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HENRY T. MAHAN TAPE MINISTRY

 

 

Christ the Almighty God

Sunday, November 4th, 1990

Isaiah 9:6-7

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. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

 

I have before me today, my favorite sermon topic.  I’m going to speak to you on the subject:  “Jesus Christ, the Almighty God.”  If you would like to follow along in your Bible, my text will be taken from the 9th Chapter of the Book of Isaiah, verses 6 and 7.

 

I said that this is my favorite subject and yet, I will have to say that it is the most difficult of all subjects.  Who can really tell about the unsearchable, incomprehensible riches of the glorious person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ?  How complex and mysterious and glorious is our God.  So, when a man speaks on the subject, Jesus Christ the Mighty God, it is like what Paul said, “Who is sufficient for these things?”

 

Again, the apostle wrote in First Timothy 3:16, “Without controversy great is the mystery of Godliness; God was manifest in the flesh, seen of the angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world and received up into glory.”

 

Job wrote in Chapter 11 of Job, “Can you by searching find out God; can you find out the Almighty to perfection?  Why, it is higher than heaven.  What can you know; it is deeper than hell; what can you tell?” 

 

In Romans 11:33, Paul wrote these words; “O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God.  How unsearchable, (how incomprehensible) are His judgments and His ways past finding out!”

 

Let’s look at the subject and may the Holy Spirit be our teacher.  In Isaiah Chapter 9:6, it says; “For unto us a child is born; unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be on His shoulders and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace.”

 

In the same breath that the prophet calls Jesus Christ a child, he calls Him the Counselor.  In the same breath that he calls Him a child.  “Unto us a child is born and His name shall be Counselor.”  In the same breath that He calls Him the Son, He calls Him the Everlasting Father.  This is unsearchable! 

 

In the Chapter before, the prophet Isaiah said, “And His garments are rolled in blood.”  This sounds like a warrior in the midst of a battle.  This sounds like He’s just come back from the conflict and His garments look like they have been rolled in blood.  Yet, in the same breath, He calls Him the “Prince of Peace.”

 

In Isaiah 53, He calls Him a “Man of sorrow, acquainted with grief.  We hid as it were our faces from Him.”  Here, He calls Him the “Mighty God.”  That is what I am talking about.  When we speak on the subject, “Jesus Christ the Mighty God,” we are speaking about the person and work of this great Redeemer.  This work is so complex and so mysterious that if the Spirit of God is not our teacher, we will not understand.  Then, He says, “He’s despised and he is rejected.”  Yet, He says, “He’s Wonderful and the very government (of the universe) is upon His shoulders.”

 

Now, there is no contradiction here, at all.  This is all true.  The one that is the Son is the Father.  The one, who is the child, is the Counselor.  The one, whose garments are rolled in blood, is indeed, the Prince of Peace.  “He is despised and rejected of men.”  He is the one who was in the world, by whom the world was made, and the world received Him not.  Yet, He has the government on His shoulders.  He is the King of the universe.  There is no contradiction.  This is all true, yet it is a mystery. 

 

My friends, it is not learned by research.  This is not learned by human wisdom and reason; it is only learned by revelation.  Our Lord said to the disciples one day; “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?”  The apostles replied, “Some say that you are John the Baptist, some say that you are Elijah, some say that you are one of the Prophets.”  He said, “Whom do you say that I am?  Whom do you say that I the Son of man am?”  Peter replied, “You are the Christ; Thou art the Messiah the Son of the living God.” 

 

Do you know what the Master said to him?  He said, “Flesh and blood didn’t reveal that to you.”  You didn’t learn that by research or by reason but “My Father which is in heaven, He revealed that to you.”  Again, He said in John 6, “No man can come unto the Father but by Me and no man can come to Me except my Father which sent Me draw him.  They shall all be taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

 

Paul said in First Corinthian 2:9 and 10; “Eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, neither hath it entered the heart of man the things that God has prepared for them that love Him.  But, He hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God.”  He reveals them to us.

 

My subject is mysterious.  My subject is very complex and my subject, without the aid of the Spirit of God is not understandable at all.  Yet, as the scripture is interpreted in the light of the scripture, there is no seeing Jesus Christ except in His own light.  For Jesus Christ Himself is the teacher and He is the lesson.  Jesus Christ is the one to whom we look and He’s the light by which we see.  Jesus Christ is the Priest, the altar and the sacrifice, but He is the one to whom the sacrifice is offered.

