What does Noah and the ark represent?

The entire Old Testament is all about Jesus Christ and our salvation in Him. A quick background:

Christ Himself taught the Gospel from the Old Testament on resurrection day. Here's what He did as He walked with the two despondent disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24- 

"27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures."

That same evening, the two disciples went to Jerusalem to share their experience of Christ with the other disciples. Jesus appeared to them there; check out what He did in verse 45 (MSG)- 

“He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way.”

There was no New Testament at this time. Christ taught His disciples about Himself from the Old Testament. Christ teaches us to read the Old Testament by bringing Him out of all the Scriptures. In one of the most popular passages of the New Testament, Christ Himself made reference to Himself in the Old Testament: the bronze serpent that Moses lifted up in the wilderness is a picture of Christ lifted up to save the world from sin and death. Here's more on Christ's typology in John 3:14–17: What's the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament?

Back to Noah and the Ark:

Believers, with Christ as our righteousness and zero dependence on self(-righteousnesses) from trying to keep the law, God sees us as righteous through and through. Now this doesn’t mean that we are perfect in deed; none of us have arrived yet but--

“God began a good work in you. And I am sure that He will carry it on until it is completed. That will be on the day Christ Jesus returns.” Philippians‬ 1:6‬.

As we look forward to this day, we will stumble and fail sometimes, but recall when Noah and his family were in the ark? No matter how many times they stumbled or fell as a result of the flood and winds raging outside, they always fell and got back up inside the ark. Not a single person was cast out of the ark and into the flood with the condemned for whatever reason; and after the flood subsided, all who put their trust in the Lord were saved.

Recall that in Luke 24, Christ teaches us to read the Scriptures (Old Testament) through the lens of Grace (Christ Himself)? The Old Testament is all about Jesus Christ and our salvation in Him. We who believe are in Christ Jesus, the real Ark of God. Noah was righteous before God, but it was not a righteousness from his self-effort aka his self-righteousness or his good behavior. God saw that the wickedness of man was great on earth. See Genesis 6:

“5 Then [a]the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent[b] of the thoughts of his heart was only evil [c]continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them .8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD”

Grace is undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour. Psalm 130:3 says:

“If You, LORD, should keep an account of our sins and treat us accordingly, O Lord, who could stand [before you in judgment and claim innocence]?”

Noah was not saved by his own righteousness (self-righteousness,) personal merit or good behavior. No one can ever be. Noah was saved by Grace. Romans 11:6 says: 

“But if it is by grace [God’s unmerited favor], it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace [it would not be a gift but a reward for works].”

Also Psalm 143:2- “And do not enter into judgment with Your servant, For in Your sight no man living is righteous or justified.”

Also Romans 3:20- “For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.”

Like Noah who was righteous and saved by Grace through faith and not by works, we who believe Jesus didn’t just decide to seek salvation in our Ark that is Christ. God drew us as He drew Noah. Christ says in John 6:44-

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him [giving him the desire to come to Me]; and I will raise him up [from the dead] on the last day.”

See the MSG version: "Jesus said, “Don’t bicker among yourselves over Me. You’re not in charge here. The Father who sent Me is in charge. He draws people to Me—that’s the only way you’ll ever come. Only then do I do my work, putting people together, setting them on their feet, ready for the End."

We can sing “I have decided to follow Jesus” all we want but it definitely was not by our smarts, efforts or good sense that we are in Him or remain steadfast in Him. Our Abba Father drew us to Christ. Christ keeps us and leads us on the path of righteousness. Even now, Christ is working on setting right all who take refuge in Him from the floods of sins, self-righteousness their deathly consequences. Nothing to do with human effort aka arm of flesh. Of ourselves, without the Lord our Shepherd, going astray was our lot. When we realize this - how wholly dependent the sheep are on the Shepherd- it becomes difficult for us to judge people who are yet to receive their invite to the Lord’s table or even shake our heads at people who are still struggling with their sins. Instead, we pray to our Abba Father to touch their hearts too.

Like Noah and his family inside the ark, our Saviour will never cast us out when we fall, as it is written in John 6:37-

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”

Believers, the one who comes to Jesus is looking for salvation, including salvation from acts of sin. Christ saves from sins. Matt. 1:21 says of Him:

"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

But many false preachers out there make you believe that Christ will cast you out into the drowning world when you sin or mess things up and you have to save yourself from your sins. Our Saviour will never cast us out to drown with the condemned world outside; no matter how many times we fall, we fall and rise to greater heights inside the Ark. Saviour from sins is His job description. There is no condemnation for us in Him, as it is written in Romans 8:1- 

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Churchgoers are already committing sins without license. Let’s take our blessed brains to church and beware of false doctrine preachers who present God’s Grace as license to commit sins. The same Grace that Noah found in the eyes of the Lord is the only Way for man to be free from the flood of sin and death that was the destiny of all mankind. Beloved of God, Grace is a Person. His name is Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11 says of Him:

"God’s marvelous grace has manifested in person, bringing salvation for everyone."

Verse 14 of the same Titus 2 says: "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

How can one continue to wallow in sins when he is sealed in Grace Himself - the Ark of whom Matthew 1:21 says:

"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Why would Christ bestow the gift of no condemnation to we His people if we do not have sins? Why would a person who scored 100% on a test need Christ's 100%? The gift is for those who, of themselves, don’t have it all together. None of us do and none of us can ever do, "For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands..." says Romans 3:20. Christ holds it all together for all who believe.

Bear in mind that believers in Christ are those who are made righteous by His obedience and not puny efforts at law-keeping and sowing seeds in order to get God to bless; notice Christ is always missing from that equation of salvation that involves human effort e.g.

