Archive for Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Principal Person
Posted by: | CommentsJesus Christ now dwells invisibly in His church in the person of the Holy Spirit. Before leaving His disciples, Jesus assured them that the Father would send them “another Counselor … the Spirit of truth.”1 The Greek word that is translated “another” is a specific term meaning literally “another of the same kind.” For three and one-half years, in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prediction that He would be called a “Counselor” Jesus guided, instructed, rebuked, encouraged, and taught His disciples.2 He was truly their Counselor. During His ministry, of course, Jesus counseled many other individuals as well.3
The Holy Spirit and Counseling
Posted by: | CommentsCounseling Is the Work of the Spirit
Counseling is the work of the Holy Spirit. Effective counseling cannot be done apart from him. He is called the paraclete1 (“counselor”) who in Christ’s place came to be another counselor2 of the same sort that Christ had been to his disciples.3 Because unsaved counselors do not know the Holy Spirit, they ignore his counseling activity and fail to avail themselves of his direction and power.
The Work of the Spirit and Biblical Counseling
Posted by: | CommentsA recent book titled I’m Dysfunctional, You’re Dysfunctional, by Wendy Kaminer, debunks much of the mystique of modern psychology.1 The author does not purport to be a Christian. In fact, she describes herself as “a skeptical, secular humanist, Jewish, feminist, intellectual lawyer.”2 Yet she writes as a bitter critic of the marriage of religion and psychology. She notes that religion and psychology have always more or less deemed one another incompatible. Now she sees “not just a truce but a remarkable accommodation.”3 Even from her perspective as an unbeliever, she can see that this accommodation has meant a change in the fundamental message Christians convey to the world. She writes: