Here we are again studying a single, stand-alone Scripture. Today we are setting our hearts on Isaiah 9:6.

When I see this verse I am reminded of the story I heard about a man who was commissioned to build a stained-glass window for a church. Somehow the order was lost. Those were the days of the telegram so he went to the telegraph office to send a message to the church to ask for the quotation he was to place on the stain-glass window and the size of the window.

He returned later that afternoon and another operator, a woman, was working who handed him the telegram with a strange look on her face. The telegram simply said: “Unto us a child is born. 18 feet high and 12 feet wide.”

Ivor Powell says, “Isaiah 9:6 is one of the most important verses in the Old Testament writings. Speaking concerning the expected Messiah, the prophet utters details which will engage the attention of scholars until the end of time,” (Bible Names of Christ, p. 25).

The Prophecy.

Some of the Bible is historical. Some of the Bible is doctrinal. Some of the Bible is prophetical. This is a verse of prophecy. It is a prophecy of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior.

700 years before the Jesus was born Isaiah was given this prophecy by God concerning Jesus Christ.

If you search the Old Testament you will discover there are sixty major messianic prophecies and approximately 270 specific details that were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. These prophecies served an undeniable credentials.

The Purpose.

“For unto us...unto us…”

We were the ones who stood in need of divine help. As if heaven would underline the words to catch our eyes, as if it were the keynote of its love, and should be the keynote of our song of praise, the words are repeated.

Before Christ came into this world He had you in mind.

The Peculiarities.

“A child is born...a son is given.”

This is a reference to the first coming of Jesus Christ….His incarnation. “Child” speaks of Christ’s humanity. His birth was absolutely peculiar, unique, Isaiah 7:14. Stephen Olford says “God contracted to the measure of a little infant and took upon Himself our flesh and blood.”

“Son” speaks of Christ’s deity. His life was unique. He was God in human flesh without a sin nature.

In theological terms this is called the hypostatic-union. Jesus was the God-man. He was just as much man as if he had never been God and just as much God as if he had never been man.

The Babe of Bethlehem was the earthly child of a Heavenly Father and the Heavenly Child of an earthly mother. He was as old as His Father and He was older than his mother.

The Power.

“And the government shall be upon his shoulders…”

There is but a space between the word ‘given’ and the phrase ‘and the government,’ but so far, that little space represents over 1900 centuries of history. This prophesied One would grow up and one day take the government of mankind upon His shoulders and bring order and peace to confused and war-filled world.

This is a reference to the second coming of Jesus Christ when He will rule the world in truth and grace during His millennial reign….His coronation.

“Before taking the government on his shoulder, He would take a cross on his shoulders, and then died on that cross, bearing in his body the sins of the world. Before he would wear the diadem of glory as King of Kings, he had to wear the crown of thorns and give His life as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. The kingly Lion o the tribe of Judah first had to come as the lowly Lamb of God; for until the debt of sin had been paid, God’s righteous government could not be established,” Warren Wiersbe.

This part of this verse has not happened, but it will happen. The One who came as the Babe of Bethlehem is coming back as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

Must we wait until then? No, we can turn the government of our lives over to Jesus now and He will reign as King of our lives.

The Preciousness….Pseudonyms.

“And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

“And His name…”

Names are disclosures...how He is known.

Names are dispositions...what He is like.

There are more than 100 names and titles for Jesus Christ in the Bible. They are like precious jewels when we hold them up for closer inspection.

“Why are there so many names and titles for Christ?” Alexander the Great didn’t have other names. By the way, Alexander the Great evidently was not that great. He was defeated by “Sponge Bob” a couple of weeks ago at the box office. William the Conqueror or George Washington had only one name. Why so many names for Christ?

The reason is simple: the greatness and glory of Christ defy a single description and definition. A single name or title could never be enough.

There is a quintuplet of names in this single verse which present to us several truths about our Savior. Henry Gariepy says this magnificent verse is “a constellation of titles.”

“Wonderful”...Christ’s person

All the fullness of the godhead is in Christ.

For too much, Christmas has lost its wonder. Do you know why? Its because we have lost the wonder of the Christ of Christmas. Christ’s wonder has been cluttered with sentimental, commercial, and mythological trash.

Paul wrote about the wonder in 1 Timothy 3:16, “Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh.”

“Counselor”...Christ’s perception

All the wisdom of God is in Christ. The Bible says of Christ in Colossians 2:3, “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

There are two ways this term “counselor” may be defined. “One who offers advice.”
“An attorney who argues cases in the courts.”

There are many qualities that a “good counselor” must possess.
Close...accessible.
Confidential…trust
Compassionate…
Capable…
Communicator...

“The mighty God”...Christ power

We do not love and serve a Christ who is not up to the task. He is a “mighty God.”

All of the power of God is in Christ.

Scripture corroborate the mightiness of Jesus Christ. While on the earth Jesus put His power on display in…
Healing the diseased
Casting out demons
Raising the dead
Meeting demands (turning water to wine and the lad’s lunch into a meal for the multitude)

History was so moved by Christ that time has been split around Him—B.C. ,(before Christ) and A.D. (in the year of our Lord). History is marked by the magnitude of the person and work of Christ.

Human experience for each of us cause us to testify, “He is a mighty God.”

“The everlasting Father”...Christ’s permanence

Christmas time seems to always remind us that so few things really last. But the good news is that Jesus always was, is evermore the same, and shall always be. He is not a fad, to be replaced by something better or newer. This may be one of the most interesting and most difficult names ever given to Jesus Christ. It is wrapped in mystery! People understand the Fatherhood of God, but how are we to understand the Fatherhood of Jesus?

We associate the word “father” is a way different from this text. Here and in other places of the Bible “father” means “author” or “possessor.”

Daniel calls his Savior, “The ancient of days,” Daniel 7:9. Colossians 1:17 says of Jesus, “He is before all things.” Jesus declared, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father,” John 14:9.

What a beautiful blend—the eternal and infinite blended with the tenderness of a Father.

The lives of every other people is marked by a beginning, but Jesus had no beginning. Jesus possesses eternity! He is the One who hold the future in His hands.

After thousands of professed followers of Jesus bailed on him, He turned to his remaining disciples and asked, “Will ye also go away?” (John 6:67). Peter quickly answered for himself and the group, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life,” John 6:68.

Dying people need and have an undying Christ. Living persons need and have a living Christ.

“The Prince of Peace”...Christ’s peace

This may be the most pleasant of all the Lord’s names. We so long for peace, but our world is filled with hatred and war. You see, real peace is not so much an external climate as it is an internal experience.

Do you know what is the real people of peace in this world? It has been that “around most peace tables of the past there has been a vacant chair. “The Prince of Peace” was not asked to join the peace conference.”

Peace with God. Only by Christ’s work of reconciliation can the bridge of redemption span the chasm of sin.

Peace of God..

Peace toward others.

“I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace of earth, goodwill to men.

I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfies of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, goodwill to men.

And in despair I bowed by head:
“There is no peace of earth,” I said,
For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, goodwill to men.

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead: nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right
, With peace on earth, goodwill to men.”
--- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The world cannot have peace if it rejects the Prince of Peace.

Songs: "His Name is Wonderful" and "There’s Just Something About That Name."