THE WHOLE COUNSEL OF GOD

For some time, a particular Scripture verse has persistently come to mind. It's found in the story in the book of Acts where the Apostle Paul is saying good-bye to the elders and believers at Ephesus. He had just finished telling them that he would never see them again. This is one of the very tender scenes in the life of the great Apostle - there on the shore, embracing, kissing and weeping with the elders of the church before boarding the boat for Jerusalem. Of course the reason I'm bringing this Scripture to our attention is for a different reason, after all, this is not a farewell sermon! But as we head down the road into a new year, it is well to pause at this passage and be renewed in our vision of faithfulness to the Word of God. Paul had previously ministered in Ephesus for three years, but now he was on his way to Jerusalem with full knowledge that he would face "prison and hardships" (v.23).

In his final message to the church, this is what Paul said in Acts 20:27:

"I have not shunned (hupostello) to declare unto you all the counsel of God." (KJV)

"I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God." (NIV)

"I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God." (RSV)

This was actually the second time in this same speech that Paul claimed that he had not neglected to tell them the truth:

"You know that I have not hesitated (hupostello = "keep silent out of fear") to preach anything that would be helpful to you (advantage you) but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus." (Acts 20:20, 21)

The part that raises a question is when Paul uses the phrase "all the counsel." The Greek word for "all" is "pas" - a form of this word, "pan" is found in such words as "Pan-American," "pantheon," and "panacea."

But first, let's try to understand what is this "counsel," or "will." It is from a simple Greek word, "boule" which in turn is from a word which means "volition." So the "counsel of God" is His "advice, purpose, counsel, resolution, or decision."

The word is found a number of times in the New Testament.

Concerning David, it is said that he "fulfilled God's purpose in his generation." (Acts 13:36)

However, this is not to be confused with the "sovereign will of God." Why? Because it can be resisted (Romans 9:19) and rejected (Luke 7:30) by men who have been granted true freedom of choice.

We learn from the preaching and prayers of the Apostles that the crucifixion of Jesus was according to the "will" and "purpose" of God. (Acts 2:23; 4:28)

Both Peter and Paul identified one of the great purposes of God: "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (II Peter 3:9 - see also I Timothy 2:4)

Our question is, how could anyone possibly make the claim that they have communicated "all" the will or counsel of God? As far as we know, Paul was preaching in Ephesus for little more than two and a half years. Do you think that in that short amount of time he could have preached through the entire Old Testament as well as sharing what he had learned from Mark's Gospel and his own revelations during the three years of training by the Holy Spirit prior to the launching of his ministry? Besides, how could all there is to know about God ever be told by limited human beings? Just concerning Jesus, another Apostle wrote that if everything about Jesus were written down, "I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." (John 21:25)

So, what could Paul possibly have had in mind?

Obviously, to start with, he must have meant that he was not intent on fulfilling his own will and purpose - he wasn't in the ministry of preaching the Gospel to fulfill his own desires or plans. Furthermore, when Paul taught, he did not select his teaching content according to his own ideas of what was important.

And certainly Paul must have had in mind that he did not limit his teaching to include only those things which are pleasing to the ears and eyes of the flesh. No doubt he had in mind that he was required to present a balanced view of the truth - he had not presented half truths, or only one side of the coin, so to speak.

Among other things, for us, this means:

If we're going to speak of salvation, we must also speak of sin.

Grace does not do away with Law - both are necessary.

If there is faith, there must also be works.

The teaching of the Gospel includes the idea that Jesus is both man and God

While we keep an eye on the past, we also look to the future.

If we believe there is a heaven to gain, we also believe there is a hell to shun.

We may seek to live happily, but we also strive to live holy.

While we enjoy the abundance we receive from God, we are also determined to share it through tithes and generous giving.

For the Christian there is both prosperity and sacrifice.

There's healing, but there's also suffering.

We are called upon to talk the talk, but also walk the walk.

While we know that His burden is light, we do not shirk working hard for the Gospel.