 

What did the text say?  “Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given and the government shall be on His shoulders.”  His name is that great and mighty name.  His name is that name upon which we call, that name by which we are saved.  “There is none other name unto heaven given among men, whereby you must be saved.”  That name, is above every name and is exalted above all exaltation.  That name is the name, which every knee shall bow in heaven, earth and under the earth.  “Every tongue shall confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father.  That name shall be called “Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace.”

 

Let’s take this text and just examine it statement by statement.  Go ahead and get your Bible and open it to Isaiah 9:6.  The scripture says, first of all,  “Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given.”  You might say that it is repetitious.  There is no repetition here at all.  “Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given.”  There is no repetition at all.

 

The careful student of the Word of God has already discovered that the Holy Spirit does not waste words at all.  He says, first of all, “Unto us a child is born.”  There is a man-child born from the womb of Mary on that evening.  This was a child that had never inhabited this world before.  This was a new body and a new child; a baby was born.  That child is a man-child.  This child is bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh.  That child has a real human nature.  That’s right!

 

This is what the Lord Jesus says in His Word, “A body thou hast prepared Me.”  When the Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth and lived on this earth, He lived in a human body.  “He who thought it not robbery to be equal with God; yet made Himself of no reputation.  He took upon Himself the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of sinful flesh.  The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”  So, a child is born.  This child had never lived here before.  This is a new baby.

 

All right, in the next line it says; “A Son is given.”  As the Son of God, He is not born; He is given.  You see; “Jesus Christ is made of the seed of David according to the flesh.  He’s declared to be the Son of God.”  This person who came into the world is God and man.  He’s God in human flesh and that is what the scripture is saying.  “The Word was made flesh and actually dwelt among us.”  God became a man.  “He who made the world was in the world.”  He who made woman was made of a woman.  Do you see what that is saying?

 

“Unto us, (for us, given by God to us), a child is born.  He is not ashamed to call us brethren.  He was numbered with the transgressors.”  He took our flesh, bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh.  Jesus of Nazareth was a real flesh and blood human being.  “He was tempted, tried and in all points as we are, yet without sin.”  He was different from us.  “A Son is given.”  Jesus Christ came into the world and He wasn’t born into the world; He came into the world.  “A child is born, a Son is given.”  He is God in human flesh.

 

Is this true?  I have three questions:  Is this true what I am preaching?  If it is true, what does it mean to me?  If it is not true, what does it mean to me?  Is it true?  Well, the angels declared it to be true.  The angels stood on that Judean hillside that night and said to the shepherds; “We bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.  Unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, who is none other than Christ the Lord.”

 

The Father declared it to be true.  When the Lord Jesus was baptized of John in the river Jordan, the voice from heaven came forth saying, “This is My beloved Son; this is My Son, in whom I am well pleased.”  And again, the Father spake from heaven and said, “This is My Son; hear ye Him.” 

 

Even the demons declared it to be true.  They met Christ one day and they said, “We know who You are.”  The Pharisees may not know who you are and the Sadducees may not know who you are and the world may not know who you are.  We know who you are, “You are the Holy One of Israel, the Holy One of God.  Have you come to torment us before our time?”  The apostles and prophets declared it to be true.  The scripture says, “God was in the world,” in the flesh.

 

All right, if this is true, what does it mean to me?  Well, it means this; if it’s true, I have a Mediator with God.  That’s right; I have a Mediator and a Representative, a man.  This means that I have God to satisfy and man to suffer.  I’m talking about the God-man, a Representative.  If this is true, I have a ransom.  I have someone to pay my debt.  I hear the good news; “Deliver him from going down into the pit; I found a ransom.”

 

If it is true, I have righteousness.  Paul said, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.”  The righteousness of God is by the faith of Christ Jesus.  If this is true, I have a resurrection hope.  If it is true that He arose from the grave, and a man arose, then why can’t another man arise?  If a man is ascended into heaven, why can’t another man ascend?  If a man is at the right hand of God, why can there not be another man like myself or like you, if it is true.  We have a Representative.  We have a ransom.  We have a righteousness.  We have a resurrection hope. 

