The Power of Jesus’ Suffering | 1 Peter 3:18-22
Peter describes four accomplishments brought about through Jesus' suffering. It (1) secured our reconciliation with God; (2) enabled his proclamation of victory; (3) rescued our consciences from guilt; and (4) demonstrated his authority over all. This sermon is part 7 of "A Fisherman's Passion," Bryan Craddock's series on 1 Peter 2:11-5:14.
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When solar eclipses happened in ancient times, many people were terrified. They did not expect them and did not know how long they would last. So, some would panic because it seemed like such a terrible omen. But people’s response today could not be more different. We look forward to eclipses with great anticipation. Some even travel to be within the path of totality.
What changed people’s minds? We came to understand the bigger picture. A solar eclipse is nothing more than the moon passing in front of the sun. The sun or earth is never in any danger. The moon is tiny in comparison. It just casts a big shadow for a while because it is so much closer to us. But then the shadow fades, and the sun keeps shining.
We need a similar shift in our perspective of suffering. We tend to panic when we come under its shadow. But the goodness of our sovereign God keeps shining. He even uses those temporary moments of darkness in the accomplishment of his perfect plan. There is no better demonstration of this truth than the suffering of Jesus Christ.
Of course, the Apostle Peter was an eyewitness of Jesus’ suffering. Jesus even tried to prepare him for it, but Peter did not respond well. Matthew 16:21-23 tells us,
From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you." But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."
Peter panicked at the idea that Jesus would suffer, and Jesus rebuked him for it. Peter needed to see that it was essential to God’s plan of salvation. But when the time came, he still did not grasp what God was doing. After Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, Peter’s perspective finally changed. The second chapter of Acts records his teaching on the Day of Pentecost, where he explained the power of Jesus’ suffering.
It was probably around thirty years later that he wrote 1 Peter. As we have seen thus far in our study, believers at that time were facing opposition to their faith, but Peter reminds them of the bigger picture. The gospel is a message of hope worth suffering for, and their lives should reflect that confidence. So, in verses 18-22 of chapter 3, Peter explains the power of Jesus’ suffering by describing four accomplishments that it brought about.
Now the truths in this passage should be a great source of spiritual encouragement to us, but there is a different kind of shadow that hangs over it. These verses are considered to be some of the most difficult in the New Testament to interpret. The discussion of various viewpoints often eclipses any practical application. But the big picture is still clear, and I have tried to reflect it in my outline. I will share the different views, but we need to stay focused on applying these truths to our lives.
Secured Our Reconciliation with God
The highest bridge in the United States spans the Royal Gorge in Colorado. The Arkansas River flows through the chasm around 1,000 feet below. It’s an impressive site, but no one ever really needed to cross the gorge. It’s not a vital link to some isolated community. It was a pedestrian bridge built almost a century ago as the main attraction for an amusement park.
Now our sins create a chasm between us and God that is far deeper, and having a relationship with him is far more important than entertainment. He is the source of life, truth, peace, and blessing. Yet Isaiah 59:2 says,
but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
The only bridge across that separation was made through the suffering of Jesus. He secured our reconciliation with God. In 1 Peter 3:18, Peter explains,
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,
In verse 17, Peter said, “For it is better for Christians to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.” Here in verse 18, he supports that assertion. This is why he reminds us that Jesus also suffered. He already called us to follow in Jesus’ steps back in verse 21 of chapter 2. Now he wants us to see the good that Jesus’ suffering accomplished. He brought us to God.
The Greek word for “bring” that Peter uses here is often used in the Greek translation of Leviticus to speak of drawing near to the presence of God in the Tabernacle. As the priests did so, they also had to bring sacrifices to atone for sin. Peter asserts that Jesus suffered as the one true and sufficient sacrifice. He offered himself in our place, the righteous for the unrighteous, bearing the punishment that we deserve to bring us near.
Of course, Jesus was not merely a victim of suffering. To secure our reconciliation with God, he triumphed over death. Peter speaks of him, “being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.” Acts 2:24 tells us that Peter said it was not even possible for him to be held by death. His sacrifice was accepted, and the power of God was displayed.
But in that last phrase of the verse, we encounter the first interpretive challenge of this passage. Is Peter referring to the Holy Spirit or to spiritual existence? Is he talking about Jesus’ resurrection on the third day after his death or about something that happens prior to that? We will come back to those questions as we look at verses 19 and 20.
Before we move on, however, we should consider the practical implications of this first accomplishment. Jesus overcame every obstacle and satisfied every requirement to bring us into a secure relationship with God. Have you crossed the bridge to receive that relationship? We cannot contribute anything to our salvation. We must trust in Christ alone. John 14:6 tells us, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
If you do have that secure relationship with God, are you drawing strength from it? The saving work of Christ gives us confidence that God hears our prayers. In response to that truth, Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Since the suffering of Jesus secured our reconciliation with God, God will grant us the strength to endure any suffering that we face. Keep drawing near to him!
Enabled His Proclamation of Victory
A lot of people want to capture our attention for their cause, event, or product. In times past, that required a lot of effort and resources, but social media has changed that. Now anyone can easily gain a platform, both those who are gullible and those who take advantage of that gullibility. So, we are bombarded by a steady stream of questionable proclamations that can distract us from what is truly important.
From a biblical perspective, the most significant event in history was the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Peter clearly asserts that Christians should make this event known. But in 1 Peter 3:19-20, he describes a proclamation of Christ’s death and resurrection that raises a lot of questions. He speaks of Christ being made alive in spirit,
in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 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.
Before examining these words, we need to review the story of Noah in Genesis 6. The chapter begins by saying that the sons of God took wives from the daughters of man. In response, God limits human existence to only 120 more years, and he announces to Noah that because of man’s wickedness he will destroy the earth with a flood. Then he instructs Noah to build the ark.
There is evidence that even before the time of Christ, Jewish rabbis debated who the sons of God were. Some say that they were just men, perhaps those descended from the godly line of Seth who married women from the cursed line of Cain. But outside of Genesis 6, the title “sons of God” is only used four other times. Three of them are in the book of Job, and there they clearly refer to angelic beings including Satan. So, some argue that the sons of God were fallen angels who somehow cohabited with humans, magnifying the wickedness that led to the Flood.
This view of the sons of God as fallen angels fits well with 1 Peter 3:19-20. We could say that they are the spirits in prison who disobeyed God during Noah’s time. In fact, 2 Peter 2:4 speaks of angels who sinned and were cast into hell, kept in chains of darkness until future judgment. So, Christ went to them in spirit and proclaimed his victory either before his bodily resurrection or soon after.
In this interpretation, Peter’s point is that Christ’s suffering on the cross won the decisive battle against evil. He fulfilled the great prophecy from Genesis 3:15. The serpent bruised him on the heel through his death, but he bruised the serpent on the head. As Hebrews 2:14 says, through death he destroyed the one who has the power of death. Satan’s ultimate defeat is assured. So, that is a message worth proclaiming now even though the world opposes us.
But in Genesis 6, God clearly holds human beings not angels responsible for evil. So, some maintain that the sons of God were just rebellious men. But if that is the case, when did Christ preach to them and what was his message? A few people argue that he proclaimed the good news of salvation to them in hell and gave them another opportunity to repent. They point to 1 Peter 4:6 for support, and we will address that verse next time.
Since Hebrews 9:27 states that it is appointed to man to die once and after that comes judgment, we must recognize that there are no second chances for those in hell. You could argue that Jesus proclaimed their condemnation. But what would be the point of singling out the sinful people from Noah’s time?
Most of the people who see the sons of God as rebellious men present a very different explanation of 1 Peter 3:19-20. They say that the prison in the passage is the bondage to sin that those people experienced during their lives. But the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, was present with Noah calling them to repentance before the flood. We find support for this idea in 2 Peter 2:5 where Peter says that Noah was a herald of righteousness and in 1 Peter 1:10-11 where Peter speaks of the Spirit of Christ working in prophets.
But what would be the relevance of this view for us and for Peter’s original readers? The point is that Christ sustained Noah and his family through opposition that must have been far worse than any that we will ever face. Imagine preaching for 120 years and building an ark when no one else in the world believed. Are we ready to follow Noah’s example of standing alone? Jesus understands the cost. He has prepared us for it, and he will always be with us as he promised in the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20).
Now I cannot say with certainty which interpretation of 1 Peter 3:19-20 is correct. I lean toward the fallen angel view, but I think that the practical applications of both views are equally true. There is no doubt that Christ won the victory over evil or that he is present to strengthen us as we represent him. So, don’t lose heart! Be encouraged by the victory that Christ won through his suffering and spread the good news even though many in the world will reject it!
Rescued Our Consciences from Guilt
It makes me sound old to say this, but I made my way through my first three years of college using a typewriter. I’m sure that my generation was the last one to do so. Now it was not one of those old machines with a separate arm for each letter. It had a tiny screen that allowed you to enter one line of text at a time and make corrections. But it still had a wheel with letters that would physically strike a ribbon to hammer ink onto the page.
Even if you have never used an old typewriter, you have probably used some kind of stamp that works the same way. That idea helps us understand how God works in history. You might say that his typewriter functions in reverse. Big events in his saving plan have such an impact that they echo backward in time. You find impressions of them before they even happen.
The New Testament refers to these foreshadows as “types”. In Romans 5:14, for instance, Paul explains that Adam was a type of Jesus. Peter sees a similar link between the rescue of Noah and his family and baptism. He shows that the suffering of Christ has the power to rescue our consciences from guilt.
To follow his flow of thought, let’s look again at 1 Peter 3:20 and read down into verse 21. Peter says,
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. 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,
A literal translation of the last phrase in verse 20 is that Noah and his family were “saved through water.” The King James Version says “saved by water,” so some argue that the waters of the flood saved them by lifting up the ark. But that is not Peter’s point. The waters of the flood were sent as an outpouring of God’s wrath upon people who were guilty of sin. God rescued them by instructing Noah to build the ark.
Now Peter says that baptism corresponds with Noah’s rescue from the Flood. He literally calls it an antitype. John the Baptist described his version of baptism in a way that helps us understand Peter’s logic. Matthew 3:7 tells us that when some Pharisees and Sadducees came to be baptized John said, “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” His baptism was a way for guilty people to express their repentance. Their immersion in water expressed their acknowledgment that they deserved to die for their sins just like the people in the Flood.
So, what does Peter mean by saying that baptism saves you? Some Christian denominations teach that the act of water baptism itself confers some degree of saving grace to a person. This is the reason that some of them baptize infants.
In reaction to that common view, one commentator that I read said that this passage is not speaking about water baptism at all. He said that it is describing our spiritual immersion into Christ. Paul speaks of baptism that way in Romans 6 to describe our union with Christ in his death and resurrection. But here in 1 Peter 3, water is the whole point of connection with the Flood.
So, how does Peter define baptism? First, he says that it is not a removal of dirt from the flesh. The spiritual immersion view takes this statement as proof that Peter is not referring to water baptism. But Peter probably means that the waters of baptism are not about cleansing, just like the waters of the Flood were not about cleansing. They are about guilt, judgment, and wrath.
Peter continues to define baptism by saying that it is, “an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Instead of the word “appeal,” other translations say answer, response, or pledge. It is the cry of a heart that is weighed down with guilt saying, “I need to be rescued from the guilt of my sins, and I am willing to leave my old life behind to seek new life through the resurrection of Jesus.”
