Bruce’s Bible
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Daily Service: Jesus is the Mighty God
Twelfth in the series “Jesus is” – I will include scriptures, references,
graphics, and songs also.
Isaiah 9: 6 AMP 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 [of
Eternity], Prince of Peace. [Isa. 25:1; 40:9-11; Matt. 28:18; Luke 2:11.][1]
Isaiah 9:6 NKJV
For unto us, a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government
will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6–7.
Here Isaiah recorded five things about the coming Messiah.
- He was to be born a Child. The
implication, given in parallel style, is that this Child, a Son, was to be born into the nation of Israel (to us) as one of the covenant people.
2. He will rule over God’s people (cf. Micah 5:2) and the world (Zech. 14:9). The government will be on His shoulders figuratively refers to the kingly robe to be worn by the Messiah. As King, He will be responsible to govern the nation. In Isaiah’s day, Judah’s leaders were incompetent in governing the people. But the Messiah will govern properly.
3. He will have four descriptive names that will reveal His character. He will be
the nation’s Wonderful (this could be trans. “exceptional” or “distinguished”) Counselor, and the people will gladly listen to Him as the authoritative One. In the kingdom, many people will be anxious to hear the Messiah teach God’s ways (2:3). He is also the Mighty God (cf. 10:21). Some have suggested that this simply means “a godlike person” or hero. But Isaiah meant more than that, for he had already spoken of the Messiah doing what no other person had been able to do (e.g., 9:2–5). Isaiah understood that the Messiah was to be God in some sense of the term.
This Deliverer will also be called the Everlasting Father. Many people are puzzled by this title because the Messiah, God’s Son, is distinguished in the Trinity from God the Father. How can the Son be the Father? Several things must be noted in this regard. First, the Messiah, being the second Person of the Trinity, is in His essence, God. Therefore He
has all the attributes of God including eternality. Since God is One (even though He exists in three Persons), the Messiah is God. Second, the title “Everlasting Father” is an idiom used to describe the Messiah’s relationship to time, not His relationship to the other members of the Trinity. He is said to be everlasting, just as God (the Father) is called “the Ancient of Days” (Dan. 7:9). The Messiah will be a “fatherly” Ruler. Third, perhaps Isaiah had in mind
the promise to David (2 Sam. 7:16) about the “foreverness” of the kingdom which
God promised would come through David’s line. The Messiah, a Descendant of
David will fulfill this promise for which the nation had been waiting.
The Messiah is also called the Prince of Peace, the One who will bring in and maintain the time of millennial peace when the nation will be properly related to the Lord. Together, these four titles give a beautiful picture of the coming Messiah’s character (Isa. 9:6
includes the first of Isaiah’s 25 references to peace.)
4. The Messiah, seated on David’s throne
(Luke 1:32–33), will have an eternal rule of peace and justice. His
rule will have no end; it will go on forever (cf. Dan. 7:14, 27; Micah
4:7; Luke 1:33; Rev. 11:15). Following the kingdom on earth, He will rule for
eternity. He will maintain righteousness (cf. Jer. 23:5), as His rule will conform to God’s holy character and demands.
5. This will all be accomplished by the zeal of the Lord Almighty. The
coming of the millennial kingdom depends on God, not Israel. The Messiah will rule because God promised it and will zealously see that the kingdom comes. Without His sovereign intervention, there would be no kingdom for Israel.
Apparently, Isaiah assumed that the messianic Child, Jesus Christ, would establish His
reign in one Advent, that when the Child grew up He would rule in triumph. Like
the other prophets, Isaiah was not aware of the great time gap between
Messiah’s two Advents (cf. 1 Peter
1:10–12, and see comments on Isa. 61:1–2).[3]
[1] The Amplified Bible (La Habra,
CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1987), Is 9:6.
[2] The New King James
Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Is 9:6.
#GIVETHANKS