We left off last week with Peter’s reminder it is better “to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” If we have any doubt about the truth of this idea, Jesus is our example. The only perfect Person who ever lived suffered and died for all of the unrighteous people in the world, for each individual who chooses to trust in and receive the gift.
“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18a).
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
- We have all missed the point of life, which is living with 1
- Sin is any offense against God that leads to guilt.1
- In His righteous, Jesus acted in conformity with all of God’s laws.2
- He was just and right without deficiency or failure.2
- Jesus died to bring us near to God, present before Him.3
- Imagine that!
- We can now approach God. (Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45, Hebrews 10:19-20)
*What does it mean to miss the point of life, or living with God?
*What does it mean to you to come near to God and stand before Him?
Peter continued his teaching,
“He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, He went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits—to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built” (1 Peter 3:18-20a).
- Scholars disagree on the exact meaning of these verses.4
- If nothing else, Peter confirmed the truth of other Scriptures.
- If Jesus went to a place where dead people were, He died an actual physical death.
- He was made “alive in the Spirit”—His exalted spiritual nature, in contrast to the flesh.5
- We might envision a seed buried in the ground that springs up to new life.6
- Through the Spirit, Jesus preached to those who were imprisoned.
- Whether He preached to those who died in the flood or not, we know unbelievers are prisoners in their sin.
“He [Jesus] came to Nazareth… and stood up to read… ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:18, NASB).
*Why is Jesus’ physical death significant?
*Why is being held captive, or prisoner, in sin an appropriate analogy?
*What does it mean to say Christ sets us free from sin?
These verses don’t specify exactly what Jesus declared.
- Given the context, it’s likely He proclaimed His victory over death.
- If He visited those who died in the flood, this declaration seals their doom.
- The disobedient did not allow themselves to be persuaded by Noah’s message or to believe God’s truth.
- If He appeared to all who died before the time of Christ, Jesus’ proclamation offers hope because God’s plan of redemption is now complete.
“In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God” (1 Peter 3:20b-21).
- Noah and his family were saved from the danger of God’s wrath.
- The wicked of Noah’s day were swept away in the flood’s waters of judgment.
- We receive salvation when we ask God to “sweep away” our sins through Christ’s death in our place.
- He took God’s wrath and judgment on Him as He paid the penalty for our sin.
- Jesus offers us salvation—spiritual deliverance from spiritual death, or separation from God.7
- Christ has indeed completed the work of redemption.
*Why is the completion of God’s redemptive work important?
*What does it mean to have our sins “swept away”?
“It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to Him” (1 Peter 21b-22).
- Jesus now has “equal honor with [God].”8
Paul described Christ’s completed work this way,
“That power is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church” (Ephesians 1:19b-22).
And the writer to the Hebrews summarized,
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Hebrews 1:3).
*Why is it significant that Jesus has equal honor with God?
*How are these verses relevant for us today?
1 Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D., The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament (Chattanooga, Tennessee: AMG Publishers, 1992), 130
2 Zodhiates, 457
3 Zodhiates, 1227
4 William Barclay. The Letters of James and Peter. The Daily Study Bible Series. (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1976), 236-243
4 Harold L. Fickett, Jr. Peter’s Principles. (Glendale, CA: Regal Books, G/L Publications, 1974), 108-110
4 Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D., The Complete Word Study New Testament (Chattanooga, Tennessee: AMG Publishers, 1991), 758
4 Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D., The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament (Chattanooga, Tennessee: AMG Publishers, 1992), 316
5 Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary, 1182
6 Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary, 705
7 Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary, 1356
8 Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary, 405