My full name is James Stuart Turner Rennie. It’s quite a moniker to attach to a little baby! The Stuart part is from my Dad’s Scottish roots. The Turner part is from my mother’s English family roots.
The James part is my Dad’s first name so I was named after him. James is a biblical name. He was the Lord’s brother. James comes from the name Jacob in the Old Testament. So many Bible names have a good meaning, but James or Jacob does not. It means deceiver or trickster, and as you may remember, that is what Jacob was. He tricked his father to give him the inheritance and then he tricked his brother to sell his birthright. My name reminds me of that old nature in me that can lie and cheat and steal just like Jacob.
But I am so thankful that I got another part to my name: Rennie. Rennie comes from the French, Rene, and it means born again. So, you see my name is the story of my life. James the sinner is also Rennie, the one born again. That’s me, a sinner born again.
Today we will look at yet another prophetic reference to the birth of Christ in the book of Isaiah, and it is about four amazing names of our Saviour.
SERMON MANUSCRIPT
Christmas is so much about the children because we are celebrating the birth of a child, the Lord Jesus, the Christ child. Each child is precious. Each child is uniquely named by their parents. I want to talk about the naming of children today and I am going to start with the name I was given when I was born many years ago. That was shortly after Noah came out of the ark.
My full name is James Stuart Turner Rennie. Quite a moniker to attach to a little baby! The Stewart part is from my Dad’s Scottish roots. The Turner part is from my mother’s English family roots. The James part is my Dad’s first name so I was named after him. James is a biblical name. He was the Lord’s brother. James comes from the name Jacob in the Old Testament. So many Bible names have a good meaning, but James or Jacob does not. It means deceiver or trickster, and as you may remember, that is what Jacob was. He tricked his father to give him the inheritance and then he tricked his brother to sell his birthright. My name reminds me of that old nature in me that can lie and cheat and steal just like Jacob. But I am so thankful that I got another part to my name, Rennie. Rennie comes from the French, Rene, and it means born again. So, you see my name is the story of my life. James the sinner is also Rennie, the one born again. That’s me, a sinner born again. Today we will look at yet another prophetic reference to the birth of Christ in the book of Isaiah, and it is about four amazing names of our Saviour.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. And the government will be on his shoulders. And he shall be called Wonderful counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace. Isaiah 9:6
Before we look at our text, let’s refresh our memory about the backdrop of our story, one that Josiah presented to us two weeks ago. Ahaz was the king of Judah, and he was a wicked king. Even though Ahaz was a wicked king, God still cared for his people and sent Isaiah to give King Ahaz a sign of God’s care for the nation. Ahaz would not listen to the sign even though it was one of mercy. He didn’t care to hear from the God of his fathers. He consulted mediums and spiritists instead. 8:19 He didn’t care for the nation either. He led the nation into idolatry. He forsook Jehovah and the temple worship and instead built altars to heathen gods and worshipped them instead. He didn’t even care for his own children. He sacrificed his son to the god Molech. Recent archeology findings validate this practice of child sacrifice on the Canaanite altars where babies’ bones were discovered strewn around the altar areas. Today is no different. Over 64 million children are recorded to have been killed through abortion in the States since it was nationally legalized in 1973. The numbers in Canada are proportionately similar. We are no different than the Canaanites.
This stands in stark contrast to the prophet Isaiah himself who had three children, three sons who were no doubt loved and valued. Each one was given a special name provided by God that had prophetic significance. In Isaiah 7:3 the first one is mentioned, Shear-Jashub, which means ‘a remnant will return.’ His name indicates that the nation would ultimately survive in spite of great turmoil. The second son was named Immanuel which means ‘God with us’. Is.7:14 Here is the reason the nation would survive, not because of their own strength, but by the grace and care of God and his presence with them. The third son was named Maher-Shalel-Hash-Baz. Is.8:3 Can you imagine giving your baby a name like that? Maybe they shortened it to Baz for everyday use. Anyway, the name means, ‘quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil’, a prophecy of how the nation’s enemies would shortly be destroyed by the Lord. Three names for his three boys tell the story of God’s grace to Israel. The nation will survive, because God is with us, and our enemies will be defeated. Isaiah summarizes the prophetic significance of his sons’ names in 8:18
Here am I and the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.
These children born to Isaiah were but a wonderful prelude to the prophetic announcement of the birth of another child, the coming Messiah and king. Let’s look at our text now in Isaiah 9:6
First, we see the origins of the king.
To us a child born. Jesus was born of Mary. He entered life as we all have done, through the womb of his mother. He was fully human. It was the miracle of the virgin birth. He had an earthly mother but no earthly father.
