Caleb Walker

Resources: Manuscript, Free PowerPoint you can Download, and Devotional

For More Information on our available Connect Groups, please click this link: https://franklinheights.org/connect/groups/

PowerPoint Link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/2vf44teo0gbizku2fy1c2/Our-Defense-I-Peter-3.pptx?rlkey=ukcvvpz93upv0ae4ok7z4bawy&st=go2uqlus&dl=0

Review: Last week we looked at how to honor God and show others Jesus in our relationships and how believers live out their faith in the context of relationships. We have a relational responsibility among husbands and wives and we have a responsibility to show Christ and share the gospel to the lost people in our spheres of influence, backing up our words with actions.

Title: Our Defense

Text: I Peter 3:13-22, “¹³ Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? ¹⁴ But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, ¹⁵ but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, ¹⁶ having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. ¹⁷ For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

¹⁸ For Christ also suffered^[a] once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, ¹⁹ in which^[b] he went and proclaimed^[c] to the spirits in prison, ²⁰ because^[d] they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. ²¹ Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.”

Memory Verse: I Peter 3:15, “¹⁵ but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,”

Theme: Believers can share the reason for our hope even in the midst of suffering.

Introduction: In this week’s lesson we see that when we suffer for Jesus the persecutor will be amazed by our hope and drawn to Christ as a result. It’s amazing how God uses suffering. This is a huge encouragement to the one going through a trial or test of some kind. Not only will God won’t waste it, but God will mightily use it. Honoring Christ’s holiness and fearing God over man are the keys to suffering persecution well.

Opening Discussion Question (s): We have solid reasons to keep hope alive. What can cause someone to lose hope in a difficult circumstance? What factors can help a person find hope even in desperate situations?

Context: We can trust God’s timing to vindicate the righteous and bring justice to evildoers according to verse 12. We’re promised a hope-giving eternal reward, so we don’t have to fear. With humility and reverence when we endure sufferings, it will be a witness to the persecutor as well as be their shame. In the lesson Christ’s example of suffering for our salvation and what he endured is brought front and center by Peter. Jesus suffered, died, rose, and triumphed, and ascended, and believers share in His glory. Our future is always secure, even in the midst of the deepest and most difficult of suffering. The lesson reminds us that baptism is an outward visual of our inward change by His grace. Just like suffering moves people to be saved, baptism accomplishes the same witnessing objectives.

Discussion: What can cause someone to lose hope in a difficult circumstance? What kind of factors can help a person find hope even in desperate situations?

Main Points:

1. Be Ready (I Peter 3:13-17)

“¹³ Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? ¹⁴ But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, ¹⁵ but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, ¹⁶ having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. ¹⁷ For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”

• Peter asks a rhetorical question to remind them that their present and eternal security was safe and sound.
• The word for devotion is zealous; They were to zealously obey in the midst of suffering.
• Suffering is not a cause for fear, but we should be reminded that God gives favor when we suffer.
• In suffering believers can confidently share the gospel with others.
• They say, “Christ followers do not put their hope in agreeable circumstances, but in the God who controls them” (p. 68).
• Gentleness and reverence in the believer’s defense of the gospel gives them a clear conscience.
• The suffering is never outside of God’s providence and sovereignty, and therefore is not an excuse for sin when suffering for doing good.

Discussion: Why is it important for believers to be able to explain the reason for their hope?

II. Be assured (I Peter 3:18-20)

“¹⁸ For Christ also suffered^[a] once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, ¹⁹ in which^[b] he went and proclaimed^[c] to the spirits in prison, ²⁰ because^[d] they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.”

• The persecuted believers could look to Christ as an example of suffering, look to Christ as they shared in His resurrection glory by the Spirit, and they could expect no less.

Gospel: Jesus’ suffering was to pay for sins, and our suffering conforms us to His image.

