“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

- Isaiah 9:6, ESV

Introduction

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.” Most of us know those words by heart. We have heard them every December for as long as we can remember. They are read from pulpits, sung in Handel’s Messiah, stitched onto banners, printed on cards, and plastered on Christmas yard decorations. And yet, because they are so familiar, they can also go in and out of our minds without us ever considering what they truly mean. We hear them, we nod in agreement, and we move on, without stopping to ask what Isaiah is really saying, or what these old words have to do with us now.

But God did not give this verse for holiday decoration. He gave it to be believed, received, and brought into the center of our lives. Isaiah spoke into a world filled with fear, war, and darkness, and he promised a child whose coming would mean light breaking in, and a kingdom that would never end. He announced a child whose name is “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6, ESV). This is not just another royal baby. This is the promised Son of David, the Messiah, the one in whom Israel’s hope and the nations’ longing meet.

When we talk about his true humanity, Isaiah’s words fit perfectly: he really is “the child born.” Conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, he entered the world as truly and fully human as any child who has ever lived. He grew. He got hungry. He got tired. He wept. He is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh.

And when we talk about his eternal deity, Isaiah’s words fit just as truly: he is “the son given.” He is the eternally begotten Son of the Father, of one substance with the Father, true God from true God. He is the Word who “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14, ESV). When Isaiah calls him “Mighty God” and says the government will rest on his shoulders, he is not being poetic. He is telling the truth. The child of Bethlehem is the eternal Son who comes to sit on David’s throne and bring God near to his people.

We cannot fully explain how the Son is eternally begotten of the Father, and that is all right. This is holy ground, meant more for worship than for tidy theology. After all, if we could wrap God up neatly inside our understanding, he would no longer be God. So we should not be surprised when the eternal God stretches beyond what our small, time-bound minds can grasp. We simply do not have the tools to measure the depths of God’s being. We may feel as though we have ventured into deep theological waters, but in truth, when it comes to God, we are still standing at the shoreline, looking out at an ocean that has no bottom and no edge.

So for our purposes this morning, let this be enough: in his humanity he is the child born; in his deity he is the Son given. Jesus did not become God at Christmas. He, who is God from all eternity, took our human nature into union with himself.

Now Isaiah’s sentence contains two small words we can skim right over, but they carry enormous weight: “to us.” It is one thing to say that a child was born in Bethlehem long ago, that Jesus walked the dusty roads of Galilee, and that a teacher died on a Roman cross. Many unbelieving historians will grant that. It is another thing to say this child was born “to us,” this Son was given “to us,” that he is ours by faith and we are his by grace.

The apostle Paul could say with complete confidence, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20, ESV). That is the voice of a man who learned to add two words to all his theology: “for me.”

So here is our Christmas question. It is not whether a child was born or whether a Son was given. God has already settled that. The question is whether this child was born to you, whether this Son has been given to you. It is one thing to nod politely when the text is read. It is another thing to say, with humble boldness, “For me a child is born. For me a Son is given.”

Is It So?

Let’s ask the question clearly: Is it true for you? Is this child born to you? Is this Son given to you? Not just as a Christmas idea, but as your reality. Do you actually belong to Christ, and does Christ belong to you? I would rather see you take this seriously than drift through life on spiritual autopilot. This is a question worth facing. Is the child born to you? Is the Son given to you?

The Bible doesn’t tell us to guess. It gives us ways to examine ourselves. And we won’t use the wrong measuring sticks. We won’t judge this by mood, because feelings swing. We won’t judge it by whether you can point to some dramatic moment years ago. We’ll listen to what God says and look for the kind of change his Spirit brings.

First, if this child is born to you, then you have been born again. You don’t truly have Christ while you’re still the same person you’ve always been, just with a church layer on top. Everyone the Father gives to the Son is, at the right time, made alive and changed by the Holy Spirit. Jesus put it plainly: “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3, ESV). New birth isn’t self-improvement. It’s God giving you a new heart. It’s a new beginning.

So how can you tell if you’ve been born again? The main question is not, “Can I name the exact date?” Some can. Some can’t. The real question is, “Has anything actually changed?” Are your desires different than they used to be? Are you starting to hate sins you once defended or brushed off? Are you starting to want what you used to avoid? Has sin started to feel heavier, not lighter? Has Jesus started to feel more important, not less? Is there, even if it’s small, a real desire to become like him?

