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.
The definition of the word “Wonderful” means “marvelous, exceptional, distinguished, incredibly great”. Webster’s Thesaurus lists three other synonyms for the word “wonderful.” They are the words: Amazing, Awesome and Astonishing. This is Jesus!
Jesus is wonderfully amazing. Matthew 12:23 says, And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
Throughout the Gospels, people were continually amazed at all He did and said. “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there’s just something about that Name.”
Jesus is wonderfully awesome. His Name means Jehovah saves. What an awesome, wonderful thought! Look at the scriptures:
Deuteronomy 10:17 says, For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome.
Psalm 111:9 says, He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever: Holy and awesome is His name.
“Our God is an awesome God,” and Jesus is Wonderfully awesome.
And Jesus is wonderfully astonishing (overwhelming).
Matthew 7:28-29 says, And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
The people were amazed and astonished at the Person and work of Jesus Christ. Everything about Him is wonderful. He’s amazing and awesome and even astonishing.
No other name but the name of Jesus is worthy of glory, and worthy of honor, and worthy of power and all praise.
Listen to this… Philippians 2:10 says that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
In Acts 3:6 a man was told, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” In Acts chapter 4 we are told that There is salvation in no other name.
His name is: power to the believer, a threat to governments, the guarantee of prayer and a menace to the devil. It is wonderful, it has power!
You want to know it’s power? Look at the enemies of the name! They use His name as a curse. Some want the name Jesus or Christ removed from culture. It is a threat. But to us it is sweet and powerful. “His Name is Wonderful, His name is Wonderful, Jesus My Lord.”
That’s who Jesus is, Wonderful. He is beyond all that we expect. The name of Jesus represents all the vast power and grace of Jesus Himself.
But He is not only that…add to wonderful the word COUNSELOR.
2. Jesus is Counselor
Everyone needs a counselor at sometime, someone to talk to, someone with whom to bounce off their ideas.
Counseling today is at an all time high in our society. From Dear Abby, to Dr. Phil, to David Ramsey, to Oprah Winfrey, people are seeking advice.
There’s certainly nothing wrong with seeking advice and counseling when you have a particular need in your life – in fact the Bible encourages it.
However, we must not lose sight of the fact that we, as believers, have access to most wonderful counselor imaginable – Jesus Christ. Think about what it means that Jesus is a counselor. He can be YOUR counselor, YOUR advisor!
He is the sum total of all knowledge. All wisdom, all guidance, all direction, all truth, all counsel and insight…He knows everything about everything, and is never wrong.
All knowledge of the past present and future, of all things, of all purposes and plans belongs to Him. He even knows what is in your heart!!
He counsels us, He advises us about what’s right and what’s wrong through His Word and by His Spirit.
When we need advice, He’s always there, ready to give the right advice all the time. He is always available to encourage and comfort and guide us.
Psalm 16:7 says, I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel;
My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
He is the Perfect Counselor Who has all the right answers all the time. What’s more, He gives free advice. Why wouldn’t we go to Him first for counsel and wisdom?
James 1:5 says, If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
If this is true (and it is), do we go to Him first or last for advice and counsel? When the Scriptures refer to Jesus as a "wonderful" counselor, it doesn’t just mean that He’s good at giving advice.
It means that He understands things which are beyond the ability of our finite minds to comprehend. He knows things which only God can know.
He can show us the ways of God; He can show us God’s plans and purposes. His knowledge, and intelligence, and wisdom, and insight far exceed that of any man who ever lived.
So in Jesus Christ, we have someone who, by virtue of His great knowledge and understanding, is abundantly qualified to guide and direct our lives. Someone who is never confused or mistaken, Someone who always knows exactly what to do, Someone who will never lead us astray.
When we need advice and counsel, our first choice needs to be Jesus Christ. Jesus is a Wonderful Counselor because He understands our struggles.
In Hebrews 4:15 it says, we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Jesus gets it. He understands it. He can relate to us. Sometimes when we are going through a difficult situation and someone says, “I understand what you are going through…” it can seem empty. Because unless they have been through the same situation, how can they possibly understand our problems.
But Jesus does understand. He knows exactly what we are going through. When we come to him in need of counsel, He knows our situation. He knows our heart and He knows our mind.
The Bible tells us that: “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1:14. Jesus was fully human like you and me. He knows how mean people can be. He knows how rough life can get. He understands our struggles.
Some counselors only care as long as you can pay the bill. Not Jesus! He cares about each of us personally. He cares about our character. He cares about our spiritual growth and emotional welfare.
He cares so much and He will help us with our problems. He will help us deal with them. That’s why He is called Wonderful Counselor. He’s not going to leave us to fend for ourselves.
You have probably heard it said, "God helps those who help themselves." The truth of the matter is when you have reached the bottom - "God helps those who can’t help themselves."
When we see no way out, the Lord steps in... if we call on Him. He will not turn His back on us. He will not abandon us. He cares for us.
And most importanly: Jesus understands our weakness. And He’s sympathetic to our failure. But He’s too good of a counselor to just let us do what we want and ignore the consequences.
He has counsel to help us deal with our sins. And the only way we can deal effectively with sin is to realize that only the Wonderful Counselor can help us remove sin’s power and guilt.
Jesus is the only one who can give us the power to help us overcome sin… and the wisdom to know how to deal with our sins when we fall prey to them.
Corrie ten Boom once said "If Jesus were born one thousand times in Bethlehem and not in me, then I would still be lost.”
Jesus wants to be our “wonderful counselor”. But in order to be that kind of counselor to us, He must first be the child that is given, and the son that is born to us. We need Him to save us.
CONCLUSION:
A rehabilitation counselor took an early retirement to spend the rest of his life preaching. One day, while addressing an audience, he told of how - early in his career - he found a young boy with several birth defects.
He arranged financial and medical help. Skilled surgeons restored the child’s facial appearance. Trained therapists taught him to speak and walk. By his teens, the boy was able to take part in all the activities of other young people.
Addressing his crowd the retired counselor asked: “What do you think has become of this young man?” One guessed that since this young man had overcome such physical deformities he may have dedicated himself to becoming a great athlete.
Someone else thought that – since his life had been changed by medical doctors that he had become a skilled surgeon.
“No, none of these,” the retired counselor said sadly. “The young man is a prisoner, serving a life sentence for murder. We were able to restore his physical features and his ability to walk and act, but we failed to teach him where to walk and how to act.
I was successful in helping the boy physically, but I failed to help him spiritually. From that day on, I have determined to use the rest of my life to help people direct their steps and actions toward glorifying God.”
(J. Furman Kearley 20th CC – from a sermon by Jeff Strite, “Wonderful Counselor”, submitted on Dec 7, 2008)
He realized the need for everyone to come to the Wonderful Counselor – Jesus.
