Believers have long understood disciples of Christ are called to love God and love His people (Matthew 22:37-39; John 13:34-35). In essence, to love God is to love His people, and the two have never been mutually exclusive. This is true to the extent that the Word of God questions, if one sees his neighbor in need and turns his back on them, then how the love of God can truly be in that person (1 John 3:17-18). Real religion—religion that is pure and undefiled—takes care of God's people in times of distress (James 1:27).
Christ is our model. In addition to training disciples, preaching to the people, and other forms of ministry, so much of the observable ministry of Jesus through Scripture is him directly caring for people. This is seen in narratives where Christ counseled the brokenhearted, comforted the grief-stricken, healed the sick and lame, uplifted the downtrodden, brought calm to those gripped with anxiety and fear, and ultimately gave hope to the hopeless. Over and over again, Christ and the Scriptures point to people who care for one another.
Every Christian is called to be a "one-another discipleship counselor." This sweeping statement can be deduced from a thorough understanding and application of the Great Commission. God spoke through His Son in part to deliver to the church a divine mandate to do precisely what he wanted them to do concerning Him and one another. Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20).
God speaks to us today, just as he did to those early disciples. The primary imperative in the Great Commission is a command for disciples to make disciples. Every believer is called to "make disciples" (discipleship) and to "teach" (counsel) those disciples. A disciple is a follower of Christ who makes followers of Christ. To disciple is to teach the Word of God, and to teach the Word of God is to make disciples. Teaching and discipleship are not mutually exclusive mandates but the same.
In Romans 15:14, the apostle Paul reminds believers that they are full of goodness and complete in knowledge, and therefore they are functionally competent to instruct one another. They are full of goodness because they belong to Christ; they are complete in knowledge because they have trusted in Christ and trust in His Word. The apostle Paul wants believers to know that God has given them everything they need and, therefore, they can be confident as believers in their ability to counsel and instruct one another with God's word.
A "one-another-counselor" is a teacher who teaches others how to obey God's word, which is sufficient for everything that pertains to life and holiness (2 Peter 1:3-4). By reading, understanding, and then applying God's Word the believer learns to properly understand who they are, who God is, and how God provides help and hope for the problems they face. Scripture is the only true source of knowledge that equips the counselor to guide counselees in bringing about change that transforms the heart (Psalm 19:7-8).
Christians can confidently use the Scriptures to help people who possess the knowledge of God to grow into the image of Christ. 2 Timothy 3:10-17 affirms that Scripture is sufficient in producing a competent and equipped counselee. Paul writes to Timothy in this passage, encouraging him to hold fast to the Word of God, and to faithfully use it as he teaches, rebukes, corrects, and trains those entrusted to his care.
The mutual care of God's people is not to be left only to pastors or even formally trained counselors. The practice of one-another counseling happens primarily as one believer guides another to apply Scripture to their specific trials and struggles. Understanding and application of the Scriptures produce gospel transformation in the life of a believer. As fellow Christians, we are all called to help one another in confronting the challenges of this life through the transforming power of Jesus Christ, all to the glory of God.
