A WONDERFUL SAVIOUR
Isaiah 9:6-7 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of [his] government and peace [there shall be] no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."
"What’s in a name? Would a rose by any other name smell the same?’ There is something very special about names. People have been known to give their children some very peculiar names; especially after great calamities or earth shaking events. I am sure we have all heard of such people as, "Calamity Jane." Pity the thousands of poor children that have already been given the name of the infamous Osama Bin Laden by his militant admirers. Wise and prudent parents often spend many hours to insure their child receives a proper name reflecting his heritage. A name hat will not be an embarrassment or handicap to him. Some are not as concerned or careful. Remember the popular song, "A Boy Named Sue?"
Names are important. Solomon said, "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches." Of course, he is speaking of the good name one might earn or the reputation one might lose. But people do not always live up to the expectations of a good name. Even the status and name of "citizen" can be abused and betrayed. Americans and Australians certainly have a right to feel angry and disgusted that some of their own who called themselves citizens became turncoats and betrayed their sacred trust as good citizens. Many would feel they no longer have a right to that title.
In these trying and terrible times of treachery and treason, people have to earn their good names and constantly strive to maintain them. Character assassins are still alive and well on planet earth. They seem to be busy on every street corner. But in spite of the implications of recent events in the world of politics, character still counts and a good name is still more valuable than gold. Is it any wonder someone said, "You can attack me, my family and my friends, but please spare my good name." Christians who are prone to have loose and wagging tongues should remember that one careless word spoken or unfounded rumor repeated can destroy in a moment a good reputation that has been years in the making.
It is significant that the story of the birth of our Saviour informs us that God gave His Son a very special name even before He was born. The angel of the Lord said to Joseph: "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." (Matt. 1:21-23) The angel not only reveals our Saviour His primary name at this time, but He also makes reference to one of the many prophetic names that had been and are His in eternity (See Isa. 7:14)
That the names of our Saviour are all wonderful, there can be no doubt. And is there any wonder that such a wonderful Saviour deserves such wonderful names? He is truly very God and man. (John1:14) He is the complete embodiment of the Godhead. (Col. 2:9) He deserves all the honor and glory of such meaningful names. He is everything. In Him we are to live and breath and have our very being. He is the only way, truth and life. (John 14:6) His name is the only source of salvation. (Acts 4:12) The prophets made it clear that His name is the only source of the remission of sin and reconciliation to God. (Acts 4:12) It is His mighty name that will eventually bring every knee to bow and every tongue to confess that He is the Lord of this universe. (Phil. 2:9-10)
Dr. Walter Maier once asked the question, "What if all the real Christians in the world would just cut themselves off from the world for twenty-four hours and study the marvelous story of Jesus and His love?" It is said that Handel did this in writing the "Messiah." His friends and contemporaries testified that he was never the same again. Afterwards, when he spoke of His Saviour and his experience, tears would stream down his face. He never wrote secular music again. As he finished the lines of his famous "Hallelujah Chorus," he cried, "I think I did see all of heaven before me and the great God Himself." The name of Jesus meant something very special to him.
Biblical names have special meanings. For obvious reasons, Adam means, "taken from the ground," or "red earth." Enoch, the man who walked with God and was no more, has a name that implies, "dedicated." Abraham had his name changed to mean, "father of (faithful) multitudes." His beautiful wife Sarah’s name meant, "princess." It seems Jacob’s name rightly implied, "supplanter." Moses’ name meant, "drawn out (of water)." Samuel meant, "God has heard." Peter was, "the small stone." Paul means small.
But the names of our Lord are especially meaningful. The Psalmist states this fact prophetically in this way, "His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and [men] shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed." (Psalm 72:17) His many names give us wonderful clues to His attributes and character. To Abraham and Moses He was the great, "I AM." He was "The Passover Lamb" to Moses as well. He was the Good Shepherd to David. Solomon knew Him as "The Rose of Sharon." Job called Him "The Kinsman Redeemer." Isaiah knew Him as "The Rock" in a weary land. To Jeremiah, He was, "The Lord, our Righteousness."
The prophet Isaiah is inspired to really rise to the ultimate heights of poetry when he gives his prophecy of the coming Messiah. He looks down the telescope of prophecy and sees 700 years and more into the future. He sees a crib, "...unto us a child is born." He sees a cross. " . .unto us a Son is given." He sees a crown. " .. and the government shall be upon His shoulders." A Child is to be born. He will ultimately save His people from their sins. What shall His Names be?
HIS NAME SHALL BE CALLED WONDERFUL. Isn’t Wonderful a wonderfully descriptive name? Much has been written about the eight marvels or wonders of this world, but none could begin to compare with the Wonderful One! I think the old children’s chorus catches the sense of it quite well: "Isn’t he Wonderful, Wonderful, Isn’t Jesus my Lord, Wonderful! Eyes have seen, ears have heard, ’Tis recorded in God’s Word, Isn’t Jesus my Lord Wonderful!"