Before God changed you, the world could keep you satisfied for a while. Now it doesn’t. You can still enjoy good gifts, but you know they can’t hold you up. You need Christ. He has become the bread your soul needs and the water your heart keeps coming back for. That’s one sign that the child born in Bethlehem has become personal to you by the Spirit.

If God is changing you on the inside, it won’t stay hidden. The people closest to you will notice. Would your spouse, your kids, your friends, the people who knew you before, say, “You’re not the same as you used to be”? Peter says some people will “be surprised when you do not join them” in the old life (1 Peter 4:4, ESV). If nothing about your life has ever made anyone pause, it’s fair to ask whether real change has happened.

And we also have to look at what no one else can see. What about your private life? Your habits when nobody’s watching? Has prayer become more natural than it used to be? Are you opening the Bible more than you used to? Does your conscience bother you about things you once laughed at? Real grace doesn’t mean you never struggle. If anything, it means mean that you struggle even more against sin. It means sin is no longer “fine.” It’s a fight now, and it won’t stop until we see Christ.

New birth also changes what life is centered on. Before Christ, we live for ourselves. We might dress it up with religious words, but we’re still in charge. When grace takes hold, we start to live for God. We stop treating ourselves like the owner and start living like we’ve been bought and brought home. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV). That’s not a small tweak. That’s a new life.

Now think about the next phrase: “to us a son is given.” If the Son has been given to you, then you become a son or daughter of God. John says that those who receive Christ and believe in his name are given “the right to become children of God” (John 1:12, ESV). The Son brings you into the family.

So here’s a simple question: do you relate to God as Father? Not perfectly, not constantly, but truly. Do you have that kind of respect and trust that doesn’t want to grieve him? I’m not talking about being scared of God like he’s waiting to punish you. I’m talking about the kind of love that says, “I don’t want to live against him.” Are there moments when you can honestly say, “I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but I know my Father is steady”?

Paul says we have received “the Spirit of adoption” and that we cry, “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15–16, ESV). Are there moments, maybe in quiet prayer, when calling God “Father” feels true, not forced? That’s not you working yourself up. That’s the Spirit at work.

And if the Son is given to you, then you are also given to the Son. You don’t just receive forgiveness. You belong. Jesus says the people the Father gives him will come to him, and he will never cast them out, and he will raise them up on the last day (John 6:37–40, ESV). That is security you don’t build. That is security he gives.

So can you say, even if it’s shaky, “I belong to Jesus, and Jesus belongs to me” (Song of Solomon 6:3, ESV)? Have you stopped trying to keep full control of your life? Are you willing to be led, corrected, used? Your faith may feel small, but is it real? You may feel weak, but are you still holding on to Christ?

Put it all together. If the child is born for me, then I’ve been born again and brought into God’s family. If the Son is given for me, then I am God’s child, and I belong to Christ. This matters. If Christ isn’t mine, then everything I know about him stays at a distance. Bread in a bakery does no good for the hungry man in the street 

So I’m asking you plainly and kindly: is it true for you? Can you say before God, “for me a child is born. for me a Son is given”? Or is it still just Christmas language you know how to repeat, but not yet words you can honestly claim?

If It Is So, What Then?

Now suppose that, by God’s grace, you can honestly say, “I’m not who I used to be. God has changed me. I belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to me.” What happens next? If it is really true that a child is born to you and a Son is given to you, then three things should follow.

First, don’t stay stuck in unnecessary doubt. There is a healthy humility that says, “I know my heart can fool me. I know sin is still real. I’m not trusting myself.” That kind of caution is wise. But there is also a kind of constant second-guessing that drains you, steals your peace, and quietly makes God seem less trustworthy than he is. Why live in spiritual fog when God is calling you into clearer light?

Peter says, “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election” (2 Peter 1:10, ESV). If God says your calling can be confirmed, you don’t have to live as if it must always be a question mark. If God has given ways for assurance to grow, use them.

Think about Paul near the end of his life. He doesn’t sound like a man hanging by a thread. He says, “I know whom I have believed” (2 Timothy 1:12, ESV). Notice what he doesn’t say. He doesn’t say, “I know all the right answers.” He says, “I know him.” He had put his life in the hands of a Person, the Son given, and he rested there.