• Verse 19 is an interpretive challenge. It says, “¹⁹ in which^[b] he went and proclaimed^[c] to the spirits in prison.” Augustine thought the spirits in prison were metaphorical for Noah preaching in the days before the flood. Some scholars think these were Old Testament believers in Jesus who died and were freed by Jesus between His death and resurrection. Most evangelical scholars believe this was Jesus’ proclamation of power over the powers of evil and sin. They say (p.70), “Likely, He spoke to angels who were imprisoned until their time of judgement in the last days.” There are other more heretical views, like Jesus gave the lost in hell a second chance, which is blatant heresy, because Jesus died once for all and it runs headlong against Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:19-31.  
• Peter compares these Asia Minor believers to Noah’s family who believed and obeyed and were spared the flood.

Discussion: Why is it significant that Jesus’ death paid the price for all past, present, and future sins?

III. Show Others (I Peter 3:21-22)

“²¹ Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.”

• The key word here is “corresponds” and is a noun that relates to a pattern or to symbolism. Peter is relating baptism as a counterpart to the Noahic flood. As the flood proclaimed the death of many who resisted the gospel, baptism proclaims our death to the old sinful life and our resurrection to the new life in Christ (c.f. Romans 6:1-4). Baptism means complete submersion. It demonstrates obedience and publicly declares their death to the old life. This is symbolic of a spiritual cleansing.
• Jesus’ ascension to the Father at the right hand declares his authority over all creatures, all authorities, and all things.
•  He is Lord of all. That includes our sufferings. This would have been an overwhelming encouragement to the suffering Asia Minor believers. Jesus defeated all wickedness , and His people will someday reign with Him.

Key Doctrine: Baptism

Lifeway Explore the Bible says, “Baptism is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus” (p. 72). 

Romans 6:3-5, “³ Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

Colossians 2:11-13, “¹¹ In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, ¹² having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. ¹³ And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,”

Discussion: “What is the purpose and importance of baptism? How did Peter’s illustration of baptism encourage those who needed hope in the midst of their suffering?” (p.73)

Devotional: “Suffering with Hope & I Peter 3:13-22”

     In the midst of suffering, the believer must cling to four things that increase his or her faith-filled hope: The example of Christ, the fellowship of suffering shared with Christ, their witness to the lost, their eternal reward.

     Christ suffered in our place in His incarnation, holy life, resistance to temptation, perseverance in his beating and torture on the cross, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension to the right hand of the Father. He sat down having completed the task assigned.

     The fellowship the believer shares with Christ increases a faith-filled hope. The word of God shows us that when we suffer for righteousness’ sake in the path as a believer—without retaliation—but praying for those who persecute us, we share in a special fellowship with other believers who suffer and we share in the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ. We show Christ in His sufferings more clearly to the unbeliever, and we share in His glorification as well. A believer who blesses those who curse him or her is a powerful witness to the lost. To bring this closer to our situations and lives, let me ask a question. What suffering has Jesus entrusted to you? What trial or test has He providentially entrusted to you as a stewardship for your good, for a witness to the lost, and for His glory—not outside of his sovereignty and goodness—but couched faithfully in it? Some believers God cannot entrust even burnt toast to. But if you are going through a trial, please know the empathetic ministry of Christ to you, His compassion toward you, His faithfulness to you, and His sovereignty and goodness that by the assurance of the blood of Christ and the resurrection of Christ will never fail you. In these ways you share in the sufferings of Christ and witness to the lost.

     Finally, there is a temporary nature to your present sufferings for Christ’s sake and there are eternal rewards that are permanently and indelibly stored in the Heaven—the new kingdom—for you. What a thought to be faithful in suffering, to store up treasures in heaven, to usher our once persecutors into the presence of Christ as cleansed believers forever safe in His arms, and to be able to lay crowns at Jesus’ nail-pierced feet someday. What an amazing thought. God bless you.

How to Pray:

• Help my present sufferings to point others to Christ.
• Help me to know the special fellowship of suffering with Christ, knowing I am not isolated to myself.
• Help my sufferings to win others to Christ.
• Thank You that because of this present suffering I am blessed with eternal rewards; help me not lose sight of that.