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A CHILD BORN AND A SON GIVEN
The Bible is precisely correct. It always
is. For instance consider this prophecy,
“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, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace,”
(Isaiah 9:6). The Son of God was already in existence at creation. It is
said of Jesus, “All things were made by
him; and without him was not any thing made that was made,”
(John 1:3). Other Scriptures indicate that the
Father and the Holy Spirit were also involved in creation. Jesus was and is
the Son of God – just as much God as is the Spirit and the Father. Being
co-equal and co-eternal with the Spirit and the Father, as the Son of God,
He could not be born. As Isaiah wrote, “a son is given.” Whose son? The Son
of God! The Bible is right!
Isaiah also said, “unto us a child is
born.” The Son of God became the Son of man. God formed Him in the womb of
the virgin Mary, thus He escaped the curse that is upon all the descendants
of Adam. He was not the seed of a man, but was called the “seed” of the
woman when God cursed the serpent in Eden (see Genesis 3:15). The “child”
had a beginning. The Son did not!
In Christ's coming as a man God the Son
took upon Himself not
just a sinless body in such a way that
Jesus was a sort of “zombie.” Rather God the Son took unto Himself a
complete human person. This is the miracle of God in the flesh. Paul wrote,
“And without controversy great is the
mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh...”
(1 Timothy 3:16). This revealed mystery is beyond human understanding. We
can only take it
by faith. The incarnation is unique: one
of a kind. There never was before or since anything like it!
After specifying that while a child would
be born and at the same time the Son of God would be given, Isaiah goes on
to speak of His greatness. Eventually He shall openly and directly rule all
creation for “the government shall be on his shoulder.” His names are these:
“Wonderful,
Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting
Father, The Prince of Peace.” Ah! He is a man, yet He is “The mighty God,”
“The everlasting Father,” “The Prince of Peace.” These names reveal who He
is!
“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted
him [Jesus],
and given him a name which is above every name: 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,”
(Philippians 2:8-10). Some people confess His deity now: the confession of
all others will come, but will come too late.
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