 

If this is not true and there is no Messiah, no Christ, and no Redeemer, then Jesus Christ is an imposter and He is not who He said He is.  What does that mean?  I stand alone before God.  I have no Mediator.  A mere man cannot be my Mediator or neither can a woman serve in that capacity.  I have no ransom and the debt is too great to pay.  I have no holiness or righteousness.  There is no wedding garment.  I will hear Him say, “Depart from Me; I never knew you.”  I have no resurrection hope.

 

I can say, with Isaac Watts of old:

 

Joy to the world

The Lord is come

Let earth receive her King

Joy to the earth

Joy to the earth

The Saviour reigns.

 

There is good news unto us, “A child is born, unto us a Son is given.  A body hast Thou prepared Me. In the body I come O Lord to do Thy will.  By the which will we are sanctified by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”  That is good news isn’t it? 

 

 Yet, I’m not through; notice the second statement:  “The government shall be on His shoulder.”  Our Lord and Saviour is no pitiful Reformer.  I get a little bit vexed when I hear preachers trying to get folks feeling sorry for Jesus.  He doesn’t need our sympathy.  We need His!  He doesn’t need our pity; He is enthroned and exalted.  He accomplished what He came to do. 

 

“He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”  He said to the women who wept and lamented as they were following Him as He bore His cross to Calvary’s mountain; He said, “Don’t weep for Me, weep for yourselves and for your children.”  He reigns and He is the King.  He rules over the Messianic Kingdom.  The Father from all eternity hath given all things into the hands of the Son.  Isn’t that what the Word says?  “For by Him, through Him and to Him, were all things created.  He is before all things and by Him are all things held together.”  He is the King of the Messianic Kingdom. 

 

He has all authority in heaven and in earth.  That is what He said before He ascended to the Father’s right hand.  He said to His disciples, “You go preach the gospel to every creature, because all power is given unto Me in heaven and earth.”  He has all power over all flesh.

 

I hear preachers say, “Make Jesus your Lord.”  Let me tell you something friend, “He is your Lord.”  God made Him your Lord.  God turned you over to Christ a long time ago.  It does not matter who you are.  He prayed in John 17; “Thou hast given him (Jesus Christ) power (authority) over all flesh.”

 

He has all power over the church.  He is Head of the church.  He has all preeminence and eternal glory.  “God has given Him a name which is above every name.”  The hymn writer said: “Jesus shall reign wherever the Son doth its successive journeys run.” Oh my, “The government is on His shoulders.”

 

Notice the next statement: I wish we could learn something about that name, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  “His name shall be called Wonderful.”  We carelessly call a lot of things wonderful.  I use it and you use it.  We say, “This is wonderful, that is wonderful and something else is wonderful.”  The Word says, “He is wonderful; His name is Wonderful.”

 

He is wonderful in His eternality.  He is and was and ever shall be.  He said to the Father, “Glorify Me with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.”  He’s wonderful in His person.  “He thought it not robbery to be equal with God.  He made Himself of no reputation.  He took upon Himself the form of a servant.”  He did this deliberately, and willingly.  He took this upon Himself because of His love for His people.

 

He’s wonderful in His love.  “Having loved His own, He loved them to the end, even the death of the cross.  Greater love hath no man than this.”  He’s wonderful in His life.  He knew no sin.  “Which one of you convinceth Me of sin?”  Even Pilot, the governor said, “I find no fault in this man.” He’s wonderful in His life and He is wonderful in His death.

 

 “He died the just for the unjust.”  He said, “No man takes My life from Me.  I have the power to lay it down and I have the power to take it up again.”  No man ever chose His own mother and chose the day on which he would be born.  No man ever chose the tribe and people to which he would be born and the days he would live on the earth.  He even chose his own betrayer.  He even chose his own jury.  He also chose His own day of death, hour of death and way of death and then raised Himself from the tomb.

 

That’s our Lord; He is wonderful in His resurrection.  The angels said, “Why do you seek the living among the dead; He’s not here?”  He is not here at all!  Christ is the life.  He is risen.  He is wonderful in His power.  “He is able to save to the uttermost, them who come to God by Him.  He is able to keep them from falling.  He is able to present them faultless before the presence of God Himself, holy, unblameable, unreprovable with exceeding joy.  He is able to raise our vile bodies and make them like His own.”  Have you got a Saviour like that?

