“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isa. 9:6, ASV)
As we always point out, it matters little to us that December 25 is not the true anniversary of our Redeemer’s birth. That date more likely falls around the anniversary of His conception and its announcement by the angel Gabriel, our Lord being born nine months later, or around October 1. (Luke 1:31-35) Nevertheless, since there is no divine directive that we celebrate our Lord’s birth, the celebration being merely a tribute of respect to Him, it is not necessary to quibble about the date. We gladly join with the civilized world in joyously celebrating the momentous event on the day when the majority celebrate – “Christmas day.”
The birth of Jesus is a subject that never grows old - it is a subject that will to all eternity be “good tidings of great joy” for angels and for men. (Luke 2:10) To be rightly understood and esteemed, His birth must be considered from the standpoint of a gift of divine love. The Scriptures give us the key to the thought: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
At the time Jesus was born, mankind had been suffering under the death sentence for thousands of years. Yet God would not have created man, or permitted the condition which led to sin and the sentence of death, had He not in His infinite wisdom foreseen man’s fall and arranged in advance for human redemption. God had made a certain promise centuries before that hinted at this plan of redemption, and the promise had not been fulfilled. The promise was that a holy child would be born, and that in some unexplained way, this child would bring the blessing the world needed. Knowing of this unfulfilled promise, all Israel and even some of the Gentile world was in expectation of Jesus. (Luke 3:15)
Our opening text is a prophecy of this Savior and the great salvation, the gift of God, to be provided through Him. It pertained to the future at the time it was written, even though it reads as if it relates to something in the past. While the birth of the child and the giving of the Son have now been fulfilled, the remainder of this prophecy still awaits fulfillment.
“UNTO US A SON IS GIVEN”
On Christmas Day, we celebrate the Heavenly Father’s grace in the giving of His Son, and all the great blessings coming to humanity as a result of the Redeemer’s work. When we think of our Lord’s work, eight prominent features should come to mind:
(1) The beginning of His earthly existence when He left the heavenly glory and was begotten in the womb of the Virgin Mary; (2) His birth; (3) His reaching of manhood’s estate at age thirty, when He made His consecration and received the begetting of the Holy Spirit; (4) His death; (5) His resurrection; (6) His ascension; (7) His second coming; and (8) His delivering of the Kingdom to the Father at the close of His Millennial reign – the grand consummation of God’s entire plan for human redemption.
Our opening text encompasses the entire outline of our Lord’s work. He was a Son given by the Heavenly Father nine months before He was the child born in the manger at Bethlehem. Because He was from above and not a member of Adam’s race in the ordinary sense, the Scriptures declare that He was “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.” (Heb. 7:26) It was because of this purity and freedom from any share in the fall or any condemnation, that He was fit to be man’s Redeemer, “Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” (1 Tim. 2:6)
While this text omits entirely the intervening events connecting the wonderful child and the wonderful blessings and glory to be dispensed through Him, other Scriptures fully inform us respecting the sufferings of Christ, and how these were necessary for our redemption. They explain the following:
(1) Adam’s entire race was justly under condemnation of death, and all of the pain and sorrow and trouble experienced by the human family are incidental parts of that death sentence: “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Gen. 3:19)
(2) Under the divine arrangement, it was necessary that the penalty against us be met, but no member of the human race could give to God a ransom for any other: “None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him.” (Psa. 49:7)
(3) God evidenced His mercy, love, and compassion by providing His Son as the sacrifice for our sins, with the Son fully cooperating: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isa. 53:5)
(4) The Lord gave His life as a ransom for all, that He might buy back the forfeited life of Adam: “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2)
(5) The divine plan required not only that our Lord redeem us, but also that He be touched with our afflictions, entering sympathetically into man’s trials and difficulties: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb. 4:15) Consequently, when His Kingdom is established, He will be able to compassionately and mercifully bring back into harmony with God those who are willing: “Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.” (Heb. 2:17)
All of the blessings promised in the Gospel story set forth in the Bible are based upon the great work of Jesus as the mediator, the sin-bearer. This work was first hinted at when God promised that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head. (Gen. 3:15) It was more clearly pointed out in God’s promise to Abraham: “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” (Gen. 22:18)
This work applies first to His elect Church of the Gospel Age, and secondly to the world of mankind. The blessing of the world awaits the completion of the Church and its glorification with Christ. He will then bestow the blessing of restitution upon all the families of the earth – upon all who repent and accept the blessings on God’s terms of obedience. As the Apostle stated, this theme of restitution was either directly or indirectly spoken by every Prophet: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive [retain] until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” (Acts 3:19-21)
The secret of this Gospel Age lies in what the Apostle called the “mystery” – that the Church is reckoned to be the body of Christ and will participate in bestowing restitution blessings on the world: “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col. 1:26-27; Eph. 1:22-23) Hence, not only did our Savior suffer and die, but every member of the elect Church has experienced suffering, trials, and death.
With the completion of these sufferings of Jesus and the Church, will come the glory made so prominent throughout all the Scriptures – the “glory that should follow.” (1 Pet. 1:11) This will be the Kingdom glory in the Millennium, when our Lord, the Redeemer, will be the great King over all, and the Church will be associated with Him as the seed of Abraham in conferring the promised blessing upon all the families of the earth: “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. . . . And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Gal. 3:16, 29)
“THE GOVERNMENT SHALL BE UPON HIS SHOULDER”
It is a common figure of speech today to say that the responsibility for something rests upon someone’s shoulders. The governmental authority did not rest upon the shoulders of Jesus as a child, nor did it rest upon the shoulders of the man, Christ Jesus. It was not until He had finished the work which the Father gave Him to do that the government was placed upon His shoulders. It was after our Lord’s resurrection that He declared, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” (Matt. 28:18)
Although our Lord was raised from the dead to glory, honor and immortality, the Father’s time had not arrived even then for Him to exercise His kingly authority, and hence He has delayed to use it. The delay has been to permit the selection of the Church, which is to be associated with Him in the exercise of His authority and dominion in the uplifting of humanity. With the last member of the Church tested, polished, accepted, and glorified with the Lord, the time will come for Him to take unto Himself His great power and reign.
That time is noted as coming under the sounding of the seventh trumpet, and we are informed that the first result for the world will be a great “time of trouble.” (Dan. 12:1) The prophetic language of Revelation sums up the entire work of the Millennial Age in one brief statement: “And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.” (Rev. 11:18)
Present conditions do not represent the government of Christ and His Kingdom, but the very reverse – they represent the reign of the “prince of this world.” Our hearts are comforted when we look forward to the real reign of Messiah, when all sin, evil, ignorance, superstition and error will be overthrown, when the “true Light” will lighten everyone. (John 1:9) Then the knowledge of the Lord will fill the whole earth and the prophecy will be fulfilled: “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the Lord’s: and he is the governor among the nations.” (Psa. 22:27-28; Isa. 11:9)
It should be evident to intelligent Christian minds that Satan remains the “prince of the power of the air” and continues to work in the hearts of the “children of disobedience.” (Eph. 2:2) The children of disobedience are more numerous than the children of obedience, and thus are generally in control of present affairs. For this reason, the Apostle spoke of this present age or dispensation as “this present evil world.” The scriptural expressions “this world” and the “world to come” are frequently misunderstood. These phrases would be more correctly translated “this age” and the “age to come.”
The belief that Jesus is now reigning is a common fallacy too absurd for serious discussion among reasonable people. If what we have today is the reign of Christ, the best government our Lord Jesus can put in place, then we are sadly disappointed. Our Lord taught us to pray: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:10) If what we have today is what our Lord taught us to pray for and expect, then Christians are the most deceived and disappointed people on earth.
Thank God for the light from His Word which enables us to understand why the things promised have been so long delayed. All will ultimately see the wisdom of the divine plan in permitting sin to have its temporary triumph. The present reign of evil is permitting the world to taste of the exceeding sinfulness of sin and the bitterness of its rewards. It has permitted the Church to be tried, tested, and polished in preparation for the Kingdom by contending against the world, the flesh, and the cunning of the Adversary: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph. 6:12)
The Lord’s people can look forward with joyful anticipation to the blessed reign of Messiah, which the Scriptures intimate will be introduced soon. We perceive from the Scriptures that God will permit sin and selfishness to bring on the time of trouble, destroying the present evil governments, and thus accomplishing the Lord’s purpose. However, anything that would be subversive to the divine arrangements will be restrained: “Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.” (Psa. 76:10)
Beyond the dark clouds of trouble we can see the glorious sunlight of the Millennial Kingdom, and the blessings of the better government which the Lord is about to establish upon the ruins of the present institutions that are rapidly being overwhelmed by human selfishness. The glory that will follow will more than compensate for all the trials and sorrows now experienced by every member of the human race.
