Reverence for God

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“Reverence for God” and the “Fear of God”

Aim & Thesis

Aim. Define and distinguish reverence and the fear of God across Scripture, establishing how “real fear” functions positively for believers (not as immobilizing dread) and how both terms operate lexically, contextually, and theologically.

Thesis (preview). In Scripture, the fear of God (yir’ah; phobos) is the foundational covenantal stance of awed, accountable regard for God’s holiness and authority; reverence (eulabeia/sebomai; certain uses of yare’) is that fear’s careful, worshipful, obedient expression. For believers, fear is filial (not slavish), producing obedience, joy, and vigilance—never paralysis (Exod 20:20; Ps 2:11; Heb 12:28–29).

I. Exegesis

A) Lexeme & Sense Profile

Hebrew (OT)

  • yare’ / yir’ah — “fear/stand in awe/revere.” Context determines valence: dread (e.g., of enemies) or positive godward awe/respect (Deut 10:12; Prov 1:7; Ps 130:4).

  • mora’ / nora’ — “fear/dread,” “awesome.” Often predicate of God’s holiness/acts (Deut 7:21; Ps 68:35).

  • pāḥad / ’ēmāh — “terror/dread.” Usually negative, but when predicated of God it can denote the weight of His majesty that displaces creaturely fears (Isa 8:13).

  • ḥārad — “to tremble,” the bodily correlate of awe (Isa 66:2, 5).

  • Note. “Reverence” as English gloss sometimes renders yare’ when the context is positive, relational fear (Lev 19:3: “revere/fear your mother and father”), showing the overlap between “fear” and “reverence.”

Greek (NT)

  • phobos / phobeomai — “fear” ranging from terror to reverential awe; with God as object and within the believing community commonly denotes reverent submission (Acts 9:31; 2 Cor 7:1; 1 Pet 1:17; 3:2, 15).

  • eulabeia / eulabēs — “reverence/godly fear/devout.” Focus on careful, circumspect piety (Heb 5:7; 12:28; Luke 2:25).

  • deos — “awe/dread” (rare; Heb 12:28), paired with eulabeia to intensify worshipful gravity.

  • sebomai / sebasma / sebas / eusebeia — “revere/worship,” “object of veneration,” “piety/godliness” (Acts 13:43; 2 Thess 2:4; Pastoral Epistles for eusebeia). These mark reverential devotion directed to God.

  • tromos — “trembling” (Phil 2:12; 2 Cor 7:15): the embodied seriousness that accompanies reverent fear.

Working differentiation (lexical):

  • Fear (yir’ah / phobos) = the core stance before the holy God: awed accountability under His lordship.

  • Reverence (eulabeia / sebomai; some yare’ contexts) = the mode of that stance: careful, worshipful, obedient practice—“taking God seriously” in conduct and worship.

B) Mini-Exegesis of Key Texts

  1. Exodus 20:20 — “Do not fear… that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.”
    Paradox resolves by distinguishing paralyzing dread (forbidden) from ethical, reverent fear (commanded). The latter keeps Israel from sin; it is stabilizing, not immobilizing.

  2. Psalm 2:11 — “Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.”
    Fear and joy are not opposites: joy is intensified by awe. Trembling marks gravity, not despair.

  3. Psalm 130:4 — “With you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.”
    Divine mercy produces reverent fear. Grace does not diminish fear; it reforms it from terror to filial awe.

  4. Isaiah 8:12–13 — “Do not fear what they fear… let the LORD be your fear, and let him be your dread.”
    Godward dread displaces creaturely dread; it liberates from fearing man by reordering fear’s object.

  5. Proverbs 1:7; 9:10 — “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge/wisdom.”
    Fear functions as epistemic ground for covenantal knowledge—humble teachability under divine authority.

  6. Philippians 2:12 — “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”
    Not anxiety about status but serious diligence under verse 13’s divine enabling. “Fear” marks responsibility before the God who works in believers.

  7. Hebrews 12:28–29 — “Offer to God acceptable worship with reverence (eulabeia) and awe (deos), for our God is a consuming fire.”
    Explicit pairing of reverence and awe grounds New-Covenant worship in God’s abiding holiness.

  8. 1 John 4:18 — “Perfect love casts out fear, for fear has to do with punishment.”
    Context narrows “fear” to penal dread (fear of eschatological punishment). John does not cancel reverential fear; he excludes terror of condemnation for the perfected-in-love.

