How is Jesus also the “Everlasting Father” (Isaiah 9:6) to us? Rev Terence Ong expounds on this Biblical truth.
As we attend to the season of Advent, there is no better time to deepen our appreciation of the gift of God in the person of our Lord Jesus. Whether we are long time disciples of the Lord or new-born babes in Christ, there is a beauty and joy here for us to behold afresh as we prepare for the new year to come.
Isaiah captures the gift of God succinctly in the poetic declaration,
“For to us a child is born, to 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.” (Isaiah 9:6, ESV)
Why the Gift of an Everlasting Father?
Gifts are a two-edged sword. On one hand, they are an expression of love and consideration by the Giver. On the other, they are revealing. Gifts reveal what the Giver thinks we are in need of or at least, would desire and want. In giving us the Gift of a Son upon whose shoulders is the responsibility of government, He clearly believes we are in need of leadership. And this leader, will be called “Everlasting Father”. Why would the Giver of this gift believe we are in need of fathers? Don’t we already all have fathers?
It is a necessary condition of human existence that we discover the inadequacy of our fathers to be our fathers. Perhaps they lack wisdom. Perhaps they were not good examples for us. Perhaps even in their wisdom and exemplary conduct, they just did not understand us and could not fully support us in our own journey of becoming. This is not a slight against fathers but a fact of our existence. I speak as a father who despite his best efforts, feel the utter inadequacy of my capacity to fulfil my vocation as a father.
But our earthly conditions are signs that point us to our real need and hope. And this is why the Gift of a Son for us as “everlasting father” is precisely good news for us.
But our earthly conditions are signs that point us to our real need and hope. And this is why the Gift of a Son for us as “everlasting father” is precisely good news for us. There are two ways in which Jesus is the father that we need:
He is the Father who doesn’t give up on us.
He is the Father who instructs us by a living example.
Jesus, the Father who doesn’t give up.
Isaiah the prophet, speaks on behalf of the God of Israel. This is of fundamental importance for two reasons. Firstly, because the God of Israel is a rejected God who proves Himself as father because He doesn’t give up in ensuring the fullness of her created destiny.
He didn’t discard them but revealed Himself in their history as the One whose “anger” lasted for a moment but whose love lasted for a lifetime.
The history of Israel is one of a rebellious and stiff-necked people who rejected the God who rescued them and provided for them in His love. It is a shocking witness of the covenant people of Israel. But more shocking still, is God’s response. He didn’t discard them but revealed Himself in their history as the One whose “anger” lasted for a moment but whose love lasted for a lifetime. This shows that He is not just Almighty God, but also Compassionate Father. And it is this One whom Isaiah promises will give the Gift of a Son. And so the presence of Jesus – Immanuel – is no less than the presence of the One who doesn’t give up on His children.
Jesus is Everlasting Father because He is Father, even when we are not faithful as children. He is forever faithful as the Father. And as our Father, He continually acts to ensure we come to inherit our intended glory.
Jesus, the Father who instructs us by example.
Secondly, the God of Israel made a promise to King David, that one of his sons will rule over a kingdom that will last forever. But there is not only a promise of everlasting dominion, but also of familial relationship. “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him…” (2 Samuel 7:13–15, ESV)
God’s gift of a Son is not just a Son by appointment, but a Son by active obedience. As the author of Hebrews writes, he did not come to boast of His status, but to “learn obedience through what He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). It was and is His very life, that makes Him a Son to the Father.
And so Jesus, is a Father to us not by arbitrary appointment but by a generative power that comes out of His own faithful relationship to God.
And so Jesus, is a Father to us not by arbitrary appointment but by a generative power that comes out of His own faithful relationship to God. Jesus is our Father because He is the firstborn of many children. And so His words and instructions to us, are not just arbitrary instructions, but come out of His relational existence before God. He is truly the Father we can trust because His life itself is our example.
Do we have someone who truly knows us by name? Someone who is an example in life for us? Someone who will love us without reservation and will do all he can that we may be all we can be? The good news is Jesus offers Himself as that someone.
May you and I discover this truth of Immanuel afresh in 2023 and so fulfil the words of Isaiah “…and he shall be called, everlasting father.”
Rev Terence Ong is husband to Brenda-Mae and a father to four boys. He is presently holding the office of Senior Pastor at Centre of New Life. Outside of pastoral ministry, he enjoys playing with the boys and exploring the meaning of the Gospel of Jesus with his family within a home-schooling context. He is passionate about the local church – as the primary witnesses of God’s New Creation through their life in communion with Jesus of Nazareth, as crucified Messiah, risen Lord and coming King. He considers his vocation to serve the local church as a great privilege, but his greatest joy remains his election to be a faithful member of the church, the beloved bride of Christ.
