A Daily Walk

Guest (Male): Today on A Daily Walk, I want for us to grasp the main theme, the concept in which Peter is seeking to communicate through his writing. And here is what Peter communicates: he intends that this passage right here would revive and inspire the fatigued followers of Christ by reminding them of the final outcome of their faith. He wanted to remind them that Jesus had already won the victory, and in the end, those who were in Christ, even if they suffered, will share in that victory.

One of the great things about being a Christian is having the confidence that God has a plan for everything that comes our way in life. So, we have every reason in the world to trust him. We'll be reminded on A Daily Walk that having the right perspective makes all the difference. It frees us to focus on going deeper in our relationship with the Lord, and even though we suffer, there are blessings that follow. With First Peter chapter three in view, here is Pastor John Randall.

John Randall: First Peter chapter three, picking up in verse 18, as we consider together suffering and glory. First Peter chapter three, verse 18, if you'd follow along. "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the spirit, by whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the divine long-suffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to him."

We are now midway through a letter that was written by the Apostle Peter to a group of believers that were scattered in every direction due to persecution. They were in great need of counsel, in need of guidance. The believers that were suffering were doing what was right. They were being oppressed for following Jesus. They were suffering for righteousness' sake.

There is a real temptation, if you are suffering, falsely accused, slanderously misrepresented, or persecuted as they were, to question whether or not it's worth continuing down the straight and narrow path. There can be an enticing, satanic suggestion that when you face things that challenge your faith, to quit, to give up, to go back to things the way they were before you knew Christ. Peter, knowing that this was a tendency within our fallen human nature, calls the believers to look to the greatest example of suffering and ultimate reward in the person and ministry of Jesus Christ.

Now, I want to preface this morning's study by letting you know that it has been said that what we're about to consider is one of the most difficult portions in the New Testament. So, welcome. You came on a great day. It's always funny as a pastor when you start your week out and you start looking over what you're going to be studying, and you come across a sentence like, "This is one of the most difficult portions." You're like, "All right, let's just embrace it."

Many scholars and commentators have wrestled with these verses. They have disagreed and they have debated over them. And I want to say that it is not my intention to unravel each argument that has been presented, nor to attempt in 45 minutes or so to lead you through the labyrinth of lengthy explanations, but rather I want for us to grasp the main theme, the concept in which Peter is seeking to communicate through his writing.

And here is what Peter communicates: he intends that this passage right here would revive and inspire the fatigued followers of Christ by reminding them of the final outcome of their faith. He wanted to remind them that Jesus had already won the victory, and in the end, those who were in Christ, even if they suffered, will share in that victory. You probably know by now, if you have walked with Jesus for any length of time, that there is no crown without a cross. It is here on the earth where we bear the cross, but it is there in glory that we will wear and receive the crown of righteousness.

The first thing we want to consider is that the suffering of Jesus brought salvation for humanity. If you look at verse 18, it says, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the spirit." Peter begins by pointing to the suffering of Jesus, and please make note of the fact that he says "Christ also suffered." Why do I emphasize that? When you are suffering, when you're in the midst of a trial, you tend to think that perhaps you're the only one who has ever experienced it.

No one else in the history of the world has ever gone through what you're going through right now. You can kind of be like the prophet Elijah, who said, "I alone am left; there's nobody else; I'm the only one who hasn't bowed the knee to Baal." It wasn't true, but that's what he thought in a moment of depression and discouragement. But the Bible tells us here, and Peter reminds us, "Hey, listen, Jesus also suffered." He suffered.

In Hebrews chapter two and verse 18, the writer speaks of the suffering of Christ, and he says in verse 18, "For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to aid those who are being tempted." In other words, Jesus has gone through everything that you and I will ever go through, and then some, beyond what we've experienced. And therefore he is able to assist us, to help us when we are struggling.

Again, the writer of Hebrews, this time in chapter four and verse 15, says, "We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." He's been there, he's suffered through that, he knows what it feels like, so you're able to come to the throne of grace and he will assist you and assist me.

Jesus, in his suffering, suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust. The suffering of Christ was on behalf of others. It wasn't for his sins that he suffered, but for our sins. Jesus was just and righteous. We are those who were wretched and sinful. The suffering of Christ was substitutionary. Jesus took our place, stepped in and went to our cross, bore our sin and our shame.

This work of Christ on the cross was prophesied in Isaiah chapter 53, where the prophet Isaiah declared, "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him," that is on Jesus, "the iniquity of us all."

Paul, in writing to the Corinthians in chapter five and verse 21, says concerning Jesus that "he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him." Paul, writing into the Galatians in chapter three, declared, "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on the tree.'" And then finally, in writing to Titus in that pastoral letter in chapter two and verse 14, Paul said, "He gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people, zealous for good works."