In the Word there's both comfort and challenge.

In the Word there's both delight and demand.

            We know the joy of celebration but also the weeping in repentance.

While we assume full responsibility for our own welfare, we also make every effort to minister to the needs of others.

Though "we walk in the light as he is in the light," we also must "walk through the valley of the shadow of death."

We've come to experience God's love as well as His wrath.

While we love God, we also fear Him.

You see, the "whole counsel" requires balance - both halves of the truth are needed. Otherwise it would be like a boatman trying to row his boat with only one oar, or an airplane pilot trying to bring in the plane with only one landing wheel down. Isn't it easier to walk when you have the use of both of your legs? Is there really any such thing as a "one arm paper hanger"? Isn't perspective lost when there is only one eye to use?

During his meeting with the Ephesian elders, Paul worried out loud about "savage wolves" who will "distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them." (v.30) Distorting the truth doesn't necessarily mean that there's falsehood; half-truths are just as dangerous, or perhaps even more dangerous than falsehoods.

However, we are not totally left to guessing what Paul may have had in mind when he referred to the "whole counsel" - within the text itself there are a number of clues:

For example, he refers to "repentance and faith" in verse 21 - it is according to the "will" and "counsel" of God that we repent and believe. However, let's not get caught up in the ancient argument about which comes first, after all, why would anyone repent without at least believing in God? And what kind of faith would it be that didn't result in repentance? The point is simply that the "whole counsel" includes both repentance and faith.

According to verse 24, the "whole counsel" also includes "the gospel of God's grace" - the good news that salvation is freely given to all who believe, a very important item in Paul's understanding of God's will.

The "whole counsel" also involves the idea that the church has been "bought with his own blood" (v.28).

There's great encouragement in his statement that "the word of his grace . . . can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified." (v.32)

And this "counsel" includes a warning - Paul says, "I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears." ( v.31)

However, Paul not only instructed by word; the content of his preaching can also be seen by his example. In this case, the "whole counsel" must be seen including such things as humility, persecution, total dedication to the cause of the Gospel, an absence of covetousness, and hard work:

"I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews."(v.19)

"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me -- the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." (v.24)

"I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: `It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" (vs. 33-35)

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, called “The Greatest Victorian Preacher,” was only 19 years old when the Park Street Chapel in London called him to their pulpit on a three-month trial. He remained until his death nearly 40 years later.

Although the Park Street Chapel could seat 1,200, attendance had dwindled to about 80 people. Spurgeon’s preaching was so powerful, however, that within one month of his arrival, overflow crowds waited in the street to hear him.

When Spurgeon was 21, he founded “The Pastor’s College” to train men for the ministry. Eventually 900 men graduated from this school, and Spurgeon planted 200 churches from their ranks.

By the time he was 27, the church completed building a larger facility, Metropolitan Tabernacle in downtown London. Seating 6,000, it was the largest Protestant church in the world.

When Spurgeon died in January, 1892, “sixty thousand people came to pay homage during the three days his body lay in state at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. A funeral parade two miles long followed his hearse from the Tabernacle to the cemetery. One hundred thousand people stood along the way." ("Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Greatest Victorian Preacher,” By William P. Farley in Enrichment Magazine)

The year before his death, Spurgeon had addressed the Pastor’s College Conference for the last time. For that solemn occasion, he titled his message, “The Greatest Fight in the World.” Tucked away in the middle of this address, Spurgeon proclaimed, “we accept the obligation to preach everything which we see to be in the Word of God, as far as we see it. We would not willfully leave out any portion of the whole revelation of God, but we long to be able to say at the last, ‘We have not shunned to declare unto you the whole counsel of God.’”

