Will you please turn to the book of Isaiah? Isaiah chapter 9, just two verses: verses 6 and 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, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and of peace there shall be no end,
Upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom,
To establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness
From henceforth even for ever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
We know that the prophet Isaiah lived approximately 800 B.C. He was almost midway between Moses and Christ.
Of all the Old Testament prophets, none was given such a full revelation concerning Christ. We can say that Isaiah is the Paul of the Old Testament.
Throughout his book, you will find many, many prophecies concerning Christ—especially, of course, the second part of Isaiah, beginning from chapter 40 onward. But even in the first part of Isaiah, you find these great prophecies concerning Christ.
For instance, in Isaiah 7:14, with which we are all familiar:
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
That is a tremendous prophecy concerning Christ. And in Isaiah 9, the verses that we have just read, we find: “Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder.”
Then, in Isaiah 11:1:
And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse,
And a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit.
And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him.
And in Isaiah 28:5:
In that day will the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory,
And for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of His people;
And for a spirit of justice to him that sitteth in judgment,
And for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.
So we find that Isaiah prophesied a great deal about Christ. This morning, we would like to concentrate on the two verses we read in the beginning.
Of course, during these days, people’s minds are all occupied with Christmas. People are preparing for Christmas Day.
I suppose we all know that the Bible is silent on the exact day of the birth of Christ. People celebrate Christmas on December 25, not because the Bible says so, but because it is a tradition that comes from the heathen world.
You know, the winter solstice usually happens on December 22. This is the shortest day of the year, the longest night.
The heathen used to have a kind of superstition. When it came to the winter solstice, they were very much afraid that the sun would go down and never come up again, and that would mean death.
So after December 22, when the sun began to rise and even to stay longer, they were so happy about it that they took December 25 as the birthday of the sun god.
Later on, Christianity simply Christianized, or baptized, that heathen day and made it the birthday of Christ, assuming that Christ is the Sun of righteousness. Now, this is the origin of December 25 as the birthday of Christ.
But, of course, the Bible exhorts us to remember the death of the Lord, but never asks us to celebrate His birth. We are not this morning trying to argue over this matter of date. I think that is a very minor thing.
What is important is the fact of the birth of our Lord Jesus and the tremendous meaning connected with that fact.
Here you find the prophet Isaiah prophesying about 800 years before the birth of Christ: “For unto us a child is born, and unto us a Son is given.” A child is born; a Son is given.
A child is born. That speaks of the humanity of our Lord Jesus. He was born into this world as a child. He was born as a baby, and He had to grow up from babyhood to adolescence until He became a full-grown man. He had to go through all the stages of human life.
He is a man, a perfect man. Because of that, He is able to sympathize with us. He is able to die for us on the cross.
“A child is born unto us, and unto us a Son is given.” That speaks of His divinity. The child who was to be born is the Son who is given. In other words, before the child was born, He was the Son. He is the eternal Son of God.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
This speaks of the divinity of our Lord Jesus. He is God. He is perfect God. Because of the love of God, He is given to the world that we might be saved.
Now, brothers and sisters, this is a tremendous fact. It is now a historical fact. When Isaiah said these words, it was a prophecy; but when we are reading these words this morning, this is an accomplished fact—a matter of history.
Unto us a child is born; unto us a Son is given. There is tremendous love behind this fact.
But I would like to ask one question: Why is the child born? Why is the Son given?
The child is born unto us. The Son is given unto us. That is to say, it is not merely that He is born and that is it, or that He is given and that is it. He is born unto us; He is given unto us.
So the question is: Is He born, so far as we are concerned? Is He given, and have we received Him?
If we have received Him, then He is born in us, and we are born again. This is the salvation that He came to bring into this world.
Oftentimes we think that Christ is born and the Son is given that we may be saved. Thank God for that; that is true.
The personal aspect of the birth of Christ, of the giving of the Son, is our salvation—that we may be saved. But there is another overall aspect that we often overlook, and that is what is given here in the prophecy of Isaiah.
“For unto us a child is born, a Son is given.” For what reason? For what purpose?
And the government shall be upon His shoulder.
In other words, this child who is born, this Son who is given, is to have the government upon His shoulder.
He is not only born and given to be our Saviour—and thank God, He is—but He is born to be King. He is born to have government upon His shoulder. He is born to establish His kingdom upon this earth.
Now, that is the overall aspect of the birth of Christ.
