The Reverential Fear of God - Part 1, Maturity

By: Tom Burns

Recently, I was preparing for a monthly teaching session with a group of church leaders. I was excited because I was planning on sharing some of the things that the Lord had been showing me about The Kingdom of God.  As I was praying about how to organize my material, the Lord showed me that He wanted me to share on The Reverential Fear of God.  This was unsettling for several reasons, but mostly because I knew that there were things He wanted to teach me about my life.

My mind immediately went to some of the instances where people encountered the Lord in the Bible.  There is the story of Israel leaving Egypt and approaching Mt Sinai and how the people feared His presence (Exodus 19). And how they feared Moses when he came down from the mountain because his face glowed with the Glory of the Lord (Exodus 34:29-35Exodus 34:29-35
²⁹ It came about when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses' hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him. ³⁰ So when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. ³¹ Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers in the congregation returned to him; and Moses spoke to them. ³² Afterward all the sons of Israel came near, and he commanded them [to do] everything that the LORD had spoken to him on Mount Sinai. ³³ When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. ³⁴ But whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would take off the veil until he came out; and whenever he came out and spoke to the sons of Israel what he had been commanded, ³⁵ the sons of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone. So Moses would replace the veil over his face until he went in to speak with Him.).  Then there was the death of Uzzah, who reached out his hand to steady the Ark of the Covenant (2 Samuel 6:6-72 Samuel 6:6-7
⁶ But when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it. ⁷ And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God.).  Also, there is the story of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11), who died because they lied to Holy Spirit. Lastly, there is the account of John being overcome and wanting to bow in the presence of an angel (Revelation 22:8-9Revelation 22:8-9
⁸ I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. ⁹ But he said to me, "Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.").

I also thought about stories I have heard from more contemporary Christians who describe visitations of the Lord as terrifying or paralyzing. Situations where all they could do was fall on the floor and not move.

I realized that these situations all described what I would call situational responses. They are more reflexes when confronted with God’s glory and presence than an intentional response.  I also began to understand that He is calling us, His Church, to a lifestyle of reverential fear, or maturity.

The Beginning of Wisdom

Both King David and King Solomon declared, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, … (Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 9:10)”

The fear of the Lord is also described as:

• Beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7)
• Prolonging life (Proverbs 10:27)
• A fountain of life (Proverbs 14:27)
• Instruction for wisdom (Proverbs 15:33)
• Treasure (Isaiah 33:6)
• Leading to life (Proverbs 19:23)

The prophet Isaiah even describes the Fear of the Lord as one of the Seven Spirits of God (Isaiah 11:2Isaiah 11:2
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.).

It is obvious that the fear of the Lord is important, but what exactly does it mean?

In the original text, the Hebrew word yir'â is translated fear. But it means much more than just fear or terror.  It carries a sense of awe, reverence and deep respect.  For me, I prefer to think of the fear of God as being in total awe of Him, His majesty and His glory.

Created for Relationship

Adam was created for a relationship with God.  Eve was created for a relationship with Adam and God.  Their descendants, us, were created for relationships.  We were created with a fundamental need for a relationship with God.  And, we were created to have relationships with each other.

Jesus explained the basic need for relationship when He said that the greatest commandment is to love God and the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbors (Mark 12:28-31Mark 12:28-31
²⁸ One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, "What commandment is the foremost of all?" ²⁹ Jesus answered, "The foremost is, 'HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; ³⁰ AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.' ³¹ "The second is this, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these.").

Jesus also said that the world would know that we are His disciples by our love (John 13:35John 13:35
"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.").  Again, relationship!

Lastly, in His letter to the Church at Ephesus, Paul wrote about the five fold ministry gifts.  He said that one of their primary goals was to bring about unity within the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-13Ephesians 4:11-13
¹¹ And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.).  Yet again, relationship!

Relating to God

After the fall in the garden, mankind’s relationship with God was from a distance. Sin created a barrier that could only be overcome by the shedding of the blood of innocent animals.

During this time, He revealed Himself and His nature by His names, such as:

• ADONAI: “Lord” (Genesis 15:2; Judges 6:15)
• EL, ELOAH: God "mighty, strong, prominent" (Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 139:19)
• ELOHIM: God “Creator, Mighty and Strong” (Genesis 17:7; Jeremiah 31:33)
• EL SHADDAI: “God Almighty,” “The Mighty One of Jacob” (Genesis 49:24; Psalm 132:2,5) 
• EL ELYON: “God Most High" (Deuteronomy 26:19) 
• EL ROI: "God of Seeing" (Genesis 16:13) 
• EL-OLAM: "Everlasting God" (Psalm 90:1-3) 
• EL-GIBHOR: “Mighty God” (Isaiah 9:6) 
• YHWH / YAHWEH / JEHOVAH: “LORD” (Deuteronomy 6:4; Daniel 9:14)
• JEHOVAH-JIREH: "The Lord Will Provide" (Genesis 22:14) 
• JEHOVAH-RAPHA: "The Lord Who Heals" (Exodus 15:26) 
• JEHOVAH-NISSI: "The Lord Our Banner" (Exodus 17:15), where banner is understood to be a rallying place.
• JEHOVAH-M'KADDESH: "The Lord Who Sanctifies, Makes Holy" (Leviticus 20:8; Ezekiel 37:28) 
• JEHOVAH-SHALOM: "The Lord Our Peace" (Judges 6:24) 
• JEHOVAH-ELOHIM: "LORD God" (Genesis 2:4; Psalm 59:5) 
• JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU: "The Lord Our Righteousness” (Jeremiah 33:16) 
• JEHOVAH-ROHI: "The Lord Our Shepherd" (Psalm 23:1) 
• JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH: "The Lord Is There” (Ezekiel 48:35) 
• JEHOVAH-SABAOTH: "The Lord of Hosts" (Isaiah 1:24; Psalm 46:7)
• I AM! (Exodus 3:14)

He was so awesome and terrifying that when people encountered Him, they feared for their very lives.

With the New Testament, our relationship with God forever changed. Jesus introduced us to God as Our Father in Heaven (Matthew 6:9Matthew 6:9
"Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.”).  He also revealed God as the three in one, Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19Matthew 28:19
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,”).

It is important to remember that God did not change.  He is still the fearful, awe inspiring, all mighty God of the Old Testament.  But, He made a way through Jesus, for us to approach Him as He originally intended, before the fall.  We are His family who He dearly loves.  He loves us so much that He has even sent His Holy Spirit to dwell within us, to be intimately with us in every aspect of our lives!

In this new relationship, God interacts with us in multiple ways and in multiple roles. He is the King of the Universe who created all things. But, he is also our Heavenly Father. He is love, but He is also holy and righteous.  As we seek Him, as we spend time with Him, we will continually be learning new things about Him and His nature.

Sonship

As mentioned before, one of the greatest gifts that we receive through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is that we become part of God’s family. We become His sons!  This is not to say that women have a lesser role in God's Kingdom. Women are sons just as men become the bride of Christ.  It is not an issue of gender, it is an issue of relationship. As sons, we are counted as God’s heirs.  Not just heirs, but joint heirs with Jesus (Romans 8:16-17).

As with natural or physical sons, spiritual sons go through a process of maturing. In one of his Give Him 15 articles, Dutch Sheets, a well know American teacher and pastor, explains the process this way:

There are at least four Greek words for a daughter or son, each depicting a different level of maturity. Nepios means “no speech” and refers to an infant or baby; a paidion is a toddler or young child; and a teknon is a teenager or young adult. Finally, a huios is a fully matured “son.” (Spiritually speaking, huios is not gender-based; just as a male can be part of Christ’s “bride,” females can be a fully matured “son.”)

In Christ’s day, when a child matured and had been adequately trained, they were “placed” into “sonship.” For this important transition, a public ceremony called a huiothesia was held. This word literally means “placed as a son.” It was different than a bar mitzvah ceremony and normally occurred at 30 years of age. The father of the child would invite members of the community to this event, for it was a public announcement that the child was now a fully mature son with full authority to represent the family name, business, etc. During the ceremony, the father would announce, “This is my beloved son (huios), in whom I am well pleased.” This is why Father God spoke these words at Christ’s baptism (Mark 1:11Mark 1:11
and a voice came out of the heavens: "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."); He was declaring that Christ was fully authorized to speak for Him and conduct His business. It was Christ’s huiothesia.

Huiothesia is usually translated “adoption as sons” in the New Testament. Technically, however, the word isn’t saying we are being adopted into God’s family. It is saying that as His children, already in the family, we are being positioned or placed into “sonship.” God’s plan is to mature us from spiritual babies to mature sons and daughters, qualified to fully represent Him.

This understanding is important in Romans 8. The chapter tells us that as God’s children, we have all the rights, blessings, and privileges of being in His family. “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children (teknon) of God, and if children (teknon), heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him” (Romans 8:16-17; NASB).

However, the passage makes an important distinction between children and sons, saying that “sons” (huios) of God are led by His Spirit. “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons (huios) of God” (Romans 8:14; NASB). Many of God’s kids are not yet led by Holy Spirit. Though they have access to His blessings, they are not mature enough to know His voice and ways. Children have rights and benefits; sons possess authority. The passage goes on to say that creation is groaning and travailing, waiting for the revealing of the “sons” of God - NOT His children (verse 19). The children of God cannot bring healing to the earth; only mature sons and daughters, those led by Holy Spirit, can do so.

Created for Maturity

As mentioned above, creation is anxiously longing for the revelation of the mature sons of God (Romans 8:19Romans 8:19
For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.).

I like to say it this way way, “All creation is holding their breath for us, God’s children, to finally grow up!”

One of the biggest measures of our spiritual maturity is how we relate to our Father.  

Consider this example.  There are pictures of President John F. Kennedy working in the Oval Office.  As president, he was arguably one of the most powerful men in the world. While he worked, the picture shows his son, affectionately called John-John or John Jr, playing underneath the desk.  John-John was probably two years old when this picture was taken.  He was unaware of the importance of where he was playing or the power and authority that was at his father’s disposal.  He just knew that he was near his father, who loved him very much.

While this is an endearing picture, it would be totally inappropriate if John Jr was an adult. The adult son would still be as loved as the two year old son.  The adult son may even be more capable of understanding and reciprocating the love of his father.  But, there would be far more to the relationship. The adult son would show a level of respect and honor more befitting to the President of the United States.  If it is reasonable to expect this type of mature relationship between an earthly son and his father, how much more should this be expected between a spiritual son and the God of Creation?

As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.”  We need to put away childish things and strive to become mature sons and daughters.  We can still love Him and rest assured that He loves us, but He is also entitled to receive our reverence, fear and awe.

In the next article, we will look at how this basic sin nature impacts our relationship and awe with God.  In the final article, we will also identify some positive steps we can take to grow into a more mature relationship with Abba, Our Heavenly Father