(iv) He lays it down that the work of Christ was to bring us to God. We are thrown on mercy, as we ought to be; we look up in dependence on One who is incontestably above us, and withal infinitely near to us. The word of God, prayer, the use that we make of the opportunities that His goodness affords us, both public and private, all the means that teach and exercise us in the will of God no doubt contribute to this practical holiness. We cannot very well apply this question and answer in infant baptism, unless it be to the parents; but, as we have said, baptism in the very early church was of adult men and women coming spontaneously from heathenism into the Church. In the thrilling early days of the Church this prayer was fulfilled, for they were all of one heart and of soul ( Acts 4:32). But, laying aside the physical categories of this doctrine, we can find in it truths which are eternally valid and precious, three in particular. He does not tell her to insist that there is no difference between slave and freeman, Gentile and Jew, male and female, but that all are the same in the presence of the Christ whom she has come to know. The precious blood of Christ is another thing altogether; and there alone is efficacy found before God; so also His incorruptible seed revealing Himself is planted in the heart of the saint. Pliny saw Lollia Paulina, wife of Caligula, wearing a dress so covered with pearls and emeralds that it had cost 450,000 British pounds. It is, therefore, better first of all to read it as a whole and then to study it in its various sections. Luke's gospel, the sixteenth chapter, Jesus describes what hell was like prior to His death: Two compartments, no capacity of crossing from one to the other. When she was under her father she was under the patria potestas, the father's power, which gave the father the right even of life and death over her; and when she married she passed equally into the power of her husband. . After this episode which has to do with men here, not in the unseen world, he returns to the relative duties of Christians, and exhorts them to watchfulness with sobriety, to fervent love, and also to "use hospitality one to another without grudging." 1 Peter 3:19 (GNTA) and in his spiritual existence he went and preached to the imprisoned spirits. It is into this very snare that unbelief has brought men in Christendom. 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. It was Christianity which introduced chivalry into the relationship between men and women. They "were not a people, but now are the people of God;" they" had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." They will be the greatest people on the face of the earth, and all the Gentiles shall own it. It is not then a question of wounding; for why should it hurt you, if I see a particular truth and must act according to it? This is, indeed, a more tolerable sense than the former; but it will be difficult to show, that men, in the present state of life, are called "spirits", which seems to be a word that relates to the souls of men, in a separate state from their bodies; and especially that carnal and unconverted men are ever so called; and besides, the apostle is speaking of such who were disobedient in the times of Noah; and therefore not of the Gentiles, in the times of the apostles: add to which, that the transition from the times of the apostles, according to this sense, to the days of Noah, is very unaccountable; this sense does not agree with the connection of the words: others are of opinion, that this is meant of the souls of the Old Testament saints, who were , "in a watch", as they think the phrase may be rendered, instead of "in prison": and said to be in such a situation, because they were intent upon the hope of promised salvation, and were looking out for the Messiah, and anxiously desiring his coming, and which he, by some gracious manifestation, made known unto them: but though the word may sometimes signify a watch, yet more commonly a prison, and which sense best suits here; nor is that anxiety and uneasiness, which represents them as in a prison, so applicable to souls in a state of happiness; nor such a gracious manifestation so properly called preaching; and besides, not believers, but unbelievers, disobedient ones, are here spoken of; and though it is only said they were sometimes so, yet to what purpose should this former character be once mentioned of souls now in glory? He is sprinkled with Christ's blood, which gives him confidence and boldness in faith before God, because he knows the certainty of the love that has put away his sins by blood. So the same if you go through the rite or the ritual of water baptism and it hasn't happened in your heart; it's only a witness against you. In due time there will be the fulfilment of the prophecies to the letter. (vi) Lastly, and as a climax, Peter sets forgiveness. "All power," He said, "is given to me in heaven and in earth." It is the grace of the Risen Lord which cleanses us; it is to the Risen, Living Lord that we pledge ourselves; it is to the Risen, Living Lord that we look for strength to keep the pledge that we have given. I have no hesitation in saying that this is in my judgment what God said, if we are to be guided by the most ancient and best authorities.