For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,  (19) by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, (20) who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.  (21) There is also an antitype which now saves us – baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, (22) who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.

This letter was written by the Apostle Peter, likely after the city of Rome burned.   The Romans believed that the emperor, Nero, was responsible for the fire and to deflect this belief, Nero’s scapegoat was the Christians.   As a result, the already vicious persecution of the Christians escalated and Peter wrote this letter to teach them how to live the Christian life in the midst of that hostility.

The verses we study today are very complex and obscure – even Martin Luther confessed he didn’t know how to interpret them.  So today we will consider the point of this passage which addressed a new slant on suffering – that Christians are to be lights in a hostile world and that they can trust God to vindicate them in the eternal life of the spirit.  The truth of the Scriptures will be stated clearly and repeatedly so we don’t need to worry about the complexity of interpretation of verses 19 through 21 as Verse 18 and 22 present us with the clear theology of the Church.

As we studied the words of the Apostle Paul last week, Paul urged Christians to imitate him as he imitated Christ.  Christ suffered unjustly and was vindicated by His resurrection and ascension just as Christians may suffer for doing what is right.  Victory has already been won and it is just a matter of time for the outcome to be revealed.  This outcome is certain.  Peter relates the atoning work of Christ to our suffering – we should also be ready to suffer for righteousness.  Christians, like Christ, may suffer physically but like and because of Christ they may triumph spiritually.  Unbelievers will not so triumph.

Noah was delivered through literal water and Christians have spiritual deliverance in Christ which is symbolized by water baptism. But Peter is talking about baptism of the spirit, not mere water baptism – the rite of water baptism is a public act of obedience and a public profession of faith in Christ.   It is not the act of baptism that saves but what our intentions are that saves.  We are to bear witness to the risen Lord through holy living and Peter gives us principles of suffering to guide us in the face of persecution and living in a hostile, temporal world..