The Ark a Picture

Q: What does the Bible say about Noah's Ark as a picture of Christ?

Noah's Ark symbolizes Christ as the sole means of salvation from God's wrath. The Ark serves as a powerful representation of Christ, signifying safety from divine judgment. Just as Noah and his family were spared from the flood by entering the Ark, believers are saved through faith in Christ, the ultimate Ark of safety. The pitch that sealed the Ark is indicative of the atonement offered by Christ, which protects the elect from God's wrath. The Ark's one door symbolizes that there is only one way to salvation, which is through Jesus, who stated, 'I am the door.' All who enter this door are assured of safety from judgment, making the Ark a profound illustration of Christ's redemptive work.

Q: Why is the atonement important for Christians?

Atonement is crucial because it signifies Christ's sacrifice that secures forgiveness and salvation for believers. The atonement made by Christ is central to the Christian faith, as it resolves the issue of sin and reconciles believers with God. In the Old Testament, the term for atonement is associated with the covering and cleansing of sin. Without this blood atonement, there is no forgiveness or reconciliation. This is vividly illustrated by the Ark, which was sealed with pitch, symbolizing Christ's blood that covers and protects us from divine judgment. Thus, the doctrine of atonement affirms that believers are justified and secure in their relationship with God through faith in Christ's finished work.

Q: How do we know Christ is the only Savior?

Christ's exclusivity is affirmed by Scripture, declaring Him as the sole mediator between God and man. The Bible unequivocally teaches that Jesus Christ is the only Savior, as He Himself stated, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father but by me.' This exclusivity is reinforced throughout Scripture, where we see that salvation is found in no other name but Jesus. Just as the Ark had only one door that provided safety from the flood, Christ is the singular means by which sinners are protected from God's wrath. The biblical narrative consistently points to His uniqueness and sufficiency for salvation, affirming that through faith in Him, believers are saved and secure.

Q: Why was Noah's faith significant in building the Ark?

Noah's faith demonstrated obedience to God's command and trust in His warning of impending judgment. Noah's faith was instrumental as it led him to act in obedience by building the Ark according to God's instructions. His faith was not merely intellectual; it was a trust in God's word about things not yet seen—the coming flood. This act of obedience highlighted his reverent fear of God and belief in His promise. The Apostle Paul relates this faith to righteousness, which is credited to those who trust in God, emphasizing that Noah's actions were a result of genuine faith in God’s revelation. Likewise, believers today are called to trust in Christ and exhibit their faith through obedience to His will.

Open your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Hebrews, chapter 11, and put your finger there, and also then go to the book of Genesis, chapter 6, and put your finger there. I will be going back and forth between these two sections, and we will see that what is brought forth is Noah building an ark.

And the name of the message tonight, and again, I've been wanting to do these stories that we teach our children. This is what we'll be doing Wednesday nights, these stories that we teach our children, but looking at them from our perspective now as adults, because they speak of Christ. Now we may have been taught one thing about him, we might find out that the person who taught that was totally wrong. I thank God that the lessons Linda is using and Kathy are using are from that trip for children. And those are based on grace preacher sermons, which is wonderful.

And you bring out Christ all the time. And that's what we're to do. No matter whether we're teaching children or teaching Sunday school or teaching a Wednesday night service or the short sermons or the main service, always about Christ. That's the thing. So we're gonna look tonight at the ark, a picture of Christ. Some of you might say, how can the ark be a picture of Christ? We'll buckle in. Let's see here. Because it's wonderful. I'll tell you why. The ark is such a clear picture of Christ. It's absolutely incredible. Absolutely incredible.

So Hebrews chapter 11 and Genesis chapter 6. Now as a born-again, blood-washed saints of God, again, I'd like us to look at these stories as adults. As adults. Remember what the Lord said to the two on the road to Emmaus. He said, the law and the prophets, they testify of me. They testify of me.

You want to know what the picture of the new birth is? In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. Darkness. Where were we born into? Spiritual darkness.