“God blessed me with a jet and His goodness because I fasted, was well-behaved and because I sowed by car.”

Not so with believers in Christ. We are being FREELY filled to overflowing with God’s goodness and mercy so much that we get to live godly lives and bless others from HIS overflow and not our human effort/arm of flesh-driven activities done to ginger God to bless. Many profess Christ but do not believe that they are made righteous by His obedience. Such expect that they will be cut off from Christ our Ark and left to drown in the flood (problems) of the world if they do not do their best (trust in the arm of flesh that will fail) to obey the Ten Commandments and do certain things to secure their right-standing with God. But this is how to get cut off from Christ according Galatians 5:4-

"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace."

Believers, trying to get right with God through works of the law is a testament to rejecting the gift of righteousness that Christ died that we might have. Romans 4:25 says:

"Jesus was handed over to be crucified for the forgiveness of our sins and was raised back to life to prove that He had made us right with God!"

Those who think that their own righteousness from obeying the law is what makes them right with God reject Christ and deny His resurrection. Believers, let's not be found here. Romans 5:19 shows us how we are put right with God- "By one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous."

At the cross, there was a righteous exchange. God punished our entire lifetime of sins in the body of Christ to make us righteous. See 2 Corinthians 5:21- 

"For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

Christ had no sins of His own. He became sin for us so that we who have no righteousness of our own might become righteous. With His gift of righteousness comes no condemnation. His "neither do I condemn you" is what makes us "go and sin no more."

Law-keeping and doing good things can neither make any righteous before God nor save from His wrath. While the world around us is drowning from God’s wrath, all who, like Noah, are saved by Grace (Christ Himself) get to escape God’s wrath. See Romans 5:9-

“And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

This is the Good News for the helpless sinner who, like Peter who denied Christ after boasting that he could not, has grace to see the futility of trusting in his self-effort at walking uprightly. But for churchgoers who think that they can obey even a tittle of the law towards getting into God’s good graces, it is blasphemy.

We are made right in God’s sight (notice not in the sight of men) through the blood of Jesus Christ and not our own ability to keep the law, remain sinless or do good deeds, which no one can accomplish by human effort aka arm of flesh. Because it is His righteousness and not ours, the way to “lose your salvation” is for something or Pharisee-type churchgoers to trick you into clawing your way out of the Ark and jumping into the flood aka stop believing that our Saviour Jesus Christ gave Himself to save you. And that can never happen because we who believe have been sealed tight in the Ark (Christ) by God Himself-

“28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

But does this mean that we can continue to wallow in sins as some imply? Certainly not! Understand that sin is the default mode of man. Without Grace, sins will flourish. Grace is the only Way to be free from sin. Beloved of God, Grace is a Person. His name is Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11 says of Him:

"God’s marvelous grace has manifested in person, bringing salvation for everyone."

Verse 14 of the same Titus 2 says: "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

Grace- Christ Himself - is the Ark who keeps us from being stained with and ultimately drowning in the flood of sins. He saves from sins. One is either fully dependent on the Ark or not inside the Ark at all. There can be no mixture aka “neither cold nor hot”/neither under Law nor under Grace. There is no claiming to be made right with God by Grace through faith yet trying to be righteous like God (be like God) by human effort. Adam and Eve did so and look where it got them. One is either utterly on his own outside the Ark or utterly dependent on Christ in the Ark. Pride in the arm of flesh/human effort at keeping the law is why many churchgoers refuse to enter the Ark, even though they profess Christ. Many want to be able to boast about how “I sowed my car and God gave me a jet” but God’s gifts are free for all who believe in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:32.)

A person might seem to be standing uprightly outside the Ark aka depending on even an iota of his human effort (arm of flesh) at obeying God and doing good deeds to prevent him from getting wet with sins and ultimately drowning in the flood aka to “not perish but have eternal life.” But no matter how uprightly this one seems to be standing in his own strength aka arm of flesh, without being in Christ the Ark and having Him as his Saviour to the uttermost, he will ultimately perish in the sea of sins. Beloved of God, let’s not be found here.

Another might have fallen flat on his face but is inside the Ark; this one puts no confidence in what he can do to save himself from drowning in sins but trusts and utterly relies on Christ as His Saviour from sin and death. This one who falls inside the Ark will neither perish nor continue to fall because Saviour from sins is Christ’s job description. In Him, we have victory over sins; we have eternal life only because we are inside the Ark and not because we know how to stand uprightly by ourselves.

Only through the abundance of God’s Grace and His gift of righteousness in Christ, not the law (dependence on human effort for godliness) do we live in triumph over sin and death. Only by being in Christ the Ark do we overcome. God sees us as upright/righteous no matter how many times we fall inside the Ark; God's gift of righteousness to all who believe in Jesus Christ is apart from our works. In Christ, our forever status before God is “righteous," even though we are guilty of many sins: Romans 5:16-

"And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.”

This is not so that we should continue to wallow in sins as antichrist preachers like to imply with fallen human logic. According to the Wisdom of God whose ways and thoughts are higher than man’s, it is so that we should live in triumph over sin and death-

"And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:16-17.

But many are still trying to get right with God by their own power to obey the law; the very law that religious (yet beloved of God) people are trying to keep makes sin have dominion over them- Romans 6:14 says:

“For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under grace.”

Somehow, many in the church have this verse backwards, saying grace is a license to sin. No, friend. Grace is the gospel of Christ and the power of God to salvation, even salvation from sins. All who, like Noah, experience God’s saving Grace will never perish in the flood of sins that lead to death but have salvation ftom sins and posess eternal life. 

None of self(-righteousness;) all of Christ(-righteousness.) This is the Good News.

Believe Right and you will Live Right.