1 Peter 3:20

Jesus has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

So the same Jesus, whom verse 18 says, suffered and died, now reigns victorious over all. And the very same authorities, powers, and demonic forces that persecute us are under Jesus' feet. And so Peter's encouraging us in our suffering that Jesus is victorious. He tells us in verse 18,

Christ also suffered.

You're going to suffer and so did Christ. The path to exaltation is always through suffering. You can't reach the mountain peak of the presence of God without going through the valley of suffering. But notice further that he also says that Christ suffered for us. He says in verse 18,

for Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.

So Jesus is more than our example, more than one who simply exemplifies the principle that suffering precedes exaltation. He's also our substitute. He's our sin bearer who suffered for us to bring us to God. And therefore, the point that Peter's making is that Jesus's victory is ours as well. Jesus's victory means that no matter what sufferings we go through, no matter what persecutions we face, no matter how outnumbered we are, if we are in Christ by faith, we cannot be lost. He is already exalted to heaven at the right hand of God with all angels, authorities, and powers subjected to him. So I hope you can see from this broader context that this passage about Christian suffering and persecution and the way that the victory of Christ should embolden us for faithfulness in the midst of it. Now, with that in view, what then do we make of verses 19 through 21, where Peter brings up no in the flood and then baptism? How does that fit? And more particularly, what does it mean when he says that

Jesus went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison who formerly did not obey when God's patience waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared.

Now, there's probably more interpretations of this than I could even mention in the time we have tonight, but let me briefly mention four, and I think these, probably most interpretations are gonna fit somewhere along one of these four lines. Okay, so number one, Some have interpreted this to mean that between Jesus' death and resurrection, Jesus descended into hell in order to liberate Old Testament saints. Okay, so the interpretation is that the spirits in prison were Old Testament believers who couldn't yet go to heaven because Jesus hadn't paid for their sins. Number two. Some have interpreted this to mean that between Jesus' death and resurrection, Jesus descended into hell in order to preach the gospel to lost people. So the spirits in prison would be Old Testament unbelievers who were given a second chance at salvation. Number three, some have interpreted this to refer to Jesus by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of Noah preaching to the ancient world in Noah's day. Okay, so the spirits in prison are people who are now dead and in hell because back then they rejected the preaching of Noah, or Jesus preaching through Noah, while they were alive, and then they died in the flood. Then number four, some have interpreted this to refer to Jesus proclaiming his victory over fallen angels. So, the spirits in prison would be rebellious angels, particularly those mentioned in Genesis 6, when the sons of God went into the daughters of men and had children by them, and that occurred in the days leading up to the flood. Those are four views. Personally, I think the third and fourth are the most plausible. And I currently lead towards the fourth. Now, in the interest of time, I'm not going to go through and give you all the pros and cons of the different views. All of them have challenges. But what I will do is, in light of the fourth view, try to briefly walk through the verses and explain what I think they mean and why. So, starting in the second half of verse 18, Peter says that Jesus was

put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.

And I take that to mean that Jesus offered himself to die physically, but was subsequently made alive or resurrected by the Holy Spirit. Then, following his resurrection, verse 19 says that Jesus

in the spirit, went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison.

" Now, the word went is significant because it suggests that Jesus physically went somewhere, just like down in verse 22 where it says that

Jesus has gone into heaven.

You know, of course, that means he literally physically ascended into heaven. So that is where it's a little bit awkward on that third view to interpret this to mean that Jesus, by the Spirit, was speaking through Noah. It seems more natural to interpret it as the resurrected Jesus going to wherever these imprisoned angels are to proclaim his victory over them and shame them. Also note that the word proclaimed is a different word than is often used for preached or preaching. So this sounds maybe a bit less like preaching repentance and more like announcing something like victory. And then, finally, there's the phrase, the spirits in prison. And I think that most naturally refers to angels rather than men. Usually spirits throughout the rest of the New Testament refers to angels. Prison is actually nowhere else used of hell, but it is used of the pit into which Satan is thrown in Revelation 20. Also, in 2 Peter and in Jude, both make reference to angels who left their proper domain or sinned, and as a result are being kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness. So for all those reasons, I'm inclined toward that fourth view. Now, in light of that, what then is our verses 20 and 21 saying? Well, here's basically what I think Peter's point is. He's reminding persecuted Christians of perhaps the bleakest days in the history of the world. Days when it says,

then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Days when it says,

God was sorry that he'd made man and it grieved him in his heart.

Days when apparently angels left their proper domain to do something so destructive to the very fabric of the world that God intervened to immediately imprison them. And I mean, there's all sorts of demons that are allowed by God to continue to roam freely, right? But evidently there were some angels that were imprisoned. And these were days when God determined to destroy the entire world with a flood. And there was only one household of a few, that is eight persons, who found grace in God's sight. I mean, if there was ever a time when it seemed like, it would seem like the righteous would be swallowed up with the wicked, that was it. And yet Peter here tells us that God's patience waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared. And I take that not to mean that God was waiting for others to repent, though perhaps that's also true, but I take that to mean that God was waiting for the ark to be finished so that these eight might be spared. In other words, like with Sodom, when even though this outcry had reached to heaven, God patiently delayed his judgment for the sake of a tiny minority who had found grace in his sight. And Peter is bringing this up to assure us that no matter how outnumbered or persecuted we as Christians may be or feel, God will deliver his people. As Peter will later say in 2 Peter 2,

if God did not spare the angels or the ancient world, but did spare Noah. If God did not spare Sodom or Gomorrah, but rescued Lot, then God knows how to rescue the godly from trials. and to keep the righteous and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment.