Peter sees baptism, then, as the outward expression of the decision to repent and believe. In his mind, they are inseparable. We tend to delay baptism, and that probably causes some of our confusion about this passage. When Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost, he presented baptism as a first step. Acts 2:38 tells us,
And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
So, baptism saves us in the same sense that faith and repentance save us. It is merely a response to the death and resurrection of Jesus. A baby is not able to make that determination for his or her life, and no one else can do that for them. Someone must have enough maturity to recognize their sinfulness, understand the gospel, and respond in repentance and faith.
It is like deciding to get on the ark. We must realize that only Jesus can carry us through the flood of judgment that we deserve for our guilt. He plunged into those killing waters and rose again to give us life. If that is what you believe, you should show it by being baptized. Praise God that we can be decisively rescued from judgment to begin living with a clear conscience through the power of Christ.
Demonstrated His Authority over All
Our society has different ideas about what it means to be strong or powerful. Some define it as the ability to lift the heaviest weight. Others think about speed, skill, or the ability to exert control over people. But strength is also demonstrated by endurance, like runners who keep going for hours until they finally cross the finish line and win the victory.
Perhaps the power of endurance helps explain why the authors of the New Testament draw a direct line from the suffering that Jesus endured to his exaltation and authority over all creation. His suffering demonstrated, confirmed, and perhaps even expanded his power. In 1 Peter 3:22, Peter looks beyond Christ’s resurrection and describes him as the one, “who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.”
According to Acts 1, Jesus ascended into heaven forty days after his resurrection. Peter was there to witness it. Then Acts 2 tells us that ten days later the Spirit was poured out. As Peter preached the gospel that day, he announced that Jesus had been exalted to the right hand of God in fulfillment of Psalm 110:1 where David said, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.’” Acts 2:36 tells us that Peter then said, “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."
Here in 1 Peter 3, Peter looks beyond Jesus’ lordship over Israel. He speaks of angels, authorities, and powers being subjected to him. We find similar lists in Paul’s letters, and they seem to indicate that there are ranks of angelic beings (Rom 8:38; Eph 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; Col 1:16; 2:15).
In Colossians 1:16, Paul claims that Christ has authority over these powerful beings because he created them. In fact, we see him exert that authority when he casts out demons. But he was also in some sense lower than the angels during his earthly ministry. Hebrews 2:9 tells us,
But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
He was crowned with glory and honor because of his suffering. His glory and authority are restored and perhaps expanded because of what he accomplished. In Romans 14:9, Paul speaks of lordship as the goal of his death and resurrection. He says, “For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”
Christians today do not seem to think much about Christ’s exaltation. Why should it matter to us? In Matthew 28:18, it is the foundation for Jesus’ Great Commission. We can and should make disciples because all authority has been given to him. In Romans 14:9, Paul presents his Lordship as the reason for not passing judgment on one another over peripheral issues. Ephesians 1 and 2 explain that his exaltation gives us hope and assurance that his power is at work in the church today. So, as we face suffering we can live with confidence in the exalted Christ.
__________
Peter encourages us with the power of Jesus’ suffering. It secured our reconciliation with God. It enabled his proclamation of victory. It rescued our consciences from guilt, and it demonstrated his authority over all. Since his suffering accomplished so much, we should not fear any suffering that we might face. Trust the power of Christ.
Have you been reconciled to God? If not, do you recognize your guilt before him? Apart from Christ we all deserve to experience God’s wrath. But trusting Jesus is like getting on that ark with Noah. He is the only way to be rescued. Repent of your sin. Believe in Christ and be baptized. If you want to learn more about him and his saving power, Acts 2 would be a great chapter to read.
If you are already a believer, do you view suffering as weakness? Perhaps you need to change your view. Recognize the power of all that Jesus accomplished and trust him to give you strength. Be confident in him and share the great things that he has accomplished.
May we live for the glory of Christ!
Reflect
How does the world view suffering? How should our view be different?
Which of these accomplishments is most encouraging to you? Why?
How might these accomplishments help you explain your hope in Christ?