The Bible calls the Holy Spirit our “Helper,” given to us by God to indwell in us at the moment of our salvation (John 14:16). He is the third person of the Trinity, coequal and consubstantial with the Father and the Son, who comes alongside us to guide, exhort, sanctify and empower us for service. His role in both our lives as Christians and in the ministry of counseling is of vital importance. To refuse the guidance or exhortation of the Holy Spirit in either of these areas is detrimental to the counseling ministry.
The Holy Spirit in Our Lives
There are many facets to the role of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life. He is responsible for the regeneration of believers at their conversion (Titus 3:5) and giving eternal life (Romans 8:11). He guides us as we strive to live by the power of the Holy Spirit and obey God (Galatians 5:18), resulting in the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). He illuminates God’s Word so that we can understand it and be changed by it as part of our sanctification (1 Corinthians 2:12-13). The Holy Spirit teaches us and helps apply God’s Word to our lives so that we may grow in Christlikeness (John 14:26). We can also grieve the Holy Spirit when we sin (Ephesians 4:30). Lastly, Ephesians 4:30 also describes how the Holy Spirit seals believers to identify them as belonging to God and guarantees their eternal redemption.
The Holy Spirit in Counseling
In the counseling process, the Holy Spirit is important for both the counselor and the counselee. For the counselor, the Holy Spirit has imparted certain gifts to this believer for this ministry. The counselor works in conjunction with the Spirit as an instrument of grace and change in the lives he counsels to. Reliance upon the Holy Spirit does not relieve the counselor of his duty to speak truth from God’s Word into the life of a counselee. Effective biblical counseling cannot be done apart from the power and the work of the Holy Spirit. Jay E. Adams writes, “By-passing the Spirit amounts to the denial of human depravity and the affirmation of man’s innate goodness.”1 If the Holy Spirit and God’s Word are removed from the counseling process then the counselor’s ministry is ineffective. The counselee is left to his own power to try to change himself.
For the counselee, as stated above, he needs the Holy Spirit to produce effective change as part of the sanctification process. In order to see the fruits of the Spirit, the counselee needs to rely on the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, if he is left to his own devices to try to change, he ends up walking in his own way instead of God’s way. That is why Jesus calls the Holy Spirit “another Helper” in John 14:16. He brings to light the truths of Scripture and guides believers in applying them to their lives. If counselees are left to change their lives on their own they will soon see what a futile attempt it will be by disregarding God’s Word and His Spirit. Ezekiel 36:27 reads, “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.” This verse should comfort counselees, and counselors as well, in the fact that they do not have to try to go at their issues alone. There is a supernatural power that dwells within them, causing them to change and grow in Christlikeness.
If counselees are left to change their lives on their own they will soon see what a futile attempt it will be by disregarding God’s Word and His Spirit.
God has sent believers a helper and counselor in the Holy Spirit. As is salvation through grace, the Holy Spirit is a gift to Christians not to be ignored or grieved in this lifetime. He is the one who regenerates hearts and gives new life to dead men. He comes alongside believers to work in them for the glory of God and for their good. And with His seal, there is a great hope that the work being done in the lives of Christians will be perfected until Jesus returns or they are called home.
1. Adams, Jay E. Competent to Counsel. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Pub., 1970. 20. Print.
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