Since its inception, the CM has chosen to define themselves as the Christian or holy division of hip hop culture as opposed to the hip hop or rap division of Christian culture. Within the genre of rap music, there are various subgenres such as gangsta rap, Conscious rap, old school rap, crunk, and reggaeton, but all of it falls under the rubric of rap and, by extension, hip hop. In choosing to define their music as simply being another subgenre - i.e., the Christian rap subgenre - of hip hop culture, the CM attempts to "keep it real" in order to maintain the validity needed to influence members of hip hop culture who may or may not be Christians. In their 2003 release, Holy Culture, The CM stated their reasoning is based on a passage from the Bible, St. John 17:15-19 in which Jesus is reported to have said to God:
“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”
As the word sanctified means "to set apart", the interpretation maintained by the CM is that they are instructed by Jesus to remain a part of hip hop culture while being set apart from the majority of the followers of hip hop culture in order to influence it from within to conform to the mores and moral code preached by the followers of mainstream Christianity. The acceptance of this interpretation has been mixed, however. Despite their claim to be a part of hip hop culture, the CM has slowly found more acceptance, though not total acceptance, in the Christian community than in the secular hip hop community as the majority of their concerts are held at churches or church-sponsored events as opposed to secular venues. In 2006, the CM received a Grammy nomination for “Best Rock Gospel Album,” as opposed to any of the traditional hip hop or rap categories. Additionally, the CM has generally only been recognized at Christian and Gospel awards shows such as the Dove Awards or Stellar Awards as opposed to hip hop-only award shows such as the Source Awards or the Vibe Awards.
Our God
The Cross Movement Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can we tell 'em about you?
I know they don't know
But they listening right now so we might as well.
We just gonna talk about you.
We gonna vibe wit' you.
Help 'em vibe wit' you Lord.
They prolly never heard.
You prolly never had the living God unpacked,
Unpacked by some rapper the living God don' jacked.
For His own purpose, you know it's seems to bug,
People the way He mends though he picks up scrubs.
Like you won't like me, but enough of this intro,
Introducing this God, gotta give up for this info.
Info all about the One that the texts calls 'Yahweh',
Yahweh is the I am he had a Son come our way,
Our way to Yahweh is the man Christ Jesus,
Jesus is the Son Yahweh sent to man. Christ breezes,
Breezes to another person known as God the Spirit,
The Spirit is the third person of the God Head, hear it.
Here it is, the foundation. God's Triune.
This things hard, Hard to lay out in sixteen bars.
Bars of truth about God, Doesn't this seem odd?
A rapper would bring truth heavy as 16 cars.
Refrain:
Our God!
I decided to write. I acquired a mic,
I want your eye on the Christ,
'Cause he is our God!
Ain't no body like Him. That's just why we like Him,
Plus we got our life from,
Jesus our God!
We won't stop till every block is listenin'
He's on top, 'cause on top is his proper
'Cause this our God!
What other God would cop from every race
Of people so we could show off His grace.
No one but our God!
You ever heard the word attributes?
Attributes describe; God's got so many vibe, some of them I have to shoot.
Shoot, eternality just to start it off.
Off the time line, he was here before he started all.
All knowing, all powerful, all present. Yes yes,
These are the omni's of God. He's at His best,
In every way, in every class. His very breath
Creates and sustains every day and every step.
Step with me. Get with me, you know I'm movin' y'all.
I'm movin y'all. To see the sovereign Lord who proves it all,
It all comes closer as sin comes to the forefront,
Front if you want His grace and mercy. We all want,
We all want love, but none of us want wrath,
Wrath is in the package, the enemy won't last.
Last, but not least He's beautiful.
Holy, He's Just, Transcendent, He's Immanent Plus Immutable.
Refrain
I kick this for you, though it bores you. Isn't it disloyal
To dis God, when this God picked us from soil.
Soil was given the shine like he dipped us in oil.
Oil is the sign of God's Spirit who boils,
Boiling. Hot flashes is what he gives. It's for you,
For you to give it back. Lord, let this adore you.
A door to this God is all narrow is all, Get out.
Get out, is what you hear to narrow tree. Spit out,
Spit out the lukewarm. The Lukewarm,
Those who really don't know, The God of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
But now you have life, so does the Ambassador,
Ambassador, Uses the mic just like a rapper does,
A rapper doesn't usually recite the story of,
His story of Him, who gets the sole "Gloria",
Glory to Jesus, the way to the father,
Father now we can call you more than God.
We can call you ABBA. You're God.
Refrain
"Our God" by The Cross Movement is a rap song that seeks to introduce listeners to the God of the Bible through the vehicle of hip-hop music. The song begins with the artists acknowledging the fact that many people may not know about God and proceeds to unpack the character and nature of God for the benefit of the audience. The artists describe God as a Triune being consisting of Yahweh, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. They highlight God's omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence, as well as His holiness and justness. The song emphasizes that God is the one true God who showed His love for all people by sending Jesus to die on the cross for their sins.
The lyrics of "Our God" are designed to be informative as well as inspirational. The message seeks to encourage listeners to embrace the God of the Bible and His love for them. The artists include a refrain in the song that emphasizes their message and invites people to celebrate and glorify Jesus as their God. Notably, the song ends with the phrase "We can call you ABBA. You're God," which highlights the intimate relationship Christians can have with God as their Father.
Line by Line Meaning
You prolly never had the living God unpacked,
It's unlikely that you've ever had the living God described to you in detail,
Unpacked by some rapper the living God don' jacked.
Explained by a rapper who is inspired by the living God.
For His own purpose, you know it's seems to bug,
It might seem strange that God chooses to work in certain ways, but he has reasons for everything he does.
People the way He mends though he picks up scrubs.
God has a habit of working with people who are seen as unimportant, but he uses them to accomplish great things.
Jesus is the Son Yahweh sent to man. Christ breezes,
Jesus is the Son of God who was sent to Earth to live as a human being.
The Spirit is the third person of the God Head, hear it.
The Holy Spirit is the third part of the Trinity, or the Godhead, which is made up of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Bars of truth about God, Doesn't this seem odd?
It might seem strange that a rapper is speaking the truth about God so clearly, but this is how it is.
We won't stop till every block is listenin'
We will continue to spread the message about God until everyone has heard it.
He's on top, 'cause on top is his proper
God is always in control and deserves to be in that position.
Attributes describe; God's got so many vibe, some of them I have to shoot.
There are so many qualities that describe God that it's impossible to list them all, but we'll mention some of them here.
Off the time line, he was here before he started all.
God exists outside of time and has always been present, even before he created the world.
All knowing, all powerful, all present.
God has qualities of being all-knowing, all-powerful, and present everywhere at the same time.
Holy, He's Just, Transcendent, He's Immanent Plus Immutable.
God is holy, just, transcendent, immanent, and unchanging.
Isn't it disloyal to dis God, when this God picked us from soil.
It's not faithful to reject God when he created us and gave us life.
Oil is the sign of God's Spirit who boils,
Oil can be a symbol of the Holy Spirit, who can bring passion and energy to our lives.
A door to this God is all narrow is all, Get out.
The way to God is narrow and difficult to find, but it's important to keep looking for it.
Glory to Jesus, the way to the father,
Jesus is the way that we can come to know God the Father and have a relationship with him.
Father now we can call you more than God.
We can have a personal and intimate relationship with God, calling him not just God but also our Father.
Contributed by Aubrey E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Shawn Mayhall Sr.
on Name Up
Who is the first artist on this track ????