“Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you (not as the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good 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.”
We start this passage today with “Baptism, which corresponds to this…” One of the problems with writing the blog this way is that I’m breaking the passage up into short sections, and it does a disservice to the whole chapter. And it doesn’t help when I take a chunk of time off- this time for our oldest son’s college graduation (a wonderful time where we spent time together as a whole family!) This is one of those passages. The “this” in this verse refers back to our last passage, that very confusing one, where Peter referred to Noah. So let’s start there. “In it a few—that is, eight people—were saved through water.” There! Now we can go on and discuss this passage.
The word ‘corresponds’ is the Greek word ‘antitupon’ or antitype. Antitype is that which is represented or prefigured by a type. The type might be considered the rough draft, the antitype, the perfect image. Another example would be a shadow. The shadow is the type, the person casting the shadow is the antitype. In the Old Testament, we have many types and shadows of Christ. Jesus gives one example himself when he says, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him mayhave eternal life” (John 3:14-15). Another example is Isaac when Abraham went to sacrifice him on the mountain, the same one that Christ was crucified on later. Ultimately, God produced a ram (another type or shadow of Christ) so that Abraham would not have to sacrifice his son. This foreshadows the ultimate sacrifice that God would make on our behalf. Mike Winger has an excellent series called Jesus in the Old Testament on his YouTube channel. I highly recommend it.
Now that we have covered type and antitype, let’s look at our verse. Peter writes that baptism is the antitype of the water of the flood. He says that just as Noah and his family were saved from the waters of the flood, we are saved by baptism, but notice here what he says- “…(not as the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…” Many have taken this verse to say that we are saved by baptism. That is not what Peter is saying here. It is not the act of baptism that saves us. It is the trusting in Christ! The ark is a type of Christ. Noah’s family was saved from the waters of the flood by getting in the ark. Because they were in the ark, they were saved! We are saved through the resurrection of Christ. We demonstrate this by going through baptism. We go down in the water as the old creation and come up as the new. But it isn’t baptism that saves us. This is just an outward sign to show the world that we are following Christ. It is a command. We are to be baptized after we accept Christ. But I do not believe that it is a salvation issue. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— not from works, so that no one can boast.” If baptism saves us, that would be a work, and something we would have to do to earn salvation.
Once we have accepted Christ as our Savior, we are saved. Jesus saves us. We get baptized to show the world we are saved. Edmund Clowney puts it this way in his commentary. “Baptism as an outward sign marks the putting off of the pollution of sin, and the beginning of a new life in Christ.” It is a symbol of the cleansing of our hearts. We have asked God to forgive our sins, and this is our outward expression of what he has done. Peter uses the phrase “the pledge of a good conscience toward God.” The ESV translation uses the word appeal instead of pledge. Either way, we are assured that our sins are forgiven and that we stand in right relationship with him. Hebrews 9:14 says, “…how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works so that we can serve the living God?”
Jesus, after his resurrection is now seated at the right hand of God the Father. As God the Son, he had possessed infinite power for all of eternity, but he did not exercise this power in the role of the person who is both God and man. Now every being is subject to him. In the ancient world, sitting at the right hand of the king meant that you acted with the king’s authority and power. Paul writes in Ephesians 1: 20-21, “He exercised this power in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens— far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come.”
Who are the angels, authorities, and powers that are subject to him? All of them! Both the good and the evil ones are subject to Jesus. These three terms can be used for both good and evil spiritual beings in other places in scripture. An example of this is Ephesians 6:12, where Paul writes that our battle is not against flesh and blood, “but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.” This is so important for us to remember! I know I get so discouraged when I look at the world around me. Everything is spiraling out of control. Every day I see evil triumphing. Things that are blatantly wrong are called good and things that are good are called evil. We live in such an upside-down world. But we read in this passage that God is in control. All of creation, including the powers of darkness, are subject to Christ. So while things may be a little crazy right now, I know the end of the story. Spoiler alert, God wins! I’ll give you this encouragement from the end of 1 Peter. “The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little while” (5:10).
We have finally reached the end of chapter 3. We will now move on to suffering for righteousness and breaking with sin. Thanks for hanging in there with me!
Grace be with you!
Abundant Joy 