“For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder.” Isaiah 9:6
One of the most remarkable passages in Scripture that reveals to us, not only the love and goodness of God, but also His power and authority over His creation, and His kingdom, is that of Isaiah, chapter 9. Isaiah begins by writing of “a child is born,” and “a Son is given.” It is remarkable enough just to think that God in the Son, took upon Himself flesh, to be born and live among us. Just in the matter of Jesus’ birth, there is a massive and overpowering contradiction between the nature of God and that of natural, sinful man. Christ lays aside His glory that He had with the Father before the world began, to take upon Himself weak, and very limited flesh. Born in the lowliness of a stable, with very few knowing the time of His arrival, this child is distinguished by a nature, and disposition, that is unlike any other on earth, for there is no sin in Him. He is perfect, and righteous, filled with the Spirit of God in the womb of Mary. Perhaps the most remarkable, and unanticipated fact associated with this child, as it applies to us, is that He was born “unto us.” (9:6) He did not come to this earth because it was just a good idea derived from Himself. Nor did He come to gain something for Himself. He came as the perfection of selflesssness and lowliness, with a willingness to stoop, and descend to the lowest point of human depravity to save His creation, specifically, every lost soul of that creation. This “child” would eventually taste death for every man, and become sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. What is the uniqueness of this “child born unto us?” It is the selfless, and yet, purposefulness of the love of God, the greatest and highest, and most exquisite revelation of the person of the Creator and Redeemer.
Christ came also, distinguishing Himself as the “Son” who is given. Having dealt with the “child” Jesus, having come to us, we now proceed further on holy ground, to deal with the “Son.” Why is the revelation of God, unveiled to us in the Person of Christ in this manner? What is the difference between the child and the Son? There is not no difference in the nature of the child and the Son, for they are the same. But there is an added meaning and purpose. There is in the Son a multiplied, and magnified, revelation of the design and purpose of God, and also of the Father’s nature. The child is born, helpless yet tender, and gracious, innocent in His perfection and purity. The Son is given in the full knowledge of His purpose, and the power of God to fulfill that purpose. There is also in the revelation of the gift of the Son, a basis laid for the believer to come to God, to know God, and to be saved by the very power of God revealed. The child will not die on a cross for mankind, but the Son will, for with the Son is revealed the Divine design, and heavenly, and holy heart of God. It is one thing to go through the door of a child’s birth to learn something of God. It is quite another to have the Son revealed in the life, and to the soul of the believer, so that one’s knowledge of God is ever increasing. So what is the government of Christ, and how does it apply to us?
The child of Bethlehem, this Son of God, has become the everlasting King of Creation and Redemption. He reigns in absolute authority and power, communicating His life and love to those who will truly trust in Him. His kingdom increases in the heart as the soul learns the great truths, and depths of the love of God, His wisdom and available power.
Dear Father, Reign fully in us today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.