1 PETER CHAPTER 3
by
1.
VS 3:1 - “In
the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any
of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the
behavior of their wives,” - The context of Peter’s
discussion on marriage here is the Christian’s responsibility of “subjection to
authorities”
1.1.
In the previous chapter,
Peter had been talking about submission as a believer and the attitudes to be
displayed to kings, governors, those under governors, as well as the
relationship slaves were to have to their masters.
1.2.
He had been talking about
the importance of showing “honor to all men.”
1.3.
He had also mentioned that
we are to “love the brotherhood.”
1.4.
Peter had mentioned that
“Jesus is our example” to follow whenever we have to suffer for Him. We should learn with God’s enabling to
suffer in the same way as Jesus suffered.
1.5.
In Eph. 5:21 Paul wrote that
we are all to be “subject to one another.”
1.5.1. We are all called to be “servants” to each other, for that is what it
means to be “subject.”
1.5.2. Husbands are called to “serve” their wives.
1.6.
We are all to follow Jesus
as our example of serving, as John 13:12-17 reveals, “12 And so when He had
washed their feet, and taken His garments, and reclined at the table again, He
said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 “You call Me Teacher and
Lord; and you are right, for so I am. 14 “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher,
washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 “For I gave you
an example that you also should do as I did to you. 16 “Truly, truly, I say to
you, a slave is not greater than his master; neither is one who is sent greater
than the one who sent him. 17 “If you know these things, you are blessed if you
do them.””
1.6.1. Jesus wasn’t telling His disciples that they were to wash with water each
other’s feet, the principle is much deeper and involves being a servant and
having a servant’s heart towards others.
1.6.2. Jesus said that the “greatest in the kingdom” would be the “servant of
all” (this should be our resolve).
1.7.
Women need to learn to accept
the truth of God’s Word as it relates to the “role of women.”
1.7.1. Christian women must not accept “the pattern of the world” concerning
their identity as women.
1.7.2. If women want to be pleasing to the Lord, they must accept what His
Word says is to be their role, both in the home and in the church.
1.7.3. The “sexual revolution” didn’t bring liberation for women, but rather
it actually brought bondage.
1.8.
Paul and Peter agree
concerning the issues of “submission to husbands.”
1.8.1. Paul wrote in Eph. 5:24 that women were to be submissive to their
husbands “in everything.”
1.9.
There is only one exception
to the submission required of wives to their husbands: if obeying their husbands would mean that
they would be breaking one of God’s commandments in doing so, then they must
obey God.
1.10. Women are to be subject to their non-Christian husbands, for Peter says
that in doing so they may be able to win them to Christ.
1.10.1.Women need to recognize just
how powerful a holy and pure life can be in a non-Christian man’s eyes.
1.10.1.1.Paul writes that the husband
might be won to Christ ‘without a word.’
1.11. Women are not to be in submission to their husband because of his
superior intelligence or abilities, rather it is because of the order and roles
that God has established for men and women.
1.12. A woman allows the love of her husband to meet her needs when she
allows herself to be in subjection to him.
1.13. It is worth noting that in Peter’s day women were treated by men as
mere possessions, like a “slave.”
1.13.1.We see this in Jesus talk with
the woman of Samaria, the disciples were shocked not that He was talking with a
Samaritan (with whom the Jews had no dealings), but because He had been talking
with a woman.
1.14. Paul has written that women are equal heirs of Christ with men, however
things will go much smoother when they are in subjection to their husbands.
2.
VS 3:2 - “2
as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior.” - These are the respectful attitudes that a wife should have towards
her husband
2.1.
She is to have “respect” for
her husband (reverence of God is not intended by Peter here).
2.2.
A wife’s ‘chaste’ behavior
means general purity, not specifically just sexual fidelity.
2.3.
A key to a healthy marriage
is that women need to learn to have respect for their husbands “whether or not
they deserve it.”
2.3.1. It is only when a wife respects her husband in this way that he can
grow to be the spiritual leader God intends him to be.
3.
VS 3:3-4 - “3
And let not your adornment be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing
gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; 4 but let it be the hidden person of the
heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is
precious in the sight of God.” – A woman’s emphasis before the Lord is not to be the external but
rather the internal aspects of her life
3.1.
I do not believe that Peter
meant here that a women was not to do anything to improve her external looks
3.2.
Peter is making the point
that improving the internal qualities of the inner person of the heart are to
be a woman’s focus (2 Cor. 4:16).
3.3.
Worldly women in Peter’s day
would wear costly gold combs and pins in their hair which they put high up on
their heads, and they would also buy expensive dresses.
3.3.1. Evidently even though most in the churches were poor, there were some
wealthy individuals in the churches who tried to copy the world’s pattern for
dress.
3.4.
Peter exhorts the women to
develop a ‘gentle and quiet spirit’ which is precious in God’s sight.
3.5.
Men and women alike need to be
careful not to become “status seekers” who try to impress others.
3.6.
ILLUSTRATION: We had some friends once
several years ago who got married to each other. They had a Christian wedding, and both were professing
Christians. However, we went to visit
them a couple years after they were married, and we noticed that they had
gotten in the habit of never buying anything unless it was a well respected
name-brand. For instance, they couldn’t
use anything in their kitchen unless it was expensive and elaborate. They bought a Porshe for a car. They had to even buy an expensive and
beautiful new house in an upscale neighborhood. They had come to the place in their lives where they sought their
value or worth by their possessions.
They had become “status seekers”.
What a sad and horrible existence it is to live like that. We felt so uncomfortable and out of place in
their house. That night we couldn’t
wait to leave in our beat up old car.
Thankfully, this couple since has gotten out of that attitude.
3.7.
I see this same attitude of
status-seeking in some of the youth these days often, for they must only buy
the name brand work out uniforms or basketball shoes. Nothing else will do, the label means everything.
4.
VS 3:5 - “5
For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to
adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands.” - Peter exhorts the women to look to the godly women of the Old
Testament as their examples
4.1.
The wives of the patriarchs
for the most part dressed and lived very simply.
4.2.
Scriptures reveal that these women did not forsake all kinds of
external attire: see this with Rebekah
in Gen. 24:22, 30 and with Esther in Esther 5:1.
4.3.
All of the godly women of
scripture lived in proper submission in their lives.
5.
VS 3:6 - “6
Thus Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children
if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.” - Sarah shows her submission to Abraham by calling him ‘Lord’
5.1.
Christian wives will show
their godliness if they will take Sarah’s submissive attitude to her husband as
their own.
5.1.1. The attitude of Sarah is what is important here, not the title of
‘Lord’ she used for a husband.
6.
VS 3:7 - “7
You husbands likewise, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a
weaker vessel, since she is a woman; and grant her honor as a fellow heir of
the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.” - Peter now begins to deal with what should be the husband’s
responsibility to his wife
6.1.
He is to live with her in
“an understanding way.”
6.1.1. Husbands must learn to be sensitive to their wife’s feelings about
things, as well as her needs.
6.1.1.1.Husbands and wives need to
concentrate upon building each other up, not tearing each other down.
6.1.1.2.The husband must quit thinking
about his own needs and think rather about how that he may meet his wife’s
needs.
6.1.1.3.Husbands should become
students of their wives so that they can be sensitive to and respectful of her
needs.
6.1.2. The wife is “a weaker vessel,” so the husband must not expect too much
heavy physical labor of his wife.
6.1.2.1.Women are actually often
stronger “emotionally” than men however (able to handle difficult emotional
crises).
6.2.
Bob Hoekstra points out that since woman came from man instead of
dust, like the man, that she is really “twice refined from dust.”
6.2.1. He says that the difference
between a man and a woman is kind of like the difference between a “dump truck”
and a “microscope.”
6.2.1.1. Both have their purposes.
6.2.1.2. It would be silly to use one for the other.
6.2.1.3. A man must come to respect the unique characteristics of the wife
that the Lord has given him.
6.2.2. We can see from Peter’s exhortation that the husband is called to be “a
servant to his wife.”
6.2.3. The husband is to grant ‘honor’ to his wife in the same way that the
wife is to “respect” her husband.
6.3.
What has changed the state
of women from being the status of slaves to equals of men in the world today is
the influence of Christianity.
6.4.
If men will not live with
their wives in an understanding way, Peter tells us here that their prayers
“will be hindered.”
6.4.1. This destroys an attitude of prayer.
6.4.2. It keeps husbands and wives from praying together.
6.4.3. Any unconfessed sin in our lives hinders our relationship with Christ.
6.4.3.1.We should apply 1 John 1:9
and confess and repent when we find unconfessed sin in our life.
7.
