1 Peter 3 Christ, Suffering, and Exaltation

1 Peter 3:18-22

We have been talking about suffering. We will suffer. we will suffer for doing what is wrong or evil, and that should not surprise us. But, what may surprise us is that we will also suffer for being holy and righteous.

The world, the evil one will hate you because they hate God. If you will live for God, your will be hated and mistreated. Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Jesus said, “Pick up your Cross, and follow Me.”

Whoever wants to save their lives will lay their lives down and follow Christ, imitate Christ, serve Christ, witness for Christ, worship Christ… no matter what.

Christians must be willing to live and die for Christ.

Our right to direct our own lives is dead to us. We lean not on our own understanding and we deny our lusts and passions for the Cause of Christ and we obey Him.

This involves another type of suffering that we are called to. This is a suffering of self-denial. We deny our selves to fulfill Christ’s desires and will. This goes against the sinful nature and is causes us pain as we resist temptations to do the will of the flesh.

This is normal to Christianity.

Philippians 1:29 - “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him but also to suffer for Him.”

You are a friend of God. You are not a friend to this world. You are not seeking to please the world. You are seeking to please God.

James 4:4 - Friendship with the world is enmity with God. If you make yourself a friend to this world, you make yourself an enemy of God.

It goes both ways. Light and darkness cannot coexist. Truth and lies do not cohabitate. We are in the world but not of the world. we are not to be conformed to this world but we are to be transformed into the image of Christ.

So, once again, we go back to our example, foundation and motivation for Christian living. We go back to the Source.

Verse 18 - Christ suffered… for what?

Christ suffered for sins He did not commit and for a people who did not love Him. He suffered for sinful, wicked people. He suffered for evil people.

He suffered for me. He suffered for you. The just (Jesus) suffered for the unjust (me and you).

The just and justifier of the wicked, laid down His life and suffered under the full wrath of God, taking our hell, death, and payment for our crimes… once and for all!

He didn’t deserve it. He did nothing wrong. He chose to do it. He chose to take it. He chose to take the evil and the unjust treatment of sinners… and chose to be merciful and gracious towards them.

He is our example. He is our Gospel. He is the reason we can stand, and stand firm in the midst of pain, trial, and unjust treatment in our present day.

We do it for Him. We learn this from Him. We get our power from Him. And if we are not looking to Him and receiving power from Him… We are not going to suffer well as Christians. We will not look like Him at all...

Remember this: Christ suffered wrongly but God honored Him and gave Him glory. What will God do for those who will humble themselves and suffer for Christ’s sake? God will honor and glorify you.

Christ suffered to raise you up and exalt you into the heavenlies. Christ suffered and died to bring you to God.

His Spirit makes this possible...

Now verses 19-21 will take a little work, but keep in mind with what the context is pointing to...

His Spirit… lived as His flesh was put to death. This same Spirit existed before the world was. This same Spirit was there in Genesis. This Spirit led and saved Noah and his family.

This Spirit went and preached to the spirits in prison… who were disobedient in the days of Noah… while God was being patient during the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared...

The Lord is the Spirit. The Spirit never dies. The Spirit of Christ was working in the Old Testament and forever will be working.

1 Peter 1:11 - The prophets were prophesying by the Spirit of Christ, who was in them. The Spirit of Christ was showing them, leading them, and testifying in them what would happen.

Galatians 4:6 - God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out “Abba, Father!”

Romans 8:9 - For if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to God.

The Spirit of Christ went and preached to the spirits in prison… Who were these spirits in prison?

Did Jesus give unbelievers a second chance? No, that would contradict some others passages. You die once and then there is the judgement. Lazarus and the Rich man teaches us something about this as well.

Did the Spirit of Christ visit human spirits or angel spirits who sinned during the days of Noah? These are guesses by some. 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6 - Speaks of these angels who sinned and God cast them down into the lowest pit of hell.

Maybe Jesus went and proclaimed victory over all authorities. Many believe that Jesus would go into Sheol, the place of the dead, and empty that place called “Abraham’s bosom,” the place where Abraham, Issac and Jacob, along with every O.T. faithful follower was being held prior to the finished work of Christ… and it was here that Christ proclaimed His message to those on the other side of the chasm… “It is finished!”

I take another approach: 1 Peter 4:6 - The Gospel will be preached to those who are dead, that they might live according to God in the spirit… Ephesians 2:1 - If you do not have christ, you are dead in your sins...

2 Peter 2:5 - Noah was called a preacher of righteousness...

Hebrews 11:7 - Noah, was being divinely warned of the things not yet seen… by the Spirit of God...

He became a builder and a preacher of righteousness.

Who did he preach to? To souls that were enslaved to sin. Romans 6:6 - If you are not free in Christ, you are enslaved to sin. You are bound by sin. Isaiah 42:7 and 61:1; Psalm 146:7; Psalm 102:20 - Christ comes to proclaim liberty to the captives, opening the prison to those who are bound, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, from prison those who sit in darkness.

Through Noah, as well as the prophets (1 Peter 1:11), Christ preached repentance and faith. As God was long-suffering then… we see in 2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night… like when? Luke 17:26-27 - Like in the days of Noah… when Noah was building and preaching a message of repentance, faith, and salvation… everyone did what was right in their own eyes and just kept turning away from the preacher and the message.

(Slide)They turned away from the Spirit of Christ, Who testified through Noah… and then destruction came to all who were not in Christ, who would not repent and believe.

They were saved through the water... through the judgement. Peter then connects the picture with a spiritual reality: 8 souls believed God and went through the whole judgement unharmed.

Now, those who are immersed into Christ, into our Savior, into our Living Ark… by His Spirit. You shall pass through death into life. You shall be saved. You shall receive glory and honor and life everlasting, and will not be harmed by the judgement to come.

God gave His Word and Covenant to Noah. God has given His Word and His Covenant to you, through Christ.

Jesus is your Ark. Jesus is our Ark. Be in Christ and Live. The Spirit of Christ is preaching through me and other preachers today… Repent, believe, go through the door before its too late.

Good Christians disagree on how to interpret these texts, but do not get bogged down in the peripherals…

This has been difficult for scholars to understand, but may we not miss the points within: We cannot escape suffering as Christ Himself did not escape it. He endured it unto death. He was victorious. He was vindicated (He was proven right).

His flesh died but His Spirit lived on and was exalted.

He was exalted. The Suffering Servant is the Ruling King and He is seating at the Right Hand of God the Father. He overcame.

But what about us? Your flesh will die, but by the Spirit of God, your spirit will live with Him forever. We shall overcome. He was victorious. We shall be victorious. We shall be proven right; we shall be vindicated. We shall be with Him, exalted and glorified as well. We shall be like Him, and all our riches will be there with Him.

The Suffering Servant experienced poverty of material things, and unjust treatment from the world. But He submitted Himself to the Father, and now all things are subject to Him. There is this great reversal that takes place...

Everything may be taken from you. But you shall have everything in the end. Life may be taken, but you will have life in the end. You will have treasure, crowns, blessings, never-ending joy, contentment, and satisfaction.

Follow Christ, and it will all be worth it in the end. You will be exalted with Christ. (Slide)

Jesus has won. God has won. We shall win.

Christ is still standing… and we too shall be standing on that day.

Be encouraged with Christ. Be encouraged with Christ’s victory. You have been set free by Christ. You were in your prison, in bondage to sin, but Christ came and set you free.

Now, live for Him without fear.