Isaiah 9, verse 6. You know, Paul in 1 Timothy called
it a mystery. A mystery, he said without controversy. Great is the mystery. Great is the mystery. God was
manifest in human flesh. justified, vindicated by the
Spirit, seen of the angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on
in the world, received up in the globe. What a mystery. And about this event, Paul in
Romans 11 says it's unsearchable. Not only a mystery, but unsearchable. Oh, the depths of the riches,
both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. How unsearchable are
His judgments and His ways past finding out. And then in 2 Corinthians
9, He calls it unspeakable. Unspeakable of history. When
we think we've got a hold of it, we're reminded that it's
still a mystery, unsearchable. And he says, unspeakable. Thanks be unto God, for He is
unspeakable. Listen to it again, verse 6,
Isaiah 9, For unto us a child is born, Unto us a son is given. In the
same breath he calls him a child, and he calls him the Son of God.
A child born and a son not born, but revealed, manifested. 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 in the same breath that He
calls Him a child, He calls Him the Son of God. And in the same
breath that He calls Him the Son, He calls Him the Father,
the everlasting Father. And back there in verse 5, He
talks about His garments rolled in blood. His garments rolled
in blood, and yet He's the Prince of Peace. He's called in Isaiah 53, a man
of sorrows, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. And here
He's called the Mighty God. The scripture says he's despised
and rejected of men. They cried, we'll not have this
man reign over us. And yet the scripture says here
the government's on his shoulders. And of his kingdom and government
there shall be no end. He sits upon the throne of David
to order his kingdom in judgment and justice and righteousness. And every knee shall bow and
every tongue confess that he's Lord. There's no contradiction
here. Under us a child is born, a son
is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders.
There's no contradiction here. It's all true. And yet it's not
learned by reason. You don't reason this out. And
it's not learned by research. There's no reason for us to appoint
a committee to Do some research into these words, because that's
not the way it's learned. And it's not learned by logic.
It's learned by revelation. If you'll look with me at 1 Corinthians
chapter 2, 1 Corinthians chapter 2, it's not learned by reason. It's not learned by research. or logic, it's revealed. And
there's no seeing Christ except in His own light. None can with Him compare. You
can't say, well, He's like this, because there's never been one
like Him before or since. And it says here in I Corinthians
2, verse 7, we speak this wisdom of God in a mystery. Even the
hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world under our glory,
which none of the princes, leaders, rulers, educators, men of influence
and riches and power, which none of them knew. For had they known
it, this mystery, they would never have crucified the Lord
of Glory. But as it is written, eye hath
not seen, ear hath not heard, neither have entered into the
heart of man. things which God hath prepared for them that love
him, prepared for them that love him, prepared in Christ. But God hath revealed among us
by his Spirit, or the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the
deep things of God." There's no seeing Christ except in his
own light. He's the lesson. but he's the
teacher. He reveals himself. He's the
lesson, and he's the teacher. He's the one to whom we look,
and he's the light by which we look. He's the priest, he's the
altar, but he's the sacrifice, and he's the one to whom it's
offered. Like Martin Luther said one time
as he sat at his desk studying, and he was studying this passage
of Scripture, when our Lord on the cross cried, My God, My God,
why hast thou forsaken me? And Luther sat and, according
to his own testimony, looked at that Scripture for seeming
like hours on end. Finally he got up, closed his
Bible, and struck the desk. And he said, God forsaking God? No man can understand that. But it's revealed a term. Listen
to this verse again. Look at Isaiah 9, 6 again with
me. Turn back to the text. But it's
revealed a term. It says here in verse 6, For
unto us a child is born. Unto us! Who's the us? There's the key. This is a mystery the world doesn't
understand. Under us a child is born, a son
is given. Who is the us? I tell you, he
is born to those who are born of him. That's right. They know Him. He said to Peter,
He said unto the apostles, He said, Whom do men say that I
am? They have no idea really who you are. They say you're
John the Baptist or Elijah or one of the prophets, but whom
do you say that I am? Who am I? Peter said, Thou art
the Christ. Thou art the Christ. Thou art
the Son of God. He's talking to a man. Thou art the Christ. Thou art
the mighty God. Thou art the everlasting Father.
