MIRRORING/Emulating JESUS-II—1Peter 3:18--4:6
Attention:
Trusting Grandma:
Johnny was at his first day of school. The teacher starts the day with the pledge of allegiance, & instructs them to put their right hands over their hearts & repeat after her.
She looks around the room as she starts the recitation, “I pledge allegiance to the flag...” When her eyes fall on Johnny, she notices that Johnny's hand is over the right cheek of his bottom.
The teacher disappointedly says to Johnny, “Johnny, I will NOT continue till you put you hand over your heart.”
Johnny replies almost in tears, “But ma’am, it IS over my heart.”
The teacher pulls him aside & asks, “Why do you think that is your heart?”
“Because every time my Grandma comes to visit, she picks me up, pats me here, & says, 'Bless your little heart,' & my Grandma wouldn't lie about my heart being back there!”
•Like Johnny trusted & wisely acted on his Grandma’s word, so God’s people must mirror Jesus!
Christians are to mirror Jesus for the sake of others, who DO NOT KNOW HIM—that they might be saved—& for those who DO KNOW HIM—that they might be built up in their faith.
Need:
When your heart is set apart(‘sanctified’) to discovering & living out God’s will, then others, who have never heard or have merely ‘heard of’ God’s truth, will hear it from & thru you & the ministries to which you are called & in which you are involved.
Peter calls his audience to mirror/reflect/emulate Christ Jesus.
God’s people will strive to intentionally mirror/reflect Christ Jesus.
What of Christ Jesus are God’s people to reflect/mirror?
How are we to mirror Jesus?
Some reflections of Jesus which His people mirror.
Previously we have found that ‘Mirroring Jesus reflects’...
1. CHRIST’s SACRIFICE(:18)
*Today we’ll find that...
2—Mirroring Jesus reflects...?CHRIST’s DECLARATION Of VICTORY(:19-20)
Explanation:(:19-20)
:19—“by whom also He went & preached to the spirits in prison,”
“By whom also”—Or ‘In which also’
Jesus, by means of, or ‘in”(en) the same “Spirit/spirit”, that was instrumental in Jesus’ being considered alive after His physical death & burial(3:18—“But made alive by/in [the] Spirit”). This same Spirit is the One “by whom” or ‘in which’ Jesus Himself “preached to the spirits in prison.”
“...He went...”
Jesus’ in “spirit” &/or by the Holy “Spirit”(having been separated from His physical body), now pursues another task. He determines.
•Jesus is not caught up in some helpless state of existence. Jesus is not floating around in some mindless, void unable to affect action of any kind.
•Thus if you have put your trust in Christ, when you die... when a Christian dies—when the spirit of one of God’s people is separated from their body—neither will they helplessly, mindlessly float around in some untouchable, meaningless, uncontrollable state of existence.
“...& preached to the spirits in prison,”
Though Jesus indeed “preached to the spirits in prison”, He certainly did NOT preach to them a message that was personally applicable for them. Jesus’ message to them must have been that of a triumphal saving Good News, because His spiritual audience was & still is incarcerated “in prison.”
•The “prison” spoken of here, is the “prison” which contains the spiritual enemies of God. It is ‘probably’ the Abyss or Bottomless Pit of Lk. 8:26-31; Rev. 9:1-2, 11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1-3.
Lk. 8:26-31—Jesus & His disciples were in the land of the Gadarenes, which borders the Sea Of Galilee. There Jesus meets a certain man who had had demons for a long time. “Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.”
Rev. 9:1-2—“Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit, & smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun & the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.”
Rev. 9:11—“And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon[destruction], but in Greek he has the name Apollyon[destroyer].”
Rev. 11:7—“When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them[God’s 2 witnesses], overcome them, & kill them.”
Rev. 17:8—“The beast that you saw was, & is not, & will ascend out of the bottomless pit & go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, & is not, & yet is.”
Rev. 20:1-3—“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit & a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil & Satan, & bound him for a thousand years; & he cast him into the bottomless pit, & shut him up, & set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.”
?But WHAT exactly did Jesus preach to “the spirits in prison”?
•We are not told!
BUT...
•To “the spirits in prison”, as to all, minimally Jesus would have preached Himself...
1)As having uniquely died for the sins of humanity.
2)As the source of truly Good News because it overcomes all spiritual barriers.
3)As the Victor over the power of sin, & the Victor over the power of grave, & the Victor over the power of hell.
Jn. 14:6—Jesus to His disciple Thomas—“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, & the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
cf.-:22—“who has gone into heaven & is at the right hand of God, angels & authorities & powers having been made subject to Him.”
•All that would fulfill God’s plan for the ages was, initiated & is maintained, solely & uniquely by means of Jesus’ death & His imminent resurrection(within 3 days of His death & burial). That truth was made apparent!