And God said, let there be light. And there was light born again by the Holy Spirit of God. It's a picture of regeneration. Isn't that wonderful? It's all through the scripture. It points us to Christ. And Christ is the light, right? He's the light. Oh my. So look at this, Hebrews 11, verse 7. We're only gonna read one verse. I originally had a whole bunch of verses to read here, but I want us just to focus on this one verse because of time. Look at this, Hebrews 11, verse 7.

By faith, Noah, being warned of God, of things not seen, as yet moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house, By the witch, he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness, which is by faith. Now, our faith doesn't save us, right? We don't have faith in our faith, do we?

Our faith looks to one person, Christ, who is the one who saves us. I heard a reformed guy this week brought that out just masterfully. He says, our faith, we don't have faith in our faith, we have faith in Christ. And our faith has one object, and that's Christ. That's Christ. He's the one who saves us. Faith is a gift that we never had before, and now we have this gift. Now we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Savior of our souls.

It's wonderful, absolutely wonderful. So we see here that by faith, and that's God-given faith, you know that's the same faith you and I have. No matter how weak or strong our faith is, it's the same faith. The same faith that God gave Noah, the same faith we have. Same faith God gave Abraham, same faith we have.

Isn't that wonderful? And they were looking to the coming Messiah, weren't they? We look back at the Messiah who came and died on the cross for our sins. It's wonderful. Same Messiah, same Savior. One God, one Savior, one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. It's wonderful.

Now let's go to Genesis chapter 6. Genesis chapter 6 And we're starting verse 14 or read the first section. We'll read it goes to verse 16 So our Lord had appeared to Noah and Told him and that's who's appearing to Noah, right? That's who's speaking to Noah It's the Lord Jesus Christ Remember he's the Word of God He's the Word of God. And all that God has to say to man, do you know who he says it through? Christ. Christ. Look at this. So he's commanded by our Lord, who is the Word of God. He's not yet incarnate.

He says, make thee an ark of gopher wood. Rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. So he was to seal it, that's what the pitch did, the pitch sealed. Sealed those within from that which was outside and sealed the outside so that not a drop of rain would fall upon those in the ark. Now that rain and that storm represented the wrath of God. And not a drop fell on Noah and his family. Because they were in the ark. And the ark pictures Christ.

Look at this. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of. The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make in the ark, and in a cubit thou shalt finish it above, and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof, with lower, second, and third stories thou shalt make it. Look at that.

He's gonna make a door. How many doors? One door. Another picture of Christ. Christ says, I'm the door. There's no other way to the Father. And you know, we're gonna see later on, you know who closed that door? It wasn't Noah. God closed the door. God sealed up those who were in that ark.

Just like all the elect of all the ages are in Christ. Isn't that amazing? All we've been seeing in our ephesians study all according to the will and purpose of god, right? It's absolutely wonderful. This is beautiful So look at this This was a boat Where no one in his family would be safe from the flood that was to come which which pictures the wrath of god They're going to be safe from the wrath of god. Everybody outside that ark is going to perish aren't they? No one's going to live But all who are in that ark, not a drop of rain is going to touch them. Oh, my. Aren't you glad you're in Christ? Oh, my. Praise His mighty name. So we'll be looking here at the ark as a picture of Christ.

Now, by faith, Noah, being warned of God, of things not yet seen, was moved with fear. Now, we haven't seen the judgment yet, but we know it's coming, don't we? We know it's sure, just as sure as the sun coming up. We know it's sure. We know Christ coming back. We haven't experienced that yet, but we know it's sure. It's gonna happen. It's gonna happen. Well, Noah was sure that what God said is gonna come to pass. Not because he believed it, but because God said it. Then he believed it, didn't he? Yeah, oh yeah. Yeah, he believed it.

And we see there, he's warned of God about things that haven't come yet. Remember people were calling him fool? What are you doing building this ark? They were laughing at him and mocking him. And the scripture says he was a preacher of righteousness for years while they were building that ark, wasn't he? And they just mocked him. But he just kept building that ark.

And he was moved with fear. Now that's reverent fear. That's a reverent fear. That's not a slavish fear, like a slave with a master. That's a reverent fear of all. Now he knows who God is. And we know that by faith, right? Now we know who God is, and now we know what we are, and praise God, we know who the Savior is now. Because we're a bunch of sinners, and praise God, Christ saved us from all our sins. Through his blood and righteousness. It's wonderful. Hmm. Now let's go back to Hebrews chapter 7, or chapter 11, verse 7. Look at this. So God believed what Noah, or Noah believed, not God, Noah believed what God said. Look at this.

By faith, Noah, being warned of God, of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark. So he believed what God said. Just like we believe what God says about we being sinners, about Christ being the only Savior, And notice he didn't question God. He was just moved by a reverent fear, and he started building the ark. Prepared an ark to the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is my faith. And that's Christ's righteousness. That's Christ's righteousness.

Now we see in that verse in Hebrews 11, 7, that Noah believed God. God said, there's a flood coming. And Noah believed him. We know no one else believed him. Noah told them about it. They were like, no, we don't believe you. But Noah, Noah believed God. And he was moved by fear. He had a reverent fear for who God was. He now knew who God was. Oh my.

And he prepared an ark, just as God instructed him to. Now let's go back to Genesis chapter 6. And we'll read the context of the ark being built. Starting in verse five of Genesis six. Now God looks down on this earth and what's he see? When God saw that the weakness of man was greater than the earth. In every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

This is our natural state. You see, we're not good, are we? There's none good, no, not one. But we didn't know that until the Lord saved us, did he? Until he revealed himself. We thought we were pretty good, didn't we, brother Exodus? We thought we were pretty good. And like Henry said, if we compare ourselves to another human being, it's like a worm comparing themselves to another worm saying, well, I got some sunglasses on, I look better than you. But we're all a bunch of worms, right? Yeah? My! So here we go. He's instructed by God, and it says, Now look at this next verse.

And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I've created from the face of the earth, both man and beast and creeping thing and the fowls of the air, for it repents me that I made them. Now, some people say, well, that's not fair. He's the creator. Can he not do whatever he wants with his creation? Right? When we create something, if we don't like how it looks, we can destroy it if we want to, can't we? And no one says, well, that's not fair that you did that. Well, it's mine, I made it, I can do whatever I want with it. See, this is God being God. This is the God of the Bible. He is so far above us. He's infinitely higher than us, beloved. And then look what it says here in verse eight, and this is true of every single born-again blood-washed believer.

I'll tell you why. Noah deserved hell just like everybody else, right? Noah deserved to be destroyed just like everybody else, didn't he? Right? I was talking to Norm about this last night. There was no difference between Noah and those who perished except for verse 8. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Why do we believe and some of our family members don't believe and some of our friends don't believe? Because we found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Oh, that's amazing. And you won't catch one of us saying that's not fair, right? Because fair, we'd be destroyed. We'd go to hell forever. But we found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Remember, all those people, all the creeping things, all the animals outside the ark, dead. And all those in the ark, beasts, man, creeping things, spare.

What a picture of God's grace to sinners in Christ. What a picture. What a picture. Now, did the folks outside the ark, did they want to go in the ark? No. No, they were laughing and jesting and doing all this stuff. They had no care. Then the rain started falling. And I don't think they sought shelter in the ark. You know what I think they did? I think they tried to climb the tallest trees. And I think they tried to get to the tallest mountains. Because they didn't believe what Noah had built. They probably thought it would sink too.

Right? You know, people in hell right now, they would be, they would be, who was it, Spurgeon said it. If you took a person from hell and put them in heaven, they'd be the most miserable person. Because they're still the same as they were on earth. They still hate God. They still hate God's people. Notice that man in torment didn't say, take me out of here. He just wanted to drop a, he didn't repent. Now he said, tell my brothers so they don't come to this place of torment. But never once did he turn, did he?

