Suffragan Bishop Larry J. Hunt

HIS NAME IS WONDERFUL

Isaiah 9:6, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulders: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
This one single verse is prophetic of the character and nature of Jesus Christ. It encompasses everything that he was, that he is, and that he will be. He is altogether WONDERFUL. There are many truths that make Jesus WONDERFUL. I want to talk about three of those truths.

    •    His birth is extraordinarily Wonderful.
In the purest sense of this verse, the name Wonderful, as it applies to our Lord Jesus Christ, means A WONDER. It is a fact of truth which is beyond human comprehension. Our human mind cannot fully grasp the extraordinary nature of the Messiah: Jesus Christ. What we understand about him is limited only by that which he allows us to see. One commentary makes this statement concerning the use of the name Wonderful; “this name transcends the reach of human thoughts.” If God were to reveal all knowledge about Jesus Christ, the human mind could not contain it. He is just that Wonderful.

However, the Word of God: The Bible, reveals in part the Wonder that he is by presenting to us the extraordinary events and actions of Jesus The Christ. The life of Jesus in not ordinary; it is extraordinary even his divine conception is extraordinary. Never in history was a man conceived and born of the Holy Spirit.

St Luke 1:28-33 records this about his divine conception, “And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God.” In those days there were three steps to marriage:
    •    Engagement: the parents determined who a child was to marry.
    •    Betrothal: the couple agreed or disagreed with the engagement.
    •    Marriage: the marriage ceremony took place.
It was during the betrothal that Mary was found with child. One can only imagine how much Joseph was deeply troubled. He was torn between obeying the law and his love for Mary. St Matthew 1:20 states this about Joseph, “But while he thought on these things.” Imagine the thoughts that must have flooded his mind.  Why was she unfaithful, who was the other man, and how could she be so cruel. It is at the time of Joseph’s deepest agony that an angel appears to him and reassures him that Mary’s child is an act of God and not of man. The angel says, “Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” St. Matt. 1:20.

Think for a moment about the times when our own spirit has deeply struggled because of a life dilemma.  Think of the many thoughts that successively rush through our minds and there seems to be no revolve.
    •    This is the time to go to God in prayer.
    •    This is the time to take the problem to the Lord.
    •    This is the time to get alone with God.
    •    This is the time to be still and know that God is God.
    •    This is the time to wait for the answer.

Just when you think that all is lost, God does something WONDERFULLY extraordinary. The answer becomes clear. The problem is solved. Your mind is at rest. Then you realize that he is WONDERFUL.
Think for a moment, since God can bypass the natural order of human conception, how he has bypassed the natural order of your circumstances and preformed the extraordinary. Truly, He is wonderful. In our lives, Jesus has been a WONDER. He made a way where there was no way. He called you to be his sons and daughters. He changed your circumstance. He gave you employment when there was none to be found. God has done the extraordinary things.

    •    His purpose is extraordinarily Wonderful.
II Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Hebrews 4:15, “But was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin.” This sinless man, Jesus Christ, gave his last ounce of blood on a cruel cross in order that man might be liberated from his sinful state. He finishes the work for which he was birthed into this world, that is, to satisfy God’s penalty against sin. St. John 3:16 states clearly God’s intention, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Think how great a wonder it is that God demonstrated His love in the most perfect possible way; God sacrificed the life of His own Son to save man.  His love is evident in the fact that He gave His only begotten. Truly He is a Wonder. He is a Wonder because Jesus is the single conveyance of God’s love to man. Through Jesus Christ it is evident that: God seeks to save man. God seeks to forgive man. God doesn’t hate man. God doesn’t have to be persuaded to love man. God doesn’t have to be convinced to forgive man. I John 4:8 says, “God is love”; He is a Wonder.
The finished purpose of his life is summed up like this: “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins ---- And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” Eph. 2:1 and 6.

    •    His eternal existence makes him extraordinarily Wonderful.
John wrote these words of Jesus, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Rev 1:8. Again he speaks, “I am the first and last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen,” Rev. 1:17-18.  He concludes in Rev 22:13 with, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet. The words first and last are affirmations of Alpha and Omega. They carry with them the truth that Jesus was before creation and will exist after his divine purpose is finished.  The point is: He is Alpha and Omega, that is, At all times, He is a wonder.  Jesus is the Almighty. He is ruler and total authority at all times. No king or kingdom over rules his authority. Jesus says this about his authority, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth,” St Matt. 28:18.
The aforementioned Alpha and Omega indicates that he is and not that he is becoming. God told Moses the same when he said, “I am that I am.”  Exo. 3:14. This is the comprehension of God’s eternal existence. It is in the same meaning as Alpha and Omega expressing the self-existing one. I am that Iam carries the idea that when a man is totally absorbed by the existence of God, he will completely be a changed man. I am that I am says that God shall be whatever he will be. He reassures Moses, whatever I need to be, I will be it in order to liberate Israel from Egypt. It stresses that the future of Israel is completely dependent on God’s free will.
How much more is our future dependent on the birth and death of Jesus Christ? Since we are so assured, we must see Jesus as wonderful. When we can place ourselves in the hands of God, our future is certain and unchangeable. Knowing that God is so absolute in his existence makes him EXTRAORDINARLY WONDERFUL.