Wonderful Counselor. Mighty God. Everlasting Father. Prince of Peace.

These are the four titles Isaiah used to describe the coming one, the Messiah, some 800 years before Jesus was born.

You can read them in Isaiah 9:6. God gave the prophet a vision for what was to come. And Jesus fulfilled this prophecy in his life, ministry, death and resurrection.

What does each title mean? Wonderful Counselor: the Hebrew could be rendered, “a wonder of a counselor.” There are those moments when we all need advice. Perhaps you ask a parent, a pastor, a sibling, a spouse or a trusted friend what they think.

But the good news is that the Messiah, Jesus, is a wonder of a counselor. He never leads us astray. He guides us in the way we should go.

Mighty God: this reminds us that Jesus is indeed God in the flesh. This is a basic teaching of the Christian faith.

To deny the deity of Christ is to deny the very essence of our faith. Immanuel means God with us. Jesus is our true God.

Everlasting Father: what do you do or have that lasts forever? Every possession you own is wearing down. Even our bodies will not last. We slow down with age.

And yet, Job said, “He has put eternity in our hearts.” That means that we long for more than we see.

Eternity is real, and Jesus is the one who lives and reigns forever. He will always be there for us.

Prince of Peace: we all know that we do not experience perfect peace in this world. But Jesus promises the day when peace will be complete and absolute.

He calls us to be peacemakers. But he is the one who gives us peace, even in the midst of the storm. And his perfect peace will one day be ours as well.

All of these titles give us a bit more insight as to who Jesus truly is. Because of who he is, we can trust in him.

Ultimately we say with the early church, “Jesus is Lord.” And the day will come when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess.

Until that day, we wait.