All I Have Is Christ

The glory of God in the salvation of His people is the major theme of the Bible. We see this theme running through all of the stories of the Old Testament. I would like for us to see how the very living out of those stories was declaring God's glory throughout all of redemptive history.
God has been saving people since the fall of Adam and Eve. He clothed our first parents and showed His love to them, even though they chose to break fellowship with Him. God was pointing to the ultimate salvation in the life and death of Jesus His Son with the happenings recorded in the Old Testament. When we read the Old Testament in this way, in light of the cross of Christ, we are able to see God’s big picture, not only stories from a long time ago.

One example is Noah and the ark. Our minds immediately go to the seeming impossibility of the story itself. Even though many scientists agree that there was a time when the earth was covered with water, we tend to focus too much on the difficult nature of the story itself. We can miss what Peter points out in his first letter: “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.” He connects this truth to Noah and the ark.

What was God doing with the ark and the flood? The ark was protecting the few believers in God from the flood. We might compare being in the ark as being in Christ. When we are in Christ, He prevents evil from having ultimate victory over us. This victory was won by Christ on the cross--for all time. The main thing that we have victory over is the just, righteous, deserved wrath of God. God is right to punish sin. The flood was designed to punish sins. We will not go through the flood of God’s wrath if we are in Christ. And if we are secure from the most worrisome of things, we have no cause to worry about lesser things.

My dear brothers and sisters, God has truly said that we are secure and safe in the walls of His true ark, Jesus Christ. We have no reason to be afraid, to worry or ultimately even to be sad for very long. “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” (Psalm 30:5b ESV) The beginning of that verse gives us our true comfort. If you are like me, you may not remember the first part, which is really the best part: “For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime.” (Psalm 30:5a ESV) Our comfort rests in the truth that God is for us, so no one else can succeed against us (Romans 8:31). It shows the glory of God to save His people. So take comfort, beloved, in the faithful narratives of the Old Testament. For in them we see our Savior. As God was saving them, He was pointing to His salvation for all of His people for all time. Be comforted in the glory of God.

In Christ, 

Jason