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Calvary Community Church

Sunday School

Lesson 2: The Bible’s Sufficiency for Counseling

Speaker
David Capoccia

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In this second lesson, Pastor Dave Capoccia discusses how the Bible is totally sufficient for the Christian life, including for counseling people about their problems. Pastor Dave presents the Bible’s sufficiency in three points:

1. The Bible Claims Sufficiency
2. The Bible Illustrates Sufficiency
3. The Bible Demonstrates Sufficiency

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Note: This transcript and summary was autogenerated. It has not yet been proofread or edited by a human.

Summary

We are reminded that the Bible is fully sufficient for all of life, godliness, and Christian ministry—including biblical counseling. This lesson establishes that we do not need to supplement Scripture with secular psychology, modern science, or any other human wisdom in order to help people change and grow.

Key Lessons:

  1. Biblical counseling uses Scripture to reveal and transform a person’s heart, helping them become more like Christ—and it is primarily for believers who have the Holy Spirit enabling real change.
  2. The Bible claims its own sufficiency in passages like 2 Peter 1:2-4, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, and Colossians 1:28—all written in contexts where false teachers were telling believers they needed something more.
  3. The Bible illustrates its sufficiency by directly addressing the topics modern experts claim it ignores—the soul (psyche), the mind (mental health), depression, anxiety, and addiction are all spoken to authoritatively in Scripture.
  4. The Bible demonstrates its sufficiency through history: Joseph, David, Stephen, and countless believers throughout church history were transformed by Christ and His Word long before modern psychology or pharmaceuticals existed.

Application: We are called to trust the Word of God as our complete and exclusive resource for helping ourselves and others grow in godliness. Rather than deferring to secular wisdom, we should be equipped and willing to counsel one another from Scripture.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Where in your own life have you been tempted to believe that the Bible is not quite enough—that you need some additional wisdom or technique to address a personal struggle?
  2. How does knowing that Scripture addresses the soul, the mind, depression, and addiction change the way you might approach someone going through a mental or emotional crisis?
  3. What would it look like practically for you to use the Bible as your primary resource when helping a friend or family member through a difficult life problem?

Scripture Focus: 2 Peter 1:2-4 teaches that God’s divine power has granted us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the knowledge of Christ. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 declares that all Scripture is God-breathed and equips the believer for every good work. Colossians 1:28 and 2:2-3 affirm that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ—making any competing wisdom unnecessary.

Outline

Introduction

All right, good morning. It’s nine o’clock, and I want to get started. Welcome, thank you for being here right at nine.

Welcome to the biblical counseling 101 Sunday school class. Let’s ask the Lord’s blessing on our time today.

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for your sufficient word, Lord. Knowing you and knowing your word indeed equips us for all life and godliness. I pray that would be the truth that your people grab hold of today.

Lord, help me to explain it well. In Jesus’ name, amen.

All right, as you find your way to your seats, just a few announcements before we get going. I’m learning that the setting of Sunday school is a little different than what I’m used to. We have the filters now, we have this big glass thing, we have other things I wasn’t used to, so I’m making some adjustments as we go along.

You see, I’m in the center today. I feel like that’s a better way for me to actually reach all of you.

Also, it was really hard for me to actually hear what you were saying last week. So I’m going to ask that most of the time in Sunday school, unless I tell you otherwise, please raise your hand when you’re answering a question.

Because otherwise I might not hear you, or everybody’s speaking at the same time and I might not be able to notice you. So we’re going to do raising hands.

I’m also going to discuss new homework at the beginning of class rather than at the end of class. That way we can transition nicely right into questions at the end of class.

What Is Biblical Counseling?

And somebody told me that I never actually gave a definition of biblical counseling last week. I kind of described it in a number of ways, so I’ll summarize a few of those things in a definition right now.

What is biblical counseling? That was what our main topic was last time. Biblical counseling is using the Bible to reveal and transform a person’s heart, to help him become more like Jesus Christ, to the glory of God.

We talked about that last time. I think it’s a useful definition for you to remember, even to write down. Biblical counseling is using the Bible to reveal and transform a person’s heart, to help him become more like Christ, to the glory of God.

“Biblical counseling is using the Bible to reveal and transform a person’s heart, to help him become more like Christ, to the glory of God.”

Now, somebody asked me a question last week that I do want to clarify: Can you use biblical counseling on an unbeliever? Is biblical counseling for unbelievers too?

The answer is kind of not really. Because we are using the Bible with unbelievers, but we just call that evangelism. It’s not quite the same thing as biblical counseling.

Biblical counseling is focused on sanctification. Can an unbeliever be truly sanctified? No, not until they’re saved.

As Dr. Street would say, all counseling is pre-counseling or evangelism until that person comes to Christ. Now, it’s true that oftentimes in counseling, in biblical counseling, you may find that the person you’re counseling claims to be a believer but they aren’t actually. And that’s why they’re struggling with their particular problem.

Or you might have to treat a believer like a non-believer because he’s not taking his sins seriously, and it’s just a part of church discipline. But biblical counseling is really for believers. They’re the ones who actually can change because they have the Spirit of God inside them.

“Biblical counseling is really for believers. They’re the ones who actually can change because they have the Spirit of God inside them.”

When you’re trying to biblical counsel an unbeliever, they can only go so far. You just say, well, this is the wisdom of God, but you can’t do it until you actually come to know Christ.

Homework Review: Jay Adams and 1 Corinthians 10

That’s just one clarification. Let’s talk about last week’s homework. I hope that you were able to do the homework.

