“Tell Pale-Hearted Fear it Lies” (Fear in Philippians)

This is post 3 of 4 in a series on the emotions in Philippians. It looks forward to the publication of Isaac Blois’ new book in the LNTS series with Bloomsbury T&T Clark: The Role of Emotions in Philippians: Discerning Affections. Join us in this post as Dr. Blois discussions the emotion of fear as it is set forth in Philippians:

The title for this post comes from Lady Macbeth’s attempt to provoke her husband into casting aside his inhibitions and murdering his royal house guest. She chides him for being cowardly, advising him not to conceptualize the act as being fearful, since the fear telling you what you’re doing is wrong and causing the blood to recoil from your face, that emotion is a lie, and should not be entertained.

This stratagem reflected in Shakespeare illuminates how humans draw on emotions as a way to direct behavior. Scholars have long recognized the way emotions establish identity and shape social structures, and of late analysis of the New Testament has benefited from this interest in the emotions. Fear, though, has been relatively neglected here. ^[1]As D. L. Munteanu, Tragic Pathos: Pity and Fear in Greek Philosophy and Tragedy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 18, quips: “[F]ear…generally remains an unpopular emotion. Its … Continue reading This despite claims like that of Alexander Stewart, whose investigation into John’s Apocalypse has shown convincingly the “motivational force” provided by fear as a strategy “to create and maintain boundaries” for groups of persecuted believers. ^[2]Alexander E. Stewart, “Ekphrasis, Bear, and Motivation in the Apocalypse of John,” BBR 27.2 (2017), 227-240, 228.

This post analyzes the motivating force of fear in Philippians. In the letter, Paul attempts to form the community’s emotional makeup regarding fear paradoxically around a simultaneous experience of fear and non-fear. ^[3]Along a similar vein, Patrick Gray, Godly Fear: The Epistle to Hebrews and Greco-Roman Critiques of Superstition, SBLAB 16 (Atlanta: SBL Press, 2003), 187, claims regarding Hebrews that while … Continue reading

On the one hand, he advocates a strikingly fearful demeanor among believers (deploying the Scriptural formula “fear and trembling” in 2:12). On the other hand, he sponsors a courageously heroic fearlessness as the Philippian Christ-adherents “stand firm” and fight the good fight for the faith (1:27-28). The way that the apostle deftly fuses together these two seemingly opposite emotional stances in the letter significantly shapes how he conceives of life in Christ. Before turning to Philippians, however, we begin with a preliminary sketch of the emotion of fear more broadly.

Fear as an Emotion

Richard Lazarus’s appraisal model for understanding the emotion of fear in modern psychology—with its focus on perception as a key to experiencing the emotion—has strong ^[4]See Richard S. Lazarus, Emotion and Adaptation (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991), 237, where he explains that “although the hallmark of anxiety is uncertainty, the source of danger is often … Continue reading connections with the ancient understanding of fear. Aristotle offers the classic definition of fear, focusing on the importance of imagination within this particular emotion:

Let fear be a kind of pain or disturbance deriving from an imagination (ἐκ φαντασίας) of a future evil (μέλλοντος κακοῦ) that is destructive or painful; for not all evils are feared (οὐ γὰρ πάντα τὰ κακὰ φοβοῦνται), for example whether one will be unjust or lazy, but as many as are productive of great pain or destruction, and these if they are not distant but rather seem near so as to impend. For things that are remote are not greatly feared.

(Rhet. 2.5, 1382a21-5)^[5]Translation from David Konstan, The Emotions of the Ancient Greeks: Studies in Aristotle and ClassicalLiterature (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2006), 130, modified with reference to Marlene … Continue reading

Aristotle unsurprisingly labels the emotion of fear as negative: it is a type of pain or disturbance, an evil, albeit one that is imagined as going to occur in the future, with this imagination envisioning destruction or pain coming upon oneself. ^[6]Cf., however, Sokolon, Political Emotions, 90, who notes that “Fear’s reliance upon imagination appears to lessen the possibility that it is an accurate perception of external events.” Additionally, Aristotle notes that the type of evil that is generally feared among humans is not the abstract evil of falling out of virtue and into vice, such as injustice or laziness (since such an evil is not always tangibly felt), but rather more concrete versions of evil, those which directly and immediately produce pain (perhaps something like being burnt by fire or stabbed by an enemy). Imagining such an impending pain produces a disturbing feeling in the individual that causes one to flee from that which might bring the pain about.

