FIRST PETER 3:20

The Bible says in First Peter 3:20 about certain individuals to whom Jesus preached, “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” Evidently, these were individuals who were alive in the days of Noah. This verse does not tell us specifically what Jesus said to these individuals, but this verse does take the days of Noah and relates what happened back then to the current age of the gospel.

First Peter 3:20 tells us why these individuals from back in the days of Noah did not get saved, and then it tells us how Noah and his family did get saved. The lost souls failed to get saved because they were “disobedient.” This importance of having an obedient spirit to God is tied directly to salvation. Obedience is tied to salvation in at least two ways. It is tied to salvation because God commands all men everywhere to repent. Somehow and someway Jesus calls every person to repent and to believe and thus to be saved. Those who resist and ultimately disobey that calling are the ones who end up not being saved. It worked that way in the days of Noah and it still works that way. This whole idea gives the answer to the question, “How can a loving God cast people into hell?” God does not cast anyone into hell. Individuals send themselves to hell by being disobedient to God’s loving call to come and receive His salvation from Jesus.

Another way in which obedience is tied to salvation is the fact that anyone who truly wishes to be saved, also wishes to obey God. True repentance is an attitude of turning away from sin and towards righteousness. One of the reasons that some people do not get saved is that they do not want to obey God’s commandments. That is exactly what John 3:19-20 is saying: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” When a person truly gets saved by faith in Christ, not only do they wish to be forgiven of their sins, but also they wish to start obeying God and fulfilling His commandments. That is why a person who has truly been saved has a changed life. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Concerning the salvation of Noah and his family members, the last part of First Peter 3:20 says; “wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” The phrase “saved by water” means “saved from the water.” The water is what was destroying people. Those that were saved were saved from the water by entering into the ark. The ark was God’s provision for safety from the water. They obeyed God and entered where God told them to enter. The same thing is happening today in regards to salvation. Sin is what will destroy people. Safety from sin is offered in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s provision for safety from sin is Jesus. Those who obey God and come to Jesus will be saved.

Peter uses the word “water” in First Peter 3:20 which then leads him to use the same word, but with a different meaning in the next verse. First Peter 3:21 says, “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” The way to understand this verse is the way to understand any verse about “baptism.” Realize that whenever the Bible talks about baptism, the Bible is either talking about water baptism or spiritual baptism. In order to understand a given verse a person must understand if that verse is referring to water baptism or spiritual baptism. Everyone knows what water baptism is: it takes place when a person is physically immersed in water. How do we know which baptism First Peter 3:21 is talking about? We know because of the very words found in First Peter 3:21. Referring to the baptism just mentioned, it says, “not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God.”

Water washes flesh. That is all that water does. Physical water baptism has no redeeming value other than what it symbolizes. Physical water baptism symbolizes being immersed into Jesus Christ by faith. A person who is “in Christ” is a person who has been therefore washed from his or her sins because they are “in Christ” and not because they have been baptized by water. But because water is a washing agent, water baptism is a good picture of salvation. A person believes in Christ and is saved and cleansed from sin by faith in Christ. Later that same person is baptized in water, symbolizing what already took place in that person’s heart. Water can put away “the filth of the flesh,” but only faith in Christ can result in “a good conscience toward God.”

First Peter 3:22 gives us one more reminder of what happened to Christ after He suffered. It says, “Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.” God’s Word always reminds us to look at the final result of things. One of the errors that human beings commonly make is to think only of the short-term results. When it comes to the will of God and any suffering that we may endure, the long term results and especially the eternal results are what God sees. We must trust that He knows what is best. We are finite and we know so little. Jesus suffered a terrible death, but the eternal results of His suffering must not be forgotten. Jesus is no longer suffering on a cross. He “is gone into heaven.” Heaven needs to be the final destiny of every human being. It really will not matter what anyone has suffered if they end up in heaven. It will be worth it all when we see Jesus. The past will fade away, and the beauty of heaven will be our eternal day. Make sure that you have been saved by faith in Christ, and you also will go to heaven.