I asked you to do the Bible reading and prayer again. It doesn’t matter how much you do, but just take some focused time to read the Bible and focused time to pray. I also gave you some extra credit. I don’t know if any of you did that, but I’ll ask you.

First Corinthians 8:1 through 11:1. What is that? What is the topic of those chapters? Does anybody know what the main topic is? Raise your hand.

Yeah, Tina. Not offending your brother—kind of specifically about what issue? Food sacrificed to idols. Very good.

That’s actually the main topic of chapters 8 to the beginning of chapter 11. In the middle of that, we have a little discussion in chapter 10 related to Israel’s experience with idols. Israel was getting too chummy with idols, and it led them to being judged by God.

But he clarifies in that section: you can’t get too chummy with idols, though God is able to make you stand under any temptation. First Corinthians 10:13. That was the verse that was Jay Adams’ topic of meditation in this booklet that I assigned you to read.

Now, who’s Jay Adams? I don’t know if you know him, but he actually just passed away last year. He’s with the Lord now. He was a pastor, Christian writer, and lecturer.

He is one of the ones who spearheaded the biblical counseling movement in the early 1970s. It had become customary in the church that if somebody had a difficult problem in their lives, pastors would just refer them to a psychologist or psychiatrist. That was what a pastor was trained to do.

Light problems you can handle, but heavy problems—just send them to a professional, a medical professional. But he said, wait a second. Doesn’t the Bible show us that we pastors are sufficient for this, that we Christians are sufficient for this?

In 1970, he published a book called Competent to Counsel, and it really started a resurgence of biblical counseling in the church. Biblical counseling isn’t new, even though we may use that term for the first time around the 1970s. It’s really what the church has always practiced—pastors and people in the church.

But it had become kind of lost or set aside because of certain modern ideas. Anyway, that’s who Jay Adams is. He founded the NANC—I forgot exactly what that means, nouthetic something counselors.

But it transformed into ACBC, which is the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors, which is what I was certified in. The booklet that I had you read was published in 1971, very soon after he published Competent to Counsel. You’ll notice maybe some of those same ideas in there.

So what were some things that you noticed? I asked you to write down some observations or some questions. What were the things you noticed reading this booklet?

Yeah, Craig. God is faithful. That was one of the highlighted points. That’s why you’re able to stand—because God is faithful, you can trust his word. What else?

Yeah, Mark. The “I can’t” attitude is not a valid posture for the Christian. You can, in the Lord. But when you believe you can’t, guess what—you can’t. It’s kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Yes, that’s an interesting point. Jay Adams asserts that many people who suffer with mental illness are not actually mentally ill—it’s a spiritual problem. What’s really sad is that when people treat it as if it’s something they can’t talk about or handle, they leave those people without help.

They often continue to afflict themselves or be afflicted. He mentions that story of a man who goes to a mental institution because nobody’s willing to confront him about his guilt, about the sin that he practiced with his job. It’s actually amazing—a lot of people who are mentally ill, when you get to know them and their problems, you realize there’s a spiritual root to it.

Yeah, Glenda. The Bible is sufficient. We’ll talk more about that today. We Christians can help each other—that’s one of his main points, right? Because we have this sufficient word.

Magda. That’s such an important point. No problem is truly unique. You say, well, surely no one else has handled this before. Maybe not in all the particular details, but at the core of it, the root of it, we all have the same problems.

We all have the same issues, the same struggles, the same temptations. That’s both encouraging and sobering. It’s sobering because it means you can’t claim, like, oh, this was just too much. But it’s encouraging because you say, well, if other people overcame it with the power of Christ, I can too.

“No problem is truly unique. At the core of it, the root of it, we all have the same struggles—but if others overcame it with the power of Christ, I can too.”

That’s exactly the case. That’s good. I see a number of you read that or had things you noticed about that.

I gave you this booklet because I want you to have it as a resource, not only for your own life, for your own encouragement and instruction, but especially when you are trying to help others. You can say, hey, I see that you’re going through a really tough time. Let me share this booklet with you. I found it really helpful and really instructive. I think you’ll find it really helpful too.

I told you that this is something that I often assign the people that I counsel to read, because it generates good discussion and it’s valuable instruction. That’s why I gave it to you. Please don’t just discard it. I think you’ll find it useful for yourself and others.

“The Bible is a resource not only for your own life, but especially when you are trying to help others.”

New Homework Assignment

Let’s talk about the new homework. I ask you to continue to read the Bible and pray. That’s going to be a homework assignment every week, and that’s for your benefit.

I’m also asking you to read this article. This article is entitled “The Discussion Among Clergy: Pastoral Counseling Talks with Secular Psychology.” This is by Ed Welch. He’s a biblical counselor and lecturer with the CCEF, the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation.

If you think about the big counseling organizations today, it’s usually ACBC and CCEF, though there are some other prominent ones as well. They’re actually pretty similar. One general difference is that CCEF is a little bit more sympathetic to psychology and doesn’t necessarily see it as hostile to the faith, just not necessary. It can only have limited benefit.

Typically, people who are part of ACBC see psychology and some other modern ideas as actually being a hindrance to the faith and hostile to the gospel. That’s not true for every single person in those organizations, but there is that general difference between the two. Both organizations are really great, and the people in both are pretty great.

Ed Welch has published a number of valuable books and articles. This one is very interesting because it is a transcript of a lecture he gave to graduate psychology students at a university. That means it’s going to be a little bit more academic than the last one that you read.

