Wonderful, Counsellor Series

“His Name Shall Be Called, Wonderful Counsellor”

Part 1

Isaiah 9:6

Scripture Reading

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Four weeks from today we will be celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I believe that I am safe in saying that no other person has ever influenced the world like this single solitary life. Although He was born to poor parents and lived the majority of His life in an obscure village in Palestine, and died at an early age, condemned as a blasphemer of God and a traitor to Rome, this one man has done more to change the world than all the books that have ever been written, more than all the armies that have ever marched, more than the influence of all the accumulated knowledge of mankind, more than any other thing, this one man, Jesus of Nazareth has changed the world. In His hands there is more power than all the atomic bombs in all the world combined. In His mind rests all the wisdom of the ages. In His heart there is a love so great that it defies explanation. On His shoulders He bore the weight of the sins of the whole world. Never has there been a man like the god man Jesus Christ! In chapter seven, verse 14 the prophet writes, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Matthew translates for us in Matthew 1:23 “…and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” It is not important whether we view verse six as one name or several. Isaiah’s purpose is show that all these names are applicable to Him. Let’s examine the first one this morning; He is the “…wonderful, counselor…” The first word Wonderful declares that this child is “marvelous, miraculous, while the second Counsellor has been sometimes joined with ‘wonderful,’ as if designed to qualify it thus - “wonderful counselor;” but it expresses a distinct attribute, or quality. The name “counselor” here, éåòõ yû‛ēts, denotes one of honorable rank; one who is suited to stand near princes and kings as their adviser. It is expressive of great wisdom, and of qualifications to guide and direct the human race. The Septuagint translates this phrase, ‘The angel of the mighty counsel.’ What can we learn about this “child” from this first compound name?

I. The Wonder

For the Messiah was wonderful in all things. It was wonderful love by which God gave him, and by which he came; the manner of his birth was wonderful; his humility, his self-denial, his sorrows were wonderful; his mighty works were wonderful; his dying agonies were wonderful; and his resurrection, his ascension, were all suited to excite admiration and wonder.

a. Of His Nativity – The prophetic vision was filled with mystery. Isaiah could not have known that centuries would pass before this “child” would come into the world but yet each and every detail of His coming would come to pass in fulfillment of God’s Word. Think of the many wonders surrounding the birth of Jesus:

The Miracles at the birth of John including the supernatural appearance of Gabriel, the deaf and dumbness inflicted upon Zacharias for his unbelief, the conception of Elizabeth who was well past her child bearing years, the determination of the sex of her son as well as his name before he was born and the recognition of Jesus by Elizabeth’s unborn child by his lively movements.

b. Of His Nature –

The miracle of miracles is that the Creator of life and light was “…made flesh and dwelt among, and we beheld His glory.

There are mysteries and miracles of Jesus birth including the greatest miracle of all, the fact that He was born of a Virgin. He is the only baby ever born who did not have a human father after the flesh. Job asks the questions, “How can he be clean that is born of woman?” and “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?” but God through the Virgin birth was able to bring a clean Babe out of a woman tainted with an inherited sin nature. If we try to explain the Virgin birth we lose our reason but if we discredit this miracle we lose our soul for true faith rests on the declared fact that Christ was “…conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. I don’t have the time this morning to review all of the other miracles and wonders that surround His coming like the angelic announcements to Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, the Wise Men and the rest but I can say that there has never and never will be a birth like the birth of Jesus.