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STUDY 16: CHRIST: HIS NAME – ISAIAH 9

© Rosemary Bardsley 2024

Isaiah continues to describe the child who is born, the Son who is given, by listing some of the names that he is called. It is very clear from these names that this human child that is born is God.

In Isaiah 9:6 we learn that the child who is born is called by four names. Each of these names expresses his identity.

A. WONDERFUL COUNSELLOR

In English this is comprised of an adjective and a noun. In the Hebrew it consists of two nouns: ‘wonder’ and ‘counsellor’. By the word ‘wonder’ we are taken to something that is beyond human comprehension – something that humans can only stand and gaze upon with awe and wonder. This child is such a counsellor that humans are amazed.

As the one who bears the ‘government’ on his shoulders this child is the ‘counsellor’ – the one who guides and governs his kingdom with ultimate wisdom. He is the one who claimed to be ‘the truth’ and ‘the light’ [John 14:6; 8:12]. He is the one in whom the apostle Paul said ‘all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge’ are hidden [Colossians 2:3]. He is the one personified as ‘wisdom’ [Proverbs 8]. Of him Isaiah speaks in 11:2:

‘The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him –
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD’.

This is our Lord Jesus Christ: he is called a Wonder of a Counsellor – such a wonderful Counsellor that it is beyond our ability to understand just how great a Counsellor he is.

Lest we think that this child is just a wise, exalted human, let us look at Isaiah 28:29, where we read that the LORD Almighty is ‘wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom’. In 9:6 Isaiah, inspired by God, attributes to this child precisely what here in 28:29 he attributes to God.

This name identifies the child as God - the One of whom Isaiah wrote:

'Who has understood the mind of the LORD,
or instructed him as his counsellor?
Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge
or showed him the path of understanding?' [Isaiah 40:13,14].

B. MIGHTY GOD

If we doubted the deity of the child in the previous name, here we have no excuse. Here we are told outright that the child is called ‘Mighty God’. We should have been prepared for this: Isaiah has already told us in 7:14 that a child will be called ‘Immanuel’, that is, God with us.

Again in the Hebrew text there are two nouns, not an adjective and a noun. Literally, he is called ‘the hero God’. He is the Warrior God. The valiant, powerful, conquering, victorious God. The ultimate, eternal Hero who defeats the enemy, establishes justice, rights every wrong. We see glimpses of this during the three years of Jesus’ ministry, as he did in micro what he will do in macro when he returns. We see it hidden in the victory wrought over Satan by the cross. We see it in the triumph of Christ’s resurrection. But it is in the book of Revelation that this name of the child is repeatedly and deliberately portrayed.

He, ‘the Lion of Judah … has triumphed’ [Revelation 5:5].

He, ‘the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings’ [17:14].

He, the ‘rider on a white horse … judges and makes war … he treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has his name written: King of kings and Lord of lords’ [19:11-16].

Jesus Christ: the ‘Mighty God’ – the focus of ‘the song of the Lamb’:

‘Great and marvellous are your deeds,
Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
King of the ages.’ [Revelation 15:3].

As we have already seen in Study 4  and Study 6 Jesus Christ is the Lord Almighty; and as we will see later, he is the Sovereign Creator, to whom the whole universe owes its existence and its continuance.

C. EVERLASTING FATHER

Isaiah leaves us with no excuse for doubting that this child is God. It is God who is eternal – everlasting. It is God who endures forever. It is God who is ‘the Father’ of all created creatures, and who is, on another level, the Father of all who believe in his Son. Yet here the child is called the ‘everlasting Father’. This name speaks of both the eternity and the love of Jesus Christ.

Compare these verses which speak about the eternity of God and the eternal existence of Jesus Christ.
Genesis 21:33

Deuteronomy 33:27

Psalm 90:2

Psalm 93:2

Isaiah 40:28

Jeremiah 10:10

Daniel 7:13, 14, 27

Micah 5:2

John 1:1

John 17:5

2Peter 1:11

How do these verses describe the father-heart of God towards those who are his?
Psalm 100:5

Psalm 103:13, 17

Isaiah 63:16

Jeremiah 31:3

Hosea 11:3

How do these verses describe this same Father-heart of Jesus Christ?
Luke 13:34

Mark 6:34

John 13:1

The heart of the Father is the heart of the Son: a heart of everlasting love.

D. THE PRINCE OF PEACE

This child of whom Isaiah speaks is ‘the Prince’ – he is at the head: he is the Master, the One in charge, the Leader, the Lord. He is the One who holds the sceptre of authority over all nations.

Genesis 49:10 anticipates his coming:

‘The sceptre will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he comes to whom it belongs [Hebrew: ‘until Shiloh (= ‘tranquil’) comes’]
and the obedience of the nations is his.’

