Text: Isaiah 9:6
OPEN:
I love the way that Eugene Petersen, editor of The Message, introduces Isaiah:
"For Isaiah, words are watercolors and melodies and chisels to make truth and beauty and goodness. Or, as the case may be, hammers and swords and scalpels to unmake sin and guilt and rebellion. Isaiah does not merely convey information. He creates visions, delivers revelation, arouses belief. He is a poet in the most fundamental sense—a maker, making God present and that presence urgent. Isaiah is the supreme poet-prophet to come out of the Hebrew people."
We see some of the poet-prophet at work when we read Isaiah 9:6. How beautiful:
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah's work as a prophet began in the year 739 BC and his public prophetic ministry lasted 53 years. He prophesied during the reign of four kings (Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah). Jewish tradition claims he was sawed in two at the command of a 5th king, wicked King Manasseh.
The prophet Isaiah knew something about the significance of names. His name means "The Lord is salvation." He was married to a prophetess and they had at least two sons with prophetic names. The elder was Shear-Jashub whose name means "a remnant shall return"; and the younger was Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, which means "quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil."
We've previously seen some of the beauty and importance connected to the names Wonderful, Counselor, and Mighty God. Today we encounter a fourth meaningful description, "Everlasting Father."
This portion of the title given by Isaiah to the coming Messiah appears contradictory. The title Everlasting Father has caused some difficulty to believers through the ages. They have wondered why that name was prophetically ascribed to him who in human nature was a “Child born” and a “Son given” for the salvation of people. The name “Father” has normally been associated with the first person of the Godhead.
To properly understand this title, we must note that the name given is not “Father” but “The everlasting Father.” In the East men were often given a name or a title that signified some quality or characteristic for which they were famous. One could be a father of wisdom or a father of folly or a son of wisdom or a son of folly. James and John were called the “Sons of Thunder.”
This particular messianic title speaks of the coming Savior as “the Father of perpetuity, the Father of eternity, the Father of the forever.” Together, the two words speak of the scope of the coming Messiah's reign and the quality of his ministry. To be the everlasting is to be characterized by eternity. To be Father refers to Christ’s lordship over eternity.
I. The Title Emphasizes the Messiah’s Deity.
It distinctly sets him apart from sinful man, whose life has been compared to a vapor that appears for a while and then fades away.
1.To the Savior is ascribed ageless, timeless being and character. In this respect he is uniquely different from others.
Isaiah 57:15, "For this is what the high and lofty One says-- he who lives forever, whose name is holy, 'I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.'"
2. Our Savior is the Eternal One (John 1:1-14).
The Messiah came and lived on this earth, died for our sins, and lives again as the Lord of life and death.
Revelation 1:18, "I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hell."
In the midst of a changing world, we worship and serve the unchanging Christ.
Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."
3. Our Savior, the Father of eternity, is immune to the limitations of time.
He is as young as the morning; he is as youthful as the daybreak.
Time cannot tarnish the glory of his person. Age after age reveals his ability to achieve miraculous results in the lives of those who trust him.
The Savior whom we worship at Christmastime did not come into existence at the time of his birth in Bethlehem. He always was. In this event the eternal God clothed himself in the garments of human flesh that people might better understand the nature and character of the true God. What the Savior was, he is and shall be forever.
II. As the Everlasting Father He Gives Eternal Life.
Psalm 36:9, "You are the giver of life. Your light lets us enjoy life." (NCV)
To be in relationship with Jesus Christ, means to be connected to eternity.
1. Everlasting life is the future for believers (John 3:16).
2. Everlasting life is a present possession for believers.
John 3:36, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life."
Eternity has already begun.
Great challenge is to see God at work in ordinary moments of this life.
“We must be careful with our lives, for Christ’s sake, because it would seem that they are the only lives we are going to have in this puzzling and perilous world, and so they are very precious and what we do with them matters enormously” ~ Frederick Buechner
III. As "Father” Christ Cares For Us Like a Parent.
1. "Father" is a term of intimate relationship.
Our appreciation of the term depends on our own experience.
This is a term of intimacy and nurture.
2. He provides tender, loving care for the children of God.
3. He constantly exercises the concern of a father’s loving heart.
CLOSE:
The Savior continues to be “The everlasting Father” in his ability and availability to meet the deepest needs of the human heart. He can introduce you to the true God who has revealed himself in terms of love and mercy and grace as well as in terms of holiness and justice.
As the Father of eternity, he is eager to bestow on you the gift of eternal life. This life is more than endless duration. It is a new quality of life—the very life of God. Recognize him, respond to him positively, and this will be the most wonderful Christmas of all.
(Dr. Dane Fowlkes, www.danefowlkes.com)
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