Peter's first epistle describes a baptism of salvation which owes nothing to the Jewish ritual concept of putting away the filth of the flesh. On the other hand, the book of Hebrews urges Jewish disciples to have had their bodies washed with pure water, clearly reflecting Jewish ritual practices. When a large, first century remnant of Jewish believers in Yeshua is kept in view the apparent contradiction between these two epistles vanishes. Here we look at 1 Peter 3:21.
"Which also an antitype now saves us, baptism. Not of flesh, a putting away of filth, but of a good conscience, an 'eperotema' (ἐπερώτημα) into God through the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah." (from the Greek)
21 ο και υμας αντιτυπον νυν σωζει βαπτισμα ου σαρκος αποθεσις ρυπου αλλα συνειδησεως αγαθης επερωτημα εις θεον δι αναστασεως ιησου χριστου
This verse emphasizes that the baptism of salvation is not a Jewish baptism "of flesh" for "putting away of filth."
Since Peter had been an observant second Temple Jew we must realize he is using the word "baptisma" in a way that shifts its meaning far from ritual purification of the flesh, including John's end-time baptism for Israel.
This verse might easily be seen as Peter's clarification of New Covenant baptism, i.e. that R. John had baptized repentant Jews (who were certainly seeking a good conscience) with water for the purification of the flesh (John 3:25), but now Messiah baptizes all humble, repentant disciples with His Spirit, all who will appeal to Him, to set their minds at eternal rest.
One may glean from this verse the fact that Jews of second Temple days attributed different effects to various baptisms, taking us far beyond a naked act of immersion.
Moreover, not just any baptism for ritual cleansing of flesh would save, only a special baptism of the conscience would save.
As an observant Jew Peter ritually purified himself, that was his obligation. But now with Messiah's resurrection he knew of a different baptism of conscience, the character of which becomes clear when we review the opening lines of his epistle;
"...According to the foreknowledge of God the Father in sanctification of the Spirit, to the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Yeshua the Messiah."
And we then compare with Hebrews 9:14,
"How much more will the blood of Messiah...cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living God."
According to the Jewish imagery of both Hebrews and Peter's letter the sprinkling of the blood of Messiah is vital for believers, just as the blood of holy animal sacrifices was crucial before the New Covenant was established.
Hebrews informs us the sprinkling "cleanses the conscience" and this parallels Peter's remark that the baptism that saves involves a "good conscience." So just how are disciples "sprinkled with the blood of Messiah?" Obviously not physically, but by operation of the Holy Spirit.
All who receive the Holy Spirit have been made holy, sanctified. And for every believer the "Spirit of Messiah" is the tangible inner reality of Messiah Himself.
Consider how Joseph was reassured of Miriam (Mary) his wife, "that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit."
Years later it was the Spirit who led Messiah to R. John to be baptized.
The Spirit as a dove came to abide with Messiah in the sacred drama, and led Him to His temptations, and gave Him the power to overcome.
The Spirit was the "Finger of God" in Messiah's miraculous service.
The Spirit led Yeshua to Passover in Jerusalem, led Him to the garden of Gethsemane, led Him to confess, "My Kingdom is not of this world," led Him to declare, "It is finished...Father into thy hands I commit My spirit."
The Spirit raised Him from the dead.
There is no detail about Messiah which the Spirit does not fully know, even the depths of suffering and death. Because of this complete knowledge the Holy Spirit is able to impart all the eternal power of Messiah's Sacrifice, which in short is called His "blood." How can anyone be "sprinkled with the blood of Messiah"? By receiving the out-poured Spirit.
A good conscience believes the Good News of forgiveness of sins and humbly sees the need of eternal purification, seeking God through Yeshua. The moment a disciple receives the Spirit the true purification through Yeshua's blood is made real in the inner man.
The change of nature wrought by the Spirit is the antitype of the event that saved Noah and his family. Just as the poured out water from Heaven saved faithful Noah from the wicked world, so the Spirit, poured out from Heaven, now saves the believer from the same kind of perishing world. Peter's "baptism that saves" is not a water ritual but is of the Holy Spirit.
We should also keep in mind 1 Peter was most likely written around thirty years after the resurrection, and quite possibly was meant to correct the idea that Israel's Messianic water baptism was crucial to God for salvation.
Most exegetes today take this passage to speak of water baptism. Many scholars have called 1 Peter a "Baptismal Treatise."1 But viewed in light of an experiential Spirit Baptism it is difficult to believe Peter describes water baptism. Indeed, long before this letter was written Peter had come to see true purification in terms of being baptized with the Spirit in the episode of gentile salvation.
13 "And [Cornelius] reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, 'Send to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here;
14 and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.'
15 "And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning.
16 "And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' Acts 11:13-16 (NASB)
According to Acts, from Peter's own mouth the baptism which explicitly saves is explicitly Spirit baptism! Certainly he did not change his mind in his epistle years later, which, in fact, is thought to have been written about the time Acts was being composed which recorded his earlier words. In other words, Luke may possibly have heard the story of Cornelius' salvation directly from Peter.
The unusual Greek word eperotema (επερώτημα) has added confusion. It has been translated variously as;
"Answer," KJV;
"Pledge," NIV;
"Interrogation," ASV;
"Appeal," NASB.
The ideas in these translations range from "answer or pledge" to the opposite side of the conscience with "interrogation or appeal."
So, on the one side it is believed water baptism is an act performed as an answer or pledge of a good conscience. On the other side, it is an interrogation or appeal for a good conscience.
Both sides have the disciple performing the water baptism, either to "get" a good conscience or to say that he "has" a good conscience. This act by the disciple is supposed to be the baptism that saves. We ought to admit there is not much resemblance to Noah's divinely out-poured water from Heaven.
Yet another idea associated with the word eperotema moves the baptism out of the hands of the disciples back into the hands of God, and not water but Spirit. It falls between the two sides, namely,
"The answer to an inquiry put to a higher authority."2
In such a case a disciple who has heard the Good News, repented and, with a good conscience, turned to God through the resurrection of Messiah will then receive the "answer to his inquiry into God," the Gift of the Spirit, out-poured from Heaven like the water of the Flood, now the unforgettable baptism that saves.
This teaching is specifically meant to locate Israel's end-time rite which puts away filth of the flesh in its proper place as a Messianic Jewish ritual, not universal Christian baptism for all believers.
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1See survey in Beasley-Murray, Baptism, pp 251-8.
2Liddel-Scott Lexicon, 1968.; Brown, The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, vol. 2, p 881, "The answer by God to such a question i.e. the granting of a clear conscience towards God."; Beasley-Murray, Baptism, p 261, "a formal question and consent of two parties making a contract...Pledge given in response to a demand." (However, according to Beasley-Murray God makes the demand and new believers obey through a first step, water baptism.)