Don’t Miss the Boat

According to Genesis 7:11, when the global flood of Noah’s day came upon the earth it came from the rain above and from wells deep in the earth. Noah and his family were, in effect, completely immersed (buried) in water. However, they did not perish because they were safe in the ark which God designed.

In 1 Peter 3:20, Peter points to the fact that Noah’s salvation was through a “type” of baptism - for they were saved “through water.” In the very next verse (21) Peter says, “There is also an antitype which now saves us, namely baptism...” The word “antitype” (NKJV) is defined as follows:

“A person or thing represented or foreshadowed by a type or symbol; especially a figure in the Old Testament having a counterpart in the New Testament” (WordWeb Dictionary).

When the Bible uses types and antitypes, the “thing” that has been pointed to in the New Testament is greater than the ”thing” that foreshadowed it in the Old Testament. For example, Abraham offering up his son Isaac on Mt. Moriah in Genesis 22 was a “type” of the offering up of God’s Son (Jesus) on the cross for our sins approximately 2,000 years later. Jesus’ crucifixion at Jerusalem, on Mt. Moriah, was the “antitype” (or greater type).

In 1 Peter 3:21, the apostle revealed that a connection is to be made between Noah’s salvation through water and the Christian’s salvation through water (i.e., baptism into Christ). True, it is not the water itself that saves, but rather the ark that God has provided to save us....which in this case is Jesus Christ. “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:26-27). “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins...” (Eph. 1:7).

Friends, since it is biblically clear that baptism saves, please don’t miss the boat.

Aaron Veyon