Study Guide: "He Shall Be Called... Counselor"

Text: Isaiah 9:6

OPEN:

There are a few things to keep in mind as we study this powerful statement by the prophet Isaiah:

1) This is an example of Hebrew parallelism

- A common feature of Hebrew poetry in the Old Testament is called parallelism, in which the words of two or more lines are directly related in some way. This feature may be found in any poetic passage, as well as in narrative sections. Multiple words or phrases with the same/similar meaning, are repeated one after the other for emphasis.

- Examples:

"The heavens are telling the glory of God;

and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

Day to day pours forth speech,

and night to night declares knowledge." (Psalm 19:1-2)

"You shall love the Lord your God

with all your heart, and with all your soul,

and with all your might." (Deuteronomy 6:5)

2) This is a Messianic prophecy.

- These titles/attributes are those of the promised Messiah.

- "Messiah" is a Hebrew word that means "anointed one." The Greek equivalent is "Christ." Whenever we say Jesus Christ, we are saying Jesus Anointed One/ Jesus the Messiah.

3) The word translated "counselor" is actually a verbal adjective.

- This describes Christ by what he does.  We know him as God in our lives because he is actively involved.

- Francis Schaefer talked about "the God who is there." This passages speaks about a God who is near/ actively involved with us.

The advent of Jesus Christ means that God is concerned about and intimately involved in our lives.

I.  The Counselor Provides Exhortation.

1) The idea conveyed by this word is one of encouragement.

2) This is the root meaning of the New Testament word used for the Holy Spirit.

John 14:15-17, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of Truth."

The Greek word is parakletos. "One who comes alongside to exhort/encourage."

3) Healing comes not from feeling better about the awful mess I'm in, but by being encouraged to get out of it.

II.  The Counselor Produces Comfort.

1) This is the ability to fully understand/ identify with another person.

Isaiah 66:13, "As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you."

2) Jesus understands us completely because of his own humanity.

Hebrews 4:15, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

So, we should never hesitate to honestly pour out our hearts before the Lord. He understands and he cares.

III.  The Counselor Promotes Action.

1) The root meaning of the word may also be interpreted as "coach."

Coaching is different from counseling.

Counseling looks to the past to address problems from the past. That's called 'Therapy.'

Coaching looks to the future. Coaches ask carefully selected questions in order to help the coachee discover what they don't know that they know.

2) The Christian life is an active rather than a passive one.

We're not puppets or marionettes. God is not the Master Puppeteer. 

God doesn't do everything for us while we dangle by divine strings. That's fatalism.

God wants us to discover the gifts and strengths he had given us, to recognize the calling he has placed within each of us, and then serve him with great energy and effort.

CLOSE:

The advent of Jesus Christ means that God is concerned about and intimately involved in our lives.

(Dr. Dane Fowlkes)