Jesus is the Mighty God (Isa. 9:6)
This sermon was preached on 6/11/2009
In this verse, Isaiah has listed four titles of the future King who would yet appear as the Deliverer of his people. He would initially appear as a child, which may not have been regarded as unusual, although hints are given that he will come as someone’s son. Normally a royal line produced the next ruler, but in the case of Israel their royal line was no longer marked by possession of power. The coming Ruler would be a son, but the son of who? This would remain a mystery until he actually appeared when it was revealed that he was the actually the Son of God.
The titles given to a monarch are intended to indicate his uniqueness. If he only had titles that his subjects also had, then it would be very difficult to identify his superiority. We have already considered one such unique title of King Jesus, that of the Wonderful Counsellor, the Ruler who does not need any advice from a group of select advisors, which of course shows that he is far superior to any previous or subsequent earthly ruler.
The second title that Isaiah gives to Jesus is that of ‘Mighty God’. Obviously this title points to his deity. But the word translated ‘God’ would have done this without the inclusion of the term translated ‘mighty’; the term el, the word for God, means powerful one. Since the prophet also adds another word indicating might, it is evident that the prophet is stressing the power of Christ.
In passing, let us reflect on some evidences for the deity of Jesus found elsewhere in the Bible. There are many of them and we can only focus on a few. We can begin by asking what two of his followers said about him. The apostle John, as he opens his Gospel, gives Jesus an unusual title – the Word. He says that the Word was with God and was God, indicating that within God there are equal persons. Then he says of the Word that he made all things (John 1:1ff.). Paul also ascribes the act of creation to Jesus, but he also says that it is Jesus who holds all things together (Col. 1:16-17). Both John and Paul say that this eternal God became a man (John 1:14; Phil. 2:5ff). An awareness of and meditation on these details will help us greatly in maintaining a sense of worship in our souls. But we can return to the message of the prophet Isaiah and note his reference to the deity of Jesus.
Some scholars are of the opinion that the word translated ‘mighty’ indicates that Isaiah is describing the divine Messiah in his role as a Warrior. The idea is also found in Psalm 45:3-5, also addressed to the promised Messiah: ‘Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your splendour and majesty! In your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand teach you awesome deeds! Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; the people fall under you.’ Isaiah is reminding us that the divine Messiah would be constantly engaged in fighting on behalf of his kingdom.
The divine Warrior and his battles
There are many ways in which we could approach the campaign of the divine warrior-king. But we can look at it from three angles: first, his activities during his life on earth; second, his activities on the cross of Calvary; and third, his activities since he ascended to heaven.
We can begin with his baptism because it was the occasion when a public announcement was made that Jesus would be involved in a campaign against the enemies of the kingdom of God. The Saviour, after he was baptised by John, was led by the Spirit into the desert, there to face the most prominent foe of God’s kingdom. There Jesus engaged in conflict with the great enemy of God’s kingdom. Of course, the weaponry in use was not taken from the arsenals of this world. We can summarize the fight in this way: Jesus used the weapon of righteousness and the devil used the weapon of sin. Each of the combatants not only had their weapons, each of them was exactly like their weapons. Jesus was totally righteous whereas the devil was full of sin. Under righteousness, we can place the desire to do good, to obey God’s law. The basic requirement for obedience to God’s law is love, and Jesus loved God and neighbour continually and perfectly. In contrast, the devil was full of malice and spite, determined to get Jesus to sin. Of course, the devil failed and Jesus won a great victory.
We can also observe the conflict between the Warrior and the powers of darkness through the miracles and wonders that Jesus performed. One suggestion that has been given for the amount of satanic influence and activity that is recounted in the Gospels is that the powers of darkness, recognizing that the Son of God had come into the world, increased their presence in the world in order to mount a sustained attack upon him. Jesus often attributed to Satan the bondage that some sinners were in, and when he released them from that awful grip it was another triumph in his campaign. Of course, many of those he rescued, such as Mary Magdalene, were full of gratitude to their Warrior King.
At the same time we must remember that victories over the evil kingdom were not limited to physical deliverances. Paul reminds us that the whole world lies under the sway of the god of this world (Eph. 2:1ff.) and that he has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. Therefore when Jesus enlightened the dark minds of sinners as to he was, it was another way of him attaining victory over the devil. There were many such who discovered that through Jesus they could have their sins forgiven.
The next location of conflict that we can look at is the cross. There an important battle took place between Jesus and the powers of darkness. Jesus himself described it as the hour and power of darkness. The cross can be viewed from many angles. Usually we focus on Jesus paying the penalty of our sins there. Yet, in addition, we can look at him resisting the powers of darkness. They assaulted him with all their infernal energy, determined to get him to sin. Remember the weapons are the same as in the previous battle in the wilderness – righteousness in the heart and arm of Jesus and sin in the hearts and arms of the legions of hell. As he was on the cross, Jesus was tempted by these opponents to sin, but he resisted and won the victory over them. In doing so, he left an example for us, as James says, ‘Resist the devil and he will flee from you.’
We have to remember that the Mighty One is now both God and man. Both in the desert and on the cross he resisted and won the victory through his humanity. With regard to his deity, he could have destroyed the devil with ease. But he was fighting on our behalf and therefore he, the eternal God, resisted the powers of darkness in his human nature, in dependence on the almighty Holy Spirit.
Jesus celebrated his triumph when he ascended to heaven after his resurrection from the dead. This was another enemy that he defeated when he left the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Death, which had proved almost invincible, met its match and discovered that it had no power over Jesus Christ. In majestic energy he tore open its locked doors and came out of the dark domain as the conqueror of death. Then, after a period of forty days in which he encouraged his disciples and gave them their task while he would be away, he ascended to God’s throne and sat down on it, not as an usurper, but as the mighty warrior God.
Isaiah connects the fourfold name of the Messiah with the ongoing development of his kingdom. Having won such great victories over the kingdom of darkness and over death, Jesus now continues his exploits, achieving great successes throughout the ages of time, making ongoing progress as he develops his kingdom by adding more and more subjects to it. Every time he brings a sinner into his kingdom, it is evidence that he is the mighty God.
The consequence of his power
One consequence of looking at Jesus as the mighty God is that we are reminded that, unlike earthly sovereigns, Jesus does not have to arrange alliances in order to ensure that his kingdom will survive. It was common in the past, just as it is common today, for powerful nations to make treaties with smaller nations in order to protect potential weak points in their empires. Jesus does not have to make deals with weaker powers in order to secure the borders of his kingdom. He protects every inch of it himself.
A second consequence of realising that Jesus possesses divine power is that we do not have to be petrified by the power of enemy. If we are subjects of King Jesus, then we will be attacked by the enemies of his kingdom. They are powerful enemies arraigned against the church – the world, the flesh and the devil. In ourselves we are no match for these enemies and they will defeat us if we fight them in our own strength. What we have to do when under attack is to remind ourselves that we are to use the Lord’s strength. As Paul puts it in Ephesians 6:10: ‘Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.’
Reference to that passage in Ephesians reminds us of another prophecy of Isaiah (59:17). The armour that we are called to wear in the spiritual fight is the armour that Jesus tested for us in his battles. While we cannot use them in the way that he did, we are to use them in our conflicts with spiritual enemies. And when we use them we will experience victory.
The previous title Wonderful Counsellor encourages us to pray to Jesus for wisdom and instruction. This second title, Mighty God, encourages us to pray to Jesus for power. We need wisdom in every situation we will face, and we will need power in every one of them as well. Yet just as Jesus has wisdom for every situation, so he has power to help us in each of them. Through Jesus we can be more than conquerors.