How Wonderful Is He? (12/26/1999)

Isaiah nine six Please this morning.

You might want to put another hand in Luke chapter 1 verse 35 right in that area

And then put your third hand in John chapter 1 Let's look at Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6

I had you've heard the story I'm sure if you've been around very long about the Jehovah's Witnesses that came in.

I mean the Two Mormon elders who came in my office and challenged me one day

I think one of them was named elder young which I thought was a funny name because he was about 19 and he's elder young and I thought well, that's a good description and he was gonna teach me the

Bible and So I let him teach teach for a little while and he started talking about these funny sticks these two sticks something about two sticks

And one of them was supposed to be the Bible and the other was supposed to be the Book of Mormons and and I really hadn't spent a great deal of time in my life studying those two sticks

So I turned and while they were talking I started reading the chapter that that the two sticks were found in from the first of the chapter and read down through By the time

I got he got through talking. I knew what it was about and it dealt with the two

Tribe the two divisions of Israel Of the nation Israel and it was very clear in the passage and I pointed that out to him and he began to get angry

With us a little bit but at the end of it. I asked him. Have you ever? thought about Isaiah 9 6 and I went and turned to this verse and began to read it

And I read it and I said for unto us a child is born Unto us a son is given and I stopped right there and I said who's this talking about and the young man said well

That's Jesus and I said, that's right And I said and the government shall be upon his shoulder and I said who is this and he said this is

Jesus the Messiah And I said that's right. And I said in his name shall be called wonderful Counselor who is this and he said this is

Jesus and I said at the end of the verse It says he shall be called the Prince of Peace. Who is this and he said this is

Jesus And I said and right here in the same verse. It says he is the mighty

God the Everlasting Father How do you deal with that? And he looked at his friend and the friend looked at him and he said we've never seen this verse

And I said, well it is in your Bible, isn't it? And they said yes, sir They said we'll go deal with this this week and we'll get back with you.

They never they never got back with me on that verse But what an awesome verse it is for us and I want to preach to you this morning on how wonderful is he

I Want us to ask that question together. How wonderful is he 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 the mighty

God the Everlasting Father The Prince of Peace, let's pray father.

We ask that you would by your Holy Spirit Reveal the face of this wonderful one to us by faith today as we study this passage of Scripture and we ask it for Jesus sake

Amen He shall be called wonderful. This comes from a Hebrew word

Paul all and let me tell you what the word means it means

Separate or to be distinguished from others It also means to be great and it also means to be difficult or hidden and So I want to talk this morning about the

Lord Jesus Christ this one who is called wonderful This one who is separate from all others and distinct from every other

This one who is great the greatest and this one who is

Difficult to contemplate and hidden in some ways to the natural understanding of man certainly

This word Paul all means things too high. That's one way. It's been translated in the

English Bible another place has been translated into marvelous and wonderful and wondrous so the first thing

I'd like to point out this morning about the Lord Jesus Christ this one who is called wonderful is That he is wonderful in the sense that he is separate and distinct and distinguished above all others

He is the only one Who is different from all others look at Luke chapter 1 in verse 35 with me?

And the angel answered and said unto her The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee

Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the

Son of God That holy one the angel said now we have to understand that when the word holy is

Applied to the Lord it certainly does mean perfection But more often than not the

Bible when we see the word holy it means distinct or separate and Jesus Christ this one who would be born of Mary and of the

Holy Ghost Was called by the angel this holy thing not only did he mean this perfect one, but he meant the one who is distinct and Separate from every other thing that there is

So he is the one who is holy Different from all others secondly he is the only begotten of the

Father look at John chapter 1 with me for a moment John chapter 1 and let's look at verse 1 follow along with me in the beginning was the

Word and The Word was with God and the Word was

God now if you are not familiar with this word that starts with a

W capital W look at verse 14 and it explains who this is talking about and the

Word was made flesh and Dwelt among us and we beheld his glory

The glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth

This is who the Word is The Lord Jesus Christ and in the beginning was the

Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God The same was in the beginning with God all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made in him was life and the life was the light of men in verse 12 says