This is the Gospel according to Matthew. When you open the New Testament, you find the Gospel according to Matthew, the first Gospel; and the first Gospel presents Him as born King.
Even when He was judged, He said, “I am born a King.” But this kingdom is not of this world. He comes to establish His kingdom upon this earth. That is what He was born for.
The government—what government? The government of God, the government of the kingdom of God—shall be upon His shoulders.
Now let us go back a little concerning the government of God. God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. After He had finished creating the heavens and earth, He created man. He created man in His own image.
Then He gave dominion over the fowls of the air, the beasts of the field, and the fishes of the sea into the hands of man. In other words, God gave the government of this earth to man, that man might rule this earth for Him, might subdue the earth, and might bring this earth back to the glory of God.
That was how government on earth was first handed to man by His Maker. But unfortunately, man failed.
Because of this, dominion passed out of the hands of man. Man not only lost God’s image, but also lost the dominion that God had first given to man.
Because of this, Satan is today called the prince of this world. In other words, he took from man the government that God first put into the hands of man.
But that does not mean that God simply gave up His government. You find that God began to react.
When God began to react, first He called a man by the name of Abraham—Abraham, the father of faith. From that man, He began to raise up a nation.
This nation of Israel was to be God’s kingdom on this earth. Even when they were in the wilderness after they were delivered out of Egypt, you find in Numbers 23, when the prophet Balaam prophesied concerning these people:
He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob;
Neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel:
The Lord his God is with him,
And the shout of a king is among them.
In other words, God had redeemed a people out of Egypt. God brought them to Himself, and God was their King. The shout of the King was in their midst. God was their King, and God had His government among a people on this earth. This people was the children of Israel.
We find that this was fully fulfilled in the time of David. When David was king, he was king as the representative of God. God was actually King over the nation of Israel.
But unfortunately, the children of Israel were unfaithful to God. Because of that, the nation was taken into Babylonian captivity.
Government again came into the hands of the Gentiles, beginning with Babylon. During that period, you find in the Old Testament that God is never called the God of the heavens and the earth. God is always addressed only as the God of heaven.
In other words, on earth there was no government that could represent His government.
To put it another way, in the book of Daniel you find that the heavens do rule. Even though government was in the hands of the Gentiles, yet the heavens still rule.
But heaven does not rule directly. The heavens rule indirectly. The heavenly government is an invisible thing; it is not seen on this earth. This continued for a long time, about a thousand years, until the time of Christ.
So you find that when Christ was born, when this Son of God was given, something began on earth that was of tremendous consequence.
When Christ was born, God began a new move upon this earth. This new move was that God was going to establish His kingdom upon this earth, and the government would be upon His shoulders.
You open the New Testament, and you find a forerunner of Christ: John the Baptist. When he came out to preach, what was his message?
Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Why should the children of Israel repent? Because the kingdom of heaven was at hand. God was going to establish His kingdom upon this earth.
When Christ first preached the gospel, He did the same thing. He said:
Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Why? Because the King was now in their midst. If they accepted Him as their King, they would be His kingdom. Over them, He would rule, because government is upon His shoulder.
But the Jews at that time were looking for a physical kingdom. They expected a physical kingdom to be established without any spiritual preparation.
You know that when God makes a move, He always brings in the spiritual reality first before there can be a public, physical manifestation. That is the reason why they rejected Jesus as their Messiah.
Why? Because they were looking for a physical kingdom, but they were not prepared to repent. They were not prepared for the spiritual preparation that was necessary for the physical manifestation. They rejected Christ.
But even so, you find that Christ began to gather around Himself a people: first the twelve disciples, and then, on the day of Pentecost, one hundred and twenty. Then you find that it began to increase and increase and increase.
First it began in Jerusalem, and it began to spread to all Judea, to all Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth.
Of the increase of His government and of peace there shall be no end.
It began with the birth of Christ. It began with the coming of the Son.
So, dear brothers and sisters, I think there is one thing that we need always to remember: the coming of Christ is for the establishing of God’s kingdom upon this earth. This is the purpose of His birth.
He is to establish a kingdom—not of this world, but the kingdom of God upon this earth. He is gathering around Himself a people. Over that people, He has absolute rule. They are a people who put themselves under His government.
This is the purpose of His birth.
Brothers and sisters, we have believed in the Lord Jesus. We have accepted Him as our personal Saviour, and thank God for that. But remember, this is just the beginning.
We are saved that we may become His people, that we may become His kingdom, and that He may exercise His government over us. Is this true with us today?
