1 PETER 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
1 PETER 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
The book of 1Peter was written to saved people. They happened to be dispersed throughout several provinces of the Roman Empire, but they were already saved people nonetheless. (See Section 17). The book of 1Peter, therefore, is not about how to become saved.
Although the book of 1Peter was written to saved people water baptism was plainly referred to by the apostle Peter anyway. He wrote:
1 PETER 3:20 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.
1 PETER 3:21 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:
When we think of Noah, liquid water (H2O) immediately comes to mind...
1 PETER 3:20 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.
1 PETER 3:21 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:
In verse 21, Peter wrote "the like figure," referring to what happened in the days of Noah. A flood of water happened in the days of Noah. About this flood of water, Peter wrote "the like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us." Peter is speaking about water baptism.
1 PETER 3:20 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.
1 PETER 3:21 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:
Peter wrote that baptism saves us...by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is what he wrote. He did not write something else. As we have seen in section 21.1, 1Peter 3:20-21 indicates that this baptism was water baptism. Salvation would be impossible, of course, without the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ ("...by the resurrection of Jesus Christ").
The parenthesized part of 1Peter 3:21, much like a footnote in modern writing, explains the preceding part of that verse: "the like figure [to Noah's flood] whereunto even baptism doth also now save us." The parenthesized part means that it is not so much the act of water baptism in–and–of itself that saves us ("not the putting away of the filth of the flesh"), but rather, it is the obedience to God's commandment that is important ("the answer of a good conscience toward God"). This command cannot be obeyed, however, without actually doing it. Therefore, water baptism is a requirement for salvation. It is not optional.
It was the same Peter who in Acts 2, after preaching the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, said:
ACTS 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
No one can be saved without having his sins forgiven (i.e., remitted). Water baptism, according to Acts 2:38, is for the remission of sins. Peter's statement at 1Peter 3:21 is perfectly consistent with this. Peter taught the same message when he spoke (Acts 2:38) and when he wrote (1Peter 3:21).
John 3:3-7 has been examined previously in Section 3.
JOHN 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
JOHN 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
JOHN 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
JOHN 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
As previously explained in section 3, both Nicodemus and Jesus Christ are talking about only one birth not two! When asked in John 3:4 how a man can be born when he is old (i.e., born-again), Jesus directly answered this in verse 5 by being born "of water and of the spirit." It has already been demonstrated in section 3.1 that the word "water" in John 3:5 means neither "spirit," nor "the water of childbirth." 1Peter 3:20-21 reinforces this conclusion about John 3:5.
1 PETER 3:20 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.
1 PETER 3:21 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:
It is not a well thought-out conclusion to say that the "water" of John 3:5 means "spirit." Likewise, it's not consistent with the rest of the scriptures either.
Did you think that the Great Flood in the days of Noah was to destroy mankind? Of course, that's quite correct, for God did say:
GENESIS 6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
and,
GENESIS 6:11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
GENESIS 6:12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
Be that as it may, the apostle Peter wrote:
1 PETER 3:20 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.
1 PETER 3:21 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:
It should be remembered that Peter was among the Eleven who, after the Resurrection, were personally instructed by Jesus Christ Himself, as it is written:
LUKE 24:45 Then opened he (i.e., Jesus) their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
Therefore, Peter understood Genesis as well, and so, knew what he was talking about.
The following explanations of Peter's statement at 1Peter 3:20 is included simply to provide possible reasons for why Peter would say that Noah was saved by water in the first place. However, the explanations provided may be difficult to understand, and therefore might add only confusion, rather than explanation, to this discussion. Furthermore, little information about water baptism will be lost if this section (section 21.4.1.1 and 21.4.1.2) is skipped. With this in mind, the reader may wish to simply skip this section, and proceed to the next section, 21.5.
Why then would Peter say that Noah was saved by the water of the Flood? God saved Noah by physically removing him from the evil men of his day.
In order to gain some insight into the mind of Peter, consider another instance in which the same Peter mentioned Noah by name, and the saving of other faithful men:
2 PETER 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
2 PETER 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
2 PETER 2:6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
2 PETER 2:7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
2 PETER 2:8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
2 PETER 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
The same man, Peter, mentioned the salvation of Noah in both 1Peter 3:20-21 and 2Peter 2:5, and the salvation of Lot in 2Peter 2:6-7.
Lot was "vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked." There is evidence in Genesis that Lot was also a preacher of righteousness like Noah (see Genesis 19:7,14), even though Peter did not specifically state this here. All Peter said about Lot was that he was "vexed" by the filthy conversation and unlawful deeds of the sodomites (2Peter 2:6-8) and Peter was instructed by Jesus Christ face–to–face. God delivered Lot from his "temptations" by physically removing him from Sodom (2Peter 2:9). God then destroyed Sodom, having spared Lot (Genesis 19:15,24-25).
