| The Christian Life | August 1945 |
The Whole Counsel of God
“For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.”—Acts 20:27
THE words of our text may be viewed from two standpoints and both would be true of the beloved Apostle Paul. We may understand him to mean that he had never shunned to declare whatever phase of the Gospel which seemed necessary at any given time—that he had been bold and uncompromising under all circumstances, whatever the cost may have been to himself. We might also understand Paul to mean—and it would be equally true—that in the many years of his faithful ministry he had declared every essential feature of the divine plan, that there was no vital truth, no part of the counsel of God, which he had not declared.
It is from this latter standpoint that we wish now to examine the apostle’s ministry with the object of noting the things which in his opinion were essentially a part of the “counsel of God.” This, we trust, will be helpful in determining what we shall consider important truths, and what we may with safety pay little or no attention to in our endeavors to know and to do God’s will.
On one occasion Paul wrote that he was determined not to know anything among the brethren save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. (I Cor. 2:2) All other phases of the divine plan are inseparably associated with Christ and His ransom sacrifice. Our most intimate relationship to this truth is in the fact that it is our privilege to be crucified with Christ—planted together in the likeness of His death. Paul stressed the importance of this truth, both by precept and example. The circumstances under which the words of our text were spoken reveal how fully the apostle put into practice the great doctrine pertaining to the church’s share in the sacrificial work of The Christ. The trite old adage that “actions speak louder than words” was very true of Paul.
Our text was addressed to the elders of the church at Ephesus. Paul had met them just outside of Miletus on the occasion of his journey to Jerusalem. The holy Spirit had testified that “bonds and afflictions” awaited him at Jerusalem, and the brethren had counseled him not to continue his journey. They believed, sincerely, no doubt, that God’s object in warning the apostle of impending trouble was to save him from the trouble. But Paul did not so interpret the providences of God.
The apostle stated his own firmness of purpose, saying, “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel of the grace of God.” (Acts 20:24) Paul’s viewpoint in this matter was identical with that of Jesus at the time He went to Jerusalem for that last memorable visit when He was arrested and crucified. Jesus also knew what awaited Him at Jerusalem, but He was unfaltering in His determination to finish His course, to complete the work the Father had given Him to do—the work of sacrifice, without which the race would not have been redeemed. It is reasonable to suppose that this example of Jesus had much to do in helping Paul decide God’s will under similar circumstances.
It is very revealing to note the principle involved in the decisions made by these two faithful servants of God—servants whose example we should endeavor faithfully to follow. In both instances they knew in large measure what awaited them, that their enemies were lying in wait for an opportunity to put them to death, if possible. From the standpoint of human wisdom it would have seemed plausible to reason that such knowledge should be viewed as a providence of God to enable them to change their plans and thus to avoid trouble.
But neither Jesus nor Paul reasoned this way. Why? Because they remembered their covenant of sacrifice—a covenant which called for the laying down of life itself when the due time arrived. They not only believed in the divine plan as set forth in the Scriptures, but were themselves willing to sacrifice by taking their part in it. From this standpoint they reasoned that possible imprisonment and death were not in themselves valid reasons for changing their plans. The fact that the Holy Spirit witnessed to Paul what he should expect in a service God approved, was accepted by him as a test of his faithfulness in being willing to suffer and die for his Master, and as a co-worker with God.
We Should Not Seek Ease
Our flesh naturally shrinks from suffering, and as new creatures we need continually to fight the tendency to seek a life of ease rather than to face the hardships of the narrow way. Every unconsecrated person in the world, to the extent of ability, plans his life with the view of escaping all possible suffering and hardship. Those who seek a goal of fame; or riches may be willing to endure certain hardships in order to attain their desired ends, but the over-all plan of their lives is finally to secure case and pleasure.
But this should not be the Christian’s approach to the problems of life. Jesus said to His followers, “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it.” (Matt. 16:25) As Christians, we have taken up our cross to follow Jesus into death. We have presented our bodies a living sacrifice. (Rom. 12:1) We are being planted together in the likeness of Jesus’ death. (Rom. 6:5) These are factors involved in the doing of God’s will, and our plans should be made with the thought, not of what will be the most pleasant for us, but from the standpoint of what would be the will of God.
This does not mean that the hardest way is necessarily God’s will. We are not recklessly to expose ourselves to trials. To do so would be tempting the Lord, as suggested by Jesus when He was asked by Satan to cast Himself from the pinnacle of the temple. But if the Lord clearly points out that a certain course is His will for us, the fact that it might involve a great deal of hardship, and possibly death, should not be allowed to dissuade us from taking that course. This is one of the very fundamental truths concerning the Christian life which the apostle declared both by precept and example.
