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good evening everyone just a reminder that Pastor Butler is away on vacation so you can continue to keep him in your prayers as he gets some needed rest let's turn in our Bibles for our call to worship tonight if you'll turn with me in the book of Revelation to the book of Revelation specifically chapter 19 revelation 19 we'll begin reading at verse 11 a passage of Scripture that we haven't read at the outset of worship for a while we return to it again as it speaks wonderfully concerning our conquering Messiah the Lord Jesus Christ revelation 19 beginning in verse 11 now I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse and he who sat on him was called faithful and true and in righteousness he judges and makes war his eyes were like a flame of fire and on his head were many crowns he had a name written that no one knew except himself he was clothed with a robe dipped in blood and his name is called the Word of God and the armies in heaven clothed in fine linen white and clean followed him on white horses now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword that with it he should strike the nation's and he himself will rule them with a rod of iron he himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God and he has on his robe and on his thigh a name written king of kings and Lord of lords amen well let's stand and sing together hymn 89 and you're read Trinity excuse me not your read Psalter the larger Trinity hymnal will stand and sing 89 together [Music] let us pray Heavenly Father we rejoice in this Lord's Day evening we thank you that we can now gather a second time on this year Lord's Day for the worship of our great God Father Son and Holy Spirit once again we would ask that you'd help us in worship we long as your Saints to worship you in spirit and in truth and we do pray again that you'd help us in this we thank you for the forgiveness of sins we thank you for the gospel of our savior the Lord Jesus Christ we rejoice rejoice in that blood shed upon Calvary's cross the the knowledge that we have with respect to the fact that without the shedding of blood there can be no remission of sins but in Jesus Christ we have that blood shed upon Calvary's cross perfect for the forgiveness of sins for for all for whom he died and we rejoice in that blessed truth we thank you for the righteousness of Jesus Christ our Savior that righteousness that is received by faith alone imputed to us and we just rejoice in the gospel of our Savior and pray this evening you'd help us to be filled with that joy you'd help us to be filled with the joy and the knowledge of so great a salvation we pray that you would help us Lord to reflect with the joy upon your goodness upon the the glory of the many benefits that you pour out upon us on a daily basis might we never tire of remembering and reflecting upon the fact that each and every day you you appoint good things to us and we do pray that you keep us as such Saints who are thankful and such saints who are not grateful for the things that you give us on a daily basis and once again we thank you above all for salvation through Jesus Christ our Savior we do pray that you'd be with Pastor Butler as he's on vacation we would just pray for restoration for refreshment for recreation we pray that you help him to as it were recharge his batteries as he has three weeks off just attend to him help him to have a blessed time with with Rebecca and with family and and all those things Lord do just restore him well and bring him back all the more strong for his pastoral ministry the end of November we do pray that you'd be with those unable to join us because of illness and all these things God we pray that you'd strengthen your your Saints who are struggling and struggling physically we just pray that you tend to each and everyone we know is we often confess rightly that you are the Great Physician we do pray that you'd strengthen your Saints that you'd knit together the wounds of the physical man for all who are struggling and that you'd caused them in the midst of their suffering in the midst of their afflictions to give you honor to give you glory to be a resolve to the fact that the judge of all the earth that does right for his own glory and for the good of his Saints we do pray once again for those who rule over us that they would do so in righteousness and inequity as we often pray this Lord we pray this each and every Lord's Day we just pray that those who rule over the nation's would no longer pervert the nation's but much rather righteousness would be the order of the day we would pray that you keep us in prayer for these sorts of things that we would constantly come before you pleading with you that the nations of this world would be governed by such who are who want to see righteousness reign we do pray that you would cast down those who would seek in their minds to be resolved to pervert the nation's we pray that you would cast them down cause them to stumble like drunken men that they may no longer bring perversity throughout the nations of the world we do pray God that you'd be with your persecute your persecuted Saints as we read about them very often during prayer time we do pray that you'd be with those are our precious brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world in those nations where there is much opposition daily a tyranny and opposition daily anger and violence being brought against the Church of Christ we do just pray for our dear brothers and sisters who are in Christ in these nations help them we pray once again that you would be to them their God of all comfort that they would be able to find to trust in you and to find in you already help in a ready aid and we do pray that you would deal with those who are persecuting our brothers and sisters that you've caused them by your glory for your for your glory by your gospel and by your spear to be brought and made alive in Christ Jesus that they would be found among those whom they formerly persecuted we know that the gospel and the Holy Spirit are powerful unto the saving of sinners and we do pray that many would hear of so great a savior and come to a knowledge of him and we do pray once again for those who would seek to remain in opposition to you and to remain in rebellion against the living and true God that you would cause them to wither away as the snail that they may no longer bring violence against the people of Christ do be with us tonight in worship we pray that you'd be with the Surrey Church we would ask that you just help them and cause them to know the goodness of their God in the context of worship and we pray that you would be with the Vernon Church as well but be with us specifically now Lord we would ask that you'd help us to be found in worship as those who are focused as those who are attentive as those who are joyful as we reflect upon the glories of our God the goodness of his Christ and all of the benefits that you have poured out upon us redemptive ly through our Savior Jesus and it's in his name that we do pray amen let's stand again in sing this time it's going to be in the Trinity hymnal again and we're going to sing one thirty