1 Peter 3:13-22

Rachel Workman: 13 Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. 15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. 16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. 17 Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong! A good answer to verse 13 is Satan. He hates when God's people do good.

We should all be able to give a reason as to why we've put our hope in Christ. Peter did not suggest that Christians argue with lost people, just that we present to someone unsaved an account of what we believe and why we believe it. In a loving manner not in a know it all manner. Humility, love and the simple truths will win more people over to Christ more than in your face hell and damnation.

18 Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.

19 So he went and preached to the spirits in prison— 20 those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood. 21 And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This verse leads me to believe I've missed something. Or some stories of that happened after God commanded Noah to build the ark are left out. I did a lot of research on these passages. There are several different explanations. I will keep my comments to myself since even the experts seem to disagree. In verse 21 Peter isn't teaching to us that water baptism is what saves us. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)  He is teaching us that the water symbolizes a spiritual cleansing through the power of the Holy Spirit gained through Christ's victory over death.  

As Jesus talked with Nicodemus, He said, “‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’ ‘How can a man be born when he is old?’ Nicodemus asked. ‘Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, “You must be born again”’” (John 3:3-7).

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John Burnett:  ⁹ not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but ^[e]giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. ¹⁰ For,

“The one who desires life, to love and see good days,
Must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.
¹¹ “He must turn away from evil and do good;
He must seek peace and pursue it.
¹² “For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,  It is great to know that our righteousness comes from Christ and not only is God hearing our prayers, but the Holy Spirit is also praying for us according to the God’s will.
And His ears attend to their prayer,
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

¹³ Who is ^[f]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 ^[g]are blessed. And do not fear their ^[h]intimidation, and do not be troubled, ¹⁵ but ^[i]sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a ^[j]defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and ^[k]reverence;  This is sometimes difficult to do because of our sinful nature.  I have been called every name in the book on my favorite website because of my defense of the truth.  I can’t say that I have always been gentle towards those persecuting me. ^16 [l]and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. ¹⁷ For it is better, if ^[m]God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. ¹⁸ For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the ^[n]spirit;  If you are not born again or have the Holy Spirit, you are not saved.  The Holy Spirit living in you is the seal of approval that Jesus Christ has accepted you, adopted you and is sanctifying you. ¹⁹ in ^[o]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 ^[p]water. ²¹ Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God ^[q]for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.  The baptism, Peter is referring to, is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, not the baptism with water.

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Krista Cook:  ¹³ Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? ¹⁴ But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. ¹⁵ Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. ¹⁶ But do this in a gentle and respectful way.^[c]

- being able to tell others about the hope we have as Christians is so important; yes, they can see our examples, but showing them in scripture means so much more

Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. ¹⁷ Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!

- live your life for Him in all things!! 

¹⁸ Christ suffered^[d] for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.^[e]

- SO THANKFUL!

¹⁹ So he went and preached to the spirits in prison— ²⁰ those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood.^{[f] 21} And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from^[g] a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

- we, too, are saved through the waters - the waters of baptism. 

²² Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority.

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Mike Grimm:  ¹³ Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? ¹⁴ But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. When people do what is right, they usually receive praise (1 Peter 2:14). Christians should always do what is right. This is important, even if they suffer for it. Christians are not to be afraid of anything. Nothing can take away the Christian’s blessings. God cares for everyone who does what is right. ¹⁵ Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. Christ is Lord of all circumstances. He has all authority. The people who do bad things to Christians are not in control. Christians should always trust Christ. Other people will notice this. They may ask you about this ‘hope’ that you say you have. Sure hope in Jesus Christ is what makes Christians different from other people. You can tell them that Jesus Christ died to forgive our sins. Christians who suffer can explain about their inheritance in heaven (1 Peter 1:2-5). Christians should be kind and patient as they answer, because only God can change a person’s outlook. ¹⁶ But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. ‘Conscience’ is the part of people that feels guilty when they do wrong things. If people obey God, their conscience will be innocent. Christians should not worry when people oppose them. One day God will give these people a guilty conscience, because they have spoken what is wrong. ¹⁷ Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong! God sometimes allows even good people to suffer. They must continue to trust God. This will show that they have a genuine faith in God (chapter 1:7). Suffering is the right punishment only when a person does evil.

¹⁸ Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit. This is another verse that explains the good news about Jesus in a very simple way. God is holy. Sin separates people from God. The punishment for sin is death (Romans 6:23). Jesus died to forgive sins. Jesus himself did not sin. But he died to take away the sins of other people. Men killed his body, but he did not stay dead. He rose from death and God made him alive with spiritual life. Now people can have a relationship with God again.

But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57)

¹⁹ So he went and preached to the spirits in prison— ²⁰ those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood. In his second letter, Peter says that Noah was a preacher of right behaviour (2 Peter 2:5). The Holy Spirit spoke through Noah. He warned the people to stop their wicked behaviour. But they would not obey God, so they died in the flood. When Christ rose from death, he went and preached to the spirits in prison. The ‘prison’ refers to the place of dead people.

²¹ And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Baptism does not make someone a Christian. Their faith in Jesus Christ does. But baptism is a sign of what has happened. The water is like the flood that washed away all the evil in the days of Noah. The boat is like salvation that saves people from death. A Christian comes out of the baptism water and begins a new life. When people put their trust in Jesus, God forgives their sins. That takes away their bad conscience. Because Jesus rose from death, he gives eternal life to those who trust him.

²² Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority. God lives in heaven. God is a spirit. He does not have a body. Jesus is now ‘at the right hand of God’. This means that Jesus has the same power and authority as God. Even powerful angels with great authority are under his control.