Isaiah 9:6 - Wonderful Counselor

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 Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6).

It's Christmas time and this is an oh, so popular Christmas verse. I thought I'd take a few weeks to examine these four titles of Christ from the verse. Up first: Wonderful Counselor.

Some versions separate "Wonderful" from "Counselor" with a comma. More modern versions make "Wonderful" an adjective for "Counselor". No matter. We'll put them together because it won't change a thing.

"Wonderful" references the marvelous. It is actually pointing, in Hebrew, to the miraculous. Whatever we can say about Christ, He is miraculous. Wonderful. That is, causing us to be full of wonder. If you've lost that, you're simply not paying attention.

But the second term, "Counselor", is itself wonderful. What is a counselor? A counselor is anyone who gives counsel. (Thanks, Stan, we wouldn't have figured that out.) Seriously, it's anyone who provides guidance in whatever questions or concerns you might have. What determines whether or not the counsel provided is of any value? Well, it would be the quality of the counselor. If the one providing the counsel is an expert, is knowledgeable, is well informed on the subject at hand, you will likely listen. If not, you probably won't.

What, then, is the quality of Christ as counselor? Well, consider this. In biblical terms there are three forms, three levels as it were, of knowing. The first level is knowledge. The second is understanding. The highest is wisdom. Knowledge is the simple possession of facts. Information. Understanding is the ability to comprehend those facts, recognize their correlation, see their inner workings. How do these facts work? That's understanding. Wisdom, then, takes this understanding and applies it to practice. Wisdom is the ability to understand information sufficiently to properly apply it to the present situation in the correct manner.

So, what does Christ know? The disciples told Christ, "We know that you know all things" (John 16:30). We know that God is omniscient, and we know that Jesus is God Incarnate. We know that "God is greater than our heart and knows all things" (1 John 3:20). Perfect knowledge. God never learned a thing because He already knew it all. We know that with God's perfect knowledge and intimate involvement in all reality comes perfect understanding. We know that He fully understands everything because everything is held together in Him. But beyond understanding, we know that He is "the only Wise God" (Rom 16:27). He stands alone in wisdom. He is wisdom. He knows all things, understands all things, and knows perfectly what is the right thing to do at the right time in the right way. "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him" (James 1:5).

Christ truly is miraculous -- wonderful. But as a Counselor, there is no equal. He is the Counselor that needs no counsel. Perfect knowledge of all things, perfect understanding of that knowledge, and the absolutely perfect wisdom to apply it. If you ever have a question, a concern, He is the perfect adviser. If you wonder which way to go, what to do, how to do it, what would be best, He is the Wonderful Counselor. It doesn't get any better than that.