ISAIAH 9:6 CHRISTMAS: EVERLASTING FATHER
ISAIAH 9:6
#isaiah96christmas
INTRODUCTION… Cool Gifts for Christmas 2021 (p)
Christmas, more than any other time of year, is a season of giving gifts. It is part of what we do and what makes this time of year special. I am a full-service pastor so we are going to begin today in this ‘season of giving’ with some cool gift suggestions to get you warmed up to giving gifts and give you some good ideas. I have given you, thus far, fantastic ideas for gifts which I understand some of you have purchased. Today, we are very very close to Christmas. If you haven’t purchased gifts by now, let’s be honest, you are in trouble. I am here to help!
#1 Ziploc Bags: It’s more than a bag! From mealtime to snack time to home organization, storage needs are never the same. Since you have waited so long… I would suggest getting one box of each of the six kinds of Ziploc bags and then spring for a specialty bag like the ‘zip ‘n steam.’ And since you are up against a wall… go for the name brand and not the store brand.
#2 Sauce’s Choice. Go to the sauce aisle of any store and get one of each of the kinds of sauce that you find there. 1 ketchup. 1 mustard. 1 ranch dressing. 1 teryaki sauce. Go crazy. Then arrange the sauces in some kind of container and call it the ‘essential cooking kit.’ You are welcome.
#3 Piñata: I did some digging and Dollar General has piñatas. This item gets 5 stars from 1 review and the review says: “Best thing ever. Really big really cheap, can hold lots of candy.” Then go over to the other aisles and get pop tarts, candy, some pens and pencils, and fill the piñata up. They get gifts, it’s already wrapped, and it is a smashing fun activity as well. Win. Win. Win.
#4 Library Shenanigans. Go to the library and check out a few books. Take the book covers off very gently. Wrap the books and include in the books a ‘reading challenge’: ‘you must read these books in 2 weeks.’ The key is you don’t tell them that the books are from the library. In a few weeks, when the books are just laying around because they didn’t read them, put the covers back on and return them to the library. The person won’t ask you about them because embarrassingly they hadn’t read the books and think they lost them. The gift of literacy is a valuable gift.
Like I said… Full. Service. Pastor.
THE PURPOSE OF CHRISTMAS
Gift giving is definitely part of Christmas, but the reason that we celebrate and give gifts is because of the birth of Jesus. We who believe in Jesus make sure each year that we observe and celebrate the birth of Jesus. Christmas is about the birth of Jesus because He is the greatest gift that the world has ever received! Jesus is worthy of being celebrated and we celebrate everything about Jesus… even His birth!
We celebrate the birth of Jesus because…
… the birth of Jesus is a supernatural event where God becomes flesh and dwells with us
… the birth of Jesus looks forward to all the magnificent miracles He would do
… the birth of Jesus looks forward to all that He would teach us and His life example
… the birth of Jesus looks forward to His meaningful death
READ MATTHEW 1:18-25
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with Child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for That which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a Son, and you shall call His Name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call His Name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a Son. And he called His Name Jesus.
Jesus is so important and so grand that even before His birth He had a nickname! His nickname in this passage from Matthew was “Immanuel” which is a significant name which means “God with us.” That nickname came from an Old Testament prophecy from Isaiah about the coming of the Christ. Jesus is the Christ. Jesus is the Christ which means He is the plan for salvation that people were waiting on.
ISAIAH 9:6
I find it very interesting that Isaiah was an Old Testament prophet who gave this Christ to be born several nicknames all throughout his writings. Isaiah prophesied and predicted Jesus most notably in 11 chapters in the book that bears his name. I believe these Names of Jesus are impactful and meaningful for our lives. It is going to be an Isaiah 9:6 Christmas!
CONGREGATION READ TOGETHER … READ ISAIAH 9:6 (ESV)
For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His Name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
The third nickname that the prophet Isaiah gives Jesus Christ in Isaiah 9:6 is “Everlasting Father.” Last week we looked at “Mighty God” and before that “Wonderful Counselor.” Christmas Eve (Friday ay 7pm) we will look at the “Prince of Peace.” We are going to focus on “Everlasting Father” this morning, but we have to make a couple of detours first.
