21 That water, by means of which eight people were saved when God punished the other people [MET], represents the water in which we are baptized to show that God has saved us from being punished. The water in which we are baptized does not remove dirt from our bodies. Instead, it shows that we are requesting God to assure us that he has removed our guilt for having sinned. And because Jesus Christ became alive again after he died, we know that God accepted his sacrifice for us and because of that he was able to remove our guilt.