Name Above All Names: Devotions for Lent--Everlasting Father

artwork by Krista Hamrick

Isaiah 9:6…

NIV:  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Amplified: 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 [of Eternity], Prince of Peace.

Expanded Bible: A child ·has been [or will be; the prophet views the future as though it had already happened] born to us;·God has given a son [L a son has been given] to us. He will be responsible for leading the people [L The government/rule/dominion will be on his shoulder]. His name will be Wonderful Counselor [or Wonderful! Counselor!; or Extraordinary Advisor], Powerful [Mighty] God, Father Who Lives Forever [Eternal Father], Prince of Peace.

NET: For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us. He shoulders responsibility and is called: Extraordinary Strategist, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace

Eternal Father (in Hebrew is Abi'ad [ab = father and ad = eternal] which literally means "The Father of Eternity") In context, the Son Who is the King functions as a father would over his children—He acts like a father—He protects them, He feels affection and compassion for His children.

Theologian Edward J. Young commenting on Eternal Father writes: "He is One who eternally is a Father to His people. Now and forever He guards His people and supplies their needs. “I am the good shepherd,” said our Lord, and thus expressed the very heart of the meaning of this phrase. What tenderness, love, and comfort are here! Eternally—a Father to His people!"

Pastor Harry Ironside writes: "It is easy to get sidetracked when we talk about Jesus as the "Everlasting Father." How can the Son be the Father? As soon as you ask that question you step into the minefield that we like to call the doctrine of the Trinity. Scripture affirms that there is one God who is manifest in three distinct and separate "persons" or personalities: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit and the Spirit is not the Father. But they are all one God! Jesus is not called Everlasting Father because there is confusion about the nature of God the Father and God the Son. Jesus is called the Everlasting Father because of His father-like qualities. He is still God the Son, but His love and grace is like that of a Father with his children. 

Pastor Charles Spurgeon writes: How complex is the person of our Lord Jesus Christ! Almost in the same breath the prophet calls him a "child," and a "counselor," a "son," and "the everlasting Father." This is no contradiction, and to us scarcely a paradox, but it is a mighty marvel that he who was an infant should at the same time be infinite, he who was the Man of Sorrows should also be God over all, blessed for ever; and that he who is in the Divine Trinity always called the Son, should nevertheless be correctly called "the everlasting Father." How forcibly this should remind us of the necessity of carefully studying and rightly understanding the person of our Lord Jesus Christ! We must not suppose that we shall understand him at a glance. A look will save the soul, but patient meditation alone can fill the mind with the knowledge of the Savior. Glorious mysteries are hidden in his person. He speaks to us in plainest language, and he manifests himself openly in our midst, but yet in his person itself there is a height and depth which human intellect fails to measure.”

Jesus is our Everlasting Father in the sense that He is the one who brings us to spiritual life. In John 14:6 Jesus told us that "no man comes to the Father, except through Him." We are new creatures in and because of Christ. It is because of Jesus that we have the opportunity to know eternal life. It is because of Jesus that we can know a new and life-giving relationship with the Father.

Pastor Charles Swindoll relates a story that draws us an appropriate picture of what Christ has done: “Eight-year-old Monica broke her leg as she fell into a pit. An older woman, Mama Njeri, happened along and climbed into the pit to help get Monica out. In the process, a dangerous black Mamba snake bit both Mama Njeri and Monica. Monica was taken to Kejave Medical Center and admitted. Mama Njeri went home, but never awoke from her sleep. The next day a perceptive missionary nurse explained Mama Njeri’s death to Monica, telling her that the snake had bitten both of them, but all of the snake’s poison was expended on Mama Njeri; none was given to Monica. The nurse then explained that Jesus had taken the poison of Monica’s sin so that she could have new life. It was an easy choice for Monica. She then received Jesus as Savior and Lord on the spot.”

