Today we begin a five sermon series on this wonderful passage in which the prophet Isaiah speaks of the coming Messiah. In today’s message, we will take a look at the prophet’s proclamation and then we will take a closer look at the four titles he gives to the Savior: “Wonderful Counselor,” “Mighty God,” “Everlasting Father,” and “Prince of Peace.”
At time when Isaiah wrote this passage, the Assyrian conquest of the northern kingdom of Israel which he had foretold in chapter seven of this book had begun. The northern most tribes - Zebulun and Naphtali - had begun to feel the wrath of Assyria.
Isaiah makes a bold declaration in light of this historical event. He tells the people that one day not only would Israel be reunited, but that one day all people would be united under the reign of a coming Savior.
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The Savior that Isaiah was speaking of, of course, was Jesus. Matthew confirmed this by quoting from this passage in his Gospel and applying this prophecy to Christ.
“Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali - to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: ‘Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles - the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.’” - Matthew 4:13-16 (NIV)
Isaiah declared that with the Savior’s coming, men would receive enlightenment (v. 2), joy (v. 3), deliverance (v. 4), and peace (v. 5). He speaks not only of our Lord’s first coming (v. 6) but of His second coming as well (v. 7)
But as we begin this series with today’s message, I want us to zero in on what Isaiah tells us about the name of the Messiah in verse 6.
In Hebrew culture, a person’s name indicated something about his character. Isaiah, in seeking to declare the name of the coming Savior, seemed to be at a loss to come up with one title alone that could fully reflect the Savior’s character.
We note that while Isaiah speaks in terms of one name, he actually gives us four different titles by which the Savior would be called. In effect, Isaiah is saying that this Savior of whom he speaks is beyond the descriptions commonly given to men. His name must of necessity be above and beyond the names given to ordinary men. Isaiah says, in other words, “A Savior is coming, and what a Savior He will be!”
1. He will be called “Wonderful Counselor.”
That is, He will be the embodiment of all the wisdom and knowledge of God.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” - John 1:1;14 (NIV)
I like the way John 1:14 is stated in The Message:
“The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.” - John 1:14 (The Message)
“But to those who are called, whether Jew or Greek (Gentile), Christ [is] the Power of God and the Wisdom of God.” - 1 Corinthians 1:24 (Amplified)
“Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, and Jesus for only 3. Yet the influence of Christ’s 3-year minis try infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of teaching from these men who were among the greatest philosophers of all antiquity.
Jesus painted no pictures; yet, some of the finest paintings of Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci received their inspiration from Him.
Jesus wrote no poetry; but Dante, Milton, and scores of the world’s
greatest poets were inspired by Him.
Jesus com posed no music; still Haydn, Handel, Beethoven, Bach, and Mendelssohn reached their highest perfection of melody in the hymns, symphonies and oratories they composed in His praise. Every sphere of human greatness has been enriched by this humble Carpenter of Nazareth.” - Henry G. Bosch
Whatever wisdom we need, whatever knowledge, whatever guidance, whatever direction, whatever advice, whatever understanding, whatever insight, we can find it in the person of Jesus Christ! His name is the Wonderful Counselor. What a Savior!
2. He will be called “Mighty God.”
Isaiah declared that the coming Savior would be the ultimate revelation of God Almighty, because He would be God in the flesh!
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” - Hebrews 1:1-3a (NIV)
Jesus said: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!” - John 14:9 (NLT)
“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” - which means, “God with us.” - Matthew 1:23 (NIV)
“The Virgin birth denotes particularly the mystery of revelation. It denotes the fact that God stands at the start where real revelation takes place – God and not the arbitrary cleverness, capability or piety of man. In Jesus Christ God comes forth out of the profound hiddenness of his divinity in order to act as God among us and upon us. . . . the fact signified by the Virgin birth, (is) that here in this Jesus, God himself has really come down and concealed himself in humanity.” - Karl Barth
If one wants to know what God is like, they need only to look to Jesus. Indeed, His name is “Mighty God.”
3. He will be called “Everlasting Father.”
As a Father, on behalf of our Heavenly Father, the Savior would reach out in love to a fallen, sinful mankind.
A story is told of a king who once told a favorite servant, “Ask what you will, up to half my kingdom and I will give it to you.” The servant thought, “If I ask for half the kingdom, he will no doubt give it to me, but I will ask for something to which half the kingdom and more will be added.” So he said to the king, “Give me your daughter as my wife.” this was granted to the wise servant and he became heir to the entire kingdom.
When Jesus came into this world, He came in order that He might bring us into a relationship with God so that we might be blessed as joint heirs with Christ and heirs of the Father.
“For [the Spirit which] you have now received [is] not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship] in [the bliss of] which we cry, Abba (Father)! Father! The Spirit Himself [thus] testifies together with our own spirit, [assuring us] that we are children of God.” - Romans 8:15-16 (Amplified)
Through Christ we can know the love of God - the love of a Father who withholds nothing from His children! What a Savior!
4. He will be called “Prince of Peace.”
Two men were discussing what they had through personal relationship with Christ. The first said, “Through faith in Christ I have peace with God.” indeed, the second replied, “Through faith in Christ, I have the peace of God.” “No,” said the first, it is even better than that, “through faith in Christ, I now have the God of peace dwelling in my heart.”
Isaiah could not have found a more fitting title for our Lord Jesus Christ! He is, indeed, the Prince of Peace! When one receives Christ as their personal Savior, they receive, peace with God and the peace of God because they have received the God of Peace!
Conclusion: What a Savior we have in the person of Jesus Christ! He is the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace.
In verse 6, Isaiah speaks of the government being on His shoulder.
Where is the government of your life today? Is it upon His shoulder?
Note how in verse 7 Isaiah speaks about the increase of His
government and the increase of His peace. They increase together.
If we would have His peace, we must welcome His government over our lives. If we would have His peace in our lives increase, we must let His government of our lives increase.
To allow His government to increase in our lives means that we must first acknowledge him as our King and Savior. It’s interesting to note that in Scripture, the decision that brings salvation is one where Christ is acknowledged as LORD.
“Believe in the LORD Jesus, and you will be saved.” - Acts 16:31 (NIV)
“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is LORD,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” - Romans 10:9 (NIV)
Have you invited Christ to rule over Your life? Why not receive Him today as Lord and Savior.
(Show video clip: "That’s My King")
If you have given your life to Christ, are you allowing His government over your life to increase?
