6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 (NASB)
Isaiah 9:6 is part of a magnificent prophecy given to the prophet Isaiah about 800 years prior to the advent of our Lord being born of a virgin according to the will of God the Father in order to fulfill his eternal will and plan of redemption of his people. Of course there are those who scoff at this prophecy being about the Messiah or that the Lord Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of that prophecy. However, those who make those assertions, even if they call themselves Christians, are not of us and never have been of us (1 John 2:19)….
Some who do believe this prophecy is true, however, do not believe that it in any way is in effect at this time, but is for some time in the distant future. I counter that with Matthew 28:16-20…[But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”]
Notice that the passage I quoted above is what we call the “Great Commission.” What is the motivation for us to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, et cetera?” It is that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to our Lord and he promises in v20 to always be with us to the end of the age. We do not make the Great Commission work. We do not save people from there sins. We do not provide the means of salvation to anyone. No, we obey what our Lord commands here and he his with is in the midst of it and it is him working through that that good works are done.