Church, what Jesus endured in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night that he submitted to the will of his father to drink the cup of wrath in our place, what Jesus bore on Calvary's cross, taking on himself the sin of the whole world and thus being separated and forsaken by his father, is a suffering that is unprecedented. It is a suffering that is shrouded in mystery that heaven alone will reveal. In other words, there's only so much that I can understand about the suffering of Christ this side of glory.

But when we get to heaven, when we get to glory, it's no wonder that we fall down on our face before him, because we will understand exactly what it meant for you to leave this place and to come to save us. And we will say, "Worthy is the lamb who was slain. You redeemed us out of every tribe, tongue, nation, and people."

The result of Jesus' suffering, Peter tells us in verse 18, "he brought us to God." And the word that is used for "brought" literally means to lead to. It was a technical word that was used to gain an audience in a courtroom for another. And that's exactly what Jesus did through his death. We were in violation of God's law. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The prosecuting attorney is the devil, and let's face it, he's got all the evidence on us. We are guilty.

And there he is, condemning us. We deserve the judgment; we deserve the penalty of death. And Jesus, our advocate, Hebrews tells us, our defense attorney, says, "Father, can I approach the bench?" He comes to the bench. "I object to what he's saying. Let me show you something. I have evidence that you need to know. Here it is. Check out my hands. Look at my side. Look at my feet. I shed my blood for his sin. He's not just covered; he is cleansed, he is purified, in fact, he is justified, just as if he never sinned."

That is what Jesus did through the cross. He brought us to God, formerly separated, brought us to God, declared us righteous because of his finished work. In Ephesians chapter two and verse 18, Paul said it this way: "For through him we now both have access by one spirit to the father." We didn't have that. But because of his death, he brought us to him. We have access. Hebrews chapter three, verse 12 says, "In whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in him."

All of this was made possible through the death of Jesus, but don't forget also his resurrection. The resurrection of Christ in verse 18: "being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the spirit." Jesus died a physical death. However, he also had a physical, bodily resurrection on the third day. And the Gospels record that in his resurrected body, Jesus was not limited. Have you ever read that through the Gospel narrative after he rose? The guy was passing through walls. He was one place, disappear, somewhere else, and then show up. That was what Jesus was doing in his resurrected body.

The Bible has much to say about the resurrection of Jesus. For one thing, the Holy Spirit was involved in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Romans chapter eight, verse 11 makes this clear. It says, "But if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you." The spirit of God was involved in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

But not only was the Holy Spirit involved, but also Jesus himself was involved. For the Bible tells us in John chapter two, verse 19, Jesus, confronted by the religious leaders, responded and said to them, "Destroy this temple," speaking of his body, "and in three days I will," Jesus said, "raise it up." In John chapter 10, in verse 18, Jesus said that concerning his life, "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have the power to lay it down and I have the power to take it up again. This command I received from my father."

Jesus was involved in his own resurrection, and so was the Holy Spirit. Oh wait, but so was the father. For the Bible tells us in Romans chapter six, verse four, "Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father, even so we should also walk in the newness of life." The point that I'm making is in the resurrection of Jesus, it was the work of the triune God: Father, Son, Holy Spirit, all involved. And this death and resurrection of Jesus Christ resulted in salvation for humanity. Death and the devil were defeated in Christ's ultimate victory because of what he suffered.

But the second reward and blessing that came as a result of the suffering of Jesus is that the suffering of Jesus resulted in the proclamation of his victory. Verse 19: "by whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the divine long-suffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water."

At this point in the text, we're going into deep waters—floodwaters, actually. Peter says, following his death on the cross, that Jesus went and preached—the word literally is proclaimed, another word would be heralded—his victory to the spirits who were in prison. Questions that come up: where did Christ go? When did he go? To whom did he speak? What did he say? Who were the spirits in prison? As I said earlier, there are different answers to each of these questions, resulting in several responses.

One suggestion, which I do not agree with, is that following his death, Jesus descended into Hades or Sheol, which is the Old Testament counterpart, and while there between death and resurrection, he offered the people who lived before the flood a second chance for salvation. But there is no scriptural basis for that suggestion, because the Bible says it is appointed unto man once to die and then comes the judgment. There is no purgatory. There is no middle ground that someone could pray you out of. You die, you either go to heaven or you go to hell. That's what the Bible says. That's what Jesus made clear.

But another suggestion, and this one I tend to lean toward, is not only based on this scripture that we're reading, but also subsequent cross-references of scripture. By the way, it's really important that when you're interpreting scripture, that you use scripture, and that you have other verses to support what it is that you're saying. In other words, if you take one verse and you just say out of its context, not comparing scripture with scripture, you might have an interpretation that is incorrect because your interpretation doesn't line up with the rest of scripture. So scripture isn't wrong; you are, or I am.

