The Spirits in Prison
The Ambassador's Handbook • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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iv. It is better to suffer for good than to suffer for evil. (3:17)
First, we see that suffering for well doing is not necessarily God’s will for everyone. This seem strange in the light of everything we’ve studied so far. Hasn’t Peter been saying that every Christian is called to follow in the suffering footsteps of Christ? Well, yes, but not every Christian is called to suffer in the same way. God tells different kinds of stories.
On one hand, we have people like Abraham. Sure, he had some hard times. He had to live as a nomad after leaving his home in Ur. But no one was persecuting him for believing in God. We also have people like Job, who suffered at God’s refining hand and not necessarily for his faith. And then there are people like Daniel, who was thrown into the lion’s den for his faith. Even David lived part of his life being persecuted and part of it in prosperity. God tells different kinds of stories.
I think that, looking at the current state of the world, we’re in the middle of a kind of story that involves suffering for Christ. Many people already are, and it looks like it’s only going to get worse. And if we have another great revival where churches start feverishly fulfilling the Great Commission, that persecution will only grow.
But, as this passage shows, while no one will have a perfect, easy life, it may not be God’s will for you to endure much suffering for Christianity.
However, it is clear that most or all of the Christians in Asia Minor were suffering, so Peter gives them instructions. He says it is better to suffering for well doing than for evil doing.
This connects back with:
For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
If we are going to suffer, there is no point in suffering for sin. There is no virtue in a Christian being executed for murder. But there is great glory in a Christian being executed for trying to read the Bible.
Ultimately, this is another way of stating the heart of Peter’s command in this book. Be holy. Live like Christ. In doing so, you may suffer, but this is far better than the alternative—suffering for sin.
One may object, I would not bear it so ill if I had deserved it. Peter replies, it is better that you did not deserve it, in order that doing well and yet being spoken against, you may prove yourself a true Christian
Why is this better? He explains in the next verse.
v. Christ already suffered for the sins of the world. (3:18, Hebrews 9:24–26, 12:3, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 5:1–2)
Suffering for sin is pointless because Christ already suffered for our sins. We are free from doing sin, and thus free from suffering for it.
This single verse is one of the most succinct but powerful statements about what the Cross means for us. We can glean a lot from each phrase.
First, Christ once suffered. The Greek word for once means “once for all,” “once and never again.” This was a one-time thing.
For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Christ was the perfect fulfillment of the Old Testament sacrifices. Those were offered constantly, because they could not take away sins, only temporarily cover them. But Jesus only needed to offer himself once because he was the perfect, sinless, completely righteous sacrifice.
Next, he suffered as a just man for the unjust. This idea of the just for the unjust is something the New Testament authors meditate on.
For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
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.
It is such a wonder to think about Jesus, the perfect Son of God, suffering for the sins of a wicked and perverse people. He had never known sin in his life and then took all sin upon his body. He bore our sins in his own body on the tree.
Why did he do this? We could give a number of reasons, but here is a central one—that he might bring us to God.
From the very beginning of time, God has wanted a relationship with his people, and they have constantly rejected him.
Talk about in the Garden, Cain, and the tabernacle/temple
The story of the world is not a story of lost mankind seeking after God, as some thing. It is a story of God seeking after the creation that constantly runs from him. Sin makes the former relationship with God impossible, but the blood of Jesus returns us to that status.
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Though once we were God’s enemies because “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23) and were destined to His eternal wrath and judgment (Romans 1:18), through Jesus’ blood we are allies and friends of God.
Before salvation, our relationship with God was best pictured as rebellious subjects rising against their king. The old man hated, and still hates our Creator God and refuses to submit. However, because of the Cross, the King pardoned our rebellion and lifted us to live in His palace.
But being brought to God involves even more. This reconciliation would be enough, but now we have the authority to come before God in prayer.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Next, we see that Christ was put to death in the flesh. This is fairly self-explanatory, and we’ve talked about it before. All the torture we went through and his eventual bodily death.
But in contrast to this, he was quickened by the Spirit. He did not stay dead in his body, but the Holy Spirit came and raised him up.
This is said as an encouragement and motivation to us. Like we saw at the end of chapter 2, Christ’s suffering is our example, and what Peter is presenting here is the mindset that we should have.
Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
Thus, knowing that being put to death to death in the flesh is only a temporary thing. Our spirits will immediately be with the Lord, but our bodies will eventually be quickened and redeemed by the Spirit like Jesus’ was.
Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
vi. Through Noah, the Holy Spirit preached to unbelievers before the Flood. (3:19–20, Ephesians 2:17, 2 Peter 2:5, Acts 26:23, John 10:16, Romans 10:14, 2 Corinthians 5:20, Ephesians 4:21, 1 Peter 1:11)
These next two verses have been called the hardest, or some of the hardest, of the entire New Testament to interpret.
Exploring the Epistles of Peter: An Expository Commentary (1) The Place to Which He Went (3:19)
We have now come to one of the most difficult and controversial passages in the New Testament. No matter where we take our stand, we shall be assailed from all sides! The Pulpit Commentary, for instance, catalogs about two dozen authors and highlights their respective conflicting positions.
