Peter saw in the Flood a picture (type) of a Christian’s experience of baptism. No matter what mode of baptism we may accept, it is certain that the early church practiced immersion. It is a picture of our Lord’s death, burial, and resurrection. Many people today do not take baptism seriously, but it was a serious matter in the early church. Baptism meant a clean break with the past, and this could include separation from a convert’s family, friends, and job. Candidates for baptism were interrogated carefully, for their submission in baptism was a step of consecration.
The Flood pictures death, burial, and resurrection. The waters buried the earth in judgment, but they also lifted Noah and his family up to safety. The early church saw in the ark a picture of salvation. Noah and his family were saved by faith because they believed God and entered into the ark of safety. So sinners are saved by faith when they trust Christ and become one with Him.
It may be worth noting that the chronology of the Flood is closely related to our Lord’s day of resurrection. Noah’s ark rested on Ararat on the seventeenth day of the seventh month (Gen 8:4). The Jewish civil year started with October; the religious year started with the Passover in April (Ex 12:1-2), but that was not instituted until Moses’ time. The seventh month from October is April. Our Lord was crucified on the fourteenth day, Passover (Ex. 12:6), and resurrected after three days. This takes us to the seventeenth day of the month, the date on which the ark rested on Mt. Ararat, So, the illustration of Noah relates closely to Peter’s emphasis on the resurrection of the Saviour. (taken from the Bible Expository Commentary)
In (3:19-20), Peter writes “through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.” Many people think that Christ’s Spirit went into Hades between His death and resurrection to offer people who lived before the Flood a second chance for salvation. However, this interpretation has no scriptural support. There is no second chance of Salvation for any human being after his or her death. Perhaps Jesus went into Hades to proclaim His victory and final condemnation to the fallen angels imprisoned there since Noah’s day. The passage shows that Christ’s Good News of Salvation and victory is not limited to a particular area. It has been preached in the past as well as in the present. It has gone to the dead as well as to the living. God has given everyone an opportunity to come to Him, but this does not imply a second chance for those who reject Christ in this life.
Noah was the pre-incarnate Christ. Christ’s spirit was in Noah. He is a type of Christ. During the 120 years, although people mocked at him for building a ship in the desert land where floods was an impossible sight, Noah endured the scorn and obeyed the Lord to complete the ship. Noah had a clear conscience before God, though it meant enduring harsh ridicule. Noah did not fear men but obeyed God and proclaimed His message. Noah’s reward for keeping a clear conscience in unjust suffering was the salvation of himself and his family, who were saved through water, being brought safely through the Flood.
Baptism does not save from sin, but from a bad conscience. Peter clearly taught that baptism was not merely a ceremonial act of physical purification, but the pledge of a good conscience. Baptism is the symbol of what has already occurred in the heart and life of one who has trusted Christ as Saviour (Col. 2:12). Peter has witnessed Christ’s physical Ascension (Mk. 16:19; Lk.24:51; Acts 1:6-11), Peter wrote that Christ has gone into heaven. The reward for Christ’s faithfulness is seen in His exaltation over all things. He is enthroned at God’s right hand, the seat of supreme honour, to rule and reign over all creation (Col.1:15-16).