In declaring the whole counsel of God, the apostle wrote much about the church’s share in the sacrificial work of this age—that work which calls for a life of sacrifice on the part of all who are truly following in the footsteps of the Master; that life of sacrifice which Paul so clearly demonstrated by his own faithfulness. In his epistle to the Romans, Paul touches upon this subject a number of times. He speaks of it as being “baptized into Christ”; as being “planted together” in the likeness of Christ’s death; as reckoning ourselves dead “unto sin” in the same sense that Jesus died unto sin; and as presenting our bodies a living sacrifice.—Romans 6:3,4,6,10,11; 12:1; Gal. 3:27
The “Better Sacrifices”
In Colossians 1:24, Paul writes about filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ. In Philippians 3:7-14, he writes of his own desire to be made “conformable” to Christ’s sacrificial death. In Hebrews 13:10-13 he admonishes us to go to Christ outside the camp, bearing His reproach. Here, Paul explains that the typical sacrifices which he is referring to as an illustration of our privilege of sharing the reproaches of Christ, were those in which the blood was taken into the Most Holy of the tabernacle and sprinkled upon the mercy seat as atonement for sin. It is in the antitype of these sacrifices that we are privileged to share, Paul explains.
The fact that Paul stresses this important truth so much in his writings is good evidence that he considered it a very essential part of the “counsel of God.” Should not we, therefore, do the same? And we can see why it is essential, for if we lose sight of the meaning of Christian sacrifice, the tendency will be to avoid sacrifice. And if we avoid sacrifice in the service of God we are failing to carry out our covenant by sacrifice.—Psalm 50:5
Yes, this truth, like all truth, has an important influence in our lives. We live according to the way we believe, hence the importance of believing the truth—and all of it, too; not merely a part of it. Let us not give ear to the suggestion that the truth pertaining to the church’s share in the sin-offering is not important, that it should not be considered fundamental. It may not be fundamental to salvation; but it is a most important guide in the Christian life.
God’s Covenants
In declaring the whole counsel of God Paul wrote extensively about God’s covenants. There are some today who think an understanding of the covenants is not important, that we should be free to believe anything, or nothing about the covenants, as suits us best. But Paul evidently didn’t share this viewpoint. In at least three of his epistles he discusses one or more of God’s covenants—II Corinthians, Galatians, and Hebrews.
In II Corinthians chapter 3, Paul indicates the relationship of the church to the New Covenant. He compares the old Law Covenant with the promised New Covenant, and shows that the law of God is now being written in the hearts of Christians, preparing them to be ministers of the New Covenant, even as the divine law was written on the typical tables of stone in preparation for Moses to administer the old Law Covenant.
In Galatians, chapter 4, the apostle speaks of Sarah, the mother of Isaac, as representing the covenant under which the church is developed, while Hagar, the mother of Ishmael, pictures the Law Covenant under which the Jewish nation was held in bondage. The apostle goes on to explain that Isaac, as the “seed” of promise, was a type of Christ and the church, which means that the church is developed under the same covenant as Jesus.
There is a great deal in the Book of Hebrews concerning the covenants. Throughout this epistle Paul places the church in the same relationship to the New Covenant as the typical priesthood was to the Law Covenant, which was that of servants. Paul sees the church, not typified by the people of Israel, but by the priests who ministered to the people. He sees the church not in the camp but in the tabernacle, entering finally into the “holiest of all” where in the type only the priests were allowed to enter. Furthermore, he sees the church now as a sacrificing priesthood, which means that the people’s blessings under the New Covenant cannot come until these “better sacrifices” are finished.—Heb. 9:23
We cannot suppose that Paul would have dealt so extensively with this subject had he not believed that it was a very important part of the “counsel of God.” To those at Galatia who still wanted to be under the Law Covenant, he wrote, “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you?” (Gal. 3:1) He might write similarly today to those who, in taking the other extreme, insist that they are now being developed under the New Covenant, a covenant which will not function until the Kingdom of Christ is established, and then it will be made first of all with the “house of Israel and the house of Judah.”—Jer. 31:31; 33:14 and 32:40
The Resurrection
Side by side with the doctrine of the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ stands that fundamental teaching of Christianity concerning the resurrection. “If there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen … then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished,” says Paul. (I Cor. 15:13-18) Very important, therefore, in the whole counsel of God, is that part of it which pertains to this great hope of life through the resurrection.
