By Nathan Harris, Ph. D.
Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, University of Mobile
OUR DEFENSE
1 Peter 3:13–22
Be ready (13–17)
We often think of all the wonderful things that come by following Christ. In Christ, we receive salvation, purpose, fulfillment, true joy and the hope of eternal life. And yet we often forget that the call to Christ is also a call to be prepared. Prepared for what, exactly?
The New Testament is filled with passages on the Christian’s call to be prepared to face suffering and to endure what may come.
As Peter encourages believers to be prepared for suffering, he provides the blueprint of what that should look like.
As Christians pursue doing good, they shouldn’t fear or be intimidated by suffering but continually look to Christ as Lord, ready to defend the hope that is in them. It should not be done with a combative spirit but with a gentleness and reverence that only comes through faith in Christ, so that their accusers may be put to shame.
Even in the face of suffering, Christians keep a clear conscience with their actions so that Christ is honored in all that they do.
Be assured (18–20)
Beyond the call to be ready for suffering, Peter also assures Christians that their suffering is not in vain, for Christ suffered to reconcile the lost back to God. He suffered once for all — the sinless for the sinners, the righteous for the unrighteous — so that those who were lost are now found.
Christ’s suffering produced salvation and is what provides believers with the eternal hope they have in heaven. So as Christians suffer, it’s not as if they do so without hope, for they can look to Christ who suffered first for our sake (2 Cor. 5:21). Verses 19–20 have been a focus of scholarly debates over the years, trying to figure out what it means that Christ proclaimed to disobedient spirits in prison and how Noah and the flood correlate to baptism. What these few verses mean exactly is something we will know with certainty at the Second Coming and the consummation of the new heavens and earth.
What we should focus on is the importance of Christ’s death and resurrection and how it spurred on proclamation that even went to the dead imprisoned, not as a means for salvation but as a victorious declaration that Christ has defeated death (Heb. 9:27). Christ’s death on the cross paid for our sins — past, present and future — securing for us an eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12).
Show others (21–22)
Lastly, Peter begins to encourage Christians that even through baptism they give testimony to the saving work of Christ. Verses 21–22 have also been the center of scholarly debate over the centuries.
How exactly baptism corresponds to salvation has been a reason for the splitting and forming of different denominations.
But as we read these verses, we see that baptism corresponds to salvation not as the means by which people are saved but as a fruit of their salvation.
Baptism is not “the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God” (v. 21).
Baptism does not save, but baptism is the outward expression of the inward change that has already taken place in the believer. Baptism is a sign of salvation as one publicly declares their faith in Christ, who is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven.
EDITOR’S NOTE — The Sunday School lesson outlines are provided by Lifeway.
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