An Antitype Which Now Saves Us—Baptism

An Antitype Which Now Saves Us—Baptism

In the days of Noah, the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and the Lord regretted that He had created man, and He was grieved in His heart. Gen. 6:6-8. And the Lord decided to destroy man, whom He had created, from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping things and birds of the air. But Noah found grace in the eyes of God.

And God said to 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 with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.” And Noah did according to all that God commanded him.

“Then the Lord said to Noah, ‘Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.’” And the Lord commanded that of cattle and the birds of the air, as well as wild animals and of everything that creeps, two and two should enter the ark to keep the species alive.

“Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth . . . . The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died that moved on the earth.”

Peter says, “When once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah . . . eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism.” 1 Pet. 3:20-21.

In the days of Noah, the ungodly perished by water, but righteous Noah was saved by the ark, which floated on the waters.

The ark is a symbol of Christ. Our ungodly nature, the body of the flesh, which was put off by the circumcision of Christ, was buried by baptism in the water just like the ungodly in the days of Noah. Col. 2:11-12. When we have been buried with Christ and have been raised with Him through faith in the power of God who raised Him from the dead, we have come into the great Ark of Salvation, Christ. This Ark floats on the waters, raised by the power of God. Just as Noah found grace in the eyes of God among his generation, so each generation has some who are righteous whom God accounts worthy to enter His Ark. The ungodly are in death, under the judgment in the water, which is a picture of judgment. The righteous are raised from the dead in the Ark, Christ Jesus. Therefore we are to walk in newness of life and not be conformed to this world. For what does Noah have to do with those who are in the water outside the ark? He has enough work to do inside. Those outside were under God’s judgment. As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. By baptism we have accepted the same judgment as the ungodly, but because we have judged ourselves voluntarily, we will not be condemned together with the world. This is the final judgment over all flesh. From now on, we are raised with Christ and have put on Christ by becoming members of His body—by faith. Baptism is not a cleansing of the filthiness of the flesh. The body of sin—the sinful nature, or if you wish, the “root of sin”—is not removed through baptism, but that man who lived according to sin in the flesh is buried. True, those who are raised up out of the water by baptism still have the root of sin within, but they do not live according to it. God’s Spirit and power begin to lead them, and that keeps them from committing sin. Through baptism (the burial of the former life), we enter the covenant of a good conscience toward God through the resurrection of Christ. Note that we are raised from the dead. This is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith, because it is by faith that we have overcome in Him and been raised from the dead. There are basically two types of people in the world: those who are dead in sins and trespasses, and those who have been raised from these—the dead who have been made alive in Christ Jesus. Outwardly you cannot see any difference. They are so alike that, when Jesus returns, two will be grinding at the same mill, one will be taken and the other will be left; two will be in one bed, one will be taken and the other will be left; and yet no one had any idea who would be taken and who would be left behind. The fact is that one was raised with Christ and the other was not. The one who was left behind belonged to the dead; the other one had been raised from the dead. God has put a covering over this resurrection, and this covering is nothing other than the body of our flesh. Both look alike, and one seems to be just as good as the other. Jesus lived His whole life as one who was raised from the dead, and yet the Pharisees imagined themselves to be far better than Him. They only knew Him according to the flesh and regarded Him as a Galilean, the son of Joseph and Mary. They, unlike Peter, did not see that he was “God’s Messiah,” for flesh and blood could not reveal this. Those who lived at the same time as Noah obviously thought that he was not quite “normal,” since he worked on building this ark for several hundred years. However, they did not understand that he was one of those who had been raised up. The waters could not bury him.

Blessed are those who are “raised with Christ,” those who are in the “Ark of Salvation” above the waters of judgment. They have agreed with God in His judgment, and they have buried the old man through baptism in those waters that covered the highest mountains by fifteen cubits in the days of Noah. No one can save himself from these waters, because the old man does not have the power of resurrection—he must perish. Only faith in the power of God, which raised Christ from the dead, is able to keep us alive. Noah was able to keep the species alive by taking them two by two with him into the ark. Likewise, Christ has life in Himself in order to keep all those who are raised with Him alive. In Him we live and move and have our being. So we no longer need to let anyone judge us regarding new moons or Sabbaths, for the body is of Christ. Just as Noah, when he left the ark and set foot on the new earth, could be considered a representative of the human race from the time before the flood, similarly, Christ is the first one to attain to the resurrection from the dead, after He had broken the hold of death and destroyed him who had the power of death, that is, the devil. Those who are dead in sins and trespasses can now be awakened together with Christ, so they are transferred from death to life. Since Christ trod the winepress alone and broke His way through all the waters of judgment to resurrection from the dead, He can justly be called the “Son of Man.” Jesus loved this name, and it has a glorious ring in the hearts of those who have received a glimpse of Him as such.

In Noah’s day, God ordained that those who wanted to save their lives had to listen to and obey Noah; likewise in these days, He ordained the same for Christ. All who hear Him will live; they will live a resurrected life, and there will be no more condemnation for them.

Those who are raised with Christ will live even if they die. They fall asleep in Christ—in His body, but they will arise with glorified bodies at His return.

God will judge the other dead, those who are outside the Ark of Salvation. Jesus said of these, “Forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” We also ought to have this attitude of mind.

As those who are raised with Christ from the dead, we are persecuted by the dead, because we are of a different spirit. Jesus predicted this when He said, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.” Col. 3:1. “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

It is definitely hidden, for there is a covering over everything that is glorious. But when Christ is revealed, then you will also be revealed with Him in glory.