My, oh, my. And here we are, by the grace of God, desiring to be in heaven with the Lord, when we never used to feel that way before. That's finding grace in the eyes of the Lord. That's finding mercy in the eyes of the Lord, beloved. That's why we say, hallelujah, what a Savior is Jesus Christ our Lord.

Look at this look at verse 13 now Genesis chapter 6 verse 13 and God said unto Noah the end of all flesh has come before me for the earth is filled with violence through them and Behold, I will destroy them upon the earth Now their souls are going to live forever, aren't they? in hell But as far as their bodies, they're going to be destroyed.

They're going to die and Make thee an ark of gopher wood, room shall thou make in the ark, and shall pitch it within and without with pitch. Now let's go down to verses 17 and 18 of Genesis chapter 6. And behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of life from under heaven. And everything that is in the earth shall die.

Some people say, well, that's the God of the Old Testament. That's the God of the Bible. And those who do not trust Christ will go to hell. But all who are in Christ, just like all who are in this ark, will be safe. That's why we say, sinner friend, we who believe are just sinners saved by grace. We found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Flee to Christ. He never turned one away who fled to Him, has He? Nope. Isn't that wonderful? And if you do flee to Him, I know God's given you faith to flee to Him. It's wonderful.

Look at this, verse 18. But with thee I will establish my covenant. Oh, praise God for His covenants. Praise God for the eternal covenant the Father made with the Son and the Holy Spirit in eternity. Right? Father chose the same Christ. The son said, I'll die for him. I'll redeem him with my blood. I'll become a man.

And then the Holy Spirit, we're going to see tomorrow in one of our short sermons, Christ sends the Holy Spirit to his people. And because we're sons, we're born again by the Holy Spirit of God. Isn't that wonderful? It's wonderful. Look at this. But with thee will I establish my covenant, and thou shalt come into the ark, thou and thy sons, and thy wife and thy sons with thee.

And then look down at verse 22. Thus did Noah, according to all that God commanded him, so did he. He believed God, and he did what God told him to do. What did our Lord say about his son? This is my beloved son, hear ye him. And Christ said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me.

Oh my. So the ark here is a picture of Christ. I'd like us to look at a couple points here. If you want to write down points, you can, but I'm just going to say the first thing. The first thing that I'd like to look at is divine provision. Divine provision. Before the flood even came, God told Noah to build an ark. Before the flood even came. And it was provided by God. He gave him instructions on how to build it. He gave him the means to build it. He gave him the supplies to build it.

Right? Do you know before there was ever a sinner, there was a savior? Christ is a lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. Before there was ever a sinner, there was a Savior. That's glorious. That's divine provision, isn't it? Remember Abraham and Isaac going up the hill? And Abraham says to his son, his son says, where's the sacrifice? He says, God will provide himself a lamb. And he did. He provided himself, didn't he? The Word of God.

That's another one we'll look at. forgot about that one I am caught in the thicket my oh my so we see types and shadows of Christ don't we and look at look at verse 13 again of Genesis chapter 6 verse 13 to 2 14 and God said unto Noah the end of all flesh has come before me for the earth is filled with violence and through them, and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood, room shall thou make in the ark, and shall pitch it within and without with pitch." Now, we see here that before the flood even came, God provided and said, build an ark, build an ark. before even one drop of rain came. God is telling them the means for deliverance for Noah and his family. He's telling them, this is the only way to escape my wrath. Exodus, what's the only way we can escape the wrath of God? Amen. In Christ. And that's it. The blood and righteousness of Christ.

Because he bore our wrath. What fell upon the ark in picture? The rain fell, right? But what did it picture? The wrath of God. And it beat on that ark. It just ferociously beat upon that ark for 40 days and 40 nights. Just beating on it. And all who were in that ark were sealed in that ark. By pitch. Do you know what the word pitch means? This is amazing.

