What does it mean that Jesus is our Wonderful Counselor (Isaiah 9:6)?
Isaiah 9:6 stands as one of the grandest unveilings of Christ in the Old Testament. The Child born to the virgin is given a fivefold name that rises from wonder to worship — and the first two words, "Wonderful, Counsellor," open the door to understanding who this Person truly is.
The Name "Wonderful"
W.J. Vine draws out the force of this first word with deep reverence:
W.J. Vine"WONDERFUL" is the first word in the spelling of this fivefold name of the God-given Sign. No word could be more suitable, for the more we know of Him the more full of wonder we see Him to be. The Pharisees, who watched His speech that they might confound Him, were utterly confounded themselves when they stood in the presence of "David's Son," the Messiah, the Christ, who was also "David's Lord" (Matt. 22:41-46). Truly He is called "Wonderful."
The word "Wonderful" speaks of what is singular, beyond the reach of human scrutiny. Frank Binford Hole puts it plainly:
Frank Binford HoleThe first is "Wonderful;" that is, Singular and beyond all powers of human scrutiny.
There is an inherent mystery in the Person of Christ — the Child born in a manger is at the same time the eternal God. That is "wonderful" in the truest sense: it exceeds what the mind can fathom, yet fills the heart with adoring wonder.
The Name "Counsellor"
W.J. Vine opens up this title by pointing to its Old Testament roots:
W.J. Vine"COUNSELLOR." He will be the Source of all counsel for those who share the government and its benefits in that day. All counsel that is good has already proceeded from Him, for He it is who has said, "Counsel is Mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. By Me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By Me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth" (Prov. 8:14-16). Divinely suitable it is, indeed, that He should be called "Counsellor."
This is no human adviser. The Counsellor here is the One from whom all true wisdom originates — kings rule by His counsel, princes decree justice by His understanding. F.B. Hole connects this title with the creative counsels of God Himself:
F.B. HoleThen He is "Counsellor;" One involved in the counselling which precedes Divine acts, as for instance, "Let Us make man …" (Gen. 1:26). This must be so inasmuch as He is "Mighty God."
The Son is no mere recipient of wisdom — He is the One seated in the divine counsels from eternity. He was there when creation was planned; He was there when redemption was purposed.
The Fivefold Name as a Whole
W.J. Vine arranges the five titles as a kind of monument of glory, with "Mighty God" at its centre:
W.J. Vine(iii.) MIGHTY EL: (ii.) Counsellor: (iv.) Father of Eternity: (i.) Wonderful: (v.) Prince of Peace: (Isa. 9:6)
"Wonderful" and "Prince of Peace" form the outer frame; "Counsellor" and "Father of Eternity" stand on either side of the central truth: "Mighty God." All the names radiate from and depend upon that central declaration of deity.
The Child Born — and Yet God
William Kelly defends the full Messianic weight of this prophecy, noting that even the ancient Targum applied it exclusively to the Messiah:
William KellyThe efforts of Jews and rationalists to shake this striking prophecy of the Messiah are not violent merely but pitiable. … The Targum supports the proper Messianic reference, and proves that among the ancient Jews no doubt was entertained that the prophet spoke only of the Messiah.
He then draws the threads together:
ISA_PT2He stands out their Kinsman-Redeemer, the true but once rejected Son of David, Who is their boast now, with every name of power and peace and blessing, with an endless reign before Him, established with righteousness and judgement from henceforth and for ever. Truly "the zeal (or jealousy) of Jehovah of hosts will perform this."
F.B. Hole presses the point that these titles constitute an irrefutable declaration of Christ's deity — and that the very wording of the prophecy carefully distinguishes "born" from "given":
F.B. HoleHe is truly the "Child" born to the virgin but He is also the "Son" given. In the fuller light of the New Testament we can see how fitting is the word "given" here rather than "born." He who was "Son" became "seed of David according to the flesh" (Rom. 1:3); that is, by His birth of the virgin. Hence His Sonship preceded His birth.
H.H. Snell sets the passage in the broader testimony of Scripture to Christ's eternal person:
H.H. SnellThe same prophet gives us particulars also as to the eternally Divine person of the Messiah. "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel" — Immanu (with us) El, God — "God with us." Is it possible that words could more forcibly set before us the Deity of the Messiah?
From Darkness to Peace — Because of Who He Is
F.B. Hole traces a beautiful sequence in Isaiah 9:1–6:
F.B. HoleVerse 1 continues the picture of great darkness and affliction that closed chapter 8. Verse 2 tells of the great light that burst in upon the darkness. Verse 3, of the great joy that follows. Verse 4 speaks of the great deliverance that will be granted: Verse 5, of the removal by burning of all that speaks of warfare, so that great peace is established.
Verse 6 begins with, "For;" that is, it supplies the basic reason or ground on which the prophecy rests.
The peace is not a political arrangement — it flows from the Person. Because He is the Wonderful Counsellor, the Mighty God, His counsel never fails and His government never falters. As Hole writes elsewhere:
Prince_of_PeacePeace upon earth will be reached when by judgments God shall remove every peace-disturber … it will be maintained throughout the millennial age by government exercised in the hand of Christ.
Synthesis
To call Jesus "Wonderful Counsellor" is to say two things at once. Wonderful — He is beyond all human comprehension: the eternal God become a Child in a manger, the Lord of glory standing among the despised people of Galilee. No mind can exhaust who He is. Counsellor — He is the source and fountain of all wisdom, the One who was present in the counsels of the Godhead before the worlds were framed, and by whose understanding kings reign and princes decree justice. He does not merely give good advice; all true counsel originates in Him. Together, these titles reveal a Person whose wisdom is not learned but inherent, whose plans are not tentative but eternal, and whose government — when at last it rests upon His shoulder — will bring everlasting peace, because it proceeds from One who is Himself the Mighty God.