1 Peter: Jesus Is Sovereign Lord

David Krueger

1 Peter • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

1 Peter 3:18–22

God's Sovereignty

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Jesus is sovereign over the living and the dead.

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Text: 1 Peter 3:18-22

Theme: Jesus is sovereign over the living and the dead.

Date: 10/23/2022 File Name: 1_Peter_11 Code: NT21-03

Peter culminates his section of his letter on the unjust suffering of believers with the example of how Christ’s unjust suffering achieved God’s triumphant purpose. At the heart of the gospel is the fact that Jesus Christ, who was perfectly righteous, died for the utterly unrighteous. Though believers can suffer mightily, we will never suffer like Jesus suffered. Jesus triumphed through his undeserved suffering by providing redemption for the world. In that one event, God’s redemptive work was accomplished, even though it was through the wickedness of men. The mystery of divine providence is that God is absolutely sovereign, but His rule and predetermination is never apart from human responsibility. As the Book of Proverbs reminds us, men may roll the dice, but God determines how they land! (Proverbs 16:33).

Christ’s perfect example of suffering unjustly and by that unjust suffering accomplishing the Father’s will through his triumph on the cross is our example to follow. Our suffering, even our unjust suffering is never without purpose. We many not know why for years, and sometimes never, but ultimately God’s purposes for our suffering will be revealed. God will be glorified, and we shall be rewarded.

To give them a richer understanding of the blessed outcome of the cross’s injustice, Peter urged his readers to consider four elements of the Lord’s victory:

His triumphant sin-bearing

His triumphant sermon

His triumphant salvation

His triumphant supremacy

I. HIS TRIUMPHANT SIN-BEARING

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,” (1 Peter 3:18, ESV)

1. the two conjunctions at the beginning of vs. 18 for and also point us backward to the previous passage (3:13–17) and remind us that we ought not to be surprised or discouraged by suffering, since Christ triumphed in His suffering

a. even though He died an excruciating death, of a horrific nature kind Peter reminds his readers that they had “not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood”

2. throughout history there have been millions of martyrs for Christ

ILLUS. The Center for the Study of Global Christianity estimates that worldwide 80-100,000 Christians are killed or executed for their faith.

a. though every century as witnessed hundreds of thousands of believers killed because of their faith, most believers will not die as martyrs

b. even so, their death remains “the wages of their sin” (Rom. 6:23)

1) all people die because they are sinful — man deserves to die

2) Jesus did not

3. Christ suffered in that He died for the sinner’s sins

a. that’s the big difference between Christ and us

1) we suffer and die because of our sin

2) Jesus suffered and died for our sin

A. SIN CAUSED THE SINLESS CHRIST’S DEATH

1, this is the supreme example of suffering for righteousness’ sake (v. 18), and Jesus willingly endured it on behalf of sinners

a. the Old Testament predicted it would happen

“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4–6, ESV)

b. the New Testament confirms that it happened

“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (Romans 5:8–11, ESV)

2. earlier in this letter, Peter asserted that Christ “committed no sin” (1 Peter 2:22)

a. Jesus never had a single thought, word, or action that did not fully please God

1) he was perfectly holy

b. that is so beyond our experience

3. Jesus offered himself up as the perfect sacrifice — the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world

a. atonement was not a fallback position for God after Adam and Eve’s fall into sin

b. the perfectly righteous Christ gave himself for perfectly unrighteous sinners that he might bring us to God, and God intended it that way, before He spoke creation into existence

1) his sacrifice was once for all unlike the Jewish sacrificial system wherein the High Priest has to offer a sin offering every year for the nation

2) for the Jews that was a new concept — to atone for sin, they had slaughtered millions of animals over the centuries

3) but Jesus Christ's one sacrificial death ended that insufficient parade of animals to the altar and was sufficient for all and for all time

c. the effect of Christ’s sacrificial death fully satisfied God’s righteous judgment, and enables believers to enter God’s presence

1) it opens the way to the throne of God, introduces us to the Father, and reestablishes for us an intimate relationship with the Father that was lost in the Fall

a) the curtain has been torn asunder! (Matthew 27:51)

d. the triumph in Christ’s death is expressed in the phrase that He might bring us to God

1) it’s what his death was all about

4. this is the heart of the Gospel and “Christianity 101"

II. CHRIST’S TRIUMPHANT SERMON

“ ... being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.” (1 Peter 3:18b–20, ESV)

1. well what is that all about???

a. vs. 19 begins one of the most difficult passages in the New Testament

1) personally, I think it’s a little amusing that Peter, writing of Paul’s letters in 2 Peter 3:16, would contend “ ... There are some things in them that are hard to understand” could say that we a straight face after penning a passage like this

ILLUS. One of my commentaries, speaking of the difficulty of this passage, says, “concurrence eludes us.” The 16th century reformer, Martin Luther, wrote of this passage, “A wonderful text is this, and a more obscure passage perhaps than any other in the New Testament, so that I do not know for a certainty just what Peter means.” Now, Luther was a pretty smart guy, and he’s confessing, “I have no idea what in the world Peter is talking about.” That gives me some comfort!