He was wonderful in His birth. He is the only begotten Son of the Father. He is the only Child born divinely. His is the only authentic Virgin Birth in the history of the universe. He is the only Child born without sin. Man may proudly experiment with the possibility of human cloning. He may boastingly speak of creating life in a test tube. But his dalliance with such genetic manipulations and biological aberrations is merely moral rebellion against his Creator God. Such perversities will never eliminate man’s Adamic nature or negate his moral accountability to his creator.
Our wonderful Saviour remains the only One born without sin. "Who did not sin, neither was guile found in His mouth." (I Peter 2:22) He is thus the only One born to die as a substitute for the sins of others. His sinless and substitutionary sacrifice was the focus of all the types, shadows and figures of the Old Testament and the theme of much of its prophecy. "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." (Isa. 53:6)
Our Saviour was wonderful in His life as well. Surely his earthly parents, the shepherds, the wise men and all the other participants in the story of His birth, were aware that something unique and supernatural was occurring. But as they gazed upon the apparently helpless Christ child, could they have really begun to imagine the future earthly implications of His divine incarnation? Could they have really conceived the sort of life He would live?
Since He was the incarnation and embodiment of the Holy God, His life reflected all the holy attributes of God. His love was pure, limitless and sefless. He was not inhibited by all the pervading selfish motives of so-called human love. He embodied and personified the agape love described in all the key love passages in both Testaments.
He embodied and His life fleshed out and expressed all the other distinctive divine attributes of God. Even those who were His enemies had to admit He was bigger than life and more than a mere man. He holiness was apparent even to those who were acting against Him. Pilate said, "I find no fault in this man," The centurion said, "Surely this was a righteous man."
His omniscience knew not bounds. He knew the thoughts, both good and evil, of the hearts of those who surrounded Him in His everyday life. When He chose it to be so, His presence was over powering. Those who sought to take and destroy Him before His time were blocked by His divine nature.
His omnipotence was always evident. He feed the hungry thousands with a mere basketful of food. He healed the helpless cripple who had been completely incapacitated for 38 years. He gave perfect vision to a man who had been blind from birth. A mere touch of the hem of his garment restored a desperately and chronologically ill woman to full health. He called forth a friend from the grave and restored and reconstructed his body after the effects of four days of death’s deterioration. Is it any wonder that Nicodemus said of the life of our wonderful Saviour: "No man can do these miracles except God be with Him.." (John 3:2)
Our Savior was wonderful in His death as well. No man died as He died. Many view Christmas as just a joyous festive season. To those who do not truly understand the full implication of the divine birth announcements and the real good news of Christmas, it may seem inappropriate to speak of death during this season. But let us remember the angel’s solemn announcement to Joseph, "They shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins." (Matt. 1:21) Those who were Israelites indeed knew the teaching of the Law and the Prophets. They were longingly and expectantly awaiting the coming of the Messiah of Israel: the Kinsmen Redeemer, and the Daysman spoken of by Job in the oldest book in the Bible. His primary Name means Saviour. Such a sinless Saviour must die in order to save those who are lost and condemned. ’But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man." (Heb. 2:9) The ultimate and true definition of the name wonderful is best understood standing at the foot of His cross and receiving remission of ones sins.
Our Saviour was wonderful in His resurrection. The Christmas story would be just another childhood myth or wistful fable if our wonderful Saviour had remained in the grave. But he did not. Death could not keep her prey. "Up from the grave He arose, with a mighty triumph o’er His foes, He arose a victor from the dark domain, and He lives forever with His saints to reign. He arose! He arose! Hallelujah Christ arose!" It was just as He predicted. He said that He had the power to lay down His life and to take it back up again. He said that if the temple of His body were destroyed, He would raise it in three days. He said that just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and nights, so He would only be in the heart of the earth for the same period and then the stone would be rolled away and He would come forth in a resurrected body.
HIS NAME IS ALSO COUNSELLOR. This was promised to us by the psalmist in Messianic prophecy as well. "I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons." (Psalm 16:7) His Spirit is with us today to walk along side us and comfort and counsel us. "But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."
This is true not just at Christmas time, but all the time. How we need this Counsellor today. It seems grief and pain permeate our culture and are the hallmarks of our age. He wants to be our daily Counsellor. He cares for us so intimately and intensely that the Bible speaks of the numbering of the hairs on our head and our tears being placed in a bottle. How much heartache could we save ourselves if we turned to Him before the fact as well as after the fact. The old song says it well, "O, what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry, Everything to God in prayer!"