It's the first mention of it in the scriptures. It means atonement. It means atonement. What's the atonement for our sins? The blood of Christ. What are we sealed by? The blood of Christ. Isn't that beautiful? Oh my. It's not the first picture of Christ, because we have that when the Lord slayed the lambs and clothed Ab and Eve. But it's the first time that word is used in Scripture. First time. My. So what a picture of Christ this ark is. What a picture.

Noah is commanded to build an ark, to construct it before a drop of rain has fallen. So we see God's provision. And so, beloved God, the saviorship of Christ was no afterthought of God. God didn't, you know, after Adam fell, God didn't start scrambling and go, what am I going to do?

Nope. People say that. I used to tell people that. Well, God went to plan B. I'm horrified that I told people that. The Jews rejected it, so God went to plan B. Oh, the Gentiles were always included in salvation, in the plan of God's salvation. When Adam fell, it was no accident. He fell, willingly. But God had already provided a savior. And listen to this verse.

And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And that's talking about all will follow Antichrist whose names were not written in the book of the Lamb's life, of the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. And that's Christ.

If you want to write down that reference, that's Revelation 13.8. All right. He's a lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

So before there was ever a sinner, there was a savior. Another thing for us to consider is the ark was God's provision for Noah, just as Christ is God's provision for sinners, for chosen sinners. Now we don't know who they are, so we preach the gospel to everyone, don't we? And God does the saving. And God does the same in saving. But notice this ark was already planned, already purposed by God, and he just tells Noah, build an ark.

And we know he supplied them with all the supplies, because every tree is his. Every piece of iron that comes out of the ground, where they fasten nails, it comes from him. My, do you ever think that the very tree that Christ was crucified on, he let that tree grow and mature and watched over that tree as God? And that tree was ordained to be the very tree that he'd be crucified on.

You know why we don't have it now? Because men would worship it. That's why. That's why we haven't found the Ark, and we haven't found the Ark of the Covenant, we haven't found the cross of Jesus, because men would worship those things. They would, but we worship Christ. We worship the Christ of the cross, the one who died and now risen. He's risen for our justification, praise his mighty name. He's in glory, and we're soon gonna be there with him, aren't we? It's wonderful. So the only way for us to flee the impending storm of judgment, the judgment of God, is to be in Christ. Just as the only way for those in the ark to escape the wrath outside was to be in the ark. It's such a beautiful picture.

And remember this, the ark, as we've seen, wasn't an invention of Noah. Have you noticed that? Noah didn't invent the ark, he built it. But God told him to build it. It was God's provision. He planned it, he purposed it, and Noah built it. Noah's just a vessel, right? What's a preacher? Just a vessel, the Lord. I got a message. Christ is the only savior of sinners. It's God's message. It's not mine. Tell us about my Savior. I'm going to brag on my Savior. But it's the Lord's message, isn't it? And this message will go until the Lord says, that's it. And never despair. There's always going to be a remnant according to the election of grace. Always. Even if things get so horrible, we can't, we can't, there always will be a remnant according to the election of grace, always. God's promised that.

Paul wrote of it. My. And had not God revealed the ark to Noah, and had now Noah not found grace in the eyes of the Lord, He would have perished along with his fellow men. So we don't think about that, do we? But it's true. Why? Because Noah, by nature, deserved to be destroyed just like everybody else.

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. We deserve to be destroyed, but we found grace in the eyes of the Lord. So who can we glorify in? Only Christ. Only Christ? Like you said, brother, we wake up in the spring in our step every morning, go look for the—praise God! He's so good to me! He's so good to me! My! I found grace in the eyes of the Lord, and I'm still finding it every day I'm alive! This is amazing.

So Noah didn't design the ark, he didn't plan for his deliverance. No, God was the one who planned Noah's deliverance. God's the one who planned our deliverance and our ark of safety, the Lord Jesus Christ. Because that ark was an ark of safety for them, wasn't it? Christ is the ark of safety for all believers. Ain't it beautiful? My. It's amazing. God planned our deliverance from our own sins. God planned our deliverance from his wrath. God planned our deliverance from the justice and law of God. And God provided our deliverance in a man, the man Christ Jesus, God incarnate in the flesh. The word of God has saved us, beloved. Let us rejoice. Let us rejoice. My. And God, this is amazing too, God has to reveal to us His grace and mercy, otherwise we never see it. And now that we're born again, have you noticed in your life, you see things, you're like, thank you, Lord.

