An Introductory Word from Bob
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.
You’re reading Post #7 in this series.
- Read Post #1 Here: Biblical Counseling Word Study #1: Parakaleo—Empathize, Encourage, Exhort, Empower.
- Read Post #2 Here: Biblical Counseling Word Study #2: Parakletos—The Holy Spirit, Our Gospel-Reminding Counselor.
- Read Post #3 Here: Biblical Counseling Word Study #3: “Parakaletic Counseling”—A Comprehensive, Compassionate Biblical Name for Biblical Counseling.
- Read Post #4 Here: Biblical Counseling Word Study #4: The Gospel-Saturated Foundation and Focus of Parakaletic Biblical Counseling.
- Read Post #5 Here: Biblical Counseling Word Study #5: Noutheteo/Nouthesia: Caring, Cautionary Communication to Ward Off Wandering.
- Read Post #6 Here: Biblical Counseling Word Study #6: Noutheteo/Nouthesia: Applying the “7C’s” of Nouthetic Ministry.
While technically not a part of this series, here are two related posts that provide background for the modern nouthetic counseling movement:
- Jay Adams, Nouthetic Counseling, and Neuroscience.
- 3 Reasons Why Jay Adams Called His Counseling Model “Nouthetic”: A Concise History of the Launch of the Modern Nouthetic Counseling Movement.
Today we’re exploring the comparative significance and importance of the noutheteo/nouthesia word group, especially for the personal ministry of the Word—for soul care and biblical counseling. This is similar to what we did in our third post on the parakaleo/paraklasis/parakletos word group. There we sketched 20 reasons why “Parakaletic” would be a comprehensive, compassionate summary of biblical counseling and soul care.
Clearly, the Noutheteo Word Group Is an Important Ministry Term
In theology, we learn of the verbal, plenary inspiration of Scripture. This means that every word of Scripture is important because every word in God’s Word is inspired—breathed out—by God.
So, even if noutheteo and nouthesia were each only used once, they would be God-breathed words of importance. Since we find noutheteo 8 times in the New Testament and nouthesia 3 times, these concepts are biblically important—to God and to us.
Additionally, as we saw in Part 5, the New Testament uses the noutheteo word group in several important ministry settings related to cautionary contextual instruction:
- Potential external danger.
- Potential internal temptation.
- Already existing internal straying.
- Positive challenge to stay Christ-centered and not to stray from Christlikeness.
We also found in Part 5 that these words of warning to ward off wandering were given by four important groups:
- The protective concern of a caring parent.
- The protective concern of a caring pastor/shepherd.
- The protective concern of a caring personal friend.
- The protective concern of prophetic Scripture.
Jay Adams on the Importance of Nouthetic Ministry
Recall from a previous post (3 Reasons Why Jay Adams Called His Counseling Model “Nouthetic”), how Jay Adams sought to balance and nuance the importance of “nouthetic.”
“I have no great zeal for the label ‘nouthetic’ beyond its obvious advantages. However, since every school of thought eventually must be identified by an adjective, I should prefer to choose that adjective for myself. The importance of the word, however, as describing a regulative central activity involved in the ministry of the Word should not be missed.”[i]
While Adams did not see “nouthetic” as the only possible or even best label for his approach, he did see noutheteo/nouthesia as “a regulative central activity involved in the ministry of the Word.”
Adams derived his assessment, in part, from Acts 20:31. “So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.”
“The regularity and intense nature of Paul’s counsel during his three-year ministry at Ephesus is emphasized by these words. If Paul found it necessary to counsel nouthetically for that entire period, as he said, surely our churches need it, too.”[ii]
“…nouthetic confrontation took up a fair share of Paul’s time if he engaged in it night and day for three years without ceasing.”[iii]
Adams also based his assessment of the importance of nouthetic ministry on Romans 15:14 and Colossians 3:16.
“First, whatever nouthetic activity may be, it is clear that the New Testament assumes that all Christians, not simply ministers of the Gospel, should engage in it…. In both Colossians and Romans, then, Paul pictured Christians meeting in nouthetic confrontation as normal every-day activity.”
I concur. Nouthetic ministry is an important part of the personal ministry of the Word.
Nouthetic Ministry Within the Context of the Overall Personal Ministry of the Word
Nouthetic ministry is undoubtedly an important biblical ministry. We now want to explore the comparative or relative significance and importance of nouthetic ministry—as outlined in the whole counsel of God’s Word.
