First Peter 3:22 tells us that Christ “is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, angels and authorities and powers being subjected to Him.” Immediately after mentioning the baptism, Peter speaks of the angels and authorities and powers being subjected to Christ. This shows not only the power of Christ but also the authority that He possesses. When we baptize others into the name of the Lord Jesus, we are doing a powerful thing. This is because we are baptizing them into the name of One who is more powerful than the angels, authorities, and powers.
This additional word not only unveils to us the glorious result of the suffering of Christ—His exaltation after His resurrection and the high and honorable position He now holds in the heavens at the right hand of God—but also indicates how glorious and honorable is the organic union we have entered into with Him through baptism, for we were baptized into Him (Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27).
Today the resurrected Christ is at the right hand of God. Christ has gone into heaven, and angels, authorities, and powers have all been subjected to Him. Through baptism we have been put into Christ, and now we have an organic union with Him. The Christ to whom we have been joined organically is not only the resurrected One but also the ascended One. Therefore, through the organic union we are brought not only into Christ’s resurrection but also into His ascension and exaltation. This means that, because we are in Christ, the angels, authorities, and powers are subject to us as well as to Him. We are one with the crucified, resurrected, and exalted Christ.
First Peter 3:15-16 says, “Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, being always ready for a defense to everyone who asks of you an account concerning the hope which is in you, yet with meekness and fear, having a good conscience, so that in the matter in which you are spoken against, those who revile your good manner of life in Christ may be put to shame.” We need to sanctify Christ as Lord first in our hearts inwardly and then with a good manner of life in Him outwardly. This means that first in our hearts we respect Him as the Lord; then in our behavior we express Him as the Lord in a good manner of life in Him. This expression will cause others to sanctify Him, that is, to see that He is the sanctified Lord.
If we are terrified and troubled by the persecutors (vv. 13-14), it will appear that we do not have the Lord in our hearts. So, in suffering persecution we should show others that we have Christ as Lord within us. This is to sanctify Him, to separate Him, from the other gods, not degrading Him so that He appears to be like the lifeless idols.
In sufferings that come from opposition and persecution, we should sanctify Christ as Lord in our hearts. The word sanctify in Greek means to “set apart, to separate from things that are common.” This is to make something particular and even outstanding. In our suffering of persecution, we should make Christ particular; we should show that He is magnificent, absolutely different from idols. Sanctifying Christ as Lord in our hearts is not a matter of outward activity to set Him apart from what is common; it is an inward matter. To sanctify Christ as Lord in our hearts means that when we are under persecution, we have the Lord in our hearts. If we allow the Lord to be the Lord in our hearts when we suffer persecution, we will express Him. This expression spontaneously will sanctify Christ and set Him apart from idols.
If we are timid and fearful when suffering persecution, the Lord will not be sanctified in us. What a shame that would be to Him! It will appear as if we do not have the Lord in our hearts. Whenever we suffer persecution, others must realize that we have Christ within us as Lord. But if we are timid and fearful, others will think that we do not have anything within us. They will have the impression that we do not have the living Lord in us. But if we are bold, sanctifying the Lord in our hearts and expressing Him in our faces, others will realize that we do have something within us. This is to sanctify Christ as Lord in our hearts.
In verse 16 Peter goes on to say, “Having a good conscience, so that in the matter in which you are spoken against, those who revile your good manner of life in Christ may be put to shame.” Since the conscience is a part of our human spirit (Rom. 9:1; 8:16), to care for our conscience is to care for our spirit before God. A Christian’s good manner of life should be one that is in Christ. It is a living, a daily life, in the Spirit. This is higher than a living that is merely ethical and moral.
If we would have a good manner of life and sanctify the Lord in our daily life, we must take care of our conscience. It is not sufficient for us to be justified by others. We need to be justified by our own conscience. We should not be satisfied that we are justified by the community, by the brothers, or even by the entire church. No one knows us as thoroughly as our conscience does. This is especially true of the enlightened conscience of the regenerated spirit. A renewed conscience enlightened by the indwelling Spirit is trustworthy in its testimony and accurate in its judgment. The judgment of our enlightened conscience is more accurate than someone else’s judgment of us.
The enlightened conscience of our regenerated spirit is an inner judge. This inner judge cooperates with the indwelling God. The reason the enlightened conscience of the regenerated spirit can be an inner judge is that it cooperates with the indwelling God. For this reason, the judgment of the enlightened conscience is thorough and accurate. Therefore, we must take care of our conscience.
In the church life apparently we may be honest and faithful. However, our conscience may know that in certain things we have not been altogether honest and faithful to the church. Therefore, it is very important that we take care of our conscience.