 

Your church can’t do that.  Mary can’t do that.  Your pastor can’t do that.  The priest and the pope himself cannot do that.  Only Christ can do that.  That is the reason His name is called “Wonderful.”  He is wonderful!

 

Watch this; “His name shall be called Counselor.”  Would you know God?  You have to go to the “Counselor.” Christ reveals Him.  “No man has seen the Father at anytime, save the Son and He to whom the Son will reveal Him.”  The Son declares the Father, He says; “I’ve manifest Thy Name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world.  Thine they were and Thou gavest them Me.  I have given them Thy Word and they have kept Thy Word.” 

 

Would you look into God’s eternal purpose?  You have to know the Counselor.  He said, “I have manifested Thy purpose.”  Christ is God’s wisdom.  Would you come to God?  You have to come by the Counselor.  “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No man cometh to the Father but by Me.”

 

Every religious person that I know today wants to be the counselor.  There is only one Counselor and that is Jesus Christ.  I hear them say, “Call our church, we have counselors standing by.”  I’m afraid of these human counselors.  They will mess me up like they are messed up.  I don’t need a human counselor.  The Word says, “He is the Counselor.”  Can you read that?  The scripture says, “A child is born unto us, a Son is given; the government is on His shoulders.” 

 

I have to get to Him who runs things.  I have to get to Him because He is the fountain of life, if I am to have life.  I have to come to Him for the fountain of grace, if I am to have grace.  I have to come to Him for the source of mercy if I am to have mercy.  I can’t waste my time on calling you on the phone and asking you your opinion.  Don’t come to me; come to Christ! 

 

The Lord said, “Come to Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden; I will give you rest.”  He’s the only one who has rest.  He said, “Look unto Me and be ye saved; I am God.”  Don’t look to anybody else.  He’s the “Counselor.”  He’s the one who has the wisdom of God.  He’s the only one who can help you.

 

He’s the “Mighty God.”  Who is Jesus Christ, the Mighty God?  The Almighty is the Lord Jesus Christ.  Every attribute of God is revealed in Him.  Only God is good.  We find no fault in Him.  He knew no sin and only God can give life.  He stood before the grave of Lazarus and said, “Come forth.”  Lazarus lived.

 

 Only God can forgive sin.  How many times did He say, “Thy sins be forgive thee?”  Only God knows which fish has the coin in his mouth.  Only God can say to the winds and to the waves and storms, “Be still.”  Only God knows men’s hearts and thoughts.  Only God knows the future and can say, “Destroy this temple and in three days, I’ll raise it up.”  Thomas was right when he fell at His feet and said, “My Lord and My God.” 

 

Notice what it says next:  “He’s the Everlasting Father.”  This Son is the Everlasting Father because God is one, though He is three, (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).  Yet, our God is one God.  What name did God give to Moses at the burning bush?  Moses asked, “Now, when I go down into Egypt to lead the people out and they say, who sent you, or what is His name, what do I say?”   God replied, “I AM that I AM.  I AM hath sent me unto you.”

 

How did the Lord identify Himself when He was on this earth?  He said, “Before Abraham was, I am.”  He said again, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”  He also said, “If you believe not that I am, you will die in your sins.”  When they came to arrest Him in the garden, He said, “Whom seek ye?”  They said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”  He said, “I am and they fell backward on the ground.”  He is the “Mighty God!”

 

In closing, “He is the Prince of Peace.”  Would you have peace?  Christ is the Prince of Peace and the giver of peace.  He said, “My peace, I give unto you.”  First of all, He gives us peace with God.  “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God.”  God is reconciled through our Lord Jesus Christ.  God is not at war with us anymore.  The enmity has been put away.  “He was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.  Therefore being reconciled, and being justified, we have peace with God.”  Think of it.  “There is therefore, now, (no judgment) no condemnation to them who are in Christ.”  There is peace with God.

 

There is the peace of heart.  He said, “My peace I give unto you; let not your heart be troubled.”  Then, He is our everlasting peace.  “He that believeth on the Son shall never be put to shame.”