“What Child Is This?”(Text Isaiah 9:6)
(This sermon was preached by Bishop M A Lalachan, on 25/12/2015 at Diocesan Church Patna)
Did you know there are about 300 prophecies in the Old Testament about the coming Messiah? Fulfilled prophecy is one of the great proofs of the Deity of Jesus Christ. God began to prepare the world for the coming of Jesus with a multitude of prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Him. There can be no mistake that Jesus is the Messiah. Today our text was written by the prophet Isaiah more than 700 years before the birth of Jesus. It reads “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” This verse from Isaiah 9:6 is probably amongst the best known and best loved words in all of Scripture. Names in the Bible are extremely important, in the Bible a name not only conveys who you are, but says something about your character. So let us try and understand what they might have meant in the context of Isaiah's day, and what they mean for us today as Christ followers. In Isaiah's prophecy he gives the coming King four important names, which I want to look at in turn: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
The first name given to the Lord Jesus Christ is “Wonderful Counselor”.
Wonderful Counselor – means “Supernatural and Extraordinary Counselor” Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy, because we can look to wonderful life, his wonderful teaching, his wonderful miracles, his wonderful love, his wonderful compassion, his wonderful mercy, his wonderful grace, his wonderful forgiveness, and his wonderful sacrifice for us on the cross. Jesus is the wonderful Counselor that Isaiah prophesied about. This name points out the truth that there is nothing common about Jesus, He is the Miracle man! So Isaiah in calling this coming king wonderful counselor, is making it clear that he be powerful, mighty, and glorious, a doer of great miracles and guide. He is so far beyond our level of comprehension that we can never figure Him out, yet He can be known by a little child! He is Wonderful in His Words, His Works and His Ways. It refers to His role as the leader and guiding force of our lives, (see Psa. 37:23; Rom. 8:28.) WHY DO WE NEED CHRIST’S COUNSEL? Because... Our hearts are basically selfish and sinful. One of the key duties of a king was to give counsel and direction to his people. The role of a counselor is to impart wisdom and experience in order to lead people from darkness and confusion into light and order, out of danger into safety. This is what Jesus does for us, this is why he is the Wonderful Counselor. He brings light into our darkness and guides and directs us in to righteousness. In John 14:16 Jesus promised his disciples that he would send to them the Holy Spirit.” And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever.” And further Jesus said “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth...” (John 16:12 ) So when speaking of the coming king, Isaiah said that the spirit of the Lord would rest upon him, "the Spirit of counsel and of power" (Is. 11:2) Later on in his book, Isaiah explicitly says that these are characteristics of God Himself: Isaiah 28:29 - "All this comes from the Lord Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom."
The second name given to the Lord Jesus Christ is “Mighty God”.
Mighty God – means “All powerful”! It refers to one who is “strong, mighty and invincible.” He alone is worthy to be our Hero for He has defeated all our enemies – first he defeated Death - 1 Cor. 15:55; second he defeated Sin - Rom. 6:14; third he defeated Satan - Gen. 3:15; fourth he defeated the Grave -Matt. 28:1-6; 1 Cor. 15:20; and finally Eternity (Hell) - John 10:28. JESUS CHRIST IS GOD! He is "Emmanuel" (God with us) Jesus Christ not only is God, He is the Almighty God. "All things were created by Him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created." (John 1:3) "He (Jesus Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. (Col 1:15) But Jesus Christ is not only Mighty God in His birth and in history; He is also Mighty God in His life, Death and Resurrection.
And since He is God, He deserves our absolute reverence, He deserves our genuine faith, He deserves our supreme love, He deserves our unconditional obedience, He deserves our consecrated service and He deserves our sacred worship. To reject Jesus Christ, is to reject God Himself, and to reject God Himself, is to reject life itself.
