I Peter 3
Christian lifestyle of a wifeverses 1-6
Likewise – you wives – be in subjection to your own husbands
that – IF any obey not the word
they also may without the word BE WON by
the conversation of the wives
while they behold your chaste conversation
coupled with fear
Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair
wearing of gold – putting on of apparel
but let it be the hidden man of the heart
in that which is not corruptible
even the ornament of a MEEK and QUIET spirit
which is in the sight of God of great price
FOR after this manner in the old time the holy women also
who trusted in God – adorned themselves
being in subjection to their own husbands
EVEN as Sarah obeyed Abraham – calling him lord
whose daughters you are – as long as you do well
and are not afraid with any amazement
Christian lifestyle of a husbandverse 7
Likewise – you husbands – dwell with them according to knowledge
giving honor to the wife – as to the weaker vessel
and as being heirs together of the grace of life
THAT your prayers be not hindered
Christian lifestyle of believers in generalverses 8-12
Finally – BE you all of one mind – having compassion one of another
love as brethren – BE pitiful – BE courteous
not rendering evil for evil – or railing for railing
BUT contrariwise blessing
Knowing that you are thereunto called
that you should inherit a blessing
FOR he that will love life – and see good days
let him refrain his tongue from evil
and his lips that they speak no guile
let him eschew evil – and do good
let him seek peace – and ensue it
FOR the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous
and HIS ears are open to their prayers
BUT face of the Lord is against them that do evil
Christian lifestyle to the worldverses 13-17
AND who is he that will harm you
IF you be followers of that which is good?
BUT and if you suffer for righteousness’ sake – happy are you
and be not afraid of their terror – neither be troubled
BUT sanctify the Lord God in your hearts
and be READY always to give an answer to every man
that ASKS you a REASON of the hope that is in you
with MEEKNESS and FEAR
having a good conscience
that – whereas they speak evil of you – as evildoers
they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good
conversation in Christ
FOR it is better – IF the will of God be so – that you suffer for well-doing
than for evildoing
Example of Christ’s ministryverses 18-22
For Christ also has 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 by the Spirit
by which also HE went and preached to the
spirits in prison
which sometime were disobedient
when once the long-suffering of God waited
in the days of Noah
while the ark was preparing – wherein few
that is eight souls were saved by water
The like figure whereunto even baptism does also now save us
(not the putting away of the filth of the flesh
but the answer 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 – authorities – powers being made subject to HIM
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. (2272 “quiet” [hesuchios] means peaceable, tranquil, still, at rest, at ease, undisturbing, or causing no disturbance to others)
DEVOTION: Peter spends six verses on the characteristics of wives and only one on men. It would seem that women were brought to Christ easier than their husbands in the society in which Peter lived.
All these characteristics were to lead a man to realize that there is something to Christianity that he needs. He would see by the lifestyle of his wife that she was different from the rest of the wives in his day.
It seems that most of the wives were more concerned with their outward appearance rather than their inner heart. He wanted them to realize that God changes them from the inside out.
Too often I have seen women try to force their husband to become a Christian by the conversation of their mouth rather than through the means that Peter advised.
Very few men will listen to their wives if their actions are negative toward them. Jesus wants women married to unsaved men to be meek and quiet. It is not an easy task to win their husband to the LORD. Many never do but the LORD is able as long as they are obedient to the Word of God.
Peter’s instructions are good today. Those in mixed marriages need to trust that the LORD knows what HE is talking about through Peter. I have observed men change when their wives manifest this type of attitude. They are not to compromise their Biblical standards but are to show through their life that they genuinely care about their salvation.
I have had four men who were married to wives who were believers that I have prayed for many years. Two are still not believers: Darwin and Tony. I ask that you pray for their wives to have this attitude toward them. I ask that you pray for their husbands to see Christ in them and want to become believers.
CHALLENGE: Who do you know in this situation? Are you praying regularly for them? Start today!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 7 Likewise, you husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered. (772 “weaker” [asthenes] means strengthless, more feeble, impotent, without strength, infirm or pertaining to being of smaller physical frame)
DEVOTION: Marriage is under attack today. God commands that marriage is between one woman and one man. HIS standard is that they should be married for life to each other. There was not to be a second wife. HE didn’t want divorce but because of the hardness of heart HE allowed a bill of divorcement.
Peter is concerned about marital relationships. He warns wives to be subject to their own husband. If her husband is not a believer he might be won by the lifestyle of the wife. She was to be one who has a meek and quiet spirit. She was not to be concerned with outward appearance as much as with her inward spiritual life.
He gives an example of the relationship between Sarah and Abraham. She called him Lord. All future believers are to follow her example. The relationship between the husband and wife is critical to family relationships.
