“Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?” 
Exodus 15:11, NASB95

Several years ago I watched a television show where a man from modern times was transported back to the 1950s. As we tend to do, he utilized the word ‘awesome’ to casually reference something that was cool or amazing. The people around him kept getting confused and asking if he was an exceptionally religious man because at that time the word was only used in a reverential sense of an awe that bordered on fear. It was primarily reserved for describing God’s power.  

Changing Awesome

“Awesome” appears most in translations begun in the 60s and 70s such the New King James Version, the New American Standard Bible, and the New International Version. It can also be seen in translations  that focus on readability and understanding such as the New Living Translation or the Amplified Bible. In newer translations, the word has all but disappeared again as the word has once more changed meaning. 
Why does this matter to anyone who isn’t a word nerd, you may ask? Because as it says in Hebrews 4, “the word of God is living and active”. Or effective, powerful, and working, depending on your translation. God has used people many, many times over the centuries to study scriptures and translate them for our understanding.

Understanding Awesome

I’ve spent the past few years learning to read and study the Bible with the aim of more fully understanding the God who inspired it. Sometimes it feels like I need a seminary degree and fourteen extra hours in a day to read commentaries and watch videos and listen to sermons. But then I remember that God has never tried to hide himself from me, so there has to be an easier way. Sometimes I do need commentaries and nuanced information, but most of the time, if I want a fuller understanding of a verse, all I need to do is consider how a it has lived and breathed over time. It’s active and working, after all. 

If I look at this verse in Exodus, I can see God described as not just awesome in praise, but revered (CSB), fearful (KJV), worthy (CEB) and terrible (RSV). There’s another verse, Deuteronomy 10:17 that declares God as not just great and mighty, but also awesome (NASB95), terrible (KJV), awe-inspiring (CSB),immense (MSG), strong (BBE), and mighty (CEB). (If you ever want to see a verse across multiple versions at a glance, BibleStudyTools.com will line them all up on one webpage for you.) 

At first some of those words seem contradictory  and you may need to look up alternate definitions, but when you put them together you can see more facets of God. After all, terrible doesn’t have to mean extremely bad. It can also mean formidably great or something unendurably severe. God is both of those things as it is only His grace that allows us to be in His holy presence. 

The Most Awesome

Today, when I hear the phrase “awesome God” I think of how mighty and wonderful and great he is. But it’s important to remember that He is all of those things because He is worthy of reverence, beyond human comprehension in a way that is sometimes terrifying, and strong enough to inspire fear in those who would oppose Him. He loves us enough to be accessible, but we should never try to shrink Him down to our own level. 
After all, who is like Him? Who can perform wonders like Him or be as majestic and holy as Him? 
He is a God who planned out people who would be inspired to make His word accessible, not just in multiple languages, but in the ever evolving understanding of people who change and stay the same all at once. 

Identifying Awesome

We all need to recognize the power of the God who loves us, but we can all convey that in our own words and in our own actions. When we look to see how other believers are worshiping and revering God instead of condemning them for doing it differently than we do, we just might gain a fuller picture of the Church that spans not just the globe, but the thousands of years its been spinning. 
And personally, I think that’s pretty awesome, no matter how you define the word.