God's Sufficient Grace

God's Sufficient Grace

by John MacArthur

A certain poor man spent many years saving money to realize his dream of going on a cruise. When he finally saved the required sum, he bought a ticket. Knowing he could not afford the extravagant food on board, he took what he could afford—crackers and peanut butter.

After a few days of observing the other passengers eating luxurious meals, his peanut butter crackers became stale and tasteless. Desperately hungry, he begged a porter to allow him to work for food.

“Why, sir, didn’t you realize meals are included with your ticket? You may eat as much as you like!”

Lots of Christians live like that man. Not realizing the unlimited provisions that are theirs in Christ, they munch on stale scraps. There’s no need to live like that! Everything we could ever want or need is included in the cost of admission—and the Savior has already paid it for us!

There’s a single word that encompasses all the riches we find in Christ: grace. What a magnificent word it is! It is used more than 150 times in the New Testament to speak of divine favor bestowed on undeserving people. It is the means by which we receive every physical and spiritual benefit.

To some measure even unbelievers benefit from God’s grace. Theologians call that “common grace” because it is common to all mankind. Common grace is God’s continual care for all creation, providing for his creatures’ needs. Through common grace God restrains humanity from utter debauchery and maintains order and some sense of beauty, morality, and goodness in society’s consciousness.

Christians, however, receive a greater grace (James 4:6). To us God’s grace is inexhaustible and boundless, including all that we have talked in earlier posts about regarding the all-sufficient provisions of Jesus Christ.

We are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8) and in grace we stand (Romans 5:2). Grace upholds our salvation, gives us victory in temptation, and helps us endure suffering and pain. It helps us understand the Word and wisely apply it to our lives. It draws us into communion and prayer and enables us to serve the Lord effectively. In short, we exist and are firmly fixed in an environment of all-sufficient grace.

Grace upon Grace

One of the most wonderful statements about our Lord is that He was “full of grace” (John 1:14) and “of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace” (John 1:16). “Grace upon grace” speaks of accumulated grace—one grace following upon another. Such grace is ours each day. It is unlimited and sufficient for every need.

Paul called it “the abundance of grace” (Romans 5:17), “the riches of [God’s] grace” (Ephesians 2:7), and “surpassing grace” (2 Corinthians 9:14). Peter called it the “manifold” (in Greek, poikilos, “multifaceted” or “multicolored”) grace of God (1 Peter 4:10). He used the same Greek word in 1 Peter 1:6 with reference to the various trials believers face. That’s a wonderful parallel: God’s multifaceted grace is sufficient for our multifaceted trials.

Super-Abounding Grace

Perhaps nowhere is the magnificence of grace more wonderfully stated than in 2 Corinthians 9:8–11. The superlatives here are staggering: “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.… You will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God” (emphasis added).

In a sense, those two verses sum up everything that could ever be said about our sufficiency in Christ. Set in a context describing God’s material provision, they have meaning that obviously extends to limitless proportions. Surpassing grace indwells every believer (v. 14). Is it any wonder Paul could not restrain his praise to God for such an indescribable gift (v. 15)?

All-Sufficient Grace

Paul experienced God’s grace as few others have because he endured suffering as few others have. In 2 Corinthians 12:9 the Lord gave him one of the most profound truths in all revelation: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” That wonderful promise extends to every believer, but its context is one of severe difficulties, distresses, persecutions, and human weaknesses (v. 10).

In chapter 11 Paul chronicles many of the hardships and life-threatening situations he had endured. Included in his list are great physical trials—imprisonments, beatings, stonings, shipwrecks, dangerous rivers, robbers, Jewish and Gentile persecutions, sleepless nights, inclement weather, and lack of food and drink (vv. 23–27). More painful than all that was the daily concern he had for all the churches (v. 28). God’s people and His church were Paul’s greatest passion (Colossians 1:28–29) and presented the highest potential for pain and disappointment.