This is a hard verse to understand in our present age. The Scriptures teach that Satan deceived Eve. Adam was not deceived. All that is taught in our present society regarding women confuses husbands sometimes. The Bible commands women how they are to act in relation to their husbands.
Wives will have to answer to God for how they live their lives with their own husbands. The problem today is that many Christian couples think that divorce is the answer to the problems they are having with each other. Divorce is never the answer to the problems in any marriage. Divorce was given because of the hardness of the hearts of those involved in the marriage. Sometimes separation is necessary.
God wants each person in a marriage to honor and love HIM. Then their marriage will work. Second marriages don’t get rid of the problems, they just add to the problem. God is not confused. Men have the greater responsibility in the marriage. Women who take advantage of this fact will answer to the LORD for their actions.
Women need a meek and quiet spirit. Men are to treat their wives with honor and respect. Men are not to be ungracious to their wives.
If men treat their wife wrong, their prayers are not being heard of the LORD. If husbands want their prayers to be answered and have a great relationship with God, they need to treat their wife with honor and respect. IF they do it properly their marriage with be blessed.
Are Christian husbands honoring their wives? Can we change? Are Christian wives being submissive to their husbands? Are Christian wives winning their unsaved husbands to the LORD through their Biblical behavior?
CHALLENGE: Change is possible. Marriage takes work. Peter had a mother-in-law, he knows what he was talking about in marriage!!!
: 12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and HIS ears are open to their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. (1162 “prayers” [deesis] means supplication, request, want, penury, asking, entreating, or an earnest or urgent request)
DEVOTION: We know that the Bible teaches that God is present everywhere at the same time. HE is not limited to being in one place at one time. Jesus when HE came to this earth limited HIMSELF to one place at one time but that was only for the time period HE lived on this earth.
God is also all-knowing. There is nothing that HE doesn’t know about us. HE knows our every thought. HE knows our every need. HE expects those who love HIM to come to HIM in prayer believing that HE hears their prayers and will give them the appropriate answer. HE knows what we need and when we need it.
So HIS eyes are on us all the time. We think we can hide things from our parents. We think we can hide things from our spouse. We think we can hide things from our friends. These thought might be true but we can’t hide anything about ourselves from God.
If we as believers do evil HE sees it and corrects us for doing it. HE sees those who are not believers doing evil and HE will judge them either right away or in eternity. HE knows what is best for those who have rejected HIS Son as their Savior.
The difference between HIS treatment of believers and those who reject Jesus is that HE loves us so much that HE wants to see us change. If HE doesn’t correct you through your family or other means then you should ask yourself if you are a genuine believer. Those HE loves HE corrects.
CHALLENGE: Our life is one that can be blessed of the LORD as long as we are obedient to HIM in all of our relationships. HE is watching US!!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 14 But and if you suffer for righteousness sake, happy are you: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled. (3107 “happy” [makarios] means blessed, being highly favored, fortunate, or well off)
DEVOTION: Many times, believers are afraid to act like believers for fear of being made fun of or losing their job. It seems that the easier way out of any problem is to not be a witness for the LORD in our world.
The problem comes when we not only don’t talk to others about the LORD but they see our actions as not being the same as their actions and start commenting about it. They want you to act just like they do with their language and actions. They want you to be lazy and not get so much work done because it makes them look bad. They want you to take things home with you from the job, so that, they don’t feel guilty when they steal things from work.
When you act righteous in the world, they see it as someone condemning them for their actions. They don’t like it so Peter states that even in his time there were people who would threaten those who didn’t act the same way as them. They would give those who didn’t act like them trouble in the workplace.
This can happen even today. Peter states that this should not stop true believers from acting the way the LORD would have them act. Remember it is HIM that gives us the ability to get work. It is HIS responsibility to provide for our every need. If we lose our job for being righteous, HE will provide another joy. If there are those who threaten us on the job HE can provide protection for us.
We are to depend on HIM all the time and in every situation. HE can bless us for our proper actions. Remember HE looks at our motives as well as our actions. If we are doing it for HIS glory we will be blessed.
This doesn’t guarantee we will never suffer for a time period for doing well. It just guarantees that the LORD is with you during this time period and will help us through it.
CHALLENGE: Should the presence of the LORD be enough to get us through the tough times? HE promises to never leave us or forsake us. It has been enough for me.
:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. (3115 “longsuffering” [makrothumia] means 1 patience, endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance. 2 patience, forbearance, longsuffering, slowness in avenging wrongs. [Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship].)
DEVOTION: This is one of the most misunderstood passages in the New Testament. It has been used as support for the argument that the “sons of God” mentioned in Genesis 6 were demons who married earthly women and had offspring which were half human and half-demonic, and that this was the reason why God decided to destroy the whole earth with a flood.