And I've told you guys, one of the things I always, I go across in the morning and I'll get to the road and there'll be no traffic. And I'm like, well, praise the Lord, you cleared the traffic for me. Or we're pulling into a parking lot and there's a Primo parking spot right up front. Thank you, Lord, for the parking spot. Josh sometimes back there just shaking his head. Okay. Oh my, I'm gonna thank him all the time. I'm going to thank Him. Come on. Listen to this. And this is how we know that everything we know is being revealed to us. Look at, listen to this.

2 Corinthians 4, 16. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of the darkness, that was the darkness we were in spiritually, has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. See, He always takes us back to Christ. Paul wrote these words, but they were inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, weren't they? And so he's telling us, look to Christ. That's where we find our joy. We were once in darkness. We were like all those folks that died in the flood. We were just like them. And we found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

It's beautiful. That's why we want to tell others about this wonderful Savior we have, the Lord Jesus Christ. The only Savior of sinners. And the Ark was also a refuge from divine judgment, wasn't it? It was. That rain, that flood, pictured the judgment of God on sin. The wrath of God on sin.

Noah and his family were absolutely perfectly safe in that ark totally safe totally secure What are we in Christ? totally secure Totally safe from the wrath and judgment of God. I mean we are forgiven of all our sins beloved God doesn't even remember them anymore, even though we do sometimes. He doesn't remember them anymore. They're washed in the blood of Christ.

I was talking to someone the other night, last night, and they were bringing up something about somebody in the past. You know, I maybe need to talk to him. I said, it's all under the blood. Don't even bother. It's all under the blood. Just let it go. And it was something somebody had done to me, and they didn't like it, because they were very dear to me. And I said, it's all under the blood. It's gone. Because the fellow's a believer, huh, Mike? Anything he did that way was gone. It's under the blood. That's how we should be, right?

I'm not going to hold on to things. I'm going to try not to, because it's under the blood. And if they're not a believer, well, all my sins are under the blood, so I'm not gonna start pointing out stuff about other people. Because God doesn't say, well, Wayne, I remember on March such and such, oh, this here, this one wasn't under my blood. He didn't say that. Praise God he doesn't say that, right?

Hallelujah, he doesn't say that. heaven forgiving you all trespasses in whom we have redemption through his blood even the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of God's grace my and we rejoice in that don't we all we rejoice in that so much hmm So think of the, again, think of the outside that arc.

The rain was pounding on that arc, just pounding. And eventually it rose up and it was getting tossed to and fro. I was watching a video last night about these ships in the ocean and the sailors are hanging on. They're amazing. I don't know how they do it. And one guy's in, he's in bed, he goes, flies out of his bed and rolls all the way down the other side. Gets back up and goes back in his bed. Just tossed to and fro.

But it was probably calm in the ark, wasn't it? Because in Christ, there's peace and safety. And those rains were just beating on that ark. I mean, just full force. The gale winds blowing full force on that ark. Pitches the wrath of God. Christ, who is our heart, bore all the wrath of God that was against us. And he extinguished it, beloved. It's gone. It's gone, and he bore it all. He bore it all, beloved.

There's salvation only in Christ. Outside of Christ, there's no salvation. Anyone who was outside of that ark, they all died. Anyone who was inside that ark, they were safe and secure. What a picture of Christ. Oh, sinner friend, flee to Christ. He is the only hope for us. He is the only hope for us. My. All in that are escaped, and all outside of it perished. They may have climbed the top of the hills. I imagine they did. I imagine they went to the mountaintops and climbed the tallest of trees. And eventually the water just overcame them.

There's no escape from the wrath of God except in Christ. Except in the ark of safety for sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ. And that wrath is gonna come as sure as the sun rises tomorrow. If the Lord wills it. My There's no damnation. There's no condemnation.