Similarly, Isaiah 11:10:

‘In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.’

As indicated in Isaiah 9:4-5, by his victory he establishes peace.

At the deepest, spiritual level, the victory won by this Prince is a spiritual victory against evil [Colossians 2:15], and the peace established by this Prince, is peace with God, a peace that results in a deep inner personal peace. By the victory of this Prince the enmity between man and God is removed because by this Prince the just cause of that alienation has been dealt with:

‘… the punishment that brought us peace was upon him … the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all’ [Isaiah 53:5,6].

‘Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ’ [Romans 5:1].

‘For God was pleased … through him to reconcile to himself all things … by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross’ [Colossians 1:19,20].

When this child, the Prince of Peace, was born the angelic hosts sang: ‘… and on earth peace to men’. When the apostles spoke of him, their message was called ‘the gospel of peace’ [Acts 10:36; Romans 10:15 (KJV); Ephesians 6:15] or simply ‘peace’ [Ephesians 2:17].

This child, this Prince of Peace, says to us:

‘Come to me … and I will give you rest … rest for your souls’ [Matthew 11:28,29].

‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you’ [John 14:27].

And beyond this personal peace with God, this Prince of Peace, by his ultimate and final victory, establishes universal, cosmic peace:

‘They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea’ [Isaiah 11:10; 65:25].

E. HIS GOVERNMENT AND HIS PEACE

In the previous study we looked at the authority of Jesus Christ, mentioned in Isaiah 9:6 – 'The government will be on his shoulders.’ Now, in 9:7, flowing out from his names is the nature of the ‘government’ that Isaiah describes – ‘of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end’.

E.1 No end to the increase of his government
In keeping with the Davidic Covenant, as we saw previously, the kingdom/throne/reign of Jesus Christ is forever. It does not end. We have already noted this connection with David in 4:2, and Isaiah mentions it again in 9:7 – ‘He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it ... from that time on and forever.’

Isaiah tells us that Christ’s ‘government’ is also continually increasing - ‘of the increase of his government ...there will be no end’ – 9:7. In other words, the kingdom of Jesus Christ keeps on expanding. More and more people continue to come under his authority. Every time a person acknowledges Jesus Christ as Lord his kingdom grows by one. He did not come to be the King of a political/geographical/national entity. He did not come to be ‘King of the Jews’ (as Pilate’s inscription on the cross accused). Rather, he is King of a spiritual kingdom, which, as we have already seen, transcends national/political/racial boundaries and definitions.

Thus his kingdom is increasing both in terms of the number of individuals and in terms of the number of nations involved. And the impact of his government is also continually increasing as each individual involved learns submission to his authority and values.

Read these verses for insight into the nature and values of Christ’s kingdom:
Matthew 4:17

Matthew 5:3, 10

Matthew 8:11, 12

Matthew 16:15 – 19

Matthew 24:14

John 3:1 – 8

John 18:36

The concept of the kingdom or government is the focus of both Jesus’ and the apostles’ teaching:

When Jesus preached, this topic was the kingdom of heaven/God – multiple texts.

Most of his parables begin with the statement ‘in the kingdom of heaven/God this is what it’s like’ – multiple texts.

When Jesus instructed his followers between his resurrection and ascension the spoke of things related to the kingdom – Acts 1:3.

When the apostles preached their message was condensed into that one word ‘kingdom’ – Acts 8:12; 19:8; 28:23, 31.

Whenever we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we pray ‘your kingdom come’ – a prayer fully in line with this statement of Isaiah that ‘of the increase of his government where will be no end’. Whenever we speak of Jesus Christ as ‘Lord’, whenever we preach or teach the Gospel, we are speaking of his rule and his authority – his government, his kingdom. Whenever we choose to obey Christ’s commands, we are being obedient citizens of his kingdom, submissive to his governance.

E.2 Of his peace there will be no end
As Isaiah has stated, Christ is ‘the Prince of Peace’, and we have looked at that above.

Study these verses to learn what else Isaiah teaches about this peace:
Try to identify what the ‘peace’ is – is it physical peace for Judah, is it the peace with God that we have in Christ, is it the everlasting peace of the new heavens and earth, or is it multi-dimensional, referring to two or more of these aspects at the same time? You may need to read a few verses either side.
26:1 – 4

26:12, 13

27:5

32:16 – 17

48:18

52:7

53:5

54:10, 13

55:12

66:12

Although Isaiah spoke of a time of political peace for Judah, as we have seen in Section D above, and as we will see in later studies, spiritual ‘peace’ is the direct result of the death of Jesus Christ. It was to establish this peace with God that he came. When he returns he will finally remove all that inhibits and interferes with peace at every level of existence.