Trials and Glory - Part 3 - 1 Peter 3:18-22

Peter is saying expect to suffer unjustly. But don't get bitter and don't get critical, just be faithful and just remember above everything else that your Savior is reigning from the throne of glory. 

1 Peter 3:18-22 is recognized by many Bible students and scholars as one of the most difficult passages in the New Testament. And I know that good and godly people have disagreed in their interpretation of this passage; therefore, we are not going to make our interpretation a test of spirituality or of Christian fellowship. 

The words read like this, 1 Peter 3:18: "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened, made alive, by the Spirit: By whom also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Who at one time were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was preparing, in which few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water. The like figure unto which even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer or the declaration or the pledge of a good conscience toward God) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him."

Peter is focusing on three different ministries in this paragraph, and if you'll keep these ministries before you and the context of what Peter is writing, we'll understand more about what he's trying to say. First he talks about the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. Then to illustrate this he talks about the ministry of Noah. And then he relates it to the ministry of believers today. 

You see all scripture is given for practical purposes. All scripture is inspired of God and it's profitable for doctrine and also for reproof and also for correction and also for instruction in righteousness. And we don't study the word of God just to be curious or just to find out some deep truth. There is a lesson to be learned because there is a life to be lived. Keep in mind now that the context of this paragraph is the suffering of the believer. 

In 1 Peter 3:13, Peter started the fourth and final section of his letter. He's talked about the grace of God in salvation in 1 Peter 1:1-12. And then the grace of God in sanctification from 1 Peter 1:13-2:10. And then the grace of God in submission from 1 Peter 2:11-3:12. Now in 1 Peter 3:13 he's talking about the grace of God in suffering. You'll notice 1 Peter 3:14, "But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake." 1 Peter 3:17, "For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing for Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just one for the unjust." 

So the context here is that of unjust suffering. And Peter is saying to these Christians who are going through difficulty and trial and persecution: your Lord went through the same thing. Now he makes it very clear that the Lord Jesus Christ is the conqueror, the victor. Now his suffering is different from our suffering in this respect: his suffering was redemptive. Our suffering is not redemptive. We cannot suffer and pay the price for somebody else's sins, but he did. His suffering was undeserved; therefore, it was an act of grace and love. It was substitutionary; he did it for us. The just one died for the unjust. The word "just" is singular, referring to Jesus. The word "unjust" is plural, referring to you and me. And his suffering was once and for all; it was victorious. "Christ also hath once for all suffered for sins." A victorious suffering. 

His death brought about our salvation. Now what is this salvation? "That he might bring us to God." Just think about that. Back in the garden, our first parents sinned and they were driven out. They were not permitted back in paradise. They were separated from God. God forgave, God clothed, God restored. Throughout history you find the evident truth that man is at war with God. Now God is not at war with man, but man is at war with God. And Jesus died, the just for the unjust, once and for all on our behalf to bring us to God. 

That word "bring" is a beautiful word. It means to gain an audience at court. It's used in Romans 5:2: "We have access into this grace wherein we stand." Access to God. How many great people in this world have given you access? You can't walk in to see the President. You can't even get past the gate around the White House; you've got to have your credentials. You can't just walk in and see the Queen; you have to have the right credentials. But we can walk into the very presence of God. Jesus Christ has given us access at court. We can walk into the presence of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and he not only receives us, he welcomes us, and he encourages us to come. 

So Jesus Christ suffered and died. That's event number one. Now if he had stayed dead in the tomb there could be no redemption. And so he secondly arose from the dead. 1 Peter 3:18: "Being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit" or "in the spirit." Now this is a difficult phrase because in the Greek New Testament we have no capital letters. Sometimes the word translated "spirit" means the human spirit or the sphere of the human spirit. Sometimes it means the Holy Spirit. And there's no way for us to know for sure, especially in a text like 1 Peter 3:18. I think that he is saying here that our Lord Jesus Christ was put to death in the flesh, in the sphere of the flesh, and he was made alive in the sphere of the spirit. 

