Kadosh: The Awe of God

The awe of God is not reserved for a euphoric Heaven one day, where believers are mesmerised by mansions, streets of gold, and celestial splendour.  Awe is the continual consciousness of a mighty and holy God actively present in and around us now.  It is the recognition that every breath we inhale, every heartbeat sustained, and every aspect of creation held together is evidence of His governing power (Acts 17:28; Col 1:16–17).  Awe is not produced by sight but by perception—seeing God in the ordinary as extraordinary.  Where this awareness is restored, Heaven is no longer postponed to the future; it becomes manifest in daily life as God’s holiness orders, sustains, and governs the Earth.

Awe does not come from God being far away, but from God being near and weighty. “Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him” (Ps 33:8).  Why? “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Ps 33:9).  Awe flows from recognising active governance.  God is not admired from a distance; He is acknowledged as present authority. This aligns perfectly with: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit” (Isa 57:15). Awe is the awareness that the transcendent God is immanently present.

Awe is not emotional excitement, but spiritual alignment.  It is a posture that is produced by the recognition of God’s holy nearness and authority. Throughout scripture, the awe of God is intrinsically connected to the fear of the LORD. In Hebrew, this awe is expressed as yir’ah, a reverent, holy regard that produces obedience, while pachad reflects the trembling reverence that comes in the presence of God’s overwhelming majesty. In New Testament Greek, awe is captured by deos, the reverential dread or fear that acknowledges God’s supreme authority. We may therefore define awe as a sustained awareness of God’s holiness that produces obedience, preserves reverence, and creates the environment where Heaven’s rule is made visible on Earth.

We are commanded to serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling (Ps 2:11).  This is not contradiction; it is holy tension: trembling is recognition of His authority, and rejoicing means confidence in our covenant with Him. As God is exalted, His sons are entrusted to exhibit His nature.

The fear of the Lord produces lives that are both consecrated and effective.   It begins in prayerfulness, a constant posture of dependence and conversation with God, as seen in Daniel praying with open windows toward Jerusalem (Dan 6:10) and Cornelius praying faithfully in his household (Acts 10:2).  The fear of the Lord is not just a  manifestation of the seven-fold spirit of God, but it is God’s delight amongst all seven (Isa 11:2-3).   This fear leads naturally to honouring God—through worship, praise, and service (Ps 22:23; Heb 12:28–29), recognising His majesty and responding with reverence.  It manifests in obedience, a willingness to do what God commands without hesitation, as Abraham prepared to offer Isaac (Gen 22:1–12) and believers submit to God’s will throughout life (Col 3:22; Deut 10:12). The fear of God produces benevolence, caring for others and acting justly (Lev 19:14–15; Acts 10:2), and opposes evil, turning from wrongdoing and standing against injustice (Job 1:8; Exod 1:15–17; Prov 3:7).  Therefore, the fear of the LORD is to hate evil (Prov 8:13).   The awe of God produces moral clarity, and not a mystical escape.

The fear of God expresses itself in submission to one another, cultivating humility and unity under God’s authority (Eph 5:21).  The awe of God is corporate–it governs assemblies (Ps 89:7).   The fear of the Lord comes upon us when we honour one another as part of the Body of Christ–their petition will not go unheard! Their awe is recorded in Heaven! (Mal 3:16).  This is why the early church multiplied: they walked in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:31).  This is the awe of God made practical—the fear of the Lord forming holiness in action, producing lives through which Christ can be seen.

Those who fear the Lord will never lack.  The woman with the jar of oil who cried out to Elisha was saved from her debt and poverty based on the credentials of her deceased husband: he feared the Lord (2 Kgs 4:1-7).  The fear of the Lord produces divine provision and divine protection (Ps 33:18; Prov 14:27, Prov 19:23).  It attracts the favour of the Lord as He reveal His secrets to those who fear Him (Ps 25:14). It attracts wisdom (Ps 111:10) and blessing (Ps 112:1; Ps 128:1). 

The fear of the Lord restrains unrighteousness and governs behaviour, producing order and protection in both individuals and nations.  When the enemy strikes, those who fear of the name of the Lord will be protected (Isa 59:19).  When God’s presence and authority are acknowledged, people pause, obey, and align with His purposes, as Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the remnant responded to Haggai’s prophecy (Hag 1:12) and Jonah’s sailors humbled themselves with vows and sacrifice (Jon 1:16). Godly fear also restrains enemies and chaos: kingdoms around Judah did not make war against Jehoshaphat because the fear of the Lord fell upon them (2 Chr 17:10), and the nations feared God when David was anointed, giving him victory over the Philistines (1 Chr 14:8–17).  It produces discernment and faithfulness, prompting obedience to covenantal commands, as seen in Samuel’s call to Israel (1 Sam 12:13–15) and Joshua’s exhortation to serve the Lord wholeheartedly (Josh 24:14–18). Even when left among foreign nations, those who feared God acted justly and preserved His statutes, while those who ignored Him suffered consequences (2 Kgs 17:25–28, 32–36).  The fear of the Lord, therefore, is not a paralysing terror but a holy restraint: it curbs evil, channels action toward righteousness, and establishes the environment for the rule of Heaven in our midst.

In the New Covenant, the fear of God is the fuel of Kingdom culture and the catalyst for holiness. It is this reverent awareness that empowers the Church to manifest God’s rule: “fear came upon every soul” in the early Church, and signs and wonders followed (Acts 2:43). As we work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12), we pursue holiness by cleansing ourselves from every defilement, aligning our lives with Heaven’s order (2 Cor 7:1). To ignore this fear is to risk falling into the hands of the living God, who is a consuming fire (Heb 10:31). Fear is not paralysis but the practical awareness that shapes obedience, consecration, and the visible reality of God’s Kingdom on Earth.

Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. ²⁹ For our God is a consuming fire.