Wonderful is the first name Isaiah hung on the Child who is born and the Son who is given.
His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
The Hebrew is pele
—
wonder,
marvel,
a deed that stops the mouth because it is not ordinary.
Who is a God like You?
You are the God who works wonders.
The Child is that wonder in flesh.
Isaiah spoke to a people walking in darkness who had seen a great light. A child. A son. Government on His shoulder. Then four names, or five if Wonderful stands alone as the older English read it. Either way the first word is not small. Pele is the word for the Lord’s acts at the sea, for things too high, for the angel’s name that was Wonderful when he would not tell Manoah. Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful? The Child carries what Israel used of God. Counselor sits next to it because the wonder is not fireworks. It is wisdom that plans and carries the plan. Mighty God and Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace complete the line.
The New Testament does not leave the name in the dark. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory. He taught as one who had authority. He did works no one else did. He is the wisdom of God. A crucified Messiah looked like folly. It was the wonder the prophets meant. Do not shrink Wonderful into a Christmas adjective. It is a title. It is who He is when the government rests on Him.
- Wonderful is a name, not wrapping paper.
- Pele is God’s kind of act—beyond human cause and copy.
- Counselor keeps the wonder from being empty spectacle.
- Manoah heard the name and fell on his face. The Child is that Name born.
- Darkness and a great light is the setting. The wonder arrives as a son.
- Cross and empty tomb are the pele the world still trips over.
- The increase of His government has no end. Wonder is not a season.
- The Child and the Son – Born; given; government on His shoulder.
- Pele – Marvel, miracle, the Lord’s own kind of deed.
- Counselor – Wonder that thinks, plans, and leads.
- With Mighty God – The rest of the fourfold name.
- Asked and Withheld – Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?
- Seen – We beheld His glory; works no one else did.
- Unending – Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end.
- Isaiah 9:6-7 – “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. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on 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 forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”
- Judges 13:17-18 – “And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, ‘What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?’ And the angel of the Lord said to him, ‘Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?’”
- Exodus 15:11 – “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?”
- Psalm 77:11, 14 – I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. You are the God who works wonders.
- Psalm 119:18 – Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.
- Isaiah 28:29 – This also comes from the Lord of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom.
- Isaiah 25:1 – O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
- Luke 1:31-33 – You will conceive 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… of His kingdom there will be no end.
- John 1:14 – And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- John 15:24 – If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin.
- 1 Corinthians 1:24 – Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
- Matthew 7:28-29 – The crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority.
- Mark 7:37 – They were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well.”
- Revelation 15:3 – Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty.
To us a child is born, to us a son is given. His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?
Who is like You, O Lord, doing wonders? You are the God who works wonders.
He is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom.
The Word became flesh, and we have seen His glory. He has done all things well.
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Do not leave Wonderful in December. The government is on His shoulder. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. Call Him what Isaiah called Him. The wonder has a Name, and the Name has a cross and a throne.
Entry compiled for the JESUSaves.com Bible Glossary. Optimized for wiki.js Visual Editor.