What is the Whole Counsel of God?
“You’re not preaching the whole gospel, brother”
Tell people the good news of God’s unconditional love, and I can guarantee that some will chide you for not preaching the whole counsel of God.
Tell people about the goodness of God, and some concerned person will say: “You’ve got to preach the whole counsel of God, brother.”
What they mean is, “You should tell people to do stuff – repent, confess, turn from sin, work, etc. – to earn the free gifts of grace.”
Earn the free gifts of grace?!
What a strange thing to say. How can you compensate God for his priceless gifts?
I am a big fan of repentance, but repentance may not be what you think it is.
I’m also a big fan of confession, but confession may not be what you think it is either.
And turning from sin? Well any time you turn to Jesus you will turn from sin. It’s inevitable.
Sidebar: The issue is not what you are turning from but Who you are turning to. The Pharisees turned from sin every day but they never turned to Jesus. Turning from sin doesn’t make you righteous, just religious.
What is the whole counsel of God?
Paul told the Ephesians “I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). Some translations say, the whole will or whole purpose of God.
The whole counsel and the whole purpose are synonymous with the whole gospel because God’s will is always good news.
What is the whole counsel of God that Paul proclaimed? He tells us three verses earlier:
I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace. (Acts 20:24)
The whole counsel of God is the gospel of his grace. Period.
“Just grace?!” says the serious man.
Grace and nothing but. Not grace-plus-your-confession, nor grace-plus-your-works – just grace.
“I can’t accept that,” says the serious man.
Well, you wouldn’t be the first person to have a problem with grace:
The Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God… (Luke 7:30)
Isn’t that interesting. Those who loved the law rejected God’s counsel. Who else did the Pharisees and law-teachers reject? Jesus (see Mark 8:31)!
What is the whole gospel? Jesus is. He is the whole counsel and the complete will and the eternal purpose of God.
If you want to know what God is like or what he thinks, look to Jesus.
If you want to preach the counsel, the whole counsel, and nothing but the counsel of God, then preach Jesus and nothing else. He is both the will of God made flesh and the means by which God’s will comes to pass.
Jesus is the Good News.
How not to preach the gospel
I have written elsewhere on how to teach the gospel of grace, but let me finish by showing you how not to preach the gospel: Add stuff to it.
If you take all the blessings of God – his love, favor, forgiveness, acceptance, healing, provision, deliverance, etc. – and tell people they must do stuff to merit them, then you are diluting the gospel of grace. You’re preaching a mixed gospel of grace-plus-works.
Grace is no longer the whole gospel; it’s only part of some horrendous frankengospel.
Whenever we add things to the gospel of grace we dilute its strength and empty the cross of its saving power.
What do these gospel additives look like?
I am sure you know them. They are called prayer and fasting, Bible study, the spiritual disciplines, tithes and offerings, Christian duty, the virtues, works of service, ministry, self-sacrifice, helps, missions, outreach, submission, sowing, etc. In the hands of graceless religion these good things become death-dealing burdens.
If you think you must do them before God will bless you, you have fallen from grace as hard as any Galatian.
Religion is cruel
Imagine a thirsty man crawls out of the desert and you say to him, “Drink this pure spring water.” That’s good news for the thirsty man. He doesn’t need to do anything except receive what you are offering.
But if you ask that man to run a marathon before you give him the drink, it’s no longer good news. It’s torture.
Telling a thirsty man he must pray for an hour before he can drink is not good news. Nor is telling him that he must keep the rules, play the game, and do what he’s told. This isn’t good news; it’s bad news. It’s a form of bullying that hammered the Galatians, the Ephesians, the Laodiceans and many other believers since.
And telling the thirsty man he may drink provided he pays later is no different. In fact it’s worse because you given him a taste of freedom before binding him with obligation.
Want to see change in your life and the lives of others? Then follow Paul’s lead and preach the whole gospel of grace without adding anything to it.
This emphasis on what we must do before God will bless us is a doctrine of demons. It’s poison in the water. The true gospel is additive-free. It’s grace from start to finish.
If you would preach the whole gospel then preach Christ alone.
Jesus is all you need.
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Did you know that in just a little over two years the Grace Commentary has become the largest grace-based commentary? Here is a picture our progress.
Escape to Reality 
Loved this, nailed it! Can hear the inspiration of the Holy Spirit speaking so clearly, plainly and simply about ABBA God and our Lord Jesus so clearly all the way through it. Thank you.
The WHOLE gospel is ALL Jesus – not 99.9% Jesus plus 0.01% human effort. “He who began the good work in you [HE] will see it through to completion.”
That’s it. Even a tiny drop of poison can be deadly. This is why we guard the well of our hearts and drink only what the Lord provides.
The most one can hope to achieve… is to move a person to spend time with God.
I struggle with the fact that Paul, the grace preacher, also preaches rules, e.g. 1 Cor 7,10 “To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.”
So for example for a wife who is in an unhappy or even abusive marriage, it is not enough to believe in Jesus (and decide to regain some freedom by separating from her husband). Apparingly she must obey the rule Paul adds here (do not separate).
It’s a pity that some Bible translations pepper new covenant texts with old covenant words. You can read my take on that passage on the Grace Commentary.
Growing up in a very legalistic baptist church where I had to be “good” really messed me up. I walked away from church all together about 12 years ago and was crying out the God that there had to be more the do good try harder message was exhausting. Thankfully God lead me to a pastor who was pure Grace (pure water) I drank in his messages like someone dying of thirst. for 10 years I listened to his sermons everyday I was wow I was changed inside out. Then I found E2R and have never looked back ! I AM FREE
That is such a good story. Thank you for sharing, Jacqueline.
