But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, that the Father will send in My name, He is the One Who will teach you everything and remind you of everything that I told you.

It’s a good thing that God provided the Spirit to give all remaining revelation to the apostles, as well as to enable them to remember Jesus’ ministry so as to write inerrant Gospel accounts (See also John 12:16). We know that He met with them for forty days following His resurrection talking to them concerning the things that pertained to the church (Acts 1:3), but it was only after the Spirit of truth came upon them that they were given “all truth” (John 16:13), including prophetic understanding of the future. To know that they received all the truth that the church will ever have is important for many reasons, among which are the following:

1. We can be sure that claims to additional revelation are false, and know, therefore, to reject them.
2. We can know that there are no more prophecies to be forthcoming.
3. We can know that the Scriptures, in which all truth is deposited, are sufficient for our lives.
4. We can know that the more that we study the Bible and come to know the truths therein, the closer we come to knowing all the truth that God has disclosed (not that any of us gets all that far).
5. We can know that there is a source of truth available to those who ask the Spirit to enable them to access and appropriate it as they study the Bible.
6. We can know that God has completely provided a fixed rule of faith and practice for us in a world where everything else seems uncertain.

How richly God endowed us when in the coming of the Spirit, we also received all truth through the apostles!

Check out our online course, Theology and Counseling taught by Jay Adams!

Books related to dealing with problems:

1. A Theology of Christian Counseling by Jay Adams
2. Sanctification and Counseling by Jay Adams
3. A Call for Discernment by Jay Adams

The Christian Counselor’s New Testament and Proverbs, translated by Jay Adams

Visit our online bookstore for all your biblical counseling resource needs.
For biblical counseling training, check out our list of INS Online Courses.

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The post All Truth appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.

Books related to Forgiveness:

1. From Forgiven to Forgiving  by Jay Adams
2. Handbook of Church Discipline by Jay Adams
3. How to Handle Trouble by Jay Adams

Check out our online course, Church Discipline/Forgiveness taught by Jay Adams!

The Christian Counselor’s New Testament and Proverbs, translated by Jay Adams

Visit our online bookstore for all your biblical counseling resource needs.
For biblical counseling training, check out our list of INS Online Courses.

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The post Forgiveness for Sin against the Holy Spirit? appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.

First, we are often told that the Scriptures have no record of gifts that have ceased. I should like to say that such an assertion is contrary to fact.

Listen to this,

Having ascended to the heights, He . . . gave gifts to the people (Ephesians 4:8) . . . He gave some as apostles, some as prophets . . . (Ephesians 4:11).

Now, I’m writing to those who agree that there are today no apostles or prophets. On that assumption, connect the verses above and notice that these two “gifts” have ceased.

Next, let me indicate why they have.

In Ephesians 2:20, Paul speaks of the church as having been built “on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.” When you build, you first lay the foundation. When that’s completed, you build upon it. But you don’t continue to do foundational work up the walls and on to the roof! Foundational work goes on at the outset, and comes to a completion when a foundation is laid. Since their task was foundational, it ceased when completed. And, since they are long gone, the work has been completed.

One more note—The foundational work that they did was revelational, as Ephesians 3: 5 makes explicit when it speaks of data that were “revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.” Since we have no prophets and apostles, there is no more revelation to be had—revelation was foundational work. And since we need no more revelation (having received all we need in the Scriptures written by the apostles and prophets), we need these offices no longer.

And, finally, in that regard, remember that revelation is complete since “all truth” was given to the apostles by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13). He enabled them to remember (inerrantly) all that Jesus spoke, so that they could write the Gospels with complete accuracy (John 14:26).

Check out our online course, The Use of Scripture in Counseling, taught by Jay Adams!

1. What to do on Thursday
2. The Christian’s Guide to Guidance 
3. A Call for Discernment

The Christian Counselor’s New Testament and Proverbs, translated by Jay Adams

Visit our online bookstore for all your biblical counseling resource needs.
For biblical counseling training, check out our list of INS Online Courses.

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The post Extraordinary Gifts Have Ceased appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.

Check out our online courses, including, Introduction to Nouthetic Counseling and  The Use of Scripture in Counseling, taught by Jay Adams!

Books related to counseling others:

1. Competent to Counsel by Jay Adams
2. The Christian Counselor’s Manual by Jay Adams
3. How to Help People Change by Jay Adams
4. Check out our Bookstore for all the best counseling books!

The Christian Counselor’s New Testament and Proverbs, translated by Jay Adams

Visit our online bookstore for all your biblical counseling resource needs.
For more biblical counseling training, check out our list of INS Online Courses.

Follow INS on Social Media:
– Facebook: noutheticstudies
– Twitter: @noutheticstud
– Instagram: @noutheticstudies

The post Gifts — Part 2 appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.

Check out our online courses, including, Introduction to Nouthetic Counseling and  The Use of Scripture in Counseling, taught by Jay Adams!

Books related to counseling others:

1. Competent to Counsel by Jay Adams
2. The Christian Counselor’s Manual by Jay Adams
3. How to Help People Change by Jay Adams
4. Check out our Bookstore for all the best counseling books!

The Christian Counselor’s New Testament and Proverbs, translated by Jay Adams

Visit our online bookstore for all your biblical counseling resource needs.
For more biblical counseling training, check out our list of INS Online Courses.

Follow INS on Social Media:
– Facebook: noutheticstudies
– Twitter: @noutheticstud
– Instagram: @noutheticstudies

The post Gifts — Part 1 appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.

There are serious problems with this all-too-frequent misuse of Paul’s words. Let me mention two:

1. Neither the term “prompt,” nor anything like it, ever occurs in the Scriptures as a means of assurance. The Bible allows for no such personal, individual revelation. People may have what they think are hunches, promptings, and the like, that originate from the Holy Spirit, but they have no biblical basis for interpreting these inner feelings as such. In particular, this verse teaches just the opposite, as I wish now to show you.
2. The word translated “with” is the Greek term, sun, which means “together with.” It never has the meaning assigned to it that is required by McDavid’s understanding. The verse simply cannot mean that the Spirit “testifies to our spirit”—as his interpretation requires.

Check out our online courses, including, Introduction to Nouthetic Counseling and  The Use of Scripture in Counseling, taught by Jay Adams!

Books related to counseling others:

1. Competent to Counsel by Jay Adams
2. The Christian Counselor’s Manual by Jay Adams
3. How to Help People Change by Jay Adams
4. Check out our Bookstore for all the best counseling books!

The Christian Counselor’s New Testament and Proverbs, translated by Jay Adams

Visit our online bookstore for all your biblical counseling resource needs.
For more biblical counseling training, check out our list of INS Online Courses.

Follow INS on Social Media:
– Facebook: noutheticstudies
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The post Promptings by the Spirit appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.

“What?”

About “inner strength.

“What’s that?”

Well, let him tell you himself:

That in keeping with His glorious riches, by His Spirit, He may make it possible for you to be strengthened with power in the inner person.       Eph. 3:16

“Oh good! You just gave me a new entry for my 3:16 list of verses!”

Glad for that, but did you get what He was saying?

“Well, not exactly.”

Paul had mentioned the afflictions that he suffered for Christ (v. 13). Amazing how he kept going in spite of them!

“Yep.”

Well, have you ever thought what it was that enabled him to keep up serving Christ?”

“Gratitude?”

Certainly that! In 2 Corinthians 4:1 he makes that clear. But how do you think that he could keep from giving up merely out of gratitude?”

“Something to do with that Ephesians verse you just quoted?”

Right on! He needed internal strength (lit., dunamis, which means power or strength). And in v. 20 he says that power “is working in us.”

“How is that?”

We don’t understand all of the particulars, but he says that it is the Spirit that provides it. The Spirit helps him see the length and breadth of Christ’s love for him, and this puts him back to work if he is ever tempted to give up.

“Hmmmm.”

Indeed! And we learn a bit more about this in Philippians 2:13:

since it is God Who is producing in you both the willingness and the ability to do those things that please Him.

Clearly, Paul did much by the Spirit’s power, and he says that God is doing the same thing for the Philippians.

“So it’s not for apostles alone?”

Nope. It’s yours if you ask for it. Paul prayed that all those who were in his churches would be empowered with H.S. dunamis. So we can have it too. Sure, there are a lot of times when you want to throw the towel in. But you don’t because of His inner strength.

“Wow!”

But, remember, it has to do with enabling you to do the things that please God.

Check out our online courses, including, Introduction to Nouthetic Counseling and  The Use of Scripture in Counseling, taught by Jay Adams!

Books related to counseling others:

1. Competent to Counsel by Jay Adams
2. The Christian Counselor’s Manual by Jay Adams
3. How to Help People Change by Jay Adams
4. Check out our Bookstore for all the best counseling books!

The Christian Counselor’s New Testament and Proverbs, translated by Jay Adams

Visit our online bookstore for all your biblical counseling resource needs.
For more biblical counseling training, check out our list of INS Online Courses.

Follow INS on Social Media:
– Facebook: noutheticstudies
– Twitter: @noutheticstud
– Instagram: @noutheticstudies

The post Inner Strength appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.