Souls Saved Through Water - GraceLife Church of Pineville

The Desk Is Back

I don’t always preach from a desk. But we’re in the middle of a sermon series on the oracles of God and a subseries on baptisms.¹ We’re looking specifically at a verse in 1 Peter that catches us off-guard about baptism—1 Peter 3:21:

And this water symbolizes the baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ … (BSB)²

We want to understand how it is that the Bible can say that “baptism now saves [us],” especially in light of the second oracle we studied—faith toward God—in which we said that it’s God’s grace by faith alone that saves us. Baptism doesn’t save you. And yet the Scriptures say it does right here in 1 Peter. How can this be?

In the previous sermon in this series, we marked up a copy of 1 Peter. Please have that highlighted booklet handy as you continue to watch/read this sermon, because I’ll be referencing it.

Review: 1 Peter, a Book About Suffering

To understand this verse in chapter 3, we looked at the context of the entire letter of 1 Peter. We saw that it’s a book about suffering. That word—and related concepts—we marked (circled, boxed, underlined) in red.

Then, we highlighted subthemes, each of which is derived through textual observation. These subthemes present themselves clearly, and they are also ones we’d hope to find in a book about suffering, because they answer questions we naturally have (e.g., about the extent and effects of suffering).

By way of brief review, five subthemes in 1 Peter (and their corresponding highlighted color in our printed booklets) are:

Protection (pink)
Permanence (blue)
Life (green)
Reward/judgment (yellow)
Encouragement (orange)

Narrowing Context

Any serious talks about Bible study or biblical interpretation are going to mention context. We say the value in real estate is about location, location, location. When it comes to Bible study, the cash is in the context, context, context. However, we often narrow our context too quickly.

We’re taught to grab a verse ahead, a verse behind, and we consider our “context check” complete. Although looking at the previous and subsequent verses is certainly helpful, it’s also hasty. It’s not that those verses aren’t contextual clues—they are. But immediate context is a determinative factor in interpretation; it’s not the only one.

We often narrow our context too quickly. … Although looking at the previous and subsequent verses is certainly helpful, it’s also hasty.

We also need to grab the larger context. The immediate context, after all, is not isolated from the larger context—the chapter or section, the book, the whole Bible. That’s why, in the previous sermon, we spent so much time on the entire book of 1 Peter.³ Having done the larger context work, we can now safely, even more authoritatively, begin to narrow the focus to an immediate context surrounding 1 Peter 3:21.

The Immediate Context of 1 Peter 3:21

As we attempt to discover the meaning of 1 Peter 3:21, let’s look at the immediate context of chapter 3 as it relates to suffering. Here are the suffering verses leading up to our passage in question (suffering terms are shown in bold):

Who can harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be shaken.” (1 Peter 3:13–14 BSB)

… keeping a clear conscience, so that those who slander you may be put to shame by your good behavior in Christ. For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit … (1 Peter 3:16–18 BSB)

Here are the suffering verses following our focus passage:

Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve, because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin. Consequently, he does not live out his remaining time on earth for human passions, but for the will of God. (1 Peter 4:1–2 BSB)

The concept of suffering, then, bookends our passage in question. To summarize what these verses (and 1 Peter as a whole) tell us: Commitment to the ultimate good protects you from ultimate harm, but not all harm—hence the language of verse 3:14: “even if you should suffer…” In other words:

If harm should come because of good, resolve to suffer anyway.
The suffering of this world is transitory, but there is lasting blessing for the suffering.

Commitment to the ultimate good protects you from ultimate harm, but not all harm.

Let’s hold on to these ideas as we return to our focal passage:

For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit, in whom He also went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved through water. And this water⁴ symbolizes the baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him. (1 Peter 3:18–22, “problem phrase” in bold)

The Questions We Need to Answer

At this point, we have to choose an approach. I recommend starting by making a list (I told you I like lists!) of the questions that we have to answer:

What is the identity of the spirits in prison? [Where is the prison? What did Christ preach?]
Why is there an appeal to Noah? (It’s an appeal that seems somewhat sudden and out of the blue upon first glance.)
What does Peter mean by salvation? (How does Peter discuss salvation in the rest of the letter? What terms does he use?)
Why does he clarify what baptism isn’t?
What does Peter say about the conscience? (Does he mention an appeal to conscience anywhere else?)
Why does Peter appeal to the resurrection?
What do angels, authorities, powers, etc. have to do with all this?

These questions come to mind as we read this difficult passage. We’re not interested yet in determining what the passage means but in understanding what it says.

Not Getting Caught Up

As you go about answering these questions, here’s my additional suggestion: Don’t start with the odd and controversial.

Don’t start with the odd and controversial.

In this case, the “spirits in prison” reference is the odd one; indeed, it has perplexed students of the Bible for years.⁵ (What does it even mean that a spirit is in prison? We think of physical bars or barriers, but are there spiritual bars that “imprison”?)

Is this reference important? Yes. But it’s not core for the purposes of answering our question: How does baptism save? I’m not just brushing it to the side, but I want to give you something more valuable than a precise explanation: an ability to summarize a larger theological point even if there’s disagreement over finer details.

Just as an example of this, let’s say we’re arguing over the details about the snake in the Garden of Eden. You could argue over all sorts of fun details. Did snakes used to have legs, but now they don’t have legs because of the curse of the Fall? Were snakes able to talk? Was it really a snake to begin with—or was this just a way of talking about Satan as a deceiver, more of a metaphorical use of the term snake? We can get caught up in all sorts of details and miss the bigger picture: There was a presence of evil intruding into the lives of the first humans, and because they chose to listen to that presence of evil over the voice of God, they doomed themselves and others. We can all agree on that larger theological point, even if we disagree over the various details of the snake.

Here’s how to begin to think about the larger context of 1 Peter 3:21: If this book is about Christian suffering, we should expect to read something about the oppressors and their consequences—the dark forces that cause our suffering and how God will deal with those oppressors. The big picture is that Peter gives his readers a familiar example—the story of Noah—of how a righteous man suffered in the midst of overwhelming evil. From that story, I can extract the larger principles that God sees good and evil, and God will judge good and evil.

Who are all the perpetrators? Why are they in prison? How are they in prison? I’m not sure. But God saw the evil and God pronounced judgment upon it.

The big picture is that Peter gives his readers a familiar example—the story of Noah—of how a righteous man suffered in the midst of overwhelming evil.

If you get caught up on prison spirits and Nephilim and whether the book of Enoch has value, you’re going to miss something important.

In an effort not to get distracted by those finer details, let’s jump straight to the important clarifier that gives us a clue regarding the meaning of baptism saving us. In short, instead of building a case for what the verse means and then telling you at the end, I’m going to tell you from the start, and then we will see how it’s supported (or validated) in the text.

What Peter Means by “Baptism Saves”

Here is our focal verse again, this time in the NASB:

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 3:21)

If you’re looking at your printed booklet (using the BSB translation), you can cross out the words “this water” and replace them with “corresponding to that.” The BSB wording isn’t wrong, but it has supplied for you the object of comparison, which can be confusing if you’re not looking back at what’s just been said. The question, of course, is “Corresponding to what?” The answer, from verse 20, is “How it is that eight people were saved through water.” That’s the point of comparison:

In the days of Noah, eight lives (souls) were saved through water (3:20).
Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you (3:21).

We start with the second point above. Because whatever the answer is to all the other questions, this one takes priority. If we’d started with “saved,” we’d have to deal with the idea of salvation. “Saved” is a theologically loaded term, and we don’t start with it because it’s not the point of comparison.

Here’s a simple question we need to answer:

Question: What’s the commonality between the story of Noah and baptism?
Answer: Water.

Here is the key, and it’s so obvious, but we get caught up in all this other stuff about spirits in prison and salvation that we forget the bigger picture. Next question:

Q: How did water save Noah and his family?
A: It didn’t. Water was the very thing that threatened their lives! They were not saved by the water; rather, they had to be saved from the water (or “through the water” as some translations say).⁶

Water was the very thing that threatened the lives of Noah and his family! They were not saved by the water; rather, they had to be saved from (or through) the water.

Given this, the next question to ask is: How is water a threat to the ones being baptized? (Aren’t we encouraging believers to get in the water?!)

My hypothesis is this: It was the expectation that every believer, every Christian, would participate in water baptism. Baptism was the public declaration of one’s belief in Christ and identity within the Christian community. And what we have seen from the book of 1 Peter and its historical context is that you could expect to be persecuted for identifying as a Christian. To declare “I’m a Christian” would have meant submitting yourself to suffering. Consequently, it would have been tempting to forego baptism. Baptism isn’t really necessary for me to gain eternal life—I believe in Jesus; that’s good enough; let’s just skip this whole baptism thing. That mindset was the temptation. But Peter says “no” and instead encourages his readers that God’s promise of blessing is superior to the world’s threat of suffering. He’s stating that even if one’s public declaration of allegiance to Christ results in suffering—maybe even death (as it did for him shortly after writing this letter)—God will deliver (save) through the dangerous waters of baptism just as He delivered Noah.