While this makes for interesting science fiction, the text of Genesis does not support this conclusion, and Jesus Himself did not give any credence to this idea.
What is interesting about the narrative about Noah in Genesis 6-9 is that there was a period of 100 years between the time that God announced to Noah that He was going to destroy the world through a flood and when it actually happened. During that time, people laughed at Noah and his sons as they worked on the ark, and pretty much went on living life as usual (2 Peter 2:5, Matthew 24:38-39). God would have been justified in sending destruction upon them the same way that He did on Sodom and Gomorrah from day 1 of His announcement, but that was not consistent with the longsuffering and patience of God in dealing with these people.
What we see also from this passage is the difference between God’s longsuffering and ours. We are motivated to seek justice for ourselves, and so we ask God to act right away on our behalf when we feel as though our rights have been violated. Yet, God will settle accounts ultimately in His timing, and we need to be content in allowing Him to do so.
CHALLENGE: Do not assume that God’s patience with you or others will last forever. There is coming a day when He will judge all of us according to the His standards. While God continues to show His longsuffering and patience, do everything you can to lead others to faith in Jesus Christ! Who do you need to witness to today? (MW)
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Husbands prayers can be hinderedverse 7
Lord’s ears are open to prayers of righteousverse 12
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Wordverse 1
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
Godverses 4, 5, 15, 17, 18, 20-22
Sight of Godverse 4
Will of Godverse 17
Longsuffering of Godverse 20
Right hand of Godverse 22
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Lordverses 12, 15
Eyes of the Lordverse 12
Ears of the Lord open to prayersverse 12
Face of the Lordverse 12
Sanctify the Lord Godverse 15
Christverses 18, 21
Suffered for sinsverse 18
Just for the unjustverse 18
Bring us to Godverse 18
Deathverse 18
Quickened by the Spiritverse 18
Preached to spirits in prisonverse 19
Jesusverse 21
Jesus Christ verse 21
Resurrection of Jesus Christ verse 21
Heavenverse 22
Right hand of Godverse 22
Angelic host made subject to HIMverse 22
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Spiritverse 18
Quickened by the Spiritverse 18
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Angelsverse 22
Authoritiesverse 22
Powersverse 22
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Wives = subjectionverses 1-6
win by lifestyle their unsaved husband
chaste conversation
coupled with fear
adorning not outward
meek and quiet spirit
holy women = trusted in God
subjection to own husband
Sarahverse 6
obeyed Abraham
calling him Lord
Abrahamverse 6
Husbands = dwell with according to knowledgeverse 7
give honor to wife
weaker vessel
heirs together
grace of life
prayers not hindered
Noahverse 20
Ark
Eight souls saved by water
Filth of the fleshverse 21
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Obey not the wordverse 1
Corruptibleverse 4
Evilverses 9, 11, 12, 16
Railingverse 9
Refrain tongue from evilverse 10
Guileverse 10
Evildoerverses 16, 17
Falsely accuseverse 16
Sinsverse 18
Unjustverse 18
Disobedientverse 20
Filth of the fleshverse 21
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Subjectionverses 1, 5
Chaste conversationverses 2, 16
Fear of the LORDverses 2, 15
Meek and quiet spiritverse 4
Trustverse 5
Obeyverse 6
Honor wifeverse 7
Heirverse 7
Graceverse 7
Prayersverses 7, 12
One mindverse 8
Compassionverse 8
Loveverse 8
Pitifulverse 8
Courteousverse 8
Calledverse 9
Inherit a blessingverse 9
Long lifeverse 10
Good daysverse 10
Eschew evilverse 11
Do goodverses 11, 13
Seek peaceverse 11
Righteousverses 12, 14
Sufferverses 14, 17
Righteousnessverse 14
Happyverse 14
Not afraidverse 14
Not troubledverse 14
Sanctifyverse 15
Give an answerverse 15
Hope verse 15
Meeknessverse 15
Good conscienceverses 16, 21
Good conversationverse 16
Suffer for doing wellverse 17
Justverse 18
Quickened by the Spiritverse 18
Baptismverse 21
Good conscience toward God
Saveverse 21
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Holy women of oldverse 5
Church (New Testament people of God)
Daughters of Sara if doing wellverse 6
calling husband lord
not afraid
Brethrenverse 8
Last Things (Future Events)
Heavenverse 22
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QUOTES regarding passage
19 “Through whom” translates en hō (“in which”). But the way v. 18b is interpreted is determinative. “Once we take πνεύματι [pneumati] as ‘in the sphere of the spirit,’ then we should take ἐν ᾧ [en hō] as ‘in this sphere,’ ‘under this influence,’ or even ‘as one now made alive in the spirit.’ In other words, the person who does the preaching in 3:19 is the risen Lord” (Dalton, p. 140). So the NIV translation might be corrected to read, “in which state [of resurrection] he went and preached.”
