God’s Omnipresence in Counseling

By Wendy Wood

God is always fully present.  The whole of His being is always everywhere.

Heath Lambert says “God is always present everywhere with the fullness of who He is”

Hildebert of Lavardin  was a French theologian from 1055-1133, and A.W. Tozer quoted him in Knowledge of the Holy.  “God is over all things, under all things, outside all; within but not enclosed; without by not excluded; above but not raised up; below but not depressed; wholly above, presiding; wholly beneath, sustaining, wholly within, filling”

Stephen Charnock said, “God is not measured by time, so He is not limited by place… God, because infinite, fills all, yet so as not to be contained by them, as wine and water is to a vessel.  He is from the height of the heaven to the bottom of the deeps, in every point of the world, and in the whole circle of it, yet not limited by it, but beyond it”

Psalm 139:7-10 shows the comfort that comes from God’s presence.

Where shall I go from your Spirit?

    Or where shall I flee from your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, you are there!

    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

If I take the wings of the morning

    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

even there your hand shall lead me,

    and your right hand shall hold me.

This is meant to be a comfort and blessing.  We cannot take ourselves outside of God’s presence.  Even if we try to run away, God is there.  This is a comfort for the children of God, but a warning to others.  Life is meant to be worship all day, every day.  We are to live with God’s presence and being at the forefront of our thoughts.  For unbelievers, this should cause fear.  God is always there - and to ignore Him is of greatest concern.

Psalm 23:4 says, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for you are with me”

God’s presence should turn our fear into peace.  We have the all-powerful God with us at all times.  No matter how grim our circumstances may be, they are not more powerful than the God who is with us.

Hebrews 13:5 promises, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

When Moses is called to be the leader of the Israelites, he insists to God that he is not the right person for the job.  He says no one will listen to him, he says he is not an eloquent speaker, he gives several excuses.  God’s response is “I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say.”  Exodus 4:12

When Jesus gave the great commission to go and make disciples of the nation, the command was given with the tremendous encouragement that He would always be with them, as He is with us.

God’s presence should lead all of us to pursue holiness.  God sees what we think, say, and do.  When Joseph is seduced by Potiphar’s wife, he says “How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?” (Gen 39:9)

Our counselees need to truly believe and trust that God is with them, even when they choose sin.  God calls us to “acknowledge Him in all our ways” (Prov 3:5-6) knowing that He sees and rewards each according to his deeds.

A sinner should see God’s presence as an accountability and an encouragement to make choices that honor and please Him.  When faced with a temptation, stopping to think about God being right there with you, should cause a child of God to choose righteousness.

A suffering counselee should be encouraged to find hope and comfort with God’s presence.  Whether the counselee is suffering in loneliness, or suffering in fear of illness, unknown future, broken relationships, or any other suffering on this earth, God is with them and in His mercy, He acts.  James 4:8 says “draw near to God and He will draw near to you”.  We are encouraged to seek God in prayer, to draw near Him in His word.  It is through His word and Holy Spirit that God brings the comfort of His presence.

I have had counselees who suffered such severe trauma that God’s presence caused them concern and confusion and even doubt.  How could a good God let this happen?  How could God be present when a child is sexually abused by her father?  Or how could God be present when the fatal traffic accident happened and took a loved one?  

There are definitely things about God and His attributes we don’t know or understand.  Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

We don’t know exactly why God allows certain things to happen.  But we can know God as He describes Himself in Scripture.  We know He was present in this trauma.  We have a High Priest who is sympathetic with our sufferings.  We have a Savior who also suffered as an innocent Person and completely understands how shame and hurt impact us.  We know that He was powerful enough to prevent it so we can trust that He had a plan and purpose even if we don’t know what it is.  We know that He is holy, and therefore is not defiled by evil or affected by evil in any way.  We know that He is merciful and cares deeply when His children are hurt.  Over and over again in the Gospels we see Jesus having compassion on people who were like sheep without a shepherd.  Embracing the love of God as Father and Shepherd in all His attributes should bring hope to his children.   I encourage my counselees to go to God in prayer over these situations.  They can honestly express their hurt and confusion while at the same time trusting in God’s attributes and purpose.  Ultimately we have the promise of Romans 8:28-29 that God is using even the evil of this world for His glory and the good of His children in conforming them to the image of Christ.  God’s goodness means that He will be compassionate and present and draw a humble and tender heart deeper into relationship with Himself through life’s most difficult events. 

You will need to study and know God well before entering the counseling room.  Even if you never choose to counsel, knowing God is of utmost importance as it leads to worship and right living.  We cannot worship what we do not know and we won’t choose holiness if we are not thinking rightly about God.

God’s Omniscience in Counseling

By Wendy Wood

God’s omniscience means that God has complete knowledge of everything and everyone.

A.W. Pink  says,  “God knows everything: everything possible, everything actual; all events and all creatures, of the past, present and the future.”

A.W. Tozer expands on God’s omniscience saying, 

“God possesses perfect knowledge and therefore has no need to learn.  But it is more; it is to say that God has never learned and cannot learn. God perfectly knows Himself, and, being the source and author of all things, it follows that He knows all that can be known.  And this He knows instantly and with a fullness of perfection that includes every possible item of knowledge concerning everything that exists or could have existed anywhere in the universe at any time in the past or that may exist in the centuries or ages yet unknown.  God knows instantly and effortlessly all matter, all matters, all mind and every min, all spirit and all spirits, all being and every being, all creaturehood and all creatures, every plurality and all pluralities, all law and every law, all relations, all causes, all thoughts, all mysteries, all enigmas, all feeling, all desires, every unuttered secret, all thrones and dominions, all personalities, all things visible and invisible in heaven and in earth, motion, space, time, life, death, good, evil, heaven and hell.  Because God knows all things perfectly, He knows no thing better than any other thing, but all things equally well.  He never discovers anything.  He is never surprised, never amazed.  He never wonders about anything nor (except when drawing men out for their own good) does He seek information or ask questions.  God is self-existent and self-contained and knows what no creature can ever know - Himself, perfectly!”

When we really think about what God’s omniscience means, it should change the way we live and we want our counselees to be thinking rightly about God and His attributes so it changes the way they live!

God’s omniscience challenges our thinking when we determine with feelings that something happening to us or to those we love is not “right”.  We quickly make judgments about what should have happened or not happened based on whether it was what we wanted or expected.  This attribute of God is one we tend to doubt often.

God knows every potential event and every potential outcome.  In His perfectly Holy Omnipotence He can do anything and is working all things out according to His perfectly Holy will!  In His perfectly Holy Omniscience He knows everything completely so He always makes the right and best situation for us to bring about His purpose.  When we forget these things, even temporarily, we experience anxiety, frustration, distress, confusion, and anger.

Isaiah 40:13-14  says, “Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him his counsel?  Whom did he consult, and who made him understand?  Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge,  and showed him the way of understanding?”

God, in His word, often uses the literary device of rhetorical questions.  The reader knows that it would be absurd to think about man informing the Creator of the Universe about anything or how crazy an idea it is to think about helping God understand a situation.

Psalm 139:1-6  

O Lord, you have searched me and known me!

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

    you discern my thoughts from afar.

You search out my path and my lying down

    and are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue,

    behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.

You hem me in, behind and before,

    and lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

    it is high; I cannot attain it.