The greatest pain he ever knew came from some of the people he loved the most—those to whom he had given his soul and his gospel, but who now had turned against him. Their rejection, betrayal, criticism, false accusations, and even hatred cut deep into his heart. In 2 Corinthians he wrote as a man who was unloved, unappreciated, distrusted, and deeply troubled in his soul.

The Lessons of Grace

Paul’s distressing circumstances put him in a position to learn some marvelous lessons about God’s grace, which he passes on to us in 2 Corinthians 12:7–10:

Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave from me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

There is so much to be drawn from this marvelous text. For the purpose of this post I’ll simply make brief mention of the lessons we can draw regarding God’s grace.

Humility. God knows that men are prone toward pride, especially when they are in positions of spiritual privilege. Therefore He often uses opposition and suffering to teach them humility. That God places trials in our lives to restrain our sin and produce godliness is an act of grace.

Dependence. Often other believers are channels of God’s grace, but He alone is its source. We tend to turn to people with our hurts, but God wants us to look to Him first of all in times of trouble.

Three times Paul appealed to God to remove the thorn—three times the Lord said no. He prayed persistently and faithfully, yet he learned that God’s purposes could be better accomplished by the answer no.

Sufficiency. Paul was content with God’s decision because he knew that God would supply sufficient grace for his trial. “He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you’ ” (v. 9). “He has said” is in the perfect tense in the Greek text, implying that every time Paul prayed, God said the same thing and kept on saying it. “My grace is sufficient for you” was his standing answer. After three times, Paul dropped the request. This was not a sign that Paul gave up on God, but that he rested in God’s sufficient grace.

Power. The same suffering that reveals our weaknesses reveals God’s strength, “for power is perfected in weakness” (v. 9). When we are least effective in our human strength and have only God’s power to sustain us, then we are suitable channels through which His power flows. And so we should praise God for adversity because that’s when His power is most evident in our lives. There is no one too weak to be powerful, but there are many too strong.

Contentment. Paul gives us a key principle in verse 10: “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” Paul embraced his deepest trouble as a friend to lead him to greater spiritual usefulness.

Conclusion

God’s grace is more than sufficient for your every need. Is your relationship with Him deep and trusting enough to draw you to Him during times of difficulty? Are you content to endure weaknesses, insults, distresses, and persecutions for Christ’s sake so that you can be spiritually strong even amid physical and emotional weakness?

The story is told of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, who was riding home one evening after a heavy day’s work, feeling weary and depressed, when the verse came to mind, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

In his mind he immediately compared himself to a little fish in the Thames River, apprehensive lest drinking so many pints of water in the river each day he might drink the Thames dry. Then Father Thames says to him, “Drink away, little fish. My stream is sufficient for you.”

Next he thought of a little mouse in the granaries of Egypt, afraid lest its daily nibbles exhaust the supplies and cause it to starve to death. Then Joseph comes along and says, “Cheer up, little mouse. My granaries are sufficient for you.”

Then he thought of a man climbing some high mountain to reach its lofty summit and dreading lest his breathing there might exhaust all the oxygen in the atmosphere. The Creator booms His voice out of heaven, saying, “Breathe away, oh man, and fill your lungs. My atmosphere is sufficient for you!”

Let us rest in the abundance of God’s wonderful grace and the total sufficiency of all His spiritual resources. That’s the all-sufficient Savior’s legacy to His people.

“May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure” (1 Peter 1:2)!

See previous parts of this series: Contaminated Cures for Soul Care;

 Insufficient Help, Part 1;  Insufficient Help, Part 2;

God's Sufficient Word, Part 1; God's Sufficient Word, Part 2;

God's Sufficient Spirit;

Posted with permission:

http://www.gty.org/blog/B140919/gods-sufficient-grace

 

God's Sufficient Spirit

God's Sufficient Spirit

The book titled I’m Dysfunctional, You’re Dysfunctional, by Wendy Kaminer, debunked much of the mystique of modern psychology.[1] The author did not purport to be a Christian. In fact, she described herself as “a skeptical, secular humanist, Jewish, feminist, intellectual lawyer.”[2]