He’s going to reference a number of psychologists and psychological terms, and you might say to yourself, “I have no idea what he’s talking about.” That’s okay. Don’t get caught up in the details.

I want you to note the argument he makes to these secular psychology students about what they’re doing—it’s really a lot of what pastors or biblical counselors are trying to do. But he also argues points based on that comparison. So don’t be discouraged by a little bit more elevated language and some academic terms.

I’d like you to read through this and write down five observations or questions. Don’t get caught up in the details. Just look at the big picture.

I should note that he’s a little bit more sympathetic to psychology than I would be. That might be because of his stance as a person, or because he’s looking to be evangelistic and apologetic in this speech. You’ll notice the way he ends—it definitely shows some sympathy to his audience. That’s probably more credit to psychology than I would give.

I just want you to know that. But I want you to read this. As extra credit, if you’re able, I would like you to listen to a sermon I preached a couple years ago called “Beware Philosophy,” which I preached on Colossians 2:6-8.

This isn’t to promote me as a great preacher or to get you to listen to all my sermons. But I think this was really valuable and has a lot to do with what we’re talking about in this class. You can find that sermon on our website. I put the link there.

Any questions about the homework? Great.

All right, let’s get to the main portion of our class now. What are we doing in today’s class? We’re going to talk about the sufficiency of the Bible.

First, we’ll brainstorm a little bit about the challenges to the Bible’s sufficiency. Then we’ll look at a case for the Bible’s sufficiency. And then, Lord willing, we’ll have time for questions at the end.

Challenges to the Bible’s Sufficiency

Now, hopefully you all got the handout and the homework assignment. If you didn’t, see the greeters in the back.

Let’s start by talking about challenges to the Bible’s sufficiency.

Many people contend, even in the church, that the Bible is not enough to understand the world or to treat people’s problems. The Bible needs to be supplemented, complemented, even reinterpreted by man’s ideas and discoveries.

If we really want to be prepared to live well and to do proper Christian ministry, we need something more than the Bible, or so they say.

Examples of the Bible Being Challenged

Now, where do we see this? What are some examples where somebody says the Bible’s not enough, you need man’s ideas?

Yeah, Caleb. All right, the Catholic church, many sects of Christianity, even cults. They say we have extra revelation, or you need our tradition. That’s a good point. Where else?

Yes, Herb. Okay, schools, and over what issues in particular? What do you need to learn in school that’s going to help you face a problem? We certainly do need to know the biblical fundamentals, but you’re not going to get that in most schools. In fact, you’re probably going to get some education that they insist you need that the Bible doesn’t provide. And maybe we can brainstorm what kind of education that might be.

Where else do they say the Bible’s not enough? What problems or what situations?

Yeah, Magda. Okay, when it comes to science, origins, how did the earth come about, how did life come about? They say, yeah, the Bible says certain things, but if you’re really going to understand it, you need what man has discovered, you need man’s ideas.

Oh, and you need to reinterpret the Bible based on those ideas, because we know science is totally reliable but the Bible is suspect. That’s another example. Where else?

Yeah, Mark. Yeah, that’s a great point, Mark. When it comes to relationships, or when it comes to marriage, people will insist that you need the techniques and discoveries of modern scientists and sociologists and psychologists, because things are just so different from Bible times that the Bible is not really enough.

Or especially when it comes to parenting, right? We look at what the Bible prescribes, we say, wow, that is so antiquated and barbaric. We know now the true way to raise children in a way that’s going to be good for them and resulting in them becoming well-behaved and helpful in society.

Actually, there are attacks against the Bible’s sufficiency all over the place. You’ve mentioned some good ones, I’ll mention a few others. Origins, societal order, how are we going to get rid of racism in our society?

Bible’s not enough, you need what these experts have discovered, or different economic theorists or political theorists. No, no, no, the Bible’s not enough to bring about a utopian or harmonious society. We need the ideas of socialism, or we need the ideas of American democracy. It’s like almost inspired, what they wrote in the constitution. We need to bring that in addition to the Bible.

Counseling and Christian living, we’ll say a lot more about that. Bible interpretation, modern scholarship is very suspicious of the Bible and says, oh, no, no, these authors didn’t actually write these books. Solomon didn’t write Ecclesiastes, the gospel writers didn’t write the gospels. We know that based on our modern scientific analyses and techniques.

If you’re really going to understand the Bible, you’ve got to use modern science. Apologetics, you can’t convince somebody to believe with just the Bible. You need to use archaeological evidence, or you need to use these philosophical, logical arguments. How can you expect this skeptic to believe if he says he doesn’t believe the Bible? You have to use something else. Bible’s not enough.

Evangelism, hey, it’s just not working, just not working. When you try and use the gospel, the straight-up gospel with somebody, you need to use something more spectacular, like speaking in tongues, or getting them to have a vision or a prophecy. That’s how they’re really going to come to believe.

Or hey, when it talks about God’s wrath or God’s counting the cost of becoming a disciple, that’s just going to keep people away. What we’ve discovered, based on our analysis, is that just talking about God’s love, that’s the thing that really draws people. Love, love, love, love, love. If you want people to be converted, just talk about God’s love. We’ve discovered it.

The church, if you really want an effective church, you can’t listen to what the Bible says about what you should do for the church service, or how you should run it in its government. We need modern business techniques, we need surveys, we need to understand what are people’s felt needs, and we need to bring those into the church if we’re really going to serve people.