Psalm 139 makes God's knowledge personal.  God knows everything there is to know about you.  He knows you better than you know yourself.  He knows your thoughts perfectly.  He knows your actions perfectly.  He knows your words completely.  That God knows us completely is a huge comfort to His children.  However, it is also a warning that we cannot fool God.  We may be able to put on a good face at church or in our life group, but God knows you perfectly.  Every thought, word, and action that is done to get the praise of man is seen by God for what it truly is.  But, when we feel like no one understands us hurt or pain, we have a God who intimately knows us and His compassion is exactly what we need.

1 Samuel 2:3 says,  “ Talk no more so very proudly,  let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge,  and by him actions are weighed.”

Our counselees who think they are getting away with “secret sin” need to be reminded that nothing is secret from God.  God’s omniscience should be a deterrent to continue engaging in sinful behavior.

Psalm 94:9 reminds us,  “He who planted the ear, does he not hear?  He who formed the eye, does he not see?”

Hebrews 4:13 says, “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

In scripture we see God’s omniscience on display often when people think they are “getting away with sin”.  When God tells Abraham that he and Sarah will have a baby within a year, Sarah laughs, and God knows it.  When David is trying to cover his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah, God has Nathan call him out, “You are the man” who sinned.  Ananias and Sapphira think they can lie about how much money they sold their land for and give a smaller portion to the church, God knows the truth and both are killed instantly.  When Stephen is being stoned for His faith, God knows the hearts of the crowd and gives Stephen the assurance of heaven for his genuine faith.

There are many implications for counseling. For the counselor, we need to know that our knowledge is limited - greatly!  We do not perfectly know our counselees or their hearts.  We can see the fruit of their lives, (and even that is greatly limited by what they tell us)  but we do not know their motives perfectly or even if they are truly saved.  I have had counselees lie to me; sometimes I figure it out later and there are probably times when I do not.  I need to know that I am working with imperfect knowledge.  This drives me to pray.  I pray for God to help me see what I need to see.  I pray that God would give me wisdom and discernment.  I am very dependent on God every single time I walk into a counseling session.

As a counselor I want to ask good questions and keep asking questions.  Good counsel is given only when we are working from knowledge of the situation. 

Proverbs 18:17 says “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him”

It’s easy to hear one side of the story and be aghast at the situation, only to later realize you got one person’s interpretation of the situation and their spouse or the other person saw it totally differently.  We need to gather knowledge before we jump in to help.

Proverbs 18:15 says, “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.”

Let’s be wise counselors!

I already mentioned that the counselee who thinks they are involved in secret sin that doesn’t hurt anyone, is fooling himself.  God sees what is done in secret.  In the sermon on the mount, in Matthew 6, Jesus repeatedly tells his followers to do their good works in secret because “Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”  All the work of the stay-at-home mom that goes unnoticed by the world is seen and rewarded by God. All the kind responses to the angry spouse are seen by God and rewarded. The church member who prays in secret, the loving child that sits by the bedside of an aging parent, the late night prayers of a parent with a prodigal child, are all seen and heard by an omniscient God!  The same is true for sinful thinking, words, and actions.  God sees what is done in secret and rewards according to deeds.  Hebrews 4:13 that I mentioned earlier.

God’s omniscience should bring our counselees hope and rest.  God knows their situation completely.  God knows the difficult person the counselee is dealing with.  God knows the unfair treatment from their boss.  God knows the cancer cells and the failing organs.  Because God knows us and our situations perfectly, His compassion is full!  Psalm 139 says “this knowledge is too wonderful” another translation says “this knowledge is too deep”.  With finite minds we cannot understand the depths of God’s knowledge, but it should lead us to be confident in God’s ability and wisdom to work out our circumstances and relationships for His good purpose.  

Counselees can go to God in prayer knowing that nothing surprises Him or catches Him off guard.  We can encourage our counselees to genuinely lament and pour out their hearts to God.  He hears them.  He already knows what is on their heart and knows their situation perfectly. They are talking to God who is omnipotent and omniscient.  There is not one better to talk to!   Proverbs 15:29 tells us that God hears the prayers of His righteous children.  

Counselees who struggle with shame and struggle to trust in God’s forgiveness should be comforted by the fact that God knows all of their sins, past, present, and future, and that He chooses His children based on His own grace and mercy.  God is not surprised to learn about horrible sins we’ve done in the past.  He has even better knowledge of them than the sinner does!  

Let me end this attribute with one more lengthy quote from Tozer:  

“How unutterably sweet is the knowledge that our Heavenly Father knows us completely.  No talebearer can inform on us, no enemy can make an accusation stick, no forgotten skeleton can come tumbling out of some hidden closet to abash us and expose our past; no unsuspected weakness in our character can come to light to turn God away from us, since He knew us utterly before we knew Him and called us to Himself in the full knowledge of everything that was against us!”

God's Wrath in Counseling

By Wendy Wood

God’s wrath is defined as his consistent anger toward and punishment of wickedness.

Wayne Grudem says “God’s wrath means that He intensely hates all sin.”

The Dictionary of Theological Terms” says the wrath of God “describes the settled opposition of God’s nature against evil, His holy displeasure against sinners, and the punishment He justly metes out to them on account of their sins.”

Here’s where the fact that God is all of His attributes completely and wholly really matters.  God’s wrath is pure because it is who He is as a Holy and Just and Good God.  God’s wrath and anger are not like ours.  

Human anger is usually because of our sinful pride.  We get angry when we don’t get our way or we don’t like what someone is doing.  Anger is an emotion that expresses we are against something.  Anger is a negative evaluation of a situation.  

David Powlison defines anger as “an active displeasure toward something that’s important enough to care about.”  

Our anger is self-focused because we are sinners.  Even when we are angry about the right things, our sinful nature taints our anger.

God’s anger and punishment of the wicked is untainted by sin.  It is perfect.  A good and  just God must deal with sin.  To ignore sin and wickedness would not be good or just.  God displays active displeasure toward wickedness when He demonstrates wrath.

Let’s look at some scriptures:

Isaiah 13:9  “Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.”

Nahum 1:2-3, 6  “ The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies.  The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will be no means clear the guilty.  His way is in the whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.  Verse 6 “Who can stand before his indignation?  Who can endure the heat of His anger?  His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.”

Romans 2:5  “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.”

The Object of God’s Wrath

God’s wrath is revealed “against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men”.  

Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”

So God’s wrath is against sin.  It’s not uncontrolled or irrational.  God’s wrath is carefully pointed at sinners who are unrepentant.  

Ungodliness means someone lacks reverence, devotion, and worship which is idolatry.

Unrighteousness is how ungodliness people deal with other people.  Someone who does not have a right relationship with God through Christ will not do right with others - that is unrighteousness.

We are all born under God’s wrath.  Romans 3:10-12 says “None is righteousness, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God.  All have turned aside, together they have become worthless, no one does good, not even one.”

Romans 3:23  “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

This is key in counseling.  All our counselees must understand that they are born under the curse of sin, that they are enemies of God and dead in their sins. (Eph 2).  It is only through faith by grace that through Christ’s atoning work on the cross, God’s wrath is removed from a believer’s life.  God chose to put His wrath on Christ and thereby “justly” deal with sin in extending us grace.  Christ is our substitution in taking God’s wrath in our place for our sins.

Romans 3:23-26 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.  The was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.  It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

A believer is free of God’s wrath only because Christ's atoning work on the cross satisfied God’s wrath.  An unbeliever needs to understand that he/she is still under the wrath of God.

Another application to counseling is:  we must trust God’s wrath and not seek to administer vengeance of our own.

