The Whole Counsel of God

by Chris Simmons

When the apostle Paul met with the Ephesian elders in Miletus, he not only warned them of the spiritual challenges that awaited them (Acts 20:28-32), but he reminded them of his work and labor among them. As he spoke of his prior work among the brethren in Ephesus (Acts 20:18-27), Paul reminded the elders of a key aspect of his preaching among them. That is, Paul preached the entirety of God’s revealed message to them. He held nothing back. “You yourselves know … how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house … For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose (counsel, ASV) of God” (Acts 20:18, 20, 27). When Paul preached the “whole purpose (counsel) of God”, what is it that he proclaimed?

The Greek word which has been translated “purpose” (NASV) or “counsel” (ASV) is ‘boule’ which means “volition, counsel or will.” An important characteristic of this counsel, purpose or will of God is that it is unchanging. We read in Hebrews 6:17-19, “in the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, in order that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have strong encouragement, we who have fled for refuge in laying hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul …” Preaching the whole counsel of God does not change over the generations.

To preach the “whole counsel of God” is to bear the responsibility to preach the whole of what God revealed. Truth is not part, or even most, of God’s word. Truth is nothing but the whole of what God revealed. David wrote, “The sum of Thy word is truth, and everyone of Thy righteous ordinances is everlasting” (Psalms 119:160). We should be reminded of God’s directions to Jeremiah the prophet, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, who have come to worship in the Lord's house, all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. Do not omit a word!’” (Jeremiah 26:2). Though controversial topics may not be desired by the hearers, preaching the “whole counsel of God” must be done when they want to hear it and when they don’t (cf., II Timothy 4:3-4).

Who is responsible for the proclamation of the “whole counsel of God?” Elders must be able to teach and to refute error (I Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:9-11). Preachers must “retain the standard of sound words” (II Timothy 1:13) and “speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1). The doctrine will not be “sound” if any part of it is omitted. All saints are expected to grow to become teachers of not just the “milk” of the word, but the “solid food” as well (Hebrews 5:12-14). Parents are responsible for ensuring that their children are brought up in the “discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). Parents have no right to choose which portion of the Lord’s discipline and instruction to bring their children up in.

Comments made by brethren today indicate that all are not grounded in what the “whole counsel (purpose) of God” includes. For example, the “whole counsel of God” includes teaching from both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Indeed we are now under a new and better covenant (Hebrews 8:6) which is the law of Christ (I Corinthians 9:21). But we must not forget the importance of studying from the Old Testament to understand what led us to Christ (Galatians 3:24), and to learn from the examples taught in the Old Testament of both faith and obedience (Hebrews chapter 11) as well as sin and disobedience (I Corinthians 10:1-11). We must heed the instruction of the Old Testament. “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

The “whole counsel of God includes both the doctrine of Christ and the apostles’ doctrine. Some brethren today would suggest that what the apostles taught is not as important, significant or binding as that which Christ taught and that we should not teach or preach the apostles’ doctrine nor be concerned about standing united in what they recorded in scripture. Such an attitude reflects ignorance of the fact that Christ promised that the Holy Spirit would be sent to them to “guide” them into “all the truth” (John 16:13) and that Christ commissioned them to “go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). Both Paul and Peter stated that what they spoke and recorded were not their opinions but were in fact the “Lord’s commandment” (I Corinthians 14:37; II Peter 3:2). We are promised fellowship with the “God of peace” when we follow that which we have “learned and received” from the apostles (Philippians 4:9).

Though not found in scripture, today’s religious pop-culture has created the phrases “positive preaching” and “negative preaching.” Brethren today gather for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desire for positive preaching and shun those whom they deem to engage in negative preaching. Authors today write that the only way for churches to grow is to avoid negative preaching and only provide positive preaching. Though difficult to define unscriptural terms, my presumption is that such people want preaching that includes the message of forgiveness and redemption but does not seek to convict people of their sin. The “whole counsel of God” must include both as we see in Acts chapter 2 where Peter had to convict them of their sin before he could preach the means of salvation. Preaching the “whole counsel of God” includes:

- That which we are to “put on” and that which we are to “put off” (Colossians 3:5-14).

- Reproofs and rebukes as well as exhortation and encouragement (II Timothy 4:2).

- The eternal punishment of the disobedient and the eternal reward for the faithful obedient (Romans 2:6-10).

- The weightier matters of the law and the “others” (Matthew 23:23).

Simply put, “the whole counsel of God” leaves nothing in the word of God out and the “whole counsel of God” is what we must love and demand. Nothing more, nothing less.