The Fear of a Son Marketplace 98% 3.2.17
Introduction
Naturally speaking no one wants to experience fear, and I personally understand why. As a young man I suffered dreadfully from a terrible irrational dread of people to the point of paralysed by fear. This was definitely demonic. Once I came to Christ I was greatly helped by this well-liked text; “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Tim 1:7). But this does NOT mean that our lives should be completely fear-less.
Christians are greatly confused about what the fear of the Lord means. Given that what people sing is often the best indicate of their true state of mind it would be hard to name a popular song that intentionally instills the fear of God. [Amazing Grace has the line, “T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear And Grace, my fears relieved”, but this speaks of a pre-conversion fear.] Hillsong assures us, “Grace dissolves every fear in me”, but I would rather follow Dietrich Bonheoffer, “Those who are still afraid of men have no fear of God, and those who have fear of God have ceased to be afraid of men.” Lacking a rich fear of God Christians frequently fear the deprivations of financial hardship, sickness, failure, rejection, death and other sufferings that this world, and people, can bring (cf. John 16:33).
The ultimate reason why the fear of God can displace the fear of man is found in this profound text from Paul; “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God…” (Rom 8:15-16). I will return to the central connection between the revelation of God as our Holy Father and fear shortly, but here are some positive texts about fearing God in the New Testament. Paul counsels publicly rebuking a sinful elder “so that the rest may stand in fear” (1 Tim 5:20 cf. Deut 19:20) and exhorts his readers, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12) and speaks of “bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God” (2 Cor 7:1). To “be filled with the Spirit” is connected to “submitting to one another in the fear of Christ”; which shows that all members of the Godhead (not just the Father) must be equally feared (Eph 5:18, 21). To understand the depths of these things we must turn to Jesus’ own experience of the fear of the Lord.
Jesus’ fear of the Lord
Isaiah prophesies of the coming Messiah, “his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD” (Isa 11:3 cf. Neh 1:11). Jesus embodies the fear of the LORD as the source of perfect wisdom and knowledge (Prov 1:7; 9:10) because he realises the power of godly fear to resist sin and so bring pleasure to the heart of his Father. True God-directed rather than self-protective fear is an adoration continually ascending to heaven; “Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Eph 5:2). The sufferings of Christ are the place where we can gain insight into the holy character of the Son’s fear of the Father.
Hebrews describes Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane; “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,” (5:7-9). Jesus’ obedience as Son was perfected in a climate of godly fear in his struggle to do the will of God; ““Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”” (Mark 14:36). It is only in this place of suffering terrible dread that Christ utters these most intimate words, “Abba, Father”. This is hard for us to understand, but surely here in the Garden and on the cross “holiness is perfected in the fear of God” (2 Cor 7:1). As Jesus offers his body as a living sacrifice entering the perfect will of God (Rom 12:2) he is the one who “offers to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe” in the experience of “God (who) is a consuming fire.” (Heb 12:28-29).
But of what was the sinless Jesus fearful (Heb 4:15)? Jesus knows that in dying in our place, in Paul’s words, “becoming sin”, he must enter our state as rebellious sons who do not “fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hell.” (Luke 12:4-5; 2 Cor 5:21). Christ must endure the state of those whom the scriptures say, “hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord,” (Prov 1:29). Those whom God has given over to “hardened hearts, so that we fear you not?” (Isa 63:17 cf. Heb 3:8, 15; 4:7). To not be able to delight in the fear of the Lord is the dreadful condition Jesus must endure for us in his state of forsakenness on the cross (Mark 15:34). But death was not the end; “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12:2). The fruit of godly fear is great resurrection joy, for fear teaches us to depend wholly on the Lord (Matt 28:8, 10).
Fearing as a Son
The connection between the knowledge of God as Father and a healthy fear appears in both Testaments. Incensed with the spiritual leaders in Israel the Lord says; ““A son honours his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honour? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts”” (Mal 1:6). Lacking holy fear the priests were failing to offer worthy sacrifices and so not giving glory to God as a Father and Master. Peter applies this sort of thinking to how Christians must live; “And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,” (1 Pet 1:17). As the blameless Son of God stood on the brink of judgement in our place in Gethsemane so Christians as sons of God are always being disciplined by the same heavenly Father and must not trivialise his call but seek to do the will of God from the heart (Heb 12:5-11 cf. Eph 6:6). As it was for Jesus, the true fear of the Father is a fear of not experiencing his intimate presence.
A.W. Tozer puts it well; “The only fear I have is to fear to get out of the will of God. Outside of the will of God, there’s nothing I want, and in the will of God there’s nothing I fear, for God has sworn to keep me in His will….” The stories of the great ones of scripture should serve to humble us to fear lest we repeat their failures (Jer 44:10; 1 Cor 10:11). I cannot think of the story of David’sadultery with Bathsheba or Solomon’s idol worship without a certain dread coming over me. Both men fell into sin because in the unparalleled success God gave them they stopped fearing God. There is a key to staying in the fear of the Lord.
In complete transparency Paul testifies to the Corinthians, “I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling”, because his great dread was that through self-confidence “the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” (1 Cor 1:17; 2:3). The purity of the power of God’s saving presence comes as the apostle abides in the saving fear of Christ. This spiritual fear unites us to the life of Christ in his humility, death and exaltation. By faith, to quote the apostle, we “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Phil 2:12-13). The fearful son wants above all things to be in the will of the Father for the sake of his good pleasure. A.W. Tozer speaks almost ecstatically;“I believe that the reverential fear of God, mixed with love and fascination and astonishment and adoration, is the most enjoyable state and the most purifying emotion the human soul can know. A true fear of God is a beautiful thing, for it is worship; it is love; it is veneration. It is a high moral happiness because God is!” The prophets could say, “the fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure” (Isa 33:4) and we know “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” are hidden in Christ (Col 2:3 cf. Prov 1:7; 9:10).
Conclusion
Contrary to the popular ethos of the churches it is the gospel which provokes a holy fear; “Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth… “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth”” (Rev 14:6-7). The failure of the contemporary Church, unlike the Church in Acts, to be “walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 9:31) represents a failure to comprehend the gospel. Natural conscience condemns us as guilty before God’s Law and deserving of wrath but the gospel testifies to our consciences that God is our Father (Calvin cf.1 John 3:20). If we are not delighting in such things this must mean we are still slaves to other fears, that pleasing other wills is more important to us than doing the will of our Father. Like the Israelites of old we disobediently “fear other gods”(2 Ki 7:35-38); the gods of privilege, prosperity, popularity, success… If we recognise our sin the gospel is always the way back; “If you, O Lord, should keep a record of our sins, O Lord, who could stand? 4 But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.” (Ps 130:3-4 cf. 1 John 4:17-18). The wisdom and knowledge that is in the crucified Christ would teach us to desire the fear of the Lord above all earthly pleasures. To grow in such things let’s ask the Lord for some Gethsemanes.