Looking back, the Church will be able to realize more fully that their afflictions while in the flesh were light and momentary, working out for them “a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” in the Kingdom. (2 Cor. 4:17) The desires of the Lord’s people during the dark night of pain, sickness, and death will be realized early in the morning of the Millennium: “With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.”(Isa. 26:9)
The result of the government being upon the shoulders of God’s Anointed was prophetically declared: “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:10-11) While the Gospel Church has walked by faith in the narrow way, with the light of the Bible as a lamp upon the pathway, the world in the coming Millennial Age will be able to walk by sight. The Redeemer and His elect Church will light the way: “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.” (Mal. 4:2) The whole earth will be illuminated with the knowledge of the glory of the Father, which will result in the healing and blessing of all the families of the earth, completely scattering darkness, superstition and error.
At the beginning of the Millennial Age, obedience will be enforced and just punishment will speedily follow every willful infraction of the divine law. The effect will be a quick cessation of sin. The judgments of the Lord will reward good behavior and will punish wrongdoing. Every transgression will require the wrong-doer to make amends, and every good deed and noble aspiration will bring encouragement and blessing. Mere outward obedience will not be sufficient, however: “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.” (John 4:23)
Before the close of the Millennial Age, those who bow the knee and confess with the tongue will be tested to prove whether their hearts are truly in accord with the Lord and His reign of righteousness. All who do not come to full obedience of the heart will be accounted unworthy to enjoy more of the Lord’s blessings. They will not be permitted to go beyond the Millennial Age into the everlasting eternity of blessing, but will be cut off in the second death: “A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren . . . him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.” (Acts 3:22-23)
This is made especially clear in the book of Revelation: “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” (Rev. 21:7-8)
“HIS NAME SHALL BE CALLED”
All the titles given to our Lord in this prophecy – “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” – represent His majesty, dignity, power and glory. He is already recognized by His true followers as the most wonderful. His life among men was wonderful; His suffering and death was wonderful; His resurrection was wonderful; His exaltation, glory, and power are wonderful. He will soon be revealed to the world as the Wonderful One, the embodiment of divine wisdom, justice, love, and power.
His followers also know that no other counsel is like His. Before the close of the Millennium, His instructions in righteousness will be respected by all the world of mankind seeking a return to divine favor and full restitution: “And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain [kingdom] of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” (Isa. 2:3)
Our Lord Jesus is recognized now by His true followers as the mighty Lord, the “Mighty God,” but not as God the Father. The Apostle instructed: “But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” (1 Cor. 8:6) They do not confound the Father with the Son by saying that the Father is His own Son, nor that the Son is His own Father, nor that the two are one in person. The Lord Jesus is the Father’s representative, voice, and mouthpiece. He is the well-beloved Son whom the Father has clothed with glory, honor and immortality, and given all power in Heaven and in earth necessary for the accomplishment of the great work entrusted to Him. (Matt. 3:17; Matt. 28:18) He demonstrated His fitness for this office by His love and His loyalty even unto the death of the Cross.
Nothing in the prophecy implies that the child born and the son given is to take the place and the honor of the Father in heaven, of whom Jesus our Lord declared, “I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” (John 20:17) The title “Everlasting Father” instead appropriately marks one feature of our great Redeemer’s work. He is to be a Father, without in any sense of the word interfering with or conflicting with the heavenly Father and His work. The Scriptures point out to us that the first man (Adam) was appointed to be the father or life-giver to his race, but instead of giving everlasting life to his posterity, he bequeathed us a share in his own sentence, “Dying thou shalt die.”
By the sacrifice of Himself, our Lord Jesus, redeemed Father Adam, thus redeeming every member of Adam’s posterity. The Scriptures point out that our Lord paid Adam’s penalty so that He might release Adam and all his children from the curse of the death sentence: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Cor. 15:22) In doing so, He became the Father or Life-Giver to Adam and to as many of his posterity as will accept life eternal through Him on the divine conditions of full heart obedience.