Romans 12:17-19 says “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.  If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.  Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

This verse also has implications for counselees.  The command is for us not to exercise wrath against others.  Our concept of justice is not holy and perfect.  Our anger is tainted by our sin nature and we will not execute justice perfectly.  God’s command is for us to live peaceably with people and to avoid vengeance.  

God’s judgment is perfect.  We are to leave room for it.  God promises to repay evil.  Our counselees who have been sinned against can trust God’s perfect judgment and that He will be just against unrepentant sin and display his wrath against it.  God cares about the evil in this world and God will punish evildoers in His wrath.  God who is both good and just and wrathful, will deal perfectly with all sin.  

God’s Mercy

By Wendy Wood

God’s mercy refers to God’s kindness to undeserving people who need help.

AW Tozer says, “Mercy is an attribute of God, an infinite and inexhaustible energy within the divine nature which disposes God to be actively compassionate.  Both the Old and New Testaments proclaim the mercy of God, but the Oldhas more than four times as much to say about it as the New.  We should banish from our minds forever the common but erroneous notion that justice and judgment characterize the God of Israel, while mercy and grace belong to the Lord of the Church…  He has always dealt in mercy with mankind and will always deal in justice when His mercy is despised.”

Mercy is not a temporary mood of God.  Mercy is an eternal attribute of God.  Mercy never “began” it has always been the very nature of God just as wrath has always been and will continue infinitely.

Mercy means to be actively compassionate.  

2 Corinthians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort”

All mercy ultimately flows from God who is mercy. There are many ways that God shows his kindness and goodness to undeserving sinners. Stop for a moment and think about all that God has given to you that you do not deserve. Scripture says “The wages of sin is death” and yet here we are, waking up each morning, seeing the beauty of creation, enjoying relationships, having food, clothing, and shelter, and the even greater mercies of Christ’s atonement, relationship with God, God’s word readily available. All of these, and so much more, are from the Father of mercies.

Psalm 103:8  “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

Mercy is God’s goodness confronting human guilt and suffering. Even in our sin, God is slow to anger and shows mercy in His patience and gentle correction.

There is a “general mercy” that all men have received.  Psalm 145:8 says “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”  And Acts 17:25 says God “gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”  All people receive the general mercy of life and being sustained by God each day.  Colossians 1:17 tells us that Christ holds all things together and provides food, shelter, relationships and everything else out of His mercy. Just being alive is due to God’s mercy. God gives all men, believer and unbeliever, mercy in life in giving time to repent, relationships to enjoy, beauty to gaze at, and varied foods to enjoy.

There is “sovereign mercy” that is only for those who are His children in Christ. 

Salvation is a gift of mercy.  

Titus 3:5 says, “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness but according to His own mercy by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.”

Ongoing forgiveness is a gift of mercy to God’s children.  And God stands ready to help His children.

Hebrews 4:16  “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

For God’s children, mercy is available through Christ and God is always merciful toward them.  God’s kindness is shown in ongoing forgiveness and help at all times.  No one deserves salvation or forgiveness or help.  It is only out of God’s essense of mercy that we receive those gifts.

In counseling, God’s mercy is a huge encouragement.

For a counselee struggling with guilt and shame over sins or their inability to measure up to God’s holiness, we can remind them that justification is a gift of mercy.  

Ephesians 2:4-5 says, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trepasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved”.

Have your counselee stop and think about the fact that they were dead. Spiritually dead. There was nothing they could do to make themselves alive. There was nothing they could do to make themselves right with God. God’s mercy is to be celebrated and appreciated. God’s mercy should lead us to worship Him and love Him more and more.

For an unrepentant counselee we must warn them that God’s wrath will be revealed against their ungodliness and unrighteousness and point them to the kindness and mercy of God in offering His Son as the propitiation for their sins.  

We are to extend mercy to our counselees.  We are to listen carefully to their heart and lovingly engage with them.  Romans 12:15 calls us to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice.  Matthew 5:7 tells us that the merciful are blessed because they will receive mercy.  

Our counselees can grow in extending mercy - kindness toward undeserving people - as they work through the counseling process to become more like Christ.

God’s Holiness in Counseling

By Wendy Wood

When the angels sing to God they sing Holy, Holy, Holy (Revelation 4:8 and Isaiah 6:3).  They don’t sing “Faithful, faithful, faithful”, or “Love, Love, Love”.  The repetition of Holy Holy Holy is significant.

Stephen Charnock says God’s holiness “is the crown of all His attributes, the life of all His decrees, the brightness of all His actions.  Nothing is decreed from Him, nothing is acted by Him, but what is worthy of the dignity, and becoming of honour, of this attribute.”

Charles Hodge says “Holiness is a general term for the moral excellence of God… Holiness, on the one hand, implies entire freedom from moral evil and, on the other, absolute moral perfection.  Freedom from impurity is the primary idea of the word.  To sanctify is to cleanse; to be holy is to be clean.  Infinite purity, even more than infinite knowledge or infinite power, is the object of reverence.”

God’s holiness is His moral excellence and absence of sin.

Wayne Grudem says God’s holiness means He is “separate from sin and devoted to seeking his own honor”.

John Piper says, “God’s holiness is his infinite value as the absolutely unique, morally perfect, permanent person that he is and who by grace made himself accessible — his infinite value as the absolutely unique, morally perfect, permanent person that he is.”

Heath Lambert defines holiness as “God’s devotion to himself as God above every other reality.”  

Lambert is the only one I have ever seen use this definition of holy.  What is unique about this definition is that it does not pull apart the Hebrew and Greek words for Holy - which mean “set apart” and “other”.  I agree that God must be devoted to His own glory and honor because He is so worthy of it.  It just doesn’t seem like a definition but the result of His holiness.

The word Holy means “set apart”.  God is “other”.  His holiness puts him in an entirely separate realm than anything or anyone else.  When something in the bible is referred to as “holy” it means it is set apart for God.  We are to keep the sabbath day holy by setting that day aside for God.  Believers are to be holy and set apart for God’s purpose.  Romans 12:1 says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”  We are not to conform to the world but to renew our minds and live separately from the world.

Because God is holy, because He is the essence of goodness and moral purity, because He is set apart and distinct from everything and everyone else, He must pursue His own honor and glory.  He is the only Being worthy of worship.  God’s devotion to Himself is because He is supremely holy.  If God were to be devoted to anyone or anything else, he would be an idolater.  

Isaiah 6:3 speaking of the seraphim around God’s throne “one called to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory”

Isaiah 57:15 says, “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy.”  

God’s very name is Holy.  When God names Himself we should pay attention and note the importance of the attribute.  

Revelation 4:8  is another view of God’s throne and the angels are singing “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.”

Exodus 15:11  says “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?  Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deed, doing wonders?”  

Other translations say “glorious in holiness”.  God’s Holiness on display is what brings Him honor and glory.

God’s holiness is seen in his works.  “The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works” (psalm 145:17).  God can only produce that which is morally excellent.  When God made the world, He declared everything “good”.  

God’s holiness is manifested in his law.  “The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just and good.” (Romans 7:12)  Everything that God commands and says in His word is holy - it is set apart for His honor and glory.  

God’s holiness is seen in the cross.  God’s holiness is seen in His abhorrence of sin and the lengths He went to to punish sin.  God’s hatred of sin is seen in His plan to crucify His Son and forsake His Son to punish sin.

Every counselee needs to understand that sin separates sinners from God and it is only through faith in Christ’s atonement that we can be in relationship with Him.  

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  

God provides for us what is needed to meet His requirement.  God provided for Himself the sacrifice to cover sins once and for all.  A holy God providing a way for us to be made holy and blameless before Him is worthy of much worship!

