NOAH’S ARK A TYPE OF CHRIST

Genesis 6 and 7

Introduction:

Can you imagine an ark, literally an enclosure, so big and strong to hold a pair of each of the different types of animals in the world and Noah’s family, and preserve them alive in a flood that destroyed the world? To many, it sounds too far fetched, but we believe it for two reasons:

It is recorded in God’s Word and God cannot and does not lie- Titus 1:2
It fits the picture of how God saves some in Jesus Christ and condemns the rest

The whole world is guilty of condemnation- Genesis 6:5

God in justice should destroy all flesh- Genesis 6:7

Noah is typical of those sinners that God has chosen to save in mercy and grace- Gen. 6:8. Noah, like any of God’s elect, was not spared because of anything good in him or his family, but God was gracious to his family and him through Christ.

The result of God’s work in Noah and for Noah was that God justified Him, declaring him righteous before him, Gen. 6:9.

The means of Noah’s family’s deliverance was an ark which the Lord God commanded him to build by faith- Hebrews 11:6,7. So it is by faith that we must come to Christ and believe what God has revealed concerning HIM!

Noah and his family were brought by God to enter into the ark, and yet Noah and his family willingly did so at God’s command, Genesis 7:1,5. So it is with every one of God’s chosen ones. At God’s appointed time, He calls to Christ everyone that He has purposed to save by Him, and that He has redeemed and they willingly come to Him and believe on Him. Christ is their ark of rest, while the rest of the world, although warned of God, refuses to come to him- cf. 1 Peter 3:20.

This is not just a children’s story, although it is written in such a way that even a child can understand it. It is in child like faith that we must come to Christ, believing all that God the Father has revealed in His Word concerning Him. How then does the ark picture our Lord Jesus Christ?

1. The ark was the only God ordained means of salvation. None were saved who did not enter in, no matter what refuge they sought. So thorough and complete was God’s judgment that not even the highest mountain in the world could deliver. Salvation was to be found only in the ark, and all who were outside of it perished. So it is with the Lord Jesus Christ. He is THE ONLY SAVIOR and none may or can be saved who live and die outside of Him, Acts 4:10-12.

2. Even though the ark may have appeared small in comparison to the judgment that destroyed the world, yet it was big enough and sure enough for all who entered in. Christ in His humility seemed nothing but a poor feeble deluded creature, and in his death a criminal, yet, He was none other than God in the flesh and through His life and death is mightily able to save to the uttermost ALL who come to God by Him, Hebrews 7:25.

3. The ark was a sure refuge in the flood and brought all who were in it safely through. The word atonement means, ‘covering.’ The ark was pitched within and without, Genesis 6:14, and therefore it was safe from any rain that might fall on it, no matter how strong, or any leak that might spring from it, no matter how much it was shaken. So it is with the Lord Jesus. He cannot fail, nor can any perish for whom He died. However, the safety of the sinner is not in them but in Christ the ark. Noah did not steer the ark through the storm to safety, but it endured because of the strength and durability with which it was made.

4. The ark only had one door and one window. Christ is the ONLY door by which sinners may enter in and be saved, John 10:9. There was also only one window, not provided for them to see out, but rather to let light and air in. Christ is the light and the life of those who are in Him, John 1:4.