Everlasting Father
This is the third blog post in a 4-part series on the names of Jesus as found in Isaiah 9:6. In this messianic prophecy, Isaiah declares that Jesus would carry four titles that would be a reflection of His character.
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
(Isaiah 9:6)
In the first and second blog posts, I wrote about the meaning of the first two names: Wonderful Counselor and Mighty God. Today, we’ll look at the third name, Everlasting Father, and discuss the meaning of this title and how it impacts us today.
HOW CAN JESUS BE “FATHER” IF HE IS THE SON?
One of the first questions that many of us have when it comes to Jesus carrying the title Everlasting Father is this, “If Jesus is the Son of God, then how can Isaiah call Him Everlasting Father?”
This question stems from God's existence as a Trinity. God exists as three distinct Persons but is of one essence. There is God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Spirit. He is three in one. He is one God who exists as three Persons.
So, the first thing we need to realize is that Isaiah isn’t teaching us that God the Son is the same person as God the Father. The early church denounced this idea. In 200 A.D. a man named Sabellius began teaching what became referred to as Modalism.
He said that God only existed as one person, but that he would operate in these different modes of The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The early church denounced this as heresy because it didn’t line up with Scripture. Scripture teaches that even though they are all of one essence, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are three distinct Persons.
So, Isaiah is not saying that Jesus, the Son of God is the same Person as God the Father. He is not talking about Jesus’ role in the Trinity. Then what does Isaiah actually mean by referring to Jesus as “Everlasting Father?”
EVERLASTING FATHER MEANING
In Hebrew, “Everlasting Father” is Abi’ad. “Ab” means father, and “ad” means eternal. This phrase can be translated literally as “Father of Eternity,” so Isaiah could be saying that the coming Messiah is the Creator of everything, the One who brought it into being, and the One who initiated it.
This is true of course. In Colossians 1, the apostle Paul writes one of the most Christological passages in all of the Bible, declaring the supremacy of Christ.
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
(Colossians 1:15-18)
Eternity owes its existence to Jesus, and it is His power that sustains it.
This could be what Isaiah is trying to get across with the title, Everlasting Father. However, some note that in the Hebrew construction of the phrase, “father” is the primary noun, and “everlasting” is the term that describes His fatherhood.
In other words, as the Everlasting Father, Jesus is a father, and His fatherhood will be without end.
JESUS AS THE EVERLASTING FATHER
Even though Jesus is the King of Kings and will reign on David’s throne forever (Isaiah 9:7), He treats His people not like subjects but rather as children. He treats us as a loving father would treat his own kids.
A LOVING FATHER TEACHES HIS CHILDREN
Good fathers teach their children. They teach them the truth about the world and how things work so that they will be aware and understand and know how to navigate through this world.
This is what Jesus as the Everlasting Father does.
23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom…
(Matthew 4:23)
Jesus taught people truth. John even teaches us that Jesus was born into this world full of grace and full of truth (John 1:14), and Jesus Himself in John 14:6 says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
In His earthly ministry, Jesus (as the Everlasting Father) taught people the truth about God, this world, their lives, and how to be reconciled to God by grace through faith. He continues to do the same thing today.
A LOVING FATHER MEETS THE NEEDS OF HIS CHILDREN
Good fathers meet the needs of their kids. They don’t always give them what they want, but they know what they need and they provide for those needs.
This is exactly what we see Jesus doing in His earthly ministry.
23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them.
(Matthew 4:23-24)
Jesus, as the Everlasting Father, met the needs of people, and He meets the needs of people today. He meets your needs, and He cares and provides for you.
A LOVING FATHER EMOTIONALLY CONNECTS WITH HIS CHILDREN
Good fathers connect with their kids. They relate to them. They rejoice when they rejoice. They mourn when they mourn.
When Jesus was talking to Mary and Martha about their brother Lazarus dying and they showed Him his grave, John tells us this:
35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
(John 11:35-36)
Jesus showed emotion, and He demonstrated His love for people. He even tells the parable of the Prodigal Son that when the son comes back, the Father (who is God in the story) goes running to him, throws His arms around him, and kisses him over and over.
Jesus as the Everlasting Father, loves you and expresses that love to you with an intimacy that is like no other.
A LOVING FATHER PROTECTS HIS KIDS
As a dad, if you were to come after one of my kids, I would fight you tooth and nail. This is what good fathers do. They protect their kids.
Well, in John 10, Jesus talks about being the Great Shepherd, and He says this:
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
(John 10:27-28)
First of all, verse 27 captures the intimacy of Jesus as a Father: “my sheep hear my voice” (they know me and I know them).
However, verse 28 also captures the fierceness of a Father. He will fight you tooth and nail if you come after one of His kids (“…no one will snatch them out of My hand.”).
Jesus, as the Everlasting Father, protects His children, and He fights for you and protects you from the enemy even today.
A LOVING FATHER FORGIVES AND RESTORES
A good father will forgive his kids when they mess up and restore their relationship.
This is what Jesus ultimately came to do. He came to take the sins of all of humanity upon Himself and pay the penalty for them so that we could be forgiven and reconciled to God (1 Peter 1:24-25).
We even see Jesus forgive and restore Peter after he had denied Him three times (John 21:15-19).
Jesus (the Everlasting Father) through the cross and His resurrection, forgives and restores us to God as we receive His free give of salvation by faith.
A LOVING FATHER IMPARTS LIFE
A good Father imparts life to his kids. He infuses them with life, meaning, and purpose.
Look at what Jesus says in John 10:10…
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
(John 10:10)
The reason Jesus came was to bring us life, and He is the Source of that life (John 11:25). The moment we put our faith and trust in Him for salvation, we have life (1 John 5:12). In Him, we have meaning, purpose, significance, and fulfillment.
As the Everlasting Father, Jesus imparts life to his children, and He is your Source of life today.
A LOVING FATHER IS PRESENT & CONSISTENT
A good father is there for his children. He is present and consistently involved in their lives.
When Jesus was meeting with His disciples for the last time before His ascension, He gives them the Great Commission and says this:
20 “… And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:20)
Jesus tells His disciples that He will always be with them, but the reality is that He will always be with you too. If you’ve trusted in Jesus for salvation, you are spiritually united to Him, and He will be with you forever. He will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).
CONCLUSION
Jesus is the Everlasting Father whom Isaiah prophesied would come in Isaiah 9:6. He is the Father of Eternity. He is the creator of everything, the One who brought it into being, and the One who initiated it. Eternity owes its existence to Jesus, and it is His power that sustains it.
He is also eternally a loving, caring Father who takes care of His children. He teaches them, meets their needs, loves them, protects them, forgives them, imparts life to them, and is always with them.
He is a good, good Father.