Art Matters to God

Do you like art? Why? How does art nourish your spiritual growth? Or does it? Our God is a creative God. What we see in His world reflects His artistic nature. As David wrote, “The heavens declare God’s glory; the sky displays his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1).

Key Takeaways

Art matters to God because it reflects His creative nature and beauty.
The article discusses the biblical view of art, highlighting examples from Moses and Solomon.
Beauty in art must glorify God and avoid promoting sin or ugliness.
Christians can participate in creative processes that honor God through various art forms.
The writer encourages readers to evaluate and appreciate art through the eyes of God, affirming that art matters to God.

In the past 150 years, we have been brainwashed to think that science is separate from God, including what we see in the heavens. But science belongs to God. In the same way, we have been forced to consider any art as valid human expression and, therefore, worth embracing. But art belongs to God. Because God is artistic in His nature, any art created by His people matters to Him. Yes, art matters to God. Here are some resources to help you view art through the eyes of God so that you can both evaluate and appreciate it.

What Is Art, Anyway?

Fellow Engage blogger, Sue Bohlin, posted an article written by a friend who is an art teacher in the school system. At the beginning of each school year, this teacher asks her students each year, “What is art?” The students give a wide range of answers. But they usually land somewhere near the phrase “art can be whatever you want it to be.”

One year, she laid out an assortment of objects ranging from pottery to paintings to piles of trash that she pulled from the garbage can that morning. Through many giggles and lots of questions, she noted that many of the students still firmly asserted that all of these items could be considered “art.”

While you may agree or disagree with the used candy wrapper being called “art,” art is a form of visual communication that encompasses the values and beliefs of the maker. Effective art communicates those beliefs clearly to the viewer. And I believe good art communicates truth to the viewer. (Laura Helms)

This teacher didn’t get upset about her students calling used candy wrappers “art” because she knows how they get to thinking that way. Jesus said this,

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23)

When our eyes do not work, we do not see clearly. It is not shocking, but it is heartbreaking. When we exchange the truth of God for a lie (Romans 1:25), we hope to find life in things that cannot give us life. This teacher said that her primary goal as an art teacher is to help students learn how to see clearly. The goal is to teach them to look for truth—objective truth rather than subjective truth.

Read more from this article on Bible.org, “What is Art, Anyway?”

What Does the Bible Say about Art?

I wanted to know what the Bible says about art. So I went to the website gotquestions.org (Got Questions Ministries) and posed that question. The answer included information below:

Moses

The first mention of art in the Bible is in Exodus 31. God is instructing Moses to create a tent for the ark of the covenant, and God mentions several artisans whom He has chosen to create “artistic designs” to beautify the tent. God says, “In the hearts of all who are skillful I have put skill.” We learn two things about God’s view of art in this passage: He likes it, and He is the source of it. He wants humans to create beautiful things, and their skill in doing so is from Him.

Solomon

Later, in 1 Kings 6, we see Solomon creating a temple for the Lord. In verse 4, “artistic frames” were made for the house. This reinforces the fact that God does desire beauty and likes to be surrounded by it. If Solomon did not think that God was glorified by beauty, he would never have taken the trouble to create “artistic” window frames. Again, in Song of Solomon, the beauty of the bride is compared to “the work of the hands of an artist” (7:1). God is the creator; He is the artist whose hands create beauty. It follows that any beauty we create is glorifying to God, our creator.  

Defining beauty

It is important to define beauty. Art that is created to shock or horrify, or to glorify or elicit sin (violence, lust, greed) cannot be called “beautiful.” It is still “art” but not art that glorifies God.

Art that glorifies God must have the same two properties as the designs created in Exodus 31. First, it must be “artistic”; that is, it must be creative, well executed (a good representation of the object) and well crafted (well made). It must have worth as an object of value. Second, it should be something of which the artist can say, “God put it in my heart to make this.”   

God will not put in an artist’s heart to make things that will elicit sinful responses in others (Mark 9:42). He will not lead a person to create that which contradicts His nature. Artisans who create idols may be skillful (Isaiah 40:19), but they’re using their skill to pervert God’s glory, not honor it.

God-glorifying art

This doesn’t mean that all art has to be like the Sistine Chapel, however, or that it can only depict biblical subjects like Jesus on the cross or the disciples in a boat. God dwells in “the perfection of beauty” (Psalm 50:2), and His holiness is beautiful (1 Chronicles 16:29 and Psalm 29:2).

In creating God-glorifying art, the artist’s goal should be to lift the soul of man towards heaven and to illumine in new ways the multi-faceted beauty of God’s holiness, power and grace.  

There are literally millions of ways artists can depict God’s glory. Their creativity and the skill that God has placed in their hearts and hands will guide them to create art that will help us transcend the ugliness and pollution of this world. Artists, musicians, authors, and all who have this common mission are a special and valuable part of God’s kingdom.

Read this answer on gotquestions.org to the question, “What Does the Bible Say about Art?”

The Holy Spirit and the Arts

Dr. Reg Grant enjoys teaching courses in drama, voice, creative writing, and creative radio production. Twenty years ago, he wrote a rather long article for Bible.org entitled, “The Holy Spirit and the Arts.”

One part of his article grabbed my attention as something valuable to add to this discussion about Christians and art.

While we have no idea of how or if the Lord might choose to glorify himself through our artistic offerings, we still have an obligation to produce our works in a way that would please him. The artistic process must be spiritually based, and spiritually driven if we are to realize a spiritual purpose. We must allow God to produce his art through us—not as if we were limp gloves waiting to be filled by the Divine hand, nor as lifeless instruments waiting to be manipulated, but as children who actually participate with our heavenly Father in a dynamic creative process. And he has given us everything we need to accomplish our purpose. (Dr. Reg Grant)

We can participate with our heavenly Father in a dynamic creative process. I am not an artist. But I appreciate those who glorify God in their creative arts.

Read the entire article by Dr. Grant, “The Holy Spirit and the Arts.”

Why Art in the Church?

One of my former pastors was a brilliant photographer. He was very supportive of using the arts in the church setting. His convictions were strongly influenced by Francis Schaeffer’s book, Art and the Bible.

You can read and download Steve Hixon’s reflections in this article, ”Why Art in the Church?”