Everlasting Father

INTRODUCTION

Dismiss kids for Rise & Shine

I hope you are planning to join us tonight at 6pm for our Night of Worship

TRANSITION

This morning, as we continue our Advent series, “The Name,” we come back to Isaiah chapter nine. To remind you again, God has spoken a word of judgment against His people because of their sin.

In the midst of judgement, there is hope. God will not abandon His people. He will send a deliverer…one who will set His people from from their enemies and rule and reign over them.

So, let’s read…

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.”

PRAY

I recently saw a commercial on television for the social media company, TikTok.

“There are people out there that don’t have a dad. I want them to be comfortable knowing there is somebody out there that cares.” It’s actually a really sweet and touching commercial. And, it’s this role and picture of a father that helps us understand this third name given to the Messiah—Everlasting Father.

Now, that’s if you’ve paid attention to the whole text of Isaiah 9, you probably think, “Well, that’s kind of an ironic name.” Why?

Well, back up to verse 6— “For to us a CHILD is born, to us a SON is given.” And, now, we’re told that this child/this son that will supposedly come onto the scene will be given the name “Everlasting Father.” Wait a minute. If he’s born, how can he be everlasting? If he’s a child how is he also a father?

And, then, to complicate things even more…now that we’re on this side of Jesus’s birth, life, death, and resurrection, and we’re on this side of church history, is this a confusion of Trinitarian theology? Does this suggest that the Son of God and God the Father are one in the same?

Well, in order for us to fully understand this name, Everlasting Father, we need to look at it in its context historically and theologically…and, then, we will unpack its significance.

HISTORICAL/BIBLICAL CONTEXT

In Isaiah 7:1–9, Rezin (king of Syria) and Pekah (king of Israel) joined forces against Ahaz (king of Judah). The purpose of this attack was to set a ruler of their choosing over Judah. The prospect of fighting two kings was terrifying to Ahaz, but the prophet Isaiah emphasized the importance of trusting in the Lord despite the threat (vv. 4–9).

So, in Isaiah 7:10-11, God tells Ahaz to ask him for a sign…an expression of Ahaz’s trust in God’s salvation and covenantal protection. In verse 12, Ahaz refuses to trust God. So, what does he do? In 2 Kings chapter 16, we’re told that Ahaz goes to the Assyrian king, Tiglath-pileser and asks him to make a covenant with him to provide protection from the Syrians and Israel. Ahaz even takes some of the gold and precious utensils from the temple and sends them to the Assyrian king as an offering.

So, Ahaz puts his trust in the Assyrian king and the covenant they’ve made. And, here’s a very important, and relevant, point—In ancient near eastern treaties made between greater kings and lesser kings, the greater king was referred to as the “father” of the lesser king. So, I want you to hear what he says to Tigleth-pileser—I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.

So, this is the backdrop to what we see in Isaiah 9:6…to quote OT scholar Dr. Nicholas Reid…AHAZ HAS TRUSTED THE WRONG COVENANTAL FATHER FOR SALVATION AND DELIVERANCE.

The purpose of Christmas is this—God the Son became man. He became man so that he could live in our place sinlessly and die in our place as our substitute. And, through his sinless life, death, and resurrection, to establish a new covenant with those who turn from their sin and trust in Him for salvation—to rule over them as a “father.”

This name, Everlasting Father, does not mean that Jesus, the Son of God, is also God the Father. There is no Trinitarian confusion, here. The Bible clearly teaches that God exists in three distinct “persons”—Father, Son, and Spirit. The Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Father. All three members of the Trinity exclusively—only they—share the attributes of who God is. For example, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all three omnipotent. They’re all three omniscient. They’re all three omnipresent. They’re all three perfect. They’re all three self-existent. I could go on and on. And, all three members of the Trinity are described in the Bible as having “fatherly” attributes/characteristics.

So, it is the Son of God who will rule and reign over His covenant people in a perfect father-like way. To say it another way…

God’s eternal and fatherly rule is embodied in Jesus.

He is the Everlasting Father. Some of the most theologically rich lyrics of any Christmas song we sing come from a line in “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”—“…veiled in flesh, the Godhead see, hail the incarnate Deity…”

The PERMANENCY of His Rule

The first in this “double name” is “Everlasting”—this word means “eternal.” It means to have no beginning, to have no end, and to not be dependent on someone or something outside of itself for survival.

This attribute of God—his eternality—or, his everlasting nature—is declared all throughout the Bible.

Psalm 90:2 “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

Psalm 93:2 “Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.”