Yet she wrote as a bitter critic of the marriage of religion and psychology. She noted that religion and psychology have always more or less deemed one another incompatible. Now she sees “not just a truce but a remarkable accommodation.”[3] Even from her perspective as an unbeliever, she could see that this accommodation has meant a change in the fundamental message Christians convey to the world. She wrote:

Religious writers would minimize or dismiss the effect of psychology on religion, fiercely denying that it has made doctrinal changes, but it does seem to have influenced the tone and packaging of religious appeals... Christian codependency books, like those produced by the Minirth-Meier clinic in Texas, are practically indistinguishable from codependency books published by secular writers... Religious writers justify their reliance on psychology by praising it for “catching up” to some eternal truths, but they’ve also found a way to make the temporal truths of psychology palatable.[4]

Some of the criticism Kaminer leveled against evangelicals is unwarranted or misguided, but in this respect she is right on target: Evangelicalism has been infiltrated by a worldly anthropology-psychology-theology that is diametrically opposed to the biblical doctrines of sin and sanctification. As a result of this accommodation, the church has compromised and hopelessly muddled the message it is to proclaim.

Psychology and worldly therapies have usurped the role of sanctification in some Christians’ thinking. Psychological sanctification has become a substitute for the Spirit-filled life.

But can psychotherapy possibly accomplish something that the Holy Spirit cannot? Can an earthly therapist achieve more than a heavenly Comforter? Is behavior modification more helpful than sanctification? Of course not.

The Paraclete

To understand the crucial role the Holy Spirit plays in meeting people’s inner needs, we must go back to what Jesus taught His disciples when He first promised them He would send the Holy Spirit. It happened on the night Jesus was betrayed. His crucifixion was drawing near, and the disciples were fearful and confused. When Jesus spoke to them about going away, their hearts were troubled (John 14:1). In that hour of turmoil, they feared being left alone. But Jesus assured them that they would not be left to fend for themselves. He comforted them with this wonderful promise:

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. (John 14:16–17)

“Helper” in verse 16 is the Greek word paraklētos, meaning someone called to another’s aid. First John 2:1 applies the same term to Jesus Himself: “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate [paraklētos] with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” The word is sometimes transliterated into English as “paraclete.”

It describes a spiritual attendant whose role is to offer assistance, succor, support, relief, advocacy, and guidance—a divine Counselor whose ministry to believers is to offer the very things that so many people vainly seek in therapy!

The promises Jesus made with regard to the Holy Spirit and His ministry are staggering in their scope. Let’s look at some of the key elements of this text.

A Divine Helper

The word translated “another” (allos) is a key to understanding the nature of the Holy Spirit. The Greek text carries a precision that is not immediately evident in English. The word means “another of the same kind,” as in, “That cookie was tasty; may I have another?”

In using this word, Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as “another [allos] Helper [of the same kind].” He was promising to send His disciples a Helper exactly like Himself—a compassionate, loving, divine Paraclete. They had grown dependent on Jesus’ ministry to them. He had been their Wonderful Counselor, Teacher, Leader, Friend, and had shown them the Father. But from now on, they would have another Paraclete, One like Jesus, to meet the same needs He had met.

Here, for the first time, Jesus gave the disciples extensive teaching about the Holy Spirit and His role. Note that our Lord spoke of the Spirit as a person, not an influence, not a mystical power, not some ethereal, impersonal, phantom force. The Spirit has all the attributes of personality (mind, Romans 8:27; emotions, Ephesians 4:30; and will, Hebrews 2:4) and all the attributes of deity (see Acts 5:3–4). He is another Paraclete of exactly the same essence as Jesus.

There was, however, a significant difference: Jesus was returning to the Father, but the Holy Spirit would “be with you forever” (John 14:16). The Holy Spirit is a constant, sure, trustworthy, divine Paraclete graciously given by Christ to His disciples to be with them forever.