To whom did he preach? What did he preach? The “spirits” have been understood as the souls of men, fallen angels, or both. The best explanation is that the “spirits” (pneumata) are fallen angels (BAG, p. 682; Dalton, p. 150; Kelly, p. 153; Reicke, Disobedient Spirits, pp. 90–91 [with possible addition of offspring of fallen angels]; idem. AB, p. 109; Selwyn, p. 353). Jesus, then, in his resurrection “goes” to the place of angelic confinement. Since this is in another realm, we cannot locate it spatially. However, there does not seem to be good evidence for seeing here a “descent into hell.” The same word poreutheis (“went”) is used in v. 22 of his ascension.
The content of the proclamation is not stated. The verb kēryssō means “to proclaim” or “to announce.” The choice of this verb rather than euangelizō (“to proclaim good news”), which is used in 4:6, appears to be significant. Christ does not announce the gospel or Good News to the fallen angels’. The thought of salvation for angels is foreign to the NT (Heb 2:16) and also to Peter (cf. comments on 1:12). The announcement is of his victory and of their doom that has come through his death on the cross and his resurrection.
To sum up, the thought of vv. 18–19 may be paraphrased as follows: “He was put to death in the human sphere of existence but was made alive in the resurrection sphere of existence, in which state of existence he made a proclamation of his victory to the fallen angels.” As for the pastoral significance of these verses, it is one of comfort because through suffering Christians go to victory. Those who oppose Christians will be defeated (Col 2:15; 2 Thess 1:6–8). (Blum, E. A. (1981). 1 Peter. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews through Revelation (Vol. 12, p. 242). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
In which also (ἐν ᾡ και [en hōi kai]). That is, in spirit (relative referring to πνευματι [pneumati]). But, a number of modern scholars have followed Griesbach’s conjecture that the original text was either Νωε και [Nōe kai] (Noah also), or Ἐνωχ και [Enōch kai] (Enoch also), or ἐν ᾡ και Ἐνωχ [en hōi kai Enōch] (in which Enoch also) which an early scribe misunderstood or omitted Ἐνωχ και [Enōch kai] in copying (ὁμοιοτελευτον [homoioteleuton]). It is allowed in Stier and Theile’s Polyglott. It is advocated by J. Cramer in 1891, by J. Rendel Harris in The Expositor (1901), and Sidelights on N. T. Research (p. 208), by Nestle in 1902, by Moffatt’s New Translation of the New Testament. Windisch rejects it as inconsistent with the context. There is no manuscript for the conjecture, though it would relieve the difficulty greatly. Luther admits that he does not know what Peter means. Bigg has no doubt that the event recorded took place between Christ’s death and his resurrection and holds that Peter is alluding to Christ’s Descensus ad Inferos in Acts 2:27 (with which he compares Matt. 27:52f.; Luke 23:34; Eph. 4:9). With this Windisch agrees. But Wohlenberg holds that Peter means that Christ in his preexistent state preached to those who rejected the preaching of Noah who are now in prison. Augustine held that Christ was in Noah when he preached. Bigg argues strongly that Christ during the time between his death and resurrection preached to those who once heard Noah (but are now in prison) and offered them another chance and not mere condemnation. If so, why did Jesus confine his preaching to this one group? So the theories run on about this passage. One can only say that it is a slim hope for those who neglect or reject Christ in this life to gamble with a possible second chance after death which rests on very precarious exegesis of a most difficult passage in Peter’s Epistle. Accepting the text as we have, what can we make of it? He went and preached (πορευθεις ἐκηρυξεν [poreutheis ekēruxen]). First aorist passive (deponent) participle of πορευομαι [poreuomai] and first aorist active indicative of κηρυσσω [kērussō], the verb commonly used of the preaching of Jesus. Naturally the words mean personal action by Christ “in spirit” as illustration of his “quickening” (verse 18) whether done before his death or afterwards. It is interesting to observe that, just as the relative ἐν ᾡ [en hōi] here tells something suggested by the word πνευματι [pneumati] (in spirit) just before, so in verse 21 the relative ὁ [ho] (which) tells another illustration of the words δἰ ὑδατος [di’ hudatos] (by water) just before. Peter jumps from the flood in Noah’s time to baptism in Peter’s time, just as he jumped backwards from Christ’s time to Noah’s time. He easily goes off at a word. What does he mean here by the story that illustrates Christ’s quickening in spirit? Unto the spirits in prison (τοις ἐν φυλακῃ πνευμασιν [tois en phulakēi pneumasin]). The language is plain enough except that it does not make it clear whether Jesus did the preaching to spirits in prison at the time or to people whose spirits are now in prison, the point of doubt already discussed. The metaphorical use of ἐν φυλακῃ [en phulakēi] can be illustrated by 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; Rev. 20:7 (the final abode of the lost). See Heb. 12:23 for the use of πνευματα [pneumata] for disembodied spirits. (Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (1 Pe 3:19). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.)
