When God’s Church Stands in Holy Awe

Watch the whole sermon from Acts 2:43: “The Church God Always Intended: The Church that Reveres God.” See how a church devoted to Christ becomes a church filled with holy fear, marked by God’s powerful works, and joyfully submitted to His Word.

This passage speaks to your life because:

• It reminds you that a healthy church begins with a trembling, joyful awareness that God is truly among His people.
• It shows you that God delights to display His power where His people are devoted to Christ, His Word, and His mission.
• It calls you to recover a holy reverence for God in a world—and sometimes in a church culture—that trades awe for distraction and entertainment.

Step into Jerusalem just days after Pentecost. The crucified and risen Christ has poured out His Spirit. Three thousand new believers have been baptized into this newborn community. They are devoted to the apostles’ teaching, to shared life, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. And then Luke says, “Everyone was filled with awe.” You can almost feel the hush in the air—ordinary people realizing that the holy, living God is moving in their midst. Miracles confirm the message; the apostles preach Christ with boldness; and hearts are pierced, humbled, and changed. This isn’t just their story—it is a window into God’s design for His Church in every generation, including yours. The same risen Lord, the same Holy Spirit, the same gospel—still calling you and your church into a life of holy reverence and surrender.

In the early days of the Christian church, something remarkable happened that transformed ordinary believers into a community marked by extraordinary devotion and power. The book of Acts paints a vivid picture of a church completely devoted to Christ—a church that studied the apostles' teachings, shared deep fellowship, remembered Christ through breaking bread, and sought God through prayer. But there was another crucial element that set them apart: they lived in reverent awe of God.

Acts 2:43 tells us that "everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles." This wasn't casual admiration or mild respect. This was holy fear—a trembling awareness of God's holiness, presence, and power. It was profound respect, love, and submission before the divine.

One of the greatest tragedies facing the modern church is the diminishing sense of reverence and awe toward God. Many congregations have traded reverence for entertainment, holiness for relevance, repentance for acceptance, and Scripture for culture. Some tolerate sin and welcome ideologies that contradict God's truth. Pastors are sometimes chosen for their popularity rather than their faithfulness to God's Word.

This raises an uncomfortable question: Does today's church revere God as the early church did?

The answer matters more than we might think. A church that loses its reverence for God will inevitably lose its power, its unity, and its mission. When we stop fearing the Lord in the biblical sense, we open ourselves to spiritual decline that affects every aspect of church life.

The fear of the Lord isn't about terror or being afraid of punishment. It's not cowering before an angry deity. Rather, it's reverential awe—a deep, profound respect for God's holiness combined with love and submission to His authority. It's acknowledging that God is present, powerful, and worthy of our complete devotion.

Proverbs 1:7 declares that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." This foundational truth tells us that our entire spiritual journey begins with proper reverence for God. Without it, we have no foundation for wisdom, no basis for understanding God's will, and no framework for living righteously.

When we fear the Lord, we maintain the highest view of God. And our view of God directly determines how we live for Him. A high view of God compels us to worship sincerely, obey faithfully, and serve sacrificially. A low view of God leaves us vulnerable to compromise, complacency, and spiritual drift.

Scripture makes clear that when the fear of the Lord is absent from our lives, we face serious consequences:

1. Loss of wisdom and discernment. Without reverence for God, we become wise in our own eyes, trusting ourselves rather than the Lord. We make foolish decisions and cannot distinguish truth from error.
2. Moral corruption and increasing sin. Romans 3:18 describes those who lack God's fear: "There is no fear of God before their eyes." When we live as if God won't judge sin, our conscience becomes hardened and wickedness increases unchecked.
3. Loss of God's favor and protection. We cannot expect God's blessing while refusing to honor Him. Spiritual weakness follows, and we invite divine discipline rather than divine favor.
4. Spiritual blindness and hardened hearts. The fear of God softens our hearts, making us receptive to His Word and sensitive to His conviction. Without it, we become dull to biblical truth, deaf to the Spirit's voice, and unable to recognize God's work in our lives.
5. Empty worship and damaged community. When reverence disappears, worship becomes performance and fellowship becomes shallow. The unity that should characterize God's people fractures, and the church loses its testimony to the world.

