There is a passage, a glorious passage of scripture that is often read during the Christmas Season. It is put on many greeting cards and written into various musical interpretations. It foretells the gloriousness of Our Lord Jesus Christ, giving Him four names that are wondrous in their depth and scope. Let us read together, Isa 9:2-7. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. Thou hast multiplied the nation, thou hast increased its joy; they rejoice before thee as with joy at the harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, thou hast broken as on the day of Mid'ian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and for evermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. 
This morning, let us consider some of the wonderful aspects of the incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ. This is something that should not be reserved simply for this time of year. It is the concisely expressed witness of the Lord, Who is now our very life. We should honor and adore Him every moment of every day for the superb manifestation of the Love of God that is ours in Christ. It would be of great benefit to spend time in prayer and scripture, seeking the Holy Spirit to open the depth of each of these names ascribed to the Lord. This evening, we will view a number of passages in the Word of God. We do so with the full desire to see some of the key aspects as to what God has written concerning His Son.
Jesus Christ is called Wonderful Counselor. In John 14:16+17, Christ makes a statement concerning being the counselor of those disciples of His day. As the divine and expressed wisdom of God, Christ opened the way for the Holy Spirit to become our eternal counselor. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you. 
Then in John 16:7-14, Jesus explains exactly why the Holy Spirit is so necessary as our Counselor. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. "I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 
How marvelously we are loved by God. Through the birth, the death, and the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, we have become indwelled by the very Spirit of God to meet our every moment’s walk on this earth. He is the One Who opens scripture livingly into our hearts. He is the One by Whom all the truth of Christ is made manifest to us. He is our comfort and our wisdom. He is our Guide and our strength of obedience. He is active to bring forth the Love of God into our lives, and lives forth from our lives in that same love unto others. He is in our lives because Jesus Christ, the Wonderful Counselor, knew that we would need His counsel to be men and women of God on this earth.
The Prophet Jeremiah was given the vision of Christ as seen in His counsel and His might. He saw the Omnipotence of Almighty God set in the Savior to come, the Christ. He ascribes greatness to the entire plan of God in His creation and His salvation. In Christ, the complete glory of Almighty God is vested and expressed. Nothing is left undone. The entire plan of God is fully accomplished, perfectly completed in Jesus Christ, through His Almighty power. Jer 32:17-20 'Ah Lord God! It is thou who hast made the heavens and the earth by thy great power and by thy outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for thee, who showest steadfast love to thousands, but dost requite the guilt of fathers to their children after them, O great and mighty God whose name is the Lord of hosts, great in counsel and mighty in deed; whose eyes are open to all the ways of men, rewarding every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings; who hast shown signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, and hast made thee a name, as at this day. 
The prophet Isaiah foresees the church, the body of believers, in utter reliance upon the might of God in Christ. He saw that remnant, those who would be true to God no matter what trials would be put upon them. It is in Jesus Christ that we can live with the entire focus of our beings set upon the glory of God. Isa 10:20+21 In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean upon him that smote them, but will lean upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.
Next, the name, Eternal Father, was fully declared and manifested by Jesus Christ. The Apostle John knew this truth, the truth of our Isaiah passage and gives expression to it in John 1:14-18 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. (John bore witness to him, and cried, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, for he was before me.'") And from his fulness have we all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known. 
The Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples and us, His church how to pray to Our Heavenly Father. This is an awesome witness of the Holiness and the Grace and the Forgiveness that is found in Christ before our Heavenly Father. Christ showed the love of God and the great honor due unto God the Father as we gather together in Christ’s name. It is Jesus Christ who has directed us to the God of Love. Prior to this, the nations feared God, trembled in dread of the consequences of their actions before God Almighty. Jesus, however, has opened our eyes to the wonderful grace and mercy and hope that is found in Our Loving Heavenly Father. His was a reverent prayer of love and honor unto the Father, as His beloved Son. Matt 6:9-13 Pray then like this: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our debts, As we also have forgiven our debtors; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. 
Further, in Christ’s perfect declaration of the true essence of Our Heavenly Father, He taught His disciples, and us, just how fully loved we are, found in Christ, and covered in Christ’s righteousness. He will supply our every need from His endless heart of Love. Because we are so loved by the Father, we have no need of anxiety or anguish about our earthly walk. We are in His heart and in His hands, loved beyond all measure and comprehension. Matt 6:24-34 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day. 