There's no there's no perishing in our sins in Christ Safe he alone is set forth is the only propitiation for our sins My Remember there was only one brazen serpent To whom the Israelites were told to look to that's a picture of Christ That's another one we can do Right? Only one. There's only one mediator between God and man, right? It's not some priest. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. Alone. Alone.

There's only one advocate between God and man. The man Christ Jesus. He gave himself for us, beloved. Shedding his blood to save us from our sins. And there's no salvation outside of him. He's the only shelter for God's elect. He's the only shelter for sinners.

And the ark of Noah secured all those who were within it, right? All who were within that ark were secured. Perfectly secure and the wrath of God was poured out upon that little ark or not little ark. It was probably pretty good size What a picture of how every believer is sheltered from the wrath of God the justice of God through Christ and his righteousness Now here's the point I mentioned earlier Scripture says in Acts 412 it says this neither is there salvation in any other than For there's none other name given among men whereby we must be saved, only Christ. Christ is the only Savior. Do you know that the ark was a place of absolute security for all those who were in it? I mean absolute security.

There was not even a chance that a drop of that rain would fall on those inside. Not a chance. You know why? It's watertight. That pitch, notice it was sealed within and without. Sealed within and without. My. Not one of that, not one drop of that water, that pitch of the wrath of God could get inside that ark. And we could beat upon that ark, but it couldn't get in it. It couldn't get in it. Everybody and everything inside that ark was safe and secure. What a picture of the believer in Christ, who is our ark of safety. There are no drop of rain.

If God before us, who can be against us? It's God that justifies us. My the Apostle Paul said this and remember those folks in the ark were hid from the wrath of its side, right? Apostle Paul wrote this in Colossians 3 3 your life is hid with Christ in God With God in God yeah in God the Son the Lord Jesus Christ We're Gil call us the hidden ones Hidden under the blood Washed in the blood, safe in the ark of safety for sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ.

My. And you know who shut them in that ark? It was God. God shut the door. No one in his family didn't get some rakes and start pulling on it. Nope. And think of this. How did every one of them animals and creeping things How did they come to the ark and get in the ark willingly and didn't eat each other inside the ark?

Because God is sovereign. Because God is king. Because God is Lord. Imagine all the little ants going up there, queen ant and the male ant, right, creeping things. Remember, it said creeping things, too, right? That's true. There'd be no ants if they all had died. We don't think that. We think the big animals. We don't think the little creeping things.

Couple ladybugs. I love ladybugs. Couple ladybugs, creeping things. My, oh, my. Ain't it wondrous? It's wondrous, beloved. See, we teach our kids it was all the animals came on, but we forget about the creeping things. My, a couple lizards going, eh? Oh, up they go. It's true. Oh, my. It's beautiful. And they didn't attack each other.

They all willingly went in that ark. They must have been made willing, right? I think they were made willing, do you? Because they probably willingly wouldn't go on there. Or in their own state, they wouldn't have went on there. They were made willing to get on that ark, weren't they? I just thought about that.

Oh my. My now the Hebrew word again. I was mentioning this earlier The Hebrew word for pitch there is the Hebrew word called kafar kafar It's translated 70 times in the Old Testament to make atonement Over 70 times to make atonement and how did they make atonement back in those days I?

Without the shed and the blood, there's no remission of sins. It's pointing to the blood of Christ, beloved. It's pointing to us being sealed in Christ, within and without, so that not a drop of God's wrath can fall upon us. Blessed is the man and woman to whom God will not impute sin. That's us, beloved. Our sins were imputed to Christ, and His spotless righteousness is imputed to us. And because of his blood and righteousness, we're saved from all our sins. Sealed. To make atonement. Who made atonement for our sins? Christ did, didn't he? What a picture. See the picture? So beautiful. So beautiful. And we learned, and I think a few years ago, I did a study on the atonement. We learned then that the blood, the atonement was made by blood alone. Right?