VS 3:8 - “8
To sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and
humble in spirit;” - Peter says ‘to sum up’
here in order to emphasize proper “attitudes” which must be keep in place in
the home and our lives in general
7.1.
The attitudes to keep on
display at home (and really everywhere).
7.1.1. He writes that everyone should strive to keep a spirit of harmony (be
of one mind) within the home.
7.1.2. Everyone is supposed to have an attitude that is ‘sympathetic’ (or
compassionate) as they are sharing all of the joys and sorrows of life with
each other.
7.1.3. Everyone is also to have a ‘brotherly’ (‘philadelphia’ is the word for
‘brotherly love’ used here) attitude in the home.
7.1.4. Each are to be ‘kindhearted’ (or “tender-hearted”) towards each other.
7.1.4.1.Kindness is a fruit of the
Spirit, yet at times it is hard to find, even among those claiming to be God’s
people.
7.1.5. Everyone is to be ‘humble in spirit’ (“courteous”, “friendly”, or
“kind”).
7.2.
We must learn to die to self
in order to incorporate these attitudes.
7.3.
We must become
“others-centered” instead of “self-centered.”
7.4.
ILLUSTRATIVE QUOTE ON
“ATTITUDE” : "The longer I live,
the more I realize the impact of attitude on my life. Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than
education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than what other
people say or do. It is more important
than appearance, giftedness or skill.
It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice
everyday regarding the attitude that we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will
act in a certain way. We cannot change
the inevitable. The only thing we can
do is play on the string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what
happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you. We
are in charge of our attitude" ~by
Charles Swindoll
8.
VS 3:9 - “9
not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing
instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a
blessing.” - Haven written about
proper attitudes in the previous verse, Peter now talks about proper
“behaviors” to demonstrate in the home (and everywhere else as well)
8.1.
Don’t return ‘evil for
evil,’ instead each person should return a good deed for an evil one done unto
him.
8.2.
Don’t return an ‘insult’
when you have received one, but rather bless the one who gives an insult.
8.3.
Peter cites an effective
motive for acting in this way, and that is that God Himself has determined that
it is His desire to give each of His children a ‘blessing.’
9.
VS 3:10-12 - “10
For, “Let him who means to love life and see good days Refrain his tongue from
evil and his lips from speaking guile.
11 “And let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. 12 “For the eyes of the Lord are upon the
righteous, And His ears attend to their prayer, But the face of the Lord is
against those who do evil.”” - Peter quotes here from Ps. 43:12-13 about the importance of a
person watching what comes out of his mouth
9.1.
A person could not keep the
exhortations of verse 9 without keeping a handle on his tongue.
9.2.
James writes in Ja. 3:2 that
if a person can control what comes out of his mouth, he can control his entire
body as well, “For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble
in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.”
9.2.1. We Christians must learn to muzzle our tongue and keep anything that
doesn’t glorify God from coming out of our mouth.
9.2.1.1.We must not allow any unwholesome
word to come out of our mouth, Eph. 4:29-30, “29 Let no
unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is
good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it
will give grace to those who hear. 30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit
of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
9.2.1.2.James asks the probing
question about how from the same mouth could blessing and cursing come out, Ja.
3:7-12, “7 For every species of beasts and birds, of
reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human
race. 8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil
and full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord
and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of
God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing.
My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. 11 Does a
fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?
12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce
figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.”
9.2.1.3.Jesus taught that the mouth
of a person speaks from that which also fills his heart, Matt. 12:34, “34 “ You brood of vipers , how can you, being evil , speak what is good ?
For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart”
9.2.2. We Christians need to learn how to be good listeners, especially when
people are giving us feedback about how our actions are affecting others.
9.2.3. We Christians must learn to use wisdom and discretion in our speech.
9.2.4. We Christians must be especially careful not to say critical,
judgmental or hurtful things to or about people.
9.2.5. In the body of Christ, if we have something against a brother or a
sister we must go to them about it, never gossiping to others about the person.
9.3.
The Lord’s eyes are upon the
righteous in order “to watch so as to protect, provide, and bless them.”
9.4.
The Lord hears the prayers
of those who turn away from evil.
9.4.1. For the Lord to hear means that He will hear so as to answer their
prayers.
9.5.
The ‘face’ of the Lord is
against those who do evil continually.
9.5.1. If the Lord’s face is against someone, then that means that in time He
will also judge them.
10.
VS 3:13-14 - “13
And who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? 14 But even
if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not
fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled,” – No one can
really do any harm to one of God’s children
10.1. Some have tried to make these verses say that people will not have the
heart to hurt you if you’ve proven your life to be good and righteous before
God, but does it really say this?
10.2. The experience of the Christians of Peter’s day and afterwards
disproves this interpretation.
10.2.1.Those who persecuted the
church were ruthless and could care less about the character of the Christians.
10.2.2.There is a verse though that
seems to support this interpretation, Ps. 16:7, “7 When a man’s ways are
pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”
10.3. Probably what Peter really means is that “no one can really harm a
Christian or take away his blessings.”
10.3.1.If someone kills you for
being a Christian, they will just cause you to be blessed by being taken out of
this wicked world and then standing before the Lord forever.
10.3.2.If someone just hurts you
because you are a Christian, God will just use that suffering to bless you by
perfecting your faith.
10.3.3.We Christians can always
take heart in the fact that God causes all things to work together for our good
(Rom. 8:28).
10.4. Because no one can bring real harm against us as God’s people, there
really is no reason for a Christian to fear persecution or to be intimidated by
those who would threaten us with persecution.
11.
VS 3:15 - “15
but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a
defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in
you, yet with gentleness and reverence;” – Peter
describes what a Christian’s relationship to the Lord as Lord should be as well
as the mission as a disciple of Christ that God has for him
11.1. The “relationship” that a Christian has with Christ is as his “Lord
(master).”
11.1.1.Is Christ ruling over your
life? (Is He seated upon the throne of
your life?)
11.1.2.Who is really calling the
shots in your life?
11.2. The “mission” that a Christian has been given by God is to go into all
of the world and “make disciples and preach the gospel to all creation.”
11.3. We Christians must become studious so that we will always be ready to
“make a defense” for the salvation that we have received in Christ.
11.3.1.We need to be able to answer
the skeptic’s objections, the doubter’s fears, the intellectual’s questions,
and the queries of the inquisitive.
11.3.2.We need to learn to become
skillful swordsmen in our use of God’s Word.
11.4. We Christians must learn to always respond to non-Christians ‘with
gentleness and reverence’ so that we can win the more to Christ.
11.4.1.A brash or condemning
preacher rarely “wins the hearts” of the people with whom he shares.
11.4.2.People will not listen to
someone who does not show them the common “respect” (or reverence) which they
and all people deserve.
11.4.3.People respond positively to
someone who can boldly share the truth but also demonstrate “gentleness” with
them.
12.
VS 3:16 - “16
and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered,
those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” – We are to keep a good
conscience in our lives
12.1. If a Christian keeps a good or clean ‘conscience’ he will not allow any
unconfessed and unrepented of sin to remain in his life
12.2. Peter teaches here that those who try to slander or revile someone who walks
so closely with the Lord that he does not leave opportunity for criticism
through his actions, will end up being ‘shamed’ for their impure motives.
12.3. The bottom line is that avoiding sin will prevent a stumbling-block to
our witness to others as Christians.
13.
VS 3:17 - “17
For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is
right rather than for doing what is wrong.” - God reveals
in this verse that there is a right and a wrong reason for a Christian’s
suffering
13.1. The right reason is that they have suffered as a result of doing the
right thing and walking uprightly in their lives before the Lord.
13.2. The wrong and really pointless reason for a Christian to have suffered
is that they brought it upon themselves as a result of their wrong-doing and
folly.
14.
VS 3:18 - “18
For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order
that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made
alive in the spirit;” - In this verse Peter
reminds them of events associated with the gospel in order to encourage them in
their suffering
14.1. “If anyone suffered unjustly” it was Jesus in going to the cross for
us.
14.1.1.We sinners are the ‘unjust’
in this verse.
14.1.2.Jesus suffered, ‘the just
for the unjust,’ and He alone of all men was totally ‘just’ and righteous among
men.
14.2. What was accomplished as a result of Jesus’ suffering was that He
brought us back to God.
14.2.1.We have been brought back to
God by having become ‘identified’ with Jesus in His death and resurrection.
14.2.1.1.We died when Jesus died and
we were made alive in the resurrection life in Christ when Jesus raised from
the dead (see Rom. 6:11-12).
14.2.1.2.His suffering has purchased
our freedom from sin and its power of destruction.
