Recap – 1 Peter 3:17
For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
For the past several weeks in various ways we have been considering this truth. It forms a bridge to the next section.
Verse 18
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.
He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.
- Why did Jesus suffer? For what purpose was his suffering? And why was it inevitable?
- What happened after he was put to death?
- What difference does this make to believers who suffer?
Verses 19-20
After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits—to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,
- Who were these imprisoned spirits to whom Jesus preached? Genesis 6:1-4
- What important truth does this represent? See Luke 8:31, Philippians 2:8-11.
- Why were only a few saved in the ark? How does this apply to our generation? See Luke 17:25-27
Verses 21-22
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,who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
Remember that in the New Testament, baptism always followed repentance and faith.
- How does baptism give us a clear conscience?
- What does Paul say about baptism in Romans 6:1-4?
- If we are saved by our faith, in what sense does baptism – which follows faith – save us?
- Baptism is dangerous for converts from Islam to Christianity, especially in hardline Muslim-majority nations. Why?