For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God.[e] It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him. 1 peter 3:18-22

This passage very closely linked with 3:13–17 and the passage is intended to ground the immediately preceding claim that it is better to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

Even though Christ suffered unjustly to death for doing good, that suffering was not the defeat it may have appeared to be but was instead a victory over all angels, authorities, and powers (3:22). Suffering unjustly for doing good is therefore not the final judgment about who is in the right. Moreover, Peter is keen to impress on his readers that nothing that can come against them is beyond the control of the risen and living Christ (3:22). Hence, if they suffer for being Christians, it is within God’s will (3:17). Peter here exhorts Christians to identify with the victorious Christ if they intend to follow in his footsteps. It is better to suffer for doing good, as Christ did, because that is the way to follow Christ to victory.

Speaking about baptism Peter says baptism in itself does not remove moral filth once and for all so that Christians need not be concerned with how they live. Rather, he reminds his readers that at baptism they pledged to live in relationship with God, which would result in a good conscience before him. Therefore, he can exhort them to continue to live, even under persecution, in a way that honours their baptism. The efficacy of water baptism is completely dependent on Christ’s resurrection (3:21).

40 days after the resurrection Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and sat at God’s right hand with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him. This refers to complete victory of Jesus Christ over every powers. As Christians we do not fight for the victory, but we begin from the victory – the mighty victory that our Lord Jesus Christ won for us in His death, resurrection and ascension.