First Peter - Lorin

punishing. 66 Encouragement comes from the emphasis on the small group in Noah’s time. Believers in Peter’s
day represented but a very small segment of known humanity at that time. Thus majority domination gives
no clue as to correctness of lifestyle! The remnant of the people of God will be the ones experiencing God’s
deliverance.
The mentioning of water as a symbol of deliverance for Noah prompts linking it to baptism in verse
21: ὃ καὶ ὑμᾶς ἀντίτυπον νῦν σῴζει βάπτισμα, “And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you.” The water
baptism of the believer represents God’s deliverance now just as the waters of the flood did for Noah and his
companions. One clear implication of this statement is that following Christ in believer’s baptism is absolutely
critical for a genuine profession of faith to happen. Unwillingness to obey Christ’s command here raises
serious questions about the sincerity of any profession of faith in Him. This Peter clearly assumes.
Peter is quick to qualify his assertion about baptism saving: οὐ σαρκὸς ἀπόθεσις ῥύπου ἀλλὰ συνειδήσεως
ἀγαθῆς ἐπερώτημα εἰς θεόν, διʼ ἀναστάσεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, “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,...”. The act of going down into the
baptismal waters does not cleanse of our sins as though we are taking a bath. Instead, it represents the
culmination of a faith commitment made sincerely to Christ. It is the appropriate ‘follow through’ to that
commitment. The ‘saving power’ of baptism is not the water but the resurrection of Christ. For believers in
the apostolic age this act of submitting to baptism was the open, official declaration of commitment to Christ.
Serious commitment was reflected in it, because at that point the surrounding world realized that one was
serious in his determination to follow Christ as Lord.
Thus Peter’s readers found encouragement in that they had submitted to believer’s baptism in open
commitment, and this may very well have occasioned much of the opposition to them that they were
experiencing. Peter affirms that they have done correctly, and have not made a mistake in being baptized.
The OT example of Noah encourages them to stand fast in suffering unjustly for their faith.
Peter concludes in verse 22 with a powerful affirmation of the full triumph of Christ, which he anticipated
at the beginning in verse 19: ὅς ἐστιν ἐν δεξιᾷ [τοῦ] θεοῦ πορευθεὶς εἰς οὐρανὸν ὑποταγέντων αὐτῷ ἀγγέλων
καὶ ἐξουσιῶν καὶ δυνάμεων, “who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and
powers made subject to him.” This is the ultimate affirmation of encouragement. Jesus, who suffered unjustly,
was crowned with triumph before Almighty God and given authority over not just human powers but over
all supernatural powers in existence. This exaltation to the position of ultimate power, the right hand of the
Heavenly Father, is the ultimate affirmation that God will acknowledge the rightness of suffering unjustly on
this earth.
What we have hopefully noticed here is what Peter seems to be doing in verses 19-22. In Jesus’ triumphal
ascension into Heaven a message comes to the demonic world: “You are doomed to eternal damnation!”
Although these evil spirits have been around causing havoic since the days of Noah, Jesus has defeated
them and their days are numbered. God delivered just eight people when the world was first destroyed.
Believers represent but a small segment of world population and will be the sole survivors of the destruction
of the world in the end. Evil could not defeat God in Noah’s day, nor will it be able to defeat God’s people
who follow Christ. Affirmation of this victory is to be found in baptism as a symbol of deliverance and victory
over evil. We as believers move every day closer to that wonderful day when Christ’s ultimate power will be
revealed at the end of time.
In this we rejoice. In this we have encouragement to endure unjust suffering -- just as did the first readers
of this letter.
66 The eight were Noah and his wife, along with his three sons and their wives, cf. Gen 7:13.
Bible Study: Page 195