04.21. SHADOW: In Christ- The Shadow of the Ark

SHADOW: In Christ- The Shadow of the Ark Genesis 6:5-8 ; Genesis 6:11-14; Genesis 7:21-23 AUDIO http://www.exposingtheword.com/SHADOWS/MP3s%20Shadows/20%20Shadow-In%20Christ-%20Ark.mp3

    Many times today we use the phrase "into" something or someone as an indicator of someone’s interest or obsessions. "He’s into sports, or football, or music or girls" is often used.

In many parts of the country that is tornado prone they have storm shelters. One would be foolish to stand outside of one while a tornado roared past. There is no safety in being close to the shelter but safety is being in the shelter. If someone was in the ocean, their boat sank and a life raft was available and they said, "I’ll be safe because I am close to the boat" we would think them crazy because there would be safety only in the boat. Our text today is found in the context of the great flood of judgment God sent upon the earth. Notice we me some selected verses. Genesis 6:5-8 "And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ⁶And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. ⁷And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. ⁸ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. Genesis 6:11-14 "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. ¹²And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. ¹³And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. ¹⁴Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

    Genesis 7:21-23 "And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: ²²All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. ²³And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark."

    Only those creatures and people who were inside the ark were safe. We can discern many great things from the ark that makes it a type of Christ.

I- World Stood Condemned By Sin:

    We clearly see from these verses that the world stood condemned by sin. Genesis 6:5,11 -12.

    John 3:18 "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

    The world today stands condemned by sin. Listen tot he way one of the great preachers of the past AW Tozer said it.

Sin has many manifestations but its essence is one. A moral being, created to worship before the throne of God, sits on the throne of his own selfhood and from that elevated position declares, "I AM." That is sin in its concentrated essence; yet because it is natural it appears to be good. "What shall we do?" (Acts 2:37 ) is the deep heart cry of every man who suddenly realizes that he is a usurper and sits on a stolen throne. -- A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy. Christianity Today, Vol. 41, no. 5.

II- God Had A Plan:

    The world was under condemnation and would be destroyed. However we see that God had a plan to preserve creation. Genesis 6:14 "make an ark."

    God’s greatest plan was yet to come. God had a plan to redeem the world by Christ.

1 Peter 1:17-21 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: 18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you."

Listen to the words of CH Spurgeon concerning Christ. The heart of Christ became like a reservoir in the midst of the mountains. All the tributary streams of iniquity, and every drop of the sins of his people, ran down and gathered into one vast lake, deep as hell and shoreless as eternity. All these met, as it were, in Christ’s heart, and he endured them all. -- Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Christian History, no. 29.

God had a plan, the plan was a man, a man who was God in the flesh. The same God that gave us a picture of Christ in the Ark of Noah also planned for the salvation of men. Notice what it says in Romans 8:1-2 "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."

    Romans 8:33-34 "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. ³⁴Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."

III- God Was Longsuffering:

    God saw the sin of men and "…it grieved him at his heart." God was going to destroy all of creation but it says, Noah found grace. 1 Peter 3:20 "…when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."

    God waited for years as the ark was being built. Some think it took as long as 120 years for the ark to be prepared. All the while Noah preached repentance.

    2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

    The ark shows us the longsuffering of God toward men. Christ is a patient Savior.

IV- Things Not Yet Seen Were Manifest:

    Many scoffers today ridicule the plan of God. They say we have not seen it come to pass and therefore it must not be going to do so. Notice what it says in Hebrews 11:7 "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 which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith."

    Because men have not seen the flood in our day, they claim it never was. Beloved God manifest things not seen before in the flood. Judgment, rain and destruction, His wrath has not been seen since the flood but it is coming.

    We have a saying that seeing is believing. This is not true for believers. May I say that believing is seeing? It says by faith Noah.

V- Safety Inside Only:

You may have wondered why the title was "In Christ- The Shadow of the Ark." We get to this now. There was safety only on the inside of the ark. All on the outside perished as we read in Genesis 7:21-23 . This gives us a marvelous shadow of Christ. "In Christ," was one of the Apostle Paul’s favorite terms. It is found 77 times in the NT of which 74 were used by Paul. Notice a few verses with me about being in Christ. Romans 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

    2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

    1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.

    We have assurance if we are in Christ that nothing can separate us from Him. We are in fact new creations in Christ. In Christ we will be translated into the very presence of God.    

"An ark is a vessel that carries or contains something. The ark that is Christ contains our hope and our salvation. An ark carries its contents to a destination, just as Christ carries us through life and on to eternal life. That ark provided safety for Noah just as Christ provides safety for us." (from internet-source unsure)