“There are attacks against the Bible’s sufficiency all over the place—in origins, societal order, counseling, Bible interpretation, apologetics, and evangelism.”

The Danger of Adding Man’s Wisdom

These are just some of the examples. The sad thing about this is that with all these assertions that the Bible is not enough, they come from people who often say that if we add man’s wisdom, we will help the cause of Christ. We’ll see more people saved, we’ll see the church benefit, we’ll see society made more harmonious.

But if you just look at church history, what has been the result of people adding man’s ideas to what the Bible says?

Yes, good. The Bible’s where you get the instruction. You don’t get anywhere with man’s theories.

In fact, historically, you get the opposite of what is promised. The church is not strengthened when you synthesize or integrate man’s ideas with the Bible. Actually, the church is weakened, and many times it’s ruined.

“The church is not strengthened when you synthesize or integrate man’s ideas with the Bible. Actually, the church is weakened, and many times it’s ruined.”

You look at what modern scholarship has done to Bible interpretation, and then what indirectly has happened to the church. It’s destroyed it. All the places that embrace the modern ideas about Bible interpretation, the church is destroyed.

Then you see the results of that in Europe and in other instances too. The church has not helped the people who are won with your man-centered, man-complemented gospel. They are weak believers, or they’re not even real believers, and they easily fall away.

And society—all these things you promise about, oh, if we just adopt this, it’s going to bring this about—society, it doesn’t happen. Society is never going to reach the utopia that your ideas promise. Because Ecclesiastes says you can’t fix what God has made crooked.

This is a broken world, a world that has been tainted by sin. Though the gospel does have a sanctifying influence and a beautiful aroma to it, we’re not going to see the world transformed until Christ comes back. Man’s wisdom, when added to Scripture and said to be necessary to complete what the Bible says, often has a destructive effect.

“Man’s wisdom, when said to be necessary to complete what the Bible says, often has a destructive effect.”

Is the Bible Enough?

But is the Bible enough on its own? You say, okay, you’re saying we can’t add man’s ideas, but is the Bible really enough? Is the Bible sufficient on its own for believers, for the church?

And specifically, does it give all that we need for Christian life and ministry? And what about for counseling? Does the Bible sufficiently equip us to deal with those diagnosed as bipolar?

Does the Bible enable us to help those who have addictions to alcohol, pornography, or drugs? Is the Bible enough to deal with ADHD, anxiety, depression, even schizophrenia?

Is the Bible enough? If the answer is yes, then that’s both encouraging and sobering. Encouraging, because it means that we can really help each other without having to get a PhD in some secular field. We just have the Bible.

But it’s also sobering, because it means we must help each other. We have the ability, we must do it. Well, I’m here to tell you that the answer is yes.

The Bible is sufficient for all Christian ministry, even for all life and godliness. And it is sufficient for counseling. In fact, it is your exclusive resource. If you really want to help somebody, it’s going to come via the Bible.

“The Bible is sufficient for all Christian ministry, even for all life and godliness. It is your exclusive resource. If you really want to help somebody, it’s going to come via the Bible.”

There are some other things that indirectly are related to the Bible, just related to the body, that can also help somebody. But ultimately, it comes from the scriptures. And I want to present to you today why the Bible is sufficient for Christian life and ministry, and I want to do that via three points.

Defining Sufficiency

You see them on your handout, three blanks for you to fill in. We’re going to look at those. Before I do that, let me actually define sufficiency.

When it comes to the Bible’s sufficiency, that word normally means the condition or quality of being enough, of being adequate, or being sufficient. But when we talk about the sufficiency of the Bible, what we mean is—I’m borrowing this definition from Ligonier.org—sufficiency of the Bible is the Christian doctrine stating that the Bible contains all that we need for determining what we must believe and how we are to live before God.

The Bible tells us everything we need to believe and how to live before God in this world. This includes issues of Christian living and biblical counseling.

Now, this doctrine of sufficiency of the Bible arises out of and is consistent with other realities about the Bible. It is inspired, or God-breathed; it is the very word of God. It is inerrant, it is free from error in its original documents. It is a totally trustworthy word.

It is authoritative, it is the final and binding word on everything it discusses. And it is perspicuous, that is, it is clear, it’s understandable, it’s written in a purposeful way to communicate. These are all true and they support this idea that the Bible is sufficient.

“The Bible contains all that we need for determining what we must believe and how we are to live before God.”

Now, I don’t have time to discuss those other qualities of the Bible. We do have Sunday school lessons related to that, so I can point you to those if you want more information. I’m just going to assume those for today’s discussion as we talk about sufficiency.

Point 1: The Bible Claims Sufficiency

But is the Bible really sufficient? Does it even claim to be sufficient? Well, most certainly it does. And that’s why I want to go first in the case for the Bible’s sufficiency.

Let’s first look at number one. The Bible claims sufficiency. It claims to be all you need for what to believe and how to live.

2 Peter 1:2-4 — Everything for Life and Godliness

I want to show three particular scriptures that emphasize this point. There are many scriptures we could go to, but I’m going to go to three of the clearest. The first is 2 Peter 1:2-4.

Please take your bibles and go there, because we’re going to spend some time on this text. Pastor Bobby recently preached this book, but I want to re-examine some of the introductory words of 2 Peter.

Let’s remember the historical context. Test how much you remember. What is the local context of this book? What’s happening or about to happen?

Yeah, Mark. All right, so the church is still under persecution. What else?

Yeah, Glenda. False teachers are a huge issue. That’s actually the greater danger presented in this book. First Peter is more about suffering and persecution. Second Peter is more about false teachers.

There’s one other very important facet of this book. What else is about to happen when this book is written? Someone’s about to die. Peter. Peter, right.

He says in the first chapter, “I know that my departure is at hand,” but he wants his audience to be reminded so that even after he’s gone, they can stand firm. Peter’s about to die, suffering and persecution still affect the church, but the great danger is false teaching.

We might summarize the message of the first chapter: Peter calls on his audience to grow in holiness as you hold fast the sure word of God. Grow in holiness as you hold fast that sure and trustworthy word of God.

But is this word really worth holding on to? Look what Peter says right at the beginning of his letter, starting in verse 2.

He says, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” Experiences of grace and peace are quite welcome, are they not? Who doesn’t want to experience grace and peace? Do you want grace and peace in your life? I hope so.

Peter expresses his prayer and his wish that grace and peace might be multiplied to his readers. How nice. But notice how Peter says it will come. He says, “in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”

You want grace and peace? It comes this way. Wait a second, where do you find the knowledge of God in Jesus Christ our Lord? Where does it come from? It comes from the scriptures, right? The words of the apostles, recorded for us in the scriptures.

So you want grace and peace? Peter says it comes about this way: knowing Jesus from his word, multiplied grace and peace. You get it from his word.

Verse 3, Peter elaborates further on this idea, how the knowledge of Jesus brings about this supernatural multiplication. Look at verse 3.

“Seeing that his divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence.”

What Peter says is the believer’s state. God’s divine power has granted to his people everything pertaining to life and godliness. Notice how inclusive that statement is. Everything. That sure covers a lot, right? Everything pertaining to life—that’s pretty much everything that we experience, right? What’s outside of everything pertaining to life?

And more specifically, everything pertaining to godliness. Not only is God’s power bestowed on us everything we need to live life, but also everything we need to live godly. Everything that would be necessary to walk with God, please God, live holy, be content, have joy, persevere through trials—he says you already have it. He’s granted it to you.

But how? Is this just some mysterious, mystical energy that just fills us and we just kind of have to wait for it to happen? Notice Peter says our great grant by God’s power comes by the true knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence.

That’s just like what verse 2 says, isn’t it? How do you gain multiplied grace and peace? The knowledge of God in Jesus Christ. How do you gain everything pertaining to life and godliness? Through the true knowledge of the one who called us, namely Jesus.

Where is this knowledge to be found? In the saving relationship established by the perfect revelation of Jesus Christ. It’s not merely knowledge; it is a knowledge that brings about our relationship. But that knowledge is written down for us. It was spoken by God’s appointed representatives, the apostles and prophets, and it was written down for us, which is what we have in the scriptures.

Consider how wonderful, how amazing this is. Peter says we have everything we need for life and godliness in Christ, from the Bible.

2 Peter 1:3: “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of him who called us.”

But maybe someone will say this comprehensive provision only has to do with our salvation, not our actual walk with God. Maybe this actually won’t result in our changed behavior; it just gets you to heaven.

Well, look at verse 4. “For by these he has granted to us his precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

Notice it says there at the beginning, “for by these,” or more literally, “through which.” Through what? Well, the antecedent’s a little hard to determine. The last thing mentioned was God’s glory and excellence, so maybe by those. Or perhaps we should reach back further and take his divine power as the reference.

It was by these, or through which—through his divine power—we have this. Because verse 3 says divine power grants, and in verse 4 we see more granting. He has granted us his precious, magnificent promises.

Either way, what further has God granted to his people? By his glory, by his excellence, by his power, verse 4 says precious and magnificent promises. Precious and magnificent promises. Wow. Where do we find these? In the word of God, in the revelation given to the apostles and prophets, written down for us in the word. We have these magnificent and precious promises.

And what do they enable us to do? Notice at the end of the verse: become partakers of the divine nature, which is the result of having escaped the world’s corrupting lust. You can escape the world’s corrupting lust and partake in the divine nature. In other words, you can truly become like Christ and live a holy life, because we have this sufficient knowledge and these bolstering promises.

What should we do? What does verse 5 and following tell us?

Glenda. All diligence, and pursue what? Right, so add to your faith. Applying all diligence, supplying moral excellence and knowledge and self-control. This is the outworking of a holy life. He says, go at it with diligence, because look at what you have. Look at this knowledge and promises and this relationship you have with Jesus Christ. You can live a holy life.

And against whom? Because you have these knowledge and promises, against whom should you guard carefully? Second Peter chapter 2. False teachers. You can pursue that holy life, but you must guard against false teachers. And you can do that because you have this knowledge, you have these promises.

Here’s one powerful claim from the scriptures: the knowledge of God in Christ from his word is more than adequate equipment. It is totally sufficient for a life of godliness. Not just for what to believe, not just for you to find your way to heaven someday, but also for how to live now, overcoming the corrupting lust of the world and pleasing God with a holy life. God has already provided that to you.

“We have everything we need for life and godliness in Christ, from the Bible.”

Even though the passage never uses the term scripture, because it refers to the knowledge of God which only comes via the scripture, it is talking about the scripture. And that’s what the rest of chapter 1 goes on to talk about, right? Go to the end of chapter 1—it’s all about the scripture. We have a scripture that claims to be sufficient.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 — Equipped for Every Good Work

Now, if you’re still doubtful, if you say, “Hey, it never actually used the word scripture,” let’s look at another passage that is quite explicit. That is the scripture that is sufficient for us. Look at 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

These verses are well known, well loved in our church. Let’s read them. I should turn there myself. 2 Timothy 3.