•Jesus “preached” His victory which he had won, for mankind thru His death, & the certainty of His imminent(at that time) resurrection, & thus His ascension to heaven to sit in judgment at His Father’s right hand.
•Christ preached to those “in prison”, who had chosen to deny any allegiance & responsibility to God the Father, God the Son, & God the Holy Spirit.
“By/Through/In”—en—Preposition—1) In, by, with etc.. Strong—a primary preposition denoting (fixed)position(in place, time or state), & by implication--Instrumentality(medially or constructively), i.e. A relation of rest(intermediate between eiv[into, unto, to, towards, for, among] & ek/ex[out of, from, by, away from]).
“Whom/Which”—ov, h , o—Relative Pronoun Dative Sing. Neuter—1) Who, which, what, that. Strong—the relative (sometimes demonstrative)pronoun--Who, which, what, that.
“Also”(See :18; :13—“and”)—kai—Conjunction—1) And, also, even, indeed, but. Strong—apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative & sometimes also a cumulative force; And, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection(or composition) with other particles or small words.
“Went/Having Gone”—poreuomai—1Aorist Deponent(passive) Participle Nominative Sing. Masc.—1) To lead over, carry over, transfer—1a) To pursue the journey on which one has entered, to continue on one's journey, 1b) To depart from life, 1c) To follow one, that is: become his adherent—1c1) To lead or order one's life. Poreuomai expresses motion in general, often confined within certain limits, or giving prominence to the bearing; hence the regular word for the march of an army. Strong—To traverse, i.e. Travel (literally or figuratively; especially to remove [figuratively, die], live, etc.).
“Preached”—khrussw—1Aorist Active Indicative 3rd Sing.—1) To be a herald, to officiate as a herald—1a) To proclaim after the manner of a herald, 1b) Always with the suggestion of formality, gravity & an authority which must be listened to & obeyed; 2) To publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done; 3) Used of the public proclamation of the gospel & matters pertaining to it, made by John the Baptist, by Jesus, by the apostles & other Christian teachers. Hebrew zrk(Aramaic)ker-az'; probably of Greek origin; To proclaim. Strong—of uncertain affinity; To herald(as a public crier), especially divine truth(the gospel).
“Spirits”(See :18)—pneuma—Noun Dative Plural Neuter—1) The third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father & the Son; 2) The spirit, i.e. The vital principal by which the body is animated—2a) The rational spirit, the power by which the human being feels, thinks, decides, 2b) The soul; 3) A spirit, i.e. A simple essence, devoid of all or at least all grosser matter, & possessed of the power of knowing, desiring, deciding, & acting—3a) A life giving spirit, 3b) A human soul that has left the body, 3c) A spirit higher than man but lower than God, i.e. An angel—3c1) used of demons, or evil spirits, who were conceived as inhabiting the bodies of men, 3c2) The spiritual nature of Christ, higher than the highest angels & equal to God, the divine nature of Christ; 4) The disposition or influence which fills & governs the soul of any one—4a) the efficient source of any power, affection, emotion, desire, etc.; 5) A movement of air(a gentle blast). Strong—A current of air, i.e. Breath(blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively--A spirit, i.e. (human)--The rational soul, by implication--Vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman)--An angel, demon, or (divine)--God, Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit. RWP—‘“The Spirit” is the use of pneuma as metaphor.”?Pneuma corresponds to Hebrew—xwr. A)quch—Breath, i.e. by implication--Spirit, abstractly or concretely--The animal sentient ...principle only, which is distinguished from, B) pneuma—The rational & immortal soul, & C)zwh—Mere vitality, even of plants. These terms thus exactly correspond respectively to the Hebrew...A)vpn, B)xwr & C)yx.
“Prison”—fulakh—Noun Dative Sing. Fem.—1) Guard, watch—1a) A watching, keeping watch—1a1) To keep watch, 1b) Persons keeping watch, a guard, sentinels, 1c) Of the place where captives are kept, a prison, 1d) Of the time(of night) during which guard was kept, a watch i.e. A period of time during which part of the guard was on duty, & at the end of which others relieved them. As the earlier Greeks divided the night commonly into three parts, so, previous to the exile, the Israelites also had three watches in a night; subsequently, however, after they became subject to the Romans, they adopted the Roman custom of dividing the night into four watches. Strong—A guarding or (concretely--Guard), the act, the person; figuratively--The place, the condition, or specifically--The time(as a division of day or night), literally or figuratively.?From—fulassw—To watch, i.e. Be on guard(literally or figuratively); by implication,--To preserve, obey, avoid.
:20—“who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.”
The Holy Spirit thru Peter references the spirits in prison to whom Christ preached(3:19).
“who formerly were disobedient,...”
The spirits in prison are still alive in Jesus’ day & will remain alive...They have an eternal existence as do you & I, having been created to live eternally—& NOT created with sin.