What is it that the Lord is doing today? He is bringing to Himself a people who will give themselves completely to Him, that He may have complete control over them.
His government shall be established among a people, and this is the kingdom of God on earth today: the church.
In its spiritual reality, the church is the kingdom of God on earth today. When He shall get a people, He shall get His church. When that body is fully matured, then you find that He will return again and bring His kingdom publicly manifested upon this earth.
But first there must be the spiritual realization of that kingdom upon this earth. This is where it is so important with us today.
If we are waiting for the return of Christ so as to have His kingdom publicly manifested on earth, we must first allow Him to establish His kingdom among us and within us.
There is a tremendous responsibility with every one of us. How we need to submit ourselves. How we need to yield our lives completely to Christ. Let His government be over us.
If He should obtain that among us, then He will come and manifest His kingdom to this whole world.
Because there is such a work to be done, Isaiah says:
And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace.
These are His titles, and these titles speak of His works. What is He going to do so that He may establish His kingdom upon this earth and have His government over man? Here you find it represented by these different titles.
First, Wonderful. I believe the word Wonderful—“His name is called Wonderful”—is connected with purpose, with God’s purpose.
God’s purpose is wonderful. You find in Romans 11 that Paul, after he has shared with us all the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ, concludes with these words:
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past tracing out!
When you think of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God, when you think of God’s eternal purpose, it is beyond our understanding. It is wonderful—really wonderful.
You will remember in Old Testament times, in Judges 13, when Manoah, the father of Samson, asked the angel who appeared to him, “What is Thy name?” The angel said, “Why askest thou after My name, seeing it is wonderful?”
Our God is wonderful. The word wonderful can also be translated as marvellous. He is just marvellous. He surprises us on every hand. We cannot comprehend the wonder of His purpose. Oh, His purpose is wonderful.
Think of that. If you read the book of Ephesians, you find that the eternal purpose of God is really beyond our comprehension. Why, it is so wonderful that He would obtain for Himself a people, a body, a bride, a habitation, and a name—that He would join us to Himself as one.
Now, that is really wonderful. So when you think of Christ, you think of Him as Wonderful. That is connected with purpose.
Counsellor is always connected with plan. Your counsel and your plan—you lay down a plan, and He is a Counsellor. Who can be His counsellor? None.
But here you find again, in Ephesians, that God has an eternal purpose, and He has His counsel. According to the counsel of His will, He lays down a plan—a wonderful plan.
Then He is called Mighty God. Mighty God is always connected with works. After you have a purpose, you lay down a plan, and then you start to work. You start to work according to the counsel of His will, according to the eternal purpose of God.
He is Mighty God. Mighty speaks of strength. He is not only great in wisdom, the Counsellor; He is also great in might, the Mighty God.
Father of Eternity. Now, in some versions, you may find “Everlasting Father” or “Eternal Father.” But remember this: in the original, it is “Father of Eternity.”
Why? Because this is a title. The Father and the Son are one, but the Father is the Father and the Son is the Son.
Sometimes people use this verse and say that because Christ is called Everlasting Father, therefore the Son is the Father and the Father is the Son. Now remember this: the Father and the Son are one, but the Father is the Father and the Son is the Son.
So here you find that He is called Father of Eternity. Now, what does that mean?
We say that Washington is the father of the United States of America. He is the founder of this country. We may say that someone is the father of something. I do not know whether it is Edison, but Edison is called the father of electricity.
Now, suppose we use it this way. It simply means that it begins with him, he represents it, and he is the founder of it.
Our Lord Jesus is the Father of Eternity. Why? Because He is eternal life, and He gives eternal life to all those who believe in Him. Therefore, He is called the Father of Eternity.
That is what He has done and is doing. So Father of Eternity is connected with grace. The grace of God in Christ Jesus is eternal life, that we may have eternal life by believing in Him.
Finally, Prince of Peace. This speaks of the ultimate realization. He is our peace. He makes peace for us with God and with one another.
One day, His peace shall rule over this whole world. The world today does not have peace. How can they have peace if they reject the Prince of Peace?
Our Lord Jesus is the only One who is able to bring peace into this world—not merely a cry of “Peace, peace,” but real peace. Unless there is peace with God and with one another, there can be no peace in this world.
So here, in these different titles and names, we are told of the work that He will do in order to bring His kingdom upon this earth.
In verse 7:
Of the increase of His government and of peace there shall be no end.
