A SYMBOL AND A SOVEREIGN. 1st Peter 3:21-22 Baptism: our claim to a good conscience is based on the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. The order is… Christ was baptized into death for me at Calvary [Lu.12:50]. When I trust Him as Lord and Savior, I am spiritually united with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection [Rom.6:1- 7]. Through the knowledge that He has risen, my request for a clear conscience is answered. In water baptism, I give visible expression to the spiritual deliverance I have experienced.
“The like figure” means that Noah’s experience was an antitype of those whom God saves by His grace. Noah and his family were delivered from perishing in the flood, while the rest of the sinful world of humanity died. After the flood, he entered a new world. That is what baptism is like. It is symbolic of our deliverance from the power, corruption, and bondage of sin, enabling us to begin a new life as God intended. By the power of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, we have been delivered to “walk in newness of life.”
Believers are saved by what baptism symbolizes, not by baptism itself. Our Lord Jesus Christ took our place, enduring God’s righteous judgment against our sins through His death, burial, and resurrection. When a believer is baptized, we also commit to living with a good conscience toward God, a reality that should be evident to others. We are not saved by the ritual of baptism, but by the power of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. Baptism is our visual testimony of identification with our Lord and our commitment to live for Him, having been made spiritually alive by Him.
Above them, water came in torrents from the sky. Beneath, hidden fountains, never seen by human eyes before, brought forth water. Those in the ark were safe and dry, but water was pressing against the ark; a type of judgment for those who would die in their sins. Noah and his family moved into a new world, cleansed by judgment; not a stain of human sin remained. We, too, when baptized, testify to the world that we’re born again. In Christ, our Living Ark, we’re safe; He bore the pain of just judgment. Under the authority of the Divine Persons, we answer in God’s name by being obedient to Him in our baptism.
Relief came to those in the ark when they heard the storm descend. Day after day, the judgment fell until quietness spelled the end of divine wrath against man’s sin, and the world was finally cleansed. And fellowship with God and man could now begin again. Judgment fell on Christ when He bore God’s wrath for me. God was satisfied and could justify me righteously. Faith in Christ alone has brought true fellowship to be a fact to those who believe and are saved eternally. Now, testimony is established, lived out by those of faith. The good conscience answers publicly, for I am saved by grace. And that answer of good conscience is in some public place. I pledge my allegiance to God’s Son until I see His face.
Victory has been announced: Christ endured the contradiction of sinners against Himself, and then He triumphed. Believers today look to ultimate victory in Christ. Believers in the past were saved through water – the ark provided their salvation. Baptism is an announcement of victory over sin and death and a new life through the risen Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ was baptized into death for me when He died on my behalf on the cross. When I put my faith in Him as my Lord and Savior, I was united to Him in my spirit because His substitution became my death, burial, and resurrection into my new life. My conscience is cleared of guilt because His resurrection proves God’s satisfaction with and acceptance of me through Christ. My immersion in water and coming out is a visual expression of what happened to me spiritually.
At the right hand of God, Christ as Sovereign has the place of highest honor and power. He has all authority, and He reigns.He arose from among the dead and ascended to heaven, where He originally came from, now as a living Man in a body of flesh and bones. The “right hand” of God is the place of… Power [Mt.26:64]: the right hand is always associated with power and the strength of fellowship. Honor [Acts 2:33; 5:31]: exalted to the right hand of God. Rest [Heb.1:3; 8:1; 10:12]: sat down in virtue of a finished work. Intercession [Rom. 8:34]: Paul speaks of Him interceding at the right hand of God. Preeminence [Eph.1:20-21]: far above all. Dominion [Heb.1:13]: I make thine enemies thy footstool. Angels, authorities, powers – all the ranks of heavenly beings; all are servants of the risen, glorified Lord.
This final of 16 references to Christ at the right hand of the Father points us to the One who is in control. Suffering believers need to know that He permits their suffering. He orders and causes things to happen because He has an eternal purpose of which we are not fully aware. Despite satanic attacks, government opposition, mockery by people, or the challenges of wicked men, our Savior and Lord is in His place of authority at the right hand of God. We can be comforted by the fact that those sufferings for righteousness are temporary. What we are involved in and represent is eternal.
Christ seated at the right hand of God indicates He is in the place of supreme authority, power, and honor. That position is also one of rest, intercession, and dominion, and will be forever. All the “families” of the universe are forever subject to Him – angels, powers, and all delegated authority are subservient to our Lord Jesus Christ.
When coming out of the water of a baptism ceremony, there is a larger truth to tell that accompanies one who has been baptized. As Christ, who died for sin and paid its full price, was resurrected in three days, no longer among the dead, we are no longer dead. His resurrection declares that the atoning work is done. God raised Him from among the dead, fully satisfied that His Son has met every claim justice demands, so that we are free. The resurrection now fully justifies me.
The door to heaven is open now. Christ has ascended on high. There, in holy splendor, seated at God’s right hand, is the only One in the universe who is truly God and Man. He who suffered once for all for sin will nevermore die. All powers above and below are under His jurisdiction. There is no area of life that can avoid His authority. He conquered the powers of darkness when He defeated death, and the universe is His dominion – all its height, its width, and its depth. Every creature is subject to Him who gives to each their life. Every authority of angels or men is exposed by His holy light, and the holy brightness of His Person never will grow dim.