*“The spirits in prison” to whom Jesus “preached” are those angelic demonic majesties, authorities, & powers which have now been made utterly subject to Him(cf.-3:22; Jude :6).
Jude :6—“And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;”
*Obviously all things have not yet come to their appointed ends. But one day in our future they will be completely fulfilled as promised by God.
These “spirits in prison”, having heard the truth from Jesus, have no choice but to relinquish their lesser authority & power to His determinations as the One to whom all authority has been granted(Mat. 28:18; Jn. 3:35-36; Jn. 5:22-23).
Mat. 28:18—“And Jesus came & spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven & on earth.”
Jn. 3:35-36—“The Father loves the Son, & has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; & he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Jn. 5:22-23—““For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”
It is not that these spirits(3:19) were ‘occasionally’(“formerly”) “disobedient”, but rather, that they had committed themselves to continual “disobedience”, even from “former” times. They maintained their “disobedience” because they were & are wholly unconvinced & unpersuaded by the truth. They chose to align themselves with the Devil rather than with the eternal & loving God thru Christ. They are locked into that choice, given that they have stood in God’s very presence.
•So it is not that “the spirits in prison”(3:19) were at one time ‘bad’ but are now ‘good.’ Nor was it that they were created ‘bad.’
•It’s rather that they ‘made their bed & must sleep in it.’
?When did this “former disobedience” take place?—2 observations...
1)During a time “...when once the Divine longsuffering waited...”
•God(“the Divine”) is characterized as being “longsuffering” when dealing with the free choices of His creation—specifically angelic majesties & particularly mankind, as man chooses how to relate to those angelic majesties & God Himself.
2)More specifically during a time...
“...in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared,...”
Even “in the days of Noah”,—when the wickedness of man was openly & unbearably apparent—God then “waited”—patiently suffering long—during that time “while the ark was being prepared”/built.
“...in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.”
The purpose of Noah’s ark was so that the “few”—eight souls—could be saved. Obviously others were told that their means of salvation would be thru the ark that God instructed Noah to build. Peter tells us in 2Pet. 2:5 that Noah was “a preacher of righteousness.”
2Pet. 2:4-5—“For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell & delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; & did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;”
Argumentation:
Jn. 16:33--17:3—“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, & said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, “as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, & Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
Behind the word “Overcome” is the word -nikaw- largely meaning ‘victory.’ Jesus has gained the victory for those who accept Him as Savior & Lord.
Jn. 14:27—“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Ps. 85:7-13—To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah—“Show us Your mercy, LORD, And grant us Your salvation. I will hear what God the LORD will speak, For He will speak peace To His people & to His saints; But let them not turn back to folly. Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land. Mercy & truth have met together; Righteousness & peace have kissed. Truth shall spring out of the earth, And righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yes, the LORD will give what is good; And our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before Him, And shall make His footsteps our pathway.”
Lk. 2:13-14—At Christ’s birth—“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God & saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
How can that promise hold water if Peace & Goodwill are not centered in Christ Jesus’ victory!?
Rom. 5:1-11—“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, & rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; & perseverance, character; & character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.”
Col. 1:19-20—“For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, & by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.”
1Jn. 5:4-5—“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
Mat. 12:18-21—quoting the prophet Isaiah—“Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel nor cry out, Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench, Till He sends forth justice to victory; And in His name Gentiles will trust.”
1Cor. 15:51-55, 57—“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, & the dead will be raised incorruptible, & we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, & this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, & this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”.....“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Illustration:
Some ongoing ministries of First Baptist Church Carrabelle are...
•Noah’s Ark Water Park—Free water fun!
•Riverfront Festival—Free drinking water!
•Holiday On The Harbor(AKA—Chocolate Night)--Free Hot Chocolate!
•Cookie ministry—Free cookies!
•Every Sunday—Free--Age-graded-Sunday School(small group Bible Study); Free—Worship(large group Bible exposition).
•Every Wednesday—Free--Devotional encouragement—Free--Group sharing for Prayer.
*These all offer the DECLARATION Of CHRIST’s VICTORY to the all! But when push comes to shove, It is entirely up to the individual to respond appropriately!
Application:
?Do YOU Mirror CHRIST’s DECLARATION?...
?What is Reflected by your life?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Like Johnny trusted & wisely acted on his Grandma’s word, so God’s people must mirror Jesus!
Action:
Mirroring Jesus reflects...
2. CHRIST’s DECLARATION Of VICTORY(:19-20)
1. CHRIST’s SACRIFICE(:18)
Pt#2 only! presented 05/24/2020am(Memorial Day) to:
1stBC Cbelle
Video presentation thru YouTube, Shared to Facebook @ ‘First Baptist Church Carrabelle’
206 Storrs Ave.(SE Ave. A)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
