What is the Fear of God?
Today’s newsletter is oriented more as a topical Bible Study, be warned that it’s lengthy.
I would say that most days when I sit down to read the Word not much happens. But every once in a while the Holy Spirit has some grace on me and suddenly a passage of Scripture that I’ve looked at a thousand times springs off the page, and before I know it my neurons start firing and different little tidbits of information start connecting into one revelatory whole.
An event like that happened as I was teaching through 2 Cor. 7 at our recent Bible Study. Suddenly as I was talking through it, my synapses fired and things just made sense! I remember excitedly asking the girls if my explanation was as revelatory for them as it was for me and God bless them they humored me (I have a feeling I wasn’t making much sense).
The Fear of God is to Encounter Him
For the longest time I’ve had trouble understanding the concept of the “Fear of God”. How does my fear of the Lord bring me to wisdom (Prov. 9:10)? How does it lead me to holiness (2 Cor 7:1)? Isn’t He my father? I don’t have fear of my earthly father, and everything in my interactions with the Lord thus far have just proven to me how he cares for me gently, how he loves on me, and sees to my needs and desires to the most minute degree. How can this revelation of God square away with the concept of the “fear of God”?
We recently had the pleasure of interviewing missionary David Popovici on the podcast, and he said something that stuck with me:
“The fear of God is simply the right understanding
of who God is.”
And then, it just clicked. The fear of the Lord is rightly understanding how awe-some, all-powerful, majestic, divine, supreme, and–yes–terrifying this creator and ruler of the Universe is when we observe him in his full divinity.
“I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
Isaiah 6:1–4, ESV.
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.
Revelation 1:12–17, ESV.
“Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.”
Exodus 20:18–21, ESV.
When people encounter the living God, those encounters do terrify in a genuine way. Many times in the Scriptures, these theophanies are not treated lightly. People cower, they hide, they fall to the ground. Why? Because they finally understand that this God has the power of life and death in his hands, the power of all creation, and we are incomprehensibly unworthy to be in his holy midst.
But notice something here…the fear of the Lord also means encounter. To properly understand and see the Lord as he is, means that we have to properly encounter him as who he is.
I was at a church in Georgia this past Spring where they claimed that the Spirit of the Lord was stirring their baptismal waters and that people were getting healed and delivered as they were baptized, so my friend and I wanted to go see it for ourselves. The night we were at the service a guest preacher spoke on the “Fear of God” (and seemed to be taking a lot of notes out of John Bevere’s recent sermons on the “Awe of God”). But at the end of the sermon he invited the “fear of God” over all of us. This was a very large church, it easily had several hundred people in the room and was more on the charismatic side. You know what happened to several hundred flag-waving, loud Charismatics when the “fear of God” entered the room?
Silence. Reverence. Awe.
We were silent for what seemed an eternity to me, but no one dared break that atmosphere. I could sense the tangible presence of the Lord in the room, and had to get to my knees and make myself small–lest I draw attention to myself. It wasn’t other’s attention that I feared…it was the Lord and his holiness in that moment. Why?
(This was not to diss on Charismatics, I am a very loud worshipper myself. I had a nice elderly lady at a conference ask me if I was a flag-waver at my church and I said no…at least not yet!)
2. The Fear of God Brings Conviction
Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”
Exodus 20:18–19, ESV
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Isaiah 6:5, ESV.
Truly understanding who God is leads us to truly see ourselves too. We’re gross. We’re sinful. We have fallen short. Isaiah and the People of Israel (and John too) understand what’s going on here. How could we dare to enter in His presence the way we are? We have been separated by our own sin and death from a God that is holy, holy, holy.
Isaiah and the Israelites both had the correct response–a recognition of their sin nature in light of their true understanding of the living God. We encounter him and become deeply and painfully aware of ourselves. The same thing happens when the Holy Spirit moves on an unbeliever and works to convict them of their sin.
3. The Fear of God leads us to Repentance
Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
Exodus 20:20-21, ESV
But the responses of Israel and Isaiah differed. The Israelites pulled back and refused to repent, they built and worshiped the golden calf instead. As a result, Moses had to pitch the tent of meeting outside of the campsite of the Israelites, even though God’s desire all along was to be in the midst of his people. Their sinfulness is what initially separated the people from the Lord, but it was their unrepentant hearts that ended up keeping them away from him in the end.
Isaiah, meanwhile, is quick to repent and not only for his own sins but also for the sins of his people.
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment!
2 Co 7:10–11, ESV
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
Is 6:6–7, ESV
Isaiah’s godly grief led him to repentance, and to reconciliation with God. Notice how the burning coal that atones for Isaiah’s sin and guilt is the early symbol of Jesus Christ himself. The burning coal atoned for Isaiah’s sin in that moment, but Jesus Christ would end up coming and atoning for all sin for all time. The only thing we need to do is to repent and turn to God so that we might have life and life more abundantly.
Godly repentance is a grief that doesn’t condemn us, it doesn’t shame us, and it doesn’t remember our past sins. If anything, it redeems our past actions for the glory of God.
Our sin no longer has a hold on us.
Before God we have been fully and completely justified by the blood of Jesus.
4. The Fear of God Commissions Us to GO!
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
And he said, “Go, and say to this people…”
Isaiah 6:8–9, ESV
One of the oldest and most effective tools in the devil’s hands is the combination of shame, condemnation, and self-righteousness. He will use the conviction that we experience when we encounter God, but then twist it into ways that lead us to spiritual death.
Those who have been in sin (especially prodigals) once they become saved seem to toy with either shame or self-righteousness that leads to works. They hate their previous sin so much and are now so eager to pursue holiness and righteous living that in their conviction they start putting on more rules and regulations on themselves than they need to (hello Galatians!).
Or their shame at their past deeds overwhelms them and throws them out of commission. God can’t do anything with them because they constantly doubt their own worthiness and abilities to answer the call. Well I have good news for you…no one’s worthy. It’s by the worthiness and authority of Christ that you have been commissioned.
Our reconciliation with Christ goes hand in hand with his ministry call for us. We were finally reconciled to Christ, and now our job is to go and help others be reconciled to him as well, that’s your ministry call. The ways and means by which we do this will look different for everybody, but the purpose is always the same.
All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.
2 Cor. 5:18–20, ESV
So what does the Fear of God mean and what does it produce in us?
The Fear of God to encounter the living, holy God.
This encounter brings us conviction.
But this conviction then leads us to repentance.
And this repentance impels and commissions us to “Go!” in the call that God has for us.
(In a cheesy aside, I have a friend who likes to remind us that “2/3rds of God is ‘go’!”)
I’m praying that just as revelatory as this passage was for me, that in reading this and studying the passages mentioned, that Holy Spirit would bring revelation to you as well. Happy Tuesday!
Sources:
“David Narcis Popovici on Christ-Centered Missional Living”
AOT Conference – Authority Quote by Jon Tyson (will link notes soon)
