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DEClarinG
the Whole
COunsEl
OF GOD
by rev. Dr. Carl r. trueman
Professor of Church History and Historical theology
n the Westminster theological Seminary seal there is
a picture of an open Bible upon which a sword has been
placed. the purpose of the imagery is obvious: to convey
the biblical idea of the power of the Word of God.
then, above the Bible in Greek are written words which translate as ‘the whole counsel of God’—
no doubt a reference to Acts 20:27 where Paul, speaking to the elders of the church in ephesus,
declares that he had not shrunk from “declaring the whole counsel of God” to them. that is a clear,
categorical statement: Paul’s conscience was clear because he had taught them everything he was
supposed to teach them.
the idea of teaching the ‘whole counsel of God’ is surely something with which all Christians
would agree. it is rather like asking whether we should be kind to animals or eat healthy food or be in
favor of better standards of living. nobody, at least nobody in their right mind, would deny such. Yet
there are complexities here. After all, what exactly is “the whole counsel of God?” We may well all be
in favor of it; but it is not self-evident from the phrase itself exactly what is intended thereby.
in fact, if we look at what we know of Paul’s ministry—the narrative account in the Book of
Acts, and then the various letters which he sent to particular churches and individuals—a pretty
6 | Westminster Today Winter 2011
BIBlE anD SWORD: CHaE CHOnG/lUxDEI PHOTOGRaPHy