MIGHTY GOD IS NOT THE LEAST OF HIS NAMES. How man despises this name and its implications. Man rebels against acknowledging the supreme power of such a Mighty Creator God. The scriptures confirm that in His preexistence the incarnate Christ was and is the MIGHTY GOD of creation. (See John 1:1-3, 14, Co. 1:14-17, Heb. 1:2-3, Rev. 1:8, etc.) He was and is all the motive force in the universe. All the universe finds it genesis continuing existence in Him.
When the laws of natural science are reversed or set aside in the Old Testament we find that this MIGHTY GOD is at the center of the action. When a sea rolled back, the sun stood still, the lion’s jaws were stayed, three men walked in a fiery furnace and an ax head floated, this MIGHTY GOD was there.
The same can be said in the New Testament as well. The miracles already mentioned as well as all the others recorded were done by the hand of a MIGHTY GOD. But He also displays His mighty power today in the incomprehensible intricacy and beauty of His present creation. As the psalmist said, "who can behold the beauty of the changing seasons, the glory of a sunset or the dazzling display of a starlight night, without wondering at the power and person of our MIGHTY GOD!?" "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. [There is] no speech nor language, [where] their voice is not heard." (Psalm 19:1-3)
HE IS THE EVERLASTING FATHER. But just how could this be so? This is truly the most puzzling and paradoxical part of the mystery of Godliness in Christ Jesus. "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." (Tim. 3:16) When He walked the earth He did not attempt to minimize the complexity of such theology. He did not seek to explain the concept of the trinity. He merely stated it as a fact to be accepted by faith. He said, "Before Abraham was, I am.." He said, "He who has seen me, has seen the Father." He said, "My Father and I are one." He was one as God and with God. He is one with God and as God. It will always be so.
As the EVERLASTING FATHER He is the timeless and eternal very God. When we by faith accept this concept we can know the full blessing of having a personal Saviour who is the author and finisher of our faith and who ever lives to make intercession for us. In our uncertain and perilous time of decadence, despair and destruction, it is comforting to personally know the eternal and everlasting Father. Recent events have once again jarred us and reminded us that life is fleeting. Riches and prosperity are at best temporal and transitory. The future we have been brought face to face with is foreboding. But we know that even though we may not know what tomorrow may bring, that our EVERLASTING FATHER not only knows our tomorrow but He holds us and our world in His strong and mighty hand.
It is good to be reminded during this season that He is THE PRINCE OF PEACE. We live in a world that cries out in despair, "Peace, peace.." and there is no peace. Isaiah certainly caught the sense of our current culture when he said, "But the wicked [are] like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. [There is] no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." (Isa. 57:20-21) Yes, the world is desperate for peace but is seeking it in the wrong place and in the wrong way. There will be real peace someday when the PRINCE OF PEACE sits as the rightful Ruler on the throne of David. "And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;..." (Isa. 32:17)
In the meantime, let us once more rejoice in the salvation and justification that has been given to us by the PRINCE OF PEACE our personal peacemaker. "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." (Ro. 5:1-2) "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition [between us];" (Eph. 2:13-14)
This real peace not only entails a cessation of hostilities and a halting of the war we had declared upon God, but also gives us His peace in times of trials and tribulation. This is the peace in the storm that so many of us have experienced in our lives. Jesus said, " Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27)
There’s nothing quite like a safe haven in a storm. I remember as a young lad seeking shelter and safety in a large cave-like opening in the side of a cliff. I can still recall the fear that gripped me as I frantically paddled my boat across a wide lake, fleeing in the face of a terrible storm. As I sat snug, dry and warm, high above the storm-tossed water, watching the play of the terrible lightning in the sky and listening to the awesome thunder crash, I had an overwhelming sense of safety and well-being.
But none of this can compare to the sense of spiritual security and peace I find when I seek shelter and safe haven from the storms of life in Jesus, my Rock of Ages. Let the winds of adversity blow, the lightning of judgment flash and the thunder of tribulations roll, and I sit snug and safe in the cleft of that Rock. I hide myself in THEE! He is my peace!
But just how can we know this sure sense of spiritual security and peace when we are buffeted by the winds and storms of life? When we have been pushed and pushed by the Adversary until our back is to the wall and we can see no way of escape? When we are surrounded on all sides by what seem to be seas of insurmountable problems? When we have slipped to the end of our rope of life and tied a knot in it and held on with our finger tips for dear life’ until our spiritual arms are trembling with exhaustion? When we, as the Moses and the people of Israel did one day, find ourselves facing an impassable sea of doubt, fear and loss and we hear the voices of those who would destroy us coming in chariots behind us?
We will only find shelter in the Rock of Ages and know the peace that passeth all understanding in the storms of life when we by faith heed the voice of God as He cries out to us, "Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord!" Real shelter in the storms of life will only come to those who let go and by faith accept the peace that only the PRINCE OF PEACE can bring!
