Chapter 7: The Priority of the Word

The Sufficiency of Scripture in Soul Care

At the heart of Calvary Chapel and the Biblical Counseling Academy is one unwavering conviction: God’s Word is sufficient. It is sufficient for salvation, sanctification, and soul care. Scripture is not a partial authority—it is the complete revelation of God’s truth.

Pastor Chuck Smith often said, “The Word of God is living, powerful, and completely adequate for every need.” He believed that the Bible was not merely a source of wisdom but the voice of God to His people.

Biblical counseling stands upon this same foundation. The Word of God reveals the human problem (sin) and the divine solution (grace through Christ). Psychology may observe behavior, but only Scripture discerns the heart.

Bob Hoekstra taught, “The Word of God contains everything necessary for counseling because it contains everything necessary for life and godliness.” This truth is drawn from 2 Peter 1:3: “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.”

At the Academy, we train Ministering Servants to handle the Word with reverence and accuracy. The Bible must be opened, read in context, applied in humility, and trusted in power. The authority lies not in the counselor but in the Scripture itself.

In a culture that exalts human wisdom, the sufficiency of Scripture stands as a bold and loving declaration: God’s Word is enough. It is enough to heal the brokenhearted, renew the mind, and set captives free.

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

2 Timothy 3:16–17