Who is the One Promised?

Christ is, Who He said He was

Intro

Today’s message is about who Christ is. Who was He, who did He claim to be, and why that it is important it came this way? Jesus isn’t some dude, He isn’t just a prophet, or a great teacher, or even an enlightened person. He is God. One of the three members of the God head. He has always existed in eternity past, present, and future. Colossians 1:16 “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”

Now this begs the question, does the Old Testament confirm Jesus’ identity? After all, if He always existed, than He should have been revealed before His life. You will find that the Old Testament does. 300. That is how many prophesies were fulfilled in the life of Christ. One of the prophesies is in our text this morning. Isaiah 9:6–7 “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. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”

This text was written by the prophet Isaiah. At this time in history the Assyrian empire is on the rise to power, and they seeking to use it on the Jewish people. God says that He is allowing this to happen, because of the great acts of evil that are happening in the land. Chapter 9 is actually an oasis of mercy in comparison to the texts around it. For you see the things that Israel is doing against God in the previous chapters, and looking ahead you will see what is going to happen if they don’t repent. This text here seems to be placed here by the prophet and by God to show that He will not extend His wrath forever.

As we can clearly read from the text and have been given the gift of the full revelation of God through the Bible, this passage is clearly talking about Jesus Christ. We don’t know how much Isaiah knew about Christ’s coming at the time of writing, but we do know Jesus knew who He was going to be. Christ is, who He said He was going to be. Christ is, who He said He was going to be. To Illustrate this point through the text, I think that it is imperative to go over the titles that are given to “the child that is born.”

The first one we will go over is Wonderful Counselor. Why would Jesus be called Wonderful Counselor? The word wonderful has lost its meaning in comparison to the Hebrew equivalent here in the text. To be wonderful is to make the people around you, full of wonder. It meant that something that was wonderful was good, but also hard or impossible to understand. An example of this type of use of wonderful is in the book of Judges. In Judges 13 we see the angel respond to Manoah asking his name. He states Judges 13:18 “And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?”” The angel denies giving the name for our lack of understanding, and so that his name wouldn’t be glorified, but God’s name would. The word counselor would be associated with one who gives counsel, or one who is wise. It could be associated with kings as well as being a wise ruler, but not necessarily. There are a few places where God Himself is said to give or to be a wonderful counselor, even later on in Isaiah. Isaiah 28:29 “This also comes from the Lord of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom.” What does it say about who God is when given this title? It shows that He is not only full of wisdom and knowing all things, but is willing to give it to those who ask. Do not be afraid to go to God in humility, of not knowing something. We are all infinitely ignorant when we compare ourselves to God’s wisdom and knowledge. He wants us to come to Him for our needs. Jesus reflects this title in how He deals with people. Whether it is prophecy, parable, or sermon Jesus gave wisdom to those who sought after Him.

The second title in the passage is pretty straight forward. He will be called Mighty God. The wording here is what it says. In the next chapter of Isaiah it uses this exact title to describe God. The wording of this title is to show an abundance of strength. While there will be times where He gets weary, such as after fasting for 40 days and being tempted by Satan, He is never overcome. Jesus even won over death. I was listening to a Christian apologist speak with Ben Shapiro on his talk show and he said something to Ben that shows the importance of the resurrection. He said, “If God brought someone back to life, who knew He was going to die, after saying the things He said about being God in the flesh, I’m inclined to believe Him. If He was lying and constantly blaspheming God’s name, why would He bring Him back unless it was to verify that what He said was true?” As we have gone through the gospel of John, we see how Christ claimed to not just be a messianic figure, but God in the flesh. This is what makes Christ worthy of our worship, for He is mighty. He is mightier than any foe we could face, even death, He is infinitely better than all things in this life, and He is infinitely merciful and loving, for as much He holds back His judgement on us who deserve it, He shows infinite mercy for His infinite power. To top it all off He shows us infinite love because He doesn’t need us. In His triune nature, God is a community amongst Himself, therefore He doesn’t need us. But He wants us, and mixing that lack of need from us, lack of righteousness on our part, and having the ability to take us out at any minute whenever He wanted to makes for infinite Love. All of this stems from Him being a Mighty God.

The third title is Everlasting Father. This one is also straight forward, but it can seem even contradictory in hindsight. Doesn’t Mighty God get the idea of His divinity across? Isn’t Jesus the Son of God? How can He be an everlasting Father? The role of this title may be to reestablish His divinity, but based on the context and the Hebrew used there, I would anticipate that it helps establish a few things. The word “Everlasting” helps us to remember that Jesus is eternal. Jesus was not a created being, but was there since the beginning of time. the word “Father” helps to denote both His status but also His relationship with us. Father is still an intimate language as someone who is invested in you. It can be used as the head of a household, someone who started or created something like the father of a company, or at this time in history it could also mean a teacher. This word is used to establish that actually Jesus is all of those things. He is the one who created us, He is our authority and the head of the Church, and He is also the one who guides and teaches us. For those of us who are in Christ, God is invested in our lives and also seeks for us to bear fruit for His name. This title reminds us that Christ isn’t here to just get a job done, but to have fellowship and relationship with us.

The final title given to Jesus in this passage is the Prince of Peace. A prince is someone of royalty. Someone who has status. While the last title showed how Jesus is intimate and close, this title shows His heavenly nobility, His set apart nature from us. It reminds us how much higher His ways are to us. But notice that He is not given the title of King of Peace. This is because He is still under authority. He is still submitted to the Father while He was here. He is not doing things on His own authority, but by the authority of Our Father who Art in Heaven. The word for peace can be used to establish health, wealth, and prosperity. It can even mean goodwill to men among you. I have trouble with this title being a reference to those definitions. Jesus mentions in Matthew 10:34–36 ““Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.” This seems to directly contradict the “goodwill of men” side of things. Jesus also promises that there will be hardships for the disciples for following Christ. This seems to lead to the conclusion that He is not the simply the prince of wellbeing and prosperity. The peace that seems to make the most sense with this title is the idea of peace with God. Making a covenant peace with Him, because Jesus is our mediator and our hope for salvation. This title also unexpectedly reveals the exclusivity of Christ. There is no other peace that anyone can offer you like He can. He is perfect peace with our God in heaven.

Conclusion

We serve a God who tells us who He is through many means throughout history. We got to see Him told through prophecy via the Old Testament. We serve a God who is Wonderfully Wise and wants us to come to Him with our questions and seek wisdom. We serve a God who is Mighty to save, He is not too weak for our problems, but ultimately is in charge of all things. We serve a God who is eternal and wants us to have relationship with Him for eternity. And finally we serve a God who saves. A God who is willing to shed off His status of ultimate divinity, so that we could be saved.

Church as we go on this week, I hope that you would reflect on these truths. That you may see God more fully. As we get ready for the Christmas season, remember who we are doing this for. In our commercial society, we have lost this deep meaningful Christmas where the Savior is born, and have traded it for cheap trinkets. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t give or get presents for Christmas, but we need to consider as Christians, does the way we celebrate the birth of Christ bring awareness, honor, and worship to His name?

I also want to encourage you in this, because verse 6 of the passage is true, so is verse 7. We are ruled by Christ, and if we are submitted to Him, we are part of His eternal Kingdom. In the end we win, no matter what happens in the world, we know the ending. Ultimately Christ is the winner, and we get to be part of the victory.

Let us pray

Numbers 6:24–26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”