I have such a great text this
morning, and such an outstanding subject. The text is found in
Isaiah chapter 9. Let me read the text first. If
you have your Bibles, I would like you to open your Bibles
to Isaiah chapter 9, and let me read two verses, verses 6
and 7. Now listen carefully as I read
it from Isaiah 9. For under us a child is born,
and under us a son is given, and the government shall be upon
his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
the Mighty God. the everlasting father, the prince
of peace. And listen, and of the increase
of his government and peace, there shall be no end, everlasting,
eternal. And upon the throne of David,
and upon his kingdom to establish it with judgment and justice
from henceforth even for evermore, and the will And the purpose
of the Lord shall accomplish this. Now that's the text. And I'm going to try to look
at just about every phrase. So keep your Bibles open to Isaiah
9. Now here's the subject. Unto
us a son is given. What an awesome, awesome subject. What a powerful text. Paul, in
1 Timothy 3, verse 16, calls it a mystery, this incarnation
of God. God became a man. God came into
this world, the incarnation of Christ, the glorious name, His
name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, and
His kingdom, His everlasting kingdom. That's what we're dealing
with here, the incarnation, the glorious name of this Son, and
his everlasting kingdom." And Paul said, that's a mystery,
a mystery. Without controversy, he says,
great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh,
justified, vindicated by the Spirit, seen of the angels, preached
to the Gentiles, preached to every nation, believed on in
the world. and received up in the glory."
What a mystery. What a mystery. Paul in Romans
11 calls it an unsearchable mystery. He says, Oh, the depths of the
riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable. How unsearchable are his judgments,
his ways past finding out. An unsearchable mystery. And
then, in II Corinthians 9, he calls this unspeakable. Unspeakable. Thanks be unto God
for His unspeakable gift unto us. Unto us. A son is given. A son is given. Thanks be unto
God for His unspeakable gift. Unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given. God was manifest in human flesh. How mysterious, how unsearchable,
and how unspeakable for human words. The Son of Mary is the
Son of God. Can you understand that? This
little infant lying in the arms of Mary in Bethlehem is the Son
of God. In the same breath that the prophet
calls him a child, and thus a child is born, he calls him the Counselor. This infant, this child, is the
Counselor. And in the same breath he calls
him the Son, he calls him the Everlasting Father. And he says in verse 5, his garments
are rolled in blood. He's a warrior. He's a conqueror,
and yet he's called the Prince of Peace. He's called, in Isaiah
53, a man of sorrows, and here, the mighty God. A man, a man
of sorrows, acquainted with grief, and yet he's the mighty God?
That's the mystery. That's the unsearchable riches
of God's purpose. He's despised, it's said. He's
rejected of men. Despised, rejected of men. Everybody
hears, as it were, their faces from Him, and yet it says, on His shoulders is the government,
and of His kingdom there is no end. And every knee shall bow,
and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord to the glory
of God the Father. Contradiction? No, there's no
contradiction here. Not for the person who knows
God. Not for the person who's heard the gospel. This glorious
truth, this glorious mystery of the incarnation of God is
not learned by reason, nor is it learned by research, nor is
it learned by logic, it's learned by revelation. God reveals these mysteries. to his people. God, by his Spirit,
reveals these mysteries. In 1 Corinthians 2, verse 7,
Paul said, We speak the word of God in a mystery, which none
of the leaders of this world knew. For had they known it,
they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But God hath
revealed these mysteries unto us by His Spirit, for the Spirit
searcheth all things, yea, the deep, unsearchable riches of
God. And the Spirit of God has revealed
them unto us. You see, there's no seeing Christ
except in His own light. That's right. He's the one to
whom we look, and He's the light by which we see. He's the teacher,
and yet He's the lesson we learn. He's the priest. He's the sacrifice. He's the altar. And He's the
one to whom the offering is offered. Look at that text again. Look
at it carefully. Unto us a child, a little infant,
a tender plant, a root out of dry grain. A child is born. Unto us a son is given. Under
us a child is born. Under us a son is given. Under
whom? Who's the prophet talking about,
under us a child is born, under us a son is given, and the government
shall be upon his shoulders? Well, I'll tell you, quite frankly,
under whom a child is born, under whom a son is given. It's like
our Lord said in Lamentation 3, is it nothing to you, all
ye that pass by, and behold my sorrow, and behold my humiliation? Is it nothing to you? Yes, it's
nothing to most of you, but to some it's everything. And I'll
tell you to whom that child is born and to whom that Son is
given. He's born, He's born a Son and
a Savior to those who are born of God. That's what it says in
John 1. It says, He was in the world,
and the world knew Him not. He came into His own nation,
and they knew Him not. But, as many as received Him
and believed Him, to them gave He the right to become sons of
God, even to them that believe on His name, which were born,
not of blood, not of the will of the flesh, not of the will
of man, but born of God. Unto us a child is given. Unto us a son is born. Unto whom? Unto those who are
born of God. Unto those who are sons of God. Behold what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called sons
of God. Who is he, this child born, this
son given? Ask a believer. He'll tell you.