14.3. When we have to suffer unjustly as a Christian, we shouldn’t get angry
and bitter, but rather think about how it was that our Lord had to suffer
unjustly for us.
14.3.1.How then can we complain if
God ordains the circumstances of our life such that, as Christ, we too have to
suffer?
15.
VS 3:19-20 - “19
in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 20
who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of
Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight
persons, were brought safely through the water.” – Jesus went and made proclamation to spirits
now in prison
15.1. These verses are some of the most difficult in all of scripture, and
ones which so many good Bible commentators throughout the ages have disagreed. This is also one of those passages where each
interpretation of it also has its own problems.
15.2. INTERPRETATION #1: Christ preached to the people
of Noah’s day in the Spirit through, His servant Noah:
15.2.1.This interpretation removes
most of the difficulties with the passage, however it introduces others.
15.2.1.1.It explains the problem with
Christ giving people who have already died another chance of salvation (see
Heb. 9:27).
15.2.1.2.It clears up the question of
why Christ would have gone down to Hades and preached only to those who lived
during Noah’s day before the flood -He didn’t!
15.2.2.However, there are other
scriptures which seem to indicate that Christ actually went down to Hades after
His death on the cross.
15.2.2.1.Eph. 4:9, “9 (Now this
expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended
into the lower parts of the earth?””
15.2.2.2.Ps. 16:10, “10 For Thou
wilt not abandon my soul to Sheol;
Neither wilt Thou allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay.”
15.2.2.3.1 Peter 4:6, “6 For the
gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that
though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit
according to the will of God.”
15.2.2.4.In the book of Acts and in
other places there is the reference to the fact that Christ released the
captives who were being held in Abraham’s Bosom (a compartment for the
righteous in Hades) after His death upon the cross, and thus we also read that
these godly departed ones are seen by others walking the streets of Jerusalem
after Christ’s resurrection.
15.2.2.4.1.Since this release of the
captives from Abraham’s Bosom, when believers die they go directly to be with
the Lord.
15.2.3.It does not indicate that
Christ went in Spirit or in the person of the Holy Spirit, it says that He
went, so it seems a bit unnatural to think that this could refer to Christ
preaching to the ungodly through Noah.
15.3. INTERPRETATION #2: Christ actually went to Hades
and preached the gospel to the disobedient people who died in the flood of
Noah’s day:
15.3.1.There are several scriptures
that seem to point to Christ actually going down to Hades after His death on
the cross (these are listed above).
15.3.2.In order to explain why
Christ only preached to the disobedient in Noah’s day, some people point to the
fact that so many died so quickly that they might have repented, were they
given a chance.
15.3.2.1.There must have been many
children who died in the flood, perhaps Jesus came primarily to preach to these
people.
15.3.2.2.It could be argued that the ungodly
of Noah’s day are only representative of all mankind and that Christ preached
the gospel to all and gave everyone in Hades a chance to repent.
15.3.2.3.It seems that it would be
out of character for Christ to go to Hades and preach a message of condemnation,
so if He went there He must have preached a positive message.
15.3.2.3.1.Some have surmised that
Christ did not preach the gospel when He went down to Hades, but rather
declared His victory over death through His resurrection, and then claimed the
captives who were His people.
15.3.3.The main problem with the
idea of Christ preaching the gospel to people who have died and weren’t God’s
people is that Heb. 9:27 and other scriptures indicate that after a person dies
in unbelief that the have only judgment to await.
15.3.4.Virtually all of the writers
of the early church held to this interpretation.
15.4. INTERPRETATION #3: The unbelievers that Christ
preached to were disobedient descendants of Noah, of the race of Adam, and
therefore Christ didn’t really go to Hades personally, He just preached the
gospel to the people of His day after His resurrection:
15.4.1.Though perhaps the most
creative view, it still doesn’t explain some things, including the other
scriptures dealing with Christ’s having gone down to Hades after His death on
the cross.
15.4.2.This view has the same
problem previously mentioned of Christ going in Spirit or in the person of the
Holy Spirit, for the verse just says that He went. Why would the resurrected Christ go and preach the gospel since
this is the church’s job?
16.
VS 3:21 - “21
And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from
the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ,” - Peter now goes on to another extremely difficult passage, this
one concerns the meaning of ‘baptism’
16.1. The interpretation of this
verse hinges upon whether or not we believe that ‘baptism’ can save anyone, and
whether or not it is necessary for salvation.
