Counseling

Counseling and the Westminster Confession of Faith – 1.4

Posted on by Dan Dodds

WCFParagraph 4 of the Westminster Confession of Faith chapter one reads:

The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed, and obeyed, depends not upon the testimony of any man, or Church; but wholly upon God (who is truth itself) the author thereof: and therefore it is to be received, because it as the Word of God.

There are times in counseling when the issue of authority needs to be discussed. That is, if we believe that there is a God and that the Bible is His Word, then His Word is authoritative over the opinions of man – even psychologists or psychiatrists. But how do we know it is the Word of God?

This paragraph in Westminster, though short, begins to answer the question for us as it introduces us to the ‘self-attesting authority’ of God’s Word. Think of it this way, we often establish one authority over the authority of another by appealing to an authority over both of them. The policeman has authority over me on the road because the law says so. Appealing to a higher authority settles the lesser authority question.

But what is the highest authority? And how do we know it is the highest authority if there is no higher authority to prove it? An ultimate authority is unique in that you cannot prove it the way you do lesser authorities. In the end, an ultimate authority must prove itself, and this can only be done indirectly. That is, you don’t prove it directly from evidence, you prove it by showing the effects of removing it. If the very reality of truth, knowledge and meaning is dependent upon this authority (the Bible), then removing what it teaches about God, man, reality, knowledge etc. as a foundation destroys everything founded upon it. And that is just the case with the Bible and what it tells us about this world. God is the necessary foundation for all knowledge, without Him knowledge is impossible.

This is not to say that the Bible is true because it says it is true – which is circular reasoning. But rather, the Bible is true because truth is not possible without it. Or as Solomon writes, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” Proverbs 1:7.  We can know the Bible is true because if it were not true, we couldn’t know anything. This is heavy sledding, no?

In relation to counseling, the counselee may need to be shown where ultimate authority lies so that he knows he can trust it and depend upon it for change. Any authority that he depends upon over and against God’s Word will only undermine his healing. Westminster 1.4 is a good starting point.

Dan Dodds
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Dan Dodds
Dan is a native of Detroit, Michigan; a graduate of Hillsdale College in Michigan and Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Dan has worked in the financial area as a CPA and controller as well as in international business and sales. In 1995 Dan entered into the ministry in a Florida church as Sr. High and Singles Pastor. In 2001 he was brought on staff at Woodruff Road. Dan and his wife Christy have two daughters, Anna and Jenna and two sons, Will and Wyatt.