1. There are many Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament.
2. Micah 5:2 predicted that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.
3. Isaiah 7:14 predicted the virgin birth of Christ -- "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
4. Immanuel means "God with us."
5. Matthew refers to Isaiah's prophecy in Matthew 1:22 and 23, "Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."
6. Another fascinating Messianic prophecy found in the book of Isaiah is chapter 53, which predicts in great detail our Lord's vicarious death.
7. "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed" (Isa. 53:5).
8. But this evening I have chosen another wonderful Messianic prophecy from the book of Isaiah, and we will look at seven fundamental doctrines taught in these two verses.

I. THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST -- "For unto us a child is born"

1. When we speak of the incarnation of Christ, we simply mean, "God became a man."
2. Our English word "incarnation" comes from the Latin word for "flesh."
3. John 1:14 says, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us."
4. Romans 8:3 says God sent His own Son "in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh."
5. Not "in sinful flesh," but "in the likeness of sinful flesh."
6. The Lord Jesus Christ is the sinless Son of God. In order to die on the cross as our perfect Substitute He had to be sinless.
7. Hebrews 4:15 says Christ "was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."
8. Second Corinthians 5:21 says Christ "knew no sin."
9. So the doctrine of the incarnation simply means God became flesh, but not sinful flesh.
10. First Peter 1:19 says we have been redeemed "with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."
11. First Peter 3:18 says, "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust..."
12. One of our most beloved Christmas carols is "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," written by Charles Wesley, the brother of John Wesley.

            Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
          Hail the incarnate Deity!
          Pleased as man with men to dwell,
          Jesus our Emmanuel.

            Hark! The herald angels sing,
          “Glory to the newborn King;

13. Not only does Isaiah 9:6 teach the incarnation of Christ, it also teaches the pre-existence of Christ.

II. THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST -- "unto us a son is given"

1. "A child is born" signifies Christ's perfect humanity. "A son is given" signifies His absolute deity!
2. As a child, Christ was born to the virgin Mary on that very first Christmas over 2,000 years ago.  "For unto us a child is born..."
3. However, as the Son of God, He was "given." 
4. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son..."
5. For the son to be "given," means He already existed before His birth in Bethlehem.  That is why Romans 8:3 says God sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh (cf. John 3:16 -- "gave").
6. The Lord Jesus Christ was always God.  He has always been "The mighty God" (Isaiah 9:6). 
7. However, He became a man in order to die on the cross for our sins (cf. Hebrews 2:14-18; 10:5).
8. In His incarnation and in His humiliation, Christ became a man (cf. Phil. 2:5-11).
9. Unsaved friend, some day you will have to bow your knee to the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 2:10, 11).  It would be far better to do it now voluntarily in humble submission, then to wait until you are cast off into the fires of hell.

III. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST -- "and the government shall be upon his shoulder... Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end..." (9:6, 7)

1. There are far more prophecies in the Bible about the second coming of Christ than the first coming of Christ (cf. Isa. 63:1-4). For every time the first coming of Christ is mentioned, the Second Coming is mentioned eight times.
2. "And the government shall be upon his shoulder" (Isa. 9:6) is a figure of speech derived from the ceremonial robe worn by a king as a symbol of his rule and authority.
3. Micah 5:2 says, "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel..."
4. The wise men came from the east to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him" (Matthew 2:2).
5. The Lord Jesus Christ did not come to rule and to reign the first time He came. The first time He came was to die on the old rugged cross.
6. The apostle Paul said, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief" (I Timothy 1:15).
7. Every year around this time a great multitudes of people get all excited about the first coming of Christ, but they never think about the second coming of Christ (cf. Revelation 1:7; 19:11-16).
8. Even in churches where they preach and teach about the first coming of Christ, His second coming is some how overlooked (cf. Luke 1:30-33).
9. Perhaps our Lord's second coming is overlooked because worldly sinners feel uncomfortable thinking about our Lord coming in judgment (II Thessalonians 1:7-9).
10. But people do not feel uncomfortable or threatened by a little baby in a manger. And besides all that, they would rather focus on Santa Claus and all his gifts anyway.