As one example, Spurgeon added this comment:

“In the case of the terrible truths known by us as ‘the terrors of the Lord’: their omission is producing the saddest results. A good man . . . has most faithfully written again and again to the papers to say that the great weakness of the modern pulpit is that it ignores the justice of God and the punishment of sin. His witness is true, and the evil which he indicates is incalculably great. You cannot leave out that part of the truth which is so dark and so solemn without weakening the forces of all the other truths you preach. You rob of their brightness, and their urgent importance, the truths which concern salvation from the wrath to come. Brethren, leave out nothing. Be bold enough to preach unpalatable and unpopular truth."

"Be very careful. Do not go an inch beyond the line of Scripture, and do not stay an inch on this side of it. Keep to the straight line of the Word of God, as far as the Holy Spirit has taught you, and hold back nothing which he has revealed.” ("The Greatest Fight in the World, C.H. Spurgeon's Final Manifesto," p. 35, 36)

Now today, whenever a modern-day, faithful preacher of the Word reads the account of this great English preacher, and discovers that when Spurgeon was 17, and the village church at Water beach called him to be their pastor, the church’s congregation of 40 quickly swelled to 400 - when today's preachers learn this, they are prone to wonder, why is it that it doesn't work today? Simple, clear teachings from the Bible do not attract a crowd.

Evidently, people today want something more -

They want to meet in a well appointed church building, warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

They want interesting and exciting programs for their children and teenagers.

They want to hear the latest up-tempo worship music provided by skilled singers and band.

They want to associate with people within their own socio-economic class.

They want meeting times to match their life-style.

They want to hear uplifting and encouraging messages that provide common sense ideas on how to be happy and successful in this life.

And they want preaching that grabs and keeps their attention by roving speakers who never need to check their notes, rival the best in stand-up comedy, and deliver their talks with a passion that convinces listeners that every message is the most important.

In this day, the pastors who draw the crowds are those who are able to capitalize on contemporary marketing ideas - the successful pastors are not necessarily those who preach the Gospel and instruct the saints in holy living, but those who promote their church. In an environment dominated by "sound bite" media, crowds gather to hear those who focus on attractive phrases such as "purpose driven," "health and wealth," “possibility thinking,” and "seeker friendly."

What kind of excitement is generated when people are simply told, "Our preacher preaches the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth"?

I'm afraid we are today facing the fulfillment of Paul's prophecy when he wrote what was probably his last letter: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears." (II Timothy 4:3 - "to itch" by implication means "to tickle.")

In explanation of this term "itching ears," one commentary says: "They wanted to hear new things or smooth things, such as would reflect the caprices of a corrupt nature"

Another, older commentator writes: "[they] like to hear teachers who give them mere pleasure (Ac 17:19-21), and do not offend by truths grating to their ears. They [the teachers], as it were, tickle with pleasure the levity of the multitude [CICERO], who come as to a theater to hear what will delight their ears, not to learn [SENECA, 10.8] what will do them good. 'Itch in the ear is as bad in any other part of the body, and perhaps worse.'"

"They will turn away their ears from the truth; they will grow weary of the old plain gospel of Christ, and then they will be greedy of fables, and take pleasure in them, and God will give them up to those strong delusions, because they received not the truth in the love of it (II Thessalonians 2:11, 12). Observe, (1) These teachers were of their own heaping up, and not of God's sending; but they chose them, to gratify their lusts, and to please their itching ears. (2) People do so when they will not endure sound doctrine, that preaching which is searching, plain, and to the purpose; then they will have teachers of their own. (3) There is a wide difference between the word of God and the word of such teachers; the one is sound doctrine, the word of truth, the other is only fables. (4) Those that are turned unto fables first turn away their ears from the truth, for they cannot hear and mind both, any more than they can serve two masters. Nay, further, it is said, They shall be turned unto fables. God justly suffers those to turn to fables who grow weary of the truth, and gives them up to be led aside from the truth by fables."

Perhaps we are now living in the last days. The question for us is this, Will we join the crowds that seek teachers who please the flesh, or will we seek to be part of the remnant that holds firmly to the Word of God, the "Whole Counsel of God"? Today we stand with Paul, "warning each of you night and day with tears" not to forsake or neglect the Word of God, the "Whole Counsel of God."