Paul’s Comprehensive, Multifaceted Ministry in Ephesus
Jay Adams’s observation about Acts 20:31 and the nature of Paul’s three-year ministry in Ephesus was a catalyst for me to examine additional biblical passages about Paul’s ministry in Ephesus. What all did Paul do in Ephesus?
- Paul strengthened (episterizo) all the disciples: Acts 18:23
- Paul taught about the Holy Spirit: Acts 19:1-7
- Paul taught about the baptism of Spirit: Acts19:1-7
- Paul spoke boldly (parresiazomai) for three months about the Kingdom: Acts 19:8
- Paul reasoned (dialegomai) for three months about the Kingdom: Acts 19:8
- Paul persuaded (peitho) the people for three months about the Kingdom: Acts 19:8; Acts 19:26
- Paul continued daily for two years reasoning (dialegomai) (interactive dialogue/trialogue discission and discourse from the Scriptures) so the people heard the Word of the Lord: Acts 19:9-10
- Paul performed miracles: Acts 19:11
- Paul healed the sick: Acts 19:12
- Paul cast out demons: Acts 19:12
- Paul turned away (methistemi) many from following false gods: Acts 19:26
- Paul encouraged (parakaleo) the disciples: Acts 20:1
- Paul encouraged (parakaleo) many with many words: Acts 20:2
- Paul lived as an example/model to the believers for three years: Acts 20:18
- Paul served the Lord in their midst with humility and tears for three years: Acts 20:19
- Paul modeled trust in the Lord in the midst of severe testing/persecution: Acts 20:19
- Paul did not hesitate to preach/proclaim (anangello) (to bring back word, announce, report, declare, set forth, teach) anything that was helpful to the Ephesians for three years: Acts 20:20
- Paul taught (didasko) the Ephesians publicly for three years: Acts 20:20
- Paul taught (didasko) the Ephesians from house to house for three years: Acts 20:20
- Paul testified/declared (diamartyromai) (to declare solemnly, to make an affirmation) to turn to God in repentance and to have faith in Christ: Acts 20:21
- Paul testified (diamartyromai) to the Good News of God’s Grace: Acts 20:24
- Paul proclaimed (kerysso) (to proclaim, herald, announce openly and publicly, to announce doctrine, to inculcate, to preach the Kingdom) for three years: Acts 20:25
- Paul testified (martyromai) (call to witness, make a solemn appeal): Acts 20:26
- Paul did not cease for three years from announcing/proclaiming (anangello) to the Ephesians the whole purpose/will (boule) (counsel, purpose, design) of God: Acts 20:27
- Paul did not cease warning (noutheteo) each of the Ephesian elders for three years: Acts 20:31
- Paul commended (paratithemi) the Ephesian elders to the word of God’s Grace: Acts 20:32
- Paul lived a godly life among them: Acts 20:33-35
- Paul worked hard to supply his own needs: Acts 20:33-35
- Paul gave sacrificially to help the weak: Acts 20:33-35
- Paul prayed: Acts 20:36
What did Paul do during his three years in Ephesus? Paul had a richly multifaceted ministry of the Word with the Ephesians for three years. Contextually—when the need for warning arose, Paul never hesitated during his three years to provided nouthetic ministry.
However, outside the context of a need for warning, Paul engaged consistently in over two dozen other non-nouthetic types of ministry. Nouthetic ministry is important, but it is only one facet in our multifaceted personal ministry calling from God.
Comparing Parakaletic Ministry and Nouthetic Ministry
Both parakaletic and nouthetic are legitimate, important aspects of the personal ministry of the Word. That’s why this series on biblical words about biblical counseling is focusing on both words.
That said, it is important to consider how the Bible itself uses these terms. Again, I would encourage you (pun intended) to recall the previous material on 20 reasons why “Parakaletic” would be a comprehensive, compassionate summary of biblical counseling and soul care. Just a few sample summaries:
- New Testament writers use the parakaleo word group 143 times, while using the noutheteo word group 11 The parakaleo word group is used 13 times more frequently than the noutheteo word group.
- In at least 48 verses, Paul, in many diverse ways, describes his ministry calling, identifies his regular practice of ministry activity, and labels the goal of his ministry using the parakaleo word family. By contrast, Paul describes his own ministry with the noutheteo family of words only 3 times.