Christ also builds our understanding of the greatness of the Father’s love for us and the supply of everything necessary and desired in our lives in Christ. Our Heavenly Father has showered us with all His grace and mercy and loving-kindness in His foreordained expressed heart of love in Jesus Christ. Luke 11:9-13 And I tell you, Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" 
In the lavishing of His so great love upon us, by sending His Only Begotten Son to pay the price of our sin, the Father has established Jesus Christ as the Prince of Peace. In being the perfect Lamb of God, Christ has satisfied all the just requirements of the Law, and made any further sacrifice of no purpose. There is now no longer enmity between us and God based on our unrighteousness and ungodliness. We are now fully brought into the very presence of God, covered by the Blood of Christ. He is our righteousness. He is our peace offering once and forever. He is the Prince of Peace.
The peace that is found in Christ was fully declared by the Psalmist in Ps 85:7-13. This peace of God is based entirely on His faithfulness to make His salvation in Christ’s righteousness our very own. Show us thy steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation. Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints, to those who turn to him in their hearts. Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky. Yea, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him, and make his footsteps a way. 
Again, the Prophet Isaiah looks forward to the peace that God would establish forever for His people. Listen to the hope and joy so fully expressed in Isa 26:1-4. In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: "We have a strong city; he sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks. Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps faith may enter in. Thou dost keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusts in thee. Trust in the Lord for ever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. 
Christ told His disciples, and tells us about the peace that He is in those who believe upon His name. It is all comfort for us as we consider the Lord Jesus Christ, Our Savior, Our Lord, Our Righteousness, Our Peace. John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 
The Apostle Peter came face to face with the peace of God as he was struggling with the prejudice that he had been taught against the Gentiles all his life. As God was opening Peter’s heart to the fact that God’s plan and purpose fully included the Gentile nations, Peter makes this statement of God’s peace opened to all in Acts 10:34-38 And Peter opened his mouth and said: "Truly I perceive that God shows no partiality, but in every nation any one who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the word which he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), the word which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 
The Apostle Paul wrote about the Peace of God in Christ Jesus throughout His letters. Some of the great statements of the absolute, marvelous, endless, and incorruptible peace that has become ours in Christ, are the standards that we hold dear before God. Rom 5:1+2 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 
Eph 2:14-18 For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 
Paul continues with the matchless splendor of the peace that is ours in Christ in Phil 4:4-8, Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 
To the Colossians and Thessalonians, Paul increases the understanding of the great splendor of God’s love in Christ by writing, And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful…in Col 3:15.
And in 1 Thess 5:23+24, he writes May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. 
The writer to the Hebrews sees the earthly purpose for that peace in our moment by moment service unto God. Heb 13:20+21 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in you that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 
The Apostle Peter summarizes what this peace of God has accomplished in 1 Peter 1:2-5, as he addresses those …chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and to an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 
The angel of the Lord told all to Mary, at the announcement that she would be the mother of the Son of God. All that was written in the Old Testament was finally to be fulfilled in the child that she would bear. To consider that she was to give birth to the "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" required all the love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, trust, reliance, hope, and belief in God’s faithfulness. The hope of the salvation of all men was to be accomplished through her son, Jesus. It is no wonder that Luke recorded that announcement in Luke 1:30-35 And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end." And Mary said to the angel, "How shall this be, since I have no husband?" And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. 
We conclude this evening with the summation of the prophet Isaiah in Isa 11:1-10 as he proclaims the complete glory of Jesus Christ. We see Him in all the truth of being the fullness of God’s plan of bringing mankind back into perfect fellowship with Himself. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, three more majestic aspects of Christ to consider in our hearts. There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall feed; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The sucking child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. In that day the root of Jesse shall stand as an ensign to the peoples; him shall the nations seek, and his dwellings shall be glorious. 
Again, as we hear the Prophet Isaiah proclaim the coming of the Christ, let our hearts revel in nothing other than Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and for evermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. Amen

Our benediction this morning is found in Rom 5:17-21 If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Then as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man's act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous. Law came in, to increase the trespass; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

With all our hearts, Laura and I hold you in prayer before the Lord: Our Most Gracious Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ the Beloved Son, and Holy Spirit, Our Guide and Comforter, for a most blessed and glorious Christmas and New Year. May the truth of Christ be our all and all today, next year, and always. In the wonderful name of our Almighty Lord Jesus Christ, Amen