To fear God is to be awe-struck. He is perfectly holy which is the absolute absence of sin. His divine character alone warrants fearful adoration and the realization of his omnipotence is the beginning of wisdom.
Considering the insignificance of this sinful world, the magnitude of heaven, the briefness of time, and the vast extent of eternity, the very thought of not being in the Lamb's book of life is enough to instill the fear of God into anyone, except the unbeliever.
The unbeliever is commonly referred to in scripture as a fool. "The fool hath said in his heart there is no God." (Psalm14:1) In order to fear God one has to believe he exists. When one comes to realize the overwhelming magnificence of God the first and most natural response is to bow to his absolute majesty.
As the believer prayerfully learns how to serve God wisdom increases and the life of the believer is forever changed. Our self-centered nature begins to give way to selflessness and patience. We begin to view the world through the eyes of Christ our Lord as he is being formed within us. (Gal.4:19)
The early Christians knew the fear of God very well. Most of them were eye witnesses to the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord. Many of them saw the Holy Spirit take the lives of Ananias and his wife Sapphira after they had lied to him.
Peter said, "Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost... thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God." Ananias fell dead right then at Peter's feet. When Peter confronted Sapphira, she lied also and immediately, she too fell dead. (Acts 5:1-5)
The fear of God ran throughout the early church which filled them with awe and amazement. They searched the word of God daily and served him passionately. Still, faith doesn't come as easily to us today as we haven't experienced anything like those of the early church. Nevertheless, Jesus said, "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (Jn.20:29)
When the fear of God manifests in our heart we are driven to the scriptures. The word of God has power and as we feed upon it our spirit begins to grow and mature. The message penetrates and as we, by faith, apply the word to our daily lives we experience the results and increase in wisdom.
However, while the fear of the Lord means awe-struck reverence to the believer it means dread and terror to the unbeliever. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Heb. 10:31)
It pleases God when we reverence him with ultimate respect and godly fear. In Hebrews 12:28, Paul said, "Let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire."
The fear of the Lord can be compared to the respect a toddler develops for its parents. Having suffered the consequences of disobedience during his terrible twos and threes, a child begins to recognize the greater wisdom of his parents along with his own inadequacies. He begins to fear punishment and also to recognize the providence, love, and protection he receives from them.
Our relationship with God is very much the same. Having suffered the consequences of sin we also come to realize the greater wisdom of our creator and how inadequate we are in trying to direct our own lives. We begin to fear the punishment of disobedience and recognize the extraordinary providence, love, and protection we receive from our heavenly Father. It is the beginning of wisdom.
The fear a child has of a parent is similar to the fear an adult has of the Lord. We are careful to obey, fearing his loving chastisement, but we also fear disappointing him. Children naturally want to please their parents and God-fearing Christians strive also to please God.
However, just as children don't always understand why parents allow certain things to happen such as scary first haircuts or painful vaccinations, we also struggle with harsh circumstances that we don't understand.
We tell our children that we know what is best for them. God tells us the same thing. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways... For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Is.55:8-9)
God is saying here that he knows what he is doing ("Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10) and he is asking us to trust him; just as we tell our children that we know what is best for them and ask them to trust us.
Oftentimes, we don't understand the circumstances surrounding our lives and it is human nature to question them. Nevertheless, when we pray for answers and none seem to be forthcoming, we must learn to believe God when he says he knows what he is doing; just as our children have to learn to believe us when we tell them we know what is best for them.
To know the only true God is to tremble with profound wonder at such infinite power, mercy, and wisdom. In the Old Testament, the presence of God at Mount Sinai (Ex.19:18) shook the earth with such force that even Moses said, "I exceedingly fear and quake," as the people begged him to make it stop. (Heb. 12:21)
Even so, the level of God's mercy is equal to his power which exceeds any human understanding. It is very difficult for our finite minds to understand how a being with such earth-shattering power could be gentle, kind and full of loving mercy; yet while we were still living in sin, separated from him, he sacrificed his only begotten son to redeem us. "Greater love hath no man."
When the friends of Job spoke of wisdom he said, "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom." (Job 28:20)
Wisdom that comes from God is unlike the wisdom of the world. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul said, "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God." (1Cor.3:19)
The wisdom of a fox is more like man's wisdom. But God's wisdom goes infinitely further. The attitude today is one of dog eat dog or survival of the fittest which produces selfishness and greed. The world considers people wise who rise to the top, regardless of the means by which they achieved it. This type of wisdom isn't true wisdom at all- it is foolishness.
Jesus, however, teaches us to be merciful and kind which brings out mercy and kindness in others and more importantly, pleases our heavenly Father. He tells us to humble ourselves and that in so doing, the Father will exalt us.
"We all have knowledge," Paul said to the Corinthians, as if it were absolutely meaningless. Knowledge without wisdom leads to pride, which God hates. Pride is what caused Satan to fall.
The world has knowledge but doesn't fear God and therefore lacks true wisdom. Man has created weapons of mass destruction with enough power to actually annihilate the entire population. This is knowledge without wisdom.
Knowledge and wisdom come from the scriptures. "For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding." (Prov.2:6) The words of the Holy Bible were actually God-breathed (2Tim.3:16) and prayerful study of the word leads to reverent awe and adoration towards God- the beginning of wisdom
The savior himself told us that we should definitely fear God. He was addressing friends when he said, "I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him."
Be that as it may, God is slow to anger and quick to forgive. Sin is the only thing that draws his wrath but there is no condemnation for those in Christ. (Rom.8:1)
According to the scriptures, wisdom is to be desired above pearls, rubies, and gold. Of all things to be desired, nothing can compare to it. "A man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed." (Ecc.8:1)
In the Old Testament, Moses told the Israelites that the fear of the Lord was something to be learned. (Deut.14:23) The more we seek to know God the more real he becomes and the more real he becomes to us the more awed we become of him.
We, the children of God, are growing in the knowledge and wisdom of his greatness towards that great and wonderful day when our eyes will be opened and we will be like our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.
Therefore, seek to know the only true God. Read about how he dealt with the Israelites, which was written for our learning, and how he delivered them from bondage in a glorious display of power.
Learn how the Holy Spirit wove events into history which foreshadowed the coming of our blessed Lord. Discover God's infinite mercy as he revealed his salvation to the world through his only begotten son.
Finally, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; which means that when a person becomes awe-struck at the magnificence and majesty of God, a spirit of fearful adoration takes over. Then, an insatiable hunger for the word develops, followed by obedience, which leads to experience, which leads to patience, which leads to wisdom.