The Fear of the Lord (Part 1)

Ephesians 5:21

Ephesians 5:21-33 is a familiar passage for young families. It is often used for both teaching and preaching about families. The husband is told to love the wife as Jesus loved the church and the wife is told to submit to the husband. But is what is overlooked sometimes is for this to work both the husband and the wife must submit themselves one to another in the fear of God (verse 21).

If the husband and the wife are to be submitted one to another in the fear of the Lord, then they must have some idea what the fear of the Lord means. When it comes to the fear of the Lord there seems to be some confusion about exactly what this means. Some will say it is fear, and others will say that it is reverence. Hebrews 12:28 shows us that it is more than reverence although we should show reverence towards God. In this lesson we hope to give some understanding as to what the fear of the Lord means and help our husbands and wives be submitted one to another in the fear of the Lord.

Biblical Definitions for fear of the Lord:

It is always best to see if the word of God has a specific definition for something before going anywhere else. There are several things that the word of God says about the fear of the Lord being something specific we will list those below.

1)  The fear of the Lord is wisdom (Job28:28)

2)  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10 ; Proverbs 9:10)

3)  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7)

4)  The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride, and arrogancy (Proverbs 8:13)

First occurrence of the phrase “The Fear of the Lord”:

While the above definitions might not make the subject of the fear of the Lord totally clear. It will be helpful to look at the first occurrence of the phrase and the context surrounding it. The first time the phrase occurs in the word of God is in 1 Samuel 11:7. In the context the fear of the Lord falls on the people as a result of the spirit of God coming upon Saul and what he did with the actions. Previously the people were fearing the Ammonites and their king.

In 1 Samuel 12:6-25 we see Samuel’s admonition to the people regarding fear the Lord and serving him. Note verses 12-15 and verses 18-25.

When we look at the first time, we see anyone being afraid in the Bible it is Adam in Genesis 3:8-10 as a result of eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. So, it would seem that fear is connected with sin. As humans with a sin nature, it is only natural for us to fear. The Israelites feared the Ammonites until the spirit of God came upon Saul. Then Samuel instructed them on fearing the Lord not man.

How can we apply this to ourselves?

We are going to fear something therefore it is better to fear the Lord than man, circumstances, or other events that are out of our control. Many times as parents you will be placed in fearful situations regarding an action you must take in raising children. It could be behavioral problems, health problems, or any other thing of that nature. You will be fearful of the outcome of your decision. If you let your emotions, fears, or advice of others rule you instead of the fear of the Lord you will most likely make the wrong decision. We must choose the fear of the Lord over all other fears (Proverbs 1:29).

We as husbands and wives must be submitted one to another in the fear of God and not submitted to one another out of the fear of man if we are going to fulfill the passage of Ephesians 5:21-33.