So this is the apostle Paul writing to Timothy. He says, “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

Let’s consider the context of these words. What’s the historical context of Paul’s writing to Timothy? What’s going on?

Mark. That’s right, difficult times that include what? False teaching. False teaching is a problem in this letter as well. What else? Someone else is about to die. This time it’s Paul. He says, “I know the time of my departure is at hand.”

Christians are still facing difficulty and persecution. That’s actually one of the reasons why Paul writes this letter, because Timothy is showing some timidity, some hesitancy to go about the work. It says, “Timothy, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid to suffer with me. Be a faithful workman of God.”

And what’s one of his encouragements towards that end? Because of the word that you have from God. You notice a lot of similarities to 2 Peter, right? Similar situation, similar message. He says, “Keep preaching the word, Timothy.”

And he reminds him of what kind of sufficient and powerful equipment the word of God is for every believer, but especially for Christian leaders.

Notice verse 16, what Paul says the scriptures are and can do. They are inspired, they are literally God-breathed. They are profitable, they are useful. And for what? For teaching what is right, for exposing what is wrong, for bringing what is wrong back into what is right, and for establishing the right as a habit or lifestyle for a person, to really train them in it.

This is what the simple ministry of God’s divine word does. It teaches you how to think and act rightly.

And verse 17 is explicit about the result. “So that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

Now, who’s the man of God? This phrase is often used in the Old Testament for prophets. A man of God is a representative of God who belongs to God and speaks God’s word, which is certainly true of Christian leaders. But in a way, is it not true of all Christians? It ought to be.

And whatever is sufficient for a leader in the church is going to be sufficient for the others in the church. So Paul’s description of the man of God here really applies to all of us.

He says something about this man of God. He says, “The man of God may be adequate.” The Greek term for adequate could also be translated complete, capable, proficient. The idea is of someone well fitted for some particular function.

For what function does the word of God completely equip men and women of God? Every good work. This is what Jesus saved us for, right? Ephesians 2:10. Paul says this is what God’s word, his divine word, enables you to do.

It makes you proficient, it equips you, it completes you for every good work.

And what good works are included in every good work? Is loving your spouse included? Yes. Is forgiving those who sin against you included? Yes. Is remaining content in the Lord amid great troubles included in every good work? Yes.

So what good part of the Christian walk is not included in this provision? None. So we could summarize Paul’s words in this way. The God-breathed, sufficient word is able to make every man and every woman of God sufficiently equipped for life, including counseling.

2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

And this is important, because what challenge will Christians face that Paul brings up in chapter 3 and in chapter 4 of this book? False teachers, who will say, “No, no, no, you don’t have it yet, you don’t have enough. Let me fill in what you’re missing. You gotta listen to me, you don’t have enough yet.”

Paul and Peter both teach us the same thing. Beware the false teachers who say, “No, you need my revelation, you need additional revelation.” You don’t. You don’t need to buy into what they’re selling. You already have it. You already have it in Christ and in his word.

“You already have it. You already have it in Christ and in his Word. You don’t need to buy into what the false teachers are selling.”

Colossians 1:28 and 2 — All Wisdom in Christ

One more scripture to drive the point home. Let’s look at Colossians 1:28.

We looked at this verse last time, but let’s look at it again. Paul is writing, and he says, “We proclaim him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.”

This sounds a lot like 2 Timothy 3:16-17, doesn’t it? Consider the context of this verse. What is the Colossian church facing when Paul writes this letter? You see it in chapter 2 especially.

False teachers are spreading weird teaching that scholars can’t even fully identify. It seems to be some kind of weird Jewish-Gentile mix of extra revelation, keeping of the law, circumcision, and food laws. Teachers are going around in the church proclaiming this, even saying you need to worship angels because of their new divine revelation.

Is it any surprise then that in this letter, Paul talks about the sufficient wisdom Christians already have? This is exactly what you do. You’ve got false teachers and false teaching around, so you remind people that their word is complete and sufficient. That’s what Paul does here.

We can see his mindset in the verse that we read. He says, “We proclaim Christ, and admonish and teach every man.” Remember, that word admonish is the Greek noutheteo, which has the idea of giving advice or counsel, especially a warning against a wrong way, so that you can return to the right way.

Paul says he does this preaching, this teaching, this counseling, with all wisdom. Again, notice that inclusive term: all wisdom. Are you saying Paul’s as wise as God is? No, no one’s as wise as God. Yet the wisdom of God given to Paul and given to all Christians is sufficient, and Paul has everything he needs to instruct every person with the wisdom they need, with complete wisdom.

Notice the phrase that Paul uses three times: every man. The sense of every person. It doesn’t matter who it is. Paul as an apostle, and we as Christians in the church, we are able to apply full wisdom to the life of every person—child or parent, man or woman, pastor or layman, older, young, new Christian, long-time Christian. We have the wisdom and the counsel to teach them all.

And not just teach, but to bring about a certain result. Notice what he says at the end of the verse: “So we may present every man complete in Christ.” You mean perfectly holy like God is? No, we won’t reach perfect holiness in this life. But we will reach, we should reach, we can reach characteristic holiness—a life trained in righteousness and equipped for every good work, complete in that sense.

