Chapter 4: Empowered by The Spirit

Empowered by the Spirit to Counsel God’s Way

No amount of education or experience can replace the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Jesus called Him “the Helper” and “the Spirit of truth” (John 14:26; 16:13). The Spirit reveals Christ, illuminates Scripture, convicts the heart, and comforts the broken.

Pastor Chuck Smith wrote, “The work of the Spirit is not optional in the church — it is essential. Without the Spirit, ministry becomes mechanical.”

In counseling, this means transformation never occurs through human willpower. Only the Spirit can produce repentance, renewal, and lasting change. The Ministering Servant must depend moment by moment upon His guidance and power.

Bob Hoekstra taught, “The Spirit of God applies the grace of God through the Word of God to produce the life of God in the child of God.” That is the essence of Counseling God’s Way.

At the Calvary Chapel Fellowship of Biblical Counselors, we emphasize prayerful dependence. Every session begins and ends with surrender — “Lord, apart from You we can do nothing.” When the Spirit leads, even a brief conversation can bring conviction, clarity, and comfort that no technique could accomplish.

Pastor Chuck often illustrated this truth from Zechariah 4:6: “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” The same Spirit who birthed the church in Acts 2 continues to empower it today for ministry and soul care.

The Ministering Servant who walks in the Spirit counsels with humility, patience, and discernment. The Disciple in Care learns to depend on that same Spirit in the process of change. Together they discover that sanctification is not the flesh improving; it is the Spirit indwelling.

“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

Galatians 5:25