*. Now all this is here judged and set aside as quite wrong The elders are exhorted and warned. There's an Old Swedish proverb, Good looks don't last, good cookers do. For less than $5/mo. That does not mean that the like-mindedness we are to strive for is to be a drab uniformity of the sort beloved of bureaucrats. The preacher--Christ Jesus, who has interested himself in the affairs of the church and of the world ever since he was first promised to Adam, Genesis 3:15. This is the point that Justin Martyr fastened on long ago: "The Lord, the Holy God of Israel, remembered his dead, those sleeping in the earth, and came down to them to tell them the good news of salvation." So when He died, He descended into hell. were in it, to whom he sometimes went, and preached; nor is his Isaiah writes: "For Sheol cannot thank thee, death cannot praise thee; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for thy faithfulness" ( Isaiah 38:18). We can easily comprehend it. Do the shades rise up to praise thee? But how can we on this? In this case, however, it is difficult to see the purpose of the digression, or what could have brought the subject into St. Peter's mind. 162.] He brought good tidings, therefore, of some kind to the "prison" and the spirits in it. Next we have the trial that the saints were passing through alluded to, and the call to suffer not for righteousness merely but for Christ's sake. While He was here, there was a kind of mingled experience. It is clear then that the meaning attributed to "spirits in prison" turns altogether upon the fact of when the preaching was done. "The opinion which states that Jesus Christ descended into hell, to announce his coming to the ancient patriarchs, and to deliver them from that species of prison, where they had so long waited for him, is incontrovertible; and we (the Catholics) consider it as an article of our faith: but we may doubt whether this be the meaning of St. Peter in this place.". He is no longer waiting for the sprinkling of that precious blood, he is already sprinkled with it before God. Some wish to eliminate it altogether and attempt to do so along two lines. [Note: Fanning, pp. The word rendered prison, ( phulake,) means properly watch, guard - the act of keeping watch, or the guard itself; then watchpost, or station; then a place where anyone is watched or guarded, as a prison; then a watch in the sense of a division of the night, as the morning watch. He said they are in prison (cf. If a man's heart is set on earthly things, possessions, happiness, pleasure, ease and comfort, he is of all men most vulnerable. But to take very simple and obvious examples, the Passover Lamb and the scapegoat, who bore the sins of the people, are types of Jesus; and the work of the High Priest in making sacrifice for the sins of the people is a type of his saving work. And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins." Understanding and considerateness had forged an unbreakable bond. Various are the senses given of this passage: some say, that Christ, upon his death, went in his human soul to hell; either, as some, to preach to the devils and damned spirits, that they might be saved, if they would; and, as others, to let them know that he was come, and to fill them with dread and terror; but though hell may be meant by the prison, yet the text does not say that he went unto it, or preached in it; only that the spirits were in it, to whom he sometimes went, and preached; nor is his human soul, but his divine nature meant, by the Spirit, by which he went and preached to them: and as for the ends proposed, the former is impracticable and impossible; for after death follows judgment, which is an eternal one; nor is there any salvation, or hope of salvation afterwards; and the latter is absurd, vain, and needless. It declares that the Christian man has a new place and standing not in the first Adam at all, but in the Second in the presence of God man without sin, and accepted according to the acceptance of Christ before God. As Charles Wesley put it in verse: And claim the crown, through Christ my own. He was put to death in the flesh, but he was raised to life in the Spirit, in which also he went and preached to the spirits who are in prison, the spirits who were once upon a time disobedient in the time when the patience of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being built, in which some few--that is, eight souls--were brought in safety through the water. He tells them that strifes and divisions are fleshly things, marks that they are living on purely human standards, without the mind of Christ ( 1 Corinthians 3:3). We are heirs together of the grace of life.". For the eyes of the Lord [are] over the righteous, and his ears [are open] unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord [is] against them that do evil. And I was greeting couple of young men first time they were here, and they were telling me how much they enjoyed the service. Turn away from evil, do good. After the one, and before the other, the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven is the power of Christian blessedness, and as we know also of the church, no less than of preaching the gospel everywhere. The trial of our faith will not be revealed then, but "at the appearing of Jesus." And here is the wonderful infatuation of unbelief. In 1 Peter 3:18-22 he cited Jesus resurrection and ascension into glory, the "missing links" in the previous record of Jesus experiences. The question was: "Do you accept the terms of this contract, and bind yourself to observe them?" (i) He must be understanding. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil ( 1 Peter 3:10-12 ). Now the new nature in the believer never has any other thought or feeling; only in our case there is also the old nature which may, and which alas! 