Now that Jesus is in heaven, First Peter 3:22 says that He “is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.” The statement that Jesus is “on the right hand of God” tells us the great authority that Jesus Christ has. He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings. He is the great I AM. Isaiah 9:6 spoke of the Messiah and said about Him, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” There are many, many verses in the Bible that tell us of the authority and power of Jesus. Isaiah 9:6 is an interesting verse because it says of Jesus Christ “the government shall be upon his shoulder.” Which government is this talking about: every government. Do not overlook the fact that Isaiah 9:6 says that Jesus is “The mighty God, The everlasting Father.” Jesus has all the power of God because He is God. Jesus said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” Only God has all power. Jesus is God. Yes, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit exist. They exist in such a way that all three are God and each is God. Jesus is God. He is the Son of God. He is One with the Father. Jesus is God.

When Jesus was on the earth He took upon Himself the form of a servant. He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death. He suffered, but now He rules. After the suffering, came the wonders of heaven, and the power, and the glory forever. That is the way that it always works if you follow the will of God. There may be some suffering, but God will more than make up for it. That is the point that Jesus makes in the beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5. Concerning the power of Jesus, the statement from First Peter 3:22 that “angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him” reminds us that nothing will happen to the believer except what Jesus allows, and He will only allow it for a good reason that will ultimately have good results.

The Bible says in First Peter 4:1, “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin.” The phrase in the middle of this verse is a very interesting statement. It says, “arm yourselves likewise with the same mind.” The word that is translated “arm” refers to weaponry and to warfare. The Christian life involves a fierce spiritual battle. You might have an open door set before you, and you definitely have many adversaries. These spiritual adversaries will persecute you because you belong to Christ. The important thing will always be how you respond to these sufferings. A Christian who follows Christ must respond in the same way that Jesus Himself responded with His sufferings when He was on the earth: pray and pray hard, trust in the power of God and in the love of God, believe, and be forgiving towards those who persecute you.

Unless your mind is properly armed with this important spiritual attitude, you will lose the battle. Some persecutions you can escape from in the will of God. For example, the Apostle Paul was let down in a basket to escape Damascus when he was being pursued there. Also, Paul used his right as a Roman citizen to appeal unto Caesar instead of allowing the Jews to give him the death penalty. But there will be times when in the will of God you will have to suffer. You will not be able to escape. The servant is not greater than his Lord. Do not use the arm of the flesh to escape the sufferings that are God’s will for you. If you do, you will be like men instead of like Christ, and you will lose the blessing that would have come out of it all. If you refuse to suffer in the will of God, then what will you do? You will escape the suffering by exercising your own will.

Self-will is sinfulness. That is the point that can be made from the last phrase of First Peter 4:1 that says, “for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin.” One of the reasons that people do not come to Christ in the first place is because they do not want any sufferings. Everyone knows that there is a certain stigma to being a follower of Christ. If you reject all sufferings, then you are accepting sin in place of the sufferings. You must choose one or the other. The reason that you do not want to suffer anything is your own self-centeredness. This whole idea of being willing to suffer is a key element to true Christianity. Jesus said in Matthew 16:24, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

If you take up your cross, then and only then can you follow Christ. Everyone will have a cross to bear in order to follow Christ. The problem in these last days is that too many people want to live in luxury and pleasure. Too many people want to say that they are a Christian and to say that they believe, but when it comes time to suffer something for the cause of Christ, they strike out with their human will in order to avoid the suffering. That is one reason that there are more and more divorces among supposedly Christian couples. The call to the Christian life is not a call to an easy life. It is a call to a great struggle and a great challenge, and there are many sufferings. “Arm” yourself with the same mental attitude that Christ had toward suffering, or you will be totally unprepared for one of the most important realities of the Christian life.

This is very clear: if you are not surrendered to the will of God, then you will be subject to the lusts of man. First Peter 4:2 says, “That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.” Human beings are tempted to try and escape the sufferings because they think it will be better if they go the easy way. The problem is that the easy way is the way of the lusts of men, and that way always ends with the terrible consequences that the lusts of men will bring. It is better to suffer in the will of God, than to suffer punishments for sin. It is better to take up your cross and follow Christ. If Jesus has saved you from your sins, you owe it to Him any way.

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