His Name Is Counselor Series

We need Jesus Christ as our Counselor for the same reason Solomon needed Him when he became King of Israel. In I Kings 3:9 Solomon humbly prayed the Lord would give him “. . .an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and evil.” In our own understanding we can not distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong. We need the guiding hand of the Lord Jesus Christ to enable us to choose and follow the right path.

So many counselors are advising us today that each one of us often wonders “how can I know the voice of Him who is the Wonderful Counselor from the voices of the counselors of the world.” We can not physically have an audience with Jesus Christ in the flesh as did Nicodemus and the Woman at the Well; therefore, He has given us two means of hearing His counsel: (1.) through His Word and (2.) by His Holy Spirit.

Through the written Word we come to hear the voice of Christ our Counselor who is the Living Word. The Bible stands as our best and only sure rule for following the guidance of Christ. The Bible unfolds for us the mind of God Himself. We come to hear the voice and Christ and know the mind of God by becoming People of the Word. When Christ lives in us, as we read His Word, we come to know His thoughts in all matters. The Psalmist advises us well when he testifies in Psalm 119:105-106:

Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light to my path.

I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,

to observe your righteous ordinances.

“The flickering light cast by the olive oil lamp of Bible times was only bright enough to show a traveler his next step.” [SOURCE: Lawrence O. Richards, The Bible Reader’s Companion: Your Guide to Every Chapter of the Bible (n. p.: Scripture Press, 1991), 376. The Bible is such a light to us Spiritually. It guides us in making right choices and decisions, but just like the oil lamp, God’s Word guides us “one step at a time,” not weeks, months, and years into the future. He holds our entire future in His hands. He asks us to trust Him and let him guide us “one step at a time.”

The second means Jesus has given us for hearing His voice is the gift of the Holy Spirit. In John 16:13, He promised His disciples that upon His return to heaven He would send them, and us as well,” another Comforter. Comforter is another name for Counselor. This other Comforter would be “the Spirit of truth to guide us into all the truth.” In John 14:26 Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit guides us by “teaching us everything, and reminding us of all that Jesus has taught.” In Romans 8:14 Paul expounds the counseling ministry of the Holy Spirit by explaining that He “leads, guides, or directs God’s children.” The Holy Spirit is our inward teacher Who directs our lives and gives us assurance that our sins are forgiven and that we have eternal life.

Jesus Christ our Messiah is the only dependable counselor we can trust. Without the guidance of His Word and His Spirit, all other counsel is false and perhaps even fatal. King Saul learned that lesson the hard way. Having lost the Spirit of God to counsel him, he went to the witch of Endor to conduct a séance