Our Lord said, Peter, whom do men say that I, the Son of Man,
am? And Peter said, well, some say you're John the Baptist,
some say you're Elijah, some say you're one of the prophets.
But Peter, whom do you say that I am? Ah, he said, you're the
Christ. You're the Son of the living
God. You're the Son of God. Unto us a child is born. Unto us a Son is given. Unto
whom? Unto those who are born of God.
Unto those who are sons of God, unto those who are given to him."
He's given to those who were given to him. He said, all that
my Father giveth me shall come to me. They'll come to me because
they'll recognize me. They'll know who I am. And they'll
come to me. Unto whom is the child born and
the son given? Unto them that were given to
him. He's given to those who were given to Him. And watch
this. Unto us a child is born, a man-child. A man-child is born
to those who are little children. By nature, men grow from little
children to grown men. My, how you've grown, somebody
will say to a young teenager. He keeps growing. After a while,
he's a grown man. In the Kingdom of God, it's the
reverse. Men go from grown men to little
children. Our Lord said to the Apostle
Peter, except you be converted and become as a little child,
you won't enter the kingdom of heaven. So God in human flesh,
born a child, given a son, is known and recognized and believed
and received by those who are born of God, by those who are
sons of God. The Son is given to those who
are sons, to those who are given to Him, and to those who become
as little children, who have no pride and arrogance to keep
them from worshiping Him and falling at His feet. Read that
text again. Listen to it. Under us a child
is born, under us a Son is given. Is the Holy Spirit repeating
Himself? Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." There's
no repetition here. What the Spirit of God is saying
is a child is born who never lived on this earth before. There's
a little body that came forth from a mother's womb and was
washed and salted and swaddled and wrapped in swaddling clothes
and laid in a manger. That infant was never on this
earth before. Our Lord said in Hebrews 10,
a body thou hast prepared me. But the man, the person who lived
in that body, for whom that body was prepared, that Son given,
who inhabited that body, is the eternal Son of God, whose goings
forth have been from everlasting to everlasting. You know, He
prayed in Gethsemane's garden. Father, glorify Thou me with
the glory which I had with Thee before the world was." Before
the world was. Under us, a child is born back
yonder 2,000 years ago. But that body of that child is
inhabited, indwelled, by a Son who wasn't born. The only begotten
Son wasn't born. He wasn't made. He was given. It says in Romans 1, Paul, an
apostle of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to
the gospel of God, concerning his son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
which was made of the seed of David, which was made of the
seed of David and declared to be the Son of God. Unto us a
child is born. The body is made in the womb
and brought forth. But the Son is not born, nor
made, nor formed. He's given. He's revealed. That's
what Philippians 2 says, "...let this mind be in you, which is
also in Christ Jesus, who thought it not robbery to be equal with
God, and yet made himself of no reputation, took upon himself
the form of a servant, was made in the likeness of sinful flesh,
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
Unto us a child is born that never lived before. A body was
prepared, brought into the world, bone of our bone, flesh of our
flesh, blood, flesh, bone, and blood. But in that body prepared
by God, conceived by the Holy Ghost, brought forth from the
womb of Mary, dwelt the Son of God Himself. And He lived on
this earth in human flesh. He was made of a woman, made
under His own law. to redeem us that were under
the law, to deliver us from the curse of the law, to work out
by His obedience and righteousness a perfect holiness that we might
be accepted in Him, went to the cross and paid our sin debt,
put away our guilt, washed our souls white as snow, was buried
and rose again, ascended to the right hand of God where He ever
lives to make intercession for us. Is this true? Is this true? Is what I'm preaching true? Well,
the angel said it is. The angel of the Lord said it
is. That angel came to Joseph and he said, Joseph, Mary was
with child. They were engaged to be married.
