Awe-Inspiring Words from Saints Luke, John and Paul
Awe-Inspiring Words from Saints Luke, John and Paul. (this post is in process and will be completed soon)
“And the believers were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to community life, to the breaking of bread in common meals together, and to prayer. And everyone kept feeling a deep sense of reverent awe (“phobeo”); and many wonders and miracles were taking place through the apostles; and all those who had believed were together and had all things in common.” (Acts 2:42-43).
AWE: To encounter vastness, something beyond one’s frame of reference, outside of one’s mental grasp; surrendering reverently to something greater than oneself; an outward-focused sense of wonder and astonishment; not just a momentary feeling, but a spiritual way of life and an actual neurological event that rewires the human brain.
Awesome? Is there a word that has been more trivialized these days than the word “awesome?” I confess that I have unthinkingly become a culprit in this misuse of what is a wonder-full word. Awesome seems to be in the air and ready to escape the lips of practically everyone, describing everything from a hamburger to a TV show, from a dollar store to a restaurant, from a celebrity to a superstar. But the word itself means something vast that is worthy of awe and wonder and astonishment. So let’s get picky here… Really now, isn’t the Lord God, the Creator of the universe, the only one who could be worthy of awesome? In our common experience here on planet earth, it would seem wise to leave a reserved seat for awesome, front row, center aisle, in the worship section. Maybe we could think up some reasonable synonyms for awesome, like tremendous, terrific, superb, fantastic, spectacular, extraordinary, or even sublime or really cool. But I propose that we reserve the word awesome for God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Aspects of Awe will be studied in this blog series as we consider the biblical quality of awe to be a diamond with a lot of facets. We’ll be looking at awesomeness in the Hebrew Bible, in the Gospels, and how the experience of awe affects our brain. Yes, to be in awe is a neurological event as well as a spiritual one.
Awe in the Hebrew Bible. Awe turned out to be a rather common experience in ancient Judaism and the Old Testament. The Hebrew word most used for awe is “yare,” which is often translated as “fear” and has a wide spectrum of meanings. Yare could be used for extreme terror when facing danger, or for reverent awe before the Lord; for withdrawing in fear from something vastly superior, or approaching God in adoration and wonder; an experience that leads to fleeing in dread or worshipping in reverence. Yare could signify escape from danger or obedience out of profound respect. Yare is used almost 400 times in the Hebrew Bible, and its meaning depends on the context. Awe in the OT could be a temporary emotional experience or a more permanent attitude in one’s walk with God. For the most part though, apparently starting with Abraham, yare and the fear of God came to mean awestruck adoration, reverent devotion, profound respect, fearful honor, and loyal obedience as a result of such awe of God. Biblical awe will be studied in the lives of many faithful heroes in the Hebrew Bible who were happy to be awed and to use the word awesome… from Abraham to Jacob; from Moses to David; from Solomon to Isaiah; from Habakkuk to Malachi. As we’ll see, these stalwarts knew how to use the word “awesome!”
Awe in the Gospels. People during Jesus’ ministry were constantly awe-struck by Him. One can accurately say that Jesus had a truly awesome ministry. Those who were fortunate enough to see Him in action experienced all the different forms of awe… they were astonished beyond measure (“ekplesso“); completely amazed (“thaumazo“); flabbergasted with wonder (“existemi“); or filled with reverent fearfulness (“phobeo“). We will look closely at every gospel passage in which those aspects of awe are used to express the awesomeness of Christ.