3:19–20. Through whom … He … preached to the spirits in prison has been subject to many interpretations. Some believe Peter here referred to the descent of Christ’s Spirit 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.
Others have said this passage refers to Christ’s descent into hell after His crucifixion to proclaim His victory to the imprisoned fallen angels referred to in 2 Peter 2:4–5, equating them with “the sons of God” Moses wrote about (Gen. 6:1–2). Though much commends this view as a possible interpretation, the context seems more likely to be referring to humans rather than angels.
The “spirits” (pneumasin, a term usually applied to supernatural beings but also used at least once to refer to human “spirits”; cf. Heb. 12:23) are described in 1 Peter 3:20 as those who were disobedient when God waited patiently for Noah to finish building the ark. They had rebelled against the message of God during the 120 years the ark was being built. God declared He would not tolerate people’s wickedness forever, but would extend His patience for only 120 more years (Gen. 6:3). Since the entire human race except Noah (Gen. 6:5–9) was evil, God determined to “wipe mankind … from the face of the earth.” The “spirits” referred to in 1 Peter 3:20 are probably the souls of the evil human race that existed in the days of Noah. Those “spirits” are now “in prison” awaiting the final judgment of God at the end of the Age.
The problem remains as to when Christ preached to these “spirits.” Peter’s explanation of the resurrection of Christ (3:18) “by the Spirit” brought to mind that the preincarnate Christ was actually in Noah, ministering through him, by means of the Holy Spirit. Peter (1:11) referred to the “Spirit of Christ” in the Old Testament prophets. Later he described Noah as “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5). The Spirit of Christ preached through Noah to the ungodly humans who, at the time of Peter’s writing, were “spirits in prison” awaiting final judgment.
This interpretation seems to fit the general theme of this section (1 Peter 3:13–22)—keeping a good conscience in unjust persecution. Noah is presented as an example of one who committed himself to a course of action for the sake of 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. (Raymer, R. M. (1985). 1 Peter. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, pp. 851–852). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
The proclamation of Christ (vv. 19–20). The phrase “made alive by the Spirit” (kjv, sco) creates a problem for us. In the Greek manuscripts, there were no capital letters; so we have no authority to write “Spirit” rather than “spirit.” Greek scholars tell us that the end of 1 Peter 3:18 should read: “Being put to death with reference to the flesh, but made alive with reference to the spirit.” The contrast is between flesh and spirit, as in Matthew 26:41 and Romans 1:3–4, and not between Christ’s flesh and the Holy Spirit.
Our Lord had a real body (Matt. 26:26), soul (John 12:27), and spirit (Luke 23:46). He was not God inhabiting a man; He was the true God-Man. When He died, He yielded His spirit to the Father (Luke 23:46; see James 2:26). However, it seems evident that, if He was “made alive in the spirit,” at some point His spirit must have died. It was probably when He was made sin for us and was forsaken by the Father (Mark 15:34; 2 Cor. 5:21). The phrase “quickened in [with reference to] the spirit” cannot mean resurrection, because resurrection has to do with the body.
So on the cross, our Lord suffered and died. His body was put to death, and His spirit died when He was made sin. But His spirit was made alive and He yielded it to the Father. Then according to Peter, sometime between His death and His resurrection Jesus made a special proclamation to “the spirits in prison.” This raises two questions: Who were these “spirits” that He visited? What did He proclaim to them?
Those who say that these “spirits in prison” were the spirits of lost sinners in hell, to whom Jesus brought the good news of salvation, have some real problems to solve. To begin with, Peter referred to people as “souls” and not “spirits” (1 Peter 3:20). In the New Testament, the word “spirits” is used to describe angels or demons, not human beings; and 1 Peter 3:22 seems to argue for this meaning. Furthermore, nowhere in the Bible are we told that Jesus visited hell. Acts 2:31 states that He went to “hades” (nasb), but “hades” is not hell. The word “hades” refers to the realm of the unbelieving dead, a temporary place where they await the resurrection. Read Revelation 20:11–15 in the New American Standard Bible or the New International Version and you will see the important distinction. Hell is the permanent and final place of judgment for the lost. Hades is the temporary place. When a Christian dies, he goes to neither place, but to heaven to be with Christ (Phil. 1:20–24).