Even if one’s public declaration of allegiance to Christ results in suffering—maybe even death … God will deliver (save) through the dangerous waters of baptism just as He delivered Noah.

Here’s a paraphrase of the passage: Just as Noah lived among the unrighteous, you too, as believers in Christ, live among the unrighteous. Just as God delivered Noah through the waters, He will deliver you through the waters. Though some of you may face extreme persecution for it, God notes that you have endured baptism because of your conscience toward Him. He rewards those who suffer for His sake (2:19). In light of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, this baptism is now a salvation for you! For even if you face persecution for it according to worldly flesh, heavenly power will prevail.

If this understanding of 1 Peter 3:21 is true, we should expect to see the text support that notion. I think it does.

Validations of This Meaning

There are three steps to Bible study—observation, interpretation, and application; validation is a sort of subset of step 2 (interpretation). Let’s look at some validating elements toward my hypothesis about 1 Peter 3:21—that is, that Peter is encouraging people to be baptized even in the face of persecution, because baptism is a salvation.

The Public Nature of Baptism

The first point supporting my hypothesis is the public nature of baptism. Because baptism is a way of public confession, it could be dangerous in places where Christians were persecuted. Backing this up, we see multiple other instances of Peter encouraging public confession and proofs of faith in this letter.

Working backward in the text, here are those mentions (all from the NASB):

1 Peter 3:15 (urges being prepared to defend your hope as a Christian—since their hope would be doubted due to their persecution): “… but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence …”
1 Peter 2:12 (emphasizes public witness/confession): “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
1 Peter 2:9 (again emphasizes proclamation of their identity as God’s people): “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light …”
1 Peter 1:7: “… so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ …”

There are things that we do to exhibit the proven character of our faith; Peter, over and over again, encourages the faithful to be a public witness.

Peter’s View of Salvation

A second validation of my hypothesis about 1 Peter 3:21 is that my view is corroborated by everything else Peter writes on the concept of salvation. To see this, let’s mark any word with the same root as salvation (nouns, verbs, etc.; save, saved, saves, etc.) by putting a star by it in the margin.

You’ll star (*) these eight verses: 1:5; 1:8–9; 1:10; 2:2; 3:20; 3:21; 4:4; 4:18. (You can also circle the “salvation” words, if you wish. Note that in verse 4:4, the word “indiscretion” has the same root word as salvation—it’s the negation of being delivered or saved. We aren’t going to look at verse 4:4 in detail, but do mark it anyway.)

After marking these verses, let’s take the study to the next level and ask of each, What do I learn from this verse (about salvation)? We’ll walk through them together one by one (salvation words are in bold in the quotes).

1 Peter 1:5

… who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. (BSB)

From this verse, we learn there is a coming salvation that is reserved in heaven. That salvation is protected for the people of God by God’s power. And it will be revealed in the “last act”—it’s not here yet; it’s in the future.

That statement is a truism in and of itself, but don’t lose sight of the context: Our identity with Christ—claiming Him publicly—is going to result in suffering, in loss. We should keep going, however. Why? Because there is something that can’t be lost, because it’s not stored in this world—it’s reserved in heaven, it’s protected, and its time is in the future.

Peter’s saying, “Exile, even if you should lose your life now, this life was never our goal. There is a future salvation, and it hasn’t been revealed yet.”

Future Revelation

When you’re studying, you’ll also have opportunities to make lists of supporting concepts. Just one example is this idea of future revelation. How does Peter talk about revealings or revelation? You can mark them with an “R”:

1:5 (the verse we’ve been looking at)
1:7 (“revelation [coming] of Jesus Christ”)
1:12 (refers to a past revelation to prophets; we live in the times they sought; note that this verse is in orange—it’s an encouragement, because it reminds us that the people of God have always been marked by waiting for future, better revelation)
1:13 (coming revelation; grace given when Christ comes; there is a grace we’ve yet to participate in)
4:13 (future revelation marked by joy; what the future holds for us—glory—is in opposition to our present, which is marked by suffering; but their common thread is rejoicing. We rejoice in suffering because it is a participation in Christ. We rejoice because of the path His suffering pioneered. We’ve received word from our future homeland that the hard roads ahead lead to overwhelming joy.)
5:1 (a final reminder from a fellow elder, a witness of and partaker in Christ’s sufferings: the glory will be revealed)⁷

