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Raymond Golsworthy
Raymond E. Golsworthy (1918–1999). Born on August 17, 1918, in Wimbledon, London, England, Raymond Golsworthy was a missionary, pastor, and Bible teacher whose ministry spanned India, the United States, and beyond. Initially trained as a surveyor, he served as a Royal Air Force pilot during World War II, surviving imprisonment in a Japanese POW camp after his capture in Java. Converted to Christianity through a fellow prisoner’s testimony, he committed to ministry post-war, studying at London Bible College. In 1947, he joined the India Evangelistic Mission, serving in Bombay for 17 years, where he planted churches and trained native evangelists, notably with the Koli people. Married to Ruth White in 1950, they had four children—John, Stephen, Esther, and Lois. After moving to the U.S. in 1964, he pastored churches in Minnesota and California, later teaching at Christian colleges and leading Bible conferences globally. Golsworthy authored articles for faithliterature.net, such as “Greater Works Than These” and “The Fourfold Glorification of Christ,” emphasizing Christ’s centrality, and wrote books like God’s Last Word and Christ Our Life. Known for expository preaching, he died on September 13, 1999, in Minnesota. He said, “God’s Word is a lamp to our feet, guiding us to Christ alone.”
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Raymond Golsworthy preaches on the incomparable birth, destiny, and character of our Lord as described in Isaiah 9:6. The verse highlights the divine gift of God's Son to humanity, the promise of His future glorious kingdom, and the five wonderful Names that reflect His character: Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, and The Prince of Peace.
Three Incomparables
“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, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 There are three ‘incomparables’ in this one sentence of Isaiah, namely… Our Lord ’s incomparable birth “For unto us a child is born.” That is the simple human element, but look at the great divine fact: “Unto us a Son is given.” The same incomparable fact is recorded in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” And in Rom.8:32 we have the assurance that “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered Him up for us all…” Our Lord’s incomparable destiny “And the government shall be upon His shoulder.” What a relief and comfort it is to know that a glorious kingdom is coming. It will be an age of glory under the headship of the Man of Calvary. And it will be forever (verse 7). Our Lord’s incomparable character The incomparable character of our Lord is summed up in five wonderful Names. 1. Wonderful – He is wonderful in His works (Matt. 21:15) and in His words (John 7:4-6). 2. Counsellor – Truly, “A greater that Solomon is here” (Matt. 12:4-2). His counsels perhaps reducible to come (Matt. 11:28) and go (John 8:11). 3. The mighty God – His deity was attested by demons (Mark 1:24), by men (Matt. 27:54), by His Father (Matt. 3:17; 17:5) and also by Himself (John 9:35-37; 10:36). 4. The everlasting Father – Basically He is called by this name, because He is one with His Father (John 10:30), but also because, as the ascended second man, He fathers, i.e. brings into being, a new human family, His church. And is it not true as well that He everlastingly fathers, and cares for, those to whom He imparts His life? A beautiful example of this is Jairus’ daughter. He gave her life (Mark 5:41, 42) and then “commanded that something should be given her to eat” (verse 43). Yes, He is the father-provider to all His children. And how He stands up always for their defence! Also see Mark 2:18, 19 and 24-28). 5. The Prince of Peace – Yes, He shall reign, and His Kingdom shall be a Kingdom of peace; blessed thought indeed! But there is a further sense in which our Saviour bears that Name. Christ is called Prince three times in the New Testament (Acts.3:15; Acts 5:31; Rev.1:5) and in the first two of these the Greek word ‘archegos’ is employed, signifying particularly a file-leader. (See also Captain in Heb. 2:10). How true it is that that true inward peace (John 14:27) can only be found by following in His steps, as He leads us in the way He took, the way of Calvary. We read that, “There remaineth a rest to the people of God” (Heb. 4:9) and we believe that Christians may know that rest by following in His train. As the hymn-writer puts it: “Dying with Jesus, by death reckoned mine; living with Jesus a new life divine”. And as we live that life, in resurrection-union with the Lord, we find we have a, “Peace which passeth understanding” (Phil. 4:7); a peace which is not of this world (John 14:27). Our great Archegos of Peace has led us into it. All praise to His Name!
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Raymond E. Golsworthy (1918–1999). Born on August 17, 1918, in Wimbledon, London, England, Raymond Golsworthy was a missionary, pastor, and Bible teacher whose ministry spanned India, the United States, and beyond. Initially trained as a surveyor, he served as a Royal Air Force pilot during World War II, surviving imprisonment in a Japanese POW camp after his capture in Java. Converted to Christianity through a fellow prisoner’s testimony, he committed to ministry post-war, studying at London Bible College. In 1947, he joined the India Evangelistic Mission, serving in Bombay for 17 years, where he planted churches and trained native evangelists, notably with the Koli people. Married to Ruth White in 1950, they had four children—John, Stephen, Esther, and Lois. After moving to the U.S. in 1964, he pastored churches in Minnesota and California, later teaching at Christian colleges and leading Bible conferences globally. Golsworthy authored articles for faithliterature.net, such as “Greater Works Than These” and “The Fourfold Glorification of Christ,” emphasizing Christ’s centrality, and wrote books like God’s Last Word and Christ Our Life. Known for expository preaching, he died on September 13, 1999, in Minnesota. He said, “God’s Word is a lamp to our feet, guiding us to Christ alone.”