May God be with us now as we
turn again to his word this evening. We'll turn again to the prophecy
of Isaiah in chapter 9 and verse 6. The prophecy of Isaiah, chapter
9 and verse 6. For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon
his shoulder. and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace. Well, this morning we sought
to really take the first couple of clauses in this verse. Unto us a child is born and unto
us a son is given. And we were considering the two
wonders found in this verse. Firstly, that a gift has been
given, and then I want this evening to come back to this verse and
consider the gift itself. We thought how wonderful it is
that God himself, almighty holy God, has given us a gift, has
given us his son. and that we can see that in his
grace he has sent a gift, just what we need, to us. And we were thinking the way
in which that son came. He was given and he was born,
and how important it is that the Lord Jesus Christ was born
as a real man. Well, this evening then, let
us consider more in detail the gift itself. We know that God
has given a gift. We know that he has sent his
son for his people. The son is given, while the verse
goes on to show us the details, the beauty of this gift. A few years ago, in a park in
central London, as part of an art installation they put up
a huge replica of the well-known painting in Paris, the Mona Lisa. It was about the size of a three-storey
house, and you could see it for a long way. It was a huge installation. And from a distance, it looked
like the painting itself of the Mona Lisa. But when you got up
close to see the painting, you could see that, in fact, it was
made up of hundreds of small, tiny self-portraits of other
people. And they had cleverly put these
little pictures together in order to make the big picture of the
Mona Lisa itself. It wasn't until you came up close
you could see what it really was and how it had really been
put together. And in a sense, that is what
this verse seeks to do. We are told that a son is given. Now that is wonderful in itself.
From a distance we can see the glory that God's son has come
to earth. The glory that a child has been
born. And from a distance we stand
in wonder at that truth alone. But then, as it were, we step
closer and we see the detail we see more of who this son is,
of his wonderful attributes, of his wonderful character. So
we're told that a son is given and then we're expounded on who
that son is and what his work and ways are. And we're told
that he therefore is this glorious son and the government shall
be on his shoulder His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace. When we consider who this gift
is and the details that we find here, we all the more stand in
wonder that God has given His Son. Well firstly then we are told,
the government shall be upon his shoulder. The government
shall be upon his shoulder. He holds it up. It rests upon
him. It is on his strength, this government. It shows to us that this child,
this son, is sovereign. He is sovereign. He is the King of Kings and the
Lord of Lords. The government is upon his shoulder
and there is none that reign but by his authority, but by
his sovereignty. We are told in a general sense
through these words that he reigns over all things. The government
of the world is on his shoulder This Son of God, this Child that
was born, holds all things in His hand. All events are in His
command. Nothing in this world takes Him
by surprise. Nothing is by chance. All is
either caused by Him or permitted by Him. He is utterly in control. The government is on his shoulder.
And though kings and empires may reign powerfully for many
years, they are there but by his authority. And he can sweep
them away in a moment. As we see in the history of the
world, and the kingdoms and the empires that rose up and yet
swiftly were removed, swiftly taken away, the Lord is in complete
control. They are on his shoulder. he
holds all things together and all are subject to him. So it
tells us that he is generally over all things, but here the
child is born, the son is given specifically for his people,
specifically for the church and to sinners who are brought to
repentance and faith. It is for them that this son
has been given and therefore more particularly Their life
is in His hands. He holds all events for us. He reigns over us as our Sovereign,
as our King. What a wonderful truth this is,
that the Son of God has come, yes as a child, as a real man,
but He has come as the King of Kings And he knows all about
us. And indeed, every aspect and
every step of our life is in his control. The government is
on his shoulders. We belong to him, if we're a
child of God. We belong to him. He's bought
us. We are his servants. He reigns over our lives. But deeper than that, for the
believer, he reigns in them. He reigns in their heart. He doesn't just order providence. He does, and that's a great encouragement
and a great comfort, but he doesn't just order providence and events. He reigns as king in the hearts
of his people. He makes them willing servants,
not grudging slaves, but willing servants. He told Pilate, didn't
he, my kingdom is not of this world. My kingdom isn't like
the Roman Empire. My kingdom isn't like the power
grabbing of the high priest Caiaphas. My kingdom is not of this world.