So if Christ is yours, live like someone who can say, without swagger and without shame, “I know whom I have believed.” Jesus does not scold that kind of confidence when it is anchored in his finished work, not in your performance.

Second, let joy and gratitude grow in you, even when life hurts. The Bible never pretends Christians don’t cry. Some of you are carrying real grief. Some of you live with pain that doesn’t let up. Some of you are living with disappointments that sit heavy on the chest. Some of you have empty seats at the table and losses that still sting.

And yet, even in sorrow, there can be a deeper joy underneath it all. The child born to you carried your sin in his body on the cross. The Son given to you brought you back to God through his death. Your past is forgiven. Your future is secure. And Jesus does not watch you suffer from far away. He walks with you through every valley. So Paul can say, without pretending life is easy, “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4, ESV).

If a child is born to you and a Son is given to you, then you have a joy the world can’t manufacture and can’t steal. Let it show. It may come out with tears in the same breath, but it is still real joy in the Lord.

Third, give yourself fully to the One who gave himself fully for you. Jesus did not come halfway. He didn’t offer partial forgiveness or a small rescue. He held nothing back. In time he left the glory of heaven for the mess of our world. He set his face toward Jerusalem. He took the cup the Father gave him and drank it to the bottom. On the cross he cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46, ESV). And when the work was done, he said, “It is finished” (John 19:30, ESV).

So what makes sense in response? Paul tells us: “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice… which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1, ESV). In plain terms: if God has been this merciful to you, then don’t hold your life back from him.

Don’t give Jesus a polite nod, a Christmas song, and a warm holiday feeling, and then keep control of the parts of your life you don’t want touched. Hand him the keys. Say it plainly: “Lord, I’m yours again. All I am and all I have belongs to you. My mind, my words, my work, my relationships, my time, my money. Use it how you want. Just be glorified in me.”

And if it is so, you also have to live like someone who has been sent. The Son has been given to you not so you can keep him tucked away as a private comfort, but so you can carry his name to others. In a world where Christmas gets watered down into shopping and vague kindness, your life should make Isaiah’s words believable. Let people see that Jesus changes how you suffer, how you work, how you forgive, and how you celebrate.

If It Is Not So, What Then?

Now I want to speak plainly, but gently, to anyone who knows, if they’re honest before God, that this text is not yet true for them. You may know the Christian vocabulary. You may know the hymns. You may have grown up around church. You may feel something every year when you hear about Bethlehem and the manger. But the words “to us” have never become personal for you.

You may have sentiment and family tradition. You may have Christmas warmth. But the heart of Christmas, the Son of God given as your Savior, has not been received. As you are right now, the words aren’t true of you. To you no child is born. To you no Son is given. Let me be direct: you are not safe before a holy God.

So what should you do? I won’t tell you to try harder to be religious. I won’t tell you to clean yourself up and hope it works. I won’t tell you to paint a spiritual coat over an unchanged heart. I urge you to do three things.

First, confess your sin to God. Tell the truth in his presence. Don’t hide. Don’t spin. Don’t blame-shift. Name what you know, and own the deeper sin underneath what you’ve forgotten. The promise is clear: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive” (1 John 1:9, ESV).

Second, stop trusting yourself to make yourself right with God. Let go of the idea that effort, morality, and good intentions can bridge the gap. Scripture is blunt: “By works of the law no human being will be justified” (Romans 3:20, ESV). If you could save yourself, Christmas would be unnecessary. The fact that God sent his Son tells you there is no other way.

Third, look to the cross. The child born and the Son given in Isaiah 9 is the man who hangs on the tree in Matthew 27. There he carries sin, guilt, and curse. Look at his pierced hands and feet. Hear him cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46, ESV). Listen as he says, “It is finished” (John 19:30, ESV). The payment is made. The work is complete. The sacrifice is accepted.

So come to him. Don’t negotiate. Don’t delay. Put yourself in his hands. Trust him as your only hope. He has promised, “Whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37, ESV). Come as you are and pray like the tax collector: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13, ESV). Don’t wait for the perfect mood or a better season. God says, “Now is the favorable time… now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2, ESV).

If you come, Isaiah’s words will become yours. They won’t just be something you hear at Christmas. They will become your confession: “For me a child is born. For me a Son is given.” And you will know peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, because the blood shed at Calvary will wash away your guilt.