Because God is holy and hates sin, He calls all His children to be holy also.  

1 Peter 1:15-16 “But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Ephesians 5:1  “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.”

This is essential to counseling as our goal is to minister the word of God to sinners and sufferers to the glory of God.  We display God’s glory when we imitate God and grow in holiness in our thoughts, words and actions.   God is glorified as sinners become more and more like Christ, which is to say progressively more holy.  Believers are to take on the likeness of their Heavenly Father and be conformed to the image of Christ.  As our counselees learn to put off their sin, renew their minds, and put on Christlikeness, they are obeying the command to be holy for God is holy.  Growing in holiness is a life-long process all believers should be striving for.

God’s holiness means that as a completely “other” and “set apart” Being, He is worthy of our worship and devotion.  Our counselees should be growing in their awe and reverence and commitment to God as they study His Word, learn His attributes, and meditate on and behold the glory of Christ.

God’s Omnipotence in Counseling

By Wendy Wood

A.W. Tozer says, “Omnipotence means having all power”.  

Heath Lambert says “Omnipotence means that God is able to do anything consistent with his desires as God”.  

John MacArthur says “The omnipotence of God is His ability and strength to bring to pass whatsoever He pleases”.

When we talk to counselees or anyone about God’s power, we should include the absolute truth that while God is infinitely and completely powerful, He is also infinitely and completely wise and infinitely and completely good.  He is all-knowing (which we will get to in a later blog) so as He exercises His power to bring about His will and purpose, we can trust that He will use His power according to His Holiness.

It’s important to include that God’s omnipotence is His ability to do whatever He pleases because there are things that God can’t do.

Numbers 23:19  “God is not man, that he should lie,  or a son of man, that he should change his mind.  Has he said, and will he not do it?  Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”

Titus 1:2 and Hebrews 6:18 also say that God cannot lie. God is holy, good, and righteous so His actions and words must be holy, good, and righteous too.

God cannot change. He is always, forever the same God. He does not give grace and then have less grace than before. He is grace. He does not do a mighty work and then lose strength or power. He is always the same because He is not made up of parts, but He is all His nature at all times. 

Malachi 3:6  “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.”

Hebrews 13:8 tells us that Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.

God cannot be faithless or deny Himself. His faithfulness is holy, and morally perfect. He will always keep His word because He is the definition of faithful.

2 Timothy 2:13 “If we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself”.

Scripture teaches that God’s omnipotence means His power and sovereignty reign supremely.

Isaiah 59:1 paints the picture of God’s arm being strong enough to accomplish His purpose and that He is powerful to hear His children.

  “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear”.

Jeremiah builds confidence in God's power that there is nothing we can face that is too difficult for God to handle.  When we see His power demonstrated in speaking the universe into being, we rest in His power over all things.

Jeremiah 32:17 says “Ah, Lord God!  It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm!  Nothing is too hard for you!”

Ephesians 3:20 says that God is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.

God’s power is incomprehensible to us.  We simply cannot even imagine what “all-powerful” truly means.  But meditating on God’s omnipotence should lead us to worship Him and celebrate that the all-powerful God is FOR His children.

A few key scriptures for this attribute are:

Ephesians 1:11 reminds us that God uses His power to accomplish His purpose. 

“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will”.  

God never stops working all things according to His will.  Every moment of every day, God is working every word and action in every person to accomplish His will.  We see in scripture where God is powerful over people's hearts and uses even evil kings to bring about His will with His people.  We see in the story of Joseph that God used Joseph’s sinful brothers selling him into slavery to preserve Israel by moving them to Goshen through Joseph being second in command in Egypt.  We see God’s power to accomplish His will in using the Pharisees, Pilate, Herod, and Romans soldiers to crucify His Son as His plan of redemption is worked perfectly.  All things are working according to the counsel of His will because He is all-powerful.

We see this again in  Psalm 33:10-11 says “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.”

Job 42:2  says “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”

God is all-powerful and no one and nothing can alter or change or prevent God’s plan.

Psalm 115:3 “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.”

There are so many verses in the Bible that talk about God’s omnipotence and ability to do all He pleases to carry out His will perfectly.

If there is something that God cannot do or if there is something that can thwart His plan, He is not God.  God’s omnipotence is essential to His being. 

An omnipotent God is the only One able to fulfill all His promises.  Despite a counselee’s circumstances, their weakness or inability, or the schemes of the Devil,  God is all powerful and will fulfill His purpose.  This should bring tremendous comfort to every counselee.

God’s power matched with His holiness means that His purpose is always perfect and, however a counselee may be suffering, they can rest in God’s ability to use each situation to His glory the counselee’s good in conforming the counselee to the image of Christ.

God is powerful over human hearts.  Proverbs 21:1 says,  “The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.”  

When a counselee is dealing with a difficult person in their life they can trust that nothing is happening outside of God’s will.  Even when someone is sinning against our counselees, God is still more powerful than that person and God’s will will always prevail.  

Job 42:2 that God can do anything and nothing can thwart his plan is again helpful for all counselees.  There is no boss, child, spouse, illness or situation that is more powerful than God.  He will truly use “all things” to fulfill His purpose as Ephesians 1:11 and Romans 8:28-29 state.

Let’s encourage our counselees to celebrate God’s omnipotence. They can find rest for their souls as they depend on God's power and not their own. They can trust that God has the ability to bring about His perfect plan and purpose. There is nothing more powerful than God, not a hurricane or tornado, not a virus or cancer cell, not a spouse or boss. God is powerfully working His plan at all times.

Isaiah 46:10-11 says, “for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country.

I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it”

None Like God

By Wendy Wood

AW Tozer says “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

God is not like you!  

There is such a vast difference between Creator and creature that we do not really comprehend God.  

Augustine said, “If you comprehend, it is not God you comprehend. Let it be a pious confession of ignorance rather than a rash profession of knowledge. To attain some slight knowledge of God is a great blessing; to comprehend him, however, is totally impossible.”

There is no way for a finite sinner to comprehend a Holy God. Scripture makes this clear.

Isaiah 40:28  says “his understanding is unsearchable”

Isaiah 46:9 says “I am God, and there is none like me”

Isaiah 40:17-18 “All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.  To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare him with?”

If we know anything about God it is because He has chosen to make it known. God chose to write a book and reveal His nature to us and chooses to be in relationship with His children. His revelation of himself is a gift!  Our response to his revelation about himself is not to demand more, but to meditate on what is revealed in scripture and worship.

The theology term for God’s essence is “simple”.  Simplicity means that God is not made up of parts; he is not composite or a compounded being.  It is not theologically precise to say God possesses attributes; rather He is His attributes. 

A. W. Tozer says , “The doctrine of the divine unity means not only that there is but one God; it means also that God is simple, uncomplex, one with Himself. The harmony of His being is the result not of a perfect balance of parts but of the absence of parts. Between His attributes no contradiction can exist. He need not suspend one to exercise another, for in Him all His attributes are one. All of God does all that God does; He does not divide himself to perform a work, but works in the total unity of His being.

The divine attributes are what we know to be true of God. He does not possess them as qualities; they are how God is as He reveals Himself to His creatures. Love, for instance, is not something God has and which may grow or diminish or cease to be. His love is the way God is, and when He loves He is simply being Himself. And so with the other attributes.” (chapter 3, Knowledge of the Holy)

God does not lose any of His being as He shows grace or mercy.  Those are not things that are dispensed.  Grace and mercy is who God is.  God does not expend strength as a person does.  We may expend energy and be tired.  God never changes. 