Our Lord yielded His spirit to the Father, died, and at some time between death and resurrection, visited the realm of the dead where He delivered a message to spirit beings (probably fallen angels; see Jude 6) who were somehow related to the period before the Flood. First Peter 3:20 makes this clear. The word translated “preached” simply means “to announce as a herald, to proclaim.” It is not the word that means “to preach the Gospel” that Peter used in 1 Peter 1:12 and 4:6. Peter did not tell us what Jesus proclaimed to these imprisoned spirits, but it could not be a message of redemption since angels cannot be saved (Heb. 2:16). It was probably a declaration of victory over Satan and his hosts (see Col. 2:15; 1 Peter 3:22).
How these spirits were related to the pre-Flood era, Peter did not explain. Some students believe that “the sons of God” named in Genesis 6:1–4 were fallen angels who cohabited with women and produced a race of giants, but I cannot accept this interpretation. The good angels who did not fall are called “sons of God,” but not the fallen angels (Job 1:6; 2:1, and note that Satan is distinguished from the “sons of God”). The world before the Flood was unbelievably wicked, and no doubt these spirits had much to do with it (see Gen. 6:5–13; Rom. 1:18ff). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 416). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
3:19 made proclamation. Between Christ’s death and resurrection, His living spirit went to the demon spirits bound in the abyss and proclaimed that, in spite of His death, He had triumphed over them (see notes on Col 2:14, 15). spirits now in prison. This refers to fallen angels (demons), who were permanently bound because of heinous wickedness. The demons who are not so bound resist such a sentence (cf. Lk 8:31). In the end, they will all be sent to the eternal lake of fire (Mt 25:41; Rev 20:10). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (1 Pe 3:19). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Ver. 19. By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison.] Various are the senses given of this passage: some say, that Christ, upon his death, went in his human soul to hell; either, as some, to preach to the devils and damned spirits, that they might be saved, if they would; and, as others, to let them know that he was come, and to fill them with dread and terror; but though hell may be meant by the prison, yet the text does not say that he went unto it, or preached in it; only that the spirits were in it, to whom he sometimes went, and preached; nor is his human soul, but his divine nature meant, by the spirit, by which he went, and preached to them: and as for the ends proposed, the former is impracticable and impossible; for after death follows judgment, which is an eternal one; nor is there any salvation, or hope of salvation afterwards; and the latter is absurd, vain, and needless. Others, as the Papists, imagine the sense to be, that Christ, at his death, went in his human soul, into a place they call Limbus Patrum, which they suppose is meant by the prison here, and delivered the souls of the Old-Testament saints and patriarchs from thence, and carried them with him to heaven; but this sense is also false, because, as before observed, not the human soul of Christ, but his divine nature, is designed by the spirit; nor is there any such place as here feigned, in which the souls of Old-Testament saints were, before the death of Christ; for they were in peace and rest, in the kingdom of heaven, in Abraham’s bosom, inheriting the promises, and not in a prison; besides, the text says not one word of the delivering of these spirits out of prison, only of Christ’s preaching to them: add to all this, and which Beza, with others, observes, the apostle speaks of such as had been disobedient, and unbelievers; a character which will not agree with righteous men, and prophets, and patriarchs, under the former dispensation: others think the words are to be understood of Christ’s going to preach, by his apostles, to the Gentiles, as in Eph. 2:17 who were in a most miserable condition, strangers to the covenants of promise, and destitute of the hope of salvation, and sat in darkness, and the shadow of death, and, as it were, at the gates of hell; were in the bonds of iniquity, and dead in sin, and had been for a long time past foolish and disobedient, serving divers lusts and pleasures, to which they were in bondage. This is, indeed, a more tolerable sense than the former; but it will be difficult to shew, that men, in the present state of life, are called spirits, which seems to be a word that relates to the souls of men, in a separate state from their bodies; and especially that carnal and unconverted men are ever so called; and besides, the apostle is speaking of such who were disobedient in the times of Noah; and therefore not of the Gentiles, in the times of the apostles: add to which, that the transition from the times of the apostles, according to this sense, to the days of Noah, is very unaccountable; this sense does not agree with the connexion of the words: others are of opinion, that this is meant of the souls of the Old-Testament saints, who were, εν φυλακη, in a watch, as they think the phrase may be rendered, instead of in prison: and said to be in such a situation, because they were intent upon the hope of promised salvation, and were looking out for the Messiah, and anxiously desiring his coming, and which he, by some gracious manifestation, made known unto them: but though the word may sometimes signify a watch, yet more commonly a prison, and which sense best suits here; nor is that anxiety and uneasiness, which represents them as in a prison, so applicable to souls in a state of happiness; nor such a gracious manifestation so properly called preaching; and besides, not believers, but unbelievers, disobedient ones, are here spoken of; and though it is only said they were sometimes so, yet to what purpose should this former character be once mentioned of souls now in glory? but