Originally published on The Electric Gospel on December 25, 2015. As a gift for Christmas day on The Electric Gospel, an international student from one of my courses offered her perspectives on names given to the Christ child.
Four Names for the Messiah
by Eunseo Yang
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).
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Names have meaning. In Korean, ‘eun’ means grace and ‘seo’ means words, so my name (Eunseo) could mean “words of grace.” In my language, 군사부일체 means king, teacher and father are one (like trinity). It emphasizes the authority of such persons in society and that father, teacher and king offer the same merciful grace.
In Isaiah’s prophecy, although the Messiah is given four names, he is only one.
He is our Wonderful Counselor. He himself is a wonder, and he solves for us things we cannot solve or explain. He counsels us through troubles, overcoming them by his strength. He guides us with his wisdom.
Since we are weak, we cannot stand against troubles on our own. But Mighty God supports us. There is nothing he cannot do. He does miracles that are impossible to be explained by human science or power.
The Messiah is also called Everlasting Father. What does that mean in reference to Jesus, God the Son? The term “father” is being used like the Korean term I mentioned. He is father in the sense of king and leader over us. And his leadership never ends. Jesus lives forever and leads us to life in heaven. Jesus is with us always, in life and in death.
And this same Jesus is the Prince of Peace. “He will reign … with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever” (Isaiah 9:7). Imagine no wars, no strife, no disasters. With Jesus’ kingdom, it’s not imaginary. His government is real. When Jesus rules our hearts, peace comes to us.
Jesus has many names – and every name is true. He is love itself, King of kings, our Savior. Through him we have victory against evil.
- What names that God reveals for himself in the Bible have the most meaning for you?
- Explain why these names are meaningful for you.
Jesus, you are everything to us. Keep our faith focused on you always, trusting your wisdom, your power, and your leadership. Bring peace to our hearts. Amen.
