1 Peter 3: Baptism and Salvation

What does Peter mean when he writes: “Baptism…now saves you”? Understanding why he corresponds this sacrament with the waters of the flood can help bring some clarity.

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TRANSCRIPT:
In 1 Peter 3:18-22 Peter writes:

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, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. 1 Peter 3:18–22

In another video, we looked at how Peter used the preaching of the resurrected Jesus to the spirits in prison in Noah’s day as an example of the victory for believers that is on the other side of suffering and death. In this one, we’ll examine how he uses the waters of the flood to illustrate the significance of baptism, which is also a demonstration of Christ’s victory over all things, which he shares with his people.

When we read through this quickly, we might think that Peter is saying that the rite of baptism saves a person. But at the Jerusalem Council Peter stated unequivocally, “we believe that we Jews will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as Gentiles will.” Saved by grace through faith, as Paul would put it. Nevertheless, both Peter and Paul considered baptism to be a spiritually significant step for new converts, as evidenced by the emphasis placed on it in Acts and its close association with initial faith in Christ. [Some early Christians struggled to understand how baptism could have real significance and yet not be necessary for salvation. This is demonstrated by the Corinthians, who seem to have been baptizing people on behalf of dead believers who had been unable get baptized before they died. This baptism on behalf of the dead (both Paul and Peter would say) is totally is totally unnecessary.

For salvation, baptism is not essential, but it nevertheless has real significance.

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