His Name
Text: Isaiah 9:6
Proposition: The name of Jesus stands for all of what He does and for all of Who He is, His name is what He has given us that we would know Him.
Introduction: It was about 700 years before Jesus Christ was born when Isaiah in warning Israel about the coming invasion by Assyria makes this profound statement about One who would bring all war to an end. It’s about One who would forever keep Israel safe and keep all those who trusted in Him. While Israel was looking to powerful nations for some sort of alliance and was considering what they would have to give up or pay for such alliances, Isaiah makes this statement, “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” The safety they longed for would not come from any neighboring country, it would come through the birth of baby. Let’s have a look at what God intended through these words, words of hope, words of deliverance and words of worship. Turn to Isaiah 9:6 with me.
I. It’s Unto Us That a Son Is Given.
The Hebrew use of repetition ties two truths together, a child will be born and that child will be a Son. The child means that he is a human being, the Son points to His deity, He is God’s Son. Isaiah is saying that rescue will come from an infant that is like no other. In a moment he will tell us what this infant will one day do, things that only God was capable of or worthy of. Clearly the Son refers to the divine nature of this child even as birth refers to the human nature of this Son. But don’t miss the opening line repeated twice so that we wouldn’t miss it, “Unto us…”. It wasn’t unto the angels, it was unto us that this is happening. Do you remember the words that the angels sang that night that Christ was born, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” It’s like the angel was remembering the words of Isaiah as they were now being fulfilled. It’s unto us, for our sakes, for our hope, for our rescue that this is happening. It’s God’s action towards us at His timing by His grace, this Child, His Son is given to us. Perhaps the idea here is not so much that this Son is now entrusted to our care but rather that this Son is given FOR us. His sinless life would be given to us that we would know the grace of God in being set free from sin. To this Isaiah adds, “and the government will be upon His shoulder.” The authority to rule over all nations, all people, all power and possession will be on His shoulder. That too is given unto us. His authority over us is perfect, without the flaw of sin or the twists of pride. His government is not only perfect it’s also eternal, He isn’t like a good king who one day will die and then we go back into anarchy, this government has no end and it is given unto us by the hand of God who loves us more than we could ever imagine. The Son was given unto us for eternal life.
II. It’s His Name That We Will Call Upon.
The name of a person is meant to describe some aspect of that person. It’s like Tabitha means Gazelle, Owen means Young Warrior, Keith is Warrior Descending. The name of Jesus stands for all of what He does and for all of Who He is, His name is what He has given us that we would know Him.
The name that we will call this Son is a series of exclamation points.

Wonderful! It points to the wonder of Who He is, the awe that is captured every time He speaks and the miraculous that comes from His finger tips.   

Counselor! Wisdom is what this Son speaks, it is the wisdom that proceeds directly from the Father and it is a wisdom that is offered to us as counsel. Whose counsel will you take if not His?

Mighty God! As Wonderful and Wise He is also the very Strength of God. It was Jesus who stood on the bow of that small fishing boat in the midst of a storm on the Sea of Galilee and holding out His hand He said, “Peace, be still.” And the wind and waves were made calm, an act not lost on seasoned fishermen. His name will be called Mighty God, the One who overrules death, the One who rebukes demons, the One who opens the eyes of a man born blind. This is our Jesus.

Everlasting Father! He is the Father of the everlasting. Those who have eternal life have it by the name of Jesus for there is no other name under heaven by which men must be saved. He is the everlasting captain over the angels, over mankind, over all creation. Hebrews 2:14, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil…”.

Prince of Peace! This describes the character of His reign, it is marked by Peace. The Peace will be between men with one another, the Peace will be between men and God. It’s been said that the Peace of God comes from Peace with God. That’s what Jesus Christ came to do, to establish an everlasting peace with God by paying out the price of mankind’s sin. This last week is a reminder to all of us how fallen a world we live in. We will one day call Jesus The Prince of Peace, it’s what He has done in salvation, it’s what he is doing in His kingdom, it’s who He is through all eternity.
For unto us a Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace is given. This is what people sing today all over the world.