The early church's reverence for God wasn't just an emotional response—it produced tangible results. When believers stood in awe of God, they witnessed His powerful works. Signs and wonders authenticated the gospel message. Lives were transformed. The church grew in numbers and spiritual maturity.

This pattern still holds true today. Where God's people give themselves fully to His Word, to genuine fellowship, to worship, and to prayer, God responds in power. A church that reveres God will experience His favor, His blessing, and His movement in miraculous ways.

The Spirit of God produces reverence in hearts that are open to Him. When we acknowledge God's presence and submit to His authority, He convicts us, shapes us, and uses us for His purposes. This reverence then becomes the driving force behind proper worship, obedience, and service.

A church characterized by holy fear demonstrates several qualities:

1. Devotion to Scripture. They hunger for God's Word and submit to its authority in all matters of faith and practice.
2. Authentic fellowship. Believers genuinely care for one another, serving each other because they understand that the church belongs to Christ, not themselves.
3. Christ-centered worship. Their gatherings focus on exalting Jesus and proclaiming the gospel, not entertaining crowds or building personal platforms.
4. Commitment to prayer. They seek God's guidance and power, recognizing their complete dependence on Him.
5. Humble submission. Church members and leaders alike humble themselves before God and one another, understanding that all authority comes from Christ.

In a world growing increasingly hostile to biblical truth, the church must reclaim its sense of reverence for God. People desperately need to see communities that take God seriously—that live by His Word, love one another deeply, and proclaim the gospel boldly.

The path forward begins with individual believers choosing to fear the Lord. This means acknowledging His holiness, submitting to His authority, and devoting ourselves to the spiritual disciplines that draw us closer to Him. As we grow in reverence personally, our churches will be transformed corporately.

The church God intended is a church filled with the fear of the Lord, marked by His powerful works, and living under His authority. This is the church that belongs to Christ—a church devoted to Him in every way.

When we revere God, we demonstrate to a watching world that we truly belong to Him. Our lives become testimonies to His transforming power. Our churches become beacons of hope in dark times. And the gospel advances as God works through His people in mighty ways.

The question remains: Will we be a church that reveres God? The answer begins with each of us choosing today to stand in awe of the One who created us, redeemed us, and calls us to Himself.

Your heart doesn’t naturally move toward reverence; it moves toward self. Acts 2:43 shows that when the Spirit makes you aware of God’s nearness and holiness, He Himself creates reverence in you. You cannot manufacture true awe, but you can respond to God’s presence by humbling yourself, confessing sin, and drawing near.

A high view of God—His holiness, His majesty, His mercy at the cross—will always pull your life upward into obedience. A low view of God weakens devotion: worship becomes casual, sin feels small, fellowship becomes optional, and mission feels unimportant. Your view of God will determine how you live for Him.

Holy awe is the Spirit-given posture of a heart that knows God is near, holy, and gracious—and that reverence will quietly shape every part of your life.

Live By His Word
Where have you grown casual toward God—toward His Word, His worship, or His commands? Ask the Spirit to restore a trembling joy in His presence.

Build Each Other Up
Encourage another believer this week by sharing how God’s holiness and mercy are shaping you. Pray together for a deeper fear of the Lord in your church.

Move His Kingdom Forward
Let reverence move you to bold obedience—step into a conversation, act of service, or hard obedience you’ve been avoiding because you feared people more than God.

Luke uses two key words that describe God's power:

• “Wonders” – terata (τέρατα):
  • Astonishing works that evoke amazement and awe.
• “Signs” – sēmeia (σημεῖα):
  • Miraculous acts that point beyond themselves, directing attention to Christ and confirming the truth of the gospel.
  • Together, “wonders and signs” describe visible manifestations of God’s power that authenticated the apostles’ message about Jesus.

