Jesus Died--Jesus Lives--Jesus Is Lord--Part II

APRIL 12, 2023 STUDY NOTES 1 PETER 3:18-20 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES JESUS DIED—JESUS LIVES—JESUS IS LORD---Part 2 INTRODUCTION There are different views of the meaning of verses 19 and 20, attempting to answer many questions Who are the spirits in prison? What did they do? What is the meaning of prison? Where is the prison? Why did Christ preach to them? When did Christ preach to them? What was His message to them? Was it an evangelistic message, an opportunity to be saved? The meaning of verses 19 & 20 are the results of verse 18 If it was not for the truth of verse 18, verses 19 & 20 would be meaningless, 1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: The penalty of sin was paid in full by the sacrificial offering of Jesus on the cross, Heb 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Those who have trusted Christ are the “sanctified,” being set apart from sin and made acceptable to God Our sanctification required the physical death and spiritual death of Jesus on the cross of Calvary Jesus, the “Son of God,” is the only one who could pay the price of the penalty of sin Before Jesus was “born in the flesh,” He was with God as God, Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was dwelling in the closest possible relationship with God, Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God. When Jesus prayed before going into the Garden to pray, He said, Joh 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. Jesus who had known the Heavenly fellowship and Glory of the Father died on the cross Because Jesus was the sin-offering for the world He was forsaken by the Father, Mat 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? God the Father had to turn judicially from His Son, on the cross Jesus experienced separation from God The time of separation from God was the experience of spiritual death for Jesus, a necessary experience Before Jesus could bring us to God He must suffer through the shedding of His blood, Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, We can come to God through Jesus because Jesus shed His blood on Calvary for us It was impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins, Heb 10:4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. OT animal sacrifices could never take away our sins, Heb 10:11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: Day after day the priests “stood” offering sacrifices because those sacrifices could never take away sins Because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Heb 10:4) But Jesus offered one sacrifice for sins, Heb 10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; Jesus offered one sacrifice which has never been repeated and will never need to be repeated The proof that it was one sacrifice for sins forever and will never need to be repeated is given When Jesus had completed His sacrifice for sins, He “sat down on the right hand of God” Something that the OT priests could never do, Jesus tells us why He could, Joh 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. Page 1 of 6 Jesus Christ “sat down” because His sacrifice was complete and was a once and for all sacrifice Jesus, by himself purged our sins, Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; This verse points out the most wonderful and amazing power of Jesus who created the universe Jesus not only created the universe, He sustains the universe, what a wonder working power But the greatest wonder of all is that His one sacrifice for sins satisfied the righteous demands of God Having purged our sins, He “sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” Jesus could do that because there is no need of another sacrifice, Heb 10:18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. The meaning of the word “remission” is the forgiveness of sin, Heb 10:17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Forgiveness that can only come through the Person and Work of Jesus Christ Forgiveness is through the Grace of God and the blood of Jesus, Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; There is no other sacrifice for sins that sinners can turn to for forgiveness and salvation, Col 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (Amazing Grace) Redemption is only through Jesus Christ, Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Redemption in Christ Jesus is the only way we can enter into the presence of God We cannot come into the presence of God in any other way Jesus could not have opened the door for us in any other way than the cross of Calvary Many people have tried many other ways to come to God, but the only way is through the blood of Jesus We cannot come on the basis of our own good character, our own good works, or religious self-effort No religious ritual or any religious practice will allow us entrance into the presence of God The penalty of sin had to be paid through the physical death and spiritual death of Jesus on the cross Following His experience of spiritual death Jesus could say, “It is finished,” Joh 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. “It is finished” confirmed the temporary experience of spiritual death for Jesus, He could now say, Luk 23:46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. The spirit of Jesus had returned to His body before He died on the cross, He could then die That Jesus had fulfilled the purpose of the cross through death was confirmed by a miraculous