And He Shall Be Called Wonderful Counselor
And He Shall Be Called.... • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
The Bible has well over 100 names for Jesus. A careful study of these names show that each name is a beautiful characteristic of Jesus, His love for us and what He has done. As we enter into this season of Advent, I felt that God wanted us to study four of those names that are found in one verse in the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah is an Old Testament book written 800 years before the birth of Christ. The name Isaiah in Hebrew means “Salvation is from the Lord.” What an incredible name of a book in the Bible that speaks so much of the coming salvation of the Lord!
There are several prophecies in this book about Jesus the Messiah. In , there are four distinct names for this child that will be born and given. As we look over the course of the Advent Season at these four names, I want to show you not only what each of these names means, but what it means to us today.
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.
The name of our emphasis today is the name Wonderful Counselor. You may have a translation of the Bible that shows a comma between the words wonderful and counselor, indicating that His name will be called wonderful and counselor. You may know that in the original Hebrew and Aramaic texts, there were no punctuation marks. Some time after the Bible was translated these punctuation marks were placed. However, having said all that, if you study the Hebrew phrase that is in this passage, you will see that the literal translation is “the wonder of a counselor.”
The child that is being born and the son that is being given is a wonder of a counselor. We will see throughout this Christmas Season that God never gave His Son a name which He did not deserve.
Christ is called Wonderful, because He is! The Hebrew word for Wonderful is PELE and it means “of extraordinary nature, making it mysterious or difficult to comprehend. It is the same word used in , where in context it is talking about the magnificent thoughts of God.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
It describes both marvelous and miraculous.
I have enjoyed watching Watauga High School’s football team this year! Last week, they were down 14-0 and came from behind to win. It was wonderful!
This past Friday night, they were down and I kept hoping that they would miraculously come back and continue their incredible run to the state championship! It would have been miraculous and marvelous! It would have been wonderful! Is your greatest miracle a come-from-behind victory of your favorite sports team? That kind of wonderful can be explained by executing the right plays and perseverance!
Is your greatest miracle a come from behind victory
The prophet Isaiah declared that the coming Christ would be called Wonderful! Not just for what He will do, but for Who He is!
Matthew Henry says, “He is wonderful because He is both God and Man. He is love is the wonders of angels and glorified saints; in His birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension, He was Wonderful!
He is Wonderful for what He was in the past. He is wonderful for what He is in the present. He is wonderful for what He will be in the future!
One writer stated, “If His name is Wonderful, there will be nothing dull about His reign (Warren Weirsbe)!”
Aren’t you glad to know Jesus and that He is Wonderful?
If that’s all we needed to know, that would be enough. But under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the prophet Isaiah says He will be called Wonderful Counselor.
Think with me about this. The child that is born and the son that is given will be called Wonderful Counselor. From the Old Testament perspective, Counselor describes the king giving counsel to his people.
Why do you now cry aloud—
have you no king?
Has your counselor perished,
that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?
Listen to the cry of my people
from a land far away:
“Is the Lord not in Zion?
Is her King no longer there?”
“Why have they provoked me to anger with their images,
with their worthless foreign idols?”
Micah associates the king with counselor. This paints a lovely picture of the wisdom of our Lord.
All this also comes from the Lord Almighty,
wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom.
I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
Paul wrote in
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
God is His great love and mercy has provided for us wise counsel which we can access through this Child that is born and this Son that was given.
My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
God is His great love and mercy has provided for us wise counsel which we can access through this Child that is born and this Son that was given.
He is the wisdom of His Father and He makes known to us that same wisdom. All we need to do is ask!
but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1 Corinthians
We will be at our best when we seek His counsel!
I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
Psalm 16:7
The people will gladly listen to Him as He teaches God’s ways:
Many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
Perhaps you are thinking this is just too much for me to understand. This is too much for me to comprehend. My mess of a life is to messed up for me to have a Wonderful Counselor. Perhaps you, like me, have “wallowed” in our mess so much that we can’t make sense of it at all.
When I tried to understand all this,
it was oppressive to me
till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.
Isaiah tells us we have a Wonderful Counselor to remind us of the wonder of our counselor! When we enter the sanctuary of God, then we can gain understanding. This doesn’t mean when we enter into a physical place, but we open our hearts and minds to worship and praise God and realize that it is from Him that all blessings flow! Oh my! Isaiah foretold that God was planning to send a Counselor for the broken hearted of the world. We have Jesus, the Wonderful Counselor, God that became Man so that He could understand the trials and temptations which we face day in and day out.
We read of the One, reflect to the One, and appeal to the One, as says, “who became for us the Wisdom of God.”
When we take all that we know about Christ, it adds up to one marvelous truth: He is our Wonderful Counselor.
Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great:
He appeared in a body,
was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory.
What a statement! The wonder of this statement disturbs the philosophers, it delights the homeless, and comforts the brokenhearted.
It is beyond our comprehension what Christ has done in His redeeming work in us! He who became sin for us is giving us the opportunity to enjoy all eternity in a loving relationship with our Creator!
2 Corinthians
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
The Child that was born, the Son that was given, God in every way, was still willing to bear our punishment for sin! That should stir our hearts to WONDER!
This child according to , grew in stature and in wisdom and astounded the Jewish Rabbi’s. His wise counsel amazed people in His public life.
Matthew 13:
Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked.
Paul stated that in Him “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
Isaiah was obviously astonished at the Wonder of a Counselor, even before it came to be! Are we astonished and captivated by the love, insight, care and practicality of Jesus? What a beautiful picture of the assurance of that acceptance and forgiveness and comfort of our God!
So what does this mean to you and me in December, 2018?
Since Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor, He is the fulfillment of all that both the Old and New Testaments teach. His counsel is found throughout the Word of God. The Old Testament is His story. The Gospels are the record of His interactions with the people of His day. The rest of the New Testament is full of practical application of all He taught. The Wonderful Counselor can help us with our problems in life.
Do you have a tough situation? Tell it to the Wonderful Counselor!
Do you have a relationship problem? Tell it to the Wonderful Counselor!
Do you have a financial crisis? Tell it to the Wonderful Counselor!
Do you have a burden for someone? Tell it to the Wonderful Counselor!
Do you have a hole in your heart because someone has left you before you were ready for them to? Tell it to the Wonderful Counselor!
The Wonderful Counselor can lead us to a place of security and satisfaction.
The Wonderful Counselor can lead us to a place of enjoyment and happiness.
The Wonderful Counselor can lead you to great wisdom through His word!
Your statutes are my delight;
they are my counselors.
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
These verses as well as many others remind us that through the study and reflection on God’s Word and through prayer, the Wonderful Counselor will give us guidance and direction. He does so and gives us assurance in Who He is and how He can help us in ways that go far beyond our understanding.
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you.
Psalm 32:
What a promise!
The Infinite became an infant. Do you know Him?
The Son of God became born of a virgin. Do you know Him?
The King of the universe became a carpenter’s son. Do you know Him?
The despised, persecuted, slandered man became the WAY, the TRUTH, and the Life. Do you know Him?
The crucified and placed in a tomb became the Resurrected Living Savior. Do you know Him?
The Prophecy Foretold became the Alpha and Omega Fulfilled. Do you know Him?
Oh yes, He shall be called WONDERFUL COUNSELOR!
Do you know Him?