Fear was well-known within ancient Greek society, particularly in reference to attitudes towards the gods. Indeed, “the fear of god [was] a constitutive element of religiosity in the Greek and Hellenised world,” ^[7]Angelos Chaniotis, “Constructing the Fear of the Gods: Epigraphic Evidence from Sanctuaries of Greece and Asia Minor,” in Unveiling Emotions: Sources and Methods for the Study of Emotions in the … Continue reading since “the structures of ancient Greek religion…incorporated a fearful side of divinity based ultimately in the gods’ potential to inflict harm – whether incidental or punitive.” ^[8]Matthew Peebles, “Threatening Gods for Fearful Mortals: Weapon-Brandishing Divinities in Ancient Greek Art,” in Unveiling Emotions, 193-229, 203. Perhaps unsurprisingly, though, the emotion of fear was shunned on the battlefield, particularly in contexts in which it caused one to flee from battle. As Munteanu explains, “Fear as a reaction to danger was seen as the premise for cowardice.” ^[9]Munteanu, Tragic Pathos, 19.

Undesirable though it was, fear could be useful for the rhetorician and the orator. Kapust argues that “fear played a major role in ancient political thought.” ^[10]Daniel Kapust, “On the Ancient Uses of Political Fear and its Modern Implications,” JHI 69 (2008), 353-373, 356. Aristotle interacted with this emotion when constructing his vision of the political virtue of bravery, describing the brave individual (ἀνδρεῖος) as one “standing firm against (ὑπομένων) and fearing (φοβούμενος) the appropriate things (ἃ δεῖ), for the right end in the right way, at the right time, and being correspondingly confident (θαρρῶν)” (Nic Eth 1115b17-18). ^[11]Cited with modifications from Kapust, “Ancient Uses of Political Fear,” 356-357. Hence, there was a recognizably positive role played by fear in forging a strong communal identity, since the group could unite around common objects that ought to be feared.

As a response to the strong grip that fear took upon individuals and society, the Stoics attempted to excise fear in their extensive program for eliminating harmful emotions. As Sorabji notes, “fear [was] one of the main emotions which the Stoics condemn.” ^[12] Richard Sorabji, Emotion and Peace of Mind: From Stoic Agitation to Christian Temptation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), 236. Epictetus took considerable efforts to attack the emotion of fear and replace it with the sanitized version of its eupathetic counterpart, “caution.” The reason that fear is so inappropriate for the rational individual, as Epictetus views it, is because it is “an emotion generated by a mistake, being one of the outcomes of the most frequent errors of judgment, namely, that of confusing ἀπροαίρετος [that which lies outside the province of the moral purpose] with προαίρετος [that which lies within the province of the moral purpose].” ^[13]Andreea Stefan, “Reason, Education and Lack of Fear in Epictetus’ Discourses,” in Expressions of Fear From Antiquity to the Contemporary World, ed. Oancea, Halichias and Popa (Newcastle upon … Continue reading

Fear in the Hebrew Scriptures

The above sketch of how fear was understood and experienced within the first-century pagan world helps us imagine how Paul’s addressees in Philippi would have heard his references to fear in the letter. But there is another equally formative influence in framing fear for Paul’s discourse, one into which the apostle takes great pains to induct his converts through a sustained pedagogical process, namely, allowing the divine Scriptures to determine their emotional dispositions. Though Paul does not explicitly cite Scripture at any point in this letter, he yet infuses the discourse with numerous intertextual allusions that create a Scriptural fabric or tableau upon which all of the major themes of the letter are canvased.

The resonance that fear has within Israel’s Scriptural heritage is vast and rich. Indeed, “[f]ear…is one of, if not the, most dominant emotion in the Hebrew Bible.” ^[14]14 Sarah Kipfer and Jacob L. Wright, “‘Fear (not)!’ – Emotion and Ethics in Deuteronomy,” JEAC 2 (2020), 50-62, 52. Particularly important within this stream of usage is the idea of fear before the Almighty in the context of a theophany. ^[15]Cf. Otto Kaiser, “Traditionsgeschichtliche Untersuchung von Genesis 15,” ZAW 70 (1958), 107-126, 111. The description of God’s presence on mount Sinai inspired terror among the community of Israelites. There was also a fearful element to YHWH’s abiding presence within Israel’s camp, which prompts the need for holiness among the people so as to guard against dangerous contact with the divinity. ^[16]See Michael Knibbe, Godly Fear or Ungodly Failure?: Hebrews 12 and the Sinai Theophanies, BZNW 216 (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2016), 29: “because the recipients have responded in fear, thus demonstrating … Continue reading

