Baptism
The Ambassador's Handbook • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 4 viewsNotes
Transcript
Handout
viii. Like the flood, baptism saves the righteous from a world of sin. (3:21, Romans 6:3–6, Ezekiel 36:25–26)
This is one of those verses you might read on the surface and have some questions about. Just like with the words “elect” and “predestinated,” seeing the words “baptism doth now save us” might scare some of us away from digging into the verse. But once you take the time to think about it, the meaning it quite simple, and Peter even explains it himself to clear up any confusion.
The first thing to consider is “the like figure.” What does this mean? The term speaks of a representation, copy, or symbol. That is, the flood—which was the topic of discussion in the previous verse—is a symbol of something else. The next words show that it is a symbol of baptism.
In what way? There’s the obvious parallel where both involve water. But Peter probably means to draw a deeper parallel than that. We see that baptism “also” saves us, so they are similar in that the both save us (Christians). How?
If this is all the verse said, it could be easy to draw the idea that baptism brings salvation. But Peter drives off misunderstandings with this parenthetical note. Baptism does not save through washing away sin. It does not put away the filth of the flesh.
So how does baptism save a Christian? By giving them a good conscience toward God and man.
The phrase “the answer of a good conscience” seems to refer to the questions asked before a Christian was baptized. Just like on a contract you might have to sign an agreement that says, “I will abide by the terms of this contract,” in becoming a Christian, you must publicly profess your trust in Jesus for salvation and intention to follow His commands.
The point is that baptism saves us from a temptation to go back to our old lives and sacrifice our good consciences. Making a public commitment to Christ creates accountability and expectations with both believers and unbelievers. The other Christians in your church know what is expected of a Christian, and when you publicly confirm that you will do those things, your fellow believers should make sure you stick to that commitment.
Non-Christians also have some idea of what is expected of a Christian. I don’t know how much this was the case back in the first century, but today, sometimes the world has a better idea of how Christians should live than the Christians do.
Illustration of Bro. Rivero almost quitting Bible college.
Baptism shows your unbelieving friends and family that you are serious about this commitment.
Making this public commitment means that we will be less tempted to buckle under the pressure of temptation. When you’ve told God, your church family, and your unbelieving family that you are fleeing sin and turning to God, that’s motivation to actually do it and not be seen as a liar and hypocrite.
This relates to the flood because that baptism rescued Noah and his family from the ungodly world that surrounded them. It wiped away that world until it was no more.
The flood marked a clean break with the depravity of the old world. Baptism marks a clean break with the depravity of the old life. In both cases, sin creeps back. Just like Peter said—it does not remove the filth of the flesh. Only our ultimate glorification will totally do that. But it is symbolic of our new life in Christ.
The act of public baptism would “save” them from the temptation to sacrifice their good consciences in order to avoid persecution. For a first-century Christian, baptism meant he was following through on his commitment to Christ, regardless of the consequences.
Baptism does not save from sin, but from a bad conscience.
This is what we see in the next phrase. Baptism doth also now save us by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That’s where the power lies. In salvation, we were baptised into Jesus’ death, meaning our old man was killed and buried in that tomb. And we were also raised with him, meaning our new man emerged from the tomb and ascended to sit in heavenly places with Christ.
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Baptism is our picture of this truth. It is a physical action for physical beings to help us understand and remember spiritual truth.
On a side note, it is interesting that this verse refutes baby baptism. If the action comes from the answer of a good conscience toward God, how can a baby do it? A baby does not have a conscience and can’t understand the meaning of sin and righteousness.
Sometimes, in response to baptismal regeneration and infant baptism doctrines, we may err on the side of taking baptism too lightly. It’s just a ritual that every Christian does because he’s supposed to. But it’s more than only a passage of initiation into church membership. It is a commitment to follow God.
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Eight: Learning from Noah (1 Peter 3:18–22)
To take baptism lightly is to sin against God. Some people make too much of baptism by teaching that it is a means of salvation, while others minimize it. Both are wrong. If a believer is to have a good conscience, he must obey God.
ix. Christ was rewarded for suffering by exaltation over all things. (3:22, Romans 8:38, 1 Corinthians 15:24, Ephesians 1:21)
Now we arrive at a truly encouraging truth. We have talked much about the suffering of Christ, how he took our sins upon his body and enduring much pain for them. He died on the cross, the just for the unjust, to bring us to God.