Likewise, the same is true of Noah. We know from the scriptures that Noah was a "perfect," or holy, man (Genesis 6:9). Peter taught that Noah was a preacher of righteousness as well (2Peter 2:5), even though Genesis does not specifically say so. (Again, Peter was instructed by Jesus Christ face–to–face, per Luke 24:45, so he would know). If Noah was a preacher of righteousness, and if the whole earth was so evil that God had decided to destroy all flesh (Genesis 6:7), then there can be little doubt that the men of Noah's day were a vexation to Noah's soul.
God delivered Lot from the sodomites by physically removing him from Sodom, and telling him to flee elsewhere (Genesis 19:15-17). Then He made an example out of Sodom, by burning it to ashes. In the case of Noah however, there was no place left on earth for him to flee to, to get away from the filthy conversation and evil deeds of the men of his day (because "all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth," per Genesis 6:5,12). Therefore, God destroyed the whole world, making a safe haven for Noah. And how was the world destroyed? The world was destroyed by water. Thus Noah was saved by (through) water, as the apostle Peter wrote:
1 PETER 3:20 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.
Remember though, little information about water baptism will be lost if this section were skipped. If the above explanation was either confusing, or simply made no sense to you, then feel free to disregard it, and proceed to (section 21.5).
There are other reasons of an allegorical nature as to why Peter would say that Noah was saved by the water of the Flood. However, such reasons may be quite difficult for the uninitiated to understand, and therefore might add only confusion, rather than explanation, to this discussion. Furthermore, little information about water baptism will be lost if this section (section 21.4.1.2) is skipped. The following allegorical explanation of Peter's statement at 1Peter 3:20 is included simply to bolster the explanation of why Peter would say that Noah was saved by water. With this in mind, the reader may or may not wish to skip this section, and proceed to section 21.5.
The stories recorded in the Old Testament, of course, were written the way that they actually happened. They happened the way they happened so that we might learn from them. It has already been seen in section 4 that the Bible has allegoric meanings in addition to what is contained in the simple text itself.
Some of the symbols seen in section 4 are seen in the Passover story itself, and its fulfillment by Jesus Christ:
There is another symbol that was not mentioned in section 4. To be free from the Egyptians, not only did the blood of the Passover have to be applied to the doorpost of their houses, they also had to escape through the Red Sea.
EXODUS 14:8 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.
EXODUS 14:9 But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon.
It wasn't until this point that God finally delivered utter victory over the Egyptians:
EXODUS 14:13 ¶ And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.
You've heard the rest of this story: The Children of Israel went throughthe Red Sea and lived, while the Egyptians also went through the Red Sea and were destroyed.
It was after this event that the Children of Israel were free from Egyptian rule, once and for all. The killing of the passover lamb made possible the escape from Egypt. The salvation of Israel would not have been possible without it. However, the Children of Israel's passing "through" the Red Sea was also necessary in order to become free of the Egyptians.
In like fashion, the death of Jesus Christ makes possible our escape from sin, and eternal life itself is impossible without Christ's death on the cross. However, just as the Children of Israel's "baptism" in the Red Sea was necessary for the destruction of the Egyptians, so too is water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ also necessary for the remission of sins. The Children of Israel's passing through the Red Sea represents the believer's being baptized in water. Paul once made the same point that Peter made at 1Peter 3:20-21, by saying:
1 CORINTHIANS 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
1 CORINTHIANS 10:2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
"Baptized in the cloud and in the sea" represents being born in the Spirit and in the water, per John 3:5 (in section 3).
We have just seen that the Egyptians in the days of Moses represent sin. In the Old Testament, foreign oppressors is a standard symbol which represents sin. This is true whether they happen to be the Egyptians, Philistines, Assyrians, Babylonians, or whoever else—they represent sin. The evil men of Noah's day likewise were persecutors:
GENESIS 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
Referring to Strongs Exhaustive Concordance, Complete and Unabridged, Compact Edition, by James H. Strong, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, concordance p. 384, Hebrew lexicon p. 79, the Hebrew word for "giants" is:
5303 nephîyl or nephîl; from 5307; prop., a feller, i.e., a bully or tyrant
and its root word means:
5307 nâphal; a prim. root; to fall, in a great variety of applications
Therefore, according to Genesis 6:4, the earth was filled with "bullies" (thugs), or "tyrants" in the days of Noah. This idea is reinforced by verse 13 of the same chapter:
GENESIS 6:13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Just as it was with the Egyptians in the days of Moses, so too did these oppressors (bullies, thugs, etc.) in the days of Noah also represent sin. In the days of Moses, these "sins" (Egyptians) were destroyed by the water of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:26-28), providing salvation for the children of Israel. The same imagery applies to the days of Noah as well: The "sins" of Noah's day (the bullies, tyrants or "giants") were also destroyed by the water of the flood, providing salvation for Noah and his family.
This is why Peter wrote that "eight souls were saved by water:"
1 PETER 3:20 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.
1 PETER 3:21 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:
Once again though, little information about water baptism will be lost if this section were skipped. Therefore, if the above explanation made no sense to you, then feel free to disregard it, and proceed to section 21.5.
