Isaiah 9:6 - “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
1 Corinthians 15:45-47 -"The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.”
A dad and daughter, Brenda, were Christmas shopping in the mall and got separated. The security guard asked, “What’s your Father’s name?” she answered, “His name is Daddy.”
The guard took her to where lost children are entertained, but as soon as she saw her father in a distance, she ran to him and gave him a big hug. The guard didn’t have to guess who her father was. He was the one who came for her, to love her, to care for her and to find her when she was lost.
When I did a summer missions experience as a senior in college I worked with kids from Harlem and East Harlem New York. We talked about God being like our father. One young man, Frankie, said in disgust. “If God is anything like my old man, I don’t want anything to do with him.”
What thoughts come to your mind with the phrase “Everlasting Father” being given to the Messiah? Was it like Brenda or Frankie?
To tell you the truth, I have some trouble when it comes to using this term for Jesus. I have no problem believing that Jesus is eternal, but I do not refer to Him as Father. We know there are three persons in the trinity. There is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit - three in one; three persons yet one God. It seems calling Jesus the Eternal Father is taking the title given to the first person of the Trinity. There is but one Father in the Godhead. The Holy Spirit is God, but not the Father; Jesus the Son is God, but not the Father; The Father is God, but not the Son or the Holy Spirit in their revealed roles, responsibilities, and persons. There is one God, but revealed in three persons.
In another sense, if God is one wouldn’t it make sense to have interchangeable names? If God has come to earth, would He not be both Son and Father? The term Father is used also in symbolic ways that has meaning for our worship of Jesus promised from old and come to earth at Bethlehem.
Israelites used the term father to illustrate different things. Obviously, the term father is used mostly as a male parent. All children, except Jesus, were conceived from a male and a female. That person is a parent regardless whether he fulfills any parental responsibility.
Who were the mother and father of Adam? God was, but not so much in a biological manner - as God created both Adam and from Adam’s rib created Eve. The Bible tells us that he was made from dust and God breathed into Adam and he became a living soul. From Adam and Eve came all the people of the world. So, it was common to call Adam the father of the human race. All of us are related down the line whether you like that fact or not.
1 Corinthian passage quoted above helps us understand how Jesus fulfilled the role as our parent. Since Adam was our father by human birth; we receive earthly life. In a similar way Jesus is our father by our spiritual birth. Through Jesus we receive spiritual life. We bear the human likeness of Adam, but also as believers we receive the likeness of Jesus as our spiritual father.
Jesus had a conversation with Nicodemus about being born again. Nicodemus knew he couldn’t enter a second time into his mother’s womb, but Jesus was talking about a spiritual birth (John 3). We need to be born again by the Spirit of God entering our lives, believing in Jesus, and looking upon the One who was crucified for our sins. Through faith in Jesus, we are His spiritual offspring.
Ponder this: In this context He becomes our Everlasting Father and of all who are born again.
Prayer: Lord, Thank You that I can know that when I say Father, You are as close as my breath when I say the word.