We saw the suffering of Noah, how he preached to the ungodly and stood strong in the midst of persecution as literally the entire world was against him.
But here we get a taste of the glory beyond suffering. The reward for standing strong. Christ suffered greatly, yes, and believers are also called to it. But afterward, Christ received great glory. He rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and sat at the right hand of God.
The idea of Jesus sitting at the right hand of God is a major theme of the New Testament and was prophesied in the Old Testament. We could go to many verses on it. But I want to focus on the second part of the verse. What was the significance of hin being seated at God’s right hand? Angels and authorities and powers were made subject to him. Let’s look at each of these terms.
Angels cannot be referring to unfallen angels, because they were already subject to Jesus. So it must be talking about demonic powers.
The exact meaning of the other two words is fuzzy, at least to me, but they seem to mean physical and spiritual rulers as well as supernatural powers.
We know that there are spiritual rulers of this world who are spoken of as indistinguishable from the human rulers.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
The devil here is associated with the rulers persecuting Christians.
There are also pagan and Jewish traditions that say spiritual powers direct the rulers of nations.
But look what Jesus said when he ascended to heaven. Just before he was seated at the right hand of God.
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
The word “power” is a different form of the same word as “authorities” in 1 Peter. It means “right to rule.” Jesus’ death and resurrection stripped the right to rule from those spiritual powers and made Jesus the supreme king of the earth. All authorities and rulers, whether demons, men, or both working together, have no real power and are now just counting the days until they are destroyed.
What does this mean for us today? We should have no fear of these powers. After all, how can they really harm us?
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The powers that be cannot take anything from us that truly matters.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Christ is the one really running the world. We don’t have to fear, not only because the enemy cannot truly hurt us, but because they cannot do much of anything meaningful at all.
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Eight: Learning from Noah (1 Peter 3:18–22)
As Christians, we do not fight for victory, but from victory—the mighty victory that our Lord Jesus Christ won for us in His death, resurrection, and ascension.
This not only gives encouragement for strength, but also gives an end to suffering. Jesus suffered, and as a result, sat at the right hand of God with all things under his feet. Being faithful in suffering will also give us great reward. Not what Jesus received, but the reward of being part of his new kingdom.
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
B. Enduring Suffering
1. Christlike Attitude
i. The suffering of Christ gives the marching orders for the church. (4:1a, Ephesians 6:13, Hebrews 12:3)
Next, we learn the application of this entire section. We’ve seen that Christians should take a stand for righteousness and suffer for that, instead of suffering for wrongdoing. We’ve seen that we should have a good conscience and live in a righteous way to have a good testimony. And then we saw the example of Christ’s suffering and preaching through Noah.
Now, we read, “arm yourselves with the same mind.” In view of Christ’s bodily suffering, we should pick up the weapon of that same mind. We should do what Paul commands:
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
This military image is powerful because it reminds us what kind of conflict we are in. Just because the authorities are crippled and defeated doesn’t mean they can’t put up a fight.
We must prepare ourselves for a fight. We should arm ourselves with the mind of Christ. What is that mind? Standing strong in suffering.
For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
The very nature of the word demands a conscious, intentional action. You don’t accidentally arm yourself for war. It takes work and preparation. We must daily put on the armor of God and pick up the mind of Christ. We must daily adopt the mindset of self-denial and courage.
ii. The suffering of Christ gives Christians freedom from sin. (4:1b–2, 1 Peter 2:15, Romans 6:6–11)
What does it really mean to stand strong in the midst of suffering? Ultimately, when you break it down to its simplest piece, it means to cease from sin.
When the government tries to shut down church services, bowing to that is sin.
When your friends give you a hard time about not participating in their sinful activities, giving into their enticing is sin.
When someone gets mad at you for confronting them with the Gospel, backing down and being ashamed of Christ is sin.
The fact that Jesus suffered in the flesh after living a perfect live means he was the victor over sin. Our identification with his suffering means that we are also victors over sin. This has already come up in other passages, but I’ll stress again that our vicarious death, burial, and resurrection in Christ—our shared destiny with him—means that we are able to resist sin. We can fight and win against temptation.
No longer do we have to spend our lives in service to our lusts. No longer do we have to live for our own pleasure and gain. There is a great freedom in that. Now, we can live our lives to the will of God.
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
This will of God has been the focus of this entire book. God wills many things, but this book is about how he wants us to be holy. He wants us to live righteously in way that reflects his name.