The miracles in Acts were never spiritual “fireworks.” They were God’s way of saying, “Listen to this message—Jesus is My Son, crucified and risen.” The power was real, but its purpose was always Christ-centered, gospel-centered, mission-centered.

Today, God may not work in the exact same apostolic ways, but He still shows His power:

• Hearts transformed from rebellion to repentance.
• Broken relationships healed through forgiveness.
• Churches renewed in unity, holiness, and mission.

Every time someone believes the gospel, every time a church walks in obedience, the same risen Christ is still at work by His Spirit.

When a church fears the Lord—submitting to His Word, pursuing holiness, praying together—it becomes a place where God delights to work. Awe is not a replacement for obedience; it is the atmosphere in which obedience and mission flourish. Where awe is present, worship is sincere, unity is strengthened, and sin begins to lose its grip.

God loves to display His power—saving, changing, and sending—through a church that stands in awe of Him and lives surrendered to His will.

Live by His Word
Ask God to show you where He is already at work in your life and family. Write down one specific way you’ve seen His power and thank Him for it.

Build Each Other Up
Share a testimony of God’s recent work with your small group, family, or a friend at church. Let your story strengthen someone else’s faith.

Move His Kingdom Forward
Don’t stay on the sidelines of church life. Step into serving, giving, and going—expecting God to work in and through you as you obey.

“Through the apostles” – God’s chosen instruments. God did not scatter His power randomly. He worked through the apostles, those personally chosen and commissioned by the risen Christ. The miracles were not about elevating special men; they were about attesting God’s message through His authorized messengers.

The New Testament apostles were eyewitnesses of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. Their Spirit-inspired teaching—preserved for you in Scripture—carries the authority of Christ Himself.

• To submit to apostolic teaching is to submit to Jesus.
• To ignore or twist apostolic teaching is to resist Jesus,

The same Spirit who produced awe and empowered wonders is the Spirit who breathed out the Scriptures and works through them today. A church cannot truly revere God while neglecting His Word. Devotion to Christ will always show up as devotion to what the apostles taught—the gospel, sound doctrine, and obedient living.

In every age, some claim spiritual titles or special power to exalt themselves instead of Christ. Acts 2:43 quietly reminds you that God’s true authority rests not in human status but in faithful alignment with the apostolic gospel. Pastors and leaders today serve under, not above, the Word.

To fear the Lord is to gladly live under the authority of His Word, trusting that Christ still leads His church through the Scriptures He gave.

Live by His Word
Make a concrete plan to be in Scripture this week—reading, meditating, and obeying. Treat the Bible not as suggestions, but as your Lord’s loving command.

Build Each Other Up
Invite someone to read Acts with you or join a Bible study. Talk about what you’re learning and how you can obey together.

Move His Kingdom Forward
Let God’s Word, not culture or preference, set the direction for your service, your giving, and your witness in the world.

Father, thank You that You are holy, powerful, and near. Thank You for sending Your Son to die and rise for me, and for pouring out Your Spirit on Your Church. I confess that I often take You lightly and grow casual toward Your presence and Your Word. Please restore in me a holy fear of You—a trembling joy that leads to obedience. Open my eyes to see Your powerful works around me, and give me courage to join You in what You are doing. Teach me to submit gladly to the authority of Scripture and to live as a faithful part of the church that belongs to Christ. Use my life, my home, and my church to live by Your Word, build others up, and move Your kingdom forward.

Acts 2:43 is not ultimately about impressive people; it is about the exalted Christ who pours out His Spirit, fills His church with holy awe, works in power, and leads His people through His Word. The story of the early church is the story of Jesus continuing His work from heaven through ordinary believers who revere Him, trust Him, and obey Him. If you belong to Christ, then this is your story too. You are part of the Church He bought with His blood, the people meant to display His holiness, His grace, and His power in this generation.
So stand in awe of your Lord, submit to His Word, and step into His mission with confidence.

Take your place in the story and move His Kingdom forward.