Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Christ’s Preaching through Noah
(I Peter 3:18-22)
Christ’s death saves sinners and the preaching of the cross is the vehicle through which faith is born in the heart (I Cor. 1:21). In fact, preaching has always been central to God’s plan of redemption—in every age. The Old Testament prophets were preachers par excellence. Even King Solomon went by the nick name “the Preacher.”
It shouldn’t surprise us that Christ uniquely used Noah to preach to his generation (19, 20). The “spirits in prison” refer to those who, rejecting Christ’ message through Noah, went to Hell. Just as the Holy Spirit witnesses of Christ’s grace in the New Testament era, so He witnessed of Christ through preachers like Noah.
Noah’s ministry was not only one of preaching; it was one of example. He spent 120 years building the ark and preaching to curious spectators. When he drove the last nail and secured the last animal, it began to rain. Those in the ark were carried to safety; all the rest drowned. According to Peter, Noah’s experience pictures salvation, just as does water baptism (21). Remember, salvation is not found in baptismal water; but baptism is a “figure,” picturing the reality of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. (Note the emphasis on “resurrection” in verse 21!)
So Christ preached deliverance through Noah. His generation rejected the message and ultimately went to watery graves and fiery eternities. They had been, nonetheless, warned—by Christ through Noah. In both his preaching and his example, Noah was used of Christ to warn his generation!