What a momentous work. How is it possible? Where do we get this sufficient wisdom? He says, in Christ, in this saving relationship with and in the perfect revelation of Jesus Christ. All the wisdom we need, all the wisdom that anyone needs for life, is found in Christ. His word teaches it, his love motivates it, his spirit empowers it. You don’t need anything else.

In fact, what else compares to it? You’re going to set man’s ideas on par with the wisdom of God?

Consider how Paul goes on to emphasize this in Colossians 2:2-3. This is Paul’s desire and prayer for the Colossian church. Listen to what he says: “That their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

If you’ve got Christ, if you have his word, what more do you need? All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are right there.

Look at Colossians 2:10: “And in him you have been made complete, and he is the head over all rule and authority.” Christ is supreme. It only makes sense, therefore, that his wisdom is both sufficient and supreme also. Why would you reach for other wisdom, especially competing wisdom, contradictory wisdom, when you have Christ?

Paul is aware that there is competing wisdom, and he gives specific cautions about that in the same text. Look at Colossians 2:4. Right after he says you have all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ, verse 4 says, “I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument.” People are going to tell you it’s not enough, they’ve got something better. Don’t be deluded.

Or Colossians 2:8: “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” They think they’ve got some advanced knowledge. They haven’t progressed beyond the basics. But they will try to take you captive with it. They’ll say, “Oh, look at this, whoa, you want to be wise, you’re going to be intelligent, you want to be equipped, you’ve got to add this.”

He says, don’t fall for it, don’t fall for it, church.

Just from these three texts, we can see, brothers and sisters, that God is not shy about declaring his word supreme and sufficient for all life and godliness. When it comes to counseling, we can and must rely on the word of God to see people change. God’s word is sufficient wisdom for whatever issues of life we face or others face, either teaching us directly how to act or giving us the fundamental principles.

Colossians 2:2-3: “In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. If you’ve got Christ, if you have his Word, what more do you need?”

Point 2: The Bible Illustrates Sufficiency

But to this, someone may say, “But that can’t be right, because look at all the important topics the Bible never addresses. Oh, really?”

Let’s go to point number two. The Bible not only claims sufficiency, but the Bible, number two, illustrates sufficiency. The Bible repeatedly addresses the topics that truly matter for our lives, thus showing or illustrating its sufficiency.

Someone might say, “But let’s just look at a few examples. The Bible never talks about the psyche, right? How important the psyche is. We need a whole field of science, we need psychology to supplement this thing the Bible never addresses.”

Are you kidding? Where does the term psyche even come from? Does anyone know? Raise your hand.

It’s a Greek word. It’s a Greek word that means what? Or, Glenda? Well, it is used also as a root in the word psychiatry. But biblically speaking, the word psyche is all over the place. It’s the Greek word for soul, or suke.

Does the Bible ever talk about the soul? Does it have anything to say about the soul or the inner person? Maybe. All over the place.

Psalm 19:7-8. “The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul.” You’re worried about your inner man, that part that nobody can see, what you call the psyche? The Bible tells you how it can be restored.

1 Peter 2:11. “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against your soul.” That was a lot to say about the psyche.

The Bible on the Soul, Mind, and Depression

Oh, but the Bible never talks about mental health. That’s why we need today’s scientific theories. The Bible doesn’t talk about mental health, it’s so important.

Well, the Bible may not use the exact phrase “mental health,” but if you actually break down what those words refer to—the soundness or the right ordering or condition of one’s mind—does the Bible speak to that? Again, all over the place.

Deuteronomy 6:5: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.” That’s just another term for the mind. And with all your soul, with all your might. That’s your calling, that’s what you need to do as a believer.

Or Romans 8:5-6: “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the spirit, the things of the spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.”

The Bible is constantly talking about the mind. And yet today’s modern experts say, “No, no, no, we will tell you about the mind. We’ll tell you how to make it healthy.” The Bible already claimed that territory.

Oh, but the Bible never talks about depression. Think about depression. The Bible doesn’t really address that. That’s why we need the experts who can help us with this modern problem.

Well, actually, the New American Standard translates two words as “depressed” in the Bible. In 2 Samuel 13:4, when Amnon’s friend notices how despondent Amnon is because he cannot have his sister Tamar. In 2 Corinthians 7:6, Paul mentions how God comforts the depressed, and then illustrates that by how the news of the Corinthian repentance brought such comfort to Paul and his companions.

But again, let’s not focus on the term “depression” itself. Let’s just translate it into the language the Bible actually uses. The problem with the term “depression” as people use it today is that it describes a variety of sad experiences, from slight sadness to suicidal despair.

But biblically speaking, the words that align best with what the term “depression” means is something like sad hopelessness or sad dissatisfaction. That’s what depression is. It’s sad hopelessness or sad dissatisfaction.

Does the Bible ever describe or speak to people who feel sad hopelessness or sad dissatisfaction? Of course it does. Again, all over the place.

1 Kings 21:4: “So Ahab came into his house sullen and vexed because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him, for he said, ‘I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.’ And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and ate no food.” He’s despondent, he’s depressed. It’s because he couldn’t get what he wanted.

Or Psalm 42:5: “Why are you in despair, O my soul, and why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him for the help of his presence.”

The Bible talks about depression. Really, if you look at all the great issues of our day—especially of the inner person, whether it’s anxiety or depression or bipolar disorder or sex addiction or addiction or racism or abuse—you will find that if you’re willing to translate the modern terminology just a little bit, the Bible not only speaks to these issues, but it speaks to them authoritatively and sufficiently.

