Four Gifts for Christmas
Isaiah 9:6–7
And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
Four names for Jesus are given here. They are great names, for they describe who the incarnate Son of God is and they do so in terms of his gifts to us. By describing him as a Wonderful Counselor, the verse tells us that he is the source of divine spiritual wisdom, which we need. By calling him the Mighty God, it tells us that he will empower us for life’s tasks. Everlasting Father unfolds the gift of sonship. Prince of Peace highlights the gifts of peace both between ourselves and God and internally.
As I think about these gifts, I am impressed at how well they correspond to the needs of the human heart. Suppose, even apart from the biblical revelation, that we should conduct an opinion poll to find out what men and women feel they most need. Suppose we should ask, “What do you feel are your greatest needs?”
“Well,” people would say, “we have minds. So we have a need to know things rightly, to understand. We need wisdom. We also have wills, and because we have wills, we want to achieve something. We want our lives to make a difference. To do that we need power. We are also individuals, but we sense that we are not meant to be alone. We want to belong somewhere. We need satisfying relationships. We are also conscious of having done wrong things. We need to be forgiven. We need somebody to deal with our guilt.” Isn’t that what we would find if we should poll people and analyze their basic experiences? Aren’t those the things we really need?
As I look at these gifts, I find that they speak to each of those needs.
To know the truth! Jesus Christ is the truth, and he is for us a Wonderful Counselor.
To achieve something worthwhile! Jesus is the Mighty God who enables us to do that. We accomplish worthwhile things through his power.
To belong to someone! Jesus answers this need, because he is our Everlasting Father. Through him we are brought into God’s family.
To be forgiven and at peace! Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He has made peace for us by his death.
Four gifts for Christmas. They are the greatest gifts that anybody can give or we can have, and they are all in Jesus. They are for us. They are for you, if you will have them.
Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865
Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.