16.2. Peter writes that ‘corresponding to’ the saving of Noah through the
water that fell and rose due to the Great Flood, that now in these days
‘baptism’ saves us.
16.2.1.In Noah’s day, the
persecution had arisen so greatly against him because he was righteous before
God, that had the flood not occurred, Noah and his family may have been
martyred.
16.2.1.1.It was not ‘just water’ that
saved Noah and his family, it was ‘the ark’ which he built under God’s care and
providence.
16.2.1.1.1.We could say then perhaps
that the water was not what saved Noah, it was just ‘a symbol’ of what saved
him.
16.2.1.1.1.1.We in our culture often use
one term to represent another concept.
16.2.1.1.1.1.1.The term ‘hard
ball’ is used symbolically to refer to the game of baseball, although there are
many types of hard balls besides a baseball.
16.2.1.1.1.1.2.The term ‘big
leagues’ is used symbolically to refer to professional baseball, although there
really many different professional sports that it could represent.
16.2.1.1.2.In the same way, in the New
Testament, the term ‘baptism’ is often used as a symbol to refer to salvation,
even though it is clear from NT scriptures that baptism is not necessary for
salvation.
16.2.1.1.2.1.The term baptism is
sometimes used in a symbolic way anyway.
16.2.1.1.2.1.1.In our world today
people talk about a “baptism of fire.”
16.2.1.1.2.1.2.In 1 Cor.
10:1-2, Paul used the term baptism in a symbolic way, “10:1 For I do not
want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud,
and all passed through the sea; 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud
and in the sea;”
16.2.1.1.2.1.3.The word
“baptism” means “immersion” and thus it can be used symbolically in many ways.
16.2.1.1.2.2.Even though the word
‘baptism’ is sometimes used to refer to the salvation experience of the
Christian, there are many scriptures that demonstrate that a person does not
have to be baptized in order to be saved.
16.2.1.1.2.2.1.The thief on
the cross was never baptized and yet went to be with Jesus in Paradise.
16.2.1.1.2.2.2.Paul said in 1
Cor. 1:17 that he was not sent to baptize but to preach the gospel, and he couldn’t
even remember who he had baptized, but it was just a couple of people.
16.2.1.1.2.2.3.When Peter, in
Acts chapter 10, was preaching the gospel to the family of Cornelius, they got
saved and even were baptized in the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues before
Peter could even get around to mentioning water baptism to them.
16.2.1.1.3.Peter is speaking of baptism
in a figurative way here. He attempts
to make a distinction between water ‘baptism’ and the actual conversion
experience itself when he writes here, ‘not the removal of dirt from the flesh,
but an appeal to God for a good conscience.’
16.2.1.1.3.1.To get dumped into a pool of
water may clean off some of the dirt on the outside of your flesh, however it
can’t clean out the dirt of sin that resides in the heart.
16.2.1.1.3.2.When being baptized, if you
go down into the water dirty, you are going to come out of the water dirty.
16.2.1.1.3.3.Water baptism is not meant
to be the means of salvation, but rather a symbol of what God has already done
in a Christian’s life.
16.2.1.1.3.3.1.When you go
down into the water, this is symbol of your identification with Christ in His
death (you have died to sin now that you are a Christian).
16.2.1.1.3.3.2.When you are
raised up out of the water, this is symbolic of your identification with Christ
in His resurrection (you have now been raised up to walk in a new resurrection
life as a new creature).
16.2.1.1.3.4.Water baptism is not an
extra ingredient necessary for salvation after having faith in Christ, or the
thief on the cross would not now be in Paradise with Christ.
16.2.1.1.3.5.Baptism then by definition
must not be for infants, but only for those who are of age to have already come
to faith in Christ as Lord and Savior.
16.2.1.1.3.6.Salvation is also to be done
out of obedience to the Lord (because He commands us to do it).
17.
VS 3:22 - “22
who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities
and powers had been subjected to Him.” - Jesus who has been raised up from the dead
has now been exalted by the Lord to the ‘right hand of God’
17.1. He has been given all honor, power and authority (symbolized by the
‘right hand’).
17.2. After Jesus resurrected, He had subjected to Him all “angels and
principalities” in the heavenly places (all spirit beings).
17.3. Jesus is now “Lord of lords and King of kings,” far above all rule and
authority both in heaven and upon the earth.