Everlasting Father 

Isaiah 9:6

Summary: What does the title "Everlasting Father" tell us about Jesus? 

Note: This Word from the Lord may raise as many questions as it gives answers, but though sometimes my mind is blown and waiting for further revelation, my spirit and faith are lifted and boosted by hearing the Word of God!

1 Corinthians 2:14: "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
 

The names of Christ found in the Old Testament book of Isaiah:

Isaiah 9:6

⁶ 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.

“The government shall be upon his shoulder.” The shoulder speaks of strength. The government of this world will be placed on His strong shoulders at His second coming; it was not at His first coming.

Notice the names that are given to our Lord:

“Wonderful”—this is not an adjective; this is His name. In Judges 13:18 we see the pre-incarnate Christ. 

(The term "pre-incarnate" refers to the existence of Jesus Christ before His incarnation, which means before He took on human form and was born as a baby in Bethlehem. In Christian theology, it emphasizes that Jesus, as the Son of God, existed eternally with God the Father and the Holy Spirit before becoming human.

appearing to Samson’s mother and father and them asking the angel’s name: “And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is “secret”?”  “Secret” in this verse is the same word as is translated “Wonderful.” His name is “Wonderful.”

“Counsellor”—Jesus never requested man's counsel or advice.

God has no counselor. The Lord Jesus Christ never called His disciples together and said, “Hey, Guys, what do you think I ought to do?” 

No. The Lord called them together and said, “This is what I am going to do because this is My Father’s will.” 

“For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?” (Rom. 11:34).

And Christ has been made unto us wisdom (see 1 Cor. 1:30).

Most of us are not very smart. We must go to Him for help.

James 1:5

⁵ If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

“The mighty God”—The Hebrew word for this name is El Gibbor. He is the one to whom “all power is given.” He is the omnipotent God. That little baby lying helpless in Mary’s arms held the universe together. He said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” He is the Mighty God!

“The everlasting Father”—Avi-ad, Father of eternity. This is not so much referring to “The Father” as we know it as being a person in the Godhead.” This simply means that He is the Creator of all things, even time, the ages, and the big-picture reason for everything. He’s the creator of the perpetual world without end. 

As John said, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (Joh. 1:3). 

In Colossians 1:16, Paul said, “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.” 

“The Prince of Peace”— There will be no peace on this earth until He is reigning. He is going to occupy the throne of David. This is a literal throne that He will occupy at His second coming. 

Isaiah was a prophet in Judea 700 years before the birth of Christ. And if you read the book of Isaiah, you will find that God revealed to him the names of the coming Messiah and many other things about Him. 

In Isaiah chapter 53, there is a famous text that talks about Christ's death on the cross, the death that paid for our sins:

Isaiah 53:5-7

⁵ 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.

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

This is what the Christian faith calls "substitutionary atonement." 

Atonement refers to the reconciliation between God and humanity, achieved through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. It involves the idea of making amends for sin or wrongdoing, restoring the broken relationship between humans and God.

Atonement = At one ment.

He was our substitute. He died in our place. His death paid the price for our sins, all our evil thoughts, words, and actions. 

God punished Jesus instead of us. Because of that, we can have forgiveness of sins and eternal life through faith in Christ. That’s the promise and hope of “the gospel.”

By the names listed in Isaiah 9:6, the prophet Isaiah makes it clear that the Messiah would not be just an ordinary man. 

He is not just a political or military leader; He is not just a king of a kingdom on earth (yet) or a general to lead his people in conquering the world's countries (yet). 

And He is far more than a common teacher or prophet.

Isaiah is saying that the Messiah would be unique, something never seen in the history of the world. He would be God in the flesh!; God would become man. God, with all his power, might, wisdom, and glory, is somehow fully revealed in the person of a male human being.

The gospel of Matthew in the New Testament makes this same point in its version of the Christmas story:

Matthew 1:23

²³ Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

That’s what Jesus was. "God with us." Not God way out there, beyond the limits of the universe, but God right here, among us. 

God walking among us as a flesh-and-blood person. 

Let’s look at that verse again in Isaiah 9:6.

Isaiah 9:6

⁶ 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.

I want to focus on the name “Everlasting Father.” That name has always puzzled me. How could Jesus be called “Everlasting Father” when He is the Son of the Father God?

Again, this is not so much referring to “The Father” as we know as being a person in the Godhead.” This simply means that He is the Creator of all things; He’s the creator of the perpetual world without end. He is “the Father of creation. Jesus is “Everlasting “Father” in the sense that as Jesus referred to Satan as the “Father” or “originator” of lies. Jesus is the originator of all things. To quote John, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. 

By referring to the Messiah as "Everlasting Father," Isaiah introduces the fact that He would be deity, or God. Remember that the people who first received this prophecy, the Jews, had no concept of a Trinity. They didn’t conceive of God as both One and Three at the same time: one divine essence in three co-equal persons; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus hadn’t come and the Holy Spirit had not been introduced. They only knew God as Father. So, when Isaiah identified the coming Messiah as the "Everlasting Father," He was communicating in the only way they in that day could possibly have understood that the Messiah would be God in the flesh. God would be their Savior. God would be their Deliverer. God would be their King. 

When Jesus came, when he grew up to be a man and began to teach, he acknowledged that this was, in fact, who he was. 

At least once, when he was speaking with the Pharisees, he said:

"I and the Father are one."                    -- John 10:30

This statement almost got him stoned to death for blasphemy. 

And then another time, when Jesus was speaking with his disciples, we have this conversation:

John 14:6-10

⁶ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

⁷ If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

⁸ Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

⁹ Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?

