I've waited until now to share this helpful quote with you because I wanted to first work out what I thought about "the fear of God". It's from Jerry Bridges' wonderful book The Joy of Fearing God.Jerry Bridges defines the fear of God as "reverential awe", a complex mix of emotions and attitudes which leads to a changed life.
What is awe? ... The dictionary I have defines awe as:Jerry Bridges The Joy of Fearing God pp. 18, 25-31, emphases are his.
- An emotion in which dread, veneration, and wonder are variously mingled.
- Submissive and admiring fear inspired by authority.
- A fearful reverence inspired by deity.
You can easily see that, depending on the situation and the object of awe, it could include the emotions of fear (or dread), respect (or reverence), admiration and amazement. ...
A profound sense of awe towards God is undoubtedly the dominant element in the attitude or set of emotions that the Bible calls "the fear of God." A popular definition of the fear of God is "reverential awe," ... a good definition. ...
[W]e need to move beyond equating the fear of God only with being afraid of Him. We must not drop that aspect altogether, since even for the Christian it remains an element in the over-all concept of fearing God. But it is by no means the dominant element. ...
This kind of fear obviously goes beyond simply being afraid of God, for it yields within us such glad responses as adoration, love, honour, and worship. And I would add that these responses are ... not only to God's "transcendent majesty and holiness" ... but also to His amazing grace and unfathomable love for us in Christ.
... Sinclair Ferguson has made a helpful distinction between "servile fear" and "filial fear". ... Ferguson explains servile fear as "the kind of fear which a slave would feel towards a harsh and unyielding master." ...
In contrast to servile fear, filial fear is the loving fear of a child toward his father. Ferguson describes it as "that indefinable mixture of reverence, fear, pleasure, joy and awe which fills our hearts when we realize who God is and what He has done for us." This is the only true fear of God. ..
Is this fear of God a mix of various emotions, or is it an attitude? Emotions are feelings that come and go ... while an attitude is a more or less settled state of mind. Into which category does fearing God belong?
The answer is both. Emotional feelings of awe, reverence, honour, and adoration will definitely be stimulated within us as we have great thoughts about God ...
At the same time our fear of God must be a settled state of mind - an attitude of awe, reverence, honour, and adoration, a fixed mental outlook that isn't dependent on feelings that come and go. ...
Properly fearing God is more than just a feeling or attitude - it's a feeling or attitude that changes our lives.
The filial fear bit is useful. As I was disciplining our daughter the other day, I was thinking how much the way a small child relates to a parent is like the fear of God. As I was discussing her misbehaviour with her, it was so interesting to see in her whole demeanor the love and trust yet also the submission and apprehension etc all rolled into one. Really was such a visual reminder of what it is to fear God.
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