21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him. ~ 1 Peter 3:21-22
Today we conclude our study of 1 Peter 3 where the Apostle Peter has been instructing us on the principles that enable us to be defined by God as we live our lives in this fallen world. Knowing the difference between good and evil is not a natural phenomena for mortal man; we must first be trained in the culture of God before we know what is really worth investing in.
In v.21 of today's passage we read, "...and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ."
In the previous verse Peter brought our attention to the ark of Noah and that only eight entered into it and were saved from God's wrath. When we see the word baptism, we naturally think of water baptism, but it is just a metaphor of something far more greater. This is why the Apostle quickly says, "...not the removal of dirt from the body." The Lord Jesus is the ark. The judgment of God fell on Him. God's judgement fell on Him, and, having believed in Him, God's judgement will never touch the believer in Christ. In real reality death is the ark of Christ that transitioned us from this world to the next. This is why we are not to fear death.
The Lord Jesus bore our sin and by doing so, He satisfied the justice of God. In order for sinful man to be reconciled to God the penalty for our sin had to be paid. The Lord Jesus paid the penalty or the wage for our sin. As a result, when we believe in Him as our savior, our sins are forgiven and we are reconciled to God. It is then that God's presence can be in us through the abiding Holy Spirit.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of many types, object lessons and prophecies of the Old Testament. It was the Lord Jesus who said to the religious leaders, "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life... If you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me."
In Isaiah 53:3-5 we read, "He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. 4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed."
With such verses, how could we miss that the Lord Jesus is the predicted Messiah of the Old Testament? The only way anyone misses Him is that they choose not to believe in this One who overcame sin and death by dying on the cross for His friends. Once we have believed in the Lord Jesus as our savior, we are then granted a clear conscience as indicated in our passage for today. A cleared conscience before God is the result of having been born again which is when the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our spirit making us alive to God. This is the ultimate picture the Lord gave us through the ark of Noah.
In v.22 of today's passage we read, "...who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him."
As our text for today suggests, Christianity is about a personal relationship with God and this personal relationship begins with the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. You see, He went to that cross to pay the penalty that our sinfulness created between us and God. In order for us to have a personal relationship with God, someone had to bridge that gap. Jesus Christ bridged that gap. Like the eight in the family of Noah, we must believe in the promises of the God of the Bible in order to be saved ourselves.
The Lord Jesus Christ didn’t just resurrect, He also ascended into heaven. When He arrived there, He was found approved by God. And now, "He is at God's right hand" which signifies the position of authority, power, and rule that God has granted Him. There in heaven, even "angels, authorities and powers (are) in submission to him." This reminder is for all believers in Christ that we are not out of His eyesight and we can trust Him with whatever circumstances that He causes or allows to come into our lives. In the end, it is all designed to help us to know Him for ourselves and to make Him known to others.
