Our Eternal Father
Three weeks ago we started a series of sermons based on Isaiah chapter nine and verse six. Let’s go ahead and read our focal passage at this time.
"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6 (NASV)
This prophecy of the coming Christ was given hundreds of years before his birth. This prophecy of this child’s birth tells us that this child would be special – that the child would be unique. Of course the One that Isaiah is speaking of is Jesus. According to Isaiah chapter nine, He would be called:
Wonderful Counselor
Mighty God
Eternal Father
The Prince of Peace
Today we will look at Christ as our Eternal Father.
To tell you the truth I have some trouble when it comes to useing this term for Jesus. I have no problem believing that Jesus is eternal but I do have some trouble calling Him – Father. Here’s the reason – there are three persons in the trinity. There is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Three in one – three persons yet one God. Now I’m not going to discuss the trinity in depth in this sermon – we will save that for another time – but if I call Jesus our Eternal Father it creates a dilemma in my mind because we already have God the Father. There is but one Father in the Godhead. There is but one Father in the trinity. The Holy Spirit is not the Father – Jesus is not the Father – the Father is the Father. This troubles my mind. So why does Isaiah call Jesus – Eternal Father?
I did some study and this is what I have come up with. Here is an option.
What title do we as Americans give to George Washington? We call him the Father of Our Nation. In fact we call those people who were here as our nation was being formed – Our Founding Fathers. We have no problem calling them “fathers” of our nation because they were involved in its conception. They were there as our nation was being formed. Interesting! Could that be what the title – Eternal Father – is referring to?
I dug a little deeper and here is what I found. Some of the every early translations of the Bible rendered the title Eternal Father as: “Father of the future age.” (Vulgate) It could also be translated, “The Father of eternity.” (Gill)
When I understand Christ’s title in this sense – it is much less puzzling to me and much less uncomfortable to call Jesus my Eternal Father. I know that Christ has and will live forever. I know that it is Christ who will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords in eternity. I know it is Christ who has given us the ability to have eternal life. In this sense He is truly the Father of Eternity. It is through His sacrifice that I will be able to live forever. He is the Father of Eternity.
I find in the scripture that Christ has always existed. Forever! Look with me at John chapter one.
“In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” … “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-4; 14 (NKJV)
What the Bible teaches is that Jesus is eternal. He was in the beginning. He was involved in the creation of all things – in fact nothing exists that He did not create. He was with God. He is God – yet He became man. He is the Father of Creation. He is truly our Eternal Father.
Today as we look at Jesus being our Eternal Father we are going to look at three qualities of what Eternal Father means for us. The first is:
1. Christ’s CHARACTER does not change.
The contemporary Christian composer and artist Chris Tomlin’s song “Forever” is right on target in praising God as our Eternal Father for His goodness, faithfulness, love, and mercy. The words found in that song are:
Give thanks to the Lord
Our God and King
His love endures forever.
For He is good, He is above all things
His love endures forever.
From the rising to the setting sun
His love endures forever.
By the grace of God
We will carry on
His love endures forever.
Sing praise, sing praise.
Sing praise, sing praise.
Yeah!
Forever God is faithful
Forever God is strong
Forever God is with us
Forever
Forever.
Here is a fact. Jesus being part of the trinity - Jesus being God - means that the character of Jesus does not change. His mercy, His love, His grace, His forgiveness does not change – from the dawning of the day to the setting of the sun – His character does not change. From the beginning of time into eternity -Jesus’ character never alters. Look at what the Bible says in Hebrews chapter thirteen:
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 (HCSB)
One of the stories that I turn to – time and time again is the story of the prodigal son. Although it is a simple story, it has so many aspects that it is amazing.
You know the story. The son goes off into a far country and squanders all his money. And when he runs out of money he runs out of friends and ends up in a hog pen, eating from the slop that is fed to the pigs. This is the most humiliating place a Jewish boy could possibly be.
As he sits there he starts thinking, “How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare? And here I am, starving to death. I will set out and go back to my father.” How could He think such thoughts? Why does he think he will be welcomed back home? How could he come to that conclusion? Here is what I think.
It is because the son knew the character of the Father. He knew what kind of father he had. He knew that the character of the father did not change. The relationship might never be the same – but he knew the character of the father was consistent. He knew that the father was full of forgiveness. He knew that the father was full of mercy. He knew that the father was full of love. He had hope that the door home would be open to him. He knew that his relationship with the father had changed - but he also knew that his father showed mercy, love and kindness.
How did he know that? I can just imagine that all through the time the son was growing up, the father had shown love to his son - because that was the character of the father. He might have communicated his love to the son also. He may even have said, “No matter how far you go, you can always come back home.”
