by Emmett Smith

How could Isaiah refer to the Messiah as "everlasting Father"? Isn't He properly referred to as the "Son of God with power" (Romans 1:4)? Let's not any of us pretend to completely understand this paradox. After all, Paul told Timothy, "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" (1 Timothy 3:16).

We simply don't (can't) understand the divine nature. The Bible tells us that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one God. In Genesis, God said, "let us make man". How can God be one and yet three? That's a mystery. How could God become human? Don't try to tell me you understand it completely. I won't believe you. I don't believe anyone whose only experience is human experience can understand it. However, there are some interesting scholarly comments on this paradox.

Adam Clarke wrote that the phrase "everlasting Father" should be translated as "the Father of the everlasting age". Interestingly, some scholars say that Romans 1:4 which says Jesus was, "...declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:", is supportive of this assertion. The phrase "by the resurrection from the dead" does not apply solely to Jesus, but is generic, i.e. "resurrection of those who are dead". As 1 Corinthians 15:20 says, Christ is, "risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept".

So Jesus is the Father of the everlasting age. The firstfruits of those who rise from the dead, never to die again! Both Old and New Testaments refer to the "last days". And Jesus certainly ushered in those last days (Hebrews 1:1,2). Daniel (chapters 2 & 7) referred to the kingdom that would never be destroyed, but would stand forever. And Jesus, who is the "the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2), established that kingdom, and now reigns over it. Are you one of His subjects?