DETOUR ONE: COMPLICATIONS & CONFUSION
One detour we need to go on leads us to some complications and confusion. Believe it or not, this small phrase in Isaiah 9:6… Eternal Father… is complicated. At least, it is complicated to me.
First, the phrase in the original language is actually “Father of Eternity” which in the scheme of things probably does not make that much of a difference, but it is a little bit of a difference. ‘Eternal Father’ seems like a descriptive title centering on a quality of Jesus whereas ‘Father of Eternity’ seems tied to an action of Jesus. Not that anything is false here either way, but there is some difference in my brain.
Second, we know without a shadow of a doubt that this passage is a prophecy looking forward to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. The verse rightly in our minds starts out using the word “Child” and “Son” and even finishes off calling Him a “Prince.” We are good with that! And yet in the middle we have the word “Father.” It seems a bit confusing. God the Father is God and so is Jesus the Son and so is the Holy Spirit, but They are separate Persons.
I think this confusion and complication exists because to be honest, we barely understand anything about God. We are privileged that God has revealed snapshots of Himself to us. We know some of God because of what we call general revelation. We are told in the Old Testament and the New Testament that fingerprints of God’s existence and His power are evident in the world around us.
READ PSALM 19:1-4 (ESV)
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork. 2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. 4 Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.”
READ ROMANS 1:20 (ESV)
“For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”
We also know some of God because of what we call specific revelation. God has specifically told us about Himself in some significant ways in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. He has specifically written us His Word and He also specifically revealed Himself through Jesus.
READ EXODUS 31:18 (ESV)
And He gave to Moses, when He had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the Finger of God.
READ HEBREWS 1:1-3 (ESV)
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…”
God is so far above us. We are created human beings who are born and live and die and are bound by time. He is God Who is the Uncreated Cause of the Universe Who is the same yesterday, today, and forever and exists in eternity.
This passage is talking about Jesus Christ and is a prophecy that divinely describes Jesus of Nazareth 700 years before He was born. That is amazing. This passage is talking about Jesus Christ and shares with us how God will become flesh and save us. This is by its very nature complicated and can be confusing and requires us to sit and think and in the end have faith.
DETOUR TWO: ETERNITY
The other detour we need to go on leads us to stop for a moment and ponder the word “eternity.” This phrase in Isaiah 9:6 is focusing us on eternity. Any normal dictionary defines “eternity” as “the infinite” or “unending time.”
Eternity is a place where God dwells. Isaiah 57:15 tells us that God “inhabits eternity” and that is where He dwells. God is everywhere and He is in “eternity.” Eternity from our perspective is a forever place, it is not bound by time, and most of the time we call it Heaven. We also think of eternity as a spiritual place… a spiritual world.
You and I scarcely can understand eternity because everything about us is tied to time and our flesh and our world in which we live. We are aware of eternity because God has placed knowledge about it in our heart, but we cannot see how everything fits together because of our finite brains. Eternity is infinite and our hearts have a hole in it that is only filled with what God offers in eternity. King Solomon reflects on the confusing nature of eternity in Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament…
READ ECCLESIASTES 3:11 (ESV)
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”
I also noticed, as I prayed and studied this word, that those of us who are believers in Jesus are only outside of eternity for a time. There will come a day when we enter into eternity with God because of the blood of Jesus and He will enable us to live there. The Apostle Peter and others have an expectation that one day we will join with God where He exists.
READ 2 PETER 3:18 (ESV)
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.”
SUMMARY
I mention these two detours about complications and confusion and eternity because when the Prophet Isaiah writes down that this Child Who will be born will be the ‘Everlasting Father’ our minds and hearts and understanding of Jesus enters into a mystery. Jesus is God. That means we have some understanding of Jesus, but there is also a lot we do not understand and we take on faith.
We who are Christians read Isaiah 9:6 and we believe Jesus is… The Wonderful Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. We believe in faith Jesus is the Son of God and by believing in Him we have eternal life in His Name. We believe that Jesus Christ died for us and He took on our sin and gives us freedom from guilt and shame in return… He forgives us. We believe that His obedience brings us life. Part of what we believe is that Jesus is indeed the Father of Eternity.
FATHER OF ETERNITY
I believe Jesus is the Everlasting Father… or put better… The Father of Eternity… and I am not so sure how to put into human words what I know to be true about the nature of Jesus Christ. And yet… that is why you pay me the big bucks!