As an Everlasting Father, our Lord provides for us. The apostle Paul wrote, "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Knowing that Jesus is the Everlasting Father, shows us that he is not only able to meet these needs, He is also willing to meet them. Our Everlasting Father provides for our every need.

Do you need to feel God’s everlasting arms carrying you today because your strength is exhausted? Do you know someone who is in desperate straits and needs God’s help? From the time we were conceived and born into this world to the very end of our lives, our Everlasting Father, who knitted us together in our mother’s womb, the same eternal, unchanging One who created the heavens and the earth, is the One who has been caring for us all along, through the hands of parents and others who have loved, nurtured, and taught us. It is He who will sustain us—throughout our childhood and youth, in our active years of working or parenting, and into the elder years when our hair is white with age and we can no longer care for ourselves but are dependent on the care of others. Our Everlasting Father is our God of everlasting care.

Everlasting Father, I do want my problems solved and my troubles removed, but from the crushing weight of my burdens, I turn my eyes to You. Enable me to find my rest in You, to discover a place of deeper abandonment and security in Your everlasting love. You are my only rock. You are my only rest. Help me to realize that You are everlastingly my Father, intimately acquainted with me and with every moment of my entire lifetime. Help me to rely on You through every season of my life and to rest in the knowledge that even when I am old, you will still be caring for me. In Jesus’ mighty Name Above All Names—Everlasting Father, we pray, amen.

Look Up—meditate on Isaiah 9:6

Look In—as you meditate on Isaiah 9:6 pray to see how you might apply it to your life.

Look Out—as you meditate on Isaiah 9:6 pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others.

* If you liked this post, you'll love this page -- Name Above All Names: Devotions for Lent

* If you liked this post you’ll love this book – Name Above All Names Devotional: Focusing on 26 Alphabetical Names of Christ

How this book came to be...

Krista Hamrick’s beautiful original art print, Name Above All Names Alphabet, has so inspired me. Each of the 26 individual Names she has identified are so special, as Krista has intricately painted, almost like stained glass windows, each one with its Scripture reference. Krista has said, “This is probably the painting that I have most enjoyed researching, designing, redesigning and painting. Beth Willis Miller has expanded upon each name with devotional word studies. By knowing, believing and trusting who God says He is, we can be confident in who He has created us to be.” I so agree with Krista!  
My heart has been drawn to do a word study for each of the names included in her art print. Krista and I felt led to publish our Name Above All Names Devotional: Focusing on 26 Alphabetical Names of Christ …available now on Amazon as a softcover book and as a Kindle book at this link. 

Combining the beauty of Krista's artistic excellence with these word study devotionals is perfect for individual quiet reflection or small group Bible studies focusing on the Name Above All Names—Jesus Christ—and His attributes and characteristics.

Review by Michele Morin: “The infinite variety in nature, the curious complexity of human behavior, the synchronicity of multiple systems in our own anatomy — and in the solar system — all point, through general revelation, to the nature of God: multi-faceted, magnificent, and yet mysterious. Special revelation in Scripture picks up where creation leaves off, and Beth Willis Miller has teamed up with artist Krista Hamrick to focus on twenty-six pieces of evidence in Name Above All Names Devotional: Focusing on 26 Alphabetical Names of Christ. The result is an alphabetical collection that resembles a twenty-six sided gem, each facet reflecting a slightly different hue of the nature of God the Son. From Alpha and Omega to King of Zion, each devotional highlights the Scriptural basis for the name in multiple translations and then provides commentary on the verses. Beth applies the truth and then invites her readers to join her in a prayer that turns the truth into a paean of praise. No mere academic exercise, the point of Name Above All Names Devotional is threefold:

Look up – Meditate on the name and what it reveals about the character of God.

Look in – I am propelled to ask galvanizing questions about my discoveries: “Because God is ___________________, I should therefore _______________.”

Look out – Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.

With full-color art work and space for notes, Name Above All Names Devotional is a treasure for devotional reading, a resource for serious study, and a thoughtful and inspiring gift for loved ones.” (review by Michele Morin)

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