The increase of His government shall know no end. It will increase and increase. It begins with very little. As we said before, He began with just twelve disciples, but then you find a continuous increase.
More and more people will be constrained by His love to put themselves under His government. His government shall grow and grow and grow, and in the measure of the increase of His government shall be the measure of the increase of peace.
Upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom,
To establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness
From henceforth even for ever.
David is a type of the One who is greater than David. David’s kingdom is only a type of the kingdom that Christ will establish among men.
Daniel, in chapter 2, shows us the prophetic-historical vision of the kingdom of God.
You remember in Daniel that Nebuchadnezzar saw an image with a gold head, silver breast, brass belly, iron legs, and feet partly iron and partly clay.
In that vision, Nebuchadnezzar saw a stone not cut out with the hands of man. This stone would strike the feet of that great image, and the whole image would be scattered and disappear. The stone would grow and increase and fill the earth.
Now, that speaks of the prophetic-historical vision of the kingdom of God. The stone speaks of Christ and how Christ will destroy all the kingdoms of this earth.
The kingdom of this earth shall become the kingdom of God and of His Christ, and He shall fill this earth. That is the historical fulfillment, and we know that this will happen very soon.
But here in Isaiah, he speaks of the spiritual reality of that kingdom. The spiritual reality of the kingdom happens throughout the ages. You find that the increase of His government and of His peace shall know no end. In other words, it is increasing all the time.
Brothers and sisters, you remember our Lord Jesus said:
I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Sometimes we may not see much outwardly, but we do thank God that He is working toward His purpose. We do thank God that His government is increasing.
Because His government is increasing, one day His kingdom shall publicly be manifested upon this earth. From henceforth and forever, it never ends. It is going on all the time.
If we have faith, if we have the eyes of faith, we shall see that His government is increasing. His kingdom is being established.
He will establish His kingdom and uphold it with justice and with righteousness. Now, what is justice? What is judgment? How does He judge?
He will judge everything. He will measure everything according to Himself. He is the measuring rod; He is the rod of judgment.
Brothers and sisters, in order to bring us into His kingdom, in order to establish His government over us, how He has to judge us. He has to measure us by Himself.
When He measures us by Himself and we do not measure up, then He has to discipline us. He has to deal with us. We know that all His dealings are to bring us to His measure, that we may grow into the fullness of the measure of Christ.
With judgment and with righteousness. What is that righteousness? The righteousness spoken of here is what we find in Matthew.
But seek ye first His kingdom, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
What is the kingdom of God and His righteousness?
For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.
The Lord said, “Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time,” but then He said, “I say unto you.” Now, that is the righteousness of the kingdom.
Christ is building Himself in us. He is reproducing Himself in us. As we allow Him to reproduce Himself in us, His righteousness shall become our righteousness. This is the righteousness spoken of here.
You can find it in Matthew 5 through Matthew 7. This is the righteousness of the kingdom: love your enemy, give to those who are hungry, pray for those who persecute you, and so on and so forth.
These are the righteousnesses of the kingdom. He is to establish and uphold His government, His kingdom, with judgment and with righteousness, from henceforth even forever.
So, dear brothers and sisters, we do thank the Lord. About two thousand years ago, a child was born and a Son was given.
What tremendous results come from that birth, from that baby. Through these two thousand years, you find the increase of His government, and it is going on.
It will continue until He shall come back again and manifest His kingdom and His government publicly on this earth.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
The zeal of God, coupled with the power of God, will perform this. May we have faith in this. May we thank God that the zeal of God will perform this.
This is coming, and it shall be fully realized.
So I think that in these days, as people’s minds are occupied with Christmas, it behoves us to go back to the Word of God and to consider seriously together what is the meaning of the birth of that child and the giving of that Son.
May we yield ourselves more completely to Him, that His government may truly be over us and that we may be His kingdom.
Then we can pray:
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.
Shall we pray?
Our Heavenly Father, how we praise and thank Thee that Thou hast given us Thy Son, that a child was born, and the government shall be upon His shoulder.
We do praise and thank Thee that for these two thousand years Thou hast been establishing Thy kingdom over a people upon this earth.
Our prayer is that we may fully yield ourselves to Thee. Let Thy government be absolute over us, that one day, in the fullness of time, Thy kingdom may be publicly manifested upon this earth.
Lord, for centuries the cry of Thy church has been, “Thy kingdom come.” We do join together with Thy people all over this world and pray, “Thy kingdom come.”
Lord, let Thy kingdom be a reality in each one of us first. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.