two let's stand and sing that together one thirty two [Music] be seated you can turn in your Bibles to Zephaniah 3z fauna at chapter 3 as we finish off that book minor Prophet Zephaniah all of chapter 3 will read we see going on here is God being faithful to two particular promises faithful to the curses of the Covenant in meeting out his judicial and wholesome severity against Israel against Jerusalem we also see faithfulness though to the Messianic promise we see God's faithfulness to the fact that there will be one coming forth who will gather together all nations who will be the joy of Jerusalem the joy of Israel in whom they will rejoice with much rejoicing so this is Zephaniah chapter 3 beginning in verse 1 woe to her who is rebellious and polluted to the oppressing city she has not obeyed his voice she has not received correction she has not trusted in the Lord she has not draw near to her God her Prince's in her midst are roaring Lions her judges are evening wolves that leave not a bone till morning her prophets are insolent treacherous people her priests have polluted the sanctuary they have done violence to the law the Lord is righteous in her midst he will do no unrighteousness every morning he brings his justice to light he never fails but the unjust knows no shame I have cut off nations their fortresses are devastated I have made their streets desolate with none passing by their cities are destroyed there is no one no inhabitant I said surely you will fear me you will receive instruction so that her dwelling would not be cut off despite everything for which I punished her but they rose early and corrupted all their deeds therefore wait for me says the Lord until the day I rise up for plunder my determination is to gather the nations to my Assembly of kingdoms to pour on them my Inn big nation all my fierce anger all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy for then I will restore to the peoples a pure language that they all may call on the name of the Lord to serve Him with one Accord from beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my worshippers the daughters of my dispersed ones shall bring my offering in that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds in which you transgress against me for then I will take away from your midst OHS who rejoice in your pride and you shall no longer be haughty in my holy mountain I will leave in your midst a meek and humble people and they shall trust in the name of the Lord the remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness and speak no lies nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth for they shall feed their flocks and lie down and no one shall make them afraid singing o daughter of Zion shout o Israel be glad and rejoice with all your heart o daughter of Jerusalem the Lord has taken away your judgments he has cast out your enemy the king of Israel the Lord is in your midst he shall see disaster you shall see disaster no more in that day it shall be said to Jerusalem do not fear Zion let not your hands be weak the Lord your God in your midst the mighty one will save he will rejoice over you with gladness he will quiet you with his love he will rejoice over you with singing I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly who are among you to whom its reproach is a burden behold at that time I will deal with all who afflict you I will save the lame and gather those who were driven out I will appoint them for praise and fame in every land where they were put to shame at that time I will bring you back even at the time I gather you for I will give you fame and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I return your captives before your eyes says the Lord Amen well let us pray God we rejoice in your word to us we rejoice in what we read concerning your coven ensel faithfulness we know that man himself is not covenant aliy faithful but we know that one is even God most and we thank you for the hotness of your severity against the disobedient we thank you for your mercy and for your love extended to Jerusalem and by virtue of the Messianic promise we rejoice that we can be found among that reality in that reality with regards to Jesus Christ our Savior we thank you that you did not that you do not impute our sins to us those who are in Christ Jesus but much rather in him we have that blessed forgiveness of sins we thank you for the promises concerning him and that you have blessed a multitude richly through the doing and the dying and the rising again of Jesus Christ the Son of God do be with us as we continue in worship the do be with us Lord as we seek to by your spirit return praises unto you as we continue to sing as we continue to engage in preaching and read the scriptures and all these things we do pray for joy in our hearts joy and warmth in our Christian hearts as we engage in these elements of worship and we once again praise that pray that you would be the recipient of all praise and all honor and we pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior amen well let's stand again and sing this time close to the last him it'll be 136 this time we'll stand as a church and sing 136 [Music] please be seated you can turn in your Bibles to the Gospel of Matthew chapter 16 we're gonna read verse 13 to verse 20 and we're going to use the text as a point of departure to observe the importance of the knowledge of Christ number of Sundays ago not too many Sundays ago pastor Butler had mentioned a survey that was done online that I think it was Ligonier ministries some of the men and the theology study might be able to give you exact information but the question was asked about the identity of the Lord Jesus Christ and I believe the question was something to the effect of is Jesus Christ the highest creature of God and 78% of polled evangelical Christians answered yes Jesus Christ is a creature the highest creation of God which effectively means that seventy eight depending on the scientific reality of the study if it was the proper sampling of people and that sort of a thing that seventy-eight percent of the evangelical church is effectively Aryan effectively heretics denounced at the Council of Nicaea and throughout the ages of Christianity and it brings to the fore the reality that we are to know our Christ we are to have a knowledge of our Savior the Lord Jesus and this isn't us this isn't a something that stops after the first month or the first year of our Christian profession but continues on because Christ Jesus is the stuff of our joy as we march along as Christians in this lower world time and time again he is the object of our affections he is the chief object of our joy and he is the one who is to be known and so here in Matthew 16 in verses 13 to 20 we have this reality brought forth by Christ himself in fact I would I would I would offer to you I would offer up the fact that I believe the most important question ever dropping from human lips divine human lips in this case is the question that Jesus Christ asks in verse 15 let's read you 16 beginning in verse 13 and finishing at verse 20 when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples saying who do men say that I the Son of Man