We marked these references by Peter to future revelation of glory in Christ because the concept is a subset of salvation—remember, Peter said in verse 1:5 that there’s a salvation to be revealed (in the future). Let’s return to the salvation concept now, moving on to our next verse.⁸

1 Peter 1:8–9

Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy, now that you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (BSB)

This passage shows the importance of keeping your eyes open to the larger context of a verse. If you ran with the idea that salvation is in the future (as 1 Peter 1:5 says), you’d run into error. You might make the mistake of thinking that salvation is exclusive to the future. But Peter says right here in verse 1:9 that salvation is also now—it’s for the present. It’s a both/and situation—salvation is for the future and the present.

We’ll see this idea of salvation present and future extending to the next verses as well.

1 Peter 1:10

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully, trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, when they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things. (1 Peter 1:10–12 BSB)

Future and present salvation is something the prophets of the past were keenly interested in. Even the angels of heaven long to see such things.

Notice the present tense emphasis of verses 8–12—“You are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (v. 9). You are being saved in the present.

The big takeaway is this: Salvation transcends both time and realms. That is encouraging in this context because it means present, earthly, evil powers cannot determine my life. And if that is the case, then my present life is to be lived in accordance with this dynamic salvation. And that is exactly what we see in our next reference.

Salvation transcends both time and realms.

1 Peter 2:2

Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation … (1 Peter 2:1–2 BSB)

Salvation is dynamic and it is for the present. We’re to be “growing up in” it. Verse 2:2 should be highlighted green in your copy of 1 Peter; such terms had the theme of life.

Life is connected to this concept of the soul. We’ve seen that word “soul” in 1 Peter 3:20, which refers to the eight people (including Noah) being saved—though some translations say “eight souls.” When “soul” appears in Scripture it can refer to:

that animating principle within us (or in other living beings)
life itself
a living thing

All of those are important distinctions, because in 1 Peter 3:20, it’s a reference to lives (eight persons) being saved. So too, in 1 Peter 1:9, one can make a good argument that those being saved in that verse—those “receiving the goal of [their] faith, the salvation of [their] souls”—are the lives of people; this is not necessarily referring to eternal life (reserved for the future) but to the abundant lives we’re called to live now in the present.

Regardless, we see that soul salvation—life deliverance—occurs now in the present, in the face of persecution and suffering, even to the point of death. Which, remember, is the entire, larger theme of this book: living the good life in the face of suffering; the good life according to God, that is, the righteous life—not the world’s idea of the good life.

The larger theme of this book is living the good life in the face of suffering; the good life according to God … not the world’s idea of the good life

The righteous will live by faith.⁹ And if we live with faith toward God even in the midst of suffering, then that is life indeed. It’s life abundant. It’s a salvation, a deliverance to your soul.

1 Peter 4:18

And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” (BSB)

This salvation-related verse is another difficult passage taken on its own. But we have enough context to handle it now. A better translation of this verse is, “It is with difficulty that the righteous are saved.” In other words, salvation involves difficulties, even for the righteous. We’ve already seen this across the rest of 1 Peter. And what’s the answer to such difficulties? It’s to “entrust [our] souls [lives] to [our] faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:19 BSB).

Is baptism good? Yes. Will it cause you to suffer? Possibly. Could baptism cost you your life? Maybe.

Entrust your life to the Creator and, as 1 Peter 4:19 goes on to say, “continue to do good.”

What Baptism Isn’t, According to Peter

We’ve seen that both the public nature of baptism and Peter’s view of salvation both appear to fit with my hypothesis about the meaning of 1 Peter 3:21. Let’s see if the rest of the questions we have for the text validate it as well.

Next question: How does Peter’s negation of what baptism isn’t fit?

He says in 1 Peter 3:21 that baptism is “not the removal of dirt from the flesh.” Here’s how I would summarize that phrase and its meaning: Peter’s focus is on a conscience appeal, not a ritual act. Peter is clear that whatever he means to say about baptism, he is not referring to some mere physical act, but the importance lies in the response of the heart toward God.¹⁰

Peter’s focus is on a conscience appeal, not a ritual act.