The doctrine of the resurrection is one which needed to be contended for earnestly in Paul’s day, and it still does. “How say some among you, wrote the apostle to the church at Corinth, that there is no resurrection of the dead?” (I Chr. 15:12) This is a very significant question because it reveals that within the church, among the fellowship of the saints, there were some who did not believe in the resurrection. The 15th chapter of 1st Corinthians was written in an effort to combat this heresy which had crept into the church.
There were, as we know, many converted Jews in the early church and some of these may have been from the sect of the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection. There were probably some features of Christianity which appealed to these Sadducees, but they were not prepared to change their traditional viewpoint concerning the resurrection. There have always been some associated with the Lord’s people who have not been able to see the whole truth.
The “blind spot” for some in the church at Corinth was the resurrection. Today some are unable to see that the church has a part in the sin-offering; others are not clear on the covenants. Everything possible should be done to help these, just as Paul endeavored to help certain brethren in the church at Corinth by writing this powerful argument on the subject of the resurrection. No teacher in the church today who follows Paul’s example of proclaiming the whole counsel of God, will say that doctrines of the truth are unimportant.
The brethren in the ecclesias should feel a responsibility in this connection by making sure that those whom they appoint or accept as teachers are clear in the truth, and prepared to declare “all the counsel of God.” Where this responsibility is not properly discharged, there is sure to develop a lack of conviction concerning the truth, and this is followed by a general state of spiritual uncertainty, lethargy, or even disintegration.
Christ’s Second Presence
In Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians he wrote that the Lord will descend from heaven “with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God.” He explains further that the dead in Christ “shall rise first,” and that those who “are alive and remain” after the sleeping saints are awakened will also be “caught up,” or exalted, to be together with the other body members. Then the apostle adds, “Comfort one another with these words.”—I Thess. 4:13-18
Yes, the doctrine of Christ’s second coming was a very prominent one in the mind of Paul, and vital to the entire plan of salvation. He considered it a definite part of the whole counsel of God and did not hesitate to declare and explain it. In Paul’s two letters to the Thessalonian church we get an insight into the great care he took not only to, teach the truth, but to do all he could to make sure that the proper truth viewpoint was clearly understood.
In addition to writing to the Thessalonians that Jesus would Descend from heaven with a shout, etc. Paul explained in his first epistle to this group that the day of the Lord would come “as a thief in the night.” (I Thess. 5:1-3) He would have us understand from this that his reference to a “shout,” a “trumpet,” and the “voice of the archangel,” were not to be understood literally, for surely a thief does not announce his coming by the blowing of a trumpet.
The “day of the Lord” is of necessity the day when the Lord is present—that is what makes it His day. Some in the church at Thessalonica evidently understood the apostle to mean that Christ had already returned, that He was present “as a thief,” and that this could be known by the saints but not by the world. Paul’s statement, “Ye brethren are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief,” was perhaps taken to mean that they should be able to discern even then that Christ had returned.
This was not what Paul meant, but, unlike some less faithful servants of God, he did not hesitate to continue his discussion of the subject for fear he would stir up controversy in the church. So he wrote a second epistle, and in it endeavored to correct the wrong thought some of them had obtained from his first letter. He bids them not to be “troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.”—II Thess. 2:2
Then Paul adds, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” (II Thess. 2:3) The brethren at Thessalonica had understood Paul correctly concerning the manner of Christ’s return and second presence. He would be present as a thief. The brethren would know about it while the world would still be in darkness.
The apostle did not correct this viewpoint because it did not need to be corrected. The wrong thought entertained by some of the church at Thessalonica was that Christ had already returned. This could not be, wrote Paul, because first there was to be a great falling away from the faith, an apostasy in the church which would make possible the development of the “man of sin,” the “son of perdition,” the “mystery of iniquity.”
That was nineteen centuries ago. Church history records this foretold “falling away” from the faith. The “man of sin” did develop, and now, as Paul also prophesied, we see it being destroyed “by the brightness of His coming,” or the brightshining of His parousia, presence. If it was important that the early church understand this matter correctly, when the event itself was nineteen centuries away, is it not even more important that we understand it clearly now, when we are actually living in the “day of the Lord”?
Undoubtedly it is, and surely if Paul were with us today, faithfully proclaiming “all the counsel of God,” he would not put the doctrine of the second coming of Christ on the shelf, for fear the discussion of it would stir up controversy, or be detrimental to his popularity among the friends. Neither would he hypocritically feign to believe one thing on the subject, while privately undermining the faith of the brethren in the blessed truth of the Lord’s presence. Nor would this faithful servant of God, side-step the issue with the assertion that the fact of Christ’s presence cannot be proved.