A Guide to Truth

It is noteworthy that Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as “the Spirit of truth” (v. 17). As God, He is the essence of truth; as a Paraclete, He is the One who guides us into truth. That is why apart from Him, it is impossible for sinful beings to know or understand any spiritual truth.

Jesus said, “The world cannot receive [Him], because it does not see Him or know Him” (v. 17). Echoing that truth, Paul wrote:

To us God revealed [things which the world cannot see or understand] through the Spirit... Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we might know the things freely given to us by God... But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. (1 Cor. 2:10, 12, 14)

Believers are actually taught spiritual truth by God Himself (see John 6:45). In fact, much of the Holy Spirit’s ministry to believers involves teaching them (John 14:26; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 1 John 2:20, 27); guiding them into the truth of Christ (John 16:13–14); and illuminating the truth for them (1 Corinthians 2:12).

After Jesus ascended to heaven, one of the crucial ministries of the Holy Spirit was to bring to the disciples’ minds what Jesus had said and to teach them what He meant: “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you” (John 14:25–26).

That means that the Holy Spirit enabled the disciples to recall the precise words Jesus had spoken to them, so that when they recorded them as Scripture, the words were perfect and error free. This assured that the gospel accounts were recorded infallibly, and that the apostolic teaching was unadulterated.

But this promise of our Lord also reveals the Holy Spirit as a supernatural Teacher who ministers truth to the hearts of those whom He indwells. The Spirit guides us into the truth of God’s Word. He teaches us, affirms the truth in our hearts, convicts us of sin, and often brings to mind specific truths and statements of Scripture that are applicable to our lives.

The Indwelling Presence

Look a little more closely at Jesus’ words at the end of John 14:17: “He abides with you and will be in you.” Our Lord was promising that the Holy Spirit would take up permanent, uninterrupted residence within His disciples. It was not only that the Spirit would be present with them; the greater truth was that He would be resident within them permanently.

This promise was not limited to the eleven apostles who were present that night. The Holy Spirit indwells every Christian. In verse 23, Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him” (emphasis added). Paul, writing to the Corinthians, said, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19). Thus each believer enjoys the permanent, continuing presence of the Holy Spirit living within.

The Holy Spirit in Biblical Counseling

The new birth is the Holy Spirit’s sovereign work (John 3:8). And every aspect of true spiritual growth in the life of the believer is prompted by the Spirit, using the truth of Scripture (17:17). The counselor who misses that point will experience failure, frustration, and discouragement.

Only the Holy Spirit can work fundamental changes in the human heart. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is the necessary agent in all effective biblical counseling. The counselor, armed with biblical truth, can offer objective guidance and steps for change. But unless the Holy Spirit is working in the heart of the counselee, any apparent change will be illusory, superficial, or temporary, and the same problems or worse ones will soon appear.

Conclusion

It is futile to follow the path of psychology and look within ourselves to find answers to our problems. And it is certainly true that those who focus on themselves, their childhood traumas, their wounded feelings, their emotional cravings, or other egocentric sources will never find genuine answers to their troubles.

The true believer, however, does have a Helper who dwells within. He is the Holy Spirit, who applies the objective truth of Scripture in the process of sanctification. Yet even He does not draw our attention inward, or to Himself. Instead, He directs our focus upward, to Christ. Jesus said, “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me” (15:26).

Ultimately, it is unto Christ that the counselee’s focus must be directed. “Beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, [we] are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Corithians 3:18). That is the process of sanctification. And it is the ultimate goal of all truly biblical counseling.

Posted with permission

http://www.gty.org/blog/B140917/gods-sufficient-spirit

See previous parts of this series: Contaminated Cures for Soul Care;

 Insufficient Help, Part 1;  Insufficient Help, Part 2;

God's Sufficient Word, Part 1; God's Sufficient Word, Part 2

Contaminated Cures for Soul Care

Contaminated Cures for Soul Care

What is your response when someone bares their soul to you, sharing their emotional or spiritual struggles?

Few things reveal our inadequacy more than listening to someone’s problems and not having a clue what to say. When people use words like “depression,” “anxiety attack,” “addiction,” or “mental illness,” we tend to shrink back. These are words that describe deep problems, likely requiring a combination of medication and professional counseling. Or do they?

During the last century, the church began to drink from the well of psychology. The water promised to be the elixir that would resolve emotional, mental, and even spiritual problems. Psychology cast troubles in a new light, identified new sources for our problems, and proposed new solutions to solve them.

Even with its multitude of contradictory theories and questionable therapies, psychology has successfully altered how the world thinks about and responds to the problems of life. Tragically, setting aside its infinite spiritual resources, the church of Jesus Christ embraced this revolution of humanistic thinking.

A Movement in the Wrong Direction

For centuries the burden of caring for the souls of men and women was gladly borne by the church. With its trust in Scripture, its empowerment by the Spirit, and the all-sufficient grace of Christ, the church could provide comfort in affliction, light in darkness, rebuke in rebellion, help in weakness, and hope in every trial.

Famous preachers of the past are known rightfully for their faithful expositions, powerful evangelism, and insights into Scripture. But many of these men were also exemplary in their care for sinning and suffering saints through their preaching, writing, and counseling.

A supreme example of intense and practical pastoral care is Richard Baxter’s A Christian Directory—an extensive work on practical Christian living and handling life’s problems. John Bunyan, Thomas Watson, John Owen, and many other puritan pastors likewise left a legacy of faithful preaching and shepherding souls.

In contrast, many of today’s preachers are known almost exclusively for engaging and culturally relevant sermons that merely scratch the felt needs of their congregations. So what happens when someone seeks help for intense personal struggles? It is common for him or her to be referred to a professional counselor outside the church.

Most churches are no longer centers of soul care. Whatever else they are, they are not the place where sinning and suffering souls can go for help and comfort.

The Wrong Kind of Help

Admittedly, many charismatic churches seek to be places of spiritual healing. Healing Rooms International is a clear attempt by charismatic churches to care for troubled souls. Additionally, books and sermons from charismatic leaders address the struggles of life in an attempt to meet the needs of the suffering.

The problem is their solutions are no better—and perhaps worse—than the humanistic doctrines of psychology. Just like psychology, charismatic soul care comes with its own set of unique terms, diagnoses, and solutions.

Leanne Payne is a leading voice in charismatic soul care. Through her writing and teaching ministry, she has trained thousands in her unique view and style of healing prayer.

In her book, The Healing Presence: Curing the Soul Through Union with Christ, Payne has strong words for those who rely on humanistic theories and practices. She rallies support by saying, “This is why our eclecticism (so prevalent in the Church today, as many non-Christian ideas flood in) will not work. Herein is the (dreadful to some) exclusiveness of the Christian truth and reality that we are to proclaim” (p. 96).

And yet, her book is filled with quotes from evangelicals, Catholics, poets, novelists, and others. Scripture references are rare and scarcely used as the foundation of her ideas. Furthermore, she betrays a clear acceptance of at least some theories from psychology.

At one point Payne provides a case study of a man struggling with homosexuality. She writes:

The strong compulsion he suffered I’ve come to call the ‘cannibal compulsion,’ the twisted way we try to take into ourselves that which we think we lack. In reality, it is that within us which (for whatever reason) is unblessed, unaffirmed... The pedophile, for example, attempts to gain a childhood he never had by ‘swallowing up’ young boys[1]

While she coins her own term (“cannibal compulsion”), she essentially parrots the modern psychological dogma that one’s current struggles are the result of deficiencies in his childhood experience. What is clearly lacking in her diagnosis is the concept of sin, and therefore what was lacking in her treatment was repentance. How does Payne propose dealing with such problems? Offer a multi-sensory experience of healing prayer to heal past memories, the “diseased mind,” and most importantly, invoke God’s “healing presence.”

In fact, the very first chapter begins with a step-by-step example of how she sought to heal a man from fear and depression.