am so they said some say John the Baptist some Elijah and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets he said to them but who do you say that I am Simon Peter answered and said you are the Christ the Son of the Living God jesus answered and said to him blessed are You Simon bar Jonah for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my father who is in heaven and I also say to you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it and I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven then he commanded his disciples that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ amen well let us pray God we rejoice in your word to us we rejoice in this discourse of Jesus with his disciples we thank you for the instruction that it brings to us and we do pray that we would gain much from a study of the the stuff and the importance of these verses here this evening do help us as we engage in the act of preaching be with preacher be with here might this be an exercise that is to your glory into your praise and we pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior amen well we want to observe as we already know it noted the knowledge of Christ not the not Christ's knowledge but our knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and a study in Christ is not to be about the excellence of oration a study in Christ is not to be about the the use of big words though sometimes big words are used but it is about the riches in the excellencies of of Jesus Christ leon TS of byzantium i don't think we've ever quoted from leon t us of Byzantium in in Lord's Day worship before but he wrote this with regards to the importance of the study of Christ as if we were interested in fitting ourselves out with verbal beauty rather than gazing on the truly golden face of truth then which nothing is lovelier even if there is no elegance or brilliance of style involved for truth needs no further ornament for its decoration but is splendid with natural beauty and has no need of deceptive transformation of language like cosmetic powders this is a simple question that is asked and a simple answer that is given here by the Apostle Peter in in this text just to break it down very briefly we have first a question asked an answer the question asked and answered isn't initially the specific point of Jesus Christ in this particular discourse but rather secondly the intended question asked and answered is where he turns his focus to his disciples and he says but who do you say that I am they had previously answered the first question with regards to everyone else who to you know what did they those people out there who did they say that I am and they answer some say Elijah John the Baptist Jeremiah or one of the prophets and then he turns their focus upon them and he asks them the simple question who do you say that I am and Simon Peter answering for the disciples says you are the Christ the Son of the Living God thirdly we have a blessing and a promise given and then lastly we have a command made this blessing and promise is given by Jesus Christ in response to Peters answer he says blessed are You Simon bar Jonah for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my father who is in heaven this correct response that Peter gives but you are the Christ the Son of the Living God Jesus Christ notes here that this has been given to Peter by divine revelation he had been Peter had been effectually called from darkness to light and by divine instruction Peter can answer this blessed question rightly thou art the Christ the Son of the Living God and there is a promise given that I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it a passage of Scripture that we often refer to because we are the Blessed beneficiaries of the continuation of the promised and the the ongoing reality of this promise throughout the ages 2,000 years removed and Chilliwack British Columbia we are still seeing the the exercise of the sovereign will of Christ in the execution of this promise he's building his church you know how many years removed from that 2,000 years ago when the church was just a pocket in Jerusalem and now it's spread throughout the corners of the earth if we can use that language a blessed reality and and a testimony to the rightness and the truthfulness of Christ promised here that he would build his church and then there's a command given he commanded his disciples that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ this is probably he he wants that to wait for the proper time he's going about the business of his messianic work he's going about the business of his mediatorial task and so the full disclosure the full revelation of Jesus Christ of Jesus being the Christ was not to be made known to the people quite yet that would come really and and primarily upon his ascension when he dispatches his disciples to go throughout Jerusalem Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth to proclaim his riches and his Excellency's so that's just this passage in a in a brief nutshell again we're using it as a launching pad or a point of departure to study Christ to study the importance of the knowledge of Christ and we're going to do that under seven heads working through them quickly I will not keep you any longer than one should but seven things with regards to the importance of the knowledge of Christ and just by way of introduction this is what we would call Christology though we're not engaging in a in an in-depth Christological exercise this is something that we would call a study in the importance rather of Christology and Spurgeon notes this on any endeavor with respect to the knowledge and the doctrine of Christ he says he who often thinks of God will have a larger mind than the man who simply plods around this narrow globe he may be a naturalist boasting of his ability to dissect a beetle and atomize a fly or insects and animals in classes with well-nigh unutterable names he may be a geologist able to discourse of the Megatherium and the Plesiosaurus in all kinds of extinct animals he may imagine that his science whatever it is and Nobles and enlarges his mind now just pause for a moment what Spurgeon is really saying here is that Christology is the highest of Sciences there is biology shor it's an interesting study a study of living things there's anthropology the study of man's sociology the study of society people's impact of peoples on society and vice-versa but the greatest ology is that of Christology the study of the doctrine of Christ he goes on to say I dare say it does that is those things enlarge the mind but after all the most excellent study of expanding the soul is the science of Christ and him crucified and the knowledge of the Godhead in the glorious Trinity nothing will so enlarge the intellect nothing so magnified the whole soul of man as a devout earnest continued Invista investigation of the great subject of the deity and so that's the task of Christology and it's an important one isn't it if we could wrap up Christology in a phrase that simply pertains to the dignity of the person of christ and the virtue of his office that's what we're doing is Christians when we reflect upon the doctrine of Christ and the importance of it we are reflecting upon we are glorying in the dignity of his person and the virtue of his office to paraphrase John Owen and it is a good study isn't it because he is the namesake of our high and holy religion so any exploration of the importance in this case of the doctrine of Christ is to understand into two glory in the one who is the namesake of our religion that is of course Christianity so the importance then of the knowledge of Christ brought out by this simple question and this simple answer yet a glorious question and a glorious answer but who do you say that I am thou art the Christ the Son of the Living God first the importance of the knowledge of Christ or the knowledge of yet the importance of the knowledge of Christ is seen first in the fact that Christ is the scope of Scripture now when we say scope we mean the center target or aim of divine revelation in this case the trajectory and terminus of Old Covenant revelation and new covenant revelations so the importance of the knowledge of Christ is seen first in the fact that he is the scope of Scripture or he is the glorious intended end of all divine revelation when we come to the Bible we don't come to an ancient industy tome of 66 books smacked together haphazardly testifying to various subjects and various themes never crossing over no consent of the parts nothing like that it's just a smattering together of various literature no of course not when we come to the Bible that's not our Bible but much rather we have yes 66 books but one common author God most high superintending human authors over the course of 1500 years to bring together one glorious message wrapped up in Jesus Christ the Lord wrapped up in Jesus Christ the Savior again Spurgeon on this reality with respect to the Scriptures I never ashamed to avail myself a Calvinist although I claim to be rather a Calvinist according to Calvin then after the modern - based fashion I do not hesitate to take the name of Baptist you have there pointing to the baptistry sub substantial evidence that I am not ashamed of that ordinance of our Lord Jesus Christ but if I am asked to say what is my Creed I think I must reply it as Jesus Christ my venerable predecessor dr. Gill that's John Gill has left a body of divinity admirable and excellent in its way but the body of divinity to which I would pin and bind myself forever God helping me is not his system of divinity or any other human treatise but Christ Jesus who is the sum and substance of the gospel who is in himself all theology the Incarnation of every precious truth the all-glorious personal embodiment of the way the truth and the life if you asked spur what does the old is the Old Testament you know just a slapping together of ancient books with no unified theme and is it simply the story the story of Israel across a certain number of years fifteen hundred years and and that sort of a thing the Spurgeon would say no page after page chapter after chapter appoints to Christ upon the cross working out the salvation of men you see that's why a knowledge of Jesus Christ is so important because the Bible is about Christ and do we have the Bible itself testifying to this reality does the Bible say that Jesus Christ is the scope of Scripture the center the target or aim of divine revelation turn with me to the Gospel of John not only does the Bible say so but from the lips of the Savior himself we have this truth set forth John chapter 5 notice in John chapter 5 beginning in verse 37 and the father himself who sent me has testified of me you have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form but you do not have his word abiding in you because whom he sent him you do not believe you search the Scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life and these are they excuse me these are they which testify of me but you are not willing to come to me that you may have life and then notice if you go down to verse 46 for if you believed Moses you would believe me for he wrote about me but if you do not believe his writings how will you believe my words these are startling words by the Lord Jesus Christ testifying to the fact that the Scriptures the Old Testament was about him the first point of evidence if you will you search the Scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life these are they which testify of me this would have come as striking words to the first century Jews who were all about the scriptures who were all about studying in their Unruh generously they missed the point and that's what Christ's point is in their hardness of heart they completely missed that the ones standing before them is the glorious intended terminus of all divine revelation but nevertheless he said they had the scriptures they had the Word of God and he says these are they which testify of me and more to the the punch he goes he he speaks in verse 46 for if you believe Moses and he is assuming that they do believe Moses or he's assuming that they know Moses and rather that they have read Moses for if you believed Moses you would believe me for he wrote about me but if you do not believe his writings how will you believe my words he's saying that Moses in the first five books of the Bible the first five books of the Old Testament wrote concerning him glorious and striking words that come from the Lord Jesus Christ again from the lips of the Savior you can turn with me to the Gospel of Luke this is a wonderful scene that we have in the Gospel of Luke in chapter 24 and it's a passage of Scripture hopefully that that comes to your mind okay I probably know where pastor Porter's going with this it's Resurrection Day and he is if he's appeared to his disciples first he's appeared to his the two disciples on the road to Emmaus and the words are amazing notice the words that we have in verse 25 the the the the two disciples on the road to Emmaus were distraught because they did not completely grasp yet the reality of Christ's message the reality of of the announcement of Christ Jesus that he would go to Jerusalem he'd be delivered up to witih by wicked hands he'd be crucified and put to death but he would rise again the third day they didn't quite grasp that yet and he says in verse 25 and then he said to them o foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory and then Luke adds the information and beginning at Moses and all the prophets he expounded to them all the Scriptures the things concerning himself have you ever been with you know pastor Butler myself when we're talking when we're preaching from the Bible and we're doing a Bible study and we're we're talking about Christ being the fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures and hopefully it's a wonderful time for you as you as you you know we bring along a study in the Word of God but imagine being present for Jesus Christ himself giving a Bible study that would be a me though that's when Jim and I disappear into the far distance and there's the one infinitely glorious giving you a Bible study wouldn't that be amazing these two distraught disciples have thought all is lost and they come across the Lord Jesus Christ having not been yet revealed until he begins speaking