Paul Opposed Sectarianism
Schisms in the church are contrary to the will of God. The most fruitful cause of divisions is the tendency to follow human leadership rather than the Lord and the truth. Sometimes divisions are brought about by “grievous wolves” which enter in among the Lord’s people, “not sparing the flock.” (Acts 20:29,30) Paul warned the elders of Ephesus against this danger, and counseled Timothy that in his ministry to the Ephesian church he “charge” them that they “teach no other doctrine.”—I Tim. 1:3
If all in a congregation of the saints are wholly of one mind, endeavoring to serve one another and to glorify the Lord, a sectarian spirit is very unlikely. It is when some get divergent views which they persist in presenting to the brethren, or, when a teacher caters to the personal preferences of the brethren to build up a following for himself, that the Lord’s people begin to take sides.
Paul condemned the church at Corinth because they were dividing their allegiance among human leaders, rather than giving it all to God. Some of them were saying, “I am of Paul,” but the apostle condemned this also. In this we have a wonderful example of Paul’s faithfulness in declaring “all the counsel of God,” for it reveals that he taught the truth even when it might have been to his own personal advantage not to do so. He could have warned the Corinthians that it was wrong for them to follow Apollos, and by implication could have allowed them to believe that it would be all right to follow him. But he didn’t do this.
Paul even went so far as to condemn those in the church at Corinth who were saying, “I am of Christ.” Certainly we are all to be followers of Christ. But perhaps in the church, even in those early days, they had those who claimed superiority over others on the ground that they followed no human leader. We have such today, and they make quite an ado about it. “We follow no man,” is the claim of these particular sectarians of today—“We are of Christ.”
All Christians are of Christ. Not to be of Christ is not to be a Christian. But if this claim is made in a sectarian spirit of boastfulness and aloofness from other Christians, then it is wrong, for it would be merely a masquerade for sectarianism. The human heart is deceitful, and if we are not watchful we will find ourselves sponsoring wrong viewpoints and doing it in the name of Christ.
Let us remember that according to the Master’s own words, “Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.”—Matthew 7:21
Church Organization
Paul taught Christian liberty, but he did not advocate a state of chaos in the church. He taught that the affairs of the church should be conducted in an orderly way—that there should be properly appointed elders and other servants. He taught that God builds up His people by means of prophets, apostles, teachers, and evangelists, and that we should all be interested in the spiritual welfare of one another.
The fact that Paul gave these instructions as God’s methods for edifying the body members of Christ indicates that he considered the matter a part of the important “counsel of God.” It is well for all the Lord’s people to bear these instructions in mind. We are not to be servile to one another, but neither should we be so “free” as to ignore God’s arrangements for His people. There was a period in the history of typical Israel when, according to the Scriptures, every man did what seemed good in his own sight. (Judges 17:6) Such a condition in the church would lead to disaster.
Christian Graces
Paul contended earnestly for all the fundamental teachings of Christianity, and he also stressed the vital necessity of applying these teachings in our daily lives. In the 13th chapter of 1st Corinthians is recorded the apostle’s masterful lesson on the subject of love, revealing the manner in which this godlike quality of our faith, our works, and our fellowship with the brethren.
In Galatians 5:19-24, the apostle counsels us to put off the works of the flesh, and in their place to put on the fruit of the spirit, which is “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” He then adds that they who are Christ’s “have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”
Paul realized the necessity of Bible study for all those who would know the will of God, so he wrote to Timothy, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.”—II Tim. 2:15
The apostle knew, furthermore, that all who would live near to God need to exercise their privilege of prayer, so he wrote, “Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”—I Thess. 5:17,18
A very important part of all the counsel of God, as Paul understood the divine will, is the fact that the followers of Jesus are enlightened with the truth of the divine plan in order that they might be ambassadors for Christ; so, frequently, throughout his writings, we find the apostle exhorting to faithfulness in “holding forth the Word of life.” (Phil. 2:16) As a closing practical application of the marvelous truths concerning the resurrection which he presents in the 15th chapter of 1st Corinthians, Paul writes, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that, your labor is not vain in the Lord.”
The more we know of “all the counsel of God”; the better we understand the great doctrines of the divine plan; the more we empty our hearts of self and are devoted to the doing of God’s will as revealed through the truth, the more we will abound in the work of the Lord.
We cannot be healthy spiritually except as we give heed to all of the truth, and permit its many parts to fill and inspire us to increasing faithfulness, as daily we lay down our lives in the divine service. It was because the Apostle Paul believed and taught all the counsel of God that he could say, in the face of threatened danger, “None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel of the grace of God.”—Acts 20:24