One of the most epic stories in the Bible, and one that has generated much speculation, is the story of Noah and the Ark that saved his family from the flood. In Genesis chapters 6, 7 and 8, we see the description of the world, in Noah’s day, as being corrupt and full of violence. It had become so saturated with evil that God regretted that He had created man in the first place. Justice had to be served and the world was condemned. As is consistent in all of Scripture, the righteous never share the same judgment as the unrighteous. In that evil generation, only Noah was found to be a God-fearing man and thus was given the opportunity to save himself and his family from the impending disaster. God told Noah to build a large enough boat to hold his family and two of every animal that was on the earth. Never before had it rained on the earth, so by obeying God in building an Ark, Noah had to exercise his faith. You see, salvation always requires faith accompanied with obedience.
Let’s jump forward a few thousand years to see how this story is understood in the light of the New Testament. Even though this story is an account of what really happened, it serves as an illustration of how a believer is saved from the power of sin in his life. Peter compares Noah’s building of the Ark and the subsequent flood as relating to water baptism. The Ark, that saved 8 persons, (8 is the number for new beginnings), corresponds to salvation and the flood that covered the world, represents the dying to sin. (1 Peter 3:21) Paul explains that water baptism is an identification with the death of Jesus. He says: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” (Romans 6:3) In verse 23, he goes on to say that the “wages of sin is death”. By going under the water in baptism, we are saying that our sins have been judged, condemned, and forgiven. They no longer have power over us because we have died to them.
In the book of Hebrews, Noah is said to have saved his family by building an ark and at the same time condemned the sinful world he had been living in. (Hebrews 11:7) The Greek word used in this verse for world is kosmos, which means something that is ordered. It is the system or way of doing things that have been designed by sinful man and controlled by Satan. Therefore, this event in history has become an “type” of water baptism. When we go “under the water” we are saying that even though we are in the world, we are not of the world. The world system of doing things and the philosophies by which it operates are dead to us. When we come out of the water, we are coming out of the world by identifying with Christ’s resurrection and are safe in the ark of salvation. Our perspective is different because of our position. We are above and not below. We are seated with Christ in heavenly places. (Ephesians 2:6)
Most of us think of salvation only in terms of our eternal destiny and yet struggle so much with sin and temptation in this life. Mark 16:16 says: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” The word saved here, in the Greek, is sozo. It means to keep safe, to heal, to save from peril, etc. I am saying this to explain that baptism is not what forgives sin, nor what guarantees eternal life with God, but rather that it is saying that in this life I have determined to live free from the world’s attractions and sinful desires. In this regard, salvation has to do more to the system we come out of than the place we are going to. As God has condemned it, so must we. It must remain under the water.
Scriptures to meditate on:
Genesis 6-8; 1 Peter 3:20-21; Romans 6:3-4; Mark 16:16; Hebrews 11:7