My kingdom is in the hearts of men and women. I reign in the
hearts of my people and I will bring a kingdom ultimately in
glory where they shall be. But in this world he reigns in
his church. He makes us willing. We read in the Psalm 110 of those
two aspects. the reigning in the world and
the reigning of the church. Psalm 110 we read this, the Lord
said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine
enemies thy footstool. Here we have ultimately the view
of Christ over his enemies. Sovereign over them all. At the
right hand of God, the King of Kings, all enemies subdued under
him, the ruler of the world. But then in verse 3 we read,
the people shall be willing in the day of thy power. You see,
he also works, he also reigns in the hearts of his people to
make them willing. Willing subjects, willing servants. He is the king of kings. The government, all authority
is upon his shoulder. He reigns. And the beauty of
this is he is not an oppressing king. He is not a king who puts
his people down, who oppresses them, who judges them and who
lords it over his kingdom. He is a king who rules for good. He is a good king, a king who
protects his people, a king who provides for his people, a king
who cares for his people. The government is upon his shoulder. Isn't this a comfort? When we
look at the world and we see the powers of the nations and
the powers of certain governments and the terror that some governments
wreak upon the world, it's on his shoulder. The king who has
come, the child has been born, the son has been given, he is
in control of all these things. What a comfort for us as his
people, when we feel that the events of our life seem so chaotic,
so confused about the way things are turning and the way things
come into our lives. The government's on his shoulder.
The Son who has come reigns as a King. This is the King that
we need. And as we, with God's help, look
at these different aspects tonight, what we will see is in these
different ways, He is the gift that we need, that we must have. He is the gift that fulfils our
every need and our every concern. This isn't a gift to cast away. isn't a gift that's unimportant.
He meets our every need and it's seen here. Firstly, he's the
king. The government is on his shoulder. He's our sovereign.
Secondly, we're told his name shall be called Wonderful. Now of course we could read the
following words, his name shall be called Wonderful, his name
shall be called Counsellor, his name shall be called the Mighty
God and so forth. So what does it mean his name?
Because clearly Jesus wasn't literally called Wonderful, wasn't
literally called Counsellor and so forth, we know that he was
called Jesus. So what does it mean his name
shall be called? Well, it's referring to his being,
to his character. The name isn't just a label,
it's a description. The names of God, the names of
Christ, they work to show us something of who he is, something
of his character, something of his being, something of his attributes,
not just a label like you and I have a name. These are what
these things referred to, his being, his character, his name. His name shall be called wonderful
or this could be his name shall be called a marvellous thing,
a marvellous thing, wonderful. In every aspect In every sense, in every way,
he is wonderful. He is a marvellous thing. This doesn't just describe one
aspect of the Lord. One attribute of Christ. Wonderful describes all attributes,
all aspects. We could attach it to all of
these things. Wonderful counsellor, wonderful
mighty God, wonderful Prince of Peace. His name is wonderful,
marvellous thing. When we consider his person,
that he has come as man and as God. When we consider his character,
When we consider His works, the way He taught, the way He healed,
the way He loved, His perfect and holy life, it's wonderful. It's altogether wonderful. When
we consider His death and suffering and work on the cross, we stand
back and we say, His name is wonderful. His resurrection his
conquering of death, his ascension into glory. His people must stand
back when we see something of how important these things are. We say they're wonderful. It's as it were a mark across
all aspects of Christ. He is wonderful. He is a marvellous
thing. And the Lord leads his people
into a little of these things, a little of the wonder of God,
a little of the wonderful work and nature and being of Christ. But yet he is so much more than
we ever know this side of the grave. But here we see, we see that
he is satisfied all that we need. And when we see what we need
in our sin, when we see how we stand before God in our sin and
yet realise that the Son has been given and that He has come
as a counsellor and as the mighty God and so forth, then we must
stand back and see it is wonderful to our eyes. As we thought on
Tuesday, the Queen of Sheba stood and said, I have not been told
half of what I see. The glory, the wisdom of Solomon
is so much more than what I ever was told about. And the Lord's
people, when we see these things, when we see who Christ is, the
suitability of the Saviour, we say we haven't seen or we haven't
heard rather half of what there is. And we must just stand back
and this word really sums it up. His name is wonderful. Song of Solomon, the bride describes
her bridegroom and sums it up in these words, he is altogether
lovely. And really I can add nothing
more to that. I can't expound that any further. That's the language of the believer.
He is wonderful. He is altogether lovely. His name shall be called Wonderful.
