About Jesus  -  Steve Sweetman

Living The Full Counsel Of God  

The Apostle Paul said the following while saying his sad and final good-byes to the elders at Ephesus.  Acts 20:27 in the NIV and KJV says this:

"For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God" (NIV).

"For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God" (KJV).

More than any other Biblical personality, and that includes Jesus, it was Paul who systematically set forth the full counsel or will of God.  That being the case, Paul would expect us to embrace, know, understand, and implement, all of that which God desires us to know.  Knowing as much as we can know about anything has become an outdated mindset in our postmodern culture that has little to no interest in searching the full meaning of anything.  Sadly, this mindset has infiltrated the western world church to the degree that many of us are no longer interested in knowing and implementing the full counsel of God in their lives.         

One way in which this mindset is seen in today's church is in what I call "one issue Christians.'  Their interest lies in one issue to the neglect and exclusion of the full will of God, making them unbalanced in their theology and approach to life. 

I understand that not everyone is orientated towards teaching the Word of the Lord and seeing it implemented in the lives of the believers, but still, the fact remains.  Jesus designated Paul to proclaim the full counsel and will of God to us, so both Jesus and Paul would expect us to embrace, know, understand, and implement the knowledge of God's will in our lives.