have no problem seeing how fear and obedience fit necessarily into the spiritual life of any believer. Due to our smallness and God's greatness, it is perfectly reasonable that we should fear God and keep His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13). In fact, this simple prescription is postulated plainly in both the Old Testament and the New (Deuteronomy 6:2, 1st Peter 2:17 & 1st John 5:3). But what do you do with the realization that Jesus Christ "learned obedience" and had His prayers answered "because He feared" His heavenly Father (Hebrews 5:7-8)?
It is true that Christ's experience in this world, from the cradle to the grave (or better, from His conception to His ascension) was somewhat different than ours. Still, the sameness of our experiences is just as significant as the differences. He was certainly "compassed with infirmity" just like the rest of us (Hebrews 5:2 & 4:15). However, there were distinct differences in His experience. Christ was tempted (just like we are), yet He never failed. That's different. And, in the case of Christ learning obedience and fearing His Father, again there are differences. Jesus didn't learn obedience after having a habit of disobedience. That's the way we do it. Jesus learned obedience and submission after having had only absolute command and authority. In other words, prior to His humiliation (Philippians 2:6-8), the divine Son of God didn't and couldn't "obey" in the sense that we do. God is the boss. Bosses don't obey. They are the ones who demand obedience from others. But Jesus
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