First, I applied holy water to his forehead and began the prayer by invoking the Presence of the Lord. In Christ’s name, I then broke and put to flight the demonic force that had been banding, ever more tightly, this young man’s mind. Next, anointing his forehead with the healing oil (making the sign of the Cross as the symbol of present and future protection of his mind), I prayed for God’s healing light and love to enter in and fill his mind and heart, to dispel all fear and torment, and to grant peace and quiet. Going on to gently press his temples, I sensed this cleansing and healing taking place, and continued thus to pray until I could give thanks to God that it was done.[2]

There is little in that ritual that resembles Christianity, and much akin to witchcraft. The Scripture provides no instructions that would lead one to develop such a practice.

Keep in mind, Leanne Payne is not an isolated practitioner. I was directed to her material by Dr. Michael Brown, a vocal critic of John MacArthur’s book Strange Fire, and a self-proclaimed leader in the charismatic movement.

One could also point to Bethel Redding’s “Prophetic Ministry” as a similarly mystical attempt to exercise the care of souls. Healing Rooms International, where similar practices also occur, has hundreds of locations in the United States, and hundreds more throughout the world. These are not isolated ministries in the dark corners of the church.

Turning to the Source

Thankfully, there is a growing movement to return to the true source of soul care. The Author of Life has not left us to invent coping mechanisms for life’s problems. He has given us abundant and sufficient resources in Scripture to handle struggles with sin and suffering.

That movement is known as the biblical counseling movement, which began in the 1970’s under the guiding light of Jay Adams. To promote biblical soul care and ensure continued fidelity, the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (formerly the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors) actively equips and certifies counselors through numerous training seminars and conferences. In fact, John MacArthur will be a featured speaker at this year’s national conference addressing the issue “God’s Truth in a Culture of Mental Illness.”
True biblical counseling is not about creating a class of professionals or new schools of thought. It does not have its own lingo, theories, and remedies. Rather, it returns the care of souls to its proper sphere—the church of Jesus Christ. It restores the only meaningful purpose to counseling—making more and better disciples of Christ. And it utilizes the only true power to change—the Word of God energized by the Spirit of God.
True biblical counselors are not professionals. They are Spirit-empowered, Scripture-saturated, compassionate members of the body of Christ. Some, by virtue of their gifting and calling, may be pastors or vocational counselors. But the majority of biblical counselors are simply mature believers skilled in wielding the sword of the Spirit as they care for those with serious emotional or spiritual struggles.

It’s been said, “Everyone is a counselor—you’re either a good one or a bad one.” While we may often feel inadequate in responding to the spiritual needs of others, that feeling is not due to our lack of resources; for “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness...” (2 Peter 1:3). I’m persuaded we often feel inadequate because for too long the church has taken its cues from the world and convinced us that, indeed, we are inadequate.

For the next two weeks we will be focusing our blog posts on the insufficiency of psychology and the all-sufficiency of Scripture, the Spirit, and grace. John MacArthur will correct the false advertising of the world’s ideas, drawing our attention back to the rich resources we have in Christ. This is a series you won’t want to miss.

The next part is: Insufficient Help, Part 1

Gabriel Powell
Internet Ministry Coordinator

posted with permission: http://www.gty.org/blog/B140908/contaminated-cures-for-soul-care

Did you know you already have a counselor?

As I was reading my bible today, the Lord brought something to my attention. It was something I was already aware of, and yet I wasn't aware of how prevalent it was in His Word. The Lord tells us over and over again, that He is our counselor and wants us to come to Him when we need counsel. One of my favorite verses is the one in Isaiah where he's talking about Jesus and the Names of God and tells us that one of his Names is, "wonderful counselor". I can certainly vouch for that! You'll never, ever find a better one, that's for sure! What had gone right over my head though, until today, was another fact I knew. That one of the Names for the Holy Spirit is also "counselor"! So I started searching His Word for verses that spoke of God being a counselor to us and was amazed at how many there are. I doubt if I've found them all yet, but I've found well over 20 of them already!