event An event that could not happen until Jesus had experienced physical and spiritual death, Mat 27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. At the very moment Jesus died, God confirmed that the penalty of sin had been paid, Mat 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; The tearing of the temple veil was the proof that the price of redemption had been paid for in full The temple veil symbolized that sinful man was separated from the “Holy God” The veil was torn by God, torn from top to bottom, God had accepted the sin offering of Jesus That “veil” was a type of the “flesh” or the body of Jesus Christ, Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, Heb 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; Christians can now enter into the sanctuary of God’s presence through the veil of the “flesh” of Jesus When the “flesh” of Jesus was torn in death, the “veil” in the temple was torn in two by God The sanctuary of God's presence that had been closed to man was now open through the body of Jesus The body that was sacrificed in death for our sins, Jesus experienced physical death and spiritual death Jesus said that He would die, but His death would be temporary, Mat 17:23 And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry. Page 2 of 6 When Jesus died, His body was placed in the tomb, but His spirit was not in his body At the time of physical death, the spirit departs from the body Jesus’ human spirit departed from His body at the time of His physical death His human body was in the tomb for 3 days and nights, but His human spirit was not in the tomb Where His spirit went is described in verses 19 & 20 HE PREACHED--1Pe 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Volumes have been written by Bible scholars in an attempt to explain verses 19 & 20 I will give you the three most common views: 1.The Preexistent Christ proclaimed salvation through Noah to the people who lived before the Flood The spirit of Christ was in Noah as he preached to the people for 120 years, Gen 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. The “spirits in prison” refers to the people living in the days of Noah, when he built the ark Or they were the souls of the evil human race of that day that are now in prison, or Hades 2. Christ went to Hell in His spirit to offer the message of salvation to the souls of lost OT sinners OT unbelievers were the spirits in prison, imprisoned by their sin and now offered salvation There is no scriptural support for a second chance of salvation following physical death 3. Between his death and resurrection Christ preached to fallen angels, known as “sons of God” The spirits in prison are the fallen angels who committed a gross act of immorality in the days of Noah This last view is most likely the correct view, which we will now study 1Pe 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; “By which” refers back to the word “spirit” in verse 18 Meaning in which spirit, by means of that spirit, referring to the human spirit of Jesus The spirit of Jesus had departed His physical body at the time of His death “By which” is pointing to what happened in Christ’s living spirit while His body was in the tomb While His body was in the tomb, in His spirit He went to another place “He went” is a word that is used of one traveling, used of one going from one place to another He proceeded in that “made alive spirit” “and preached” which does not mean to preach the gospel The general meaning of the word translated “preached” is to announce or to proclaim aloud It was used in-reference to an official announcement made by a representative of a government The original Greek word is not the same as Peter used when referring to preaching the gospel, 1Pe 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. 1Pe 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. 1Pe 4:6 For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. Three times Peter used the same Greek word to identify with preaching the gospel in 1 Peter But he did not use it in 1 Peter 3:19 when he said Jesus went “and preached” Jesus was not preaching the gospel, Jesus was not offering an opportunity for salvation Jesus was proclaiming the victory He had attained over Satan, demons, sin, death, and Hell But who are the “spirits in prison” that Jesus preached too? The “spirits” are probably fallen angels and not the spirits of humans who died physically They are specific fallen angels who had committed a specific evil attempting to prevent a specific event Page 3 of 6 They are probably the fallen angels who made an attempt to prevent the birth of the Messiah The “sons of God” (fallen angels) who during Noah’s time had cohabited with “daughters of men” Gen 6:2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. Their attempt was to control and corrupt the flesh of women through a sexual relationship The union of the “sons of God” and the “daughters of men” was Satan’s evil plan An attempt by Satan through fallen angelic beings to corrupt the bloodline of humanity If Satan’s plan would have worked the “seed of the woman” could not have been born, Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Within the “seed” of the woman is God’s plan of redemption for fallen man and all of creation The “seed” of woman can be none other than the One known as the “Messiah” The Messiah was the Son of God who came to the earth through the virgin birth, Mat 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Satan’s