Bible Verses About Reverence for God
Introduction
Reverence for God is the specific posture of the creature before the Creator who is holy and whose holiness is the comprehensive reality that everything in the creation stands before. The Hebrew word yirah, often translated both fear and reverence, is the specific word that captures the dual character of the appropriate response to the holy God: the fear that is not the cringing terror of the person who is fleeing from the judge but the reverence of the person who stands in the presence of the overwhelming greatness of the God who is both holy and merciful, both awesome and near. The Proverbs 1:7's the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom establishes the foundational statement: the reverence for God is not the optional addition to the wisdom but the specific beginning from which the wisdom grows.
The specific theological character of the reverence is the honest reckoning with who God is: the Isaiah 6's holy holy holy is the LORD Almighty and the whole earth is full of his glory is the specific vision of the holiness that produces the woe is me I am ruined for I am a man of unclean lips. The reverence is the specific response to the specific encounter with the holiness of God: the Isaiah who falls apart in the presence of the holiness is the Isaiah who is then sent with the commission. The reverence is not the end of the relationship but the specific beginning of the commission.
The New Testament's most concentrated treatment of the reverence is the Hebrews 12:28-29's since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire: the worship that is acceptable is the worship that is offered with the reverence and the awe that corresponds to the consuming fire of the God who is being worshiped. The reverence is not the fearful distance of the person who has not received the grace but the specific posture of the person who has received the grace and who worships the God of the grace with the appropriate reverence for the one who is both the Father and the consuming fire.
These verses speak to anyone who needs the specific biblical grounding for the reverence as the foundation of the wisdom and the worship, anyone whose familiarity with the God of the grace has produced the comfortable casualness that has lost the specific awe, and anyone who needs to receive the fresh vision of the holiness of God that restores the reverence.
What the Bible Means When It Talks About Reverence
The Hebrew word yirah describes the fear or the reverence of the LORD: the specific posture of the creature before the holy Creator. The yirah encompasses both the fear that is the appropriate response to the holiness of God and the reverence that is the ongoing posture of the person who lives in the relationship with the holy God. The Hebrew word awe captures a related quality. The Greek word eulabeia describes the reverence or the godly fear: the specific quality of the Hebrews 12:28 worship. The Greek word phobos describes the fear: the specific word of the fear of the LORD that the New Testament uses for the reverence of the person who takes the holiness of God seriously.
Bible Verses About Reverence as the Beginning of Wisdom
Proverbs 1:7 — ("The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.")
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom establishes the foundational statement: the reverence for God is not the optional addition to the wisdom but the specific beginning from which the wisdom grows. The beginning establishes the priority: the reverence is not the chronological start only but the foundational principle from which everything else in the wisdom tradition flows. The fools despise wisdom and instruction establishes the specific contrast: the fool is the person who has rejected the reverence that is the beginning of the wisdom they claim to be pursuing.
Proverbs 9:10 — ("The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.")
The knowledge of the Holy One is understanding establishes the specific connection between the reverence and the knowledge: the understanding that the wisdom tradition commends is the understanding that is grounded in the knowledge of the Holy One rather than the accumulation of the information about the world. The Holy One establishes the specific character of the God who is known: the holiness is the comprehensive reality of the God whose knowledge is the specific ground of the understanding. The reverence is the specific posture that the knowledge of the Holy One requires.
Bible Verses About God's Holiness Producing Reverence
Isaiah 6:1-3 — ("In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings... And they were calling to one another: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.'")
The holy holy holy is the LORD Almighty and the whole earth is full of his glory is the specific vision of the holiness that produces the reverence: the threefold holy is the most emphatic expression of the holiness in the Hebrew, the comprehensive holiness that fills the whole earth with the glory. The I saw the Lord high and exalted establishes the specific character of the vision: the reverence begins with the seeing of the Lord as he is rather than the comfortable assumption of the divine familiarity. The seraphim who cover their faces establish the appropriate posture: even the ones who stand in the immediate presence of the holy God cover their faces in the reverence.
Isaiah 6:5 — ("'Woe to me!' I cried. 'I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.'")
The woe to me I am ruined for I am a man of unclean lips is the specific response of the person who has genuinely seen the holiness of God: the Isaiah's self-assessment is the assessment of the person who has seen the King rather than the polite modesty of the person who is performing the sufficient humility. The I am ruined establishes the specific character of the genuine reverence: the encounter with the holiness produces the honest assessment of the own unworthiness before the proceeding to the commission. The reverence is the specific ground of the commissioning rather than the obstacle to it.
Bible Verses About Reverence in Worship
Hebrews 12:28-29 — ("Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.")
The worship God acceptably with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire is the specific instruction for the worship that corresponds to the character of the God who is being worshiped: the reverence and the awe are the specific qualities of the worship that is acceptable to the consuming fire. The kingdom that cannot be shaken establishes the ground of the thanksgiving: the receiving of the unshakeable kingdom is the specific ground of the thanksgiving that accompanies the reverent worship. The for our God is a consuming fire establishes the specific reason: the reverence is the appropriate posture before the God who is the consuming fire rather than the indifferent observer of the worship.
Psalm 96:9 — ("Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.")
The worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness establishes the specific character of the worship: the worship is offered in the context of the holiness of the God who is worshiped rather than the comfort of the worshiper who is offering the worship. The tremble before him all the earth establishes the comprehensive scope: the trembling before the LORD is the appropriate response of all the earth rather than only the religious person. The splendor of his holiness establishes the specific beauty: the reverence is the response not only to the power of God but to the beauty of the holiness that the splendor describes.
Bible Verses About Reverence in the Life of the People of God
Deuteronomy 10:12-13 — ("And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?")