This is a good, but sad story of many churches. Legalism always says TRY harder to please God, and grace always says TRUST more in Jesus.
This is so much of a blessing to know to read to hear. I just want (and do) share with everyone I know! Thank you for putting all of that in such a way that is easy enough for all to understand. Thank you🤩
Another good article by Dr. Ellis. Now, I am going to do what Paul says some folks will do in his first sentence. The full counsel of God in witnessing to a lost soul would be to tell the unbeliever the truth of their lost condition that he is a sinner whom God loves, but he is separated from God and is His enemy, and needs reconciliation with God. He must be told that he will perish unless he repents and turns to Jesus. One must hear the bad news before he will accept the Good News of the Gospel of grace and receives Jesus as his Lord and Savior.
All this must be done in love, gentleness, compassion, and grace. I want to make it clear that no one earns or does works for his salvation, as this is a free gift of grace. It is always a blessing to have Paul discuss God’s love, mercy, and grace, BUT the lost person also needs to hear that God is just, righteous, and holy. God’s love and justice meet at the cross. I believe that the full counsel of God involves telling the unbeliever that he is a sinner and needs to turn to Jesus (repent). To me, the full counsel of God involves the bad news as well as the Good News of the Gospel.
The bad news is there is an enemy which is death. The good news is death was defeated on your behalf. I don’t think God views anyone as His enemy. He views death as an enemy because it would destroy us. Who did Jesus consider to be His enemy?
Any unsaved person would be an enemy of God as they are opposed to His will, purposes, and His presence in their lives, and they deny Jesus as Lord and Savior. Any unbelieving sinner that has not put his faith/trust in Jesus would be an enemy. Sin sets us against God as we are alienated and hostile toward Him (Col 1:21-22). That is the bad news of the counsel of God. However, the Good News of the Gospel is that while we were enemies of God, He so loved us, that Jesus died for us (Rom 5:6-11).
Other enemies would include Satan, the major adversary of our world (1 John 5:19); the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile toward God (Rom 8:8); and friendship with the world system makes one an enemy of God as noted in James 4:4)
The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God’s grace is eternal life in Jesus (Rom 6:23). LJP is correct that the final enemy is death, and Jesus must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet, and the last enemy to be abolished is death(1 Cor 15:25-26).
If you have seen Jesus, you have seen the Father. If the Father considers Himself an enemy of sinners, we should see that in the life of Jesus. However, Jesus was never considered an enemy of sinners, but a friend of sinners. Colossians says you were enemies “in your mind”. We considered ourselves His enemy because we never knew Him. Religion told us we were not good enough because of our sin, but while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He considered us His friend and His equal even while we considered Him our enemy.
I agree with LJP that Jesus was a friend of sinners. And as a friend to sinners, He mingled with them as Helper, Guide, Physician, and Savior whose mission was to save the lost. He came to call sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32) and to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). As their friend, Jesus never shied away from rebuking their sin, and He never compromised His sinless nature and righteousness in having them turn to Him in faith/trust.
However, the whole counsel of God sees Jesus in His love, mercy, and grace and as a friend of sinners, BUT also sees Jesus in His justice, holiness, and as righteous Judge to those who do not accept His gift of grace and salvation. Unbelievers are saved from the wrath of God through the blood shed by Jesus, and we were enemies and reconciled to God as stated in Rom 5:8-10.
I am not sure what LJP meant in his last statement that Jesus “considered us His friend and His equal.” Jesus is the Almighty and Holy God, and He is the Great Shepherd and we are His sheep. Jesus is still King of kings and Lord of lords and not our equal.
The absolutely decieved holy-less Paul Ellis is hereby fortwith warned – must needs REPENT. And confess to a fellow brother or sister in the body of Christ in order to receive forgiveness. Who, for very long now, justifies a particular grave, fatal, sin that he so greatly loves (eg infidelity, fornication, masturbation / porn adction) via spouting his crystal clear damning, heretical, doctrine.
Thank you for your vivid illustration of Romans 3:8.
Hello Alex, Jesus is certainly Kings of kings and Lord of lords, yet He laid down His life for us, not considering Himself more valuable, or He would not have done it. It would be foolish to sacrifice your life for an ant, but not your child. By making you His child, He made you His equal. The whole counsel of God is making Him wholly your Savior with no buts. He offers a whole, complete salvation, requiring no assistance from your flesh.
Wonderful! I think the failure to preach Christ and Christ alone may be one of, if not the greatest, flaws in the current Church.
Peter URGES the new believers to “Grow in Grace & Knowledge of our Lord…” (2 Peter 3:18) Whilst Paul COMMANDS to “put off our old corrupt self (‘falsehood’) and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4: 17-32). Accordingly, what’s your plan to do that, Pastor? What programs in thy Church are implemented to those ends, that facilitate ESSENTIAL true righteousness (sanctification) and holiness? Missional discipleship perchance?
Much appreciated,
Phil+ (retired pastor).
You can find my thoughts on those two passages here.
Unfortunately, thy “Bible Commentary” per N.T books seem to have not (yet) included Ephesians 4 and 2 Peter 3. Further, I haven’t yet found anything per thy articles about Peter urging new beleivers to “grow in grace and knowledge….” and Paul’s command to put of the old self….and put on the news self…”. Collectively, these are very important ‘how-to’ topics.
Those passages are included in the Grace Commentary. They are also listed in the Scripture Index here on E2R > Archives.