by Emmett Smith

In Isaiah chapter nine, right in the middle of prophecies of doom and destruction for Ephraim and Judah, is found one of the most profound statements about our Lord. The sixth verse reads "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".

Indeed Christ is wonderful, from many perspectives. It would not be possible to exhaust this line of thought in a single short message. Interestingly, one of the definitions of the word wonderful is "worthy of praise". This brings to mind the heavenly scene in Revelation Chapter 5, where the angels, living creatures and elders, myriads and thousands strong, worship "the Lamb that was slain" proclaiming Him "worthy" of "power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing"!

As the Psalmist said in Psalms 40:5, " Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered". He is praiseworthy for more reasons than can be enumerated! It is not possible to even compile His wonderful works in order. Scientists try to formulate orderly and rational explanations for their observations. But He who is the ultimate source of what is observed can't be formulated.

The more we learn, the more wonderful His works and thoughts seem! Recent breakthroughs in microbiology and genetics have simply reinforced the wonders of His creation. Don't believe what some claim. The human genome is not even beginning to be completely understood. Having supposedly "mapped" the information that controls human cellular growth (how completely that's been done is open to dispute) we still are light years from understanding what that information means. The quantity of information governing the smallest and simplest organisms would fill a set of encyclopedias!

Yes, He is wonderful. And "the lamb that was slain", who was present in council during creation, without whom was not any thing made that was made, became a willing sacrifice for our sins! If that's not wonderful, then nothing is!