This passage nobody understands, though some think they do. It is for our good to be made to feel that we do not know everything.
We must hold that knowledge in one hand, while also holding in the other hand the realization that Peter meant to say something by this. He wasn’t trying to be cryptic. He wanted the suffering Christians to be encouraged by what he said. So while we will probably never know for sure, since each interpretation has its own issues, it is worth trying to understand the passage and be edified by it.
I will not discuss every interpretation, but there are two particularly valid ones that are worth considering.
[talk about the fallen angels theory]
At the moment, the reading I think is most probable is that preaching by the Spirit to the spirits in prison is talking about the Spirit preaching through Noah to the disobedient men around the time of the flood.
This makes the most sense with the context. As we saw, this is set forth as an example of suffering for righteousness and not sin. We are to arm ourselves with the same mind and cease from sin. Christ proclaiming his victory over a certain group of fallen angels would be encouraging to an extent, but it is no example to follow, and it has nothing to do with suffering.
And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
Let’s see how each phrase fits into this.
He went and preached
This is one of the main issues with this interpretation, in my view. This wording seems to imply Jesus going somewhere, whether in a physical or spiritual body. It implies a journey. But the Holy Spirit preaching through Noah did not have to travel to Noah. He is already everywhere. Jesus, the incarnate member of the Godhead, is not physically present everywhere.
However, we do see a similar idea here:
And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
We also see repeatedly that those hearing Christ being preached are really hearing Christ.
That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.
And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
Peter has also already spoken about the Spirit testifying through the prophets of old.
Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
The spirits in prison
At the time of writing, these spirits were in prison. They were in hell. Contrary to the widespread belief, hell is not actually the eternal destination of the unbelieving dead. It is the place they are waiting for final judgment. In Revelation, death and hell are cast into the Lake of Fire, where unbelievers will be punished for all eternity. Thus, hell could be described as a prison.
Which sometime were disobedient
“Sometime” means aforetime, at a past time, or at any time. Though these spirits Christ preached to were and are in prison, at a past time, they were disobedient.
What is this time they were disobedient?
When once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing
The main beings, perhaps the only beings, who were disobedient during the time of the ark’s preparing were those people who mocked Noah for his faith in God. There is a plausible theory about fallen angels at this time sinning in a specific way, but that theory has some issues and, again, doesn’t fit the context as well as the idea about Christ preaching through Noah.
This longsuffering was directed toward men, and no other beings.
Wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
This is pretty clear.
So with all of this said, how does this verse relate to us today?
vii. Like Noah, modern Christians are a minority being persecuted by an unbelieving majority who will eventually be delivered. (2 Peter 2:9)
Peter obviously wanted to apply this past even to the lives of his audience. It wasn’t just an obscure reference to show how smart he was. So, if we take the interpretation of Christ preaching through Noah, what can we learn?
Think of Noah and his circumstances. There were many parallels with our current day. Wayne Grudem outlines six similarities.
(1) Noah was in a small minority of believers surrounded by a group of hostile unbelievers (who were perhaps even persecuting him). The readers are also a small minority and are surrounded by hostile unbelievers who make the threat of persecution very real (vv 13, 14; 4:4).
(2) Noah was righteous (Gen 6:22; 7:5; 2 Pet 2:5). Peter exhorts his readers to be righteous in a similarly difficult situation (vv 10–12, 13, 16, 17; 4:1–3).
(3) Noah witnessed boldly to the unbelievers around him, preaching repentance and warning of judgment soon to come (cf 2 Pet 2:5, 9). Similarly, Peter exhorts his readers not to fear (v 14) but to bear witness boldly (vv 15–16), even in suffering if necessary (v 16; also 4:16), in order to bring others to God— just as Christ was willing to endure suffering in order to bring us to God (v 18). Peter also sounds a clear warning of judgment to come (4:5, 17–18; cf 2 Pet 3:10) which makes the reader’s situation prior to judgment similar to that of Noah.
(4) Christ, though he was in an unseen “spiritual realm,” was preaching through Noah to the unbelievers around him (vv 19–20). Similarly, Christ is working in an unseen spiritual way in the lives and hearts of Peter’s readers (v 15; cf 1:12; 4:11, 14). Thus, Peter by implication is reminding his readers that if Christ was preaching through Noah he certainly is also preaching through them as they bear witness to the unbelievers around them.
(5) In the time of Noah, God patiently awaited repentance from unbelievers, but finally did bring judgment. Similarly, at the time Peter is writing, God is patiently awaiting repentance from unbelievers (cf 2 Pet 3:9) but will certainly bring judgment on the unrepentant (4:5; cf 2 Pet 3:10).
(6) Finally, Noah was rescued with a few others (3:20). Similarly, Peter reminds his readers that they too will be saved, even if their numbers are few, for Christ has certainly triumphed (3:22), and they will share in his triumph as well (4:13, 19; 5:10; cf 2 Pet 2:9).
That is the encouragement we can take.
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
We should follow the example of Christ in suffering to bring others to God. We should follow the example of Noah by standing strong in the midst of persecution. And doing so, we can be assured that we will be delivered.