And Joseph was going to put her away privately so she wouldn't
be embarrassed because she was found with child. And the angel
said, now Joseph, don't you be afraid. Take Mary to be your
wife. Because that holy thing which is conceived in her is
the Son of God, conceived by the Holy Ghost. And you call
His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.
And this is the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. Behold, a
virgin shall conceive and bring forth a son, and you call His
name Emmanuel, God with us. God with us. The angels said
so, the Heavenly Father said so, the Heavenly Father spoke
one day and said, this is my beloved son, hear ye him. Moses and Elijah were sent down
from heaven to talk to him and while they were talking, Moses
and Elijah and the Lord Jesus Christ, the voice from heaven
again said, this is my son, hear ye him. It's true. The Holy Spirit
says it's true. In the beginning was the Word,
the Word was with God, the Word was God, All things were made
by Him. Without Him was not anything
made that was made. And the Word was made flesh and
dwelt among us, right here in this world, among us. And we
beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. Even the demons tell us it's
true. You know what they said when
they met Him one day? They said, we know who You are.
We know who you are there in Matthew 8. We know who you are.
You're Jesus, the Son of God. Have you come to torment us before
the time? Every prophet and apostle declared
Him to be the Son of God. To Him give all the prophets
witness that through His name, whosoever believeth on Him might
have everlasting life. Is this true? Yes, sir. The angels
tell us it's so. The Father tells us it's so.
The Holy Spirit tells us it's so. Even the demons tell us it's
so. The Bible tells us it's so. Every
prophet and apostle declares Jesus of Nazareth is the Son
of God. Well, second question, this being
true, what does it mean to you and to me that God became a man,
that God came down here to the earth in human flesh? What does
that mean to you and me? Well, it means we have a Savior.
Call His name Jesus, Joshua. He'll save His people from their
sins. I have a Savior, the God-man. Secondly, it means I have a righteousness. He who knew no sin was made sin
for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
Thirdly, it means I have redemption. For He hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law being made a curse for us. Fourthly, it
means I have a high priest. Seeing we have such a high priest,
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who's passed into the heavens,
we have a high priest who has somewhat to offer in his own
blood, his perfect holiness. We have a high priest. Let us
come boldly before the throne of grace. We have an atonement.
We have a mercy seat. We have a mediator between us
and God. If any man sin, we have an advocate,
and we have a good hope of eternal life. Christ in you, that's the
hope of glory. Is it true? Yes. This is true. This is the gospel. This is the
gospel. And if it's true, which it is,
I have a Savior, I have a righteousness, I have a redemption, I have a
high priest, I have an atonement, I have a mediator, I have an
advocate, have a good hope in Christ Jesus. A preacher, what
if it's not true? Well, if Jesus Christ is not
God, now you listen to me. If this child was not born, or
if he's born and he's not God, if he's not the God-man, if he's
not the Christ, if he's not the Messiah, if he's not the root
of Jesse, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, if he's not the Son
of David, if he's not the Son of God, then we have no Savior.
We have no Savior. We're not our own Savior. The
law's no Savior. The ordinances, the ceremonies,
the holy days, we have no Savior. We have no righteousness. We're
still in our sins. We have no high priest. We have
no atonement. We have no mediator. We stand
before the throne of God, before the judgment. It's appointed
unto me and wants to die after this, the judgment. And we have
no savior, no righteousness, no holiness, no mediator, no
advocate, no hope. We stand before God dead in sins. And our Lord said, if you believe
not that I am He, you die in your sins. And it's death finds
you. Death leaves you. Judgment finds
you. Eternity keeps you. Two men stood at my door not
so awful long ago, at my home in Ashland. I knew why they were
there. Had their literature. And I said
to them, I said, you fellas don't believe that Jesus Christ, Jesus
of Nazareth, is God, do you know? He's a good man. He's not God.