The Third name given to the Lord Jesus Christ is “Everlasting Father”
Everlasting Father – Isaiah 40:28 says “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.” God is eternal; therefore, all that He provides extends into eternity, (See Deuteronomy 33:27, Isaiah 40:28, and 2 Corinthians 5:1) God is eternal; therefore, every promise endures for all generations. (See Hebrews 5:9, 9:15 Ephesians 3:11-12) God is eternal; therefore, His purposes for His creation remain everlasting. (See Hebrews 9:12-14; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18: 1 Timothy 1:15-17) God made us for eternity. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men..." God is eternal. He has no beginning and no end. Man, on the other hand, has a beginning, but no end. Man will live forever...either with God, or apart from God. Man will live forever...either in eternal glory or in eternal darkness and loneliness. God created us for eternity and Jesus Christ came to earth to reveal how we can live with God forever. Jesus Christ revealed eternity! When Jesus Christ was born, He brought together time and eternity into one! "Jesus Christ is Perfect Humanity, Undiminished Deity, United in One Body Forever" Jesus Christ is the perfect man, fully God, united in one body forever. In Jesus Christ we see eternity revealed.
"How can Jesus Christ be called the Everlasting Father?" Our answer comes in a proper understanding of the Hebrew word for "Father." The Old Testament Jew reading Isaiah 9:6-7 would understand that the use of the word "Father" would mean "originator of, author of." see that when the prophet Isaiah uses the term "Everlasting Father" he is meaning, "the Father of that which is everlasting, that which is eternal." So we see that Jesus Christ is the Father, the Originator of eternity. He is “everlasting”! He is the great “I AM” Your life is tied to His and you will live only as long as He does! He is our “Father”. This word means “Producer or generator.” He is our “source” “provider and protector”! He brought us into being and He sustains our lives by His power. He fulfills His role as our Father by: Loving us - Jer. 31:3; Rom. 8:38-39; Supporting us - Psalm 18:35; Deut 33:27; Sustaining us - 2 Tim. 1:12; Comforting us - John 14:16-18; providing for us - Luke 12:32; Matt. 6:25-33; Phil. 4:19. Everyone who has a healthy mind wants to be loved. How wonderful it is to hear someone say to us "I love you." The greatest, most magnificent person has declared His love for us. It is a love that is unconditional. It is a love that knows your faults and yet still loves you. Bible says "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:1-2). God's love is offered...the question is will you accept it.
The Fourth name given to the Lord Jesus Christ is “Prince of Peace”
The Prince of Peace – “Peace” can mean different things to different people. This would not be the case for the Old Testament Jew. To him, the word “peace” (“shalom”) meant far more than silence or the absence of conflict. The Old Testament Jew would view peace as a living, vibrant thing made for the well-being of mankind. True peace, has nothing to do with the situation on the outside. It has everything to do with the condition on the inside. A person can be at peace no matter what the situation, no matter what the circumstances are. How is this possible? Because Jesus Christ is the prince of Peace and he will rule His kingdom in peace. How can He do this? Because he is the righteous king and the righteousness and peace go together. Isaiah 32:17 says “The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. Christ is the Source and supplier of peace. And, those who know Him know all about peace, John 14:27; John 16:33a; Phil. 4:7. He provides peace with:
A. Peace with God --– Spiritual Peace (see Eph. 2:16 – Romans 5:1) or Eternal peace
B. Peace of God--- Emotional peace – (see Phil. 4:7; John 14:27, Col 3:15) or internal peace.
C. Peace with Others-- - Relational peace (see Rom. 12:10; 18,) or External peace
What Child is this? We know that Jesus was God in human flesh. We know that when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, God stepped out of eternity and entered time. We know that Jesus was a great teacher, healer, and miracle worker. We know that Jesus came to the earth to die for our sins on the cross. We know that He rose again from the dead and ascended back to heaven to make intercession for His people, and to prepare a place for us there. We all know that justice, peace and perfect judgment have not been delivered to the earth, but those things, and more, are coming! When Jesus comes to rule as King on earth, the world will be dominated by His peace, His justice and His perfect judgment. That is the world Christ will create when He returns. When He comes, the curse of sin will be removed from the world. When He comes the world be restored to the beauty and glory of the original creation. When He comes, Jesus will give the world everything it would have had if sin had not entered in and destroyed everything! That is the world I am looking for, and that is the Christmas gift that will be given to all men when He comes. He is God, He is Lord and He is Savior! Do you know Him? Do you love Him? Are you serving Him as you should? God bless you
