This is not Jesus becoming a son. This is the son of God in his eternity, in his eternal relation to the father. Friends, here we have reference to the full humanity and to the full divinity of the Messiah. And that's important background for us today as we come to this name for the Messiah, a name that I know I was confused on for many years, and I hope that we can think clearly about this name today. The Messiah is named Everlasting Father. So let me state very clearly, Isaiah is not confusing Jesus, the Son of God, with God the Father. That's what I always read when I was like, oh, it's talking about Jesus and it's talking about the father. No, this is a prophecy regarding a name that is given to the Messiah. It is the second person of the Godhead, Jesus, the Messiah, who is being prophesied about in this verse. It is the eternal son of the eternal father who is incarnated in the person of Jesus Christ. God, the eternal Son of God, became a man in the person of Christ. And this one who comes lays hold of these names, and he possesses these names. That's why I believe Jesus makes reference in the book of John. He says, but if I go, I will send another counselor. I believe taking to himself there the name Wonderful Counselor. Or why, as we read last week, Thomas bowed down before Jesus and he said, my Lord and my God. Today, I want us to consider this matter of Christ as the everlasting Father, not the Father, but as an everlasting Father. I want to wrestle with what is a text that is a challenge. I know this has certainly challenged me and stretched me in my meditations upon Christ this week. get into this quickly. First, the first point this morning is that as everlasting father, the Messiah will be fatherly. And I want to remind us that where we are in redemptive history here, this is not saying Jesus is the father. Remember, Jesus hasn't even come yet. This is a prophecy about a child. This is a prophecy about a child who will carry the government of the world, indeed of the universe, upon his shoulders. This is about one who will bring peace upon the earth because he reigns on the throne of David and over his kingdom. There is a context for this name, and we need to look at it and think about it carefully in that context. That's why We need to be very clear, this is not speaking of the Father. If it's helpful here and it's capitalized because it is a name for the Messiah, but if we can speak of it today as being an everlasting father. That is a father whose fatherhood doesn't end. And so we need to consider today that as an everlasting father, the Messiah will be fatherly. Now, we're accustomed in the Bibles filled with this language of thinking of the Messiah as our brother. We read today from Hebrews chapter 2 where it says that he is not ashamed to call us brothers and then quotes from Psalm 22, I will tell your name to my brothers. But I would point out that in that Hebrews passage, there's also the language of children. Now, I decided not to do this today, but children, you're on notice. You may get called on at some point. I thought today about bringing up a father and a son and having the father stand here and then having his son stand beside him. And now this is your son, right? And son, this is your father, right? We got the relationship here. Now what happens if this child grows up and has kids? Does that make him no longer your father? No, that makes him a father who is a son. And the son has a father, but the son also now has children. You see where we're going with this? And so we need to think today, we need to ponder this name for the Messiah. That the Messiah is going to be, again, not the father, but an everlasting father. This is why Hebrews 2.13 puts these prophetic words in the mouth of Jesus. Behold, I and the children God has given me. Here is the Christ speaking in his office, saying, here I am, behold me, and behold the children that you have given to me. Now, the very beginning of that verse speaks of Jesus as a brother to believers. But now here is Jesus with children. Do you see the beauty of this mystery? That in our union with Christ, the Father, and here I'm speaking of the Father, is our Father. And by the way, Jesus teaches us to pray. Our Father, that is Christ as our brother, and he is the eternal Son of the eternal Father. And now in our union with Christ, now God is truly our father. But then we need to adjust the lens a little bit, and we need to see that Christ grew up. That Christ, and it's always important to remember that Christ did not stay in the manger. It's wonderful to think about Jesus in the manger, Jesus as the incarnate son. But friends, this son is and will always be a mighty king. The child grew up. He became a man. He preached with power and authority. He convicted people of their sins and called them to repent because the kingdom of heaven is right here. The kingdom of heaven is in our midst, friends. Today is the day of salvation. Turn from your sins and believe upon the Son. And remember, He would often speak of the Son of Man. And people are like, who is this Son of Man? Well, He's talking about Himself. He's saying, here I am. And what did He do, friends? The preaching of the Messiah led to regeneration. led to new births, led to people becoming children. Today I want to proceed, continue on here a little bit further, but I want to go to the Gospels today and try to prove to you that Jesus is in fact the everlasting Father. So right now we're emphasizing the Father element, that Jesus in His ministry was gathering His children to Himself. All right, now we move to the second point this morning. We want to also see that the Messiah is eternally divine. The Messiah is eternally divine. And I messed up on the first verse here, but if you would, look in your Bible with me at Isaiah 40 and verse 28. Isaiah 40 and verse 28. Here we want to think about what does it mean when we say everlasting. Here is a son. First of all, he's called a counselor. Most babies aren't very wise, but this son is named Wonderful Counselor. This son is named Mighty God. And now we have today this phrase everlasting. And this is just one example of how this same Hebrew word is used here in Isaiah, Isaiah 40, 28. Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary. His understanding is unsearchable. So here Isaiah is contrasting the everlasting God with mortal humans. We are not creators, we are creatures. We grow tired and hungry. We don't understand everything, but the everlasting God does. And notice that this phrase, this descriptor of everlasting is connected directly to the name Elohim or God here in this passage. So the Messiah is already being given this denoting of being everlasting. But we can take this theme further, if you would turn to 2 Samuel 7.13. 2 Samuel 7.13, this is a much more familiar verse, but one that also speaks of the everlasting character of this Son. It says in 2 Samuel 7.13, He shall build a house for My name. This is the son of David who is promised to come. He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom. Friends, if that's where the sentence ended, it would not be anything significant. David's gonna have a son and he's gonna reign. But you add one more word on here and all of a sudden you see the Davidic covenant in its glory. It says, I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever. This is the everlasting Father we're speaking of today. Or consider another verse in the Minor Prophets, in Micah chapter 5. In Micah chapter 5, it says, again, connecting this very specifically to a geography. But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel. Again, nothing special there. But now the last phrase is of the verse, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. Here is one who is to come forth who is eternal, who is from ancient days, who indeed is the creator of the universe. Oh, friends, what a mystery this is, and yet the Word of God supports this teaching again and again that the Messiah is everlasting. He's fatherly and he's everlasting. Now let's advance this thought in the third point this morning and consider this practically. Point number three is that the Messiah has spiritual children of his own. It's not merely that Jesus is recruiting for the Father. You all should come and you all should follow the one true God of Israel. Let me help you. Let me point you to the Father. Now, Jesus is doing that. He always does the will of His Father. But He says, the Father has glorified Me. How has the Father done that? Well, in part by sending His only begotten Son into the world. And so Jesus is not merely doing this, pointing to the Father. He's saying, follow me. He's gathering spiritual children to himself. Remember that as the second person of the triune God, Jesus is equal in power and glory to the Father. So it would not be correct for Jesus in his divinity to merely point people to the Father. In fact, I would say if that was all he did, that would cast doubt on his divinity. But I want us to see today that Jesus is in fact fatherly in his ministry. Begin in probably the oldest gospel, Mark chapter 10, Mark chapter 10 and verse 24. Mark 10 and verse 24, it says, and the disciples were amazed at his words. Notice he's just been speaking about how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God. But Jesus said to them again, children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. And they were exceedingly astonished and said to him, then who can be saved? And I've pondered this, the source of this astonishment. I think part of it is how hard it is to become a Christian, how hard it is to become a true follower of Christ. But I think they also are in astonishment because he has called his disciples children. And if they are the children as the disciples, then who is he as the rabbi or as the teacher? He is a father. Or look also at John 13, verse 33. And here Jesus, in a sense, emphasizes it. He doesn't merely call them children. He calls them little children. John 13, 33, little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me. And just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, where I am going, you cannot come. Oh, friends, what a mystery it must have been to be a follower of Christ. You look at these phrases that his followers so carefully preserved for us. And this is one of the ways I know they're accurate, is because Jesus is constantly stretching our thinking, even by the phrases that he uses. And imagine, you're a follower, you've left your family, you've entered in, he is your rabbi, you are his disciple, and now suddenly here is the rabbi. A young rabbi, by the way. A very young rabbi, saying little children. He's referencing you as the family and at least implying that He is your Father. The same thing is true in John 21 in verse 5. This is after the resurrection of Christ. They're back up in Galilee as Peter has taken the other disciples fishing and here's Jesus on the shore and suddenly He addresses them, children, don't you have any fish? because he's getting ready to, remember, provide all those fish, miraculously, so many that the boats are sinking, and he calls them children. And I wonder if that may have been the time they said, oh, this is not just some guy on the shore. This is our father. This is the one who has been leading us. We thought his ministry was destroyed, and now here he is again, addressing us as his children. This leads us then to the fourth point this morning. And really trying to apply this truth this morning. That as we think about the everlasting character of the Messiah, as we think about the fatherly ministry of the Messiah, do you see the beauty of the biblical doctrine here? that here is the Father in heaven, the Father. And he has sent his Son to redeem people and to bring them to the Father. And I would remind you here, John 14, 6, no one comes to the Father but through me. Here's Jesus now pointing us to the Father. Here's Jesus in His role as the mediator between God and man, but the mediator is God. And so He's pointing us to the Father by His very fatherly ministry. Friends, we need to see the beauty and the goodness of this title for the Messiah. He is an everlasting Father. He is in this fatherly ministry, by the way. He will never suspend it. Think about those who have