter 3:18-22; 1 Peter 5:5-9). It...