On the other hand, fear acquires a recognizably positive sense within the sapiential texts, which boldly set forth “fear of God” as the primary element of Scriptural piety, ^[17]C. J. de Catanzaro, “Fear, Knowledge, and Love: A Study in Old Testament Piety,” CJT 9 (1963), 166- 173, 166: “‘The fear of Yahweh’ is as near as the Old Testament ever comes to a term for … Continue reading a claim that is ably supported by the repeated usage of the descriptor “those who fear God” in Israel’s worship through the psalter (e.g., Ps 33:18; 115:11; 118:4; 147:11). Significant in this regard is the unique Ambivalenz conveyed by the notion of fear in regard to Israel’s relationship with YHWH, since it entails both “a feeling of attraction and repulsion.” ^[18]So with Siegried Plath, Furcht Gottes: Der Begriff ירא im Alten Testament, (Stuttgart: Calwer Verlag, 1962), 123. Cf. Daniel Castelo, “The Fear of the Lord as Theological Method,” JTI 2 … Continue reading

The prophetic outlook mirrors this twofold approach to the emotion of fear—that of attraction and repulsion, since the prophets depict the ideal worshipper as embracing positively the fear of the Lord while being simultaneously granted the privilege of fearlessness before enemies. The fear motif recurs in Isaianic texts through the “Fear Not” formula, wherein the covenant God exhorts his beleaguered people through the prophet to have no fear before their enemies, since God himself promises to save them. Nissinen explains that “‘Fear not’ is never a demand not to revere the speaker but an exhortation to show fearlessness before illegitimate powers and to give up unjustified anxiety.” ^[19]Martti Nissinen, “Fear Not: A Study on Ancient Near Eastern Phrase,” In Prophetic Divination: Essays in Ancient Near Eastern Prophecy, BZAW 494 (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2019), 195-232, 204. Cf. … Continue reading Since often the fearful danger that gives rise to such exhortations not to fear is a military threat, the salvific command/promise that Israel “shall not fear” is linked to the theme of holy war, wherein God fights on behalf of his people against their enemies. ^[20]See Joachim Becker, Gottesfurcht im Alten Testament, AnBib 25 (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1965), 54, who argues that the exhortation to “fear not” (Isa 7:4) amounts to a salvation … Continue reading

Another key usage of the fear lexeme arises in the Deuteronomic literature. It is this covenantal backdrop, more than all the others, that is formative for Paul’s usage of the fear motif in Philippians. In depicting God’s instructions to his covenant people prior to their entry into the Promised Land, Deuteronomy provides encouragement to a jittery community that they “fear not.” Moses thus guides the community’s emotional makeup. Particularly in relation to the emotion of fear, the repeated command to “fear not” (Deut 1:21, 29; 3:2; 7:18, 21; 20:1, 3; 31:6) offers the community “a heuristic guide of fear,” directing them with regard to “what not to fear as well as what to fear,” so that Israel’s “collective anxiety [might be] expressed, mastered, managed, and exploited.” ^[21]Kipfer and Wright, “Fear Not,” 56.

Moses’ affective direction thus centers around the community’s emotional response to God’s law-giving. As Knibbe astutely comments: “Israel’s fear is the pinnacle of human response to revelation… [it] is the standard to which all subsequent covenant life must conform.” ^[22]Knibbe, Godly Fear, 70. Or, in the words of Derousseaux, fear “is the fundamental disposition of the covenant.” ^[23]Derousseaux, La crainte de Dieu dans l’Ancien Testament, LD 6 (Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1970), 208 (my translation).