I read from several different sources that the basic meaning of “Father of Eternity” emphasizes the word “father” in terms of “originator” or “creator” or “beginner.” We might say “Father of Modern Medicine” or “Father of the Constitution” and mean something similar.
Jesus is a Child and a Son in respect of His human nature, but Jesus is God. Jesus is indeed God. Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is the originator of all that exists. Jesus Christ came and He put in place eternal life as you and I have come to know it. Jesus is the Originator and Creator and the Beginning Cause of our eternal life with God in Heaven forever. He caused it. He upholds it. He promised it. He makes eternity possible for anyone who believes in Him.
The Bible does share this idea if we have eyes to see and ears to hear. I’d like to read two separate passages from the Gospel of John which speak about this Truth. The first is the beginning of the Gospel in chapter 1 and the other passage is in John 14. Read and listen to the words about Jesus and the words that Jesus Himself uses… Jesus is the originating cause of existence for us and He is also promises to uphold eternity so that we can enter in.
READ JOHN 1:1-4 (ESV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
READ JOHN 14:1-7 (ESV)
Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. 2 In My Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 7 If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”
In John 1, Jesus is put forth as the Word. He is God. God is self-existent and has no beginning point because He has always been. He is eternal. He is the only One Who is eternal in everything that exists. He is the cause. He is life (Romans 6:23). He is light. He is the originator and cause of us. Because Jesus is God we see Him as light and life.
We also see Jesus the way into eternity which He is preparing for us. Jesus is preparing Heaven… the Father’s House… Eternity… the Place Where God Exists… for us. Jesus is the originator and cause of Heaven. We only get to Heaven with Jesus. Those of us who are believers in the way of Jesus and the truth of Jesus and accept life in Jesus (Matthew 25:46, John 17:3) will when this life is over… enter into Eternity. Jesus is already there waiting for us (2 Corinthians 5:8). He was there before time began and He will be there with us long after time is over.
It makes our brains hurt, but it is true.
We have questions without answers, but it is true.
It causes us to pause and wonder, but it is true.
Jesus Christ is promised to us in Isaiah 9:6 as the Everlasting Father. He is promised to us as the Father of Eternity. However you want to term it, the Christ is the originator and cause of our eternal life in Heaven with God. He made the way for us to join eternity. He will be with us for eternity. That is a tremendous promise and worthy of praise.
APPLICATION
What does this mean for us?
It means this life is not all there is. The time we have in this life is not all there is… there is more. Much more! Eternity exists and our Everlasting Father calls us to have an everlasting perspective. Our minutes and hours and days and weeks and months and years and decades in this life are important. Very important! And yet, we must live our lives with the end in mind.
We believe and live in the mystery that this life is temporary. Our time on this planet is small in comparison with our life in eternity. The choices we make for our life can seem like they only impact our life, but really impacts so much more. The problem is we only really understand this life and don’t really understand eternity. It is a challenge! Living life with eternity in mind call us to understand our identity and the choices we make go past this life and into the next. The choices we make now not only impact our now… but our eternity.
We believe and live in the reality that people live and die without hope. Death comes to us all. William Wallace would say in response to that, “Every man dies, not every man really lives” (Paramount Pictures, 1995). He’s right. Everyone dies. Not everyone lives with the hope of heaven in their heart. That hope fuels us each day knowing whatever happens in this life… it is not the end. There is promise and hope and light after this. That is a comforting reality of hope. It also makes me realize that we need to communicate the hope of Heaven to others.
We believe and communicate that eternity with God is possible for everyone. The Gospel is for everyone. I am reading a book right now that is quickly becoming one of my favorites (Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table, Louie Giglio, 2021) that the Gospel is more than just “Don’t Sin.” The Gospel is “Don’t sin and come live life with Jesus.” That life with Jesus is rooted in the reality of eternity that Jesus has made for us.
What does this mean for us?
Live with eternity in mind and choose well.
Live in hope and make choices in light of eternity.
Share the reality of the hope of eternity with others.
PRAYER
INVITATION
I invite you to accept the Gospel this morning. The Gospel message is that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:16-17, ESV). I am not inviting you to accept Jesus and to not sin. I am inviting you to accept Jesus and live with Him. I am inviting you to accept Jesus and not only live this life with Him… but live in eternity with Him.