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Hebrew Names Version Chapter Parallel 1 Peter 3:19 (HNV) in which he also went and preached to the spirits in prison, Honey, do you love me? patriarchs from thence, and carried them with him to heaven; but The Spirit by which the preaching in view here was done was the blessed Holy Spirit, by whom and through whom all the preaching has been done throughout the ages. "Whom," says he, "having not seen, ye love." Where is each to be proved? "Do good to those who despitefully use you" ( Matthew 5:44 ). . For a wife to change her religion while her husband did not was unthinkable. And it would have been easy to have railed back but the poor woman is mentally disturbed. This, again, is somewhat peculiarly put in our version. Jesus Christ himself was not exempted from sufferings in this life, though he had no guilt of his own and could have declined all suffering if he had pleased. And who [is] he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? It is Jesus Christ, through what he did, who gives men access to God. The very first sentence is a reminiscence of Isaiah 50:9: "Behold, the Lord God helps me; who will declare me guilty?" He had gone and preached unto the spirits, By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison. Scripture: 1 Peter 3:9. You see, God created you in the beginning for fellowship. Yet the Christian life has a certain blessedness which runs through it all. The rest will die. A corresponding illustration in the New Testament is baptism. The argument is that before Christ that was indeed so but he opened the gates of heaven to mankind; and, when he did so, he went to Hades and told the glad news to all the righteous men of all past generations and led them out to God. This is exactly what modern presbyters think they may and ought to do every day of their lives. Then this explanation cannot be right. They were that wicked race which lived in the days of Noah. The outcome of the submission, 1 Peter 3:6b 2. Every time they let her out, she comes around here and rails on me. noun. We'll send you an email with steps on how to reset your password. A remnant, it is true, had been brought up from Babylon for the purpose of being tested by a new trial by the presentation of the Messiah to them; but alas! "And Enoch walked with God; and he was not; for God took him" ( Genesis 5:24). No Christian should think or talk about a right of ministry; for although liberty of ministry may be legitimate enough in itself, still I think it is a phrase apt to be misunderstood. We must always distinguish the ability of the man from the spiritual gift which the Lord gives; and, besides both, there is also the right use of the gift. It was in this spiritual condition of perfect freedom that the preaching to the dead took place. They had now an offer of mercy; those that accepted of it should be saved, but those who rejected Christ and the gospel should be as certainly destroyed as ever the disobedient in the times of Noah were. What brings a man into that peace which resists all efforts from without to take it, all weakness within in giving it up, is the certainty that all is clear with God. Now Peter is saying, Honor her knowing that she's weaker. Thus, Genesis 11:5, The Lord came down to see the city and the tower. Exodus 19:20, the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai. Numbers 11:25, the Lord came down in a cloud. 2 Samuel 22:10, he bowed the heavens and came down. The idea, however, would be conveyed by this language that he did this personally, or by himself, and not merely by employing the agency of another. 3:17-18a For, it is better to suffer for doing right, if that should be the will of God, than to suffer for doing wrong. In a hostile and suspicious world it was inevitable that the Christian would be called upon to defend the faith he held and the hope by which he lived. And He preached to those souls that were in prison. character be once mentioned of souls now in glory? (b) If Christ descended into Hades, it means that his triumph is universal. 19By which also Peter added this, that we might know that the vivifying power of the Spirit of which he spoke, was not only put forth as to Christ himself, but is also poured forth with regard to us, as Paul shews in Romans 5:5. It is indeed a forcible and, in general, a faithful version, but it not seldom fails in accuracy. "Such expressions (he went) are often redundant in Greek. He said the spirits of these unbelievers are in prison now (i.e., Sheol) awaiting resurrection and judgment by God (cf. The copy from which this translation was taken evidently read conclusi erdnt, with one of the MSS. The enforcement of the conduct from Scripture,1 Peter 3:10-12 The first impulse of a converted man is to do the will of God. They too, those who had been before them, had been put to the proof in this way. And the apostle guards against the wrong conclusion, that, because in certain things we stand contrasted with the Old Testament saints, there are no grounds in common. Others explain this passage of the apostles, that Christ by their ministry appeared to the dead, that is, to unbelievers. (b) It is argued that Jesus preached to the fallen angels, and preached, not salvation, but final and awful doom. But against this view there are plain objections drawn from the language of Peter himself: (1) As we have seen, the fair interpretation of the passage quickened by the Spirit, is not that he was kept alive as to his human soul, but that he, after being dead, was made alive by his own divine energy. Various sections men access to God for the honour of the grace of.... 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