God is Goodness itself.  All that is good is imitating the nature of God.  

God is Truthfulness.  All truth is truth because it is mimicking the very nature of God, who is Truth.

God is Triune.  The Father, Son and Spirit are not parts of God.  The Trinity is three persons.  Each Person does not possess part of the divinity, nor does each person make up a part of God like you need to add up the qualities of each to be the totality of God.  Instead, each Person of the Trinity equally and fully shares the undivided essence of God.  The Father is God and all His attributes.  Jesus is God and all His attributes.  The Holy Spirit is God and all His attributes.  God is not divided!

Each Person of the Trinity has different roles, but each is equally and fully God.

For example:

The Son came incarnate and died on the cross.

The Holy Spirit illuminates scripture and reminds us of the truth of God’s word.

The Father sent the Son and it is His will that is fulfilled.

God is not like you!  He is all that He is at all times and never changes.  He is always all that He is - nothing is lost, used up, or lessened, EVER.

God is independent of the created order.  He is self-sufficient and self-existent.  He is life in and of Himself.  God has always existed as all of Himself and will always exist as His whole being.

A.W. Tozer says, “When we try to imagine what God is like we must of necessity use that-which-is-not-God as the raw material for our minds to work on; hence whatever we visualize God to be, He is not, for we have constructed our image out of that which He has made and what He has made is not God.  If we insist upon trying to imagine Him we end with an idol, made not with hands but with thoughts, and an idol of the mind is as offensive to God as an idol of the hand…  For while the name of God is secret and His essential nature incomprehensible, He in condescending love has by revelation declared certain things to be true of Himself.  These we call His attributes.” - from Knowledge of the Holy

What types of counseling situations need to address the attributes of God? Maybe your counselee is experiencing ANXIETY over an illness or a difficult situation with a child or spouse.  Or, you may have a counselee who is experiencing DEPRESSIVE type symptoms over being alone or struggling through a long-term suffering.  A person might seek counseling for a life-enslaving sin like alcohol or pornography.  A counselee may be seeking help to forgive a past hurt or to learn how to work through conflict in a relationship.  Whatever situation or sin a counselee is facing, be thinking about these attributes of God, how each attribute can bring HELP and HOPE to a counselee. Every counseling situation needs to involve a study of God.

I start EVERY counselee off with studying God’s attributes.  Whether the counselee is primarily a sinner or sufferer, knowing God is key.  I give them reading on about 12 attributes of God that explain who God is and how their circumstances can be viewed differently because of those truths.  Our counselees come in for help because they are looking at their circumstances and don’t know what to do.  They are so consumed with life’s situations, that their view of God is getting smaller.  When the prodigal son came to his senses in the pig pen, he recounted the goodness of his father and all that his father had done for him.  When Nebuchadnezzar comes to his senses after 7 years of acting like a cow, he looks up and thinks rightly about God.  Our counselees need to get their eyes on God.  Then, their circumstances will be viewed through the lens of truth that a Holy, Merciful, Omnipotent, Omnipresence, Omniscient God is with them and for them!

Are You Repentant?

Are You Repentant?

By Wendy Wood

Do you have a sin that you struggle to mortify and put to death in your life? Is there a recurring sin like gossip, or being irritable, or recurring thoughts that dishonor the Lord in your life? How do we assess our repentance when we continue to struggle with the same sin for months and maybe years? We believe that the power of sin over us has been broken. We are no longer slaves to sin when we are in Christ. Romans 6:6-7 assures us, “​​We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.” If we are truly free from sin, no longer enslaved to it, how do we think about habitual sin in our lives? Romans 6 tells us that we are slaves to righteousness, but we must choose obedience. Verses 16 - 18 go on, “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,  and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” In order for us to be slaves to righteousness, we must truly repent of our sin. To repent means to turn. We turn away from the sinful thoughts, desires, words, and actions and we turn toward God and righteousness and holy. To repent is to live differently, godly, and to  be freed from habitual practices that dishonor God and to serve God’s will by obediently following his commands and precepts.

In this blog let’s look at repentance and what it means to “turn”. Repentance is not just an admission of wrongdoing. Repentance is not a willingness to say you could have done better or differently. Repentance is not being disappointed in  yourself or thinking badly of yourself because you expected better of yourself. Repentance is also not just being upset about the consequences of sinful actions or feeling bad about what your sinful words or actions caused. Repentance is not about you! 

Repentance is about God and His standard of holiness. If we love God and care about his honor and his Name being made great through our lives, we will care deeply when we do not act in a way that honors him. Throughout the New Testament, believers are referred to as saints and holy. As saints and having been counted as holy because of Christ’s righteousness imputed to us, we are to “walk in a manner worthy” of those designations. When we fail to desire, think, speak, and act as we should as saints and holy people, we are not loving God and have not displayed his glory. The heart of a believer is grieved by this. God has called us to “put to death what is earthly in you” and “put to death the deeds of the body”. If we “love the Lord our God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength” we care deeply when we do not live up to what it means to be a “little Christ” or “Christian”. 

A clear look at what it truly means to be repentant is found in 2 Corinthians 7:11. “For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.” In this verse there are many descriptions of genuine godly sorrow. Some of them are feelings that happen within a sinner, but there are also specific changes in thoughts and actions that prove the sorrow is truly repentance and not just a bad feeling. 

As you read through this description of godly sorrow that leads to repentance, is this you?

As we look at the description of godly grief, examine yourself. Think about that pesky sin that you keep returning to time and time again. Does this description match how you view your sin before God? Do you have the same view of your sin that God has? Another way to think about that is, “if you could see God standing next to you and reading your thoughts, hearing your words, and seeing your actions, would you still do things the same way?” Have you really repented of this sin?

Paul talks about eagerness being produced by godly sorrow. The Greek word is spoude which means “to make haste” or to make oneself diligent to deal with something quickly. We should “make haste” to deal with our sin when we are first convicted of it. If something is extremely important or a top priority for us, we deal with it in a way that demonstrates that. So think about yourself. What changes have you made to show that dealing with this sin is a priority in your life? How have you demonstrated in your thoughts, words, and actions that you are eager to change? Or, are you nonchalant about sin and not making it a priority in your life to change? Is there something in your thoughts, words, and actions that shows laziness in dealing with sin? Take time to name the specific sin you are eager to deal with. Write a plan to be intentional and proactive in putting this sin to death as a top priority in your life.

Next from 2 Corinthians 7:11 we see an eagerness to clear yourselves. The Greek word here is apologia which means to answer for oneself or to make a defense with reasoned argument or statement. This is not a defense of the sin or explaining the sin or excusing the sin! In an eagerness to clear yourself by demonstrating that you want to change and are different. It might be that you are talking to a mature believer and explaining the changes you have made. You are showing or proving yourself to be different in being able to name the sin and how Christlikeness needs to be put on in its place. Again, examine yourself. Have you talked with another believer and shared how you are changed in thought, word, and action? Have you thought through and implemented what it looks like to honor God in your situation? Or, have you made excuses for your lack of change and continue to repeat the sinful pattern in your life? Maybe you think or say, “no one is perfect” or “I’m not as bad as I used to be” as an excuse for continuing on in the sin. Take time to name the sin that you need to be clear of. Write down how you are making changes in your thoughts, desire, words, and actions and be specific. Share with someone else how you will be working on this change and ask them to pray for you and help you stay accountable.

