He is "Bro"?

Due to a popular, local telenovela, many people now call our Lord Jesus as “Bro” (short for “brother”). It seems to be a sincere attempt to humanize God. They feel that they could get close to Him that way. I suppose there was no intention to demean Him. However, we cannot call the Lord with just any name we want. In the Bible, the name reflects the nature (character) of the person. The names that Isaiah 9:6 gave to our Lord Jesus Christ revealed His divine nature. “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.” (ESV)

Here He is called “Mighty God.” Cults that deny the deity of Christ try to wiggle out of its weight by saying that He is not the almighty God but only the mighty God. They usually claim that mighty is different from almighty. But Isaiah appears to be not making such a distinction. In Isaiah 10, he connected “mighty God” (v. 21) with “the Lord GOD of hosts” (v.23). In the New International Version, “the Lord GOD of hosts” is translated as “The Lord, the LORD Almighty”. Thus, for Isaiah, “mighty God” is the same as “almighty God.” Therefore, it clearly proves that Jesus is equal to the Father.

The name “Everlasting Father” also shows that the Messiah is God, since the prophet also called the Lord God “Father” (Isa. 63:16; 64:8). However, this does not mean that God the Son and God the Father is one person. They are one in the sense of equality but not identity (John 10:30).

At first, I only thought that only the names “Mighty God” and “Everlasting Father” emphasized that Jesus is God. But, reading on, “Wonderful Counselor” also proves His deity. (The Messiah is described as having “the Spirit of counsel” in Isa. 11:2.) Isaiah wrote that “the LORD of hosts… is wonderful in counsel” (28:29). That verse clearly refers to God Himself. He is the one giving counsel, not the one needing counsel. In stressing the sovereignty of God, Isaiah challenged the people with this question: “what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand?” (40:13b-14). Thus, Christ as the “Wonderful Counselor” is “the [sovereign] LORD of hosts”. Then, the name “Prince of peace” reminds the readers of the Lord who will bring ultimate peace on earth (2:4). Thus, Jesus is not just our divine Big Brother.

Brethren, Jesus Christ is Lord.

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