Are we SAVED BY WATER?
A
Look at 1Kefa 3:20-21
by James Scott Trimm
In a recent
discussion 1Kefa 3:20-21 came up. This passage is a stock "proof text" used by
the "Church of Christ" (i.e. "Cambelites" or those of the "Restoration"
movement"). Those of this movement often use this verse to "prove" their
doctrine that a person cannot be saved unless they have been water baptized.
This false doctrine is rooted in the KJV wording of these verses:
3:20
Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in
the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight
souls were saved by water.
3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth
also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer
of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ:
(1Peter 3:20-21 KJV)
The key phrases that these "Water Works"
salvationists home in on are "were saved by water" and "baptism doth also now
save us".
Now it is very interesting how quickly this "proof text"
evaporates when we look at it in the original Aramaic writings.
First of
all lets look at 1Kefa 3:20 and at the Aramaic which correspond with the phrase
"were saved by water".
The Aramaic word for "were saved"
is CHAYA (Strong's Heb. no. 2418) "to live:-- live, keep alive" which is often
used to mean
"salvation". The word for "by" is the Aramaic preposition B'
which can have a wide variety of meaning "in, at, on, by or with". Now the
Aramaic phrase in 1Kefa is best translated "were kept alive on the water" as it
reads in the HRV rather than"were saved by water" as the KJV (and the Greek)
reads. The Greek translator misunderstood the word CHAYA to mean "saved" and the
preposition B' to mean "by"
resulting in the errant translation meaning "were
saved by water". On the contrary Noah and his family were not "saved by water"
but were saved FROM water BY their trusting faithfulness. As we read in
Hebrews:
By a work of faith Noach honored Elohim and prepared an ark to
save his house by which he was given a warning from Elohim from which was yet
not seen by which he condemned the world and inherited righteousness by a work
of faith.
(Hebrews 11:7 HRV)
Thus we see that Noach and his house were
saved BY faith FROM the water.
Let us next examine the phrase "The like
figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us...". The HRV reads here
"For also you live by the same
type, by immersion...". Again the word "saved"/"live" is CHAYA (Strong's Heb.
2418).
This immersion was distinct from water immersion. Yochanan
stated:
Behold I am only immersing you in water to repentance,
and he
that comes after me us mightier than I, whose
sandles I am not fit to carry,
and he will immerse you
with the fire of the Ruach HaKodesh.
(Mt. 3:11
HRV; See also: Mk. 1:8; Lk. 3:16 and Acts 11:16)
In Acts 19:2-4 Paul met
some persons who had been immersed in water but had not experianced this
immersion of the Ruach HaKodesh.
We have been immersed into Messiah (Rom.
6:3-4; Gal. 3:27), we all have "the Spirit of Messiah", which is the Spirit
which raised Messiah (Rom.
8:9-11) in our hearts (Gal. 4:6; Eph. 3:17). This
is the "Spirit of Eloah"
(1Jn. 4:12-13), or the "Holy Spirit" (1Cor. 6:19;
1Thes.4:8). Thus we were all saved by receiving the "baptism of the Holy Spirit"
by faith. (see also Jn. 7:37-39; 14:7; Acts 10:44; 11:15-17;
15:8-9).
James Scott Trimm