What’s In a Name?

For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. ~ Isaiah 9:6

What’s your name? The question is asked over and over as we meet people or when we are filling out forms. Our name identifies us. It allows others to address us. It may even carry some influence if you are of a certain family or have accomplished notoriety.

The prophets of old could not have known what all their words would mean as they wrote. Earlier this week we read Isaiah 7 where the prophecy said the Child’s name would be Immanuel, which means God with us.

Today’s verse tells us that the same child’s name would be Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. How could this child have so many names?

Names in the times of the Bible were not just for identification purposes, but their names were describers of who they were. They described their character or the very essence of them. With that in mind, go back with me and look at what the writer says about who Jesus really is.

God with us. Wow, Jesus was just that—God in human flesh. Let that sink in. Until the birth of Jesus, the nearest that man had been to God was at the temple in the Holy of Holies. Jesus was the presence of God made flesh and walking among men. That is mind-blowing. It is also the reason so many religious leaders rejected Jesus. They could not fathom how this man of flesh could be God in human form.

Wonderful Counselor is another name used to describe God’s Son who was indeed Mary’s baby boy. I can only imagine what it must have been like to be Jesus’ friend. He not only listened, but He also gave wisdom beyond any understanding. If you have ever tried to counsel people with deep problems, you understand the depth of the value of having someone Who understood the very makeup of the people He encountered because He helped to form them.

Mighty God describes Jesus’ vast power and yet He chose not to flaunt it or even make it known. Think about how Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness. He knew that all authority in heaven and on earth belonged to Jesus, yet Jesus chose to live within the form of a human body for a season. It is important we remember that His human form was only for a season, but His vast power to rise from the dead reminds us that nothing limited Jesus then, nor does it limit Him now.

Eternal Father once again reinforces that our timeless God chose the form of His Son so that we, too, could have life everlasting through what Jesus would do on the Cross. Stop again and just take this all in. The prophet Isaiah could not have known any of this on His own. God was speaking to him and writing these things not just for a rebellious people who were turning away from God, but for us as well. We all need forgiveness of sin and only this Son who was the Eternal Father could make that happen.

Prince of Peace? How could a people headed into captivity like Israel was even dream of a time when peace would rule and reign again? It was only because of Jesus! This Prince would defeat the powers of evil and darkness, and one day, once and for all, He will bring total peace! Glory! Oh that we would be ready for what He will do. – PH

The above devotional is an excerpt from Les and Page’s book, A Missional Christmas.