2) nevertheless, since all Scripture is God breathed, and is profitable for us, there must be some truth in here that God is wanting us to understand

2. over the centuries there have been two essential interpretations of these verses with sub-variant interpretations of each

a. 1st, when Christ died and while his body was in the tomb, his spirit went to Hades and preached to imprisoned spirits declaring his victory over death, and affirming their judgement

b. 2nd, Christ preached to the disobedient prediluvians who refused to repent and believe and whose spirits are now in prison

1) how could Jesus have done that? ... the Spirit of Christ preached through Noah, just as he preached through the prophets of the Old Testament and the Apostles of the New Testament

2) in 2 Peter 2:5 the Apostle tells us that Noah was a preacher of righteousness

c. you can hold either view and be considered thoroughly orthodox

3. I prefer the first interpretation just because I like the idea of Jesus looking a bunch of rebellious fallen angels face-to-face and saying, “You all blew it. You followed the wrong guy.”

A. JESUS HAS MADE HIS ENEMIES HIS FOOTSTOOL

“And to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?” (Hebrews 1:13, ESV)

1. the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is a testament to our Lord’s absolute sovereignty over all peoples, nations, and events

ILLUS. Abraham Kuyper was a 19th century university professor, churchman, journalist, and Prime Minister of the Netherlands. In his famous speech opening the Free University in 1880, Kuyper said, “There’s not a square inch in the whole domain of human existence over which Christ, who is Lord over all, does not exclaim, ‘Mine’!” This has become Kuyper’s most famous statement, at least in North America.

a. Christ is even sovereign over death, and hell and fallen angels

2. let me take a few minutes to explain the passage

a. being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit

1) unlike us, Christ has always been an eternal spirit

a) we become a living soul with a body, mind and spirit at our conception

b) the prologue of John’s gospel reminds us that Jesus is the Living Word who has always been with God and indeed is God

2) after his death Peter tells us that Jesus was made alive in the spirit, and in his resurrection body went on a preaching mission

a) well that begs multiple questions: Where did he go, to whom did he preach, and what did he say?

b. he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison

1) these spirits in prison are particularly wicked fallen angels whom God has kept locked up tight

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;” (2 Peter 2:4, ESV)

2) the word translated hell in this verse is a very special word — it is Tartaros and means a murky place in the underworld

a) there are fallen angels who are loose in the world today, and we call them demons

1) they are the devil’s operatives, doing his bidding

2) the Apostle Paul reminds us that they are our primary enemy

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12, ESV)

b) there are some fallen angels, so fierce, so evil, that God has chosen to keep them locked up since their rebellion

ILLUS. In Greek mythology Tartaros is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans. It was the worst of the worst places in the underworld. Peter uses a mythical place to help his readers understand that there is a place where the most wicked of the wicked angel reside, and that Jesus is even sovereign over them.

1) these spirits are in chains, in gloomy darkness, and are confined until the judgment

a. the Book of Revelation calls this prison the bottomless pit or the abyss

b. it’s a place that deomons are fearful of being sent to

2) these are angels who are confined because they did not formerly obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah

3) this, I think, is a reference to Genesis 6 and the story of fallen angels, whom Moses refers to as the sons of God, who took the daughters of men as wives and produced a race of giants called the Nephilim

3) the question some ask, Is Jesus preaching the gospel to them? and quickly we must answer NO!

a) fallen angels, assuming that’s who these spirits are, do not get a chance at salvation — only humans have the opportunity or being justified by faith in Christ

b) the word proclaimed is a word that means to herald a victory

ILLUS. When a Roman general won a great victory, upon his return to Rome there would be a celebratory procession through the streets of the capitol. Ahead of the general’s chariot would be a herald, loudly proclaiming the general’s name and the victory he had won.

c) when Jesus presents himself at the gates of Tartaros be breaks out into a victory chant Glory, glory to the Lamb, I have conquered in my name, by God’s right hand I will reign, and all will proclaim that I Am

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,” (Philippians 2:9–10, ESV)

3. what’s this section all about?

a. Peter is preaching to believers who are suffering and persecution is about to rear its ugly head

b. these people have been victimized by the devil

1) in just a few passages from now, Peter is going to tell them

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8, ESV)

2) but Peter is saying, “Look, I want you to know that Jesus Christ suffered, but he has been victorious. You’re also going to suffer, but in the end you will also be victorious!”