One was chosen to be sacrificed. Remember they bring two lambs? One was chosen to be sacrificed and the other would be chosen to be the scapegoat. And the priest didn't know which one it was to do what, except for the lot falling upon one or the other. And one was sacrificed. And one was set free, picturing the Lord carrying our sins away to where they'll never be remembered no more. And he's also the sacrifice too. But it was only by blood. It was only by blood. And he made atonement for his people, his elect, sinners.

And now we're washed clean, beloved, in the blood of Christ, clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Amazing. God is holy and of pure eyes than to behold evil and cannot look upon iniquity. Therefore, we must be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. We must be. Sin must be covered, right? Sin must have an atonement made for it.

And Christ willingly dies for us, beloved. He came to die, didn't he? came to die. My, for the sins of his people. And it's remarkable that this word Kephar should be used for the first time in scripture right here. As a picture of God's people in Christ who made atonement for us, beloved. My. And he's the only shelter from God's wrath, isn't he? Yeah. And the only shelter from God's wrath is the blood of Christ. Is the blood of Christ.

What a picture before us in this text. Now look at Genesis chapter 6 verse 16. A window shall thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above, and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof. With lower Second and third stories shall thou make it now salvation Salvation is not a man is it? We can't save ourselves It's not by man's works. It's not by a decision that man makes It's not by praying a certain prayer God's people are saved by Christ in Christ alone and And He can save us in our seats without us moving a muscle. Because it's a heart work. It's a work of regeneration. You must be born again.

There's only one way to the Father. There's only one door to the Father, right? Listen to what Christ said in John chapter 10, verse 9, and think that there was only one door in the ark. It says this, I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved. They entered in one door, didn't they? And they were all saved. And everybody outside that door, when that door was shut by God, everyone else perished who wasn't in that ark. How are we done again? I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved.

There's that little word again, shall. Not might, not maybe. Shall be saved. and shall go in and out and find pasture." Oh, have we not found the clover of God's Word that feeds the sheep of God, the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ? We rejoice in it.

And the ark had only one door, one entrance for Noah and his family and the animals. A.W. Pink brings out that this was the same for the tabernacle, too. I didn't realize that. The tabernacle only had one door. One door. He has a single entrance. There's another type in picture. And that entrance is Christ. Because they're entering into the Holy of Holies, right? How do we get into heaven? One way. The Lord Jesus Christ. And heaven won't be heaven unless Christ is there, right?

And there he is. He's gone to prepare a place for us, hasn't he? He says, where I am, you're going to be there soon. Oh, my. My, it's so beautiful. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. One door. He tells us he's the door. He says he's the way, the truth, and the life. And no one comes to the Father except through that door, except through Christ.

So we're saved and kept, not by any of our works, but all by grace, just as Noah. Noah was saved because he found grace in the eyes of the Lord. We're saved and born again and blood washed because we found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Isn't that wonderful? It's nothing what we do. And then turn over, if you would, to Genesis 7, 16. And look at this, what it says here. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh. Look at that.

As God had commanded him, and the Lord shut him in. Praise God for the Lord shutting us in Christ, right? He shut us in. So marvel, not a drop of rain, which pictured God's wrath, fell upon any of those in the ark. Not one drop. And let us ponder this, that outside that ark was, it was pelted and it bore the full wrath of God. It bore the full wrath of God. Oh my, what a picture of what Christ did for His people at Calvary's Cross. He fully satisfied the justice of God. He fully satisfied the law of God. And He extinguished the wrath of God that was against us. Glory to his name. Brother Brian, can you finish up the prayer for us?

The Ark a Picture

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about Noah's Ark as a picture of Christ?

Why is the atonement important for Christians?

How do we know Christ is the only Savior?

Why was Noah's faith significant in building the Ark?

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The Ark a Picture

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about Noah's Ark as a picture of Christ?

Why is the atonement important for Christians?

How do we know Christ is the only Savior?

Why was Noah's faith significant in building the Ark?

Sermon Transcript

About Wayne Boyd

Comments

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