The Sum of All Perfections

The Sum of All Perfections

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 Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

God presents Christ consistently as the Sum of all possible perfections.  In the portion of our text which we are considering today, we see a list of names and titles which all refer to Christ.  It would literally take volumes to even scratch the surface of the whole of the implications of these titles. Perhaps a simpler way of presenting these concepts is to begin by quoting the Shorter Catechism as it describes God: ‘God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.’  If we consider God in these terms, and then dwell upon the titles before us, we find they lead us to the inevitable conclusion that Christ is God come in the flesh. As such, He is the Ideal Man. He must be the sum of all possible perfections in order to accomplish His glorious purpose of living perfectly and dying sacrificially. Hence He is, ‘Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’  He is, ‘infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.’ This God-Man; this sum of all possible perfections is just the Savior we need. He brings to the table all that we do not. He is all that we are not, and does all that we cannot do. Therefore, we sing, ‘All glory, laud, and honor to Thee, Redeemer King.’ Because He is the sum of all perfections, He is the One to Whom we look to be perfect for us as our Grand Substitute.

Our Good and Gracious Savior,
we rejoice in You, the sum of all possible perfections.
We praise You, that by Your perfect work,
You have brought us unto God.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning