Click ⟳    |    Please refresh this document to insure the latest copy. Note, the Firefox browser does not reliably give an updated copy. One may try the “F5” key as well to request a fresh copy from the web-server.

1 Peter 3:8–4:6
February 5, 2023

• 18 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, 19 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.
  • “spirits in prison”
  • Some conclude that these spirits are people of Noah’s day, “fallen angels,” children of fallen angels or demons, etc.
  • My view is that Jesus, between His death and resurrection, went to Hades (Greek for grave) and preached good news and that He had defeated Satan to the disembodied spirits of Noah’s day. These spirits could be people (cf. v. 3:6) or angels (cf. 2 Peter 2:4) or both.¹
  • See the note [2] below for many ideas on this passage.
• 6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.
  • Constable wrote, “I do not think that the dead in view in this verse are the spirits in prison referred to in 3:19, as some believe.[253]”
  • “Here, then, is the teaching that, in view of final judgment, the martyred dead are better off than the unbelieving Gentiles of verse 3.”[248]

Title of the sermon: Think Like Jesus; Act Like Jesus

8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; 11 let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, = harmonious (Thayer)

• Driven by the same ideas–broadly speaking.
• Driven by the same Spirit character.
• God is consistent in the way he thinks and the way He produces fruit.
• Turn to Philippians 2:3-8, Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
• sympathy,

• To be sympathetic means to suffer with another person by entering into and sharing the feelings of that person, rather than by having compassion on him or her from a distance. Sympathizing implies bearing one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2). (Constable)

• “Christians are to be emotionally involved with each other.”[208]
• brotherly love, = philadelphos
• a tender heart,
• and a humble mind.
  • to have a humble opinion of one’s self
  • a deep sense of one’s littleness
  • modesty, humility (Thayer)

9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling,

• deviling = railing against, abusive slander
• repay = 1 for 1
• 9b but on the contrary, bless,
• bless = to praise, celebrate with praises (Thayer); speak well of (Strong)
• As Christians we can respond to life’s circumstances in one of three ways levels: 1) “We can return evil for good, which is the satanic …”. 2) “We can return good for good and evil for evil, which is” humanistic. 3) “Or, we can return good for evil, which is” godly. (Wiersbe, 2:412)
• Constable wrote, “The ‘blessing for insult’ response … is one in which we react kindly when we suffer ill treatment. It springs from an attitude of forgiveness. It has its focus on God and the promises of His Word.”
• for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
  • Called = common ministry
  • Sets up the possibility of a blessings.

10 For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; 11 let him turn away from evil and do good;

• Do you love life this morning?
• We are living in eternal life now.
• Are you seeing good days?
• If not look at the remedy again in v 10b:
• let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; 11 let him turn away from evil and do good;
• loving life and seeing good days is directly tied to Christians’ mouths!
• The mouth of the South will not experience loving life and good days.
• If we cannot control our mouths, we will not have a good life.
• James must have been proud of Peter’s letter.
• let him seek peace and pursue it.
• PURSUIT OF PEACE > ? How do we bring peace to this calamity and strife. This is a driving question of the passage.
• Why? Verse 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,and his ears are open to their prayer. COMMENT
• But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
• In other words Peter tells the churches in Asia Minor, don’t line up your lives with those that do evil, placing yourself among them.
• If we do this, our prayers are hindered.
• Common tongue wagging = evil desires = selfish prayers = God no listen.

ILLUSTRATION

• David and Saul

APPLICATION

• Christians never have permission for common or evil tongue wagging.
• All Christians, ought to have the same worldview: We are supposed to think like Jesus so we can act like Jesus.
• God has given us His word to align our thoughts with His thoughts.
• God wants peace.

TRANSITION

13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

• 13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?
• 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed.
• Suffer > for righteousness > blessed
• Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,
  • DO NOT FEAR IN LIFE.
  • Fear verses in the NT: Click here
  • Psalm 56:11, In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?
  • Psalm 118:6, The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
  • Hebrews 13:6, So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
• 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy,
  • Fear is contrasted with honoring Christ!
  • Once we make up our minds about Jesus’ ways being holy, we will see fear dissipate.
  • Fully placing our lives in His hands is difficult due to the flesh.
  • Unless we absolutely confide in every word that Jesus has spoken, we do not trust Him as we ought. To distrust is dishonor God and so very lessens the glory that is due His name. (MacLaren)
  • When Peter says, ‘ in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy,’ he means that, MacLaren wrote, “deep down in the very midst of your personal being, … there should be, fundamental to all, … this … awe and absolute trust in Jesus Christ–an habitual thought, a central emotion, an all-dominant impulse.” “With Christ in the vessel I smile at the storm.”
• Look at the result in 15b always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you;
  • This type of hopeful confidence will produce will produce inquiries from not only the lost, but also for the Christian family members who have not yet made this type of space in their hearts for Jesus’ holy actions.
  • This fuel of hope will cause change.
  • This type of hope will spread.
• 15b yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience,
  • Rebuke is not warranted.
  • “Turn or burn” perhaps is not the right message.
  • Listen to Romans 2:4, Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
  • Having a good conscience is the fruit of presenting an accurate defense of hopeful truth without belittling people or becoming self-righteous.
  • In other words: witness in gentleness.
  • Peter’s point: our messaging mechanics may be a good witness or may defame the message.
  • But how is this world often going to perceive a person who gives an answer of his hope with gentleness and respect?
• Verse 3:16b so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
  • Christians were and will be slandered for having hope.
  • BUT, Shame is coming for those that line themselves up against the message of peace and hope, one day or another.
• 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
  • How much sin would we do if there was no consequences?
  • Suffering because of evil is a good thing, COMMENT
  • Better is suffering for doing good.
  • It must be God’s will. That is, we are not to throw ourselves into suffering.
  • In this context, it is a good thing for God’s people in Asia Minor to be slandered and persecuted!
  • God allows and causes His saints to suffer at the hands of the unjust. He always has!

Note

¹ Cf. John Murdoch Ebenezer Ross. The First Epistle of Peter: A Devotional Commentary. Religious Tract Society, 1918, pp. 151-52.

² Excerpt from Constable’s Notes (citing 10 other authors):

“In which” refers back to the spiritual sphere of life in which Jesus Christ now lives (v. 18). The identity of the spirits in prison is problematic. The plural spirits describes human beings in only one other place in the New Testament (Heb. 12:23), but it describes evil spirit beings frequently (Matt. 10:1; Mark 1:27; 3:11; 5:13; 6:7: Luke 4:36; 6:18; Acts 5:16; Rev. 16:13; et al.). Thus we would expect that evil angels are in view. But does what Peter said about them confirm this identification? He said they are in prison (cf. 2 Pet. 2:4) and that they were disobedient in the days of Noah (v. 20).

One view is that between His death and resurrection, or after His resurrection, Jesus went to Sheol (the place of departed spirits) and preached good news (that He had defeated Satan) to “the disembodied spirits, which were kept shut up (Jude 6: 2 Pet. ii. 4) in the place of the departed awaiting the final judgment …”[229] Another view is that Jesus went to Sheol and preached bad news to the fallen angels there, namely, that He had broken the power of the evil spirit world.[230] A third view is that Jesus visited a prison in the heavens after His resurrection.[231]

Some interpreters believe that the incident involving the sons of God and the daughters of men (Gen. 6:1-4) is what Peter had in view here.[232] But there are some problems with this theory: First, that incident evidently did not take place during the construction of the ark but before construction began. Second, it is improbable that the sons of God were angels.[233] Compare also Jesus’ implication in Matthew 22:30 that angels do not procreate.

Even if the sons of God were not angels these spirits that Peter referred to could still be angels. If they are fallen angels, Peter may have meant that after Jesus Christ arose He announced to them that their doom was now sure. He may have done this either by His resurrection itself or by some special announcement to them.

A more probable explanation is that these spirits were the unbelievers who disobeyed God in Noah’s day by rejecting his preaching.[234] They are now spirits, since they died long ago and their bodies have not yet been resurrected. Peter said the spirits of these unbelievers are in prison now (in Sheol) awaiting resurrection and judgment by God (cf. Rev. 20:11-15). One could say that Jesus proclaimed a message to Noah’s unbelieving contemporaries in His spirit (i.e., His spiritual state of life before the Incarnation) through Noah.[235]

…

Another view is that the people to whom Jesus preached were those alive after Pentecost who were likewise prisoners: in bondage to Satan and sin. Jesus preached to them through the apostles. The obvious problem with this view is that Peter linked these people with Noah.[236]

Another view is that Jesus went to Sheol and preached bad news to the fallen angels there, namely, that He had broken the power of the evil spirit world.[230] A third view is that Jesus visited a prison in the heavens after His resurrection.[231]

Remember John 20:17, Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Works Cited

Scripture quotations [unless otherwise noted] are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Most Works Cited. Please click here to access the web-page for all of the works cited, save those above–if any. Most of the works cited on the linked web-page correspond to the verses they are outlined with. In the case of background information and other general reference citations, one will find cited material with the Bible books the citations are associated with. ¶ Furthermore, all citations with URL linked, numbered notes are from Thomas Constable’s, “Dr. Constable’s Expository (Bible Study) Notes.” These links are preserved “as is” at the time of this work’s formation.

Other Works Cited

Marshall, I. Howard. 1 Peter. The IVP New Testament Commentary Series, Ed. Grant Osborne, et al, InterVarsity Press, 1991.

Michaels, J. Ramsey. Word Biblical Commentary: 1 Peter. Ed. David Hubbard, et al, Word Publishers, 1988.

^5.2