to them when he's made known to them their hearts were burning in them but Jesus Christ giving a Bible study to these disciples what an amazing thing that would have been and what is he doing but he's opening up beginning at Moses and all the prophets he's expounding to them in the Scriptures the things concerning himself what a glorious thing and later on in the passage we have in verse 44 then he said to them these are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of the of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms concerning me verse 45 and he opened their understanding that they might comprehend the scriptures now with all of his disciples before him giving another Bible study opening up the scriptures and disclosing that I Jesus Christ and the glorious intended terminus of all divine revelation what a glorious thing you see it's that that would equip them not just that the giving of the spirit but it's that that would equip them to go out into the world and to proclaim a right message concerning this Jesus they're given a Bible study by the risen King himself clearly we see that the importance of the knowledge of Christ is seen first in the fact that Christ is the scope of scripture secondly we want to notice the importance of the knowledge of Christ has seen second in the fact that eternal life hinges upon the knowledge of the person of Christ eternal life hinges upon the knowledge of the person of Christ a proper identification of Jesus is linked to everlasting life the first instance of this is with respect to his deity the proper confession of his deity in the Gospel of John and in Chapter 8 the importance of a knowledge of Christ clearly brought forth by Christ again by his own lips from his own lips we have the importance brought forth with respect in this case to his proper identification as true and essential deity one in substance with the father notice in John chapter 8 at verse 24 backing up to verse 23 and he said to them you are from beneath I am from above you are of this world I am not of this world therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins for if you do not believe that I am you will die in your sins the he is provided there in your text you might see it italicized that he is provided there it doesn't need to be there because Jesus Christ is using the eyes a anak 10 Exodus 3:14 identifier of I am to identify himself if you do not believe that I am you will die in your sins it is a sobering statement by the Lord Jesus Christ here a sobering statement these people were rejecting him you are from below I am from above you are not of this world I am NOT you are of this world I am not of this world Jesus Christ says he has continually railed against them for their unbelief for their opposition to Christ and his message and here we see him render these striking words deliver these striking words if you do not believe that I am you will die in your sins again it's the language of Yahweh from the Old Testament Christ appropriating that language to himself if you do not believe that I am you will die in your sins the importance of the knowledge of Christ if you confess him as the highest creature of God if you confess him just as some great prophet or some great angel or some great creature you are outside of saving faith and in damning unbelief he is God most high true and essential deity of one substance with him who begat him even the father and the gravity of the statement is strong you will die in your sins all who reject the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ who call him not God those who say there was a time when he was not that they will be cast into eternal fire reserved for the devil and his angels those sharp-dressed folks that rap upon your door and want to give you the watchtower magazine they're basically just modern-day Aryans rejecting the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ and they will die in their sins a knowledge of the of our Christ is absolutely important his humanity so if his deity is linked the proper identification of his deity is linked to everlasting life is the proper identification that he became man necessary for everlasting life yes it is and first John for we have this language brought out in verse 2 by this you know the Spirit of God every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God and this is the spirit of the Antichrist which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world you see there with regards to the importance of the knowledge of Christ in this case with respect to the knowledge of his person and more to the point the knowledge of the fact that he took upon himself man's nature for our Redemption and for our recovery every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God that's a simple statement there's no wriggling out of that there's no ambiguity no confusion in that it's a clear statement remember that John is dealing with opposers to this doctrine he's dealing with some who would later be known as the dosa tests that Christ only seemed to come in the flesh he only seemed to be human but because matter all matter is wicked the Son of God could not have taken to himself true human nature he can only seem to be so and so John is coming railing against this Gnostic idea and he's saying no every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God and if you do not confess this you are not of God Gregory nezzie ends and writes this with regards to this reality he writes if anyone has put his trust in him as a man without a human mind he is really bereft of mind and quite unworthy of salvation what he's dealing with is he's dealing with the heresy that denied Christ had a human mind when we say Christ took to himself man's nature he took to himself man's nature with all the essential properties and common infirmities thereof a reasonable soul and body subsisting and so Gregory here is dealing with those who deny that he had a human mind but it applies beautifully someone who denies this is really bereft of mind and quite unworthy of salvation for that which he has not assumed he has not healed but that which is united to his Godhead is also saved if only half Adam fell then that which Christ assumes and saves may be half also but if the whole of his nature fell it must be united to the whole nature of him that was begotten and so be saved as a whole let them not then begrudge us our complete salvation or clothed the Savior only with bones and nerves and the portraiture of humanity in other words he took to himself a full humanity and the knowledge of this is vital for our salvation for if we deny that then we are with these condemned by John as being the spirit of Antichrist Jesus Christ took to himself our nature with all the properties and infirmities thereof yet without sin to affect a glorious salvation and thirdly under this point that eternal life hinges upon the knowledge of the person of Christ we would want to confess the unity of his person and for this I want you to turn to Hebrews 1 for a moment perhaps you've never haven't heard a whole lot of this though you've heard the language of the hypostatic Union and those sorts of things when we talk about Christ but