When our critics twist the verse in these ways, we would ask them this question: Do you mean to say that besides the Father of the Three of the Godhead there is another divine Father? If anyone would answer this question with a yes, we must tell him clearly that there are not two divine Fathers in this universe and to say that there are is a great heresy. Any Christian who holds the concept of two divine Fathers must abandon it immediately. However the critics interpret this verse, they must recognize that the Son is called the Father and that in the whole universe there is only one divine Father and that this Father is of eternity, without beginning or ending, not the Father of any one age with a beginning and an ending. Regardless of how they interpret “the everlasting Father,” whether as “the Father of eternity,” “the Father of creation,” “the Father of the age to come,” “the Father of Israel,” or the Father of something else, they cannot twist away the title, “the Father” in Isaiah 9:6. There is only one divine Father in the whole universe. Hence, “the everlasting Father” in Isaiah 9:6, regardless of how people twist it, must be the unique divine Father in the Godhead. While some twist the phrase “the everlasting Father,” they do not twist the phrase “the Mighty God.” But if “the Mighty God” should not be twisted, then neither should “the everlasting Father” be twisted, for this is against the principle. We should not accept the first term according to the pure Word and then twist the second. Some twist the second phrase because they are influenced by the traditional teachings concerning the Trinity. But we do not care for traditional teaching; we only care for the pure word of the Bible. Isaiah 9:6 says that the child born unto us is called the Mighty God, and we believe that the child is the Mighty God. This verse also says that the Son given to us is called the everlasting Father, and we also believe that the Son is the everlasting Father. We say this according to the Bible, but others twist this verse to fit their traditional teaching. People may twist Isaiah 9:6, but they cannot change it. This verse has two lines, and if we accept the first line without twisting it, then we must also accept the second in the same way.
Let us go on to John 14. In John 14:8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father.” To this, the Lord replied, “Have I been so long a time with you, and you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how is it that you say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak from Myself, but the Father who abides in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me” (John 14:9-11). The Lord Jesus seemed to be saying, “Philip, I have been with you such a long time. Don’t you know Me? You have been seeing Me for three and one-half years. If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” In John 10:30 the Lord Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” These verses in the Gospel of John support what is revealed in Isaiah 9:6. Isaiah 9:6 reveals that the Son is the Father of eternity. When the Son came, He told His disciples that He and the Father were one. Since the Son is called the Father of eternity, how can people say that He is not the Father in the Godhead, but another Father, the Father of creation or of the age to come? It is heretical to say that besides the divine Father in the Godhead there is another divine Father of creation or of the age to come.
There are, then, two main views of Isaiah 9:6-the view which says that according to the clear, printed word of the Bible the Son is called the everlasting Father, who is the Father in the Godhead, and the view which says that this Father is not the Father in the Godhead but some other Father. If you were the judge in the heavenly court, what decision would you give on these two understandings of this verse? As for me, I would stand with what the Bible says, not with any twistings. Those who twist this verse do not believe the Bible according to the clear word. Instead, they believe the Bible in their twisting way. Whatever fits their understanding they take, but whatever does not fit their understanding they twist. If you twist the words of the Bible, you will suffer a loss, for you are changing the holy Word. You are either taking something away from the Word or adding something to it. This is very serious. Whether or not I understand what the Bible says, I believe whatever it says. When the Bible says that the Son is called the everlasting Father, I say, “Amen, the Son is the Father.” I do not care how men interpret this verse; I only care for what the Bible says.
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