Now we do know the Holy Spirit was a part of the resurrection of Christ. The Father also raised him from the dead and Jesus said, "I lay down my life and I take it up again." But I think we have a parallel in Romans 1:3-4. In Romans 1:3-4, we are told: "concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." He's talking about two different spheres of life. Our Lord Jesus Christ, when he was raised from the dead, moved into a whole new sphere of life. He was now the glorified God-man. He had never been that before. And the Lord Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. This was proof that God the Father had accepted his sacrifice. 

Once again the resurrection is something that Peter likes to mention. 1 Peter 1:3: we're "begotten again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." 1 Peter 1:21: "he raised him up from the dead and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God." I believe Peter is saying here that Jesus Christ died in the sphere of humanity, the flesh. He was raised again to enter into a new sphere, the sphere of the spirit. 

So Jesus Christ suffered and died, event number one. He arose from the dead, event number two. Now he ascended to heaven. In 1 Peter 3:22: "Who is gone into heaven." That's a pretty clear statement, isn't it? He's gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God. Angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. In other words, he is victorious. The theologians say he had a virgin birth, a vicarious death, and a victorious resurrection and ascension. 

Now at some point, the Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed victory. This is the fourth event. In 1 Peter 3:19: "By whom" or "in which"—it can be translated that way—"he was put to death in the sphere of the flesh, he was made alive in the sphere of the spirit, in which sphere also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison." The Greek word translated "preached" is the word that means to herald, to announce a victory. Now the tense of the verb in 1 Peter 3:19 is what the Greek scholars call the aorist tense. The proclamation once and for all of a victory. Not a series of sermons that he preached someplace, not a series of invitations that he gave; one proclamation of victory. And he did this to the spirits in prison. And these spirits in prison apparently are angelic creatures who had something to do with the sins of man during the days of Noah. 

Now he's not talking about the spirits of people who died because when Peter talks about people, he calls them souls. 1 Peter 3:20: "few souls, that is, eight souls, were saved by water." What he's telling us simply is that Jesus Christ at some point proclaimed to the spirit world, and especially to these angelic creatures who had helped to bring the world into great confusion and corruption, he proclaimed victory. That he is now Lord and he's at the right hand of God. Angels and authorities and powers being made subject to him. 

Now that encourages me and it must have encouraged the people who read this letter centuries ago to know that their Savior is King of Kings, that he is Lord of Lords, that he is at the Father's right hand and they don't have to be afraid. That's what he said in 1 Peter 3:14: "And be not afraid of their terror." Yes, Jesus is on the throne and everything is in good hands today. 

We are living today in days similar to those of Noah's time. Days of violence. Days of corruption. And consequently, we have to live the kind of a life that God can bless and use. I think that Peter brings Noah into the picture because Noah is an illustration of baptism. That just as the water completely submerged the world, but that water lifted up the ark, bringing Noah and his family through to safety, so Jesus Christ through death, burial, and resurrection saves us. 

If you'll leave out the parenthesis in 1 Peter 3:21, you'll see the connection: "The like figure unto which even baptism doth also now save us... by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." In the early church, baptism was by immersion. This is agreed to by all Bible scholars who have looked into the discussion and the problem. Believers in the New Testament were immersed: death, burial, and resurrection. And that's what he's talking about. He's saying to these people: do you remember when you were baptized? You were put under the water. Well, the world one day was put under the water. Then you were brought up. Well, that water brought up Noah. And the same water that brought death to the world brought life to Noah. 

Now Peter is very, very careful to point out that we are not saved from our sins by baptism. We're saved through faith in Jesus Christ. What does baptism save us from? It saves us from a guilty conscience. "The answer of a good conscience toward God." The word "answer" is the word "pledge." The word can be translated "question." In the early church, people were not baptized automatically. They were questioned. And before a congregation, they affirmed their faith in Jesus Christ and they pledged their love to Jesus Christ. Now says Peter, do you remember when you did that? And then you were plunged under the water and you were brought up from the water. Now that is a picture of what the Lord Jesus did for you on the cross. 