There's no blemish. There's no falling behind. There's
no problem. There's no disappointment in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything is overshadowed by
the umbrella of Wonderful. His name shall be called Wonderful. And he says his name shall be
called Counsellor. Now some people will put these
two words together. wonderful counsellor. Now of
course that is true, he is a wonderful counsellor. The translation we
have here puts a comma between the two. His name shall be called
counsellor. Here we have one who counsels,
or one who advises, or one who guides. And again here is a suitable
gift, the one that his people need. We need A counsellor. We need this guide. His counsel
is wonderful. You see, he shows us the way. He shows us the way to God, first
and foremost. As he came and preached and taught,
he called repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. He called
the people to repentance. He called the people to believe
in Him. He shows the way, that He is
the way, the truth and the life. He is the counsellor that we
need. When we are lost in our sin,
we need this guide who shows us the way of life through Himself. And He has come to show that
way, to reveal Himself as the Saviour, the Child that's been
born, the fulfilment of the prophecy. He has come and guides us and
shows us the way. I am the way, he says. And he
directs us to the cross, to the substitute, to the atonement. He directs us that if I be lifted
up, I must draw all men unto me. He shows us where to look. He's the counsellor. to guide
us in the way. Not to look at ourselves, but
to look at Him. But He is also the counsellor
for His people throughout their life. The advisor, the guide
throughout life. He guides us in the ways that
we should go. He opens the ways for us that
we should take. He commands us the path that
we should walk in. He does not leave us. We're not
left on the day when the Lord calls us, the day when we are
converted. We're not left to go in our own strength. We're
not left to make our own decisions. He is still our counsellor. He commands us. We wonder what
to do sometimes. We wonder what decision to make.
We wonder what path to take. The counsellor is still there.
He speaks through his word. He shows us what is right. He
shows us what is wrong. And often there is a command
in the word of God which can apply to us. Should we take a
path? Is it in line with the commands
of God's word? And if there's not a clear command,
there's a principle often found. Should I take a certain path
or would it break a principle of God's word? Might not be specifically
wrong, but is there a principle there? Or is there an example
there of someone who had a similar path? Does the word of God have
the answer? And we'll find it does. You see,
he's still the counsellor. He's left on record for us through
his own word, the words literally of Christ, but he's left a record
through his word through others, through the apostles and so forth.
He's shown us the ways that we should take. He shows us the
path. He shows us the way He would
have us to go. And we must remember He works
as the King of Kings and counsellor at the same time. That means
He is sovereign over Providence as well. He can open doors. He can shut doors. He can reveal
His will through our lives. The Lord knows how to lead us. The Lord knows what we need. You see in him is treasured up
all that wisdom and knowledge of the Godhead. So much greater,
so much more wise, so much more knowledgeable than we could be.
We see our tiny little sphere, our tiny little life, the few
little areas, the few people around us and we think we know
everything and yet we're told that in him are hid all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge. This is the counsellor who is
all wise and all knowledge. All the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge are hidden in him. What comfort, what confidence
we can have in him and in his word. He is our counsellor. You think of when the disciples
asked him, teach us how to pray. and he speaks to them the Lord's
Prayer. What counsel there is there,
what depth in the Lord's Prayer. You think when the people gather
together to hear him speak and he speaks the words of the Sermon
on the Mount, what wisdom, what depth there is in his words that
they stand amazed and say, never man spake like this man. For
he spake of authority, not as the scribes, as the counsellor
with authority. And that's what we need. We need
a guide. We need one to lead us in our
life. But much more than that, we need one to lead us in the
way of life, the way of salvation, the way to God. We need one to
show us that way. And the beauty here is the counsellor
has come. The child has been born. The
son has been given. We know the way because he has
come. a wonderful counsellor, the gift
that we need. We're then told his name shall
be the mighty God, the mighty God. Well, if this isn't a proof of
the deity of Christ, I wonder what is. The mighty God is here
in the son that's given. in the child that is born. Now it's throughout scripture,
isn't it? You think of John 1 and the opening verses of the Gospel
of John. The Word was with God and the
Word was God. How he made the world, he did
the work of God. It's seen throughout scripture,
it's seen in the opening chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews,
where we're told how God did not call one of the angels until
which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my son, this
day have I begotten thee. And he says, unto the son he
saith, thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever. A scepter
of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. He's referred
to as God. He does the work of God. Here
the son who is born is called the mighty God. Really you should
be under no dispute. It's difficult to grasp, it's
difficult to understand the Trinity and so forth. But here it is,
the deity of the Messiah, the deity of Christ, the mighty God. And again, this is the gift that
sinners need. This is the most wonderful gift
Because we need a mighty saviour. We need a mighty saviour. It could not be a man. It could
not be one like you and me who is under the curse, a seed of
Adam. One like us who is under the
judgement of God through inherited sin and through a nature that
we have received through the sin of Adam. It could not be
a man. A man must die for his own sins. We are sinners by nature. We're born sinners and we must
die for that sin. That is the curse upon us if
we're not, of course, saved by God's grace. And therefore none
of us are able to ever bear the punishment for anyone else. We
cannot carry another man's sins. We cannot bear the punishment
that they deserve. For we stand as individuals before
God. We need a mighty God to come.