Thou art the Son of God. Under us a child is born. Under
those who are born of Him is He born. Who is this under us? Well, under
us a child is born. A child is born to those who
are little children. That's right, Matthew 18, 3,
our Lord set a child, He got a little child and set that child
in the midst of these disciples who were debating about who was
going to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. He set this
little child in their midst and said, I say unto you, truly, unless
you're converted and become as this little child, you'll never
enter the kingdom. A child is born to those good
children, little children. Now naturally, naturally, men
grow from little children to grown men. And we watch their
progress, and we watch their growth, and we say, my, how they've
grown, how strong they've become, and how gifted, and how powerful. But in the kingdom of God, men
don't grow that way. They grow from men to little
children. That's right. Little children. Except you be
converted. This is so confusing to this
religious world. It says unto us, yes, a mystery
unspeakable, unsearchable, but not to everybody. Unto us! child is born. Unto us who have
been born of God, we know him. And unto those who have been
brought down to understand such an arrangement, he had to become
poor for our sake that we might become rich. And if you ever
become rich spiritually and I ever become rich spiritually, we'll
become poor. He had to come down, condescend
to come down He thought it not robbery to be equal with God,
but made himself of no reputation. Those are the people to whom
he's born, those of no reputation. Little children, no reputation. Who have nothing, are nothing,
know nothing. Who glory only in Him and not
in themselves. Under us, he's born somebody
else. Under us, a child is born. Under us, a son is given. A son
is given. I'll tell you who that us is
then. Unto us who a son. A son recognizes
a son. I know my father's children.
I'm one of them. I know my father's children.
I know my family. Unto us a son is given. Behold
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us that we should
be called sons of God. If we know the Father, we know
the children, and we know the Son. He that is begotten of God loves
those who are begotten of God, and He knows them. Under us,
under us, a Son is given. Who are these to whom this Son
is given? They are those who are given
to the Son. All that my Father giveth me
will come to me. I came down from heaven not to
do my will, but the will of Him that sent me. This is the will
of Him that sent me, that of all He hath given to me. I won't lose the one I raised
above. They shall all be part of God,
and every man that hath learned of the Father cometh to me. Oh,
it is a mystery. It's as profound as the purpose
of God, and yet... Why? Because you've been born
of God. Why can you understand it? Because
you're a child. You can teach children. They want to learn. And they
know they need to learn. Why do you understand it? Because
you're a son of God. And you know your Father's kiss. Especially your older brother. And then he's given to those
who are given to him. Look at this text again. Under
us a child is born. Under us a son is given. The
unlearned will say, well, that's just repetition. Oh, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no. That's not reciprocity. The Holy
Spirit doesn't waste words. He's a careful student of the
Word of God knows that a child is born, made of a woman, made
of a woman. Like Paul said in his bulletin
here, the father of the mother became her child. in order to bring his children
and brethren to the Father. He who made woman was made of
woman. The father of the mother became her child. That's a mystery. But he did it in order that the
children might be brought to the Father. And thus a child is born. A child,
a man-child, bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh, let this
mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus, who thought it not robbery
to be equal with God." He didn't take upon himself something that
wasn't his when he said, I and my Father are one. He and the
Father are one. And yet made himself of no reputation,
was born of a virgin, born under the, made under the law. Turn
to Romans 1. Let me show you this. Romans
chapter 1. Under us, a child is born and
a son is given. Romans chapter 1. The son of
David is born. The son of God is manifested. The son of Mary is born, like
any other child, but the son of God is renewed. Romans chapter
1 verse 1, listen, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be
an apostle, separated to the gospel of God, which he promised
the four by prophets in the Holy Scriptures concerning his son. That's what this gospel is all
about. Concerning his son, Christ Jesus Christ our Lord, which
was made of the seed of David according to the flesh. A child
was born. And declared He wasn't born or
made to be the Son of God, He was declared to be what He already
was. Declared to be the Son of God
with the power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection
from the dead. I have three questions. Is this true? Is this true, in the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,
and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us? And we beheld
His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father.
Is this true, that God Himself robed Himself in human flesh
and was born just like any other baby born into the world? Not
conceived by a human father, but conceived by the Holy Ghost
and came unto this world. subject to his own law, the Levitical
law. He was circumcised. The Mosaic
law, the Ten Commandments, subject to every law made of whoever
made under the law and walked this earth obeying that law in
a perfect holiness and righteousness for his people. He went to the
cross of Calvary and there suffered and died and shed his blood and
was taken down from that cross, dead, and was laid in a grave, and the mouth of that cave closed
with a rock and sealed with a Roman seal, and lay in that grave for
three days, then came forth and rose to heaven." This is the
right hand of God. Is that true? Is this true? Well, the Scripture says it is.
The Word of God from Genesis to Revelation declares this message
clear and plain. God is manifest in human flesh. The Father declared that it is
true. He said, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.
