By Wayne Johnston

For several weeks, I have felt like I was to look at the church in reference to Noah’s Ark. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:16 (my second favorite 3:16 verse) that, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,”

Or as I learned in college, the Old Testament is revealed in the New, and the New Testament is hid in the Old.

The unique parallels between the natural ark and the church not only enriches our understanding of the church, but I believe it addresses some of the ‘political’ struggles we face today.

So to start with I want to make a list of comparisons between the Ark (Noah) and the church (Christ):

THE ARK (NOAH)	THE CHURCH (CHRIST)
Name – Noah means ‘rest’ (from judgment)	Jesus means ‘salvation’ (from sin or judgment)
Ark – A place of rest or safety from the judgment on the world	Church – ‘Ekklesia’ God’s people called out of the world
Built according to God’s plan (Genesis 6:14-16)	Church built on Christ – His plan, His word (1 Corinthians 3:11)
Man invited to partake (2 Peter 2:5)	“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 NKJV)
Noah found favor with God, righteous (Genesis 6:8)	Christ – God’s righteousness for us (Philippians 3:9)
One ark for all	One church (His) for Jews/Gentiles, rich/poor (Ephesians 4:4-6)
Only one door and God controlled the door (Genesis 7:16)	Christ the only way to God (Father) “I am the door” (John 10:7)
Ark, salvation from judgment for all who enter in (Genesis 6:11-14)	Christ (the universal Church), salvation from judgment (2 Peter 3:11-13)
Man rested from his efforts (to save himself) in the ark.	We rest in Jesus, seated in heavenly places in Him (Ephesians 1:3)
God called Noah to come into ark (Genesis 7:1)	God calls us to enter into Christ’s finished work (Matthew 11:28)

The ark was big enough to do its job. Even by somewhat conservative estimates, it was 140 meters long (459 feet) longer than a football field, 23 meters wide (75 feet) and taller than a four story building with three deck levels.

It was high enough to accommodate those with big ambitions. Along with water and food for all, there was room for all who were called. No lack. There was enough room for a staggering 20 regulation-sized basketball courts. That’s big.

So what’s my point?

There was room enough for all; compartments for every size of land animal, big or small, all had a place. There was only one door, It had no emergency exit and there was only death and destruction outside the ark.

In light of the New Testament church, it’s an interesting foreshadow of Christ. The king of the Savannah, the lion and the little Church mouse all had to go through the same door. The hawks and the doves also had to entered the same way together.

It’s a great picture of the church; all those different animals setting aside their instincts and finding a nest, a place of rest in God’s provision.

In a bygone age when someone would go on an ocean voyage, you typically had three choices. The lower deck for the the poor, mid decks for middle class and the upper deck for the wealthy. Noah’s ark had three decks, not put to fine a point on it, just saying it’s interesting.

The Political Differences between Christ’s Disciples

When we look at the gospels and the call of the 12 we find unique parallels to the ark. The original 12 disciples were not a homogeneous, cohesive group. Like the ark, there was some very different cats, individuals, in the mix.

There were hawks like John and James, who were called the Sons of Thunder. There was also Simon the zealot. The zealots were a political religious movement that sought to expel the Romans by force from Judea. They were staunch Jews who opposed the Roman occupation.

There were those clearly on the right (James, John, Peter and Simon) and there were those, like Matthew, who were more ‘progressive’ and worked with the Romans by collecting their taxes.

There were also those who were outgoing and the ones we never hear from.

Hawks, doves, left, and right were all called by the Master. They were asked to lay down their agendas and follow Him. We are called to do the same today.

We even see clear pictures of the struggles between left and right and doves and hawks in the Old Testament. King David could be labeled a conservative hawk. He was a man of war. His son, Solomon, was more of a left-leaning dove.

But the biggest oneness issue that the church ever faced was in the first century. The Jews and Gentiles were called to oneness in Christ. All coming through one door, Jesus Christ.

If they could accomplish that, surely, we can find a place, a nest, in the ark, If all those different animals could do it, surely we can in Him.