Theology and Counseling: Theism Who does God claim to be in His Word? What does this issue have to do with counseling? These are the questions to be answered here today. The following text is taken from, Lectures in Systematic Theology; written by Henry Theissen and revised by Vernon Doerksen (Eerdmans, 1992). It briefly summarizes how the Lord describes Himself in the Scriptures. The Biblical Names of God The biblical names of persons often carry great significance. This is true of the names of deity. One of the most widely used terms for deity is El, with its derivations, Elim, Elohim, and Eloah. It is similar to the Greek theos, the Latin deus, and the English God. It is a general word to indicate deity, and is used to include all members of the class of deity. The plural Elohim is used regularly by the Old Testament writers with singular verbs and adjectives to denote a singular idea. Though it usually refers to God, it can also be used of pagan deities or gods. The compound El-Elyon designates him as the highest, the most high (Ps. 78.35), and El-Shaddai as the Almighty God (Gen. 17.1). Jehovah or Yahweh is the personal name par excellence of Israel s God. The term is connected with the Hebrew verb to be, and means the self-existent one, or the one who causes to be (Ex. 6.2f; cf. 3.13-16). This name is often translated into the English versions of the word Lord, often using upper case letters. This name occurs in a number of significant combinations: Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord will provide (Gen. 22.14); Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord that heals (Exod. 15.26); Jehovah-Nissi, the Lord our banner (Exod. 17.15); Jehovah- Shalom, the Lord is our peace (Judg. 6.24); Jehovah-Raah, the Lord is my shepherd (Ps. 23.1); Jehovah-Tsidkenu, the Lord
our righteousness (Jer. 23.6); and Jehovah-Shammah, the Lord is present (Ezek. 48.35). Adonai, my Lord, is a title that appears frequently in the prophets, expressing dependence and submission, as of a servant to his master, or of a wife to her husband. The title, Lord of hosts, appears frequently in the prophetical and postexilic literature (Isa. 1.9, 6.3). Some take the term to refer to God s presence with the armies of Israel in the times of monarchy ( 1 Sam. 4.4; 17.45; 2 Sam. 6.2), but a more probable meaning is God s presence with the hosts of heaven, the angels (Ps. 89.6-8; cf. James 5.4). In the New Testament the term theos takes the place of El, Elohim, and Elyon. The names Shaddai and El-Shaddai are rendered pantokrator, the almighty, and theos pantakrator, God almighty. Sometimes the Lord is called the Alpha and the Omega (Rev. 1.8), who is and who was and who is to come (Rev. 1.4), the first and the last (Rev. 2.8), and the beginning and the end (Rev. 21.6). The Theological Formulation of the Definition Because God is infinite, a comprehensive definition giving a complete and exhaustive portrayal of God is impossible. However, we can give a definition of God insofar as we know him and know about him. We certainly can set forth the attributes of God as revealed to man. And further, we can say that God is a being, and then indicate the ways in which he is different from other beings. What are some definitions of God? Buswell writes, The best summary of the doctrine of God as taught in the Bible is to be found in answer to question four of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, What is God? God is spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. Hoeksema states, God is the one, simple, absolute, purely spiritual, personal Being of infinite perfections, wholly immanent in all
the world, yet essentially transcendent in relation to all things! Berkhof defines him in this manner, God is one, absolute, unchangeable and infinite in His knowledge and wisdom, His goodness and love, His grace and mercy, His righteousness and holiness. For a short definition of God, Strong s is probably the best: God is the infinite and perfect Spirit in whom all things have their source, support, and end. References: Buswell: A Systematic Theology of the Christian Religion, I, p. 30 Hoeksema: Reformed Dogmatics, p. 60 Berkhof: Systematic Theology, p. 56 Strong: Systematic Theology, p. 52 How awesome is our God! My friends, I hope that you attend a church that preaches this God, the God of the Bible, in all His glory. How wonderful are the studies on the names of God and on His attributes that are preached form the pulpit or taught in Sunday School. May we never portray our Lord as less than He is. How does the identity of God interface with counseling? A young man sat with his pastor and spoke about a problem of lust that was out of control. Both were believers in Jesus Christ. The pastor spoke truth from the Word of God. He knew the God who is infinite and eternal in power, holiness and goodness. He conveyed a hope for change that depended on God being who He says He is. The pastor prayed to the God of the Bible regularly. By God s grace and through His Word the young man s struggle ended in Godhonoring righteous victory. God is the God described in the Bible and the answers for such problems are found in Him. A man who was not a professing believer had battled depression due to unfulfilled ambitions. I have no hope, he said to the pastor of the church he was attending. Since the pastor knew personally and intimately that Jehovah-Rapha (the Lord who heals), Jehovah-Shalom (the Lord of peace), had lived up to His names in his own life, he
shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with the man. My friends, I hope you realize the wisdom of that decision. Theories of self love and prescribed medications or the Almighty God which source for change should be presented to such souls in dire straits? The faithful pastor explained the gospel of the God who could forgive the man, love the man, give the man a new life with a different agenda and the means to fulfill it (i.e. Ephesians 2.10, 1 Corinthians 10.13 and Hebrews 4.15-16). Many years ago I attended a college / career Bible study at a church. The teacher was a counselor there. As weeks went by, I became aware that a couple of the young men in the group had not become Christians. They understood the gospel, but had not embraced it. The teacher often ended meetings with activities like affirming each other s worth. He later told me he did this, in part, for the sake of these somewhat insecure men. I asked him why he did this rather than promote the gospel as the answer for these men s problems. He said that until they were at peace with themselves they couldn t come to Christ. It was good that Paul didn t hold this view in Acts 16.27-31. That counselor did not see God as the Alpha and Omega, as the preeminent One in whom all things have their source, support and end. He was a psychological counselor, not a biblical counselor. When he saw difficult life problems he did not represent God as the one who could solve them. A Christian woman sat across the desk from a married couple who did biblical counseling together. She said, Most of the time, I m angry. As time went by, the counselors found out the details of what she was angry about. They shared the truth of God s Word in relation to her anger and also to how she could biblically deal with the situations in which she became angry. The hope from God s Word, which is based on who God is, and His great promises for being successful in putting off sin and putting on righteousness were explained. The Almighty God did what only He can do. He enabled change toward holiness. Progress in respect to salvation. What a glorious event!
Christians face questions like this every day. Those involved in ministry are asked important life questions often. When these issues come up, will you declare that God is the Most High, the Almighty? Will you characterize Him as the Creator? Will you explain His love with the honor and compassion of Jesus Christ? Will you identify Him as the solution for those who will be His? Will you show people from Scripture that He can cause change toward holiness in those who will seek Him? Will you speak of sin and forgiveness in Christ? Will counsel from the rich truth of the Bible? Will you put your confidence in Him who was and is and is to come? Will you please Him by honoring Him as God in these conversations?