What Does It Mean to Fear God

November, 2002

by: Shelbi Cullen

Many Christians today think that the concept of “Fearing God” is just an Old Testament idea and is outdated for the believer. However, “Fearing God” is not just limited to the Old Testament. In fact, many passages in the New Testament specifically address this topic. Even Jesus Himself is the author of some of them. “Fearing God” in the New Testament can be broken down into three categories:

1. The clear command to “Fear God”
2. Upright People who “Feared God”
3. “Fearing God” as essential to Christian Growth.

We see in the Scriptures a clear command to “Fear God” in verses like 1Peter 2:17; Matthew 10:28; and Revelation 14:7. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:17 that we are to, “Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.” The word “fear” in the Greek is “phobos” and means a reverence for God as a controlling motive of life. In this context, Christians then and today are to reverence the Lord; as well as highly esteem all people; the brotherhood; and those placed in authority. All three verses have as their theme a clear command to Fear God.

There were also certain upright individuals in the New Testament who “Feared God.” One such person was Cornelius found in Acts 2:10. The text describes him as “a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man, and one who “feared God” with all his household, and gave many alms to the [Jewish] people, and prayed to God continually.” Cornelius was one of the first Gentile Christians in the New Testament. Not only was he characterized as being devout and righteous, he was known by his reverence and adoration or “Fear” for the Lord. In this case, the Greek word for fear is “phobeo” and means to show reverence, awe, or adoration toward God.

Even if we didn't have the clear command to fear God, or Cornelius as our example, the Bible still gives us descriptions of Christians in the New Testament where fearing God was essential to their spiritual growth. For example in Ephesians 5:21, Paul tells the congregation in Ephesus to “Submit to one another in the fear of God.” In this case, the reverential fear (“phobos”) of God continually influences the Christian's disposition and attitude as they grow in the Lord. In the context of this verse, the believer's reverence for God is the basis of their submission to one another.

If you truly fear God, you will submit to one another. In conclusion, we must refuse to believe that the “Fear of God” is a teaching that is outdated. Instead, it is connected in Scripture to the well being of our Christian lives.