The angels declared that it is true. The angels said to the
shepherds, we bring you Glad tidings of great joy unto you
is born right now, this day, in the city of David, a Savior
who is none other than Christ the Lord." Even the demons declare
it's true. They met him one day and they
said, we know who you are. This world may not know who you
are. He was in the world and the world
knew him not. The Jews may not know who you are, but we know
who you are. You're the Holy One of God. Have
you come to torment us before our time?" You know what they
said? The works that he did, they declared it's true. Every
prophet, every apostle, without apology, without recanting, every
prophet, every apostle spoke of him, declared he's the Son
of God. It's true. Second question, then
if it is true, what does it mean? It means, number one, that sinners
like you and me have a perfect righteousness before God. He
was made to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be
made the righteousness of God in Him. We have a perfect righteousness. Holy and spotless are we before
God because of Him. That's what it means. What does it mean we have a perfect
atonement before the judge? There is not one sin recorded
against one believer of any generation, from the first saved sinner to
the last one, in whom we have forgiveness, redemption, the
forgiveness of our sins in Him, according to the riches of His
grace. What does it mean we have a mediator? There's a man in
glory. Our great high priest, one mediator
between us and God, whoever lives to make intercession for us.
What does this mean? It means we have a hope of glory.
Christ in you, that's the hope of glory. He said, because I
live, you live also. That's what it means. My third
question, now listen, is it true? The Father says it is. The Word
says it is. And if it is true, we have a
righteousness, an atonement, a mediator, and a hope of glory.
If it's not true, what does it mean? If this story is not true,
what I'm telling this morning is not true. Jehovah's Witnesses
came to my door a few days ago. I went to the door, and I knew
who they were. They had this little spiel. And they memorized it, and they
said, at this time of year, we are spending a lot of time thinking
about the man Jesus of Nazareth. He was a good man. I said, yes,
sir, he was. He's the only good man. That's
because he's God. Well, I knew. I did what I knew
to do. They don't believe he's God.
They do not believe he's God. They believe he's a man. And
we stood and talked a minute, and I said, now, we can stand
here all day. You'll never convince me that Jesus Christ is not God. And I'll never convince you that
it is. And I went and got one of my books, and I said, I'll
read yours if you promise to read mine. But he wouldn't touch
it, let alone read it. And I said, now listen to me.
See, there's no use us talking. For you'll never persuade me
that He's not God. Because if He's not God, He's
the biggest liar that ever walked on this earth. They just get
their eyes get big. I said, if he's not God, he's
an imposter. If he's not God, his soul's in
hell and his body's in the grave rotting right over in Jerusalem
if he's not God. Because he told us he's God. And he's the greatest con artist
that ever walked on this earth if he's not God. That's right. But he's God. And I said, you,
I want you to tell you something else. Why are you fellas doing
this? Why are you doing this? Why are you going over this community
trying to convince people that He's not God? And I said, if
He's not God, we have no Savior. If He's not God in human flesh,
we have no righteousness. We're unclean, unclean, lepers
before God with no hope of ever being clean. If He's not God,
we have no atonement. We've got to face our sins, every
one of them, and be damned for them. If He's not God, we have
no hope for the resurrection. If He's not God. So you go on
your way, trying to convince men He's not God. I'm going on
my way, telling this world I've got good news. Unto you, born
in the city of David, a Savior. Praise the Lord! My little children, what if you
read this this way? My little children, these things
I write unto you that you sin not. And if any man does sin,
there's no hope. There's no hope. There's no advocate.
There's no high priest. There's no righteousness. There's
no atonement. Because Jesus, the Son of Joseph,
could never help me. But that's not the way it reads.
My little children, these things I write unto you that you sin
not, but if any man sins, and if any man sins, thank God, we
have an advocate. An advocate's not for the righteous,
it's for the guilty. A man doesn't need an advocate
if he's without sin. A man doesn't need a lawyer if
he has no crime. The man who sins needs an advocate. If any man sins, we have an advocate. Who is he? Jesus Christ, the
righteous, the Holy One. Is it true? Yes, sir. And if
it's true, which it is, we have a righteousness, we have an atonement,
we have a mediator, and we have a hope. Look at this next line
here. It says, Unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his
shoulder." I wish people wouldn't try to present our Lord and our
Savior as a pitiful Reformer, sort of a feminine character,
a religious martyr, a frustrated Messiah. Folks that present Him
as a weakling have no understanding of Him at all. Our Lord and our
Savior, His is the kingdom, His is the power, His is the glory. He has all authority, He said,
in heaven and earth. He has all power over all flesh
to give eternal life, as many as the Father has given Him.
