An Introductory Word from Bob: Biblical Words Related to Biblical Counseling 

There are many words in the Old Testament and New Testament that relate to one-another ministry, biblical counseling, soul care, pastoral care, shepherding, spiritual friendship, and being a soul physician. In this series on Biblical Counseling Word Studies, I’m posting about:

How we can become further equipped to counsel one another biblically by understanding and applying biblical words related to soul care.

A Note from Bob

Note that I am not saying that we can develop a comprehensive model of biblical counseling from word studies. Building a complete model of biblical counseling is a much more comprehensive process. For my approach to building a comprehensive biblical counseling model, see: Gospel-Centered Counseling: How Christ Changes Lives. Also see: Gospel Conversations: How to Care Like Christ.

The Importance and Frequency of Parakaleo in the New Testament

Today, we look at the Greek word parakaleo.

New Testament writers use forms of this word 138 times (109 times for parakaleo and 29 times for paraklesis). If you include the word parakletos (the Holy Spirit and Christ as our Advocate and Comforter), then New Testament writers use this family of words 143 times. Volume 5 of The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, covers this family of words with 42 pages.

By comparison, noutheteo (from which Jay Adams developed Nouthetic Counseling) and its family of Greek New Testament words is used only 11 times. Volume 4 of The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, uses only 3 pages to cover noutheteo.

New Testament writers use the parakaleo family of words 13 times as frequently as they use the noutheteo family of words.

Parakaleo in Ancient Greek Usage 

Note: Unless otherwise noted, I have developed the rest of today’s post from Volume 5 of The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (TDNT), plus from my own study of the word parakaleo.

The parakaleo family of words was common in Ancient Greek, with a range of meanings: 

• To call or request comfort, consolation, help, exhortation, or strengthening from another person.
• To console or comfort a person in the midst of their suffering and grief.
• To encourage someone in the midst of a difficult circumstance (including a commanding officer encouraging soldiers to be brave before battle).

I was fascinated when I read in TDNT that ancient Greek, not having a personal, caring God and not having future hope, used parakaleo as “Therefore, stop lamenting” (TDNT, Vol. 5, p. 780). As they say:

“This will not, of course, surprise those who recognize that the comfort of antiquity, unlike that of Christianity, is often designed simply to silence weeping, so that the heart is as little consoled as it was before….” “There is at bottom a profound lack of hope or comfort in the world of antiquity.” (TDNT, Vol. 5, p. 780, 787).

It is Stoicism that communicates, “Stuff it! Stop it! Silence your weeping! Don’t lament! Don’t feel!”

Biblical, loving, comforting Christianity (and parakaletic biblical counseling) communicates, “God cares. God hears. I weep with you. Lament. Feel. Grieve. Grieve with hope.”

Parakaleo in the Old Testament (Septuagint/LXX—Greek Translation of the OT)

In the LXX, at least 15 different Hebrew words are translated with a form of the word parakaleo.

• In the Greek translation of the OT, “‘to comfort’ is by far the outstanding sense” (TDNT, Vol. 5, p. 777). It is used for comfort in bereavement, in mourning, in grief. It is used for expressions of sympathy and empathy.
• In the LXX, it is used for God’s consoling, pitying sympathy, empathy, and comfort in our distress. “True consolation of the heart comes from God.” “Comforting is God’s proper work. He turns earlier desolation into perfect consolation” (TDNT, Vol. 5, p. 789). “Two metaphors give vivid expression to the divine comfort. The first is that of the shepherd (Is. 40:11), the second that of the mother, which is used for God Himself (Is. 66:13)” (TDNT, Vol. 5, p. 790).
• In the LXX, God’s comfort is often mediated through His Word, His people, and especially through the promised Servant/Messiah to come. In the OT, God’s people mourned with one another.
• The LXX also uses the word parakaleo for encouragement, especially in the sense of “to put courage into”—to strengthen those in trials and difficulties.
• The LXX uses the word parakaleo for exhortation—especially friendly, gentle exhortation.

Parakaleo in the New Testament: 4 Practical Biblical Counseling Principles 

TDNT expends 7 pages on the New Testament uses of the parakleo family of words.

I’ll seek to encapsulate those 7 pages into 4 practical biblical counseling concepts and principles.

Biblical Counseling Principle #1: Parakaletic Biblical Counselors Empathetically Offer Sustaining Consolation

Very frequently the parakaleo word group is used for consoling help. We find an excellent example of this meaning in 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17:

“He himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal consolation (paraklasis) and good hope through grace, comfort (parakaleo) your hearts and establish them by every good work and word.”

