“For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be on HIS shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty GOD, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”   Isaiah 9:6

Written seven hundred years before Christ, this verse caps a remarkable passage of prophecy about the Messiah to come. Isaiah 9 predicts He will headquarter in Galilee (v. 1), will be a light that dispels gloom and a liberator who brings joy (vv. 1–5), will come as a child born, as a son given. He’ll permanently occupy the throne of David, and there will be no end to His rule (v. 7). We’re then given a set of majestic titles that describe His role. He will be:

The Wonderful Counselor. We sometimes need a financial counselor, a legal counselor, a career counselor, or perhaps a marriage counselor. Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor, and we can study the Gospels to see how unfailingly He counseled all who came to Him. As He prepared to return to heaven, He told His disciples, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you . . . the Holy Spirit” (John 14:16, 26).

The Mighty God. In the Bible divine characteristics were assigned to Him, divine works credited to Him, divine worship rendered to Him, and divine titles ascribed to Him. He is both God and man.

The Everlasting Father. This doesn’t mean that Jesus is the first person of the Trinity. Jesus is God, but He isn’t the Father or the Holy Spirit. He’s the second person of the Trinity; and from everlasting to everlasting, He exercises fatherly care over us as One who perfectly represents the Father’s love for us.

The Prince of Peace. He possesses infinite peace, which He imparts to His own. In Him we have peace with God, peace throughout life, peace at the moment of death, and everlasting peace in heaven. These four titles are given so we can know Him better, worship Him fully, and enjoy Him as our Counselor, God, Father, and Prince.

God the Son is called the Prince of Peace. He came into the world with a song of peace: “On earth peace. . . .” He went out of the world with a legacy of peace: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you.” Christ’s earnest prayer was for peace; He prayed that His people might be one. Christ not only prayed for peace, but bled for peace: “Having made peace through the blood of His cross.” He died not only to make peace between God and man, but between man and man. Christ suffered on the cross, that He might cement Christians together with His blood; as He prayed for peace, so He paid for peace. —Thomas Watson, seventeenth-century Puritan.