A mighty Saviour. Of course it was declared who
he was so plainly in his life. His miracles declared his power
over nature, over the devils and the demons. his power to
forgive sins. Only God can forgive sins, said
the Pharisees. And he agreed with them, yes.
But the Son of Man has power to forgive sins, he says, and
he proves it by raising the man up so that he can walk. Of course
only God can forgive sins, because only God is offended by sin. How dare we forgive another man's
sins? We are not the offended party.
God is offended by sin and therefore only God can forgive sins. And
Christ stands and he says, yes, it's true, but the Son of Man
has power to forgive sins. And he proves it by raising the
man, the tick of the paucy. We seem to be the mighty God. The mighty God. who came as a
child and lived a wonderful life and he lived that life of perfect
obedience and complete righteousness. From beginning to end, he never
sinned, he never faltered, he never fell. In words, in thought,
in action, in motive, In any speck of a second in his heart,
there was not one element of sin. And only the mighty God
could fulfil that truth. And that's who we need. That's
the gift that we need. Because we need one who has never
fallen, who has never sinned, who has never offended God, we
need him who is pure and spotless and able to bear the sins of
others. The mighty God, to bear that
weight, to bear that guilt, that he does not die for his own sin,
but for the sins of others. The mighty God. And that righteousness
then which is worked out throughout his life is imputed to his people
so that it is as if they never sinned and that they lived a
perfect life as he did. Isn't that the gift that you
and I need? Isn't that the wonderful Son
of God who came, able to die as a substitute for others able
to live a life we could never live, able to impart that life,
that righteousness upon others. His name shall be called the
Mighty God. How wonderful to use Isaiah's
word. How wonderful to see that the
gospel is not, as it were, founded on some precarious stone, something
which falters, something which is unsure. The Gospel is founded
on the mighty God himself. It cannot move, cannot be removed,
it cannot be taken away. It's not vague, it's not shrouded
in mystery. Here it is before us. The sun
has come, the child has been born and it's the mighty God
who has done it. It's wonderful. a wonderful,
mighty God. Again, the gift that we need. Without it, our faith would be
nothing. He then says his name shall be
called the Everlasting Father. The Everlasting Father. Now clearly,
of course, this doesn't mean that the Father himself, the
first person of the Trinity, came to earth. He is distinct
from the Father. He is the Son, as is distinct
from the Holy Spirit. He is the second person, the
Son of God. So in that sense, how can we
say that he is the everlasting Father? Do we not say that they
are separate, that they are distinct, though they be one eternal being? Well, he is distinct. He is separate
in that sense. But he is the everlasting father
in the sense that he is the everlasting father of his people. That is,
they belong to him. That they are his children. That he has bought them, that
he has called them, that he is with them. They are his children
and in that sense he is their father. We read in that well-known
chapter of Isaiah 53. And it pleased the Lord to bruise
him, he hath put him to grief, and now shall make his soul an
offering for sin. He shall see his seed, he shall
belong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in
his hands. You see, he shall see his seed. There is a seed that comes from
the work of Christ, and that seed is his people, the church,
whom he has bought with his blood through his suffering. He shall
see his seed and they belong to him, those that follow by
faith the Lord Jesus Christ. And in that sense then, he is
their father, the everlasting father. Now a father, a right
father, a good father, has a true, deep love for his children, will do anything, will sacrifice
so much for the good of children, for their children. Now the Lord
has adopted his people into the family of God. They are his.
He has bought them, they belong to him and he also acts in a
loving, right way for his children as the everlasting father. He provides for them. He cares
for them. He guides them as we thought
of already. He corrects them. He chastises
them. He does what is right for his
children because he has always loved them. Yes, the actual work
of redemption was done at the cross. The price was paid. The blood was spilt there at
the cross. But they have always been his.
They've always been on his heart. He is their everlasting father. And therefore that love cannot
be diminished, cannot be taken away, cannot be removed in any
sense. Because it's the everlasting
father. They're adopted into his family
and they belong to him. What a wonder it is that we have
an everlasting father. And again, you see the gift that
we need. We need one to care. We need
one to provide for us. We need one to help us. We need
one to love us eternally, so that when we fall, and when we
fail, and when we stumble, he is ready and willing to pick
us up. We need one to be an everlasting
father, to be like, as Psalm 103 says, like as a father pitieth
his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. The father
takes pity on his children. loves them and cares for them.