The next description from 2 Corinthians 7:11 is indignation. The Greek word is 

aganaktesis which means “to be much displeased”. When we are indignant over sin we hate the sin! We think through what God thinks about sin. Scripture clearly states that God hates sin and calls it an abomination before him. Have you thought about how your specific sin is viewed by a holy God? Take time to think about God and his nature. What aspects of God’s holy attributes are you defiling and rebelling against in your sin? Examine yourself. What thoughts reveal that you hate your sin and take it seriously? What reveals that you hate your sinful thoughts, words, or actions? Or, have you downplayed your sin? Have you made excuses or blamed someone else for your sin? Do you try to justify your sin and make it seem like it’s not that bad? An understanding of God’s holiness and how “other” he is is helpful in having a right view of your own sin. Take some time to study God’s holiness.

Fear is the next description listed in what genuine godly sorrow which leads to repentance looks like. The Greek word is phobos which just means to be in fear of. It is a dread or a terror. This can be a fear of remaining in the sin. This is a healthy fear that takes into account the seriousness of sin. To fear being in sin is to recognize that sin separates us from God, that sin will grow if it is not dealt with biblically. To fear the sin is to take God’s honor and glory seriously and not want to displease God. Fear is also the awareness of God’s glory and honor. God is just. God does discipline his children when they are wayward. It is good and right to fear the discipline of the Lord and to fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28). If we truly fear our sin, we will take steps to avoid temptation and prepare to take the “way of escape” that God provides (1 Corinthians 10:13). Examine yourself. Do you have a fear of remaining in sin and continuing down the same path? What steps have you taken to avoid temptation and to demonstrate that you don’t want to keep on sinning? Or, are there ways you are still making provision for the flesh? Are you keeping yourself open to be tempted or in a place where you might fall into old patterns? Take time to think through when you have typically sinned in this area. What thoughts, actions, places, people do you need to guard against or remove from your life out of fear of continuing to sin? Make a list and pray that God would help you have a healthy fear of your sin.

Next, Paul talks about having a longing,  or desire regarding holiness and purity. The Greek word is epipothesis which means to greatly desire or earnestly want something. This means that we long or desire to be godly. We desperately want God to change us and make us more holy and more like Christ. This involves praying for God to change us. Not once, but continually confessing and pleading with God to change our hearts, to give us a great love for him, and to work godly thoughts, desires, words, and actions into our souls. This serious longing means that every time we sin in thought, word, or action we confess and repent again. We take thoughts captive to Christ and don’t allow sinful thoughts to continue or go unchecked. Examine yourself. Do you stop and confess every time a sinful thought enters your mind? Do you truly long to be a slave of righteousness and honor God in every moment of the day? Or, do you harbor thoughts that indulge your sin? Are you inwardly content to continue in your sin even if your words say otherwise? Take time to assess your heart. What demonstrates your longing to be changed? Are you diligently praying for God to change you while you actively work to think godly thoughts?

Paul asks, what zeal are you demonstrating that displays your godly sorrow? The Greek word is zelos which means fervent or excitement in the mind, a love of defending, embracing or pursuing something. To be zealous about sin is to want to protect and defend the people who have been hurt and affected by your sin. Having zeal is a demonstrated eagerness to treat others more significant than yourself (Philippians 2:3-4). Rather than justifying or blaming sin on others, zeal openly embraces the other person’s view and actively puts into practice words and actions that demonstrate change has taken place. Zeal, like all the other descriptions of genuine godly sorrow, starts in the heart that hates sin and longs to honor and please God, but it doesn’t stop in the heart. Zeal is noticeable. Zeal is evidence in words and actions that demonstrates change on the inside has happened. Take time to examine yourself. What evidence is there in your outward life that inward change has taken place? Do others see a change in your attitude and demeanor that is explained by a love for God? Or, are you trying to fake change by doing “good deeds”  that don’t match your heart? Are you attempting to cover up sin or make up for sin by being “nice”? I often call this “getting out of the doghouse behavior”. When you know others are unhappy with you because your sin has hurt them, you try extra hard to be nice for a while so the relationship goes back to a more comfortable state. Do not confuse this with zeal for honoring the Lord!

Next, 2 Corinthians 7:11 describes godly sorrow as “what punishment”. Other translations use the word vindication. The Greek is ekdikesis which translates as avenge or revenge. The bible uses this Greek word to mean meting out justice or avenging a wrong. Godly sorrow accepts the consequences of sin without complaint or grumbling. A truly repentant person doesn’t chafe at not being trusted for a while or refuse to accept whatever consequences match the sin. Rather than protecting self, a person with godly sorrow sees the need for justice to be done and patiently handles the consequences of sin. Yes, a believer is forgiven in Christ, but sin still has earthly consequences and a repentant person willingly absorbs the cost of that sin. Restitution is made through repayment and that is not just financial. It may be restitution through great accountability of time, internet use, limited interactions with specific people, or whatever is necessary to begin rebuilding relationships with those who have been hurt. Take time to examine yourself again. Do you invite rebuke when you have sinned? Are you graciously owning your sin and the consequences that have come about as a result of the sin? Do you welcome others to speak into your life and areas where they have concerns? What in your attitude and words demonstrates that you are open to correction? Or, do you defend yourself and grumble when you feel punished for past sins? Do you have an attitude that makes you unapproachable about your sin? Again, think about the specific sin in question. Have you made yourself available to talk with others and receive help?

Paul finishes the list with proving yourself innocent in the matter. The Greek word is hagnos which means holy. It is a desire to prove yourself pure and set apart for God. Proving yourself innocent means that moving  forward, you are eager to honor God and be known as a person who is pursuing a holy life and is genuinely changed by God. Holiness is a pursuit. We are told in Hebrews to pursue holiness. This pursuit is an intentional, specific, life-long determination to be more and more like Christ as God continues works in our lives to bring our justification, sanctification, and glorification to completion. He will complete the work he has started in us (Philippians 1:6)! We do need to use the disciplines of grace made available to us - studying the Word, meditating, sitting under the teaching of God’s word, fellowship, baptism, communion, etc. We need to prove ourselves by taking new actions that reflect Christ. Examine yourself. Do other people see change in you? Would other people characterize you as a person who longs to be holy and innocent of wrongdoing? Or, do others see you continuing to be the same? Would they say you are the same person with the same sin struggles as a year or two ago? What in your life is demonstrating your repentance?

All believers should examine themselves (2 Corinthians 13:5). When we are dealing with a stubborn sin pattern, we must be diligent to pray about it, asking God to change us and work holiness in us. We must be diligent to specifically work through these descriptions of godly sorrow and prayerfully work to hate our sin and long to demonstrate our growing love for God in turning away from sin. Change doesn’t happen in vague terms. Take time to write out your specific sin and pray through this list of descriptions of godly sorrow, seeking God to renew you each day.

Sharing In Suffering and Comfort

Sharing in Suffering & Sharing in Comfort

2 Corinthians 1:1-11

By Marianne Castillo

The Apostle Paul was intimately acquainted with suffering. He experienced trials and persecution

all throughout his ministry. In Corinth, false teachers were accusing him of being arrogant and assaulting his character. Paul had the suffering of confronting sinful men and churches. In addition, Paul was imprisoned and whipped. He was chased out of towns and suffered journeys and while at sea. Yet, as Paul knew great suffering, he also knew great comfort because he knew the ultimate Comforter. He shared the comfort he received from God with others. We are called to do the same!

Now in 2 Corinthians 1:1-11 the church in Corinth was suffering due to persecution, they were suffering for righteousness. Paul, knowing exactly what that feels like went back to the Corinth Church to share in suffering and share in comfort and encourage the church to suffer well.