it would be tedious to reckon up the several different senses of this place; some referring it to such in Noah’s time, to whom the Gospel was preached, and who repented; and though they suffered in their bodies, in the general deluge, yet their souls were saved; whereas the apostle calls them all, the world of the ungodly, 2 Pet 2:5 and others, to the eight souls that were shut up in the ark, as in a prison, and were saved; though these are manifestly distinguished in the text from the disobedient spirits. The plain and easy sense of the words is, that Christ, by his spirit, by which he was quickened, went in the ministry of Noah, the preacher of righteousness, and preached both by words and deeds, by the personal ministry of Noah, and by the building of the ark, to that generation who was then in being; and who being disobedient, and continuing so, a flood was brought upon them which destroyed them all; and whose spirits, or separate souls, were then in the prison of hell, so the Syriac version renders it, בשיול, in hell, see Rev. 20:7 when the Apostle Peter wrote this epistle; so that Christ neither went into this prison, nor preached in it, nor to spirits that were then in it when he preached, but to persons alive in the days of Noah, and who being disobedient, when they died, their separate souls were put into prison, and there they were when the apostle wrote: from whence we learn, that Christ was, that he existed in his divine nature before he was incarnate, he was before Abraham, he was in the days of Noah; and that Christ also, under the Old Testament, acted the part of a Mediator, in his divine nature, and by his spirit discharged that branch of it, his prophetic office, before he appeared in human nature; and that the Gospel was preached in those early times, as unto Abraham, so before him. (Gill, J. (1809). An Exposition of the New Testament (Vol. 3, pp. 563–564). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
A new petition on the White House’s website calls for President Trump to declare places of worship as “essential” during national emergencies. The petition comes as many municipalities have cracked down on the few churches who are trying to meet in person during the COVID-19 epidemic.
The petition claims that “The closure of churches and the suspension of Religious Liberty is a direct violation of our Constitutional Rights as Americans and a power the people of the United States are not willing to concede to the government on a federal, state, or local level.” Additionally, it says that the “DECLARATION AND CLASSIFICATION of these institutions as “ESSENTIAL” IS MERELY A FORMALITY as these rights have ALREADY BEEN DECLARED in the FIRST AMENDMENT of the BILL OF RIGHTS.”
As Christian Headlines previously reported, only 3 percent of churches were planning on meeting in person on Easter Sunday. The churches who have violated stay at home orders or bans on large gatherings have faced consequences. Earlier this month, Kentucky State Police took down the license plate numbers of those who attended services at Maryville Baptist Church and placed flyers on their windshields instructing them to self-quarantine. On Fire Christian Church in Louisville won a temporary restraining order against Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer so they could hold drive-in services, though May Fischer denies that he banned drive-in services.
Joseph Spell, pastor of Life Tabernacle Church in Central, LA, was placed under house arrest last week and fitted with an ankle bracelet for defying the state’s bans on large gatherings. According to NBC News, Spell showed up at church this Sunday anyway and showed the congregation his ankle bracelet. He told the church, “I’m not hiding anymore” and that “It’s a dirty, rotten, crying shame when you have to hide in America.” Spell’s attorney, Joseph Long, claimed the judge’s order told Spell to cease “preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to his congregation.”
Americans across the country have scratched their heads at the list of businesses deemed “essential” and “nonessential.” “Essential” businesses have been allowed to stay open while “nonessential” businesses have been forced to stay closed. Some argue that this has put the government in the position of picking which businesses and organizations will thrive and which ones will be forced to face financial ruin.
To elicit a response from the White House, the petition must receive 100,000 signatures by May 26th, 2020. It had garnered over 4,500 signatures as of the morning of April 28th.
Scott Slayton writes at “One Degree to Another.”
A new petition on the White House’s website calls for President Trump to declare places of worship as “essential” during national emergencies. The petition comes as many municipalities have cracked down on the few churches who are trying to meet in person during the COVID-19 epidemic.
The petition claims that “The closure of churches and the suspension of Religious Liberty is a direct violation of our Constitutional Rights as Americans and a power the people of the United States are not willing to concede to the government on a federal, state, or local level.” Additionally, it says that the “DECLARATION AND CLASSIFICATION of these institutions as “ESSENTIAL” IS MERELY A FORMALITY as these rights have ALREADY BEEN DECLARED in the FIRST AMENDMENT of the BILL OF RIGHTS.”
As Christian Headlines previously reported, only 3 percent of churches were planning on meeting in person on Easter Sunday. The churches who have violated stay at home orders or bans on large gatherings have faced consequences. Earlier this month, Kentucky State Police took down the license plate numbers of those who attended services at Maryville Baptist Church and placed flyers on their windshields instructing them to self-quarantine. On Fire Christian Church in Louisville won a temporary restraining order against Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer so they could hold drive-in services, though May Fischer denies that he banned drive-in services.