So it's important when studying difficult passages to compare scripture with scripture, and this is one of those occasions. Jesus proclaimed his victory over demonic spirits that were influential before the flood destroyed the earth. Folks, when you come to Luke chapter 16, prior to his death and resurrection, Jesus described a place called Sheol, Hades. This place that was divided into two compartments.

Have you ever wondered, where did the Old Testament saints go after they died? Where'd David go? Where'd Solomon go? Where'd you name it? Where did they all go? They went to this place called Abraham's bosom. It was a place of comfort. And it is there that Jesus tells the story of two men, a rich man and a beggar whose name was Lazarus. They both died. The rich man did not fear God; he ended up in this place of torment on the one side. Lazarus, on the other hand, ended up in this place of comfort, Abraham's bosom.

And while they were there, the rich man said to Abraham, "Can you send Lazarus over here to dip his finger in water and just touch my tongue? I am burning," which tells us he was suffering; he could feel pain. Furthermore, he was cognizant of his mistakes. And Abraham said to the rich man in response, "He can't come over to you. There is a huge gulf between us." The rich man said, "Well, then send Lazarus back to tell my family so that they'll not come here." Abraham says, "They have the law and the prophets. Even if one were to rise from the dead, they still wouldn't believe."

Two different places, two different compartments: one a place of torment, one a place of comfort. The saints of the Old Testament—David, Samuel, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob—in this place of rest, what were they waiting for? They were waiting for the Messiah. They were waiting for the Messiah to die and rise again so that they could be liberated. Included in that number of those who were suffering, Peter tells us that there were demonic spirits that were part of the corruption and wickedness of the earth.

The influence of these demonic spirits was so rampant that it brought the judgment of God upon the earth through the flood to which Noah and his family were the only ones who survived. Peter writes about this a second time. Here we are, comparing scripture with scripture. Second Peter chapter two, verse five, listen to what Peter said. "If God did not spare the angels who sinned," angels sinned, "who cast them down to hell, delivered them into the chains of darkness to be reserved for judgment, and he didn't 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."

Peter a second time ties these demonic spirits that were active during the pre-flood that brought about this wickedness and eventual judgment. They were reserved in chains. Peter highlights a second time a group of fallen angels, demonic spirits, who were reserved for judgment. The spirits were once disobedient. You say, "Well, when did that happen?" Again, here is one way to look at it, and many have—great commentators, my own pastor would lean this way; I remember hearing him teach on it—Genesis chapter six, verses one through four. This is what it is a reference to.

In Genesis chapter six, it says that "the sons of God," maybe underline that, "saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful, and they took wives for themselves of all of whom they chose." What was the result of these relationships? "There were giants on the earth in those days and also afterward, when the sons of God came into," that is, had relationships with, "the daughters of men, they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown."

Again, there are two different ways to look at this particular passage. I'm going to present one of them. When you see the words "sons of God," only used three times in the Old Testament, in Job: Job chapter one, verse six, Job chapter two, verse seven, and Job chapter 38, verse seven. And in each case it refers to angels, sometimes fallen, sometimes unfallen angels, or good ones versus bad ones.

And in Genesis chapter six, it says that these sons of God, if it is interpreted as angels, somehow either they inhabited the bodies of men—this is what some people teach—they inhabited the bodies of fallen men, had relationships with these women, somehow they were influential and produced this race of giants and wicked men upon the earth which caused God to judge the world and spared only Adam. They sought to ruin and destroy God's creation.

The Bible mentions this again—cross-referencing now—Jude chapter one, verses six and seven. Listen to what Jude says. It says, "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 that great day." There it is again, this group of angels left their proper domain. Some say somehow they had relationships; others say they were just there. Either way, God judged these angels, fallen angels, put them in a place of judgment, reserved for the end.

Guest (Male): We're going through the New Testament here on A Daily Walk with our pastor and teacher John Randall. If you miss any part of the journey or would just like to hear a message again, visit adailywalk.org or look for A Daily Walk wherever you get your podcasts and at oneplace.com. One more option is our church app. Check out the Calvary South OC church app in your favorite app store.

Pastor John has just come out with a new book titled The Other Side of Sunday. In it, he offers an honest look at the joys, pressures, prayers, and personal costs of pastoral ministry that often go unseen from the other side of the pulpit. Through heartfelt stories, humor, biblical wisdom, and years of shepherding experience, Pastor John invites the reader into the moments that shape a pastor long after the service ends.

We're making it available to our A Daily Walk listeners for the cost of just $15. May be requested an extra copy to give to your pastor. Ordering is easy: online at adailywalk.org or call us at 877-242-0828. Again, 877-242-0828 and adailywalk.org. Please remember when you support A Daily Walk, you're helping people all over the world have access to the truth of God's word. Lives are being impacted and people are growing in their daily walk as a result.

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