As the Everlasting Father, the Lord Jesus will be the regenerator of the human race, but this title is still a prophetic one, applying to the Millennial Age. The strict meaning of the word Savior is “life-giver.” Every father is a life-giver, and so our Lord Jesus in giving life to the world during the Millennial Age will be assuming the office of a father to the world of mankind. The life He will give to all those who will obey Him will be everlasting life. Hence, He will be the “Everlasting Father.” What a great hope for the world in general is in this title prophetically given to our Master! On the other hand, any who reject His favors and mercies cannot have the life, cannot become His children, and will be destroyed in the second death.
Note that Christ is nowhere represented as being the Father of the Church, who are referred to as His “brethren.” Speaking of the Church, the Apostle declared, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Pet. 1:3) Hence it is that they are children of God and that the Lord Jesus Christ is their elder brother (or in another figure, He is referred to as their “Bridegroom”).
The title Prince of Peace is also still prophetic because He will not be the Prince of Peace until He has subdued all enemies – all sin, unrighteousness, and all insubordination to the divine will. “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” (1 Cor. 15:26) He will not fail nor be discouraged in that work. Nothing will hinder the accomplishment of this great mission entrusted to Him by the Father. His love of peace will not prevent Him from dashing the nations to pieces as a potter’s vessel, in order that righteousness may be established upon a firm and sure foundation. (Psa. 2:9; Rev. 2:26-27) Then the prophecy will be fulfilled: “He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth.” (Psa. 46:9)
OUR GIFTS TO THE KING
At this season we remember God’s great gift of His Son and all the blessings associated with Him. While giving gifts to friends and family, let us remember our consecration to be followers of God’s dear Son. If we have given ourselves to Him, let us see to it that we are holding nothing back. The wise men of the East came seeking the new-born Jesus, the King of the Jews, with presents of myrrh, frankincense and gold. We may gather from this some valuable suggestions regarding what our gifts should be to the great Messiah.
God chooses as messengers of His “good tidings” those who are not only wise, but also reverent and full of faith. His choice of these messengers from the East to be heralds of the great King was not an exception to the rule. They were heathen men in the sense of not being of God’s chosen nation – the only nation with which God had thus far dealt and to whom He had thus far made His gracious promises. They were, nevertheless, good men who were delighted to know of the coming blessing of peace on earth and good will among men, regardless of the nationality of its source.
Many Christians could learn important lessons from these wise Gentiles. No false patriotism or nationalism stood in their way to hinder their appreciation of any manifestation of divine favor to the children of men, and when they found the Savior they were not daunted by the humbleness of His surroundings.
Their worship of Him was manifested in three ways: (1) They expressed their reverence physically by prostrating themselves before Him. (2) They worshiped Him in their hearts and gave expression to their rejoicing and confidence with their tongues. (3) They opened their treasure-box and presented to Him three gifts appropriate to royalty: the bitter myrrh representing submission, the fragrant frankincense representing praise, and the precious gold representing obedience.
If we properly reflect on our own circumstances, we might be shamed by the reverent spirit of these men who had so little light, so little knowledge about the great Messiah and His work. The wise men were guided by the star in the east, but we are favored with a still brighter light to guide us to the Lamb of God. We have seen His star in a still better and truer sense. We have been guided to Him by the prophecies; we have found Him not only as a babe, but as one who would bear our sorrows and carry our grief and make His soul an offering for sin, that we by His stripes might be healed.
How have we manifested our worship of Him? Have we bowed the knee with deep reverence? Have we prostrated ourselves, giving outward evidence through our bodies of full submission to our great King? What kind of gifts should we pour at the feet of the One who loved us and bought us with His precious blood?
Have we offered our myrrh? Have we submitted ourselves for service even to the extent of suffering bitter experiences? Have we shown joy to honor the King to the extent of suffering with Him? Have we offered Him the frankincense of heart adoration, appreciation, and gratitude? Have we laid at His feet our earthly obedience, our substance, our gold? Have we realized that all that we have, all that we are, is too small an offering to be worthy of acceptance by the great King Immanuel?
One brief statement illustrates what was represented by the three gifts of the wise men: “My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.” (Prov. 23:26)
(Based on several writings of Pastor Russell, principally Harvest Gleanings, Volume III, pages 286-289 and Reprint 3702.)
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