Salvation is Victory
Today’s reading may just be the most confusing section of the entire book of 1 Peter. After teaching on undeserved suffering, Peter seems to hiccup and add this strange conversation about spirits in prison and the days of Noah. As we are about to see though, this train of thought actually does make sense in this context, but we have to understand what Peter is talking about.
Let us start with verses 19 and 20 which say, “In which (Jesus) went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah…” To understand who these spirits were, we need to look back to Genesis 6:1-4 which begins the account of Noah and the flood. Here we read, “When men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair; and they took to wife such of them as they chose… The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them…” Edmond Hiebert commented, “Apparently, the oldest identification of those imprisoned spirits understood them as the fallen angels of Genesis 6. That view was widely known and generally taken for granted in the apostolic era.”
We have more than simply widely accepted information to guide us in our understanding of who these prisoners were. 2 Peter 2:4 tells us, “For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of nether gloom to be kept until the judgment…” Also, Jude 6 says, “And the angels that did not keep their own position but left their proper dwelling have been kept by Him in eternal chains in the nether gloom until the judgment of the great day.”
Now we know who the spirits were, let’s discuss why Jesus went to see them. The truth is, scripture does not tell us, nor does it tell us exactly what Jesus preached. David Guzik comments, “We also don’t know exactly why Jesus preached to these imprisoned spirits. In all probability this was preaching (the proclamation of God’s message), but it was not evangelism (the proclamation of good news)… In doing this there was a completion in Jesus’ triumph over evil, even the evil that happened before the flood. The Bible says that even those under the earth must acknowledge Jesus’ ultimate Lordship. Here Jesus was announcing that fact: ‘That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth.’ (Philippians 2:10)” Likewise, Edmond Hiebert said, “We do not believe that Peter said that Christ preached the gospel to those imprisoned spirits; he taught that Christ announced His triumph over evil, which was bad news for them. For Peter’s readers, however, it meant comfort and encouragement.”
Finally, Peter ends this strange conversation by discussing the similarities between the Great Flood and baptism. If we don’t read this carefully, we could assume Peter was declaring that we are saved because we have been baptized. This would be a grave mistake. Water does not save us. The cross saves us. Baptism is an expression and here used as symbolism to help Peter’s readers understand. Charles Spurgeon explained it very well when he said, “Noah was not saved by the world’s being gradually reformed and restored to its primitive innocence, but a sentence of condemnation was pronounced, and death, burial, and resurrection ensued. Noah must go into the ark and become dead to the world; the floods must descend from heaven, and rise upward from their secret fountains beneath the earth, the ark must be submerged with many waters — here was burial; and then after a time, Noah and his family must come out into a totally new world of resurrection life.” Peter himself makes it clear that the water of baptism does not wash us clean of our sin when he writes, “… not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” The resurrection of Jesus provided a way for our resurrection into eternal life – not the waters of baptism.
Today’s reading does not stand alone in the letter of Peter to “the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia”. It completes Peter’s instructions about godly suffering. The reason he took this almost strange detour was to point out that Jesus suffered the most of all when he was the righteous of all. He did not deserve the ridicule, the hate, or the pain yet he bore it with love and dignity. Because of this, he was able to proclaim his victory to his enemies. Hang in there. Persevere through struggle and strife because one day, you will prevail. You will see God prevail over all His enemies.
(Written by Keegan Harkins.)
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