Fear in Philippians

At first blush, a reading of Paul’s letter to his Philippian siblings in Christ sounds neither like a fearful nor a fear-filled missive. Rather, it is famously touted as a letter of joy. However, these two emotions—joy and fear—need not be set over against one another. Rather, Paul’s presentation of fear allows for a tension-filled fusion between the repulsive impulse (tremendum) inherent in the terror side of fear and the attractive impulse (fascinans) connected with the reverence side of fear. ^[24]Gerd Theißen, “Furcht und Freude in der Bibel: Emotionale Ambivalenz im Lichte de Religionpsychologie,” NTT 61 (2007), 123-147, 129, calls attention to “the binding of fear and joy in the … Continue reading

Fear arises at multiple spots in the letter, both linguistically and semantically. The focus here, however, will be on two references to fear in Philippians, the command not to fear at 1:28 and the summons to fear and trembling at 2:12.

The Prohibition Against Fear in Phil 1:28

When Paul shifts into the central parenesis of the letter, his ethical imagination hovers around two key elements: gospel and unity. The apostle has just attested to his own commitment to the gospel (even in the face of death), and so now the question becomes: Will the Philippians match him in his zeal for Christ’s gospel? Will they too commit to giving everything for the sake of the gospel? Paul notoriously deploys a term from Roman civic life, πολιτεύεσθε (“to act as a citizen”), connecting it to another element of civic life, namely, the honorific context of benefaction (through the reference to “worthiness,” ἀξίως). As we saw above, there was an important political context in which fear could be particularly dangerous. If left unchecked, it could undermine the very foundations of the community. Hence, the communal unity that Paul advocates as the means for living a worthy political life (1:27) naturally prompts a reference to the group’s emotional makeup, particularly the need for courageous fearlessness.
Along with this political frame of reference for Paul’s injunction against fearing within the community, the apostle also draws on military imagery, imagining the advance of the gospel as a battle maneuver. The community is to “hold ranks,” fearlessly staring down all hostile aggressors and thereby advancing the cause of the faith. The military imagery is all the more fitting in light of the persecution faced by the Philippian believers. Indeed, the crisis evoked by the opposition facing this community is profoundly traumatic. ^[25]Karin B. Neutel and Peter-Ben Smit, “Paul, Imprisonment and Crisis: Crisis and its Negotiation as a Lens for Reading Philippians,” JSNT 44 (2021), 31-55, 33, call attention to the “crisis in … Continue reading

In the midst of counseling a unified support of the gospel, Paul recognizes the reality of opposition, since the community faces “opponents” (ἀντικειμένων), whose opposition provokes suffering (πάσχειν) “on behalf of Christ” (ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ, 1:28). Who are these “attackers” opposing the Philippian promotion of the gospel? Other groups of opponents take shape within the letter, but here in 1:27-30 we find a Roman form of opposition, either officially sanctioned pressure from the local magistrates or else economic pressure from the local Philippian population. ^[26]Peter Oakes, “Leadership and Suffering in the Letters of Polycarp and Paul to the Philippians,” in Trajectories through the New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers, ed. Andrew Gregory and … Continue reading

In the face of such opposition, Paul urges fearlessness. He highlights the emotional response of the community to the persecution they are facing. Sociological study shows that group solidarity is constructed and maintained through establishing emotional norms that help adherents cope with opposition to their newfound identity. This is precisely what Paul is after in dictating what must not be feared in the midst of the struggles undertaken by the group for the gospel.

Hence, the encouragement formula (“fear not”), which Isaiah reworked into an eschatological setting, can be seen to undergird Paul’s exhortation that the Philippian believers not be frightened by the opposition they are facing in their striving for the gospel faith. The significant reference to fear in 1:28 thus matches the earlier references to the “fearless” (ἀφόβως) gospel-proclamation of Paul’s compatriots mentioned in 1:14. Thus, on both sides of the epistolary exchange we find individuals ready to stand boldly for the faith of the gospel, attaching their emotional makeup to the very good news for which they are living and speaking; since Christ is alive, they need no longer fear.

The Admonition to Fear in Phil 2:12

Another reference to fear in Philippians comes when Paul guides these believers to “work out [their] salvation with fear and trembling” (2:12). Such a command seems fraught with difficulties. Surely the apostle would not be advocating some version of human involvement in the soteriological process. To do so seems to fly in the face of Paul’s central theological convictions about humanity’s utter inability to do any good and therefore entire dependence upon the divine for deliverance from their enslavement to sin. And yet, here is this command, drawing on the very soteriological language (σωτηρίαν) employed elsewhere in Paul. ^[27]For detailed discussion of the theme of salvation in Philippians, see Paul S. Cable, “‘We Await a Savior’: Salvation in Philippians,” (Ph.D. Diss., Wheaton College, 2017). Cable, 254, argues … Continue reading What’s more, the apostle doubles down on the emotional elements arising from humans sharing in the responsibility for their fate, since not only are they to perform this activity of working out their salvation, but they are to do so under the severe pressure arising from working within the immediate divine presence.