But it also says, to us a son is given. Long before he was Mary’s son, he was God’s son. He has a heavenly father but no mother, because he was never born to be God. He is the eternal Son. Before time began, the triune God in heaven determined that the Son would enter history. He was the Son given by the Father.
Many of us know John 3:16 by heart. Let’s say it together.
For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn. 3:16
This statement speaks to his deity. The mind can barely capture how there can be such a one as God, but the combination of God and man in one person is beyond our understanding. In the words of scripture, it remains a mystery.
No one understands the Son except the Father. Matt.11:27
Next, we see that he will have the actual, functioning role of the king.
And the government will be on his shoulders.
We still have kings and queens today, but their role is almost entirely ceremonial. Like Queen Elizabeth and now King Charles, they are figureheads with no real authority to govern the nation. But this king is not like that. It says the government will be on his shoulders. He will carry the full weight of authority and responsibility for the ruling of the nation. In other words, he will be the monarch.
There has long been debate about which form of government is the ideal form of government. Some believe it is democracy. Others say it is socialism. But God says it is a monarchy. That is what Jesus will set up when he comes again. Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, said that the ideal government was an enlightened monarchy and he was right as far as he went. What he did not envisage was a divine monarchy, because this is what God will set up. All other forms of government rely on the integrity and goodwill of people in leadership. Therefore, all forms of earthly government are defective because people are sinners. The old adage holds true: power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. When the sinless Son of God rules there will be a perfect government. His matchless character will see to that, and that is evidenced in his names.
Now we look at the names of the king
And he shall be called Wonderful counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace.
The first name is Wonderful counselor
This speaks to the wisdom of the king, and especially his moral wisdom. I love the way this chapter starts.
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who live in distress. Is.9:1
There is such poetic imagery here! It begins with a great darkness and gloom stretched over the land. It is a picture of the moral degradation of the land as described in the last verses of chapter 8, where people who had rejected the Lord were reduced to looking to mediums and spiritists for any direction in life. Behind these mediums was Satan, the lord of darkness and the great liar. Today he casts the same darkness over the world. It says in II Corinthians that he blinds the eyes of the unbelieving so that they cannot see the gospel. This makes for a double blindness, the blindness of unbelief and the blindness of satanic darkness around us. Then in verse 2 the light dawns. Where does this light dawn first? It says, in Galilee of the gentiles by the way of the sea. The sea was the Sea of Galilee. Where did Jesus grow up? In Galilee. Where was the bulk of his teaching delivered? By the sea of Galilee. And what is the light? They are the very words that came out of his mouth. It was the wisdom of heaven, the moral teaching that was to be the judicial foundation of the nation. The book of Matthew especially reveals our Lord in this light. In Matthew 5, the sermon on the mount was delivered on a mountain in Galilee. Such wonderful counsel by the king! And it still has its ancient power to save and heal. As many of you know, I am a counsellor, and it has been my privilege to shine this light of Christ’s counsel. When it is applied to believing hearts, there is healing and blessing.
Jesus says, Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who builds his house on the rock. Matt.7:24
Because Jesus is the wonderful counsellor, his kingdom will be one of light and truth, justice and righteousness. Verse 7 There will be a trickle down effect of truth and goodness, love and righteousness from his heart to all his subjects.
The second name of the coming king is Mighty God
If He is presented as the wonderful counsellor in Matthew’s gospel, then in Mark’s gospel he is the Mighty God. There is no mention of Christ’s birth or his childhood in Mark’s gospel. Instead, he opens with these words,
The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Then John the Baptist says this of Christ,
After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. Mk.1:7
In Mark there is little recorded of Jesus’ sermons. Instead, there is one miracle after the other. People being healed, demons being cast out, thousands fed with a few loaves and some fish. The stormy sea being stilled by one word from the Lord. This is the mighty God at work.
But what was the hardest thing God ever did? Was it creating the universe? No. It says he spoke and the universe came into being. Was it healing people? No, that was accomplished with a word or a simple touch. I will tell you. It was when Jesus the Son of God took your sin and mine on the cross and paid the price for it. That was hard, even for God. Jesus groaned in agony in the garden of Gethsemane as he said, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not as I will but as you will.” Jesus drinking the cup of God’s wrath against sin, our sin, was hard. Suffering forsakenness by his father on the cross as he bore the load of sin for billions of sinners like you and me. No mere man could have done that. The mighty God was put to his greatest test and accomplished it.
Now he is returning to rule. No enemy will be able to stand against him. He will crush all opposition. The verses in Isaiah 9 bear this out.
