The Fear of God in 2 Corinthians 7:1: Its Meaning, Function, and Eschatological Context

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Euichang Kim focuses upon the phrase “the fear of God”, drawn from 2 Corinthians’ exhortation to reconcile with God. As opposed to these words appearing from no particular source, Kim points to the wider contexts of Old Testament passages quoted by Paul, and demonstrates that God’s eschatological promises – in particular his coming judgment, his promise to redeem his people, and the prospect of a new covenant – are intertwined with this motif of “fear”. Beginning with an analysis of the meaning of fear in both the Old Testament and the New, Kim proceeds to the context of fear within 2 Corinthians, Scripture, the writings of Second Temple Judaism and the very eschatology of Paul, suggesting that it stems from an awareness of God’s judgment to come and serves to motivate righteous behavior. Kim finally argues that, in the context of 2 Corinthians, the “fear of God” functions as the proper response to God’s saving acts in Christ, and provides motivation for believers to pursue a holy life in anticipation of the eschatological judgment to come. This study sets forth a hypothesis regarding the meaning and function of “the fear of God” in Paul’s theology by examining its role in 2 Cor 7:1 within its salvation-historical and literary contexts. The consensus view of the fear of God distinguishes between two kinds of fear with God as its object—a negative fear (terror before judgment) and a positive fear (reverence that motivates holiness) that apply to unbelievers and believers respectively. In contrast, this study will propose that the fear of God—at least for Paul and the OT texts he cites in 2 Cor 6:16c-18—does not denote two kinds of fear, but only one, that is, one’s feeling of alarm or trepidation in regard to God that is brought about by the realization of the reality of God’s eschatological judgment. Believers and unbelievers do not experience the fear of God differently, but rather, this same fear of God applies differently in relationship to the two types of persons and times by whom and in which this fear is experienced: “believers,” as a result of having already experienced God’s salvation as members of the covenant, know the fear of God in the present that motivates them to pursue a holy life in anticipation of the judgment to come in the future, at which time they will not need to fear God’s condemnation. On the contrary, “unbelievers,” who are outside of God’s salvation, do not fear God in the present and thus continue to live wickedly, which will lead them to God’s condemnation in the future, at which time they will come to fear God’s wrath. This hypothesis will be proved through examining the meaning and significance of the fear of God in 2 Cor 7:1 within its own literary context in 2 Cor 5:11–7:1 and against the background of the larger contexts of the OT texts that Paul cites in the catena of Scripture in 2 Cor 6:16c-18, which Paul summarizes in 7:1. The understanding and function of the fear of God that appear in these OT contexts will then be compared with the understanding of this motif in the Second Temple Jewish milieu in order to provide the history-of-salvation context for Paul’s thought. Lastly, on the basis of this investigation, we will seek to understand the function of the fear of God in Paul’s eschatology, where, for Paul too, it will be shown that the fear of God functions 1) retrospectively, as a proper response to God’s saving acts in Christ by which he has established the new covenant people of God as the temple of God’s presence (2 Cor 6:16), and 2) prospectively, as it motivates believers to pursue a holy life in anticipation of the eschatological judgment to come. Thus, in 2 Cor 7:1, Paul, as the minister of the new covenant, exhorts the Corinthians, who have experienced God’s salvation, but still await the consummation of “the promises” in the future, to “cleanse themselves” and thus “complete holiness” in “the fear of God.” Cover Series Title Copyright Contents List of Abbreviations Acknowledgements Chapter 1 Introduction I. Status Quaestionis II. The Problem Raised by Lexicography 1. The Meaning of the Fear of God in the OT 2. The Meaning of the Fear of God in the NT III. Methodology IV. Summary of Thesis V. Outline of the Thesis Chapter 2 The Fear of God with in the Context of 2 Corinthians I. The Fear of God within the Immediate Context of 2 Cor 7:1 1. The Literary Structure of 2 Cor 6:14–7:1 2. The Semantic Relationship between 2 Cor 7:1 and the Catena of Scripture II. The Fear of God within the Larger Context of 2 Corinthians 1. The Fear of the Lord in 2 Cor 5:11 2. The Judgment Seat of Christ in 2 Cor 5:10 1) Who Will Judge? 2) Who Will Be Judged? 3. The Content of Paul’s Fear in 2 Cor 6:1 4. Who Is the Lord in 2 Cor 5:11? 1) The Context 2) The Solitary Use of Κύριος 3) The OT Background III. The Isaianic Context of 2 Cor 4–6 and the Fear of God Chapter 3 The Fear of God with in the Context of the Catena of Scripture I. The Fear of God within Its Isaianic Context 1. The Isaiah Text 2. The Fear of God as a Response to God’s Deliverance II. The Fear of God in the Context of Isa 50:4–52:11 1. The Literary Structure of Isa 50:4–51:8 2. The Immediate Context of the Fear of God 3. The Significance of the Fear of God in Isa 50:10–11 4. The Fear of God and God’s Commands in Isa 52:11 III. The Fear of God in The Context of Lev 26:11–12 1. Fear in Leviticus 2. The Structure of Lev 26 3. The Covenant Formula IV. The Fear of God in the Context of the New Covenant 1. Ezekiel 2. Jeremiah V. Conclusion Chapter 4 The Fear of God with in the Context of Second Temple Judaism I. 2 Cor 6:14–7:1 Within the Context of Second Temple Judaism II. The Psalms of Solomon 1. The Fear of God and the Theme of Judgment in the Psalms 2. The Fear of God in Ps. Sol. 17 3. The Psalms as Background for the Fear of God in 2 Cor 7:1 III. The Book of Jubilees 1. The Similarities between Jubilees and 2 Cor 6:14–7:1 2. The Theme of Judgment in Jubilees 3. The Fear of God in Jubilees 4. Jubilees as Background for the Fear of God in 2 Cor 7:1 IV. 4 Ezra and 6 Ezra 1. 4 Ezra and 6 Ezra 2. The Fear of God and the Theme of Judgment in 4 Ezra 3. 4 Ezra as Background for the Fear of God in 2 Cor 7:1 V. The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs 1. The Jewish and Christian Backgrounds of the Testaments 2. Ethics and the Fear of God in the Testaments 3. The Fear of God in the Testament of Benjamin 4. The Testaments as Background for the Fear of God in 2 Cor 7:1 VI. The Fear of God within the Spectrum of Second Temple Judaism Chapter 5 The Fear of God with in Paul’s Eschatology I. The Fear of God and the Integrity of 2 Cor 7:1 1. I nterpolation Theories 2. The Salvation-Historical Hermeneutic 3. The Fear of God and the Past Approaches to 2 Cor 6:14–7:1 II. The Argument of 2 Cor 7: 1 1. Having These Promises 2. Let Us Cleanse Ourselves from Every Defilement of Flesh and Spirit 3. Completing Holiness 4. In the Fear of God III. Paul’s Eschatology and the Fear of God 1. Temple Purity 2. The Command to Separate Chapter 6 Conclusion I. Overview II. Implications for Reading Second Corinthians 1. 2 Cor 7:5, 11, 15 2. 2 Cor 11:3; 12:20–1 Bibliography of Works Cited Biblical Citations Index General Index