Christmas Peace, Pt. 4

Jesus Christ is the eternal God come in the flesh. For this claim to deity, He was crucified, but He vindicated His claim by His resurrection from the dead.

Christmas Peace, Pt. 4

"For to us a Child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."‬‬

(Isaiah‬ 9:6)

Have you finished all your Christmas shopping? Most probably have, but I imagine many have not! That is okay, for you still have three full days before the big day arrives. Before you begin your busy day of shopping, or for some, your busy day of work, take a moment and focus your heart and mind on the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the One we are celebrating, and He is worthy of our praise, contemplation, and worship. I love studying the many names and descriptive phrases of God in the Bible.

Isaiah ends verse 6 of chapter 9 with this crescendo of divine names attributed to the Messiah. We have looked at Wonderful Counselor, and now we explore this descriptive phrase of His deity: Mighty God. The Hebrew phrase is El Gibbor, which means "heroic God" and is a reference to the deity of the Messiah (The Believer's Study Bible, p. 933).

The Bible clearly teaches us the deity of Jesus Christ; He is indeed God come in the flesh. John 20:26-28 records the encounter of Jesus with His disciples after His resurrection from the dead:

"And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, 'Peace to you!' Then He said to Thomas, 'Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.' And Thomas answered and said to Him, 'My Lord and my God!' Jesus said to him, 'Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'"

We state with faith and assurance and agree with Thomas that Jesus is Lord and God!

The next title or phrase describing the Messiah in Isaiah 9:6 is Everlasting Father. This speaks of the relationship of the Child to the Father. Jesus claimed to have come from the Father and said that if you have seen Him, then you have seen the Father, and He and the Father are one. (John 14:9: "Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?" John 10:30: "I and My Father are one.")

Jesus Christ is the eternal God come in the flesh. For this claim to deity, He was crucified, but He vindicated His claim by His resurrection from the dead. The early church was persecuted because they acknowledged Jesus as God and worshiped Him.

The final descriptive title or phrase given in our text is Prince of Peace. He gives more than the cessation of war but an internal peace of mind and soul (Study Bible—Baptist Study Edition, p. 933). Jesus promised this peace to all who believe in Him. Prince is the Hebrew word sar, representative of the king, commander, chief, ruler. Peace is Salom, which means peace, prosperity, or state of health.

More tomorrow on Jesus, the Prince of Peace!