For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior’s boot used in battle, and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. Is. 9:4,5
In Revelation 19 there is a wonderful scene of the King coming from heaven on a white war horse followed by the armies of heaven.
Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with a rod of iron.
There will be no contest. The king is the Mighty God. The kingdom is safe because the king is all powerful.
The next name of the king is everlasting Father.
This name presents a challenge because this title would seem to be reserved only for the Heavenly Father. Although all members of the trinity are one God, each member is not the same as the other member. The Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Father. The Lord Jesus is never referred to as our father. So how can the Lord Jesus be called everlasting Father? Big question. Some commentators have translated this phrase father of eternity instead of everlasting father. We still employ the word father to be originator or creator,as in, Alexander Graham Bell was the father of the telephone. The word father is used in this way in James 1:18 where it says, God is the Father of the heavenly lights. In other words, he created those heavenly lights, all the stars in the sky. So is Jesus, the Son of God also the creator? Indeed, he is! This is how John’s gospel presents the Saviour.
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made, without him nothing was made that has been made. John 1:13
Jesus is the creator God. The first miracle Jesus did in John’s gospel was an act of creation. He turned the water into wine. Seven times Jesus refers to himself by the name ‘I am’. This is the name Yahweh in the Old Testament and it refers to the timelessness of God, his eternal existence. Then in John 14 he talks about heaven and his going there. And he says to his disciples, “I go to prepare a place for you.” In other words, the next life, the eternity of heaven, will be created by none other than Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is its architect and it is built to last a long time. How long?
Back to our text in Isaiah 9:7
Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing it and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord almighty will accomplish this
This speaks to the enduring nature of his kingdom. It will never pass away. The father of eternity guarantees that it will last forever. Kingdoms of men rise and fall. Nations have their day and then they are swept away by the tides of war or just simply by internal decay. I think of the great nation to our south, the USA. It is soon to see its 250th birthday in 2026. But what do we see? The seeds of decadence and decay are there. And there are severe cracks in the foundation of that land. It is going to fall, it is only a matter of when.
The Bible says, Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. Prov.14:34
This speaks to our own country as well. We have disowned the Lord God. We banish him from our schools and our halls of government. We ignore his commands. We call evil good and good evil. It may soon be the case that the Bible will be listed as hate literature. Because of this the days of our nation are numbered. Judgment will surely fall.
But there is an eternal kingdom, one created by the Lord Jesus, the father of eternity. It will never fail. The ravages of time will not overcome it. It will endure forever because the one who governs it is the father of eternity.
Our last name of the king in Isaiah 9:6 Is Prince of peace
Again, we read the following verse which says,
Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. 9:7
The king is the peace maker. He is the peace giver. He is our peace. He causes wars to cease and peace to be made. This is the theme of the gospel of Luke. The coming of the peace giver is prophesied by Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist in Luke 1: 79 He says the coming Christ will guide our feet into the path of peace.
Remember what the angels said who announced Christ’s birth to the shepherds out in their fields that wonderful night.
Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests. Luke 2:14
But the people refused their king and their prince of peace so Jesus wept over Jerusalem and said,
If you, even you, had known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. You did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you. Lk. 19:42,44
You see there is no peace without the Prince of peace. And it is the same today. Those who reject the Saviour will never experience peace from God.
And peace comes in three ways. First, there is peace with God. It is the knowledge that God and I are at peace because sins are forgiven.
Romans 5:1 says, Therefore, having been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the joy of having sins forgiven and a restored relationship with God. That is what the Prince of peace has done for me and for all who trust his grace.
Then he gives me the peace of God. This is a product of trusting the Lord for his care and keeping in my life. Phil.4:7 says, And the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Lastly, he brings relational peace. It says the Lord causes wars to cease. There will be no interpersonal conflicts in heaven. That will put me out of a job for sure, but that’s ok. But even today, if I follow the Lord’s ways, I can even love my enemy and seek peace with those who have wronged me. I can get large measures of relational peace, not perfect to be sure, but there is here a foretaste of heaven. That is the peace on earth that the angels sang about.
There we have it, four beautiful names of our Saviour, declaring the blessings of the king from heaven.
Is Jesus your wonderful counsellor, teaching you his precious word?
Is he your mighty God, protecting and providing for you?
Is he your Father of eternity, preparing an eternal home for you? Is he your prince of peace, forgiving your sins and giving you peace from God?
Jim Rennie is an elder at Oakridge Bible Chapel and an occasional speaker. He is a medical doctor with Christian counselling practice. Shortly after graduation from medical school he and his wife, Kathy, spent 14 years in Zambia as medical missionaries.