Joseph Spell, pastor of Life Tabernacle Church in Central, LA, was placed under house arrest last week and fitted with an ankle bracelet for defying the state’s bans on large gatherings. According to NBC News, Spell showed up at church this Sunday anyway and showed the congregation his ankle bracelet. He told the church, “I’m not hiding anymore” and that “It’s a dirty, rotten, crying shame when you have to hide in America.” Spell’s attorney, Joseph Long, claimed the judge’s order told Spell to cease “preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to his congregation.”
Americans across the country have scratched their heads at the list of businesses deemed “essential” and “nonessential.” “Essential” businesses have been allowed to stay open while “nonessential” businesses have been forced to stay closed. Some argue that this has put the government in the position of picking which businesses and organizations will thrive and which ones will be forced to face financial ruin.
To elicit a response from the White House, the petition must receive 100,000 signatures by May 26th, 2020. It had garnered over 4,500 signatures as of the morning of April 28th.
Scott Slayton writes at “One Degree to Another.” (Christian Headlines)
After Jesus’s resurrection, He appears to His disciples and reassures Thomas of His deity.
INSIGHT
God commands us to believe in Him, but He doesn’t require us to believe in Him contrary to the evidence.
Thomas needed to be shown that the miracle of Jesus’ resurrection was really true. God provided Thomas with the proof he needed. Jesus appeared to Thomas and said, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands. . . . Do not be unbelieving, but believing” (20:27). Jesus saw what Thomas needed and gave him sufficient evidence to believe.
You don’t have to be afraid of sincere doubt. That doubt can be changed. Just examine the evidence of Christ’s work in the New Testament. Then ask God to help you to believe according to the evidence. Like the father in Mark 9:24, your prayer can be: “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief! (Quiet Walk)
A RANSOM
For ye are bought with a price.
1 Corinthians 6:20
What Paul has learned from the cross is that the Lord Jesus Christ had died for him there in order to deliver him. Now, many terms are used to explain this, and one of them is the term of paying a ransom, paying a price. Man has become the slave to the devil and of sin and of evil, and he has to be bought. The apostle says that he discovered that what was happening on the cross was that the Lord Jesus Christ was purchasing him. So he writes to the Corinthians about morality and behavior, and he puts it like this: “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Now then, here the new view comes in. He was the slave of the devil, the slave of the world, the slave of sin and of evil. He could not get free, try as he would. But he has been bought. He has been delivered; he has been set free. He has been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s Son. He has been redeemed. And now he has a new view of himself. He is not his own; he does not belong to himself anymore. He formerly lived to himself, but no longer; he has been bought with a price. He has a new life; he is in a new world. You know, this so grips and thrills this man that he cannot stop saying it. Listen to him saying it in Galatians 2:20: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
A Thought to Ponder: What Paul has learned from the cross is that the Lord Jesus Christ had died for him there in order to deliver him.
(From The Cross, pp. 207-208, by Dr. Martyn Llovd-Jones)
Showers of Blessing
“And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.” (Ezekiel 34:26)
This verse provided the inspiration for the old gospel hymn “Showers of Blessing.” While it applies specifically to Israel, it states a divine principle that believers of all times have rightly appropriated to their own lives. The same word (“showers”) is also frequently translated “rain,” speaking of the rain that followed Elijah’s contest with the prophets of Baal at the end of the three-year drought. “And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain” (1 Kings 18:41).
In general, the word is most commonly used to indicate very heavy rains. In fact, its first occurrence is in connection with the great Flood. “The rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights” (Genesis 7:12). This rain had poured forth from the windows (literally “sluiceways”) of heaven, and it provides an impressive picture of the tremendous showers of blessing that God desires to pour down on His people.
In the context of our key verse, the promised showers follow the condition of the preceding verses: “And I the Lord will be their God,…And I will make with them a covenant of peace” (Ezekiel 34:24-25). The greatest blessings of God, accordingly, must follow the knowledge of God and the peace of God, through the Lord Jesus Christ.
No doubt the greatest of all spiritual blessings, at least in this life, is the inspired Word of God, and the same word is so used: “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud….So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-11). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
When prayer is no longer central to the church, we have lost the very life that makes us the unique body of Christ. When we do not pray, we stop being the church and we become a social club, a place for people to meet, encourage one another, and have fun together, but a place that is no longer in vital relationship with God. (p. 86)
Instead of taking risks and trusting God to provide for the future, we become timid and hesitant. (p. 86) (Developing Leaders for the Small Church by Glenn C. Daman)
Accepting Socialism is basically admitting you can’t compete in the real world. You’re saying “I’m willing to give up my liberty, my religion, and my dreams as long as the state will take care of me. Accepting Socialism is accepting failure. It’s the complete opposite of America.
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