But as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God Even to them that believe on his name

Perhaps that's the most wonderful verse in the Bible that Describes those men and women in the world who make the only right choice of their will that they could possibly make

But look at verse 13 Which were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor the will of man but of the will of God and This shows the great external

Irresistible force of agape love Which moved those men to make the right choice right there next to each other

We see God's teaching on salvation, but look at verse 14 and The Word was made flesh and Dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the

Father This word wonderful means distinct separate from all others

Jesus Christ is the only begotten of the Father there is none other and it goes on and says he is full of grace and truth

So we see from this Verse verse 14 that Jesus is the only begotten of the

Father now It's interesting to look at this phrase begotten because it comes from two little

Greek words one Manos, which means single or only and the word

Janae Omae he which means to cause to be or we get our English word generate from this word or Gene like you're talking about your chromosomes and your genes your genes

And so we get the word generate So when it says he is the only begotten of the

Father It means that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only one who was generated from the

Father. There is none other and He is the only one who is full of Grace and truth, but not only that he's separate and distinct from all others because the fact that he is the only one who

Proceeded forth and came from God. That's John chapter 8 verse 42 Jesus told those old

Pharisees those religious ones. He said I'm the only one who proceeded forth and came out from God He said if you've seen the father if you've seen me, you've seen the father

He said I and the father are one. He said you shall die in your sins for if you believe not that I am you shall die in your sins and they picked up the stones and Attempted to destroy him, but they couldn't do it because he had to go to the cross

So he's distinct and separate from all others Another reason is because he's the only one who was set up from everlasting turn to Proverbs chapter 8 with me for a moment

This is a fascinating passage and I want you to look at verse 23 but this is a personification of wisdom and the

Bible teaches us that Jesus Christ is our wisdom and Jesus is in fact the personification of wisdom and it says

The Lord Jesus Christ in Proverbs chapter 8 verse 23. I was set up from everlasting

Isn't that an interesting phrase? Because normally when we think of everlasting we look going forward in time and just saying it lasts forever but this uses the past tense from having come from a place called

Everlasting so it's everlasting go on the other direction and he says I was set up from everlasting

From the beginning or ever the world was Jesus Christ is wonderful because he is distinct and separate and different from every other and one of the main reasons is because the

Bible says he was set up from Everlasting this comes from a Hebrew word no sock

Which means to pour out or it can mean to cast as metal being molded in the cast and So Jesus Christ was poured out or cast from before the vanishing point

It's interesting to look up this word everlasting From everlasting set up from everlasting.

It's Olam in the Hebrew and it means the vanishing point And so if you consider the vanishing point to be the point where you go back in time as far as you can go

To the place where physical things came into being and you go just a step past that and they vanish

Jesus was set up before that time Jesus Was poured out from the father or cast as metal being cast into a cast and made into something solid physical at that point and so the

Lord Jesus Christ was set up from Everlasting. He was set up before the earth was and He was always with the father and proceeded out came forth from God He was set up from everlasting from before the vanishing point as the

Bible literally Says it Another reason he's distinct and wonderful is because look at verse 25 in Proverbs 28 chapter 8 verse 25

David could I get you to turn this down just a little Just barely move it just a little bit it's ringing to me.

Can you hear it? Okay, that's good Look at verse 25

Before the mountains were settled before the hills Was I brought forth?

Now in verse 23, it uses the phrase that I was set up Jesus said this one says

I was brought forth Now this phrase in the Hebrew language for brought forth you can remember it because it just sounds like cool

All right teenagers will like that and They can say

Jesus is cool and they'll learn what that means right here. It means to twist

Whirl in a circular or spiral manner Now, I believe this is a reference to the fact that we could read verse 25 this way before the mountains were settled

Jesus came spiraling out of the father. I believe this is a reference to the place where Jesus being with the father in eternity past and We speak of the counsel of God Where we go back as far as the human mind can even contemplate

Maybe it goes back even farther than that because we have a hard time contemplating this determinant counsel

But when we go back to that place and we see the determinant counsel Jesus is there in Fact he came spiraling forth out from the father