4. there is not a place in God’s universe where Jesus is not sovereign Lord — not even in the worst corner of Hades

II. CHRIST’S VICTORIOUS ACHIEVEMENT

“ ... in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 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,” (1 Peter 3:20–21, ESV)

1. OK, it’s like we’ve just jumped from the theological frying pan into the theological fire

a. baptism saves? So the Catholics have been right all along???

b. Peter is going to give us two illustrations that symbolize God redemptive grace

1) the first is found in Noah’s Ark itself and the second is baptism

2. 1st, Peter is telling his readers that the Ark is a symbol of both salvation and judgment

a. God saved eight people, bringing them safely through [the] water

1) why? the answer is simple But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8)

a) out of his sovereign grace, God chose to rest His divine favor on a man named Noah and so God established a covenant with him

b) and Noah responded to God in faith and grace and faith changed his life — “ ... Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.” (Genesis 6:9, ESV)

b. the lack of response to Noah’s preaching and the Ark’s presence reveals the wickedness of the people

“The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5, ESV)

1) there is no other time in history in which the contrast between faith and unbelief, obedience and disobedience, was as pronounced as in the days of Noah

2) you have to seriously wonder if those days have returned

c. the Ark is an Old Testament illustration of our salvation, because it is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ

ILLUS. In Genesis 6:14 God commands Noah to cover the Ark, inside and out, with pitch. Pitch is another word for tar — and was use in that day to make the hulls of boats and ships water tight. Now, what is fascinating and instructive is the word pitch is the same word that the Old Testament writes used to describe God’s atonement. The word mean to cover. As the pitch covered the Ark and kept the judgment of God from destroying Noah and his family, atonement keeps the judgment of God from destroying the lives of those who come to faith in Christ.

1) at a particular moment, Noah entered into the Ark, and as long as Noah and his family are in the Ark, they are safe

2) at a particular moment, believers enter into the life of Christ, and as long as believers are in Jesus, they are safe

3. 2nd, baptism, Peter says that baptism corresponds to the Ark-event — just as the Ark is

a symbol of God’s grace, baptism is a symbol of God’s grace

b. what does baptism represent? it represents the believer’s death, burial, and resurrection with Jesus Christ

1) baptism, in this passage, represents the whole of one’s conversion experience — our regeneration by the Holy Spirit that makes our spirits alive, our spirits are then able to respond to God’s grace with repentance and faith, and by our repentance and faith, we believe in our hearts that God has raised Christ from the dead, and with our mouths we confess that Jesus is Lord

2) the baptism that makes the real difference in our life is not baptism by immersion, but baptism by the Spirit

“We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Romans 6:4–5, ESV)

b. so that we know Peter is not advocating baptismal regeneration he quickly tells his readers that baptism does not remove our filth, but instead comes though an appeal of a good conscience toward God

ILLUS. Listen to how Adrian Rogers describes his baptism. “Now why did they take me, put me in that pool, and immerse me? Well, that was my funeral. They fixed my hands like a man that’s dead, and they laid me back under that water. That water was a liquid tomb, and I went under that water, just as the people in Noah’s day who weren’t inside the ark were drowned. I went under that water. It symbolized my death and my burial. The old Adrian Rogers is dead; he’s buried. He’s underneath the water of judgment. He’s in the grave of God’s judgment. Death is passed upon him. That’s what happened. It was my funeral. The only mourner there was the devil, and he hated to see me die, because he depended so much on me. But his old friend, Adrian, died and was buried.”

“But wait a moment. Not only was I buried in the likeness of Christ’s death, but I also was in the likeness of His resurrection. I came up out of that water, raised to walk in the newness of life. Baptism pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.”

IV. CHRIST’S VICTORIOUS ATTAINMENT

“who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.” (1 Peter 3:22, ESV)

1. this is the simplest and shortest part of the passage, it doesn’t need a lot of explanation though we could talk about its meaning it for hours

a. Jesus is back in his rightful place — at the right hand of the Father

1) the angels bow down

2) the twenty-four elders worship

3) and even wicked, fallen demonic powers bow the knee to him

b. he is ruling in sovereign majesty and splendor

Jesus went from being a suffering servant to being sovereign Lord. Because Jesus triumphed over suffering the promise is that we will, too. If not in this life, certainly in the Kingdom.