He's the head of the church, and in all things He might have
the preeminence. He has the power of life and
death, as the Father hath How would it quicken whom He will?
Even so the Son quickeneth whom He will. And the Father judges. No man, He's committed all judgment
to the Son. Listen, His kingdom cannot fail. He rules over earth and heaven.
The keys of 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. The government is upon his shoulders. Now let me point out some things
here in closing. His name. Ah, his name. What is his name? In Exodus, Moses said to God,
when the Lord told him he would go down and lead the people of
Israel, out of bondage. He said, Lord, behold, when I
come to the children of Israel, and I shall say unto them, The
God of our fathers has sent me. The God of our fathers has sent
me unto you. And they shall say to me, What's
his name? What's his name? What shall I
say to them? I tell you, His name is wonderful. His name is wonderful. That's
what it says. Wonderful in His eternality. Glorify me with the glory which
I had with thee before the world was. Wonderful in His power,
altogether lovely. Wonderful in His person. Wonderful
in His holiness. He knew no sin. He did no sin. He had no sin. Wonderful in His
love, greater love hath no man than this. Wonderful in His death,
He died just for the unjust to bring us to God. Wonderful in His resurrection,
in His exaltation, God hath exalted Him above all exaltation and
given Him a name above everything. That's the name of Jesus. That's
His name. I had a preacher say in my presence
one time, since I read this verse and dwelt upon it for a little
time, I don't call anybody wonderful anymore. That's his name. I don't
call anything wonderful. It may be good and fine and lovely,
but it's not wonderful. He's wonderful. He's wonderful. And his name is counselor. Every religious person in America
wants to be a counselor. Preachers are spending most of
their time now counseling. But I'm telling you there's one
true counselor. Would you know God? The Son declares
Him, reveals Him. Would you come to God? The Son's
the way to God. Would you honor God? He honors
those who honor the Son. Someone asked Spurgeon one time,
well, what is your creed anyway? He said, my creed's Christ. My
creed is Christ. Well, what body of divinity do
you recommend? He said, there's but one. in
him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And when
men say to you, are you in trouble? Call us. Counselors are standing
by. Don't do it. Don't do it. You'll be in as big a mess as
they are. Go to him. He's the counselor. I'll tell
you where we preachers do our counseling right here, with this
book open. Isn't that right? Here's our
counseling. Where do you do your discipline?
Right here. The Word disciplines. The Word
corrects. The Word rebukes. The Word teaches.
The Word comforts. The Word strengthens. The Word
gives growth. The Word settles all manner of
misunderstandings. The Word! Preach it. Preach it. Preach Christ. If
He doesn't bring men together, you can't do it. Preach Christ. If he doesn't
cement a home in love, forget it. Preach Christ. If he doesn't break the heart,
you can't do it. Preach Christ. If he can't bring
a proud rebel down, you can't do it. He's the counselor. When he arose from the grave,
the Apostle Peter was in a mess. He'd denied his Lord. He'd quit
the ministry. He'd gone back to fishing. He'd
led his friends with him. He'd stirred up everybody. He'd
made a mess of everything. And our Lord, when they'd finished eating,
He said, Peter, come over here. He got him off by himself. He
sat him down. He said, you love me. He's the
counselor. You love me? Yes, Lord. Well, feed my lambs. Do you really
love me? Yeah, you know I love you. Feed
my sheep. Do you love me? And Peter was
grieved that he asked him three times if he loved him. He said,
Lord, you know I love you. Then you feed my sheep. There's your counselor. That's
the counselor I made from him. And then his name is Wonderful
Counselor, the Mighty God. Ah, he said to those Jews, I
and my father won. They picked up stones to stone
him. He said, wait a minute. Hold
it. Many good works have I done among
you. For which of these do you stone
me? Why are you stoning me? What have I done to cause you
to stone me? Ah, they said, we've got no objections
to your works. We stone you because you're a
man. You claim to be God. That's the
reason we stop. It's not what you do, it's what
you say. It's not what you do, it's what you say. It's not your
works, it's your doctrine. That's what we hate. That's what
this world hates. Who is Jesus Christ? What did
He do? Why did He do it? Where is He
now? He's the issue. He's the mighty
God. Every attribute of God is revealed
in him. Only God is good. My Son in whom I am well pleased.
Only God can give life. Lazarus, come forth. Only God can forgive sin. Thy
sins be forgiven me. Jesus of Nazareth, God, the mighty
God. Only God can still the wind.
The wind bloweth where it lifteth, and you hear the sound thereof,
but you cannot tell from whence it cometh or where it goeth."
