by Al Sanders
QhhiidmaA TJlsAAaqsi
of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and we hid our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” It was also Isaiah who prophesied many years before the birth of the Saviour as to what His name should be. In Isaiah 9:6, an oft-quoted por tion of Scripture, we read, “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, Counselor, The Mighty God, the Everlasting Fa ther, The Prince of Peace.” Webster defines the subject of a name as, “That title which describes a person or object; the reputation of same.” How beautifully these words of the prophet describe the person and reputation of the Lord Jesus. In the broad expanse of Scripture, there are at least 350 different names given for the Lord Jesus Christ, and each of them individually, or all of them put together, beggar the true and adequate description of His peer less person. “H IS NAME S HA L L BE CALLED WONDERFUL.” Do you know any human being who has ever lived, except the Lord Jesus Christ, who could bear such a name ? Lovers, in the first stages of getting ac quainted, may use the adjective “won derful” to describe the persons to whom they have given their hearts. But love is fickle and disappointing, and soon heartbreak may come. In no real sense can any human being be called “wonderful.” Webster de fines “wonderful” as, “A miracle; astonishment by something strange or not understood.” How right that description is. We cannot explain Christ. The mortal minds of scholars, philosophers, and even some theolo- 9
T here is a world of difference be tween reputation and character. As someone has well said, “Reputa tion is what men think you to be; character is what God knows you to be.” It almost goes without saying that men and women in social circles and every strata of life today are more- interested in their reputation than they are in their character. The Lord Jesus Christ was slandered when He came to this earth some 2000 years ago; however, He was at all times in every respect, very God of very God. He is co-equal, co-eter nal, co-existent with the Father; in fact, in Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. In Philippians, Paul writes of the coming to this earth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes this area of theology is called “The Incarnation,” which simply means the bodily mani festation of the Almighty. God came to live among men, as a Man, yet our Saviour was and is without sin. We are told, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:5-7). Plenty of people would like to make themselves over, at least, as far as their reputation is concerned. The Lord Jesus Christ made Himself, not of great esteem, but the Bible says “of no reputation.” How beautifully this thought fulfills the teaching of the Holy Spirit through the prophet Isaiah when he declared, “He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men, a man
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