I'll have to look up another thing too, because I also found a bunch of them that said not to take "men's counsel", or the "counsel of the wicked", etc. Oh, I'm sure none of us would ever seek out a wicked person to be a counselor though! Or do we, without realizing it? I just looked up what the word "wicked" translates from in the original language from here: Psalm 1:1 —Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. * That word is also generally translated as the "ungodly", or "unbelievers", hostile to God, guilty of sin, etc. Who's hostile to God though? We wouldn't go see someone that hated God certainly... but God says that all unbelievers are his enemies, and that their minds and hearts are hostile to Him; He tells us that we were like that before we were saved too. (Romans 5:10; Romans 8:7; James 4:4; Colossians 1:21) So not walking in the counsel of the wicked is actually saying not to accept counsel from any who are unbelievers!

Come to think of it though, I could even start a third list of scriptures, for I already know there are many scriptures that say that it's the believers who are mature in their faith that are to offer counsel to others, and that it's to them that we're to go to when we need help and feel the need to speak to another human and not just to God. The reason for that is pretty clear though. Generally most of us don't feel comfortable just talking to God and getting His counsel until we have become mature in our faith. Up till then, we generally still question if what we're "hearing" is from the Lord or not, so we need another believer to confirm it and help us learn to hear from Him.

Ultimately though, as we grow in our faith, we find that God is truly the perfect and very best counselor we could ever have or want; just as He's the very best teacher we could ever want. I would like to mention one other thing though that we often misunderstand about becoming mature in our faith. At least I did for a long time. We never stop learning. When someone becomes mature in their faith, that doesn't mean that they're done growing, or learning. Far from it! What it means is that they fully understand the basics of God's Word. They know what they believe and why they believe it. And most of all, they've got such a close relationship with the Lord that they know Him well. God still has much to show them and teach them, but they know Him and are at peace following Him. Hearing from Him is no longer a struggle, and no longer brings up doubts. They're very familiar with His voice and with His Word.

It's God's Will for every believer to become mature in their faith. That's not reserved for a special or favored few. When I say it's "God's Will" of course that mean it's something He expects of each of us.

Another thing I've found is that often people seem to link being mature in their faith as bragging or being a know it all, and certainly no one wants that kind of label. That's because the church has done such a horrid job of teaching believers though. So many seem to think that only pastors can be "mature in their faith". Sadly today though, many pastors aren't anywhere near being mature in their faith, and some are out right unbelievers! Other people link being mature in faith to being a senior citizen, as though that maturity comes with age. Yet Timothy who was quite young compared to the apostles, was quite mature in his faith, so we know that's not true. Maturity comes with time yes, because it takes time to learn and get to know the Lord, but if you start young, you can certainly become mature in your faith at a very young age. Being mature in faith has nothing to do with getting degrees from a school, church, or organization; nor does it have to do with being ordained by a church. The only thing maturity in faith requires is someone who's willing to spend time with the Lord in His Word every day. That plus time will eventually lead to maturity.

And again, that doesn't mean the person knows everything, they don't. It simply means they're not babies anymore and that they know enough to be able to help others discover the answers that the Lord has for them. They understand that wisdom, knowledge, understanding and discernment come from knowing the Lord. They're able to trust Him to give them the words they need to help others, which is why the bible calls them to counsel other members of the body of Christ. So they counsel others, knowing that really they're just helping the other person get to the point where they know longer need them and can go straight to the Lord themselves.

Let me share some of my favorite scriptures about this with you:

Isaiah 9:6 —For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. *
Isaiah 11:2 —The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord— *
Isaiah 28:29 —All this also comes from the Lord Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom. *
Job 12:13 —“To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.
Psalm 32:8 —I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. *

I love this one too as it shows how much better His counsel is:

Job 12:17 —He leads counselors away stripped and makes fools of judges. *
Psalm 33:10–11 —The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. *The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. *

more of my favorites:
John 14:16–17 —And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— *the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. *
Psalm 119:24 —Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors. *
Psalm 16:7 —I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. *
Psalm 73:24 —You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. *

and so many more, but I'll stop for now.