There are two errors that you want to avoid as you interpret 1 Peter 3:18-22. One is: do not fall into the error that baptism saves us. Secondly: do not fall into the error that there's a second chance after death to be saved. There are those who believe that this teaches that Jesus went to the realm of the spirits, to the realm of the dead, and he announced the gospel and said that he had now died on the cross and therefore they could have another chance. That is not what Peter is saying at all. Peter would not contradict Hebrews 9:27: "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Not after that another chance. That's why it's so important that you and I get the gospel out while people have the opportunity to believe and be saved. 

The word "preached" in 1 Peter 3:19 is not the word for preaching the gospel. The word simply means to herald, not to evangelize. I believe he's talking about the announcement that our Lord Jesus Christ made that he had completely conquered sin and death and hell and every authority, and now he is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. 

You and I will agree, no matter how we interpret this passage, that the one message Peter is getting across is this: Christ is victorious. He was victorious in his suffering. He conquered them; they didn't conquer him. He didn't revile, he didn't rail, he didn't threaten. He was victorious in his suffering. He was victorious in his death. They didn't murder him; he laid down his life. He was victorious in his resurrection and he was victorious in his ascension. He's gone to heaven, he's at the right hand of God right now, and he knows your every need. He knows the struggles you're going through. 

This really amazes me, that the God of the galaxies who numbers and names every star knows my name. He knows my feelings, he knows my problems, he knows my burdens. He is at the right hand of God. Angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. Christ is victor. And no matter what problems or burdens or challenges or suffering or pain we face today, Jesus Christ is on the throne and he is victor. That's the message Peter wanted to get across. That's the message that Noah had to believe: that God was victorious. God reigned as king at the flood. And Noah knew that God was in control. Noah knew that God would tell him how to build the ark, when to get into the ark, that God would tell him when to get out of the ark. God was in control. 

I think there's a second lesson that Peter is teaching all of us here, namely, our baptism is important. Now I know people have different views of baptism, but Peter is talking to people who made decisions for Jesus Christ. They believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, were saved out of raw paganism, and then they were baptized. And he says: now look, your baptism is important because you are affirming in your baptism that you are identified with Jesus Christ in death, burial, and resurrection. Now remember, keep a good conscience toward God. Remember that you belong to him. Now the world's going to come and pressure you. The world's going to think you're strange. In fact, he says that in 1 Peter 4:4: "Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you." 

You know, when you ran around and got drunk and lived a wicked life, nobody said you were crazy. But then you start living a godly life and you don't waste your money on drink and you're faithful to your husband or your wife and you take care of your children—people say you're crazy. That's the kind of a world we live in and Peter says you be faithful in spite of pressure because your baptism is important. Just remember, you identified with Jesus Christ. 

I think he's telling us also that the great saints of God in the past can encourage us. And I think Peter is saying to us now: when you get discouraged, think about the great people of the Bible who overcame. Think about Noah who had to buck the whole world, had to fight the whole world. They laughed at him; they said he was crazy. Think of David, think of Isaiah, think of Jeremiah—the whole nation was against him. Think of our Lord Jesus: "For Christ also once hath suffered." And be faithful in spite of pressure. 

I think something else he's saying to us here is that we'd better seek to win the lost while we can. God is patiently waiting. Just as God patiently waited in the days of Noah, God is patiently waiting today. That's why Jesus Christ did not come back yesterday. Now he may come back today, but he didn't come back yesterday. You know why? He's giving people a chance to be saved. Peter writes about that in 2 Peter 3:9: "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise... but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." God is waiting that you might trust the Savior. There came a day when Noah closed the door and God closed the door and God sealed him in and nobody else could get in. The door was shut. But today the door is still open and you can believe and be saved. 

Finally, Peter is saying expect to suffer unjustly. Don't be surprised at it, just expect it. Expect that when you tell the truth, they'll lie. Expect that when you love, they'll hate. Just expect it; it's a part of the world. But don't get bitter and don't get critical, just be faithful and just remember above everything else that your Savior is reigning from the throne of glory.