Jesus Died--Jesus Lives--Jesus Is Lord

APRIL 9, 2023 STUDY NOTES 1 PETER 3:18-20 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES JESUS DIED—JESUS LIVES—JESUS IS LORD INTRODUCTION Many Bible teachers believe this to be the most difficult passage to interpret in I Peter And many believe it to be the most difficult passage to interpret in all-of the NT Read commentaries and you will find different interpretations of 1 Peter 3:18-20 The first part of verse 18 is easily explained, Jesus went to the cross to die for us The last part of the verse is why many Bible scholars call it a most difficult passage The questions related to this verse begin with the meaning of “but quickened by the Spirit” There are different views of the meaning of verses 19 and 20, attempting to answer many questions Who are the spirits in prison? What did they do? What is the meaning of prison? Where is the prison? Why did Christ preach to them? When did Christ preach to them? What was His message to them? Was it an evangelistic message, an opportunity to be saved? I will not take time to discuss various views, but I have a comment that will answer many of them The preaching was not the preaching of the gospel, it was the proclamation of the victory of Calvary Revealing what Jesus had accomplished for lost Hell-bound sinners on the cross, “It is finished” Revealing what Jesus had accomplished for those who would trust Him for salvation and a new life There is no scriptural support for a second chance of salvation following physical death, Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Accountable unto God) After a once for all physical death comes a once for all eternal state for the lost, Jesus explained it, Luk 16:26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. (No transfers) At the time of physical death eternal destiny is fixed, there will be no more opportunities of salvation The correct interpretation of 1 Peter 3:18-20 must begin with the truth that Jesus died on the cross JESUS DIED FOR OUR SINS--1Pe 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 by the Spirit: Jesus was put to death “in the flesh,” He physically died, Jesus died in His body on the cross The death of Jesus on the cross is a most important truth and strongly presented throughout the Bible Many verses of scripture assure us of the physical death of Jesus on the cross of Calvary “In the flesh” refers to the physical body of Jesus, His human flesh and blood body died on the cross His body was then buried in a rich man’s tomb, Mat 27:57 When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple: Pilate allowed the rich man to take the body of Jesus, Mat 27:58 He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. (Important truth: only the body was buried) The rich man prepared the body of Jesus to be placed in the tomb, Mat 27:59 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, The body of Jesus was placed in the tomb that belonged to the rich man, Mat 27:60 And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. The burial of His body was the proof that He had died, the rich man knew that Jesus was physically dead Mark tells us that Pilate made sure that Jesus was dead, Mar 15:44 And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. Page 1 of 4 When Pilate knew for sure that Jesus was dead, he gave his body to the rich man, Mar 15:45 And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. (Important truth: the dead body was buried) The body of Jesus that was buried in the tomb resurrected, Jesus came forth from the tomb in His body His resurrected body was the proof of who He was that had died on the cross, Rom 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: Early Sunday morning before sunrise, women go to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus, Mar 16:1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. They found the stone rolled away, the empty linen clothes were there, but there was no body in the tomb An angel said to them, Mat 28:6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. (Come see where His body was) Jesus had said that he would be betrayed, Mat 17:22 And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: Jesus said that he would be killed but would come forth from the grave, Mat 17:23 And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry. (They did kill Him) The resurrection was a bodily resurrection, the stone was rolled away from the tomb’s entrance, Luk 24:2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. The stone was not rolled away to allow the body of Jesus to come forth from the tomb His body was already gone, there was no body in the tomb, Luk 24:3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. Jesus returned to bodily life on the earth on the third day after His death just as He had promised The resurrection was the miraculous restoration of His physical life, life had returned to the body His spirit had returned to the body in which He had lived and died, Luk 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. In 1 Pet. 3:18, the meaning of “quickened by the spirit” reveals more than the resurrected body of Jesus Peter presents a contrast, in contrast to “put to death in the flesh” is “quickened by the spirit” Peter is saying, it is certain, there was the flesh of Jesus, and just as sure, there was the spirit of Jesus The first part of verse 18 is easily understood, Jesus went to the cross to die for us, to die for sinful man “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust” “Once suffered” does not mean once upon a time, but once for all, “once” paid the total price of sin The one who was “just” in character died for those who were “unjust” in character The righteous “One” died for all-of the unrighteous “ones,” the only “One” who could pay sins penalty The purpose of the once for all death of Jesus on the cross was “that He might bring us to God” To bring us to God required “being put to death in the flesh” and “quickened by the spirit” His death on the cross was the only way to bring us (sinful man) into a personal relationship with God There would have been no cross for Jesus if there could have been any other way to bring us to God There is no question about “being put to death in the flesh,” Jesus died in His physical body Jesus was God “in the flesh,” but why? Why did He become man? Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. Jesus came to be “in the flesh” so that He might “taste death for every man” The word “taste” does not suggest a mere sample but a true experience of death The purpose of the incarnation was that Jesus “should taste death for every man” (The body was dead) “Every man” does not imply a universal salvation, teaching that everyone will be saved But anyone can be saved, Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, “In the flesh” Jesus died for the sins of every sinner, that He might bring us into the presence of God Just as sure as Jesus was put to death in the flesh, He was “quickened by the spirit” “Quickened” literally means to make alive, to give life, to live again “The spirit” does not refer to the Holy Spirit, it refers to the life of Jesus that was lived in His body Page 2 of 4 “The spirit” made alive reveals that the “spirit” had experienced death, which took place on the cross Jesus had experienced physical death and spiritual death on the cross to pay the penalty of death for us Death is an experience that mankind faces, scripture reveals spiritual, physical, and eternal death Death is a major topic in God’s Word, death was not a part of God’s original creation Death entered the human race by Adam’s initial transgression, Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: The word “separation” gives us the best definition and understanding of death Spiritual death is the separation of life from a personal and eternal relationship with God All who are not saved are spiritually dead, without spiritual life and must be born spiritually, Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. “Except” means there is no other way and there will never be another way to “see the kingdom of God” The only way to experience “God’s kingdom” in this life and throughout eternity is to be “born again” “Born again” means to be born “from above,” there must be a heavenly birth Birth that can only be of God the Father, a spiritual birth which is a “New Life,” a present and eternal life Jesus explained the spiritual birth, Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (Jesus explains why there must be another birth beside the physical birth) Jesus presents the contrast between physical and spiritual birth, “that which is born of the flesh is flesh” “Flesh” represents the fallen nature, the sinful nature of man that cannot redeem itself Spirit life can never come forth from the flesh life, spirit life does not evolve from flesh The spirit life must be born, and it must be born from above, Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. (The spiritual birth is the answer to spiritual death) Without the spiritual birth there is no present spiritual life or an eternal spiritual life Physical death is the separation of the spirit and soul from the body As soon as we are born physically, we are faced with the truth of physical death Physical death is the end of life in this earthly physical body, but not the end of soul or spirit life Eternal death is the everlasting separation of life from God, also known as the “Second Death” The second death is the eternal separation of the spirit from God, Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. When someone who is spiritually dead, dies physically, they enter-into the second death Because they are spiritually dead, they will die eternally, they will never cease to exist They will never cease to be conscious, and nothing can change their state of second death On the cross Jesus experienced physical and spiritual death for those who would be saved The cross of Jesus paid the price of death for the saved, eternal death was overcome by Jesus We know that the body of Jesus was dead for three days, but was His human spirit dead? Did the human spirit of Jesus die on the cross in the time of His crucifixion? If His spirit was “quickened,” made alive, then His spirit must have experienced death A supernatural phenomenon accompanied His death, which was the evidence of His spiritual death, Mat 27:45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. The darkness was because Jesus had become the sin offering for the world which required spiritual death The darkness was a cosmic sign of God’s judgment upon sin, the curse of sin fell upon Jesus, Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: The darkness is explained by the cry of Jesus from the cross of Calvary, Mat 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? In a typical study of the cross much emphasis is placed upon the physical suffering of Jesus And it should be, His crucifixion was a horrible death, the worst of physical torture The large nails driven through the hands and feet were only a part of the physical torment Page 3 of 4 We must understand that the physical suffering was not the only pain of the crucifixion of Christ The physical death was not the only death of the cross for Jesus, He also experienced spiritual death “Forsaken” means, to abandon, desert, to leave helpless, to leave destitute, to let one down Separation from God the Father had occurred, fellowship with the Father had been broken Jesus experienced “spiritual death” for us in order that we might experience spiritual life through Him Jesus experienced separation from God, a temporary experience because He was made sin for us 2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. The next words of Jesus from the cross also indicate His time of spiritual death, Joh 19:28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Jesus did experience physical thirst but there was a spiritual thirst that fulfilled scripture Jesus experienced spiritual dehydration to deliver us from spiritual thirst, Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. His thirst was a temporary experience because the price of spiritual death was paid, Joh 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. (“It is finished,” the sin debt was paid in full) Listen to the next words of Jesus from the cross, Luk 23:46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. His spirit was alive again, no longer separated from God and could be committed to the Father Because Jesus paid the price of spiritual death, He can now present those who are saved to the Father A miraculous event happened simultaneously at the time Jesus died, Mat 27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. Mat 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; The veil in the temple symbolized that sinful man was separated from the Holy God It was the hand of God that tore the veil of the temple, it was torn “from the top to the bottom” The veil was torn because God had accepted the sin offering of Jesus upon the cross Which is explained in, Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, This verse reveals one of the greatest truths found in the Bible for the “brethren,” the Christian “Brethren” identifies those who have experienced the results of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross Because of Jesus, we can enter-into the Heavenly Sanctuary, the Heavenly Holy of Holies His sacrificial blood was the perfect sacrifice which allowed our access to God, Heb 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; Our access to God through the blood of Jesus is described in five ways in this verse: 1. It is “new” 2. The way of access is “living” 3. Christ “consecrated” the “way” 4. The way is seen as the “veil” 5. The way was His “flesh” The sacrifice of Jesus gives life today because the Jesus that died is the Christ that arose from the dead Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Php 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: Php 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; Php 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. JESUS DIED—JESUS LIVES—JESUS IS LORD Page 4 of 4