Baptism and Salvation 1 Peter 3:18-22 Part Five
1 Peter 3:18-22 18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison,
20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.
21 Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.
Even if we can t fully understand a passage, we can state the main, clear points of the passage and we can avoid misinterpreting Scripture by refusing to draw unbiblical doctrines from an obscure passage.
1 Peter 3:21 Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you We need to interpret Scripture with Scripture. And, we need to consider the context of Peter s comment.
1 Peter 3:20-21 20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. 21 Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
1 Peter 3:13 Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? 1 Peter 3:17 For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God Believers will suffer unjustly. There s value in our suffering because it has the potential to bring others into a relationship with God.
Jesus is the ultimate example of that happening. 1 Peter 4:1 Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,
Peter uses verses 19-22 to connect his comments about suffering, which immediately precede and follow them. It certainly doesn t seem like this would be good a place to randomly insert a comment about baptismal regeneration.
One of the overarching themes in Peter s letter is that believers are aliens and strangers in this world. Eventually, God will bring us safely home, through our relationship with Christ.
In 1 Peter 3:20-21, Peter uses the account of Noah as an example for his readers, and as an analogy of the salvation that comes through Jesus.
Genesis 6:13-14 13 Then God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. 14 Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch.
2 Peter 2:5 says, God did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly. Noah and his family were the only ones who heeded God s warning and escaped His judgment.
In 1 Peter 3:20, Peter states that eight persons, were brought safely through the water. 1 Peter 3:21 Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
The word corresponding comes from the Greek word antitupos (än-tēʹ-tü-pos), which means copy, counterpart, or figure pointing to. An antitype describes an earthly expression of a heavenly reality. It s a symbol or analogy of a spiritual truth.
Numbers 21:9 And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.
John 3:14-15 14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. The bronze serpent was raised up on a stick to bring physical healing. Jesus was raised up on the cross to bring spiritual healing.
The bronze serpent was raised up on a stick to bring physical healing. Jesus was raised up on the cross to bring spiritual healing. The salvation that Noah and his family experienced in the ark foreshadows the salvation that believers would experience in Jesus.
1 Peter 3:20-21 20 God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. 21 Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
Noah s physical salvation through the physical waters of the flood foreshadows the reality of our spiritual salvation through our spiritual baptism with Christ.
Our English word baptism comes from the Greek word baptisma (bäʹp-tē-smä). Baptisma (bäʹp-tē-smä) simply means to immerse or submerse. It can be used in a figurative or metaphorical sense.
Mark 10:37-39 37 They said to Him, Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory. 38 But Jesus said to them, You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? 39 They said to Him, We are able. And Jesus said to them, The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.
Luke 12:50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! Mark 1:8 I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
Romans 6:3-7 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin.
Both Peter and Paul point to the spiritual reality of one whose life has been immersed in Christ, not to the physical reality of one whose body has been immersed in water.
1 Peter 3:21 Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
The outward physical act which washes dirt from the body isn t what saves us. We re saved through an appeal to God for salvation. Baptism doesn t provide salvation, but it does illustrate what happens when we come to Christ for salvation.
Romans 10:9-10 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
1 Corinthians 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. As followers of Christ, we are called to be baptized.
However, we are saved when we come to Christ in faith, not when we are baptized. Just as God protected Noah in the ark from His judgment of the world, so He will protect us in Christ when He once again judges the world.
1 Peter 3:22 who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him. Peter s encouraging his readers to persevere through the unjust persecution they are experiencing.