C) Translation & Context Notes (select)

  • ESV often renders eulabeia as “reverence” (Heb 5:7; 12:28) and phobos variably as “fear,” “reverence,” or “respect” depending on context (e.g., 1 Pet 3:2, 15).

  • No major textual variants in the above loci overturn the sense differentiation; the theological force turns on context, not on variant readings.

II. Theological Analysis

A) Synthesis (Free-Will/Provisionist & classic Dispensational accents)

  1. Nature and Object. The fear of God is the believer’s covenantal orientation that recognizes God’s absolute holiness, authority, and judgment; reverence is that fear’s practical posture in worship and obedience.

  2. Grace transforms fear. Justification and forgiveness do not remove fear; they transfigure it from penal dread into filial awe (Ps 130:4; Rom 8:15; Heb 12:28).

  3. Ethical function. Fear/reverence are means God uses to keep His people from sin (Exod 20:20; 2 Cor 7:1).

  4. Continuity across dispensations. From OT to NT the fear of God remains constitutive of true piety; in the New Covenant its Christocentric focus and access to the Father heighten reverence, not lessen it (Hebrews).

  5. Freedom, not paralysis. Godward fear displaces man-fear (Isa 8:12–13; Acts 9:31), freeing believers for joyful obedience (Ps 2:11).

B) Reformed/Calvinist contrast (brief)

Reformed writers often stress fear as a mark of regenerate humility (e.g., “filial fear” distinguished from “servile fear”). Our stance agrees on filial fear but places additional emphasis on uncoerced human responsibility: believers must choose reverent obedience under grace’s enablement (Phil 2:12–13), with warnings functioning as real means of perseverance.

III. Historical Context (Second Temple & Early Christian)

  • Second Temple Judaism commonly prized yir’at shamayim (“fear of Heaven”) as a shorthand for genuine piety—reverent obedience to Torah and worship. This idiom clarifies why early Jewish Christians continue to speak of walking in the fear of the Lord (Acts 9:31).

  • Greco-Roman register. In broader Greek usage, phobos can denote terror, but in Jewish-Christian discourse it frequently means awed deference to divine majesty; eulabeia marks cautious piety, the carefulness appropriate to God’s holiness (Heb 5:7; 12:28).

  • Patristic trajectory. Early Fathers distinguish penal dread (expelled by perfect love) from holy fear that abides in worship and ethics—an early reception consonant with the NT pattern.

IV. Scholarly Insight (conservative, indicative; paraphrased, not quoted)

  • Lexical/theological discussions (BDAG; HALOT/BDB) note the bidirectional range of yir’ah / phobos (from dread to reverence) with context as decisive; Hebrews’ use of eulabeia accents devout carefulness.

  • Commentary streams (e.g., Bruce; Witherington; Morris; Ladd) consistently read Heb 12:28–29 as grounding New-Covenant worship in reverent awe, not casual familiarity; Psalm and Wisdom literature frame fear as the beginning of knowledge/wisdom, not its opposite.

  • Ethics and sanctification discussions (e.g., Picirilli; Cottrell) emphasize that fear-of-God language motivates holiness without contradicting assurance; it is a means of perseverance.

(Representative resources for further consultation: BDAG; HALOT; BDB; Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics; F. F. Bruce on Hebrews/Paul; Ben Witherington III on Hebrews/Pauline epistles; Leon Morris on Romans; George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament; Robert E. Picirilli, Grace, Faith, Free Will; Jack Cottrell, The Faith Once for All.)

V. Practical Application (brief, text-driven)

  1. Worship posture. Approach corporate and private worship with reverence and awe (Heb 12:28–29): careful, grateful, joy-filled gravity.

  2. Ethical vigilance. Use the fear of God as a guardrail against sin (Exod 20:20; 2 Cor 7:1): not anxiety, but accountable seriousness.

  3. Freedom from man-fear. Let Godward fear displace social intimidation (Isa 8:12–13; Acts 9:31), enabling bold obedience.

  4. Assurance without presumption. Hold 1 John 4:18 together with Heb 12:28: love removes penal dread, yet reverent awe remains and matures.

Conclusion

Biblically, reverence and the fear of God are not rivals. Fear names the foundational stance toward God’s holiness and judgment; reverence names the careful, worshipful practice of that stance. For the faithful, this includes real fear—but not paralyzing dread. It is filial awe that stabilizes obedience, fuels joy, and frees God’s people from fearing anything else.

Categories: Word & Topic Studies