Discussion Questions:

Have you suffered for righteousness? Are you suffering in ministry?

Can you relate to Paul?

Even if you are suffering for other reasons you can learn from Paul and take biblical truths that are encouraging, comforting, and apply to your lives as you suffer. Now let’s dive in and unpack each verse!

VS. 1-2 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

These verses are a greeting to the recipients. Paul is writing to the Church of Corinth. He explains he is a messenger sent by Christ. The words he is about to share are not for his own personal gain, but for Christ and the people. He also explains that Timothy is with him, his life partner in ministry. In every letter Paul begins with his greeting of “grace to you and peace from our God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”. He is giving praise to God and acknowledging that God the Father and Son are to be lifted up. We see here that Paul understands who his Lord is and who he submits too.

VS.3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort

In verse 3 we see a characteristic of God. He is merciful! He holds back what we deserve. He is a God of loving kindness, and he is tenderhearted. He is also a God of comfort! There is an emphasis here that God is a God of “all” comfort. This means in everything and anything God will always comfort! John MacArthur says, “it is God who is the ultimate source of every true act of comfort”. “Comfort” in the Greek means to come alongside and help. God was coming alongside Paul comforting him by providing him with strength and courage in his suffering.

Therefore, people who fear the Lord have God to strengthen them in the midst of suffering. The one true God who is all powerful and gives us strength to endure suffering.

Take a couple minutes to sit in silence and chew on that!

Before we move on to verse 4, let us define “affliction”. According to the Blue Letter Bible, some other words to define affliction would be, anguish, pressure, burdened, tribulation, and troubled. One definition even says, crushing pressure.

Discussion questions:

Do you feel crushed right now?

Are you in anguish or troubled?

What burden are you carrying around right now? Do you have a close friend in tribulation?

VS. 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

The God of ALL comfort, WILL comfort, strengthen, encourage, and exhort, us in our anguish. When it feels like the walls are caving in, HE promises to comfort his children! We have a compassionate, gracious, good God!

This might be surprising to hear, but there is a purpose to our suffering! Not only is there comfort from God for ourselves, but there is comfort for those around us. As believers we are called to comfort others who are in tribulation with the same comfort we have received by God. We are not made to suffer alone! Suffering is an opportunity to serve one another and be in sweet fellowship with one another. After Paul received divine strength from God in his suffering, God then used him to comfort and strengthen the Church in Corinth.

Discussion Questions:

As you are suffering, who are you comforting?

Who are you ministering to in the midst of suffering? Who are you sharing burdens with?

Who are you allowing to comfort you?

Or are you isolating yourself? Are you suffering alone?

VS. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

We suffer because Christ suffered. We are not promised a life without suffering. But we are promised comfort and reward as we suffer righteously.

Discussion questions?

Are you suffering righteously?

Are you suffering in a way that pleases God and brings his glory, honor and praise?

1 Peter 4:12-14 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

When we are suffering due to persecution and do what is pleasing to God, we share in Christ suffering. This is the most intimate suffering we as believers will experience. We are able to rejoice in our suffering, because of Christ.

Romans 8:18

“and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him”.

VS. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer.

The body of Christ will be afflicted as a whole, but Paul is encouraging us to comfort and encourage one another, together growing in patience and endurance.

We need to be careful not to have a pity party and isolate ourselves in the midst of suffering. Bring it out in the open and allow others to encourage you and you encourage others. This could be a reason why Paul is emphasizing so much that we are to share our suffering with others.

Discussion questions: 

Have you had a pity party? 

Are you in one right now?

Let us humbly lay our burdens at his feet and let God and others comfort us with God's Word, as well as comfort others in the midst of your suffering.

VS. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

Some people in the Corinth Church were also suffering from righteousness, like Paul, and he took the opportunity to encourage them, even though this Church caused him much pain in the past.

Through verse 7 we see the compassion and care Paul has for the people suffering and we see Paul’s humility through his willingness to help the people who were easily convinced to believe false accusations against him.

Discussion questions:

Would you be willing to do the same?

Would you be willing to comfort and encourage others who at one point caused you hurt? It would take much humility and it would be difficult, BUT with Christ you are able to!

VS. 8-9 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

Paul is explaining the suffering he and Timothy went through in Asia. He is beginning to share his suffering. In this he is setting an example of being open in his suffering, being humble, and expressing his weaknesses. Paul and Timothy were having much trouble in Asia to a point where they thought they were going to die. We are not given details, but it was so discouraging and immense that they thought their ministry and life was going to come to a close. There is something significant to point out in verse 9. There is another purpose to suffering! “So that” they would depend on God. So that we turn and trust in God, who raises the dead, the God who delivers us. God does not ever promise a life without suffering. And there will be times in our life when God brings us to the end ourselves. However, that does not mean that he has forgotten about us or cares for us any less. It is because he loves us and cares for us that he allows suffering in our lives. It is for our good and his glory and to make us more like his son, to sanctify us, and make us holy. That is loving!!

Paul chose to remind himself that God is ALL powerful by saying he is the God who raises the dead.

Discussion questions:

In the midst of your suffering are you meditating on the character of God?

What attributes are you clinging to?

How are you praising God in your suffering?

Are you waiting for it to be over? Or are you enduring the anguish through worship?

VS. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.

Paul renews his mind and encourages the Church that God has delivered us from eternal damnation. And he will deliver us again from a world of suffering in Christ's second coming. We can rest that our hope is in Christ!

VS.11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

In the last verse of this section Paul ends asking the Corinthians for prayer. Paul understood the power of prayer and the importance of the body of Christ praying for one another. Paul trusted in the sovereignty and power of God. He understood that God's will would be accomplished, however believers are called to lift one another in prayer, expressing their dependence on the Lord.

Discussion questions:

Have you asked people to pray for you as you endure suffering? Are you praying for others as they suffer?

Are you praying with one another in person?

I am so thankful to our Great God for using Paul as an example of what it looks like to suffer well. God was the ultimate comforter back then and he STILL is the ultimate comforter now! God yearns for his children to draw near to his throne in suffering. He wants you to lay your burdens as his Holy feet and trust in him completely. God wants you to share your suffering that he has allowed in your life with the Body of Christ. As well as share the comfort that he provides with the body of Christ. You are not made to suffer alone! Endure the tribulation and suffer well in Christ!

The Biblical Heart Part 8

The Biblical Heart Part 8

By Wendy Wood

If you haven’t read The Biblical Heart Part 7, please go back and do that now. This blog is a continuation of the repentance process started in the previous blog.

In the process of repentance and change, only genuine heart change at the level of desires has eternal value. We aren’t after just behavior change. If the change of behavior isn’t coming from a change in what is loved most, the change is temporary and has no eternal value. Only a greater love and fear of God brings genuine, God-glorifying change.

The first step of repentance is contemplation:

How has a holy, holy, holy God thought about their sin? 

What attributes of God have been dismissed or disregarded as your counselee has pursued sin?

What lies have they believed about God in pursuing their sin?

Contemplate:

How has my idol forsaken God?

How has my idol been a broken cistern in my life?

For example, someone who seeks pleasure in pornography or excessive eating, is saying “God’s comfort is not enough, I have to get comfort somewhere else”. This person may be doubting God’s goodness in the circumstances of their life or doubting God’s wisdom as he withholds something that they want.

Someone who sinfully desires control is telling God his sovereignty and plan for the universe isn’t as good as their own plan is! They are doubting God’s power, goodness, faithfulness, wisdom, and love at the very least. 