plan to prevent the coming of the “seed of woman” failed Peter refers to these same fallen angels, known as the spirits in prison, and their evil act in, 2Pe 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; The angels who sinned in the day of Noah, 2Pe 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; In 1 Peter 3:19, “in prison” refers to a place where someone is being watched, guarded, kept in custody Peter identifies the prison when he says God “cast them down to hell” Peter does not use one of the words normally translated hell, which is Sheol, Hades, or Gehenna Peter is not referring to hades or the abode of the dead, commonly called Hell The word that Peter uses is the Greek “Tartarus,” the only time the word is found in the NT “Tartarus” is a special place of confinement, lowest part of the underworld, deepest pit of the darkness Jude also identifies the prison of these same fallen angels, Jud 1:6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Both Peter and Jude said they will be kept in chains of darkness until the day of judgment They are chained in darkness until the final judgment of God, their eternal torment is yet to come Which is the message that Jesus proclaimed to them when He preached to them in His spirit It was not the preaching of the gospel, it was the proclamation of victory The message preached was victory, triumph, He proclaimed or heralded victory over Satan and demons Christ preached His triumphant sermon to the spirits who once “were disobedient” DAYS OF NOAH--1Pe 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. “Which” refers back to the previous verse, identifying with the “spirits in prison” At some time in the past, they were disobedient, the meaning is they did not obey God A deliberate disobedience of God’s Word and Will, they rebelled against God’s authority Their disobedience toward God is why they were confined in prison Peter tells us when their disobedience took place, it happened in the time of Noah While God waited patiently for the people to repent of their sins While God was withholding judgment upon the world During the lifetime of Noah, while he was building the ark as God had instructed him So, Noah was obedient to God while the world and the spirits were disobedient Noah preparing the ark identifies the time of God’s longsuffering Page 4 of 6 The very building of the ark was a message from God within itself, Gen 6:17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. But why the judgment of the flood? Gen 6:11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. How corrupt was the earth? Gen 6:12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. “All flesh” was corrupt, but how corrupt was flesh? So corrupt that flesh must be destroyed, consider that closely, look at the corruption of our world today Yet it does not equal the corruption of the flesh in Noah’s day What was the difference? What had happened in the days of Noah? Gen 6:1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, Gen 6:2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. (Who are the “sons of God?) They are the spirits in prison, what in the world was happening in the world? The longsuffering of God was extended for 120 years, Gen 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. Who were the earthly giants of those days? Gen 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. The earth was full of wickedness, Gen 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. God’s heart was grieved, Gen 6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. Man, and the creatures upon the earth must be destroyed, Gen 6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. The severity of the destruction matched the severity of the corruption of mankind The lineage of man became that which could only bring forth “fallen ones,” godless ones God preserved one line of flesh, Noah and his family were saved, Satan had been defeated God still extended His grace and His eternal plan unto man, Gen 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. Peter said, “wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water” “Eight souls” refer to those who entered the ark, those who were saved in the ark “Souls,” identify living individuals, physically alive, who were “saved by water” “Saved by water,” by means of water, passing through the flood waters They were delivered from the flood waters that brought death to the wicked world The physical lineage through which the Messiah would come was persevered Scripture would be fulfilled, Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. CONCLUSION The human spirit of Jesus also went into the place of the departed spirits of the dead In the O.T. it is called “Sheol,” in the N.T. it is called “Hades,” which is the same place The NT reveals that there were different divisions in Sheol/Hades at the time of Jesus’ death on the cross The division for the saved was “Paradise,” Jesus said to the repentant thief on the cross, Luk 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. Following the resurrection of Jesus paradise was transferred to the third heaven as indicated by Paul, 2Co 12:4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Page 5 of 6 Jesus entered into Hades/Paradise to proclaim the completed work of redemption That believers who now die physically enter-into the immediate presence of God, 2Co 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 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