This ties in to the next question we had for the text: What does Peter have to say about the conscience?

Peter’s Appeal to Conscience

Peter references the conscience when he says baptism is “not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God” (1 Peter 3:21, BSB, bold mine). He mentions conscience in a couple other places in the letter as well.

The conscience is a contributing factor in righteous suffering:

Servants, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but even to those who are unreasonable. For if anyone endures the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God, this is to be commended. (1 Peter 2:18–19 BSB, bold mine)

In this difficult worldly example, in which servants are exhorted to submit to their masters, it would be easy to get distracted. While it’s a worthy topic for another day, I’ll just say for now that the slavery mentioned in this verse is not chattel slavery—it’s a very different concept than that found in the United States’ Antebellum South. It was more like indentured servanthood. Anytime one person has control over another, of course, power can be and is abused. Peter is saying, even if you serve a master who is harsh and unreasonable (not gentle and good), you should submit to him with all respect.

The main principle is that suffering for doing wrong or suffering just to suffer is of no merit, but suffering because of one’s devotion to God is commendable—it leads to favor with God (“favor” in this verse is the same word we use for “grace”).

Suffering for doing wrong or suffering just to suffer is of no merit, but suffering because of one’s devotion to God is commendable

Peter repeats the theme of one’s conscience toward God in the face of suffering for doing the right thing later in the letter:

… keeping a clear conscience, so that those who slander you may be put to shame by your good behavior in Christ. For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. (1 Peter 3:16–17, BSB)

Baptism and the Resurrection

Lastly, we’re faced with the question: How does the comment about the resurrection of Christ relate to the rest of the sentence (in 1 Peter 3:21)?

We might say that baptism is a statement about what one believes about God and resurrection. We participate in baptism because we’re declaring that we are buried and raised with Christ.

We participate in baptism because we’re declaring that we are buried and raised with Christ.

Imagine living in the first century: You’ve seen your friends, fellow believers, persecuted. You’ve seen your friends killed because they publicly declared themselves to be Christians. So we might also say that if we were entering the baptismal waters knowing that it might be a death sentence, then we are testifying with clear conscience before God that we believe in the resurrection of the body. Let the world kill me—the all-powerful God in heaven will save me through these waters.

Summary

Christianity is equal parts private devotion and public spectacle. It always has been. It began with our Lord Jesus Christ’s faith in God to rescue Him from death—the private devotion of the Son to the Father, even in the public spectacle of humiliating crucifixion.

Peter writes to those who will share the sufferings of Christ. Peter himself will soon share in that suffering—even to the point of crucifixion. But all Christians are expected to undergo a public execution of sorts. We voluntarily plunge beneath symbolic waters. Our deserved fate is a water grave, brought about by our own choice and God’s wrath. But God’s grace has provided a new choice: An opportunity to be counted among God’s chosen people—and as in the case of the family of Noah, an opportunity to be counted among the righteous and to be saved through the water. A private and public pledge to God of faith in His resurrecting power to triumph over worldly injustice. A commitment of one’s very life to the temporary suffering of this world because we are passing through to eternal glory in Christ.

Our deserved fate is a water grave …. But God’s grace has provided a new choice … an opportunity to be counted among the righteous.

Despite suffering, there is protection, permanence, life, and reward. Be encouraged. God promises that, from out of death, life will be restored, secured, strengthened, and established through His eternal power. That’s the message of the gospel—salvation of the soul, your life—all aspects of it (past, present, and future)—saved, delivered.

Application

How do we apply this? We’re nearing the end of our study on baptisms. In the next sermon, we’ll talk about some hang-ups, objections, lingering questions about baptism. For now, I encourage you to consider:

Have you been baptized? If not, should you be?
If baptism resulted in persecution today, as it did in Peter’s day—if it resulted even in death—would you still do it (or would you have done it, if you’ve already been baptized)?

I urge you to trade any insecurities you have about being baptized for the themes we’ve seen in this study: trade your insecurities and fears for protection and permanence, for life and reward and encouragement.

Trade your insecurities and fears [about baptism] for protection and permanence, for life and reward and encouragement.

Is baptism necessary for eternal life? No. Is it necessary for salvation? Yes, it is. Because there’s more to salvation than eternal life. There’s a deliverance of your life, a soul flourishing that should happen even now. That deliverance, that salvation, happens when we’re obedient to Christ.

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