The Deity of Christ as Seen in the Ninth Chapter of the Book of Isaiah
By Dr. Rafat Amari
In Isaiah chapter 9, Isaiah prophesies about the birth of a divine child, who is Christ, and speaks of great blessing coming to earth. In verse 6, Isaiah specifies that: “For unto us a Child is born,” and that all the blessings that the earth will receive will come through this divine child.
He is not born for the sake of one family as most newborns, but He was born “unto us,” each of us, all humanity. The words the angel repeated to the shepherds when he gave them good tidings about the birth of Jesus echoed Isaiah’s words, “unto you a child is born.” He was born, not only for the shepherds but, for all people everywhere.
He was born to compensate for the inability of each of us to live the holy, perfect life that pleases God. Christ was born to live a life of righteousness and holiness. In the light of His perfect moral and spiritual conduct, humanity will be evaluated in the light of the requirements by which God expected men to live.
Isaiah continues verse six with the phrase, “Unto us a Son is given.” He is more than born; He is given. He came from heaven to earth, born with a human nature like us but without sin. He is “the Son,” a great bestowal to the human race; a great gift born with a sinless human nature, but also with a divine nature. He is the everlasting Son of God.
When Isaiah says He “is given” he means that Christ existed before His birth on the earth. He existed in everlasting fellowship and unity with the Father in the Godhead. The love of God the Father is so great for humanity that He sacrificed His only, everlasting Son who lived among us in this harsh earthly environment and died on the cross for our redemption. You’ve heard these words before in what may be the most quoted words in the New Testament, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Isaiah continue verse six when he repeats God’s promise “And the government will be upon His shoulder.” The divine child was prophesied to be head of humanity. He will lead the kingdom of God depicted in the New Testament. He is the head of the church. He is the One who will be the king over the whole earth when He returns again to start the blissful millennial reign.
He is the leader that will be seen in the presence of the people who received Him as Savior. He is our leader, example and Lord, not only of earth, but of heaven; not only now but also throughout eternity. We read in the book of the Revelation in verse 17 of chapter 7, “For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Does the prophetical paragraph of Isaiah define the One who was to be born; does it present something that would help in identifying His personality? One of the titles Isaiah gives to this glorious child is “Wonderful.” Isaiah says, “And His name will be called Wonderful,” divinely attributed to Him since only God is inscrutable and unfathomable. His greatness can't be encompassed or contained by our limited minds. He is wonderful in His greatness, holiness and other attributes that His creatures can't have.
When Manoah, the father of Samson, asked the pre-incarnate Christ who appeared to him in form of an angel, about His name. He answered in Judges 13: 18, “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is Wonderful?” Christ is not a limited being who could be defined with just simple name like Gabriel or Michael or any angelic name.
The person who appeared to Manoah accepted the offering which was put on the alter. Such offering was often given to God in the Old Testament. But Manoah knew that the One who appeared to him was God and Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God!”
We see that the One called “Wonderful,” who appeared to pious persons and to the prophets in the Old Testament, was the same “Wonderful” that Isaiah prophesied would come in the flesh
Next, Isaiah defines Him as “Counselor” because He is the source of eternal wisdom. He is the wisdom of the Godhead. The Father delights in His wonderful wisdom and His ability to bring about every thing the Father plans. We read in Proverbs 8:30, “Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman and I was daily His delight.”
Christ, as part of the Trinity, speaks with intelligent creatures, both angels and men. He’s called “the Word” in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word.”
In Isaiah 48:16, the pre-incarnate Christ declared that He is the One who spoke from the beginning. He spoke to the prophets when He said “Come near to Me. Hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning. From the time that it was, I was there. And now the Lord God and His Spirit have sent Me.” His word was not in secret for the benefit of one person, but it was intended to be written for everyone. The pre-Incarnate Christ announced the mission for which He was commissioned by the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Isaiah continues his definition by calling Him, “the Mighty God.” The words Mighty and Almighty in the Old Testament are synonymous with Yahweh-God as in Genesis 17:1 where the Lord said to Abraham, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.”
Also in Isaiah 10:21 we read, “The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the Mighty God.” Here we see the term "mighty God" as applied to Yahweh. It means the child who is born is the Yahweh of the Old Testament. Never was such a title attributed to a person other than to God.
In the New Testament we also see that the title "Mighty" is attributed to God. In Luke 1:49, the Song of Mary includes these words. “For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.”
Referring to Himself, in Revelation 1: 8 Jesus said, “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.’” In this verse, He confirms that He is the Almighty God who spoke to the prophets in the Old Testament. Likewise, the angel announcing Christ’s birth in Luke 2:11, said, “Today, in the city of David, a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ, the Lord.” The word “Lord” in the New Testament is the equivalent of the word “Yahweh,” which is used in the of the Old Testament for God.
When Isaiah refers to the birth of the Savior, he calls Him the “Everlasting Father,” or the Father of eternity. He is eternal.
Finally, Isaiah calls Him, the “Prince of Peace. Peace on earth without the Prince of Peace is a provisory phenomenon without a solid foundation. True peace will come with the reign of the Prince of Peace.
The time when Jesus reigns on earth is called the Millennial Messianic Kingdom. In Psalm 72 we read about this kingdom, “the mountains will bring prosperity to the people, and the little hills [will bring] the fruit of righteousness…. In His days righteous shall flourish, and peace will abound until the moon is no more.... He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him.”
God promises that peace will continue on earth during his Millennial reign until the stars, the moon and the earth will be destroyed, and a new heaven and earth will be created.
But today, Jesus establishes His peace in the hearts of those who accept him as Savior. Therefore, the angels sang on His birth as we read in Luke 2:14, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men!”
Copyright 2006 by Dr. Rafat Amari. All rights reserved.