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We're in our last session for this what would you call it? quarter semester in uh first Peter and uh
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I'm going to read we're going to focus on uh verses 18- 22 but I'd like to read starting at verse 13 of chapter 3 to set the uh the setting of this section of
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first Peter 1 Peter 3 verse 13. And who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even
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if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. and do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to
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make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence, and keep a good conscience, so that in the thing in which you are
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slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is
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right rather than for doing what is wrong. For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that he might bring us to God,
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having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who were once
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were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah during the construction of the ark, in which a few that is eight persons were brought brought safely through water.
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And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you, not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right
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hand of God, having gone into heaven, and after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to him. Let us
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again. And Father, we do ask that by your Holy Spirit, you would speak. You would speak to our our complete selves, our spirit, soul, and body, that we might understand the word. That we might
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have a heart to continue to seek learning, seeking wisdom, seeking understanding of what you say to your people. And Father,
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that you would truly, as we have just sung, that you would be a blessing to us, that you would remember us for good, and that you would help us as we seek to build up one another in love, build up
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the body of Christ. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.
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Perhaps you were thinking as particularly reading verses 19- 22 that these are really hard verses.
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In fact, as one of the commentators said, uh there is an intense controversy over these verses. The commentator Daniel Doriani
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writes, "First Peter 3:18b through22 is by all accounts the most difficult passage to interpret in first Peter. Some say the entire New Testament."
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Karen Jobes writes, "This passage in First Peter is perhaps the one most debated from the earliest days of the church. it has been understood in very
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different ways. And then she goes on to cite one scholar who calculates 180 different exoggetical combinations of this passage in theory.
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No less an eminent man of God, Martin Luther writes
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text and then he goes on to say, Mitch Sisher height basal Petrus damit m
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roughly spoken and roughly translated it says this is a wonderful text but I have no clear idea what Peter
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the question I mean there they are and here I am questions abound questions abound was Christ made alive in his spirit or made alive by the Holy Spirit.
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Who were the spirits in prison? When it says that Jesus went, where did he go? And when did he go
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and what did he say to these spirits? Did Jesus preach the three days when his body was in the tomb?
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Did Christ preach at the time of Noah or on the Saturday between the crucifixion and the resurrection or after his resurrection?
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And what does Peter mean when he says that Noah and his family were saved through water?
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Peter has three christoologgical passages in this book so far.
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cross. He starts each one of these with an understanding of Christ's suffering and death. And to me, this is the foundation. This
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is the place where we need to begin. Not just because this is a hard passage, but because this is the grounding of
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this passage. this passage. In the first uh christoologgic passage in chapter 1, we read this in verse 18. You were redeemed with precious blood as
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of a lamb unblenmished and spotless. The blood of Christ. The idea is there there is a freeing power to Christ's sacrifice
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and his sufferings. It says Peter says it frees you from your feudal way of life you inherited from your forefathers. And some say the theme of this first
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passage would be a pathway to faith and hope. And in chapter two we read this since Christ also suffered for you.
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It teaches us of the redeeming power of Christ's suffering and crucifixion. He goes on to say that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.
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The theme might be in the imitation of Christ. It is a pathway to blessing. And in this section verse 18, he says because Christ also suffered once for
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all as a sacrifice for sins. It's the conquering power of Christ's resurrection and ascension. And this theme, I think, is the theme of
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this hard passage, a pathway from suffering to glory. See, this this passage is a what's called a seat of doctrine. I've
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forgotten the Latin, and I've already butchered the German, so I won't try the Latin. Christ's victory over evil, which all believers share. It It grounds the
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claims that we just read in verse 13 through 17. It is better for suffering for doing good than to suffer for doing evil. Well, why? Because it's based on
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the fact that Christ suffered an unjust death for doing good. But Peter doesn't leave us hanging there, but he says that that suffering
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Nothing comes against the believer that is not in control of the risen Christ. Even suffering for doing good. And so therefore there is no need to fear that evil will conquer you because
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Christ has conquered evil. interpretation of its meaning meaning this passage of
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its obscurities and ambiguities should be governed by its function within the immediate context within this letter. Peter is reminding his readers that just
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as believers sometimes suffer, Christ also suffered. Yet his suffering brought about a great victory.
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And Christ's victory is total. Notice verse 22. All angels, all power, all authorities are subject
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to him. to him. Therefore, I think Peter would say, "Do not let the difficulties of this passage negate the encouragement and hope that
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it gives." it gives." And you may be disappointed that I'm not going to interpret all of these things, who these spirits are, and what all of these things mean, because there's so
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much depth here to the christologology of what Christ has done in verse 18.
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But I think that those passages that are obscure and somewhat ambiguous all magnify what Christ has done and help us understand if we understood
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all that Peter meant which I do not yet. But there is a uniqueness. There is something very distinct about the
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exaltation because of the suffering and death of Christ. And I want to point out that my version, the New American Standard in verse 18 says, "For Christ also died for
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sins." But but Peter is talking in the in the context of you may be facing suffering. You may be facing mistreatment. And so the word that Peter
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actually uses is Christ also suffered for sins once for all. He's trying to direct us to the suffering. Yes, the suffering led to
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death, but he's trying to get us to understand the uniqueness of Christ's suffering. And the uniqueness of Christ's suffering, he says, is because Christ suffered for sins.
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See people suffered. People suffer now. People suffered then. But the idea is concerning sin is what the Greek means.
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And in the Old Testament, particularly in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagen relates it to sin offering. sin offering. Christ's suffering was an offering for
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sin. The writer to the Hebrews seems to connect this for us. A little obscure, but listen. He says, "For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought
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into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sins are burned outside the camp." Therefore, Jesus also
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that he might sanctify the people through his own blood suffered outside the gate. He's equating Jesus offering his own blood as a sin offering
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for our sins. And we know that he himself said, "But I lay down my life for my sheep."
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The uniqueness is that his suffering and sacrifice was for the sins not of himself but for others even though he himself was without sin.
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But there's also a an exclusiveness in Christ's suffering. And that exclusiveness again in verse 18 is that because Christ suffered once for all.
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And I take this once for all quite literally. It is not only once for all time, but it's once for all sins.
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That's the kind of atonement that Christ The exclusiveness is that Christ's suffering, as what commentator Edmund
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Clowney wrote, perfect, final, and therefore not to be repeated in history or in symbol. It's kind of a a jab at the Roman
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Catholic Church that that crucifies Christ every mass. And he's saying, "No, it's once for all time. It is perfect. It is final. And it's not to be repeated
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again." And that's its exclusiveness. No one else can do that. And again, the writer to the Hebrews helps us. He says he does not need daily like those high
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priests of old or the high priests of another church to offer up sacrifices he did once for all when he offered up
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himself. So it's unique. It's for the sins of other people. It's distinct be or exclusive because exclusive because it's once for all. But there is a
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singularity to Christ's suffering. It says because Christ suffered the righteous for the unrighteous. There can only be one. He never deserved
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to die to die because he was sinless. He He had nothing to condemn him. The righteous one
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righteous one died for the unrighteous many. He did what was right and good. Therefore, his death was what we call
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the big 25 cent word, vicarious. We experienced life through his suffering. It's what he did. Peter's
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already helped us go back to Isaiah 53. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree. Again, the writer, I mean,
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Hebrews is all over this. Hebrews chapter 9, he has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
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But his death was also substitutionary. He died in our place as sinners to pay our penalty for our sin, taking our
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punishment and our guilt and crediting us with his righteousness. We just sang that, right?
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Looking at Jesus and pardoning me. Looking at Jesus, the just one, pardon the unjust. That's a singularity that no one
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probably even thought of, no one could do. And his death was sufficient because he was sinless. John writes of Jesus in
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this is love not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his son to be the again big word propitiation the satisfaction for our sins.
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And then John reminds us, "And if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ, the righteous, and he himself is the satisfaction for
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our sins. And not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world."
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And I think Paul summarizes this in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 when he says, "He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the
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righteousness of God in him." That's the righteous one for the
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There's the uniqueness. There's the exclusiveness. There's the singularity of Christ's suffering, but there's also a distinctiveness of his suffering. Peter writes, "Because Christ suffered
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to bring you to God." We have access to God,
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the great, the awesome God, whom the writer to the Hebrews describes as a consuming fire consuming fire through Christ. through Christ. It's as if Peter says, "You, you, my
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beloved brethren, you resident aliens, those of you soldiers and strangers in this world, mistreated, misunderstood
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because you're a Christian. People don't they look at you like you're weird, like you have it's just a crutch. You
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you may approach the almighty God in worship and fellowship.