He was always in the father and now he comes out as a distinct person of the

Godhead at this point Some sometime perhaps before the determinant counsel, but we know that he was there as the

Son of God at that time He is different than any other there is no other in all of existence

That it can be spoken of in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word

Was God He is wonderful because he's the only one that that can be said about Now he's also wonderful because in Proverbs 8 30

It says then was I by him as one brought up with him and I was daily his delight

Rejoicing always before him and remember the then and this verse is going back before anything physical was before the angels

Before the universe was created And he says I was daily his delight rejoicing always before him

The wonder of Jesus one of the wonders is this that before anything existed, but God Jesus Christ was daily

God's delight now this word delight in the Hebrew language means to look upon as A mother would look upon a newborn, babe

How many of you can picture that countenance? I? can still see it as I see

Charlotte look at Matthew from time to time and been the other three she doesn't look at that way anymore, but but I Can still see that look and that's the look this is referring to in the

Hebrew language Jesus Was daily the delight of the father and this is before anything was created

He was daily Looked upon by the father with that same look Because he was the son the only begotten son full of grace and truth

But not only does it say say I was daily his delight it then says rejoicing always before him

And this looks at it from Jesus's point of view because this phrase before him in the

Hebrew Simply means the face. That's what the word means the face and what it means is that Jesus Christ is the only one

Who could view at the face of God and live?

He is in the face he is before him He stands before the face of the father and he is wonderful because he is the only one who can do that.

I Wouldn't think a cherubim would even dare look square on at God's face would you but Jesus does

And that awesome He is both God's delight, but he is also standing before the face of God on your behalf at this very moment

The father looked upon him with the light and the son looked back into the face of the father with love

John 1 17 says for the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ No man hath seen

God at any time the only begotten son Which is in the bosom of the father.

Remember he proceeded forth and came out from God He hath declared him. That's why his name is the word because he is the only one who has ever looked in the face of the father and who can come to man and describe and declare the father unto us

John 6 44 says no man can come to me except the father which hath sent me

Draw him and I will raise him up at the last days And this is taken from the

Old Testament verse 46 says it is written in the prophets and they shall all be taught of God Every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the father cometh to me

Jesus said Not that any man hath seen the father and I look at this not that any man hath seen the father

Save he which is of God he hath seen the father Verily verily

I say unto you he that believeth on me hath everlasting life The Lord Jesus Christ is wonderful because he was before the father before anything was made

He was daily the delight of the father But maybe more important than that than that to us is that he stood and gazed into the face of the father and he came down to this earth and that's what

Christmas is supposed to be all about and was born in that manger and He then was able to say if you have seen me

You have seen the father if you listen to me, then I declare unto you the father if you look at me

You can see that which you could never have seen because only I have stood before the face of God And I bring that to you and declare that to you and therefore

I am the word and this is one reason Jesus is so wonderful He is wonderful to us

Because he is separate and distinguished from all others. He was that Holy One who was

Was brought about by the Holy Spirit He was the only begotten one of the father the only one who proceeded forth and came out from God He was the one who was full of grace and truth.

And that's why Isaiah 9 6 calls him counselor He's the only one who is truth and He proceeded forth from God He was set up from everlasting.

He was brought forth before ever the world was and He is constantly and was constantly before the face of God He is different than all others

John chapter 10 4 says and when he put it forth his own sheep He goeth before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice

Then said Jesus and to them again verily verily I say unto you I am the door of the sheep

All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers But the sheep did not hear them.

That's why some of us believe in the elect Only the sheep hearing and he opens the door and these sheep come in Buddha Confucius Muhammad Joseph Smith the

Watchtower the Dalai Lama and Mr. Farrakhan He is so far beyond and higher than those men who will all die or have died and rotted in the grave

That he should not even be mentioned in the same sentence He is wonderful because he is separate and distinct from all

Others he said this in verse 10 the thief cometh not But for to steal and to kill and to destroy

Any other person who claimed to be a prophet? Those who came before him those who came shortly after him like Muhammad Jesus Christ himself says that they came but for to steal and to kill and to destroy

He said I am come that they might have life and they might have it abundantly I am the

Good Shepherd. He didn't say I am a Good Shepherd He said I'm the Good Shepherd.