IV. THE OMNISCIENCE OF CHRIST -- "Wonderful, Counsellor" (9:6)

1. The word "counsellor" is found many times un the Bible. The Bible speaks of "wise counsellors," and "counsellors of peace."
2. There are a multitude of counsellors, but only the Lord Jesus Christ is called, "Wonderful, Counsellor" (9:6)
3. The Lord Jesus Christ is our perfect Counsellor because He is omniscient, that is, He knows all things, and sees all things. Proverbs 15:3 says, "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good."
4. They say Santa Claus knows if you have been bad or good, but that's not true. But the Lord Jesus Christ knows!

His name is Wonderful, His name is Wonderful,
His name is Wonderful, Jesus my Lord;
He is the mighty King, master of everything,
His name is Wonderful, Jesus, my Lord.

He's the great Shepherd, the Rock of all ages,
Almighty God is He;
Bow down before Him, love and adore Him,
His name is Wonderful, Jesus, my Lord.  (Audrey Meier)

V. THE OMNIPOTENCE OF CHRIST -- "The mighty God" (9:6)

1. This Messianic prophecy identifies the coming Messiah with Jehovah God -- "the Great, the Mighty God" (cf. Jeremiah 32:17, 18).
2. A Jehovah's Witness once admitted to me that Jesus was the Mighty God, but he insisted He was not the Almighty God. That is a rather foolish statement because Jeremiah 32:17 and 18 teaches the Great and Mighty God is "the LORD (Jehovah) of hosts."
3. And Isaiah 9:6 refers to the Messiah as "The mighty God."
4. Furthermore, Christ is called "the Almighty" in Revelation 1:8.
5. John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
6. First Timothy 3:16 says Christ is "God manifest in the flesh."
7. Hebrews 1:8 says, "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom."
8. The throne and the royal sceptre and His eternal kingdom represent His position as King of kings and Lord of lords. "The government shall be upon his shoulder" (9:6) because He is our King.
9. Omnipotence is one of the attributes of God, and Jesus is "The mighty God."

VI. THE ETERNALITY OF CHRIST -- "The everlasting Father" (9:6)

1. "The everlasting Father" literally means, "the father of eternity."
2. I referred earlier to Micah 5:2, "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."
3. Christ is eternal God. He is the Creator of everything, including time.
4. In Revelation 1:11, Jesus said, "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last." In fact, this is said four times in the book of Revelation (1:11, 17; 2:8; 22:13).
5. This identifies the Lord Jesus Christ with Jehovah God. Isaiah 41:4 says, "I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he."
6. Isaiah 44:6 says, "Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God."
7. Isaiah 48:12 says, "Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last."
8. Some people have mistakenly thought that "The everlasting Father" (9:6) refers to God the Father. It does not. It refers to God the Son.
9. There is unity in the Godhead, but there also distinctions in the Godhead.

VII. THE DOCTRINE OF RECONCILIATION -- "The Prince of Peace"

1. This old world is full of violence. There are wars and battles and terrorist attacks everywhere -- even here in the USA.
2. Protected by the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, Americans felt safe. But after 9/11, and the Boston Marathon, and now San Bernardino and other terrorist attacks, we do not feel quite so safe.
3. People are tired of all of the war and terrorism and violence, and they are crying out for peace.
4. But there can be no peace without the Prince of Peace (cf. Isa. 48:22; 57:20, 21).
5. Unsaved friend, there is peace at the cross of Christ (cf. Romans 5:1, 6-11; Colossians 1:20, 21).

CONCLUSION:

1. Recently a professor was suspended from Wheaton College after posting on Facebook her reason for wearing a Muslim head scarf ("hijab").
2. Her statement on Facebook declaring that Christians and Muslims worship the same God put her in conflict with the Christian statement of faith that all Wheaton faculty must sign and agree with.
3. The liberal, worldly, apostate religious leaders of Chicago, who do not believe the Bible, quickly came to her defense.
4. In fact, considering the direction Wheaton College has been going for several decades now, I am surprised they suspended her.
5. This confused professor declared wrote on Facebook (on December 10), “I stand in religious solidarity with Muslims because they, like me, a Christian, are people of the book. And as Pope Francis stated last week, we worship the same God.”
6. But Isaiah 9:6, 7 is talking about the Lord Jesus Christ, not Allah, the god of the Muslims.
7. Christ is "The mighty God" (Isa. 9:6), not Allah.
8. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6).