the unity of his person the simple reality that Christ is very God and very man yet one Christ the only mediator between God and man there is a battle that endured for centuries in the early church over this very point that people were denying the unity of Christ people were a either saying that the divinity and the humanity are lost in two now one admixture of a person or secondly that the divinity and the humanity were separate and that the union was just one of honor and dignity Christ being himself two subjects not son of God and Son of Man 1 single Christ but son of God and Son of Man only United by purpose dignity and honor notice in the God and notice in the Epistle to the Hebrews though the language of both divinity and the language of both divinity and humanity is broad and wrapped up in one Sun one Christ one Lord notice here in verse two has in these last days spoken to us by his son whom he has appointed heir of all things through whom also he made the world's who being the brightness of his glory and the Express image of his person and upholding all things by the word of his power when he had by himself purged our sins sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high it is one Christ it is one son who is God upholding all things by the word of his power and who is by virtue of his humanity purging our sins who by himself purged our sins one son one Christ one Jesus one Lord very God and very man yet one Christ and so yes the importance of the knowledge of Christ is seen in the fact that eternal life hinges upon the knowledge of the person of Christ thirdly then the importance of the knowledge of Christ is seen third in the fact that the gospel is about Jesus you know if Christianity is all about the gospel then what is the gospel about Christianity is to be about the gospel that is to be the main thing of our Christian religion the gospel of Jesus Christ as we've been discussing the dignity of his person and the virtue of his office but thirdly the importance of the knowledge of Christ's is seen in the fact that the gospel is about Christ remember that the gospel is not your virtuous life pithy little sayings are you know cute little sayings about preach the gospel and when possible use words are are are silly because the gospel cannot be preached without words and the gospel is not our virtuous lives though we ought to live virtuous lives make no mistake about it by virtue of Christ's redeeming us from sin by virtue of the work of a perfect Redeemer we ought to in light of that and according to the joyous compliance with the law of God live virtuous lives but the gospel is not your virtuous life lived the gospel is not a fuzzy feeling the gospel is not your new heart the gospel simply has to do with the doing and the dying and the rising again of the Son of God this is the point in 1st Corinthians 15 or it's it's a point that the Apostle Paul brings up to argue for the only hope for Christians being in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead but a definition of the gospel is given in 1st Corinthians 15 when Paul writes moreover brethren I declare to you the gospel and then says in verse 3 writes in verse 3 for I delivered to you first of all that which I also received that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures if anybody ever asks you what is the gospel you can take them to first Corinthians 15 three and four and say that's the gospel that's the gospel of G Christ he does notice that there is historical truth and this is met with a theological interpretation or a theological commentary on it Christ died for our sins he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures this was all for our sins if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ these gospel verities were rendered for your sins that you might have the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life but this is the gospel of Jesus Christ that he died for our sins according to the scriptures that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures the the reality that we that we preach believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved that isn't the gospel in and of itself that is the summons that comes upon the heels of the giving of the gospel the gospel is this that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures and notice that this comes to - away the the vanity that is seen in the denial of the resurrection of Jesus Christ we are of all men the most pitiable if the gospel is not true our preaching is empty our faith is futile if this is not true being true however but now Christ is risen from the dead being true our faith is not vanity but our faith is good and pure and right and our preaching is not empty but it is full if it is if it is constituted by Christ dying Christ buried Christ rising again the gospel is seen in the air the importance of the knowledge of Christ is seen and the fact that the gospel is about Christ next then the importance of the knowledge of Christ is seen forth in the fact that Christ alone is the only way of salvation Christ alone is the only way of salvation this is this is the the preaching to the choir but this is a reason why the importance of knowledge why the knowledge of Christ is so important that Christ alone is the only way of salvation the this exclusivity by the way is a kindness and not a presumptuous prejudice it's a kindness you think about this Christ being the only way of salvation those who are favorable to a religious plurality or those who are favorable to religious pluralism that all roads lead to God that if we just all sang around a campfire with the ukulele and we sang kumbaya or whatever it might be and all religions just were left alone to do their own thing all religions ultimately find their way to God what a kindness it is for Christianity to come along and say Christ is the only way of salvation the world might look upon that as a presumptuous prejudice but think about it this way if you were to go to a doctor if you were to go to a doctor and you had a grave disease and you were seeking out an answer for that grave disease would you want a doctor just to say well you know anything you do should be flattened you know go out in the woods and dance around a fire and hold a paint stick and all you'll be okay or you know eat only eat green skittles and and you'll be okay but if you can do the dancing thing or you can do the skittle thing or you can you know you can also do this thing with regards to invasive surgery and and precision of craft with regards to the the doctors and the nurses those sorts any of these things will work you would want the doctor to come at you with the only remedy for your particular case you would want the doctor to come with no no ambiguity no medical ambiguity but to come with clarity of speech and say this is what we need to do let's do this that's what Christianity does it comes along and it says Christ has died for sinners Christ has risen again and in him only is there salvation of sperm sins Christianity brings a kindness in its exclusivity not a presumptuous prejudice do we see exclusivity in the pages of the Bible though again from the lips of Christ I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father but by me the simple simple words of our savior jesus christ with regards to the exclusivity of christianity with the exclusivity of salvation through Christ alone I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father but what a bold Savior we have in Christ Jesus going up against unbelieving Jews knowing that he's going to be persecuted knowing that he's going to be brought to the point of death and he would be put to death upon Calvary's cross knowing that he was he would earn the the ire and the the anger and the opposition and the blasphemies of those before whom he's preaching nevertheless he says I am the way the truth and the life I love I love our Savior in his boldness as he goes up against his enemies that exclusivity has seen recently in a passage that pastor Butler preached on in Acts chapter 4 perhaps you're aware of this or perhaps you know this verse in in Acts chapter 4 at verse 11 speaking of Jesus Peter says this is the stone which was rejected by you builders which has become the chief Cornerstone stone nor is there salvation in any other for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved what boldness there and yet again what kindness there in the Apostle Peter there is no other name nor is there salvation in any other for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved jettison any notion of religious pluralism and realized the glorious truth that in Christ Jesus alone that Christ G that Christ Jesus alone is the only way of salvation we also have the reality in act 16 and in first Timothy 2:5 one mediator between God and man the man Christ Jesus next then the importance of the knowledge of Christ has seen fifth in the fact that all redemptive benefits are in Christ Jesus aren't they all redemptive benefits are in Christ Jesus the importance of the knowledge of Christ is seen in the fact that all redemptive benefits are in Christ Jesus were chosen in him before the foundation of the world we are regenerated in him justified in him adopted in him sanctified in him glorified in him notice in the book of Ephesians in chapter one that that language of in him is repeated time and again in him in the beloved in Christ in Ephesians chapter 1 we have this reality that all redemptive benefits are in Christ Jesus we have the statement first in verse 3 blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ so there's our first in Christ the text moves on of course just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that in him language continues notice in verse 5 having predestinated option as sons by Jesus Christ to himself the language of all redemptive benefits being in Christ Jesus and only the span of a handful of verses verse 7 in him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace notice at the end of verse 10 in him verse 11 in him also we have obtained an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of his glory in him you also trusted after you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation in whom also having believed you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise you see that we have all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ this is why the knowledge of him is so absolutely important ought we not to want to know the one in whom all spiritual blessings are the fact that all redemption all redemptive benefits are in Christ Jesus the Lord what a savior what a Lord what a master what a Christ that we would that we would consign him as just the highest creature under God that we would consign him to anything other than very God and very man yet one Christ the only mediator between God and man in whom are all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ the knowledge the importance of the knowledge of Christ is seen in the fact that all redemptive benefits are in Christ Jesus moving towards the end and the importance of the knowledge of Christ is seen sixth in the fact that the Church's Commission is given by Christ and is about Christ just one more time the fact that the Church's Commission is given by Christ and is about Christ we have that reality of Matthew 28:18 2:20 all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me go therefore and disciple the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them everything that I have commanded you and lo I am with you always even to the end of the age Christ gives the Commission and the Commission is about him isn't it when the Apostles go about heating this command heating the Commission when the Apostles go about the business of listening to their Savior in obedience to their Savior going about doing what he called them to do we read stuff like this in acts 542 and daily in the temple and in every house they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ they're obedient to Christ who gives the Commission and the Commission that they carry out is about the Christ who gave them the Commission the importance of the knowledge of Christ is clearly seen in that not only in the act of preaching well another text that I that I absolutely love and then some comments from Spurgeon because this has to do with the importance of the knowledge of Jesus Christ in Galatians 6 is a wonderful verse it speaks about the absence of Christian boasting and the one in whom we are to boast but God forbid Galatia 6:14 that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ this has specifically to do I believe with the act of preaching not Knut's not exclusively but with the act of preaching Paul's boast before men was never himself there were times where he had to defend himself against those super apostles against those who were arguing against his Apostleship and against his message but nevertheless his boast his proclamation his declaration his articulations his assertions were about Jesus Christ the Lord that is why in the Commission we see that it's given by Christ and that it is about Christ Paul Spurgeon says did not budge before the sharp and practical reply of the conquerors of the world he did not tremble before Nero in his palace whether to Greek or Jew Roman or barbarian bond or free he was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ but glory din the cross though the testimony that the all ones sufficient atonement was provided on the cross stirs the enmity of man and provokes opposition yet Paul was so far from attempting to mitigate that opposition that he determined to know nothing Christ and him crucified his model was we preach Christ crucified he had the cross for his philosophy the cross for his tradition the cross for his gospel the cross for his glory and nothing else the fact that the Church's Commission is given by Christ and is about Christ and it's not seen only in the proclamation or in preaching but also in baptism and the Lord's Supper these are about Christ given in the authority and in the name of Christ and as well church discipline in Matthew 18:18 2:20 so those three marks of the church the true and proper preaching of the word the right administration of the sacraments baptism and the Lord's Supper in church discipline are all given in the name and in the authority of Christ and are about Christ Christ is