More Than A Christmas Title
We have all heard the story of Jesus Christ’s birth, especially during this time of year. And while there is no doubt that it is miraculous, Christians often times forget that the prophecies of Jesus Christ coming can be found in the Old Testament. Once such occurrence can be found in Isaiah 9:6. “For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” Here we see four titles that would be bestowed upon the coming Christ, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, and Prince of Peace. Today I want to examine what these titles mean.
The word “wonderful” has a different meaning today than it did before. Today’s meaning is something that is extremely good, but the original meaning is something that is full of wonder, hard to understand, and incomprehensible. So how does the word “wonderful” describe Jesus Christ? For that answer we need to examine His actions. The first action that is wonderful is His virgin birth, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).” Matthew 1:23. No other individual was born this way and no other will be, this action alone should fill us with wonder that the incomprehensible act of a virgin giving birth has actually happened. Then there are Jesus Christ’s many healings, “23 Jesus was going about in all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.” Matthew 4:23. As seen throughout the Bible, many of these healings happened to individuals who were past the point of the medicine at the time being able to help.
Consider the example found in Luke 5:17-20, “17 One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. 20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” Jesus was able to heal this man not only of his paralysis, but also of his sins all because the man had the faith that Jesus was able to do this.
Another aspect of how Jesus is wonderful is in his perfect life. “15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15. Jesus is the only one who has been able to hold to the standard that God has set before all of us. We have all fallen short of this standard, but Jesus was able to complete it even while facing the same temptations that we face today. He not only faced the same issues, but it is because of this that He is able to sympathize with us when we fail. This leads us to the next aspect of how He is wonderful, and that is through His teachings. “17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17. From the moment He began to preach, Jesus preached repentance and that turning to God was the only way to receive salvation. This went against many of what was being taught then that you needed to have works to be saved, you needed to follow the Mosaic Law which we have seen in previous posts that no one can follow this law except for God Himself. For a refresher on this topic, please click here.
Finally, Jesus is wonderful in His resurrection. “16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.” John 20:16-20. Jesus was crucified and had died, this action caused God’s plan of salvation to be in place. All those who believed that Jesus died for their sins, rose again, and is currently reigning will have salvation. There is no other religion that places salvation on the actions of another and not on works that the individual must do. This alone should show how Jesus received the description of being wonderful.
Now we must examine the title “counselor”. Again modern day has drifted from the original meaning, today a counselor is someone that you would seek out if you need help, the original meaning is that of “wise king”. The word counselor is again used in Isaiah 28:29, “This also comes from the Lord of armies, Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great.” So to be a counselor one must be wise. But what does it mean to have wisdom? One great example of an earthly king who had wisdom would be King Solomon, “7 “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” 10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. ” 1 Kings 3:7-10. We see that Solomon asks the Lord to grant him wisdom so that he would have a discerning heart. This is something that we should all be asking of the Lord, however, Jesus was already granted a discerning heart. “25 He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.” John 2:25. He does not need any of us to testify on our own or others behalf because He knows what is in each of our hearts, if we have a heart that follows and seeks after Him or not. In Jesus Christ alone there is wisdom, “3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:3. Proverbs 15:11 tells us that God is able to see anywhere, “Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD, how much more the hearts of men!”
The next title that would be given to the coming Christ is that of Mighty God. Consider the actions and characteristics just briefly mentioned above, is there any other who could lay claim to these? These actions and characteristics show that we have a mighty God, no other can heal the sick, free us from sin, or seek out the heart of the individual. As if that is not enough, consider Jesus Christ’s authority. “22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.” Mark 1:22 Jesus was teaching not as someone who was simply reading the scripture such as the scribes, but as someone who had intimate knowledge of what it meant.
Jesus not only taught with authority, but He also gave authority to His disciples. “19 Behold, I have given you authority to walk on snakes and scorpions, and authority over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.” Luke 10:19-20 those who belong to Jesus Christ have authority over those who wish to claim this world. It is why Christians need to study spiritual warfare because it is an ongoing battle and when we are not aware of what we have been given through the Armor of God, then we are not an effective warrior to Jesus Christ.
The third title that is given is that of Eternal Father. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are all eternal. Nothing came before them and they were not created, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 But what does this title mean directly for Jesus Christ? In John 6:51, Jesus Christ describes Himself this way, “51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” Jesus is the living bread who offers eternal life to those who believe in Him. He is the beginning and the end, “8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8.
The last title that is given in Isaiah 9:6 is that of Prince of Peace. We have seen in many posts that the peace that Jesus offers is not the same as the world. In the world we will find no true peace, only through Christ. “27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27. This peace is found through Jesus Christ’s wonderful actions that allow us to be rectified to God. “8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8, “5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” Romans 5:1.
Not only does Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, allow us to be rectified to God the Father, but to also have a relationship with God the Holy Spirit which guides us and teaches us. “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23. These are the results of having the Holy Spirit, we enact this relationship with others around us due to the Holy Spirit. Finally, the wonderful thing about the peace that Jesus offers is that it cannot be removed from us. “27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” John 10:27-28.
Finally, I want to back track a little and look at not just the titles that are given to our Lord and savior but to see something that Christians tend to forget today. “And the government will rest on His shoulders” Isaiah 9:6 There are many governments right now that are in chaos. From the United States to Israel there is no perfect government however, God is sovereign and knows what is truly going on. Remember what we said earlier, every man’s heart is open before the Lord thus He knows and is aware of what nations are doing. This passage here reminds us that this is all a part of God’s plan because all the governments of the world belong to Him. “for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.” Psalm 22:28. There is no man on earth who can act against what God wishes to be done. “He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding;” Daniel 2:21. Those in power today are there because it is God’s will. This does not mean that we need to sit idly by, but understand that power and authority is given by God alone. The enemy has no control over the timeline that God has put in place.
Seek the truth and encourage one another,
Alex