So the Lord's people have this child that's been born, the son
that's been given, who pities them that fear him. The gift
that we need, the gift that has come, the everlasting Father. And finally he says his name
shall be called the Prince of Peace. the Prince of Peace. When the angels came to the shepherds,
here is the message, here is the glorious song of the multitude
of angels. Peace on earth, goodwill toward
men. Peace on earth. This Prince of
Peace This child that's been born brings peace. He brings peace first and foremost
between man and God. Man and God who have been walking
in separate directions. Man who has been walking in his
own way and in his own wisdom and yet this Prince of Peace
brings peace, brings reconciliation between man and God. And we read
about that in Romans 5. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God. Peace with God. The sinner and
the Holy God brought to peace through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through the Prince of peace. Isn't that wonderful? To think
that through his work, man and their creator, the everlasting
almighty holy God have been reconciled. For if when we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, Much more,
being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life, the Apostle
says. Reconciled to the death of his
Son, the Prince of Peace. When we come to know the Lord,
this Son that's been given, and we see that through him we are
brought to God, We are brought into a wonderful, eternal relationship
with God. Now He speaks to us in a way
that we never really heard before in His Word. Now He hears us
and we have access in prayer through His Son, the Lord Jesus.
He is the Prince of Peace and the wonderful peace of knowing
the Lord, not as our judge, not as the one who will condemn us,
not as the one who will cast us off for our sin, but as our
Father. the wonderful blessing, the Prince
of Peace. And through this, he brings peace
as well to us. The Prince of Peace brings peace
to our hearts themselves. He gives us a new heart. He gives
new life. He forgives, washes the sin away. He removes the guilt. Yes, there
will be times for the Lord's people where they feel guilt
again. There will be times where we feel sin again. But that crushing
despair before we knew the Lord is taken away. Because by His
grace, we know where to look when we feel that sin again,
when we feel that we have failed again. And the devil tempts us
to give up and he may have us for many days. We may be tempted
to give up many times and yet ultimately we do know where to
look as we've looked before. Because we've found peace before
through the Prince of Peace. And he's given us a new heart
which directs us to pray, directs us to faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And there's peace in our heart
through him. He is the Prince of Peace. There is no more striving to
be righteous, no more turmoil in our heart, no more fear of
what the Lord will bring us to. Because the Prince of Peace has
come. And one day, this Prince of Peace
will bring eternal peace to each one of his people. Will bring
eternity with the Lord. where there will be no temptation
and sorrow, no more anguish, no more guilt, where there will
be no more attacks of the devil, no more sadness, because the
Prince of Peace will have fully accomplished the work in bringing
his people safely home. His name is the Prince of Peace,
again the gift that we need. We are at war with God by nature. We are enmity against our creator. We need one to bring peace and
Isaiah tells us that the child is born. He tells us that the
son is given and he tells us that he is the prince, the bringer
of peace. So here is the wonderful gift
that God has given. Here is the child that now, as
we look back, we know has been born. Here is what we need as
sinners. Do we realise that this evening?
Do we realise our need of a saviour? Do we realise our need of this
son, of this child that has been given? Do we realise our need
of a king to reign over us? Of a counsellor to guide us? Of a mighty God to save us? Of an everlasting Father to care
for us? Of a Prince of Peace to reconcile
us with God? We see our need for those different
aspects, those wonderful things, and then we see the message,
He has come. He has been born. He has been
given. And He has fulfilled this prophecy. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other. There will
be no other counsellor, no other Prince of Peace. There will be
no one else who comes to fulfill this word for he has come and
we can look anywhere throughout this world and seek to look within
ourselves and we will find no one and nothing that fulfills
our greatest need of salvation. We need this gift and this gift
alone. Do not look anywhere else. is the way. As he said, I am
the way, the truth and the life. The Lord looks for true sorrow
and true repentance. That is what he would have from
his people. He would have true sorrow and
true repentance. We can give him nothing else
and yet he gives the best gift he gives his son, who when we
consider closer is this one whose name is wonderful. May we all be led, be brought
to bring our need, to bring our poverty and look to the free
gift that the Lord has given for his people. So let him say,
O glad I come, and thou blessed Lamb shall take me to thee as
I am. Nothing but sin I thee can give. Nothing but love shall I receive. This is the gift of love. This is the manifestation of
the love of God. This is what this time of year
is all about. Because unto us a child is born. Unto us. You and me. The son is given and the government
shall be upon his shoulder. His name shall be called Wonderful. counsellor, the mighty God, the
everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. May God have His blessing
today. Amen.