Shifting the emphasis, however, away from the imperative itself (“work out your salvation”) and onto the manner in which this activity should occur (“with fear and trembling”) helps us to interpret Paul’s admonition here. ^[28]Cf. Steven E. Runge, Discourse Grammar of the Greek New Testament: A Practical Introduction for Teaching and Exegesis (Peabody: Hendrickson, 2010), 236: “Paul’s primary point is to encourage the … Continue reading) Hence, the real crux interpretatum is how to understand the emotional state described by the phrase “fear and trembling.”

Many have recognized the Scriptural resonances connected with this word-pair; indeed, it has been called a biblical “formula” of sorts. ^[29]Cf. Ernst Käsemann, “Philipper 2,12-18,” in Exegetische Versuche und Besinngungen (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1960), 293-298, 293: terms “stemming from the LXX and characterizing … Continue reading The question about which biblical resonances it conveys are debated, however. One strand of interpretation links the idea back to Old Testament piety more generally, in which the emotional disposition of fearing God constitutes the central response of Israel in worship to God’s power, both in creation and in salvation. ^[30]Cf. H. R. Balz, “Furcht vor Gott? Überlegungen zu einem vergessenen Motiv biblischer Theologie,” EvTh 29 (1969), 626-644, 630: “Fear before God can serve as a technical term for the … Continue reading Another line of interpretation links the emotional response of fear before God to the various epiphany scenes
narrated in the Scriptures. ^[31]Eckert, “Mit Furcht und Zittern,” 266: “Epiphanie-Furcht”; J. Ross Wagner, “Working Out Salvation: Holiness and Community in Philippians,” in Holiness and Ecclesiology in the New … Continue reading McAuley has argued compellingly for the presence of a “covert allusion” in Paul’s exhortation to fear in 2:12 back to the command given to the rebellious foreign sovereigns in Ps 2:11 that they “serve the Lord in fear (ἐν φόβῳ), and rejoice before him with trembling (ἐν τρόμῳ).” One of the benefits of this intertextual connection is that it attends to the preceding Philippians context of the Christ hymn, viewing Jesus’s exaltation and installation into the role of cosmic “Lord” as his institution into this key Davidic role. ^[32]David McAuley, Paul’s Covert Use of Scripture: Intertextuality and Rhetorical Situation in Philippians2:10-16 (Nyack, NY: Pickwick Publications, 2015), 196: “Psalm 2’s presence is capable of … Continue reading

Following McAuley’s lead of looking back to the conclusion of the Christ hymn as a way to understand why Paul would exhort the community to fear in 2:12, we can also view Christ’s exaltation and presentation as cosmic Lord as a divine epiphany. Hence, the arrival of God’s presence mediated through the rule of Jesus as Lord, together with the production of glory for God that this brings about, allows for the community to be faced with God’s sovereign rule in a forceful and fear-provoking manner. The rightful response to God’s powerful saving work is fear before his wondrous actions. As De Villiers argues, “even where the [biblical notion of the fear of the LORD] is given a moral and spiritual meaning it often retains its dreadful and even threatening character.” ^[33]Pieter de Villiers, “Fear as dread of a God who kills and abuses? About a darker side of a key, but still forgotten biblical motif,” HTS 69 (2018), 1-9, 1. This claim is in keeping with de … Continue reading