Psalm 42:5: “Why are you in despair, O my soul? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him for the help of his presence.”

The Bible not only claims sufficiency, but it illustrates sufficiency in all that it describes and discusses.

Psalm 19:7: “The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul.”

Point 3: The Bible Demonstrates Sufficiency

And finally, the Bible demonstrates sufficiency. Consider one massive implication of the assertion that some form of modern wisdom, whether scientific or psychosocial or medical, is necessary to understand the Bible or to live a happy and holy Christian life.

If that’s really true, then how did Christians get by for nearly 1,900 years? Was the church really without answers and doomed to a dismal, sinful life until Sigmund Freud established the field of psychology in the late 1800s?

Were Christians really unable to overcome anxiety and depression until the development of antidepressants? Were parents all over the world absolutely unable to raise well-behaved children until we understood modern wisdom, abandoned corporal punishment, and adopted parenting advice and medications of the 20th century?

Is the church really so lost? Did God really leave the church so derelict? That sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it?

Biblical Examples of Transformation

We can just ask another question. Has the Bible ever proven itself sufficient for the problems of life? Has it ever happened for somebody?

Why, you just look in the Bible. Was someone ever able to overcome extreme abuse and injustice without becoming bitter, but instead become a forgiving, just, and gracious person? Many today would say that kind of trauma is too great, that person will probably never be able to forgive.

Look at Joseph. Look at the way he responded to his brothers. Look at David with Saul. Look at Stephen with the people who were stoning him to death. You’re going to tell me the Bible’s never proven sufficient?

Or how about in leaving behind lifestyles of immorality, homosexuality, drunkenness, and greed? Has the Bible ever been able to accomplish that?

Again, just look in the scriptures. Look at the prostitutes and the tax collectors who repented and came to Jesus. Look at the converts in the Corinthian church. In 1 Corinthians 6:11, he says, “This is the way you used to live, but not anymore. Such were some of you, but you were washed, you were cleansed, you were sanctified in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Look at the believers to whom Peter writes his first letter. In 1 Peter 4, he says, “You don’t walk the way you used to walk,” and that’s why they malign you.

I could go on. Overcoming prejudice with another people group, overcoming depression and despair, having contentment and confidence in God in every life situation. Has that ever happened for the people of God? Yes. It’s all over the scriptures, it’s throughout Christian history, and it’s happening today, as we can even testify in this church, as many biblical counselors can testify.

How does it happen? How did they do it? They knew the Lord Jesus Christ, and they had his word. Let’s never sell short God’s power. Christ and his word have transformed and are transforming people in a way that no worldly wisdom or pill could ever do.

“Was the church really without answers and doomed to a dismal, sinful life until Sigmund Freud established psychology in the late 1800s? That sounds ridiculous.”

Now, some people refuse to accept the counsel, the perfect wisdom of God. That’s why I say counseling doesn’t always work. It’s not counseling’s fault, it’s not the word’s fault, it’s not Christ’s fault.

It’s like God says to Jerusalem, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how I’ve longed to gather you like a hen gathers her chicks, but you weren’t willing. Therefore your house has left you desolate. You’re going to experience the consequences of your way until you repent, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Counselors, we Christians are saying the same thing to our unrepentant brethren and to the people who have never come to Christ. Why would you not turn from your stubborn way and experience rescue?

That doesn’t prove the Bible’s insufficiency. Rather, so many people prove the Bible is sufficient to change your life because they yield to it. The Bible demonstrates sufficiency.

“Christ and his Word have transformed and are transforming people in a way that no worldly wisdom or pill could ever do.”

Conclusion and Application

What is the conclusion for our lives? We can rely on the Lord in his Word to bring about heart and life change. But we must be aware of worldly wisdom’s claim to complete what the Bible lacks.

We’ve had that attack, and we’re going to have it again. We can rely on the Lord’s Word, but we have to beware of those who say you need something more, you need something else.

“We can rely on the Lord in his Word to bring about heart and life change—but we must beware of those who say you need something more.”

I left about two minutes for questions. Does anybody have a question based on what you heard today?

Mark, that’s a good question. Is there a particular resource I can point you to where scriptures are lined up with some of the issues that we see today?

I can think of one: The Christian’s Guide to Psychological Terms. I forget the author’s name, but it’s exactly that. It takes modern problems or modern diagnoses and says, okay, here’s how you look at it scripturally, here’s how the Bible talks about it.

Yes, that’s one, and I can point out others as we go along. It’s a good question, Mark.

Another question, and maybe one question in your mind through all this: you say, well, Dave, you’re talking about how much the Bible is sufficient, but are you saying that we shouldn’t use medicine at all, that the medical profession and medical science have nothing to offer the Christian?

No, I’m not saying that. In fact, our ministry, even as counselors, should care about the bodily component of it. What is the difference between biological or bodily problems and spiritual problems, and what’s the connection between them? We’ll talk about that next time.

Don’t forget your homework. That’s it for today’s class. Let’s close in prayer.

Thank you for your sufficient Word. It is awesome, and it truly equips us for life, not only for our own lives, Lord, but to help one another and make us skilled in this. Help us to actually trust and believe your Word so you can glorify yourself in transforming hearts and lives of people to become more like yourself, to your glory, Lord.

Thank you for giving us a part in that work. We are not sufficient in ourselves, but you are. Glorify yourself from the rest of this church service. Amen.

I thank everyone.

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