As our counselees think about what their sin really is revealing about their beliefs about God and how much they distrust Him. This leads to a more complete repentance and a hating of sin.

Then Jeremiah 2 tells us that next our counselees made idols for themselves.  They were leaky, insufficient, unsatisfying and unlasting idols, but that is what they did.  They looked to earthly comforts of social media, food, alcohol, shopping, or even church activities to make them feel good.  They turned to yelling and being harsh in an attempt to gain a false sense of control rather than trust in the God who is sovereign.  We want our counselees to ponder and consider how their idols have been sin against God Himself.

Hopefully after spending time renewing their minds about God, they are seeing more clearly the foolishness of treasuring, desiring, and worshiping anything other than God.  They need to spend time with God confessing their idolatry and asking God for forgiveness and cleansing.

Repentance also needs to include contemplating the thoughts, words, and actions that were sinfully used to try to get their idol.  

Contemplate your sin against others:

What thoughts, words and actions have been sinful as I have sought my idol?

Maybe your counselee has yelled at their family when interrupted from a comfortable evening.  Your counselee needs to see the connection between desiring comfort and being willing to sin against family members to obtain that idol.  

The counselee needs to contemplate how that sin has impacted each family member.  

So maybe on their Ephesians 4:22-24 worksheet that first section looks like this:

What is my idol?

I have loved comfort more than God.

How has this manifested in my life?

I have yelled at my children when they interrupt me.

I have selfishly sat and done my hobbies rather than engage my family. 

I have wasted time that I could have served my friends and family

I have wasted money on food, clothing, games to increase my comfort.

As they have thought through their sin, now they look at their wrong thinking.  In order to “renew their minds”, they need to identify what thoughts they have that don’t line up with Biblical thinking. What are the lies they tell themselves that lead to sinful desires.

Wrong thinking/believing:

I deserve a break when I get home from work. I should have time to relax and enjoy myself.

I should not have to repeat myself. My children should just obey!

God has withheld what I need. This isn’t fair.

Once they have their wrong thinking identified, they can begin to renew their mind in truth. You will want to choose scriptures that encourage a high view of God and verses that deal directly with the idol and sin involved.

It may be helpful at this point to have your counselee renew their mind about specific commands and promises of God also. 

If their idol has been approval, it may be helpful to study Proverbs 29:25 and Galatians 1:10 or read about biblical characters who struggled with fear of man and the consequences suffered for their idol. 

It may be helpful to study how God calls us to speak truth in love to others even if the other person becomes upset with us. 

If the idol has been control, it may be helpful for your counselee to study scriptures about trusting God and the practical implications of faith.  

You want them to have “renewed thinking” about God and how He calls them to live out practically the truth He is God and there is None like Him.

Scriptures to Renew Mind:

Assign scriptures that address the idol and specific areas of sin your counselee struggles with.

Psalm 139:16 1 Corinthians 10:31

Job 42:2 Matthew 22:37-39

Proverbs 6:6-11 Philippians 2:3-4

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 Philippians 4:19

John 3:30

Counselees should have a list of 6-10 verses to meditate on. Meditation is its own full teaching so please check out our website for homework assignments and articles on “Thoughts”. 

Our counselees should consider what the verses say about God, themselves and their sin.

We want to guide counselees to grow in their love and fear of God.

We want them to consider how they have failed to live up to God’s standard,

And what specifically they need to change in their lives.

Then they are ready to work on New Thoughts.

I want them to quote what new thoughts they will rehearse in their minds based on the scriptures studied. 

They should also commit a few verses to memory.

New thinking (Quote new thoughts)

God does not promise me an easy, comfortable life. I am called to shepherd my family, even when it’s not convenient.

Conflict in my home is a window into my heart. I will examine my desires when I am tempted to yell at my children.

God’s plan for my life is perfect in his wisdom and timing.

I am called to serve others as Christ humbled himself to serve sinners.

At this point, we want our counselees to plan to act on their growing love for God and the new, biblical thinking they have.

Change won’t happen if it’s not specific. The idea to “be kinder to my family” will not produce much change. The more specific the action can be, the better. This is preparing our counselees for the moment of temptation that will come. It is in that moment that they need to stop and pray, and ask God for help to obey Him and honor Him in their response.

After sin has been contemplated. The sin must be confessed, first to God and then to people who have been sinned against. The offender should be clear about what their sin was, how is was offensive to God and how it affected other person. It is helpful to include how the offender is committing to acting in the future. Confession should end with “will you please forgive me?” Forgiveness is transactional. One person asks for forgiveness, and the other must extend forgiveness.

Let’s use the prodigal son as an example of this change process. He is off in a foreign land working on a pig farm.

The Prodigal son contemplates first. He realizes he has blown all his money. He thinks about how he is feeding pigs and would be better off if he could eat the food himself. Scripture says, “when he came to himself”. He has thought through his sin and is ready to go make a confession of his sin.

The prodigal goes home to confess. He starts with admitting he has sinned against God, then he sinned against his father.

In the prodigal son example, the Prodigal says “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” 

Confession will lead to restitution. 

Restitution is making things right in ways you have been wrong before.

The prodigal makes restitution by saying,  “I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” “Treat me as one of your hired servants”

He is saying, “I accept the consequences for my sin. I am willing to pay a price for how I have sinned against you, taken your money, and dishonored you. I will accept the consequences for my sin”

Repentance must include contemplation, confession and change.  

Contemplation should bring remorse and godly sorrow over sin. Confession should lead to restitution and making things right with the people who have been sinned against. The goal is reconciliation as change becomes evident in the life of our counselees. Repentance should be not only the fruit of words and behavior, but of the very heart idol that led to the sinful behavior.

The final step of transformational change is putting on Christlikeness.

New Actions:

I will recite 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 each day and pray that I will trust God’s comfort and I will recite Job 42:2 when tempted to get comfort my own way.

I will not pick up my phone when I walk through the door until my kids go to bed.

I will spend time each day asking my wife and children questions about their day and how they are doing.

I will not buy comfort items impulsively. I will stop and pray about my heart and motive.

I will speak words of encouragement to my children and wife each day.

I will pray with my wife and kids before bed each night.

We want our counselees to be prepared with practical ways to apply God’s word and the truths about God they have learned in counseling.  We want them to spend several weeks in counseling putting these action plans into place.  We are helping them form new habits of responding in ways that honor God and their love for God grows.

The goal of repentance is reconciliation. Just as our contemplation of sin and confession to God results in His forgiveness and a reconciled relationship with Him, we want human relationships to be reconciled as well.

The prodigal son goes home and reconciles with his father. The relationship is restored and reconciled as they celebrate a feast together. 

Repenting of idols and sinful behavior will lead to reconciliation with God, both initially and on-going fellowship with God. And, it should lead to on-going Godly relationships with others. We cannot guarantee that human reconciliation will be complete. The older brother in the story of the prodigal son does not welcome his brother home or offer forgiveness. The story ends with the older brother refusing to go into the party and celebrate. Our counselees may ask for forgiveness from those they have sinned against and they may not receive the human forgiveness they are seeking. But our counselees can take comfort in honoring God in their own hearts by repenting and obeying God’s commands.

Some counselees will need to work through several action plans for different idols or patterns of sin in their lives.  They will be ready to graduate when they are consistently making choices to honor God, are quick to repent and seek forgiveness when they stumble back into old ways, and are continuing to pursue a greater love for God on their own and in community with fellow believers.

Our counselees have worshiped their way into their idol and need to worship their way out of their idol. 

Only a greater love for God will replace the love of an idol.