Competent to Counsel - Ch 2

Summary
The main questions from this chapter are:

Why would a Christian with no peace seek to find peace from men who don’t know anything about the “peace of God that passes all understanding”? Can one have the fruits of the Spirit apart from the Spirit?

The goals we can offer to those we counsel are the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Unsaved counselors ignore his counseling activity and therefore do not avail themselves to his direction and power. This type of counseling is futile, and undercuts the need for grace and the atoning work of Christ. The counselee is left with trying to earn righteousness, or works-righteousness, which will lead to despair since its not empowered by the Spirit. The Spirit sancitifies the believer and is the source of authentic personality changes. He works sovereignly through grace, and the through the ministering power of the Word. Christian counselors are to use the Word, apart from the Word, their counseling is ineffective and worldly, and therefore loses its power.

Personal reflection
It must be really easy and tempting for the counselor to want to try and draw from past experiences to illustrate a point, or from past teachings, but drawing from one's background is useless and dangerous and confusing to the counselee if it incorporates wordly teachings or perceptions. (Col. 2:8) Experiences are not neccessarily grounded in truth, but they are convenient to draw from. One must guard against holding on too tightly to one's cultural backgrounds and secular educational influences in this regard. The counsel of the Holy Spirit is at times contrary to the wisdom of the world(Isaiah 55:8-9), and he must remain sovereign in the lives of surrendered believers. If the goal of the Christian counselor is for the Christian counselee to bear good fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control), against which there is no law(Gal. 5:23), then the two must be in agreement to be led by the Spirit and the Word, or they will accomplish nothing in their sessions(John 15:5).

Scripture
Counsel’s source is God:
Job 12:13 To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.

God’s ways higher than our own:
Isaiah 55:8-9:
8For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.9 As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Psalm 16:7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.

Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.

Psalm 107:11 for they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.


Scripture as a counselor:
Psalm 119:24 Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness., so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.


Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor:
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.

Isaiah 40:13 Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor?


Foolish counsel by wise wordly men:
Isaiah 19:11 The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; the wise counselors of Pharaoh give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, "I am one of the wise men, a disciple of the ancient kings"?

Isaiah 47:13 All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you.

Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.


The Holy Spirit is another counselor, who testifies of Jesus:
John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—

John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

John 15:26 When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.

Fruits of the Spirit:
John 15:5 5I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Galatians 5:22-23 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.