gone on from this congregation, who are among the cloud of witnesses in heaven today. Think about the second coming of Christ where all of the saints who have been united to Christ are raised up and are pronounced righteous there before the throne of Christ. And then those who are on his left are taken far away and cast into outer darkness. And then we enter into that blessed state we call the eternal state. Does Jesus change? He's the same yesterday, today and forever. And now in that blessed state, we have the fatherly ministry of Jesus and we will always delight in being called sons and daughters. Sometimes I say sons and daughters of God, but I also like to use the phrase sons and daughters of the king. Friend, if you are united to Christ, you are a son or a daughter of the King, and the King is Jesus. And if you're a son or a daughter of the King, what does that make Him to you? It makes Him a father. Not the father, but it makes Him a father, and you are His kids. Behold, I and the children God has given me. And you see the reference there to all of God's people throughout all of the nations and all of the times of God's creation. He is bringing forth a mighty family. And what a privilege it is to be a part of that. So the fourth point, the Messiah will exert eternal care for his people. He is an everlasting Father, therefore the Messiah is able to exert eternal care for His people in this period that is mysterious to us. We only know what it means to live on the timeline in the unfolding of God's decree in human history, but we know that it's coming. God has promised that the day is coming when there will be no more death or crying or pain when we will enter into this blessed eternal state and Jesus will be with us and he will be fatherly and he will be fatherly to us forever. Ted Donnelly, in his book, Biblical Teaching on the Doctrines of Heaven and Hell, he makes this statement. He says, in the New Testament, heaven means being with Jesus. I will come again, Jesus says, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also, John 14, 3. It is such a simple, yet all-embracing statement. in the world to come, you will be with me is the thrust of his of his statement. That's all that he tells us about heaven with me. Here is the fullness of blessing. Here is the sum of glory. Friends, we need to seek our everlasting father. We need to see Christ as submissive, faithful, diligent, persevering, dying to self disciples of Jesus. As I pondered this week, my conclusion is that it's this disciple-teacher relationship that is then being translated into familial terms. So the rabbi is the father to his disciple. And Jesus is the Father to His disciples. And so to honor Christ as an everlasting Father is to acknowledge that it's because of Him that I have the eternal life I possess. It's because of Him that I now have someone to follow as my Father throughout this life. It's wonderful to have my father here in the congregation today. He's not here all that often. But to prepare this week and think about, oh yeah, my very distant father is going to be very near today. And guess what? I saw pictures just recently of my father when he was a child. And I saw my father grow up. and have children. My sister was here in town yesterday and my brother Steven is back in Indianapolis. And then I saw that child become a father. And then I saw in my own life the challenges of a child becoming a father as I became a father. And now to hear my sons talk about, Oh, I look forward to the day when I get to be a dad like you, dad. Think about what God is doing here as the Father. And friends, believe me, we need to meditate on the fatherliness of the Father. There are other passages we need to go to, to fully lay forth the doctrine of the, what does it mean that the Father is the Father? But I'll close with this today. Do you remember? there in the upper room, when the disciples finally broke out and they said to Jesus, show us the Father and that'll be enough. Just let us see the Father. And Jesus says, I think it's to Philip, he says, Philip, don't you know me? He who has seen me, the Messiah, has seen the Father. I and the Father are one. Here's the Son demonstrating that so much of the Father is visible. And notice the emphasis on, He who has seen me has seen the Father. There is so much of this fatherly character in the ministry of Christ that to see Him as He truly is, is to see the Father. Oh, friends, what a mystery this is. So in conclusion today, I would encourage you, I would exhort you, to meditate upon the child who is born and the son who is given. I would encourage you to meditate upon the mediatorial kingship of Christ as He carries the government of the world upon His shoulders. And I would exhort you to meditate upon this name that is given Him, a name by which He shall be called. everlasting father. Remember, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will bring about the increase of his government in the world, of his peace upon the earth. And it will continue because he reigns. because he has been crowned by the father. Jesus prayed, father, glorify your son in order that your son may glorify you. And here is the father always pointing us to his son and the fatherly ministry of his son. And here's the son always pointing us to the father and the access that we have to the father through him. He who has seen me has seen the Father. Let us pray. Oh Lord our God, how we thank you for prophecies such as this that challenge our thinking and so often expand our thinking about you. We pray Lord that you would help us to not just hear some words about theology proper today, Lord, help us to know you. Father, help us to know your Son, whom you prophesied would have this name. He would be called by this name of Everlasting Father. Lord, help us to honor fully the revelation of your character in the Bible as we think about the triune God, three persons who are one in substance, one in essence, the Father who is God, the Son who is God, the Spirit who is God, these three who are equal in power and glory. Lord, help us to see the sufficiency of Christ, that He is the radiance of your