¹⁰ Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? 

Anyone who has seen Jesus has seen the Father because Jesus fully reveals God. And the only one who can fully reveal God is God. As the Book of Hebrews puts it:

Hebrews 1:3

³ Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:

Hebrews 1:8

⁸ But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

The New Living Translation says, "Everything about him represents God exactly." In other words, there is nothing that is true about God that is not also true about Jesus. Isaiah calls the Messiah "Mighty God" and "Everlasting Father". 

Matthew tells us that the baby born in the manger was "Immanuel, God with us." Jesus identifies himself with God the Father. And God himself, here in Hebrews, calls his Son "God". We could go on quoting references, but the bottom line is this. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is indisputably God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. He is God.

Well, so what? Why is it important to understand that Jesus is not just a man but deity, that He’s God? Thinking about this is mind-boggling. Why make the effort to try to understand this? How does understanding the deity of Christ help?

Well, first, it affirms that Jesus truly is the one and only way to God. The gap between the Creator and his created creatures is so great; the gap between the infinite and the finite is so great that …

Only one who is both fully God and fully man can bring the two together!

Buddha can’t do that. Confucius can’t do that. Nor can philosophy, mysticism, New Age spirituality, or all the gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon. 

Mohammed didn’t and can't bring God and man together because he was only a man and never claimed to be anything else. A prophet, yes, according to the Muslim religion. But still just a man. 

Only Jesus Christ, who in himself combines divinity and humanity, can bridge that gap. 

John 14:6

⁶ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Acts 4:12

¹² Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

No other person, religion, philosophy, or way of living can bring us to God and save us from suffering the penalty of our sins. Only Jesus can do that.

And so, as we’re searching for answers to life’s problems, seeking wisdom for living, and looking for ways to be reconciled with the one who made us, there’s only one place to go. And that’s to Jesus Christ.

Second, Jesus’ deity matters because it means that all his promises will be fulfilled.

Whatever he said would happen will happen. He has the power to do what he said he would do. He won’t change his mind or go back on His Word.

He won’t discover new information and suddenly change His plans. He is God, and so His purposes are unchanging. 

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever." (Hebrews 13:8) 

He can be trusted. We can rely on Him and entrust our lives to Him in a way that we can’t with any other person.

Because we know that nothing will happen that will make Him either unable or unwilling to take care of us, now or in the future.

Let’s talk again about the other part of the name, "Everlasting or Eternal Father." Christ is eternal, everlasting, without beginning or end of days. 

John 1:1-2

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

² The same was in the beginning with God.

John 8:58

⁵⁸ Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

Nothing in this world lasts forever. 

Businesses and corporations don’t last. Governments and kingdoms don’t last. Even people don’t last. No matter how much your parents love you or how much your husband or wife cares for you, if you live long enough, there will come a day when they will leave. They will abandon you. If not by choice, then by their death. 

But Jesus is different. As God promises in Hebrews 13:5, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." 

Jesus is everlasting; His eternality matters. That’s why we care that Jesus will never change and never cease to exist. 

It means that all the good things He is to us now, He will always be to us.

He will always be our provider, protector, and savior. He will always be our refuge and our strength.

His love for us will never cease in this world or the next.

In him, we will have eternal joy, hope, glory, and pleasure.

In Christ, we will be eternally blessed and secure. Jesus will always keep his promises to us, even when others can’t or won’t. 

Because He is Eternal

Because He is everlasting and He does not change...

Our joy in Him will be eternal.

Isaiah 35:10

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Psalm 16:11

¹¹ Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Our shared glory will be eternal. 

When Christ returns, we will be transformed into something more wonderful than we can imagine, and our new, glorious life will never end.

2 Corinthians 4:17

¹⁷ For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

God’s love and goodness toward us are eternal. They will never fail.

Jeremiah 31:3

³ The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

Jeremiah 32:40

⁴⁰ And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.

Deuteronomy 33:27

²⁷ The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.

Our salvation will be eternal.

God’s punishment, anger, and wrath were completely exhausted in the death and suffering of Christ on the cross so that for those who are in Christ, there will never be any judgment or condemnation. God’s attitude toward us will never be anything but complete love and goodness. Listen to these promises:

Hebrews 5:9

⁹ And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Hebrews 7:25

²⁵ Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

John 10:28

²⁸ And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Again, what difference does all this make in trying to understand how Jesus is named Everlasting Father?

It gives us perspective. 

2 Corinthians 4:18

¹⁸ While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

No matter what we may be going through, whatever suffering or disappointment, pain, sorrow, or confusion, no matter how other people may treat us, whether we’ve seen our highest dreams come true or our greatest hopes in this world dashed to pieces— 

No matter what this life brings us, we can have peace and contentment. Because we know that everything in this world is temporary, it will soon pass away.

But our life in Christ is forever. He is eternal; he will never die, and neither will we. And his love for us—his goodness, compassion, and kindness—will never end. We are his people, and He is our savior, now and forever. 

During the Christmas season, we focus on the miracle of Christ’s birth. The shepherds, the angels, the wise men. The mother, Mary, giving birth in a stable. The beauty and innocence of that baby in the manger.

But we also need to remember why it was that Christ came, why he had to come. It was because mankind needed a savior.

We didn't just need a good moral example. Not just a wise teacher. Not even a just religious leader.

We needed a Savior because our sins had separated us from God, our Creator.

And the question I want to leave you with is, "Have you received Christ as your Savior?" Have you turned your life over to him? Are you trusting him even now, every day, for guidance, strength, and wisdom?

If not, won’t you do that today?

What better time than at Christmas to meet the one the season is about?