1 Peter 3:18-4:6
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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:
we see the gospel presented here plainly
this is the great victory, the greatest there has ever been
the greatest triumph, the greatest conquest
we are invited to share in this victory undeservingly because of God’s infinite mercy
we are called to live spiritual lives, putting the flesh to death
being close to God, being in prayer, reading the Word, being “in tune” with the Spirit
we are blessed beyond belief to even be able to do so
don’t have to sacrifice or go to the temple/tabernacle
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 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.
spirits in prison - we see it associated with Noah’s story
1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
sons of God - alternate name for the nephilim
nephilim - giant
5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Noah found grace - why did he find grace?
7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
verse CLEARLY states that it was Noah’s FAITH
4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
Peter here is talking about a hypothetical situation, but mentions here that these angels that sinned have been cast into hell and into “chains of darkness”
so these guys, along with other people, are in hell right now, receiving punishment until their judgement
which they thoroughly deserve, during this time, humanity went to the dogs, not so dissimilar to today honestly
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
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.
now we have context for this verse, and some background information
the more you read and know the Word, the more you understand
this is a lifelong process, and it’s beautiful, and really shows how different the Bible is to other books
so Christ went and proclaimed the victory, the victory over sin, the victory over death, over evil, etc
how blessed are we, that we can be called the sons of God!
8 were saved by water - we know the story of Noah, and how he built the ark because he BELIEVED GOD, he had the faith, and that’s why he was spared
21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth 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:
"baptism, which corresponds to this”/”this prefigures baptism”/”this foreshadows baptism”
Peter is drawing a parallel between the flood and baptism
sinful world in days of noah - sinful self
noah has faith - sinner starts having faith
noah acted on faith - believer acts on their faith
because of noah’s actions, he was spared of the judgement of the flood - we get saved, we get spared by the grace of God
he talks about baptism as “the answer of a good conscience toward God”
what’s one of the things we want to do when we first come to faith?
we want to get baptised
so this baptism is based on our faith, and is kind of symbolic of our faith in God and being born again
we “wash off the old and put on the new”
look at the ethiopian eunuch, as soon as he got saved he wanted to get baptized, BASED ON HIS FAITH
you can get baptized all day long without faith and it doesn’t mean a thing
when we look back to Noah, we see that ultimately it was the faith that saved his life, and it’s the same with us
look at the people who didn’t have faith in his day and what happened to them, they were under the water certainly, but it didn’t help them in the slightest
“the answer of a good conscience toward God” is an action that we take based on the faith we have in God
“by the resurrection of Christ” - the triumph over evil, the triump over death, the proving of who Christ is, and what He was
22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
11 Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
He’s now in His full glory, fully deserved, with all authority and power
what a privelege it is to be able to serve Christ, to be His people, and to know that He loves us in the way that He does, that we have an advocate with the Father like we do
What is this victory?
What is this victory?
First, we have the victory over sin
since all of us have been born, we’ve been in a fallen world
we as humans have had this sinful nature since birth, and it’s been happening essentially from the beginning of time
our flesh, our lusts, our vices, our sinful desires were just kind of naturally in us
we do what makes us feel good, we do what’s self serving, etc.
pretty much everyone does this
when most people in the world are doing this and mix and mingle together, it doesnt mix well
what one person may do doesn’t mix with another might do
what one may do may harm another, but they don’t care because it’s what’s good for them
this continually stacks up, day by day, year by year
things start degrading worse and worse with time
when i was young, and I bet some of you were this way, i had this natural inclination to trust people and see the best in them
one finds out quickly how the fallen world is with this attitude
not only does this affect cities/countries, but it affects ourselves
we are destructive to ourselves in a fallen state
people accumulate judgement on themselves, they hurt themselves
we talked about how the Christian way of living is healthy, it builds one up
but the worldly way of living does the opposite
evidenced in depression/anxiety/suicide rates among people today
We even rebel against our own Creator, who loves us! it’s so backwards and so many people don’t even have the slightest idea
even when I was a kid, most people around here at least had a fairly basic working knowledge of the big Bible stories and that Jesus died for them, whether or not they acted on it
but anymore it seems to be different, things are getting worse, more rebellious, and we can see the consequences of that in how the culture just around here has changed
it’s like a spiritual plague
but through Christ, who has triumphed over evil and invited us to triumph through Him we can overcome this plague
we can be healed in this life, renewed, start to be molded by our maker as the clay
“thou art the potter I am the clay”
we can be cared for lovingly by our God and molded into what He wants us to be, which should be what we want to be
people are in desperate need of the good news, and many have never even heard
7 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, And lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; 8 That he may set him with princes, Even with the princes of his people.
Victory over death
Victory over death
the victory as a believer?
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
this passage is amazing on many levels
not only do we all get a heavenly abode, our glorified bodies, no more sickness, no more tears, no more death, no more suffering
but we will have the opportunity to actually be with Christ, our savior, the one who has helped us so much throughout our life, so much more than we even realize
all not by our works or by anything we’ve done, our flesh just makes it simply impossible
but through the grace of God, the undeserved merit that we receive
not only do we receive this gift
but the gift is so much more than we can ever even imagine
this isn’t just your typical birthday present, or typical gift from a spouse or child
what better gift could we have than getting to be with our Savior who has helped us through so much in our lives
if these things aren’t the ultimate victory for the believer, given to us for free at that, then what is a victory?
SOME OF THE GREAT VICTORIES
Berlin wall
the people won a great victory, we know how desparate they were for their freedom, and look how happy they were
look at how much greater our victory is, and how much happier we should be, how much more grateful
liberation from auschwitz
the american army comes in, they start escorting the people out
they were behind barbed wire, super skinny, looked super unhealthy
imagine how happy they were to be freed from this
even still, our victory and freedom from sin is so much more than even this
THIS IS OUR VICTORY OVER DEATH - THAT OUR SOUL IS SAVED AND WE GO TO HEAVEN THROUGH CHRIST
what DID we have to look forward to as rebellious sinners against God?
many think there’s just nothing, things go black and that’s it
so you have to ask yourself, “what hope do they really have within themselves?”
they have none, they have no hope, nothing to look forward to
“life stinks then you die” - said jokingly, but it’s true to them
they only have the carnal pleasures in this life to get them by, the meaning that they supposedly make themselves, but nothing afterward, nothing eternal, nothing that will last
the sinner will be facing judgement one day for their sins, and they will not be on the good side of things
they have no hope at the judgement, they sinned, they rebelled against God, yet they did not seek forgiveness
they rejected the free gift of God, they continued in rebellion in the face of God, not a good situation to be in
there is no hope for a sinner who has rejected God, no victory in life or death, they live their life for them and that’s all they care about
but we all wlil face God one day, who is the perfect judge, and the sinner will not make it and be eternally separated from God
The one who decides to stay a sinner and reject God’s mercy toward them, it’s as if they’re staying in east germany, or aushwitz willingly
it’s our duty to tell these people about Christ, because the harvest is plenty and the workers are few because...
YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN
you can do many things without being born again
you could come to church
you could take communion
you could do good deeds
you can say your a Christian
you can live the lifestyle
but you MUST be born again