1 Peter 3:21

Plain English Version

That water is a picture of the baptism ceremony. Like the time our Christian leaders put us under the water to baptise us. They didn’t do that to wash the dirt off the outside of us. No. It’s like that water washed the shame from inside us. When we asked those leaders to baptise us, we asked God to make us clean on the inside, so that we will not feel shame any more. So God saves us and gives us new life. Yes, we can have new life because, after Jesus died, he came back to life again.

Cross References

Matthew 28:19

So go out to all the people in the world, and tell them about me. Teach those people to follow my way, and baptise them with water to show that they belong to the father, and the son, and the Holy Spirit.

Mark 16:16

Some people will believe that message, and then you have to take them through that special washing ceremony, called baptism. God will save those people. But God will not save people that don’t believe that message. He will blame them and say they are guilty.

John 13:9

Then Peter said, “Well, sir, don’t just wash my feet. Wash my hands and head too.”

Acts 16:33

Then, while it was still night time, the jail boss washed the sores on their backs, and Paul and Silas baptised the jail boss and his family.

Acts 2:38

Peter told them, “You have to turn around and follow Jesus. Then let us baptise you, to show that you turned away from the wrong things you are doing, and now you follow Jesus Christ. Then God will not do payback to you for those bad things. And he will give you the Holy Spirit to live in you, just like he promised. You see, God promised to give the Holy Spirit to everyone that he picks to be his own people. That promise is for you, and for your kids, and even for people in other countries a long way away.”

Acts 22:16

So now, don’t wait. Stand up, and I will baptise you. Pray to our leader, Jesus, and ask him to wash you properly inside, so God will not punish you for all the bad things you did.’ That’s what Ananias said to me.”

Acts 8:36

They kept going along the road, and they came to some water. The Ethiopian man said, “Look, there is some water. I want you to baptise me now.”

1 Corinthians 12:13

Some of us are Jews, and the rest of us are not Jews. Some of us are free, and some of us are like prisoners that have to work for no pay. But no matter what we are, God put his spirit into all of us, that is, he baptised us in his spirit. He did that to join us together into one body. Now we all have that same Holy Spirit in us.

1 Corinthians 4:6

My Christian friends, I’ve been talking about Apollos and me, to help you to understand the things we teach you. You know that wise people say this, “Don’t do anything more than what is in God’s book.” We want to help you learn what that means. You see, nobody can say that one person is better than another person.

Galatians 3:27

You know, when the church leaders baptised you, they took you through that special washing ceremony to show that you are joined to Jesus Christ, and now it is like you are wearing new clothes. It is like you are wearing Jesus Christ himself.

Ephesians 5:26

He washed us properly clean, not just with water in the baptism ceremony, but with his word too.

Colossians 2:12

You know, after you became a Christian, the church leaders baptised you. You went into the water, then you came up out of it. In that ceremony, it’s like you did what Jesus did. He died, and it’s like that bad part of your spirit died. And God made him alive again, and he came up out of the grave. And now you believe that God has strong power, and your spirit is joined to Jesus, so God’s power makes your spirit alive too, just like he made Jesus alive again.

1 Timothy 1:5

You see, you have to teach people to do what is right, and to believe in God properly, and to never do bad things. Then they will properly love each other all the time. We want people to follow the things that we teach, so that they live that way.

1 Timothy 6:12

It’s like we are in a big fight against the devil and all his bad spirit mob. He wants us to go wrong and stop believing in Jesus. But Jesus gives us really good life that goes on for ever, so we have to keep on trusting Jesus for that life, and then we will win the fight against that bad spirit mob. Remember the time that you first believed in Jesus, and you told a lot of people about it. That was the time he called you to follow him, and to get that life that goes on for ever. So now keep on believing in Jesus, and keep on following him so that you keep on living that good life for ever.

1 Peter 1:3

God is very good to us. We went wrong, but he feels sorry for us, and he is good to us. Now he puts new life in us, like we get born all over again. Jesus died, but God brought him back to life. From that we know that God will save us too. So let us thank God, the father of our leader, Jesus, and say that he is really good.

1 Peter 3:16

Tell them clearly, and respect them as you talk to them. Make sure you always live the right way, so you don’t feel shame. Some people rubbish Christians, but if they see you doing the right things, they will feel shame about themselves.