The Mighty God
“His name shall be called…Mighty God.”—Isaiah 9:7 (ESV)
There were clues embedded in the prophets as to what men and women were to look for when Messiah came. The first was that He was to be a Wonderful Counselor. The second was the most mysterious, Mighty God. This individual would have unparalleled wisdom, but He would be different than any other ruler the world has ever known. He would be…God. How could God assume the flesh of sinful man? That is the mystery.
God sent His Son because of His great love for us. Salvation could not have been achieved except through God becoming man. When man sinned, he did not sin in the face of a fellow man. He sinned against Almighty God, the infinite, eternal, self-sustaining, wrathful, just, perfect, all-loving, all-powerful, all-knowing, omnipresent, thrice holy, God. To sin against man is one thing, but to sin against Deity? That is entirely something else.
If I were to punch a homeless man, I would probably not get into much trouble. If I were to punch a Chicago police officer, things would get much more serious because I’m not just punching the person in the uniform, but also the law he represents. And in a manner of speaking, I’m not just punching him, but the entire police department. If I were to punch the mayor of Chicago, then I am in essence punching the city of Chicago and all of its citizens, because he is their representative. And because of that, the punishment that I receive must be in proportion to who he is and the value placed upon him. If I were to punch the President of the United States, then I would be hitting the entire USA, because he is their representative. Each time the punishment is raised based upon the prestige or value placed upon the individual, i.e. the homeless man has little value, the police officer has more, the mayor even more than that, and the President of the United States has the greatest value of all. Each time the punishment is made greater. Sinning against God is, then, is like hitting God in the face. And because of who God is, my punishment must be in direct proportion to His person. In other words, since He is infinite, my punishment must be infinite!
Who can pay this infinite price? No one. The apostle John knew this all too well. In Revelation 5 we get a glimpse into the throne room of God. An angel calls for anyone worthy to step forward to open the scroll that comes from the throne of God the Father. But to John’s utter dismay, there was no one found worthy and he began to weep. He wept until one of the elders standing in the presence of God said, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that He can open the scroll and its seven seals”—Revelation 5:5 (ESV).
Jesus was and is God. We get glimpses of it in His life. He said, “Before Abraham was, I am”—John 8:58 (ESV). When Jesus said that He was doing the unthinkable by identifying Himself as the God of the Old Testament!
C.S. Lewis noted Jesus’ claim to forgive sins. He noted that it’s one thing for someone to steal $10 from me and I say, “He’s forgiven, let’s forget about it.” It’s quite another thing when someone steals $10 from you and I say, “He’s forgiven, let’s move on.” But that is exactly what Jesus did (see Mark 2:4-6). Only God could do that. He was, is, and forever will be God (Hebrews 13:8).
Jesus conquered all on the cross. He was the only one who could pay the price for our sin. As God He can satisfy God’s wrath, because He is infinite, fully loving, and the fullest expression of the Godhead in flesh. As man He can identify with us completely because He is our representative before God, though without sin.
The little baby in the manger was and is the Mighty God. The great sin-forgiver! The hope of the universe was wrapped in swaddling clothes! Incomprehensible! The hymn writer captured the wonder of it all when he wrote,
Christ, by highest heav'n adored:
Christ, the everlasting Lord;
Late in time behold Him come,
Offspring of the Virgin’s womb:
Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see;
Hail, th'incarnate Deity,
Pleased, as man, with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel!
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King!”
Jesus is God. And only in Him is any real and lasting hope. Only He can forgive our sins. And only He can save us. What great love has the Father lavished on us! May we fall at His feet in wonder and praise all over again, echoing the hymn writer, “Glory to the newborn King!” Amen!
There were clues embedded in the prophets as to what men and women were to look for when Messiah came. The first was that He was to be a Wonderful Counselor. The second was the most mysterious, Mighty God. This individual would have unparalleled wisdom, but He would be different than any other ruler the world has ever known. He would be…God. How could God assume the flesh of sinful man? That is the mystery.
God sent His Son because of His great love for us. Salvation could not have been achieved except through God becoming man. When man sinned, he did not sin in the face of a fellow man. He sinned against Almighty God, the infinite, eternal, self-sustaining, wrathful, just, perfect, all-loving, all-powerful, all-knowing, omnipresent, thrice holy, God. To sin against man is one thing, but to sin against Deity? That is entirely something else.
If I were to punch a homeless man, I would probably not get into much trouble. If I were to punch a Chicago police officer, things would get much more serious because I’m not just punching the person in the uniform, but also the law he represents. And in a manner of speaking, I’m not just punching him, but the entire police department. If I were to punch the mayor of Chicago, then I am in essence punching the city of Chicago and all of its citizens, because he is their representative. And because of that, the punishment that I receive must be in proportion to who he is and the value placed upon him. If I were to punch the President of the United States, then I would be hitting the entire USA, because he is their representative. Each time the punishment is raised based upon the prestige or value placed upon the individual, i.e. the homeless man has little value, the police officer has more, the mayor even more than that, and the President of the United States has the greatest value of all. Each time the punishment is made greater. Sinning against God is, then, is like hitting God in the face. And because of who God is, my punishment must be in direct proportion to His person. In other words, since He is infinite, my punishment must be infinite!
Who can pay this infinite price? No one. The apostle John knew this all too well. In Revelation 5 we get a glimpse into the throne room of God. An angel calls for anyone worthy to step forward to open the scroll that comes from the throne of God the Father. But to John’s utter dismay, there was no one found worthy and he began to weep. He wept until one of the elders standing in the presence of God said, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that He can open the scroll and its seven seals”—Revelation 5:5 (ESV).
Jesus was and is God. We get glimpses of it in His life. He said, “Before Abraham was, I am”—John 8:58 (ESV). When Jesus said that He was doing the unthinkable by identifying Himself as the God of the Old Testament!
C.S. Lewis noted Jesus’ claim to forgive sins. He noted that it’s one thing for someone to steal $10 from me and I say, “He’s forgiven, let’s forget about it.” It’s quite another thing when someone steals $10 from you and I say, “He’s forgiven, let’s move on.” But that is exactly what Jesus did (see Mark 2:4-6). Only God could do that. He was, is, and forever will be God (Hebrews 13:8).
Jesus conquered all on the cross. He was the only one who could pay the price for our sin. As God He can satisfy God’s wrath, because He is infinite, fully loving, and the fullest expression of the Godhead in flesh. As man He can identify with us completely because He is our representative before God, though without sin.
The little baby in the manger was and is the Mighty God. The great sin-forgiver! The hope of the universe was wrapped in swaddling clothes! Incomprehensible! The hymn writer captured the wonder of it all when he wrote,
Christ, by highest heav'n adored:
Christ, the everlasting Lord;
Late in time behold Him come,
Offspring of the Virgin’s womb:
Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see;
Hail, th'incarnate Deity,
Pleased, as man, with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel!
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King!”
Jesus is God. And only in Him is any real and lasting hope. Only He can forgive our sins. And only He can save us. What great love has the Father lavished on us! May we fall at His feet in wonder and praise all over again, echoing the hymn writer, “Glory to the newborn King!” Amen!
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