Remember, up until now, Uzziah had been the longest reigning king—52 years. 52 years of peace and prosperity. 52 years of other nations fearing Judah and paying homage to their king.. Look, it doesn’t matter who your favorite politician is or who you think the best president for our country is. Those who are in power—especially here in America—are limited by two things: Term Limits and Death.

Many of you who were alive in the 1960s remember the unrest and uncertainty in our country. The 60s were probably the most tumultuous decade in this nation’s history. When President Kennedy, the leader of the free world—the leader our country looked to in a time of racial conflict and global conflict—was assassinated in 1963, there was fear and unrest. When MLK—the leader of the Civil Rights movement—was assassinated in 1968, there was fear and unrest.

This king has been seated on the only throne with all power from all of eternity. He’s been seated on the throne during the reigns of all the wicked kings…and over the rising and falling of empires and kingdoms and He’ll be seated on His throne for all of eternity future.

Luke 1:32–33 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Every one of us is looking for something that will last.

We live in a world where everything has an expiration date—leaders, economies, health, strength, even life itself. And when the things we’ve trusted start to shake, our hearts shake with them.

But Isaiah says this King is everlasting.

That means when rulers come and go, He remains. When circumstances change, He does not. When our strength fades, His never will.

Most of our anxiety is not about our circumstances—it’s about our trust. We are often leaning on things that were never meant to carry the weight of our hope.

If your peace rises and falls with politics, your job, your health, or your finances, then something temporary has taken the place of the eternal. And those things will fail you—not because they are evil, but because they are limited.

But Jesus reigns without term limits and without end. He is not reacting to history—He rules over it. He has been seated on the throne through every wicked king, every fallen empire, and every moment of chaos, and He will still be reigning when all of this is gone.

This coming King will not only be everlasting in his rule but he is also everlasting in his nature.

The PARENTAL NATURE of His Rule

He is the Everlasting FATHER…again, the Son of God is NOT God the Father. But, as God, He shares all of the attributes of God.

Fatherly LOVE

Fatherly PROVISION

Fatherly PROTECTION

Fatherly COMPASSION/CARE

Fatherly DISCIPLINE

Fatherly COMFORT

You may have grown up with a father who wasn’t present…or a father who died when you were young...or a father who didn’t have biblical or godly character.

He relates to His people the way a loving and good father does to his children. He’s not a tyrant. He’s not ____________. Yes, he is the King. Yes, he is holy but he does not treat his people as “subjects” but as children.

Psalm 103:17 “But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him…”

One of the things that I am guilty of…that as parents we beat ourselves up over…is how inconsistent we are. We don’t love perfectly …

And, here is the beautiful thing—he is EVERLASTING in his character. He is everlasting in his love—he never changes. He is everlasting in his faithful commitment—he never changes. He is everlasting in his provision…He is CONSTANT…unwavering…unshifting.

The PRESENCE of His Rule

Again, I want to draw your mind back to the miracle of what’s happening—the incarnation…Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” —which means “God with us.”

One of the most powerful things a father can do for his children is be present. A few years ago, I was scheduled to be at an event that would require me to miss one of Grady’s baseball games. I wasn’t there. And, y’all, as a dad, it kills me to not be there for my kids. Anyway, I got finished early and when I came walking up to the baseball field, Grady saw me and tore off across the field yelling, “Dad! You came!”

The Bible gives us, what I consider to be, an absolutely beautiful paradox. God—seated on His throne, high and lifted up, enthroned in glory and splendor and majesty, dwelling in unapproachable light, etc…and yet, He condescends. He emptied himself, Paul says in Philippians 2, by taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men…and as a servant and man he humbled himself.

In Christ, God is approachable. In Christ, God is with us.

Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”

He is among his people…in their midst. In our grief and our sorrow he does not withdraw from us but draws near to us and bears our burdens for us. He weeps and grieves with us. In our sin and our shame he doesn’t run from us or abandon us. He pursues us like a shepherd searching for one lost sheep because of His love. In our weariness and in our burden to come and find rest in him. In our anxiety and care, he invites us to cast it all upon him because he cares for us.

Matthew 28:20 “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Conclusion

What are you allowing to rule over your heart and your life? Is it your job? Is it your status (?) what are you going to do when those things are no longer there? When what you’ve relied on for peace and security are gone? That money better be there to comfort you in the cancer center.

What sin/what guilt/what shame has you defeated? His love for you is unchanging. What has you worried? Concerned? Anxious? He is ruling and reigning and faithful.