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You can turn in your Bibles to 
the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 16. We're going to 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. A 
number of Sundays ago, not too many Sundays ago, Pastor Butler 
had mentioned Survey that was done online that I think it was 
Ligonier ministries some of the men in 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 78% of polled evangelical Christians answered yes, that 
Jesus Christ is a creature, the highest creation of God, which 
effectively means that, depending on the scientific reality of 
the study, if it was a proper sampling of people and that sort 
of a thing, 78% of the Evangelical Church is effectively Aryan, 
effectively heretics, denounced at the Council of Nicaea and 
throughout the ages of Christianity. 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 something that 
stops after the first month or the first year of our Christian 
profession. 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 
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 Matthew 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 Barjona, 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 hearer. 
Might this be an exercise that is to your glory and to your 
praise. And we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. 
Amen. Well, we want to observe, as 
we already noted, the knowledge of Christ. 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 use of big words, though 
sometimes big words are used. But it is about the riches and 
the excellencies of Jesus Christ. Leontius of Byzantium, I don't 
think we've ever quoted from Leontius of Byzantium 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, than 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 this text, just to break it 
down very briefly, we have first a question asked and answered. 
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 do, you 
know, what do they, those people out there, who do 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 Peter's answer. He says, blessed 
are you, Simon Barjona, 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 this promise and the ongoing reality of this promise throughout 
the ages. 2,000 years removed and Chilliwack 
British Columbia we are still seeing 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 a testimony to the rightness and the truthfulness 
of Christ's promise 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 
on 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 excellencies 
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 and 
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 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, 
anatomize a fly, or arrange insects and animals in classes with well-nigh 
unutterable names. He may be a geologist, able to 
discourse of the megatherium and the plesiosaurus and all 
kinds of extinct animals. He may imagine that his science, 
whatever it is, ennobles 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, sure, it's an interesting study, a study of living things. 
Anthropology, the study of man, sociology, the study of society, 
people's impact of people's 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 and the glorious 
Trinity. Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify 
the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continued 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, it simply pertains to the dignity of the person 
of Christ and the virtue of His office. That's what we're doing 
as 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 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 and to to 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 
of 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 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 revelation. 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 and dusty 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 spurging 
on this reality with respect to the scriptures. I'm never 
ashamed to avow myself a Calvinist, although I claim to be rather 
a Calvinist according to Calvin than after the modern debased 
fashion. I do not hesitate to take the name of Baptist. You 
have there pointing to the baptistry. 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 is 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 
ask Spurgeon, is the Old Testament just a slapping together of ancient 
books with no unified theme? And is it simply the story of 
Israel across a certain number of years, 1,500 years, and that 
sort of a thing? Spurgeon would say, no, page 
after page, chapter after chapter, it points 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 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 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 unregeneracy, they missed 
the point, and that's what Christ's point is. In their hardness of 
heart, they completely miss that the one 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 punch. He goes, he speaks in 
verse 46, for if you believed 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 comes to your mind. Okay, I probably 
know where Pastor Porter's going with this. It's resurrection 
day, and he's appeared to his disciples. First, he's appeared 
to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. And the words are 
amazing. Notice the words that we have 
in verse 25. 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 the announcement 
of Christ Jesus, that he would go to Jerusalem, he'd be delivered 
up 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, Oh 
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 and all the scriptures the things concerning himself. Have 
you ever been with you know pastor butler or 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 uh christ being the fulfillment 
of the old testament scriptures and hopefully it's a wonderful 
time for you uh as you as 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'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 had 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 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, am 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 is 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 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 Isaac 10 exodus 314 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 is 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 just 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. Knowledge 
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. In 1 John 4, 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 dossetists 
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 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 Nazi 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 a 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 
denied 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 clothe 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 effect a glorious salvation. 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 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's a battle that endured 
for centuries in the early church over this very point and that 
people were denying the unity of Christ. People were, A, either 
saying that the divinity and the humanity are lost into 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, one 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 brought and wrapped up in one son one Christ one Lord notice 
here in 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 worlds, 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 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 is seen in the fact that the gospel is about Christ. Remember 
that the gospel is not your virtuous life. pithy little sayings or 
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 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. 
And this is the point in 1 Corinthians 15. Or 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 1 Corinthians 15 when 
Paul writes, 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 1 Corinthians 
15, 3 and 4 and say, that's the gospel. That's the gospel of 
Jesus Christ. 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 reality 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 dash away 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 constituted by Christ dying, Christ buried, 
Christ rising again. The importance of the knowledge 
of Christ is seen in 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 the preaching to the 
choir, but this is a reason why the importance of the knowledge, 
why the knowledge of Christ is so important, that Christ alone 
is the only way of salvation. 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 fine? go out in 
the woods and dance around a fire and hold a pink 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 and those 
sorts of 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 from sins 
and 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 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 would earn the ire and 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 light. I love our Savior 
and His boldness as He goes up against His enemies. The exclusivity 
was seen recently in a passage that Pastor Butler preached on 
in Acts 4. Perhaps you're aware of this. 
Or perhaps you know this verse in Acts 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 realize the glorious truth that in Christ Jesus alone, 
that Christ Jesus alone is the only way of salvation. We also have the reality in Acts 
16 and in 1 Timothy 2.5, one mediator between God and man, 
the man Christ Jesus. Next then, the importance of 
the knowledge of Christ is 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. We're 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 1 that that language of in Him is repeated time and 
again, in Him, in the Beloved, in Christ. In Ephesians chapter 
one, we have this reality that all redemptive benefits are in 
Christ Jesus. We have the statement first in 
verse three, 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. The in him language continues. 
Notice in verse five, having predestined us to adoption as 
sons by Jesus Christ to himself. The language of all redemptive 
benefits being in Christ Jesus in only the span of a handful 
of verses. Verse seven, 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 redemptive 
benefits are in Christ Jesus the Lord. What a Savior! What 
a Lord! What a Master! What a Christ! 
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 then, 
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 to 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 heeding this command, heeding 
the commission, when the apostles go about the business of listening 
to their Savior and in obedience to their Savior, going about 
doing what he called them to do, we read stuff like this in 
Acts 5.42, 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 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, there's a wonderful verse that 
speaks about The absence of Christian boasting and the one in whom. We are to boast, but God forbid, 
Galatians 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 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 gloried in the cross. Though the testimony that 
the all-once-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 save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. His motto 
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 to 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, 
and 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, 
who says, lo, I am in the midst of you, or where two or three 
are gathered in my name, there I am with them. You ever notice 
that that's a statement with regards to Christ's omnipresence? Christ is omnipresent. He's there 
in the midst of us when we engage in, in that case, church discipline. 
But 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 close 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 sadness and despair, 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 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's 
Sorrows, 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. A number of people died, 
and Spurgeon 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 was Philippians 2, 6-11. 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 glorious appearing of our 
God and Savior Jesus Christ is 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. 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 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 life to 
come, the eventual enjoyment of the 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 
wherein 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 those 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 and 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 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 are poor 
might be made rich. In Christ, in 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. 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 benefaction, 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 the 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, in all 
of His doings, 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's sake, conducting ourselves in 
a manner worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And it's in 
His name that we pray. Amen.