Spirit Powers - 1 Peter 3:18-22 Series

1 Peter 3:13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." 15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that is in you. But do this with gentleness and fear, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that when your good behavior in Christ is being slandered, the ones mistreating you may be put to shame. 17 It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in flesh but made alive in spirit, 19 through which also he also went and preached to the spirits in prison 20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now also saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand--with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

Introduction

I will tell you right up front, today's sermon is not going to be a walk in the park. This text is one of the most difficult passages in the entire Bible to interpret. It demands the best from the interpreter, it demands the best from the preacher, and it demands the best from the listeners. I hope you are ready to work hard because this is one of those times when the Spirit of God takes us down so deep into the profound richness of divine truth that it taxes our utmost abilities to grasp it all. But if we are willing to roll up our sleeves and do this, the rewards will be visions of the triumph of Christ that, according to 4:1, will enable us to defeat sin in our lives. Almost every phrase in this passage has been interpreted many different ways. So the only way to make this all fit into a single sermon is to put most of the material in footnotes. So my plan is to just preach my conclusions, and if you want to see the defense for those conclusions, you can look at the footnotes in the sermon manuscript.

From Flesh to Spirit: Jesus Raised in Power

You will remember from last time that the first half of verse 18 is a summary statement of what Jesus accomplished on the cross.

18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.

Then, in the second part of the verse Peter points out something about how Jesus was made alive.

18 ... He was put to death in flesh but made alive in spirit

What do the phrases in flesh and in spirit mean?

Physical Death vs. Non-Physical Life? No

Could it be that in flesh means physically - Jesus died physically, but then in spirit means non-physical - Jesus was made alive in a non-physical way? No. Jesus' resurrection was just as physical as His death. The first time Jesus appeared to His disciples after He rose from the dead they thought they were seeing a ghost.

Luke 24:39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.

Jesus was raised physically, bodily, with flesh and bone. That is one of the essentials of the Christian faith.

Some people have said, "Made alive isn't even talking about the resurrection. It's talking about Jesus coming alive spiritually during the three days He was in the tomb - before the resurrection." But that is a problem too, because what part of Jesus was alive during those three days? His divine nature was alive, but not because it was made alive. It was already alive. Jesus' divine nature was never made alive, because it never died.

And the same thing could be said about His human soul. When your body dies, your soul does not die. Your soul does not have to be resurrected - just your body. The soul never dies.

Jesus was put to death, meaning He went from being alive to being dead, and then He was made alive. I do not know what made alive can mean other than He went from not being alive to being alive. And the only part of Jesus that went from not being alive to being alive was His body, so this must be a reference to the resurrection, which would not exactly be unheard of - that a New Testament writer would refer to the death and resurrection of Jesus in a passage that is summarizing the gospel.