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The suffering of believers has no power to bring others to God. Only Christ through his suffering and death are the means that brings us to
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And there are those who think, well, the death of Jesus was a mistake. That it was an accident. It wasn't meant to happen. The writer to the Hebrews disagrees. He says, "For it was fitting."
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It was fitting to us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens, who does not need daily like
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those priests to offer up sacrifices first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people because he did this once for all when he offered up himself.
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There's things that are hard to understand. But there is encouragement in all this for us as well as anyone who reads Peter
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because Christ's suffering was purposeful and it was victorious so that any unjust suffering by believers will have the same result. It
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will have purpose and it will have came across this author. Didn't know his name. Didn't know that he was a novelist
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as well as a sometimes pastor. Frederick Beckner wrote, "Resurrection means the worst thing is not the last thing." I
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mean, what's the worst thing that most people think of that could happen in their life is they will die. And he says resurrection tells us that the worst thing is not the last thing.
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Why? Because death is not the end. Christ's sacrifice for sin was all sufficient as testified by the wording
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Jesus having gone into heaven. Verse 22 emphasizes his ascension after his resurrection, the triumph over evil. He entered heaven and he rules at
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God's right hand. For him, death was not the end. For us, death is not the end. It's a victory.
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The psalm that I read this morning, Psalm 110 Psalm 110 tells us about that rule and reign. The Lord says to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a
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foottool for your feet. The Lord will stretch forth your strong scepter from Zion, saying, "Rule in the midst of your enemies." And I think again that these things that
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are hard to look at, these ambiguities, these dis discrepancies we may call them, I think they magnify
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his suffering and the glory of his victory. And I don't know what these spirits are. I've looked at Genesis chapter 6 and
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they many think that they are the but it says he went also went and made proclamation to the spirits now in
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prison perhaps prison perhaps Christ's proclamation was of victory over evil over evil but the judgment for all evil that is
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unrepentant that he proclaimed to them as the crucified died but risen Lord. Certainly all are subject to him as he exercises powers and authority of a
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sovereign. And in verse 20 he says they were once disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah. It seems to emphasize the disobedience of
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unbelief, not only in Noah's day, but in ours as well. Here it features God's patience before the ark was being built. Again, Genesis
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6 seems to be the climax of sin for that generation. Now, great enough to justify the extermination of all humanity except a
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few. The judgment of the flood destroyed all people except Noah and his family. The water destroyed the wicked.
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But that was then. They are now in prison. God provided the ark to save Noah from judgment of the flood. But the ark did
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not save him. But I think it does symbolize Christ's final salvation over sin over sin and death.
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Verse 21. I'm not sure again that I can understand the phrase baptism now saves you except that Peter adds through the
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resurrection of Jesus Christ. Baptism is not merely a physical act. It's not just
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witness. Its saving power is rooted in the resurrection victory of Christ. On the basis of his death and resurrection, we ask God to grant us forgiveness of sins
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and a clean conscience. It is union with Christ. It is being buried with him as a participant in his
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burial, death, resurrection. Peter's message, I think, is pretty clear. In spite of
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the ambiguities, the ambiguities, in your suffering, Jesus still reigns and rules. And I think Luther got it right. This is a vundabara text.
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The writer again to the Hebrews sums it up again. Many look and say, "Why did Christ have to suffer?" But he says
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again, "It was fitting for him." Listen, for in subjecting all things to him, he left nothing that is not subject to him.
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But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. But we do see him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely Jesus, because
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of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God, he might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for him, for whom all
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things and through whom all things are in bringing many sons to glory to perfect the champion of their salvation
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through suffering. See, he agrees perfectly with Peter.
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There was no surrender on Jesus' part of his people into the hands of any evil power. Jesus triumpher triumphed over them all.
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Nothing nothing separates us from living and reigning with him. And yes, it is truly a wonderful text. Let us pray.
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Our heavenly father, we thank you for these words of Peter. We thank you that these things are not just
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tripe. They're not just pablum. There are things that cause us to think that that cause us to to wonder to be in awe of the words that you have chosen for us
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to to be saved, for us to read, to study, to meditate over. Thank you for the message of Peter. Thank you for the encouragement to us as resident aliens
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in this world. May we honor you with our lives. May we honor you with the the joy and the the wonder of our own fellowship
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together. May you be exalted in Christ's name. Amen. name. Amen. Would you please rise for the good word
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from Romans chapter 8? Paul writes, "But in all these things we are overwhelmingly conquering through him who loved us. For I am convinced
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that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any created thing
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shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