Both of these contexts (Jewish piety and divine theophany) are formative for understanding Paul’s central exhortation that believers fearfully work out their salvation, especially since these two strands of fear coincide in one of Paul’s key intertexts engaged with throughout this section of the letter (2:12-18), namely, Deuteronomy. It is widely recognized that Paul’s phrase in 2:15, lauding his auditors as being “children of God, faultless amid a generation crooked and depraved,” entails a reworking of Moses’s climactic song at the end of Deuteronomy. Ultimately, the apostle is presenting the community of saints in Christ at Philippi as standing in the role of God’s covenant people. The Mosaic imagery expands beyond this single phrase (from Deut 32:5), however, since Paul’s secondary instruction to the Philippians that they neither “grumble nor complain” also mirrors that leader’s directives to Israel during their wilderness wandering (cf. Ex 16:7-9, 12; Num 14:27; 17:20, 25). Hence, although Paul is confident that his siblings in Christ at Philippi will ultimately succeed as God’s “children” where the wilderness generation with Moses failed, yet these Christians still stand under the same contingent responsibility as their Scriptural counterpart. That is, just as Moses’s exhortation to Israel was that they must “fear” God, and that only when this positive version of fear reigned within their emotional makeup would they be freed from all other fears of enemy attack, ^[34]On the important interrelation in Deuteronomy between God’s injunctions to fear him and his encouragement that the people not fear, see Bill T. Arnold, “The Love-Fear Antimony in Deuteronomy … Continue reading so too with Paul’s auditors. In order to be fear-free, they must begin with fear. In order to stand fearless before their opponents, they must stand fearfully underneath the God who is at work in and around them. ^[35]Gordon D. Fee, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, NICNT 46 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995), 236, argues that, despite the initial ambiguity of meaning in Paul’s phrase “fear and trembling,” … Continue reading

This combination of the epiphany fear and reverent fear from the Scriptural texts, one that coalesces in Moses’s admonitions to the covenant people in Deuteronomy, is what Paul taps into when he exhorts his converts to an attitude of “fear and trembling” in Phil 2:12. And such a combination is further corroborated by the way that Paul undergirds this command. Immediately following the imperative to work out their salvation with fear and trembling, Paul grounds this humanly undertaken activity in the prior and overarching activity of God (“For God is the one in-working in you…” 2:13). Particularly the spatial element envisioned here proves significant. Namely, in terms of proximity, God is as close as it gets to the people who were just asked to be fearful. Hence, the theophanic strand of understanding the phrase “with fear and trembling” in 2:12 is strengthened by viewing God as epiphanically present among the community, which thereby necessitates rigorous precautions maintaining strict holiness. God’s proximity can be dangerous and threatening. Hence, while, on the one hand, there is comfort and reassurance arising from Paul’s statement in 2:13, since the responsibility for accomplishing the believers’
salvation is shared with God, yet, on the other hand, having God at work “among them” might also reinforce the anxiety produced by the prior command. “Fearfully work out your salvation,” because God is right there watching you; and yet, he graciously does not remain a mere bystander, hovering only as judge to punish you for any failures or missteps. Rather, he stands by as fellow-worker, well-pleased with the work that is being accomplished through his in-working power among the community.

Were we to shift too much emphasis onto the comforting promise that God will ultimately accomplish the work of the believer’s salvation, then the danger arises of humans being turned into automatons or robots, who merely mechanically carry out the inputting commands of the controlling divine will and power. ^[36]Dante helpfully describes such a sharing of work thus:“So may the lamp which leads you still to risefind in your own free will sufficient waxto reach the glittering heights of Paradise” (Purg. … Continue reading Instead, what Paul envisions is a much more dignifying inclusion of humanity within the important work of carrying forward the role of being human. In this way, Paul is able to draw on the rich Scriptural heritage of the fear of God being that which essentially dignifies humans in their role as divine image-bearers serving underneath his program of just rule in the world. ^[37]Cf. Job Y. Jindo, “On the Biblical Notion of Human Dignity: ‘Fear of God’ as a Condition for Authentic Existence,” BibInt 19 (2011), 433-453, who claims that fearing God is the “condition … Continue reading

Conclusion

In conclusion, fear shows up in Paul’s world of thought in a complex, two-sided manner. On the one hand, believers are set free from fear. But on the other hand, believers are yet to remain ever fearful before God, a fear which remains into eternity, since it constitutes a recognition of our place underneath God. In the piety of the Scriptures, this emotion of ongoing fear is actually the high point of what it means to be human. ^[38]James Alfred Loader, “‘Trembling, the best of being human’: Aspects of anxiety in Israel,” OT Essays 14.2 (2001), 260-280, 277, concurs with Goethe that “shuddering is the best part of … Continue reading To this Paul invites his siblings in Christ at Philippi, into an acceptance of their role as God’s fellow workers, who are working hard to accomplish God’s purposes in the world, aware that they might fail, but trusting in God’s grace (though not presuming upon it) to carry their work through to the end.