Sometimes we get so caught up with cultural forms of Christianity that push their own spin on these points – and yet, a simple reading of 1 Peter 3:13-22 highlights how the first Christians (the Apostles no less!) did indeed understand Jesus to be ‘God in the flesh’ and that Baptism was God’s appointed extension of the saving work of Jesus on the cross – so that Baptism does indeed save us – it’s not just symbolic.