For the consolation of Scripture, see, for example, Romans 15:4. For human consolation, see Paul in Colossians 2:2.

This idea of consolation especially has the idea of first joining with another in their suffering:

Shared sorrow is endurable sorrow.

Consolation then ponders with people their eternal hope.

Consolation connects current human suffering to future eternal hope in Christ.

Biblical Counseling Principle #2: Parakaletic Biblical Counselors Caringly Provide Healing Comfort and Encouraging Hope

Another frequent use of the parakaleo family of words is for comfort. Here it is used both for consoling (suffering with), and also for compassionate strengthening.

Think of comfort as “co-fortitude.”

Think of encouraging as “en-courage”—instilling courage into another.

God is our ultimate Comforter. Yet, He sovereignly chooses to use us to comfort one another.

In 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, the fellowship of suffering becomes a fellowship of comfort—from God, to us, to one another.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Father of compassion and the God of all comfort/encouragement (paraklesis), who comforts/encourages (parakaleo) us in all our troubles so that we may be able to comfort/encourage (parakaleo) those who experience any trouble with the comfort/encouragement (parakaleo) we ourselves are comforted/encouraged (parakaleo) by God.” (My personal translation based upon the Greek text.)

God compassionately cares for us and powerfully encourages and comforts us—so that we can provide sustaining consolation and healing hope, encouragement, and comfort to one another.

Biblical Counseling Principle #3: Parakaletic Biblical Counselors Humbly Present Reconciling Exhortation

This is a less frequent use of the parakaleo word group. In the apostolic preaching, it was often used for the wooing proclamation of the gospel—enticing people toward Christ by helping them to see the goodness of His grace. This usage also can have the idea of a gentle admonition to persevere in Christ.

Perhaps the best example of this usage is Hebrews 13:22 where the author describes his entire epistle as “a word of exhortation” (paraklasis). Think of that. Hebrews is written to encourage and exhort suffering Christians to cling to Christ and persevere in the faith through the power of the Spirit.

Biblical Counseling Principle #4: Parakaletic Biblical Counselors Wisely Share Guiding Empowerment and Equipping 

We can summarize the fourfold ministry of parakaletic biblical counseling using 4 “E” words:

• Sustaining Empathy
• Healing Encouragement
• Reconciling Exhortation
• Guiding Empowerment/Equipping

Someone comes to us. They are suffering. We empathize with them, weeping with their weeping. And we direct them to the Father of compassion. This is sustaining parakaletic soul care.

In their suffering, they not only need consolation, they also need encouragement to persevere. This is healing parakaletic soul care.

We are not only sufferers. We are all sinners. In sin, we point unbelievers to Christ’s grace. In sin, we point believers to Christ’s grace to forgive and grace to help in time of need. This is reconciling parakaletic soul care.

We are also saints: who, as we suffer and as we avail ourselves of Christ’s grace, have difficult choices to make every day. What to do? How to respond? How to love others? We need wisdom. And once we have wisdom to know what to do, we need strength that empowers us to do what God calls us to do. This is guiding parakaletic soul care.

TDNT concludes their lexical study of the parakaleo word family by highlighting this guiding/empowering aspect. Parakaleo is possible only because of the Divine aid, Christ’s resurrection power, that has already been lavished upon God’s people. The saving work of our Triune God not only offers us sure eternal hope; it offers us present resurrection empowerment (p. 799).

Homework for Biblical Counselors: 8 Assessments of Our Parakaletic Biblical Counseling 

In your sustaining parakaletic biblical counseling, how can you empathetically join with people in their suffering—shared sorrow is endurable sorrow?

How can your sustaining parakaletic biblical counseling offer consolation that connects a counselee’s human suffering to their future eternal hope in Christ?

In your healing parakaletic biblical counseling, how can you first be a comfort receiver—receiving comfort and encouragement from God?

In your healing parakaletic biblical counseling, how can you offer “co-fortitude” that strengthens others with healing hope so that they are “en-couraged” to cling to Christ in the midst of their distresses?

In your reconciling parakaletic biblical counseling, how could you invite unbelievers to Christ on the basis of the goodness of Christ?

How can your reconciling parakaletic biblical counseling humbly encourage and gently exhort suffering Christians to cling to Christ and to persevere in the faith through the power of the Spirit?

In your guiding parakaletic biblical counseling, how do you interact with counselees so that they are equipped to use God’s Word to make wise, relational decisions?

How can your guiding parakaletic biblical counseling empower, equip, and strengthen God’s people to live their lives based upon Christ’s resurrection power?

A Question to Ponder…

How might the modern biblical counseling movement have developed differently if parakaleo was the foundational biblical concept, rather than noutheteo?