That means there's only one I am the Good Shepherd the Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep

Show me another who did that? Buddha didn't give his fat life for any sheep.

He was a hedonist Muhammad didn't give his life for any sheep

Joseph Smith certainly didn't give his life for those 40 ,000 wives that he had. He created a religion so he could have them

They all came just to steal people's souls and to kill people and to slaughter them and They are work of Satan's hands

But the Lord Jesus Christ is the only true one He is separate from all others for unto us a son is born

For unto us a son is given and his name shall be called wonderful Well, let's go back to our definition for wonderful again.

Paul law. Not only does it mean to be separate and distinct It also means to be great

So let's talk about this for a moment turn to Revelation chapter 1 verse 8 with me Why is he so wonderful?

Because he is great Revelation 1 8 you better follow along in this passage so that you'll catch this because when we first start reading we think we're talking about the father and Perhaps we are

But as we read a little further we see that we're talking about the Son and we're calling him the same name.

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 and I want you to underline the phrase

Almighty because we're going to talk about that in a minute I John who also am your brother and companion in tribulation and In the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ was in the isle that is called

Patmos for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ I Was in the

Spirit on the Lord's Day and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet saying I am

Alpha and Omega the first and the last Now he's about to turn and see where this voice is coming from look at verse 12

And I turned to see the voice that spake with me and being turned I saw seven golden candlesticks whoever this one was who was calling himself the

Alpha and the Omega and the first and the last was in the midst of The churches, isn't that beautiful? That's what the candlesticks typify or picture the churches.

He was in the midst of the church And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the

Son of Man now, who are we talking about? Clothed with a garment down to the foot and gird about the paps with a golden girdle

And I want you to notice in verse 14 that you'll never see Jesus as a child in a manger again

Because the next time you see him you will see him in this form his head and his hairs were white like wool as White as snow and his eyes were as a flame of fire

And those are the eyes we will each look into and be judged for the works that we did in this body whether they be good or evil as a

Christian Those are the eyes will look into I don't believe he'll have to say a word.

I Looked straight into ours and read everything in our memory banks and his feet likened to fine brass pictures the power and omnipotence of God as if they were burned in a furnace and his voice as The sound of many waters.

Do you remember the expressions in the Old Testament? when when God would speak many times it said it was like the power of The waves coming in from the ocean

Just an awesome sound of power of many waters and this is the very voice that was coming from the

Lord Jesus and he had in his right hand seven stars and out of his mouth went a two -edged sword

That's why he's the Word of God And his countenance was as the

Sun shineth in his strength That's who you'll see when we see the

Lord Jesus and look like look what the response of a saved man who was at that time writing scriptures was and When I saw him

I fell at his feet as dead and he laid his right hand upon me saying unto me fear not

I am the first and the last and He that liveth and was dead and behold.

I am alive forevermore Amen and have the keys of hell and of death why

Jesus mentioned hell if there's not one Why would he put that in there that there's not a place like that.

He does put it in there But who is this one we'll remember I told you at the first of that phrase passage in verse 8

It says alpha and Omega the beginning and the ending saith the Lord which is and which was and which is to come the

Almighty The word wonderful one of the Hebrew meanings for it is the word great

Let me tell you what Almighty means when you look at it in the Greek language It comes from two small

Greek words The first one is pass which means whole or all and the second one is

Kratos, which means might Power or strength that's translated that way, but the literal word means great

So he is the all great one That's what the word Almighty means

That's who our Lord Jesus Christ is the all great the whole great one the wholeness of greatness is in him

The definition of what it is to be great is In this wonderful one the

Lord Jesus Christ the only holy great One the Almighty his name shall be called wonderful counselor

Isn't it interesting that it calls him the mighty God the word mighty means the great one well

He is wonderful in that he is separate and distinct from all others He is also wonderful because he is the great and mighty

God But there's a third reason that's found in this Hebrew definition for the word wonderful and remember it also means to be difficult or hidden and it's been translated into things too high for our understanding and So the third reason the