- We’ve consistently noted that the Bible uses the noutheteo word group in the specific context of warning about temptation and sin—a valid, important, and even frequent context in the Christian life. We also noted the comprehensiveness of the parakaleo word group. The parakaleo word group comprehensively covers the four classic aspects of historic Christian soul care:
- Sustaining Empathy for Saints Who Suffer
- Healing Encouragement for Saints Who Suffer
- Reconciling Exhortation for Saints Who Battle Against Sin
- Guiding Empowerment/Equipping for Saints Growing in Sanctification
Rather than highlighting one primary aspect of biblical counseling (warning for temptation and sin), parakaleo expansively emphasizes a full-orbed approach to who we are in Christ as saints who endure suffering and battle sin on our sanctification journey.
Considering Contextual Ministry
Paul encourages us in Ephesians 4:29 to minister to the specific needs of the unique person at that particular moment in time. There is no one-size-fits-all ministry. Jay Adams recognized this. Contrasting Rogerian counseling with his model of nouthetic confrontation, Adams explained:
“Yet, no nouthetic counselor would consider his activity limited to the items Rogers describes as ‘directive.’ He does all those things which Rogers calls non-directive. The fact is that the whole range of appropriate responses is available to the nouthetic counselor. He does not force every case into one limited mold. Rather, in responding appropriately to each client and each problem, the entire gamut of possible Christian responses may be used in nouthetic counseling.”[iv]
In this quote, Adams is using “nouthetic counseling” as a broad label for a specific model. Adams was never saying that his model only derived from the noutheteo/nouthesia word group. That is important to remember if our biblical counseling is to be comprehensively biblical.
We find Paul promoting the same principle of multifaceted, context-specific, person-specific ministry in 1 Thessalonians 5:14. “Now we appeal (parakaleo) to you, brothers, warn and provide cautionary instruction (noutheteo) the disorderly, comfort (paramytheomai) the discouraged, help (antecho) the weak, be patient (makrothumeo) all” (my translation from the Greek).
Here we find several diverse means of personal ministry, each contextualize to the individual and their need. And even here, Paul was being illustrative, not exhaustive. That is, there are scores and scores of additional biblical terms for the personal ministry of the Word. For example, Paul uses three terms for fatherly personal care in 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12. Two of those terms overlap with 1 Thessalonians 5:14, and one is different: encourage (parakaleo), comfort (paramytheomai), and charge (martyero).
Even in the 11 verses that use the noutheteo word family, Paul uses at least 9 other terms for word-based ministry: (didasko/teaching), (paidea/training), (parakaleo/encouraging, comforting), (katangello/preaching/proclaiming), (proistemi/caring, working tirelessly), (trepho/nurturing), (paramytheomai/comforting), (antecho/helping), and (makrothumeo/patience). The Scriptures do not designate the noutheteo/nouthesia word group as a stand-alone model for biblical counseling.
Homework for Biblical Counselors: 3 Assessments of Our Noutheteo/Nouthesia Biblical Soul Care
- Because Paul engaged in over two dozen non-nouthetic types of ministry in Ephesus, I concluded that nouthetic ministry is important, but it is only one facet in our multifaceted personal ministry calling. Do you agree or disagree with this assessment? In your ministry, what would the implications be if you agreed with this assessment?
- I noted that parakaleo expansively emphasizes a full-orbed approach to who we are in Christ as saints who endure suffering and battle sin on our sanctification journey. In your ministry, what might be some implications of this summary of parakaleo?
- Recall my translation of in 1 Thessalonians 5:14. “Now we appeal (parakaleo) to you, brothers, warn and provide cautionary instruction (noutheteo) the disorderly, comfort (paramytheomai) the discouraged, help (antecho) the weak, be patient (makrothumeo) all.” How could your personal ministry of the Word reflect each of these callings from 1 Thessalonians 5:14? What does this passage suggest about person-specific and situation-specific soul care?
[i] Adams, Jay. Competent to Counsel. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1970, p. 52.
[ii] Adams, Jay. What Is Nouthetic Counseling? Accessed June 11, 2023.
[iii] Adams, Competent to Counsel, p. 43.
[iv] Adams, Jay. Competent to Counsel. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1970, p. 89.
