His Name Will Be Called Wonderful Counselor

Alba 12-5-2021

HIS NAME WILL BE CALLED WONDERFUL COUNSELOR

Do any of you know what your name means? How did you get your name? Were you named after someone special? There are some interesting names being used out there today.

They say, “A picture paints a thousand words.” In Scripture, a name paints a thousand words. A person’s name described who he or she was, his/her character/personality.

• Isaac means “laughter.” He brought laughter to Abraham/Sarah.

• Isaiah means “God is my salvation.” His prophecies clearly point to this.

• Peter means “rock.” He became the “bedrock” and a pillar for the church.

For the next few weeks, we will look at some very interesting names. And all these names point to One Person, Jesus Christ, the Name Above all Names.

There are many names for Jesus in Scripture that describe Who He is. Lord of Hosts, Deliverer, King of kings, Redeemer, Savior. Because it’s Christmas time, I’d like us to reflect on the names found in a favorite Christmas passage.

Please turn with me to Isaiah 9:6. This passage not only predicts Messiah’s birth, it also describes how incredible He is.

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Look at it again: For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given ... and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

This is the revealed Word of God spoken through Isaiah. These words were written by the prophet Isaiah more than 700 years before the birth of Jesus. Seven hundred years! As far as I’m concerned, that simple fact is sufficient proof that the Bible is God’s Word.

Once more: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given ... and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

In this verse there are 8 words, arranged in pairs, that describe this Child who is to be born. In each pair there is one word that speaks of who He is... something metaphysical, something divine, something “out there”, about the character of this Son who was to be given. And the next word is more functional, speaking of what He would do, what His role would be.

It is right that this verse be read at Christmas time because those words were clearly fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son. No one in the history of the world, except Jesus, comes even close to being worthy of the names given in this verse.

Some translations read Wonderful,[coma] Counselor. Others read Wonderful Counselor as if it is one thought. Since there were no punctuation marks in the original manuscripts, I’m not sure what Isaiah intended.

Either way, both interpretations are powerful. We’re going to look at both of the words today.

1. Jesus is Wonderful

What do you think of when you hear this word “wonderful”? For soccer fans it is interesting that the root word in Hebrew is pele. That is the name of the famous soccer player from Brazil.

It was said of him that not a single thing was impossible for him: he won three World Cups with his National Team of Brazil (Sweden 1958, Chile 1962, Mexico 1970). He scored more than 1,200 goals during his long career of more than 1,300 official matches.

Now, I don’t know if the great Brazilian’s name comes from that same root word for wonderful. But when you think of what Pele did on the soccer field, and how wonderful it was compared to all the other players, you have a glimpse of what this word might mean in Isaiah’s prophecy.

“Pele” is also used in Exodus 15:11 which says,“Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?

It means there that God does miracles... marvelous, wonderful things that are almost beyond understanding, and are certainly beyond mere human ability.

It is also used in Judges 13:18 where it means “incomprehensible” or “beyond understanding.” In that verse it is talking about God.

Because other parts of the Bible say that God is pele, is “wonderful”, there is no doubt that when Isaiah calls this promised Child pele, he means to say that the child was divine, that this would be God Himself coming in human form. In fact, the coming of the child would be the greatest wonder of them all, God’s greatest act of salvation.

It means this One whom God was sending into the world to fix things would be so extraordinary that He would rise above the highest, holiest and loftiest thought, idea or conception that we could have of Him.