I said, well, why? Why are you going up and down
this community trying to convince people Jesus Christ is not God?
I said, if He's not God, He's the biggest liar that ever lived.
He said, I and my Father are one. That's right. He said, he that has seen me
hath seen the Father. He said before Abraham was, I
am. I am. He used that name of God.
I am God. He's an imposter. He's a liar.
His soul's in hell and his body's in the grave. Why are you trying
to convince people that he's not God? If he's not God, we
have no Savior. We have no righteousness. We
stand before God in our sins. You're taking away the only hope
people have. The only hope a sinner has is
a Savior, a Redeemer. A Savior and a Redeemer and a
High Priest with which the Father is pleased. One day our Lord
told a whole group of religious people, religious Pharisees gathered
together. He said, I have a question. What think ye of Christ? Whose
son is he? And they said, well, he's the
son of David. The son of David, Rudra, Jesse, the son of David.
Christ said then, why did David call him Lord? David said, The
Lord said to my Lord, sit thou on my right hand, or I'll make
thine enemies thy foots to. How can it be David's son and
David's Lord? And they couldn't answer. And
from that moment on, they never asked him another question. Can
you answer that question? The answer to that question is
right here. Under us, a child is born, made of the seed of
David. from the house and lineage of
David, from the loins and root of David, right on down through
Mary. But unto us the Son is given,
David's Lord, inhabited the body of David's Son. That's how He's
David's Son and David's Lord. Till God in human flesh I see,
my thoughts no comfort find, the holy, just, and sacred three
are torments to my mind. Under us a child is born under
us a son is given and the government of the universe and the government
of the kingdom of God and the government government of the
covenant of grace and the government of this world and the Government
of all things is on his shoulders. The father loves the son and
has given all things into his name Jesus Christ has all authority
in heaven and earth. That's what he said When he sent
his disciples out to preach, he said, now all authority, power
is given unto me in heaven and earth. Go ye therefore and preach
the gospel. All authority is given to him over all flesh.
He said, I have all power over all flesh that I should give
eternal life to as many as thou hast given me. He's the head
of the church. That in all things he might have
preeminence. He makes alive whom He will,
as the Father raiseth the dead and quickeneth them, even so
the Son quickeneth whom He will." And you know what the Scripture
says? Jesus Christ, whom John saw on the Isle of Patmos, Revelation
1.18 says, He has the keys. He has the keys of hell and death. All authority, the government's
on His shoulders. And I tell you, those who present
Jesus Christ as only a man, as a pitiful reformer, as a religious
martyr, as a frustrated savior, as a weakling that begs us to
help him out, those people have no understanding of who Jesus
of Nazareth is, who Jesus Christ is. His kingdom cannot fail. He rules over earth and heaven,
the keys of hell and death, are to our Savior given. He sits
at God's right hand till all His foes submit and bow at His
command and fall beneath His feet. His name is wonderful,
wonderful. Unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given. The government of the universe
is on His shoulders and His name is wonderful, wonderful in His
eternality, wonderful in His person, wonderful in His holiness.
Wonderful in His love and wonderful in His death and in His coming.
His name is Counselor. You know, every religious person
on this earth wants to be a Counselor. There's one Counselor. Don't
come to me, go to Him. He's your Counselor. His name
is the Mighty God. He chose His mother, He chose
the day He would be born, He chose the place He'd be born,
He chose the way He'd die, He chose the place He'd die, He
chose the grave where He'd lay, and the time He'd come forth,
and the people for whom He would suffer. Surely, the centurion
said, this man is the Son of God. And He is, because it calls
Him the everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace unto us. a child is born. Unto us a son
is given, and the government's on his shoulders, and he's wonderful
counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, and our Prince
of Peace.