- The Unlimited “Might” of God’s Character – Isa 9:6 is a passage that is quoted frequently at Christmas time and is sung in Handel’s “Messiah”, we are confronted in this passage with the sheer magnitude and glorious majesty of God Himself as it lists five of the Lord Jesus’ names: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace”. “The mighty God” is the third title given to the Lord Jesus Christ in this familiar passage, which is the prophetic utterance that Christ would take upon Himself a human nature and still retain His eternal position in the Godhead. Even the mystery of the Trinity is revealed in this verse. The Scriptures declares in Col 2:9, “For in him [Lord Jesus Christ] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily”. This is further emphasized in Heb 1:3, where we find this majestic description of God the Son: “Who [Christ] being the brightness of his [God the Father’s] glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his [Christ’s] power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high”. “Mighty” in Isa 9:6 exemplifies God’s limitless and incomparable power. It is used frequently in the context of a great warrior. Exo 15:3 reveals an interesting description of one facet of God’s sinless character, “The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name”. Psa 24:8 also queries, “Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle”. The battles depicted in the Old Testament, though historically accurate, serve to teach spiritual truths. We must bear in mind that God is concerned with a spiritual battle in the first instance. It is the battle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan that God has already won on the Cross, according to Col 2:15, “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he [Lord Jesus] made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it”. We see from these two passages Isa 44:6 and Rev 1:8 that the Beginning and the Ending, the Alpha and Omega, the Redeemer, the LORD (Jehovah) of Hosts, and the Almighty all refer to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
Isa 44:6 “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God”.
Rev 1:8 “I [Lord Jesus Christ] am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty”.
Rev 11:17 “…We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned”
Dan 4:3 “How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.”
Rev 7:12 “Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.”
- The Unlimited “Might” of God’s Love – Isa 10:21 makes this beautiful promise concerning the God’s love for the elect “The remnant shall return… unto the mighty God”. Psa 110:3 proclaims and highlights the supremacy of God’s everlasting power in bestowing His salvation upon His elect when He saves them by His grace, “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth”. Zep 3:17 announces the blessing of His salvation: “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing”. Psa 89:19b promises about God the Son – the only Savior – the “mighty” one : “… I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one (Speaking prophetically of the Messiah) chosen out of the people”. In Genesis 49 Jacob, under divine inspiration, pronounces numerous blessings upon his twelve sons, and in verse 24 we read this about Joseph, who typifies the Lord Jesus Christ: “But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of; Israel:)”. The shepherd, the stone of Israel is a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ (Isa 28:16, Rom 9:31-32, 1 Pet 2:7-8). Gal 4:4-5 discloses the long-awaited Messiah Who would put in His divine appearance as all the Old Testament prophets had foretold: “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons”. In order to redeem His chosen people, Christ had to vanquish Satan at the cross. In order to defeat Satan, Christ had to became sin for every true Christian; and then had to suffer the equivalent of eternal damnation on their behalf, as expressed by His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (which means “winepress”). Isa 63:1-3 poignantly depicts the fact that Christ was alone in enduring the wrath of God in order to successfully atone or pay for the sins of His people. This is typified by His pure white garments, which have now become blood stained with the blood of those he came to redeem: “Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save”. What God accomplishes in saving someone from spiritual death to spiritual life is equivalent to what the Lord Jesus Christ experienced through His death, burial, and resurrection, as Eph 1:19-20 indicates: “And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places”. We can see why those in Heaven praise God for His salvation as Rev 15:3 underscores, “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.”
Deu 5:15 “And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out [typifying our deliverance from the power of darkness (col 1:13)] thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.”
Luke 11:21–22 “When a strong man [Satan] armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger [Christ] than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.”
Isa 53:12 “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
1 Tim 3:16 “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”
- The Unlimited “Might” of God’s Wrath – Deu 10:17 declares: “For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward”. Jer 32 highlights and illustrates God’s perfect holiness and mercy in meeting out His justice and righteousness. Eternal God of the Bible is the only True and Living God – and He is a God of wrath as well as a God of salvation as the following verses show: “Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name” (Jer 32:18). Apart from salvation there can be no true biblical success regardless of how rich, famous, or powerful one might be. Those who consider themselves mighty will one day have to reckon with the One Who is infinitely mightier than they are as Jer 9:23–24 declares: “… neither let the mighty man glory in his might … But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth …”. In Psa 93, God mentions “floods” and gives us a vivid description of His power over tumultuous “waters” and the “sea”. Now, it is true that God is in total control of the forces of nature as Jesus dramatically illustrated in Matt 8:27 “But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!”, but how does all that relate spiritually? When we “compare spiritual with spiritual” with Isa 17, we see that “the seas” represent “the multitude of many people” and the “mighty waters” represent “the nations”. As a just Ruler or Judge, God must punish sin, which the Bible defines as “transgression of the law” in 1 John 3:4. Psa 45:3 also emphasizes that God will punish His enemies with His sword: “Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty with thy glory and thy majesty”. The language presented in the New Testament is equally frightening as Rev 19:15 declares in parallel: “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations …”. The sword symbolizes the power of the Word of God to inflict eternal punishment. The first time Christ put in his appearance was as the babe in a manger as the Savior of His people. The second time, Christ will come as a judge to execute judgment, as we also read in Jude 1:14–15. Matt 24:29–30 describes the unspeakable horror that awaits all who remain unsaved. Rev 6:17 asks the ultimate question that the vast majority of human beings want to avoid at all costs: “For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”. And Rev 6:15–17 sadly illustrates the futility of human might. Of course, the Lord Jesus Christ is King of all kings and Lord of all lords and all the kingdoms of the world will be undisputedly His when the last trumpet sounds on the Last Day, according to Rev 19:11–16.
Jer 10:10 “But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation”.
Jude 1:14–15 “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
Psa 93:1–5 “The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved. 2Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting. 3The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. 4The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea. 5Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O LORD, for ever.”
Isa 17:12–13 “Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! 13The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.”
Mat 24:29–30 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man [Lord Jesus Christ as Judge] coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”
Rev 6:15–17 “And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of his wrath is come ; and who shall be able to stand?”
Rev 19:11-16 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword [The sword symbolizes the power of the Word of God to inflict eternal punishment], that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