the one in church discipline who says with regards to church discipline says lo I am in the midst of your or where two or three are gathered in my name there I am with them you ever noticed that that's a statement with regards to Christ's omniscient or omnipresence Christ is Omni he's there in the midst of us when we engage in in that case church discipline but it's a it's not the main point isn't Christ's omnipresence but it's a text that argues for his omnipresence Christ is omnipresent he's not the highest creature of God He is God Most High omnipresent in the fullness of his essence everywhere filling the heavens and the earth we closed with this then the importance of the knowledge of Christ is seen seventhly and lastly in the fact that our present and future hope is in Christ our present and future hope is in Christ Jesus the Lord first comfort and hope in this life is in Christ comfort and hope in this life is in Christ Jesus the Lord isn't it when we come up against trials when we come up against when we come up against sadness and despair what what is our hope do we look to earthly things or do we look to the Savior the Lord Jesus Christ we probably won't have a get at time to get to all of the application here but I want to bring forth one because it's relevant to this comfort and hope in this life for any of you who've read Spurgeon sorro's there's a portion in there where he talks about Spurgeon having to endure multiple deaths in a venue that he was preaching at he was preaching I don't think he was preaching at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in this case I think it was somewhere else he was a visiting preacher at another Church and he somebody jokingly yelled fire in the church and there was a mass exodus and a stampede and a number of people died I want to say nine people I might be wrong on that but a number of people died and and Spurgeon was was just absolutely distraught he was broken he was a broken man over this and he said the one verse that always came to his mind to cheer his soul Philippians 2:6 2:11 let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even the death of the Cross and this was the verse that Spurgeon brought pointedly to the fore therefore God has also highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name that confidence and that hope that comes in the resurrected and in the exalted Christ there is comfort and hope in this life in Christ Jesus the Lord and secondly the Blessed anticipation of the life to come the Blessed anticipation of the life to come the the glorious appearing of our God and Savior Jesus Christ is the the way Paul puts it in his letter to Titus we have the Blessed anticipation of the life to come and we have the eventual enjoyment of the life to come that adventure I love the language of the Apostle Paul with regards to the eventual enjoyment of the life to come he writes this for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain the enjoyment of the life to come is in Christ for me to live in is Christ and to die is gain but if I live on in the flesh this will mean fruit from my labor yet what I shall choose I cannot tell for I am hard pressed between the two having a desire to depart and be with Christ which is far better the enjoyment of the love the life to come the invention joy Mantova life to come is all in Christ so hopefully we've seen some things brethren here that that speak to the importance of the knowledge of Christ those things don't expire or exhaust the list of reasons why or what where in the importance of the knowledge of Christ is seen but just very quickly in closing the practical import of the knowledge of Christ first for worship first for worship therefore God also has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those in heaven of the on earth and of those under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father the knowledge of Christ informs our worship it also informs our humility since then the Son of God descended from so great a height how unreasonable that we who are nothing should be lifted up with pride that's John Calvin having a knowledge of who Christ is and what he has done informs us so that we might be marked by humility and not pride it also speaks to the hope as we've already as we've already noted the import of the knowledge of Christ is seen and that it brings us much hope it informs us with respect to beneficence the knowledge of Christ informs us with respect to our loving our love filled giving to the Saints in Christ whether it is of our own good things or whether it is of our hospitality or whatever it may be Christ who was rich became poor so that we who were poor might be made rich in Christ and the knowledge of him it informs our beneficence it equips us for and it invigorates us for good works Christ has remade us refashioned us after his own image that we might be zealous for good works our knowledge of Christ again who he is the dignity of his person what he has done the virtue of his office ought to inform our doing in this lower world for his glory and for the adornment of the gospel and lastly it ought to inform our steadfast confession there's a passage in Hebrews 10 that reads this way let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promised is faithful doesn't the knowledge of Jesus Christ inform us to grip Christ to grip the dignity of his person the virtue of his office with an inviolable grip he only has an inviolable grip he holds us in it but to grip it with a white-knuckle grip the Christ who is very God and very man yet one Christ that Christ who is our only mediator that Christ who has blessed us with benefaction after been action this glorious Savior is so glorious that our response ought to be verse 23 of Hebrews 10 let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering well brethren hopefully as we go about our Christian sojourn in this lower world we will never tire from a study of our Savior and we will gain each and every day and each and every Lord's day even an appreciation for the proper knowledge of so glorious a savior might all who are here safely in him rejoice in him study him and learn him until that glorious day when you're brought into his presence and all those outside of Christ know this that you will die in your sins if you do not confess him as Lord and Savior believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved let us pray God we thank you for your word we rejoice in your goodness to us in worship we thank you for our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ we would ask Lord God that you would always fill us with a knowledge of our precious Savior that we would not tire in the learning of him and we pray that as we go into this week we would reflect upon our glorious Christ that we would reflect upon him as very God very man yet one Christ the only mediator between God and man that we would rejoice in all of his blessings and all of his doings and in his dying in his rising again we do pray that you would equip us now that we might go into this week that we would live for your glory sake conducting ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ and it's in his name that we pray amen you