He can. He can. He's the only one who can. Because
the wind moves at His command. And the lightning flashes at
His command. And the snow falls at His command. He's God. That's right. If He's not God, let me tell
you, I'll say it again, He's in hell. Aren't you afraid to
say that? No, sir. No, sir. No, sir. Jesus Christ, if He's
not God, the God-man, He's the greatest con artist
that ever fooled the world. Ain't nobody compare with that
con job He did on the world. He's not God. He is the mighty
God. Only God can tell which fish
has the coin in his mouth. That's right. There's a whole
lot of fishes out there, aren't there? A whole lot of them. Riding along with Joe Turner
and his boat, looking at that screen. Now, it used to, when
I went fishing, you had to hope the fish were there. Now you
can find right where they are, and you can sit right on top
of them and drop a hook on their back. Of course, they don't bite
it, but you can drop it on thousands of them. He knows which one has
the call. He knows men's thoughts. He said,
Nathaniel, I saw you under the tree. What? Nobody saw me. I did. Only God knows the future. He's the only man who ever chose
his own mother. Chose the day he'd be born. Chose
the day he'd die. He chose the way he'd die, the
place he'd die, the people for whom he'd die, the grave in which
he'd lay, and he raised himself from the grave. And he officiated at the reading
of his own will. You won't do that. You'll write
out a will, and somebody will notarize it and sign it, and
some hotshot lawyer will get most of it. But my Lord Jesus
Christ made a will, the testator, and then He died, and then He
presided at the reading of His own will. He's the, what do you
call it, executor? Yes, He is, of His own estate. He'll give it to whomsoever He
will, because He's the mighty God. I believe this more than I've
ever believed it in my life. I believe it with a greater passion.
I believe it with a greater conviction. I used to think I'd die apart,
and I know I would now, this gospel, because I'm going to
die believing. I'm going to die believing. He's the mighty God. Surely this
man was the Son of God. The centurion had to see Him
die to believe that, but by God's grace, we believe it, although
these eyes have never seen it. But they will. They will. David said, and I'll be satisfied
when I wake with his likeness and behold his face. Then it
says he's the everlasting Father. The Lord our God is one God and
yet Father, Son, Holy Spirit, don't, don't let that trouble
you. Don't try to bring God down to
your understanding and your comprehension. Don't try to fit God in every
little hole you've got in your desk of learning. He won't fit. The heavens won't contain Him.
The earth is His footstool. We know in part, we prophesy
in part, we seek to address Him at best. But I'm telling you,
He's the everlasting Father. I and my Father are one. If you've
seen me, You see, my boy, there's an old man sitting under the
tree. He's 90 years old. I used to think that was old.
It is old. But the tree he's sitting under
is older than he is. He's 200 years old. And the rock he's sitting on
is older than the tree. It's thousands of years old.
But the angel who's observing him is maybe a million years old.
And the Lord Jesus who made them all is from everlasting to everlasting. Same yesterday, whenever that
was, today and forever. He's the everlasting Father. Oh my, and I close with this.
What's his name? Prince of Peace. He made peace through the blood
of His cross. Peace with God. Therefore, being
justified by faith, we have peace with God. That's what that angel
said to the shepherds. The world can't embrace that.
It's not intended. There's no peace on earth. There's
no goodwill among men. No more than there's ever been
since Cain and Abel fought it out. A man still killing his
fellow man. But I'll tell you, He came to
make peace on earth and He made that peace. Peace between God
and His people. He made peace with God for every
believer through the blood of His cross. And not only did He
make peace between us and God and God and us, but He brought
that peace into our hearts. The peace of God, the patch of
understanding shall rule in your hearts. And then He enables us
by that new nature and that grace within to be at peace among ourselves. God's people are not fighting.
The Lord's people are not fighting. They're not fighting with God,
not fighting His Word, not fighting each other. There's peace. He's the Prince of Peace. He
enables us to live in peace with one another. There's a song,
I'll get Mike to sing it, one of these Sundays. One sat alone
beside a highway begging. His eyes were blind in the light
he could not see. He clutched his rags and he shivered
in the shadows. and then Jesus came and bade
his darkness flee. When Jesus comes, the tempter's
power is broken. When Jesus comes, the tears are
wiped away. He takes the gloom and fills
the heart with glory. All is changed when the Prince
of Peace comes to stand. So men today have found this
Savior able, they could not conquer passion and lust and sin. Their broken hearts left them
sad and lonely. Then Jesus came and dwelt Himself
with them. When Jesus comes, the tempter's
power is broken. When Jesus comes, the tears are
wiped away because He takes the gloom and fills the heart with
glory. It's all changed when He comes.