The Arc and the Savior

Genesis 6:5–8 ESV

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

pervasive human wickedness, divine judgment, and

Noah finding favor with God.

the judgment/grace framework that Peter assumes.

1 Peter 3:18–22 ESV

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 persons, 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.

The Pattern (v. 18)

Death, Resurrection, Vindication

Christ suffered and died

for sins

for the unrighteous

that He might bring us to God

He was made alive in the Spirit

What will be important for us as we move forward is to keep this christological framework front and center as we seek to understand how Peter is relating this to the Noah account.

The Proclamation (v. 19)

As you might assume, there is much debate, even among reformed scholars, regarding what Peter means by “the spirits in prison”.

Principles for interpretation

“spirits in prison” should not be isolated from the surrounding context.

Peter is continuing his argument about Christian suffering.

The pattern from verse 18 must carry interpretive weight: Christ suffered unjustly → Christ was vindicated → Christians may suffer unjustly → Christians will ultimately be vindicated in him.

The theme of Christ’s resurrection in verse 18 establishes imagery of Christ passing through death into resurrection life.

The word translated proclaimed does not mean proclaim the gospel. There is a Greek word for that, and this is not the word Peter used. That does not mean we should not take Peter to be saying that Christ proclaimed the gospel, through Noah to people, but it could also be that this was a proclamation announcing victory.

the spirits in prison

A reference to Noah’s human contemporaries before the flood

Christ, through the Spirit, preached through Noah to Noah's contemporaries.

The Protection (20)

The paradox

eight persons were brought brought safely through water.

They were not saved from water but through water, and this introduces the paradox.

The water that was God’s judgement upon the world was also the water through which God’s people were brought to safety.

Salvation through judgement

The preparation of the ark

while the ark was being prepared

It might be tempting to see arc and Christ as parallel, that’s not the way Peter presents his argument.

This is however, a theological development that I think will be more clear as we move forward.

Precision (21)

Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you

The correspondence is between the Noahic flood deliverance and baptism.

But, Peter goes beyond baptismal water by saying: not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience.

Peter’s concerns is not physical washing

Baptism involves an appeal to God for a good conscience (translations debated)

And this is through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This, I suggest, makes clear that the saving efficacy is not in baptism but in the risen Christ.

The Pattern Completed (22)

Christ is at the right hand of God having gone into heaven.

Angels and authorities and powers are subjected to Him

So, the completed pattern is: Suffering, death, resurrection, ascension, enthronement, victory

This was Peter’s encouragement to Christians who were suffering. There is a pattern embodied supremely in Christ.

What about the Arc & Christ

The explicit

The world during Noah was under the judgement of God

Noah’s family was a believing minority

The flood was judgement through which salvation came

Deliverance through water is a type (shadow) and baptism is the antitype (fulfillment)

Christ’s resurrection is the saving reality

Christ’s enthronement is the final vindication

Theological development

Noah survived the judgement because God placed him in His appointed means of preservation (the arc)

In other words, Noah was not standing outside the arc to withstand God’s judgement, but by being in the divinely appointed means of salvation.

The believer survives because He is in Christ, and Christ passed through the judgement

The ark carries Noah through the judgment of the old world and brings him alive into a new world. Christ carries those united to him through judgment and death into resurrection life and ultimately the new creation.