They assert that from the Genesis account, water was used to destroy the world, not to save it. Therefore nobody—including Noah and his family—was saved by the water of the flood. They say then that the Greek word for "by" (as in, "eight souls were saved by water") is a mistranslation: they say that the Greek word for "by" means "through," so the last part of 1Peter 3:20 would then read "eight souls were saved through water," implying that they merely traversed, or, survived the flood. Then they say that Peter's parenthesized statement "not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God" therefore means "believe only." Thus, by process of elimination, they say that the baptism spoken of in verse 21 means "spiritual baptism," not water baptism. Their argument hinges entirely on the meaning of the word "by" in 1Peter 3:20.
Indeed, the original Greek word for "by" (as in, "eight souls were saved by water") can reasonably be translated as "through." However, this word does not mean the mere survival of an incident (such as the Flood) in either case; it means the channel, or method, of an act.
Unfortunately, tracking-down the definition of this particular word will not be easy. What follows is a rather lengthy, step–by–step procedure for finding the definition of the Greek word for "by" at 1Peter 3:20. Any layman can do this. For those who would rather just find out what the word means, skip the next three paragraphs.
This particular instance of the word "by" is listed in Strongs Exhaustive Concordance, Complete and Unabridged, Compact Edition, by James H. Strong, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, ISBN 0-8010-8228-5, concordance pp. 158, 1244, Greek lexicon p. 22.
This particular instance (1Peter 3:20) of the word "by" would normally appear on page 158 of the Strong's Concordance. Unfortunately, the entry on this page refers the reader to the appendix of the same concordance, in which very common words are listed, each of which are used several thousand times in the Bible. Examples of such words include "a," "an," "and," "it," "of," and so on. The word "by" is also such a word, and appears on page 1244 in this appendix. Unfortunately, there is no Greek cross–reference for the word "by" in this appendix. We must refer to a second reference.
We must now refer to The Interlinear Bible, Hebrew-Greek-English, by Jay P. Green, Sr., General Editor and Translator, The Trinitarian Bible Society, London, England, 1986, ISBN 0-913573-25- 6, p. 942. This is an interlinear Bible, written in its original languages (Masoretic Hebrew in the Old Testament, and the Greek Textus Receptus, also called the "Majority Text" in the New Testament). Beneath each original Hebrew or Greek word, the literal English translation of that word is written. Above each original word, the standard Strong's Concordance number for that word is listed as well. 1Peter 3:20 appears on page 942 of this Interlinear Bible, and the Greek word for "by" is "δια" (dia). The Strong's Concordance number for this word (δια, dia) is 1223. From this point, it's simply a matter of looking up Greek word number 1223 in the Strong's Concordance referenced above.
At this point, we return to Strongs Exhaustive Concordance, Complete and Unabridged, Compact Edition, Greek lexicon p. 22. The Greek word for "by" (dia) in 1Peter 3:20 actually means:
1223 δια dia; a primary preposition denoting the channel of an act; through (in very wide applications, local, causal, or occasional)
So there you have it! This Greek word "dia" denotes the channel of an act!
The above definition refers to this word being applied in either a local, causal, or occasional sense. A "local" application of this word refers to the location of something. An example of this usage would be "The farmer came in 'dia' (by or through) the front gate." A "causal" application refers to the "cause" of something. An example of this would be to say "Men are separated from God 'dia' (by or through) transgression and sin." An "occasional" application is an incident or occasion in which something happened. For example, "The United States was made a world power 'dia' (by or through) the Second World War." In no case does this word (dia) mean merely to traverse or survive an incident. That's simply not what the word means!
In the case of 1Peter 3:20, the word "dia" is used in the occasional case, denoting how, or by what way or method something was done. Specifically, the word "by" (dia) denotes how, or by what method Noah and his family was saved.
This word (dia) is also the same word—the exact same word—used in 1Peter 3:21 also:
1 PETER 3:20 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.
1 PETER 3:21 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:
Note the words "by" near the end of both of these verses. In Greek, they're both the same word: "dia" (Strongs: 1223).
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a historical (occasional) requirement for our salvation. Likewise, the Flood was a historical (occasional) requirement for Noah's "salvation" as well.
Furthermore, the exact same Greek word ("dia") is used for "by" in John 10:9, and carries the same thought as well:
JOHN 10:7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
JOHN 10:8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
JOHN 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
Additionaly, the exact same Greek word ("dia") is also used for "by" in John 14:6 as well:
JOHN 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
In each case above, the Greek word "dia" (δια) refers to the way in which something is to be done, whether it is finding pasture in John 10:9, or coming to the Father in John 14:6. In either case, it is done "dia" Jesus Christ (by or through Jesus Christ), and there is no alternative "route" or "method." Likewise, by definition of the Greek word used for "by" in 1Peter 3:21, the same is true in the case of Noah as well: they were saved "dia" water (by or through water).