The fear the LORD your God and walk in obedience and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul establishes the comprehensive character of the reverence: the fear is not the isolated emotion but the specific foundation of the walking and the loving and the serving that constitute the whole life of the covenant. The for your own good establishes the specific purpose: the reverence and the obedience are the specific good of the person who practices them rather than the performance that God requires for his own benefit.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 — ("Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.")
The fear God and keep his commandments for this is the duty of all mankind is the specific conclusion of the Qoheleth who has surveyed the vanity of everything under the sun: the comprehensive search for the meaning ends in the most fundamental statement of the meaning. The fear God and keep his commandments establishes the comprehensive summary: the reverence and the obedience together are the whole duty of the human being rather than the partial obligation of the religious person. The duty of all mankind establishes the universal scope: the reverence is the appropriate posture of every human being before the God who made and sustains them.
Bible Verses About Reverence and the Love of God
Psalm 103:13 — ("As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.")
The the LORD has compassion on those who fear him establishes the specific connection between the reverence and the experience of the compassion: the person who fears the LORD is the person who receives the specific compassion of the God who is also the Father. The as a father has compassion establishes the specific analogy: the reverence does not produce the distance of the person who is afraid of the judge but the nearness of the child who fears the father whose compassion is the specific provision for the child who fears him.
Psalm 111:10 — ("The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.")
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom and all who follow his precepts have good understanding establishes the specific connection between the reverence and the understanding: the understanding that the wisdom tradition commends is the understanding of the person who has the reverence that begins the wisdom and who follows the precepts that the reverence produces. The to him belongs eternal praise establishes the specific destination: the reverence is the specific posture that leads to the eternal praise of the God who is the beginning and the end of the wisdom.
A Simple Way to Pray These Verses
Reverence is most honestly prayed from the honest receiving of the fresh vision of the holiness of God and the specific choosing of the posture that corresponds to the God who is being approached.
Isaiah 6:3 — ("Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.") Response: "Holy. I am saying it three times. Holy, holy, holy. Let the saying of it be the specific act of the reverence that the vision of the holiness produces. The whole earth is full of your glory. Let me see the glory that fills the earth rather than the familiarity that misses it. Let the reverence be the specific ground of the worship I am bringing."
Hebrews 12:28 — ("Worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.") Response: "You are the consuming fire. I am worshiping the consuming fire with the reverence and the awe that corresponds to what you are. Let the worship be acceptable. Let the reverence be the specific quality that makes the worship the worship of the God who is rather than the worship of the God I have made comfortable."
Proverbs 1:7 — ("The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.") Response: "Let the reverence be the beginning. Not one component of the wisdom or the optional emotional dimension of the faith, but the beginning from which everything else grows. Let me start here. Let the reverence be the specific foundation of the thinking and the deciding and the living of this day."
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Bible say about reverence for God? The Bible presents reverence for God as the foundational posture of the creature before the holy Creator. Proverbs 1:7's the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom establishes the foundational statement. Isaiah 6:1-5's the vision of the holy LORD that produces the woe is me establishes the specific experience. Hebrews 12:28-29's worship God acceptably with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire establishes the specific character of the worship. Deuteronomy 10:12's fear the LORD and walk in obedience and love him establishes the comprehensive life. And Ecclesiastes 12:13's fear God and keep his commandments for this is the duty of all mankind establishes the universal scope.
What is the difference between fear of God and reverence? The Hebrew word yirah encompasses both: the fear of the LORD is the specific response to the holiness and the power of the God who is the consuming fire, and the reverence is the ongoing posture of the person who lives in the relationship with the holy God. The Proverbs 1:7's beginning of wisdom and the Psalm 103:13's the LORD has compassion on those who fear him establish the two dimensions: the fear that is the appropriate response to the holiness is the fear that receives the specific compassion of the Father. The 1 John 4:18's perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment establishes the specific distinction: the fear that the love drives out is the cringing terror of the person who expects the punishment, not the reverence that is the beginning of the wisdom.
Why does the Bible say to fear God? The Proverbs 1:7's the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom establishes the specific reason: the reverence for God is the foundation of the wisdom that the Proverbs tradition commends. The Ecclesiastes 12:13's fear God and keep his commandments for this is the duty of all mankind establishes the comprehensive reason: the reverence is the appropriate posture of the creature before the Creator whose commandments are the specific good of the human being. And the Hebrews 12:28-29's our God is a consuming fire establishes the specific theological reason: the reverence is the appropriate response to the God who is the consuming fire rather than the indifferent observer of the creature's choices.
Is reverence the same as worship? The Hebrews 12:28's worship God acceptably with reverence and awe establishes the relationship: the reverence is the specific quality of the worship rather than the identical act. The worship is the comprehensive act of the giving of the worth to the God who is worshiped, and the reverence is the specific posture that makes the worship the acceptable worship of the consuming fire. The Psalm 96:9's worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness establishes the same connection: the worship is the act and the splendor of the holiness is the specific context in which the worship is offered. The reverence is the quality that keeps the worship from becoming the casual performance of the religious routine.
How do you practice reverence for God in daily life? The Deuteronomy 10:12's fear the LORD your God to walk in obedience to him to love him to serve him with all your heart establishes the comprehensive character: the reverence is practiced in the walking and the loving and the serving of the ordinary life rather than only the special moments of the formal worship. The Proverbs 1:7's the beginning of wisdom establishes the foundational practice: the beginning of every decision and every conversation and every day from the reverence for the God who sees and knows is the specific practice of the reverence in the daily life. And the Colossians 3:23's whatever you do work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord establishes the practical application: the reverence transforms the ordinary work into the specific act of the worship.
