The Gospel According to Peter

1 Peter 3:18–22

I. Literary Context

1. Central Theme of 1^st Peter: Suffering of Christian in a hostile world.
2. Purpose of 1^st Peter:  To encourage Christians to persevere and live godly, even as they suffer under persecution.

C.     Literary Plan of 1^st Peter:

1.      Opening Greeting (1:1–2)

2.      Body of Letter (1:3–5:11)

a.      Be Assured of the Living Hope (1:3–12)

b.      Be Holy (1:13–2:10)

c.      Be Godly in Social Conducts (2:11–3:7)

d.      Be Christ-like in unjust suffering (3:8–5:11)

i.                 Manners to respond to evil and unjust insult (3:8–12)

ii.                Blessings for the persecuted (3:13–17)

iii.               Basis for the manners in responding to persecution and blessings that follows unjust suffering (3:18–22)

iv.               Living as a Christian (4:1–11)

v.                Suffering as a Christian (4:12–19)

vi.               Exhortation for the churches & their leaders (5:1–11)

3.      Closing Greetings (5:12–14)

II. Exposition of 1^st Pet. 3:18–22

1. The Core Message of Peter:  The Gospel (3:18)
   1. Christ died once and for all for sins—not His own sins, for He is the Righteous One—but the sins of the unrighteous men.
   2. The purpose of his death is to reconcile us sinners to God.
   3. Christ does not remain dead; He has been made alive.

4.      The gospel presented in 3:18 is the crux of 3:18–22.

B.     The Proclamation of Christ: Spirits in Prison (3:19-20a)

1.      Two Key Greek words in questions:

a.      πορευθεὶς (poreutheis):  He went having gone.

b.      ἐκήρυξεν (ekēruxen):                       He preached (e.g., RSV, NIV, KJV)      He proclaimed (e.g., ESV, NASB, HCSB, NRSV)

2.      The Four Main Ambiguities in 3:19–20a:

a.      When did Christ go to proclaim?

b.      Where did Christ go to proclaim?

c.      What did Christ proclaim?

d.      To whom did Christ proclaim?

3.      Four different major views:

a.      Augustinian view: Christ preached the gospel (What) through Noah to the people during Noah’s days (To Whom & When), when these people are alive.  So, the question of “Where” is not applicable in 3:19 as no literal prison is meant.  Christ thus went “by the Spirit.”

b.      Sinful Antediluvians view: After He died on the cross (When), Christ descended into hell (Where) and preached the gospel (What) to the souls of the people who rejected Noah’s preaching and perished in the Flood in Noah’s days (To Whom), offering them salvation.  By extension he offers a second chance to all in Hell.

c.      Mediaeval view (OT saints): Christ descended into hell (Where) and released souls of Old Testament believers (to Whom) between His crucifixion and resurrection (When).

d.      Evil Angels view: After His resurrection from death (When), in His postresurrection state, Christ proclaimed His victory (What) to the disobedient angels (to Whom) in Noah’s days (while the ark was being prepared), who were confined in prison.                                                  The Prison (Where):  Unknown. Bottomless pit in Rev 9:1-2?

A.     Biblical support for this view:

1)     When:  1^st two words in 3:19, in which (ἐν ᾧ), follows immediately after spirit (πνεύματι), the last word in 3:18.

2)     To Whom:  the spirits in prison are the evil fallen angels (Gen 6:2-4) because:

a.      Link to 2 Peter 2:4–5 and Jude 6

b.      “spirits” (plural) refers to supernatural beings (e.g., Matt. 8:16; 10:1; Mark 1:27; 5:13; 6:7; Luke 4:36; 6:18; 7:21; 8:2; 10:20; 11:26; Acts 5:16; 8:7; 19:12, 13; 1 Tim. 4:1; 1 John 4:1; Rev. 16:13–14; cf. Heb. 1:7).

c.      “prison” (φυλακή): place of punishment for Satan.

3)     What is ekēruxen:  ἐκήρυξεν (ekēruxen) = to proclaim:

a.      The message proclaimed ≠ gospel (i.e., no second chance of salvation)

b.      preaching the gospel = εὐαγγελίζω (euanggelizo)       (cf.: 1 Pet. 4:6)

4)     Where is this prison?

a.      Difficult to decide for sure

b.      “Bottomless pit” in Rev 9:1–2 ??

c.      having gone (poreutheis) in 3:19 & 3:20 = inclusio.                    => Direction of having gone (poreutheis) in 3:19 = upward

d.      Ultimately: Unclear, not important.

4.      Evaluation of the Four views:

Among the four views above, we must reject the Sinful Antediluvians view because:

a.      Luke 16:19–31 and Heb. 9:27

b.      It is inconsistent with the purpose and theme of 1^st Peter.

5.      Evaluation of the Four views:  Views that mentioned about Christ descending into hell should be questioned because:

a.      the word descend (katabainō) never appeared in the text. (katabainō vs. poreuomai).

b.      the word hell is not in the text.

6.      Evaluation of the Four views:  The only two viable views is the Augustinian view and the Evil Angels view because:

a.      they did not contradict the clear passage in Luke 16:19–31 and Heb. 9:27.

b.      Most viable option: Evil Angels view —because it is most consistent with purpose & theme of 1^st Peter.

C.     The Salvation of Noah and His Family through Water as a Type (3:20b) with Baptism as the Antitype (3:21)

1.      Definition of Typology:  A type is a biblical event, a person, or an institution (e.g., Sabbath, Passover) that foreshadows an antitype, a corresponding events, person or institutions which occurs at a later time in salvation history.

2.      Baptism itself has no inherent saving power.

a.      baptism is not a removal of dirt (sin) from flesh, but an ἐπερώτημα  NIV, CSB: pledge) to God for a good conscience, “a request [to God] for forgiveness of sins and a new heart” (NASB, ESV, RSV: appeal;

b.      the saving power of baptism is rooted in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

III. Conclusion

1. This passage, especially 3:19, has nothing to do with Christ descending into Hell to offer second chance of salvation for the dead.
2. The central message of 3:18–22 is the gospel.  It is the theological basis for the hope that Christians should have in face of persecution and suffering.

IV. Application

1. The gospel is the only answer and hope for all our pain and sufferings in this life.
2. Christians must not totally rely on any single church leader, present or past (even the early church fathers), to learn about God’s Word.
3. Lastly and most importantly, there is no second chance for salvation after death if one chooses to reject Christ and the gospel in his lifetime.