Quick Note – Isaiah 9:6 – Our God in the Messiah

Isaiah 9:6 – “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.”

Being that December is just a week and a half a way, Christmas music is beginning to play everywhere.  You can hear it on the radio, in the grocery store, and for some of you, even at your workplace.  Some people may get annoyed with listening to this much Christmas music, but at least for the first three weeks or so, I usually enjoy the songs (outside of Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You and Toto’s Africa and Bruce Springsteen’s Santa Clause Is Coming to Town).  One piece of music that you don’t hear often on the radio but is associated with Christmas time though is Handel’s Messiah.  This famous oratorio is often performed by choirs and orchestras during this season.  You may say that you have never heard of this composition, but once I name a few of the songs and you listen to them, I am certain that you will have heard some of them before.  Famous pieces that came from the Messiah include the Hallelujah chorus, For unto Us a Child Is Born, and All We like Sheep Have Gone Astray.  Interestingly, many of the lyrics to the songs from the Messiah were pulled directly from the Bible, specifically the book of Isaiah.  For example, the song For unto Us a Child Is Born comes directly from our passage today in Isaiah 9:6, which prophesied the coming of the Messiah, which would rule the nations as a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.  Today, we will take a short look at each one of these descriptions/names of our Lord Jesus Christ and how they so aptly describe our God.  (Because Jesus Christ the Son, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit are all three persons in one God.  All attributes of one apply to the other, because they are all one God.  This is the concept of the Trinity.  Although I cannot explain how this works, this is fact and is how we will talk about them in our passage today.  God is in reference to all three Persons, because they are all one God.)

Wonderful Counselor – Our God is the Wonderful Counselor.  In the King James Version (KJV) version of the Bible, this word is separated from the word Counselor with a comma, indicating that these are two different names.  But based on the structure of the other names in this passage as well as other translations of the Bible, it seems like the word wonderful here is more like an adjective for Christ’s position as the Counselor.  Our God is the Wonderful Counselor to all who seek Him.  He promises to guide and lead us like a Shepherd (John 10:14), to light our way with His Word (Psalm 119:105), and to provide us wisdom if we seek it (James 1:5).  What more the counsel He gives us is not of this world, but is extraordinary, which is what the word wonderful means.  Our God provides us guidance and counsel beyond anything this world has to offer.  Although His ways are not our ways and His thoughts not our thoughts, because He is a wise Counselor, we can trust Him to constantly lead us in the way that is best for us.  Let us trust the counsel, guidance, teaching, and commandments of the Lord. 

Mighty God – Our God is the Mighty God.  Unlike the idols of the ancient world, which cannot hear, see, or respond to our prayers, our God is all-powerful – omnipotent.  He is mighty, and no person or thing can compare to Him.  He created the world with just a few words.  He parted the Red Sea and made the Israelites walk on dry land as if it only took a breath from His mouth.  He controlled the weather, making the sun to stand still and hail to rain down from the sky as Joshua fought the Canaanites.  He commanded a giant fish to rescue Jonah from the depths of the sea and also ravens to feed His prophet Elijah during a famine.  He calmed the storm in the Sea of Galilee with a simple command, caused the blind to see, made the lame to walk again, and even raised the dead.  Our Lord and God Jesus Christ is an almighty God that has no comparison.  He is the only God, for there is no other God but Him.  When we might feel afraid due to the troubles and difficulties that may come into our lives, we can trust that our God is powerful enough to handle those situations. 

Everlasting Father – Our God is the Everlasting Father.  Everlasting means that there is no end; it continues and goes on and on and on, longer and farther than the Energizer bunny.  From the beginning of time to the end of the universe, our God has always been there.  He is everlasting.  This is a hard concept for a human mind to grasp, because we think in terms of years and centuries, but God is outside of time, for He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.  And in all of that time, He has been a Father to His children – to us.  A good father is one that loves and takes care of his children.  He watches over their well-being, makes sure the best is always provided for them, and protects them from things that can bring harm.  A good father will also discipline his child when he or she does wrong but at the same time show mercy and grace, looking to restore rather than to condemn.  Our God is that type of Father to us.  He has been a kind and loving Father since He created man in the beginning and will continue to be that gracious and merciful Father when this world has been destroyed.  We know that He is that loving Father, because He gave us His Son.  When we feel lost and alone, fearful and worried, we can trust that our God is a good Father that is waiting to pick us up and hold us in His mighty arms. 

The Prince of Peace – Our God is the Prince of Peace.  When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they introduced sin into the world.  From that point forward, every man and woman born would be separated from God, due to our sinful nature.  This sin created a division and brokenness in our relationship with God.  Because of this separation, we were left without peace, for we always had to fear death, to fear the upcoming judgment, and to fear God, whose righteous wrath would one day come upon us.  There was no peace in our hearts only fear.  But when Jesus Christ came to this earth and died on the cross for our sins, He wiped that slate clean.  Our sins were taken away and covered by His blood, so that those who receive Him as Lord and Savior would be considered righteous before God.  From that point forward, we could have peace with God.  This is why Jesus Christ is called the Prince of Peace, for He is the one and only person who can ultimately bring peace into our lives.  All the brokenness, the enmity, the discord brought by our sin was eliminated by His sacrifice.  He brought peace between God and man.  Additionally, He brought about peace between all mankind, for those who received Him no matter whether Jew or Greek, male or female, rich or poor would be joined into one family in the body of Christ.  Jesus Christ is our Prince of Peace.  When we feel guilt or fear, we can rest on the peace of Christ’s promise that we are now right with Him. 

This beautiful verse is a reminder of how we have such a great God.  He is the Wonderful Counselor, guiding our lives.  He is the Mighty God, working miracles in our lives each day.  He is the Everlasting Father, showing His love to us when He gave us His Son.  He is the Prince of Peace, restoring our relationship with Him.  No matter what trials or difficulties you face today, remember who our God is and find comfort in Him.