And He Shall Be Called: Everlasting Father
by Daniel Burton
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6, NIV)
Conceptually, the idea that Jesus Christ is an Eternal Father is difficult to grasp. Myself, I am limited by the confines of time and exist in the moments that God permits me to exist. Jesus, however, was not created on that night in a manager, He has always been. This idea of God being beyond time can be difficult to understand which only speaks to the fullness of God. While coming in the form of an infant, Jesus is our Everlasting Father. He is the source of life for all eternity and has guided us as a father does His children.
Everlasting Father
Isaiah strives to ensure the reign of God is not only established by the Might of God but also depicts the length of His reign. There is a temporal and eternal aspect of God in describing Him as both everlasting and Father. With these two words alone, there is no question as to what Isaiah is saying. Jesus reigns has been inaugurated from the beginning of time and will continue into eternity. Christ is the progenitor of all life and by Him all things have come into being. He is the order and the guide for all creation and He rules His people with the love and care that would spring forth from a father. He is our Everlasting Father.
Long Live The King
As the prophet Isaiah lists the names of the coming Messiah (whom we now know to be Jesus) Isaiah describes Him as Everlasting. The idea of Jesus being everlasting sets into effect the reign of the King. He will continue to reign throughout the course of human history. Furthermore, the word choice implies a span that exceeds the very nature of time itself. At no point was there a time when Jesus was not. He is ever lasting extending out in both directions of time. Nothing is able, has ever been able, or will ever be able to overthrow and exterminate our King. Jesus is the ageless one who reigns forever more.
There is no gamble with Christ, only an eternal guarantee of relationship with our divine Father. Click To TweetWhile this may be conceptually difficult for our limited minds to understand, it should serve as a source of hope. We put our hope in Jesus Christ in faith. The future, for us, is not yet and thus we believe in faith. With every issue of faith, there is the fear that we do not have all the information. From the perspective of God, spoken through the prophets, this faith in God is no gamble. Faith in the work of Jesus Christ is a guarantee. He will continue to exert His reign over all of time and His victory is secured. We can put our hope in Him simply because He has already achieved every victory that needs to be achieved. There is no gamble with Christ, only an eternal guarantee of relationship with our divine Father.
The Progenitor of Creator
As the Hebrew uses the word for Father, there are a couple of contexts in which Father is understood. First is the one we all go to, someone’s immediate male parent. This is the person who guides, protects, and provides for their child. Yet, there is also this connotation where Father means origin. Our life stems from our father but on a broader scale, all life stems from the one true Father. It is likely that Isaiah intended a mix of both meanings. Christ cares for us as one would members of their own family. He was willing to lay down His life for our sake. Yet, He is also the source of all life. From Him all creation sprang forth and through Him, all things will find their rebirth and restoration.
Christ is our divine caretaker looking out for our own good. A father protects, loves, and provides at all times. Jesus Christ is the same. Click To Tweet
We understand that God is our perfect Father. Christ is our divine caretaker looking out for our own good. A father protects, loves, and provides at all times. Jesus Christ is the same. Where the world sought our own destruction, Jesus came to our salvation. Furthermore, He has been doing so since before time began. Jesus came as our eternal father to provide us with the life and salvation. By grace, we all have the ability to receive salvation. Through Him, through the ageless provided, we have our hope and provision.
This is His Advent. He is our Everlasting Father.