You see Peter is illustrating for us in the most extreme case the very thing he already said earlier about how those who suffer for righteousness sake will be blessed but those who do evil will be put to shame. Noah's family is saved. the rest of the world perishes. And now, Peter says, Jesus, the resurrected Christ, has gone to proclaim to spirits in prison, proclaiming his victory, showing his power, and putting them to open shame. And then, to forge the connection to us as Christians even stronger, Peter brings up baptism. And he argues, essentially, that just as God brought those eight people safely through the waters of the flood, God brings us safely through the waters of baptism as well. He says, verse 21,

baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

And you see, that's because baptism, on one hand, represents death. Baptism represents being drowned. being buried, being destroyed by a flood, because that's what our sins deserve. But on the other hand, baptism represents life, because through the resurrection of Jesus, we rise up out of the waters of baptism, just like Noah and his family were brought safely through the flood. We rise up out of the waters of baptism knowing that a new creation awaits us, just like it did for Noah and his family. Because we know that death itself has no claim on us anymore. Because our sins have already been judged. Jesus, the righteous, bore our sins for us. The unrighteous, he bore them all. And that's why Peter can say here, baptism saves us. Not as the physical act, not the removal of dirt from the body. but as an expression of our faith in the reality to which baptism points, as an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We're baptized by faith, looking to Christ, knowing that he died on the cross to pay for our sins and that through his resurrection, we too will be raised up to newness of life. And therefore, through our faith, We see our risen and our victorious Savior who delivers us from God's judgment, who delivers us from all persecution, who delivers us from our own sin, that he might bring us to God. That's our great hope. That's what Peter is trying to point us to. That's how Peter is saying, be faithful in the midst of the persecution you face. Now, before we close, I want to turn to some final application. And I know this has been some heavy exegetical lifting for a Wednesday night, so if any of you are, you know, lost touch or dozing off, come back and hear some take-home application. What is the final takeaway, especially as we think about this in relation to the patience of God? Well, I think 1 Peter 3, verse 20 teaches us that we need to live with the coming judgment of God in view, knowing that God is patiently delaying for our good and salvation. Think about God delaying the sending of the flood till Noah and his family can finish the art. Think about God delaying the fire and brimstone falling upon Sodom and Gomorrah until Lot and his family are outside the city. Ask yourself how terrible it would be if Noah or Lot, instead of obeying God, instead of being faithful under the persecution and the situation they were in, had just befriended the people of the world? Had just given up on doing what God was calling them to do? I mean, how sad that would be. We would just be pulling our hair out, reading that in the Bible, thinking, what are they thinking? Well, we need to realize that we're in a similar situation to them. The end of the world is coming. Judgment will fall on this world as well. Now, God hasn't commanded us to build an ark. He hasn't commanded us to physically flee a specific city. But what is God waiting for? Well, he's given us a commission. He's commanded us to

go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.

We know that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. Like there are sheep for whom Christ died that we are called to take the gospel to. God is patiently waiting to send the final judgment until we are faithful to go out there and bring his children home. Are we being faithful to what we're called to do? Are we sharing the gospel? Are we striving together so that Christ, the name of Christ would be made known? And then another thing, there's a number of places in scripture where we're warned about unfaithfulness. We're warned about what it would be like for Christ to come back when maybe we're living like Steve Lawson. Maybe we're living in just spiritual apathy. How ashamed we'd feel to stand before our Lord then. And as the end is delayed, we're being given this opportunity by God to stop burying our talent, to stop being like the servant who's beating his fellow servants, and to repent. And to begin living for him so that when he comes back, we can hear, well done, good and faithful servant. So we can receive the reward that our Heavenly Father is eager to give us. So as we think tonight about the patience of God, Let it spur us on to faithfulness. May we strive for holiness. May we strive to be about the Lord's work as he's called us to be with this glorious end in view. That no matter what persecution we're facing, it's worth it. Christ is victorious. No matter what struggles are before us, it's worth it. Christ is victorious. He has already gone before us to the right hand of God. All principalities and powers and angels and authorities are beneath his feet. So may we strive forward and be faithful. Amen. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for this message to us from the book of 1 Peter. We praise you that you are a God of patience, that you wait patiently for the good of your people. Oh Lord, help us to respond, not by losing heart, not by becoming idle, but oh God, by pressing on, by enduring persecution, knowing that in the end, we might hear from you, well done, good and faithful servant. Please give us grace to do so, with the help of your spirit, we pray, in Jesus' name, amen.