So the prodigal said, “I will say to my father, ‘I have sinned against heaven and against you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired men.” I think this was a speech he practiced every step of his way back home. He had it down pat.
But before he could blurt it out his father had run to him, thrown his arms around him and kissed him. He had no fear of expressing love, did he?
You know, the beautiful part is that our Eternal Father always leaves the door open for us to come home again. No matter how far we roam Jesus is waiting to throw his arms around you - to assure you of his abiding love.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 (HCSB)
The second point I want to make is:
2. Christ’s COMPASSION does not change.
Throughout the gospels we find that Jesus was full of compassion.
“But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with COMPASSION for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.” Matthew 9:36 (NKJV)
“Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean." Then Jesus, moved with COMPASSION, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed." Mark 1:40-41 (NKJV)
Just a few minutes ago I related the story of the prodigal son. One of the things I had never noticed before is found in Luke chapter fifteen and verse twenty:
“But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with COMPASSION. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him.” Luke 15:20 (HCSB)
Did you catch that – the father became filled with compassion! It became his motivation for his movement. He got up and ran to his son!
I went and looked up the word "compassion". It means:
Suffering with another; painful sympathy; a sensation of sorrow excited by the distress or misfortunes of another. Compassion is a mixture of passion, compounded with love and sorrow.
When Jesus sees us in our distress He has compassion on us. When He sees the mess we have made of our lives He is moved with compassion. When life has been hard - when we have been dealt a bad hand - when disaster after disaster follows us around like a puppy – when the whole world seems to be falling in around us - God is moved with compassion. The compassion of Jesus moves Him to rescue us. The compassion of Jesus moves Him to save us. The compassion of Jesus does not change.
We live in a world where we can get broken up, scratched up, dinged up. We get dents and burses – sometimes physically and sometimes emotionally. We live in a world where we can get hurt. We can have broken bones, broken relationships, and broken hearts. That’s the world in which we live. I am glad that there is One who will have compassion for me. I am glad there is One who is moved because of my suffering. I am glad there is One who is moved with compassion because He loves me. That one is Jesus – our Eternal Father.
Scott Wesley Brown affirms the compassion of our Eternal Father in his song “He Will Carry You”:
There is no problem too big He cannot solve it:
There is no mountain too tall He cannot move it.
There is no storm too dark God cannot calm it:
There is no sorrow too deep He cannot soothe it.
If He carried the weight of the world upon His shoulders,
I know, my brother, that He will carry you.
If He carried the weight of the world upon His shoulders,
I know, my sister, that He will carry you.
He said, “Come unto Me all who are weary, and I will give you rest.”
Not only does Christ’s character and compassion NOT change, but:
3. Christ’s COMMITMENT does not change.
Folks in the home I grew up in – my father was always there. He never abandoned us. He never walked out on us. I know this is not the case in some families – but it is the case in my family history - my father was always there - and it is the case in your heavenly family too.
I remember a few years back - I was teaching through the book – "Purpose Driven Life". We had just studied the chapter that talks about – “I Am Not An Accident”. One of the members of our church came up to me and said that that chapter had helped her deal with her self image. She went on to tell me that when she was born her mother had given her up for adoption. Even though she had grown up in a loving home - in a real sense she felt that she had been abandoned by her birth mother. Because of this event she had always questioned her worth – her value. As she read the chapter – “I Am Not An Accident” it helped her realize that she was loved and that she did have value and worth. Her Heavenly Father – her Eternal Father never considered her to be an accident. She realized that He would never abandon her.
Folks, eternal means “everlasting” – it means “forever.” When this term is applied to Jesus, it is always a declaration of His faithfulness, His trustworthiness, His goodness, His love and His mercy. Isaiah calls the coming Christ our Eternal Father. The Prophet Jeremiah also testifies to our Lord’s eternal faithfulness, trustworthiness, goodness, love and mercy in Lamentations 3:22-26.
Jerusalem had fallen into the hands of the Babylonians, the Temple had been looted and destroyed, and the people are grieving in captivity, but their Eternal Father had neither forgotten nor deserted them.
Jeremiah praises the Everlasting Father for His faithfulness when he says:
“Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! I say: The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in Him. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. It is good to wait quietly for deliverance from the Lord.” Lamentations 3:22-26 (HCSB)
God has promised to commit Himself to us and that commitment never changes – it is eternal. Look at what God says to you in Jeremiah chapter twenty nine:
“I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out —plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.” Jeremiah 29:11 (MSG)
Jesus is our Eternal Father. He is always there for you – He will not abandon you. His character does not change. His compassion does not change. His commitment to you does not change. Turn to Him. Worship Him. Commitment yourself to Him - today.