Lord Jesus is so wonderful is because he is hidden He is too high

Too wondrous for us to contemplate all that there is of him

He is the everlasting father and the prince of peace at the same time

Now that's one that the world can't figure out He is the everlasting father those

Elders from the Mormon Church Looked at that verse and their mouths just dropped open open when

I read it to them Because they could not believe that of the same person It was being said that he was both the everlasting father and the prince of peace

For unto us a child is born. His name shall be called wonderful counselor the mighty

God the everlasting father the prince of peace all in one man

Theologians have struggled with this throughout the centuries Because they call him the

God man Let me read to you just a little bit about what's been written along this topic

Jesus the man and yet Jesus the everlasting father he is a wonder a once hidden truth too high for some a mystery

To the Old Testament saints that has been revealed to us the God man well

Lewis Perry Schaefer said this about the Lord Jesus He is the incomparable

Theanthropic the means the God Anthropic meaning man. He is the incomparable

Theanthropic person the God man the mediator and the days man

There need be no other for every demand whether it be for divine Satisfaction or for human necessity is perfectly answered in Christ Though his deity is eternal

The humanity was gained in time it is also revealed that though the assumption of his humanity was first a condescension and afterwards a humiliation

Through his death resurrection and ascension. He acquired a surpassing glory, which is the state he is in now there was a joy which was set before him in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 2 and because of the obedience manifested in the cross

God Quote hath highly exalted him in Philippians chapter 2 and verse 9 his condescension and humiliation were not relieved by a dismissal of his humanity, but by its glorification a glorified man

Schaefer says a Glorified man whose humanity has not been renounced is in heaven right now

Therefore it is to be recognized that the Theanthropic person is very God and very man and that his humanity perfect and complete is as enduring as his deity

That's the part that people have a hard time understanding Fully God and yet fully man.

He is wonderful because he was Before the face of God before anything was made

He is wonderful because he proceeded forth and came out from God and Pharisees couldn't understand it

But they knew it had something about the fact that he was claiming to be God and they picked up those rocks He is wonderful though because he was born into this world a man

Holy man and the life that he lived and the powerful things that he presented in this world were done as a man fully filled by the

Holy Spirit of God The healings that he did he did as a man

The words that he spoke which we now have as the Word of God Were spoken as a man fully and unreservedly controlled and filled by the

Holy Spirit of God the God -man There's an old creed that goes back to as long ago as just for about 300 years after John the

Apostle died And it's called the Chalcedonian Creed and it says this to reach a correct estimation of the person of Christ Has been the aim of the greatest scholars whose conclusions have crystallized in this creed which reads thusly

We then following the Holy Fathers all with one consent

I remember these men lived only a hundred or so years after the Apostles a couple of hundred years

All with one consent teach men to confess one and the same Son our

Lord Jesus Christ the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood

Truly God and truly man of a reasonable rational soul and body

Co -substantial in other words co -essential with the Father According to the

Godhead and co -substantial with us According to the manhood in all things likened to us without sin begotten before all ages of the

Father according to the Godhead and In these latter days for us and for our salvation born of the

Virgin Mary the mother of God according to his manhood one in the same

Christ's Son Lord only begotten to be acknowledged in two natures in confusedly unchangeably indivisibly inseparably the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the

Union But rather the property of each nature being preserved and concurring in one person and one subsistence

Not parted or divided into two persons But one and the same Son and only begotten

God the Word the Lord Jesus Christ We can't even hardly understand their writing, but it's beautiful anyway

But the point they were making is that Jesus Christ is God and man in one person

Fully God and fully man. He was truly the days man who? took the hand of the

Father and stood before his face and put his hand down and Declared him to us.

Oh He is wonderful He is the most wonderful of all how wonderful is he?

He is wonderful because he is separate and distinct from all others the only begotten of the Father He is wonderful because he is the great and almighty

God the everlasting Father And he is wonderful because he is hidden to the world the world cannot understand the

God -man But he is the everlasting Father and the

Prince of Peace in one person He's the days man He is the intercessor for us