Christ Suffered Once For Sin..

And this evening, beloved brothers and sisters, we are going to be addressing Chapter 3, verses 18, 19 and 20. Chapter 3, verses 18, 19 and 20. And as we generally do, we're going to be reading together an extended section so that we get the context of what the Apostle or the Spirit of God is doing through the Apostle. So let's read together from chapter 3 verse 13. all the way until the end of chapter 4, verse 19.

And as I said, we're studying together verses 18, 19 and 20. So we're going to pay special attention to those verses and the context of what the puzzle says for us to understand those verses. This is the words of God. Let's read it with reverent hearts and paying much attention to each one of the words. Verse 13, chapter 3.

Now, who is there to harm you? if you are zealous for what is good. But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled. 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.

You do it with gentleness and respect. having a good conscience, so that when you are slander, those who revile your good behavior in Christ might be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. 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 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. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now says to 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, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities and powers having been subjected to him.

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking. For whoever has suffered in the flesh, he has ceased from sin, as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh, no longer for human passions, but for the will of God. For the time that is in past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties and lawless idolatry. With respect to these, they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery and they malign you. But they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead 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.

The end of all things is at hand. Therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's right grace.

Whoever speaks as one who speaks for the cause of God, whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies, in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's offerings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evildoer, or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God. And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

And if the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? Therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good." Amen. This is the Word of God, brothers and sisters. And as I said, we have read all of that just to get the context of the verses that we're going to be trying to cover this evening, which are verses 18, 19 and 20.

in which the Apostle says, "...for Christ also suffered once for sin, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He, Christ, might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit." Now, pay attention to verse 19, because this is going to be a very controversial verse. It says, verse 19, "...in which..."

He has said, "...in the Spirit." "...in which He went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison." because they, the spirits in prison, 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. Now, brothers and sisters, the section that we have in front of us, as I said, is a controversial section, especially verses 19 and 20. And there are many questions that can be asked from the text. Even when we are approaching the text, we can ask questions ourselves from the text, and sometimes some of those questions that we ask from the text are sometimes affected or tainted with the assumptions that we have of interpretations of the text. So, for instance, questions that we could ask about the text is, who are those spirits in prison?

Who are those spirits in prison? Those are reasonable questions that we can ask from what we can see in the text, with the words that we have in the text. Who are those spirits in prison? Those spirits in prison, they were proclaimed unto by Christ or the Spirit of Christ. When did Christ proclaim to those spirits in prison?

Those are questions that we can ask that are there in the text. However, sometimes when we're trying to find interpretation of a text, we might have assumptions in our mind that define the type of questions that we ask about a text and therefore define the answers that we arrive to. So, for instance, you may have heard that potentially these cries or the Spirit of Christ preaching to these spirits, that that happened in between the death of the Lord Jesus Christ and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and that during that time that the Lord Jesus Christ went to hell and that he preached to those spirits in prisons. Those are conclusions that perhaps are truth, but that we cannot ask ourselves from the information that we have from the text. These are interpretations that somehow affect the type of questions that we ask to interpret what we have in hand.

Why am I saying all of these things, brothers and sisters? Because it's our duty to arrive with the best of our understanding and our knowledge to the truth that is contained in the Bible. And in order to do so, we have to be faithful to what the text says. And we have to do it approaching the text to the best of our ability, removing ourselves from all the assumptions and presuppositions that can be outside of the text. Now, those assumptions and presuppositions can be truth, and we may arrive to those same assumptions and presuppositions, but when we are to understand the text, we have to remove ourselves or try to the best of our ability to remove from all of those interpretations, even if they are hold by people or by many people that are repeatable, and then approach the text in the truth of the Spirit.

This is very important that we do not only with this passage of Scripture, brothers and sisters, but that we do it with every portion of Scripture. So how are we going to understand the passage of Scripture that we have in front of us? Simply, what we are going to do, brothers and sisters, is that we're going to pay attention to the context of what Peter says, And then we're going to go simply verse by verse in the context of what Peter says. And to the best of our ability, we're going to try to understand what he means. We're just going to go into the context of the text.

And in the context, we're going to go verse by verse, trying to understand what is the truth of this portion of Scripture now. Brothers and sisters, many sermons have we have together here and I preach unto you from the context of this particular text. It is clear that what the Apostle is addressing here is suffering. He is addressing Christians who are being persecuted because of their faith. are Christians that are going through tribulations and difficulties because of their profession of faith.

You might remember that even we address the very important role of the church in the person, in the Christian, when this person is developing the spiritual characteristics that allow that person to face hostility and persecution. Even I preach two sermons trying to bring the burden of the importance of the context of the local church in the life of the individual Christian so that individual Christian will grow in conformity to Christ and will be able to face hostility or suffering or tribulations or persecutions by the world. Not only that, but the apostle has also addressed not only the importance of the local church in the life of the individual Christian, but also the heart of the Christian when the Christian is facing tribulation and hostility. In the previous section that we have just read in verse 15, he has said to us that we are not to have fear that when we are being persecuted, that when we're suffering for righteousness sake, that the Christian is not to have fear, but rather he's to change that fear for the enthroning of Christ and his Lordship in our hearts. That's what he says in verse 15.

But in your hearts, honor Christ as the Lord, as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is within you. So that is that the facing of suffering, that is that the facing of tribulation of the Christian is meant to be done in the power of the Spirit and in Christlikeness. So that when we're facing these tribulations, what comes out of our mouth is that which would come out of the mouth of Christ, is the thing that Christ will speak to those who are reviling and to those who are slandering, that it is the gentle and respectful, the gentle spirit of the heart of the Christian while enduring tribulation. In that context is how the Apostle now is going to start in verse 18. And then he says, why, the questions we could ask, why is the Christian to face tribulation or suffering in that particular way?

And he gives us the answer in verse 18. He says, for Christ also, just as you are suffering, for Christ also suffered once for sins. So in the mind of the Apostle, now he has gone through this topic of suffering and the suffering of the Christian and the tribulation of the Christian. Now he's going to take us to Christ as the example that we are to follow in the times of tribulation and of suffering. That is in the mind of Christ that is in the mind of the Apostle as he's writing these things and if you want to confirm that that it is this is the context of what the Apostle has written here in verse 18 19 and 20 you can go even to chapter 4 verse 1 that we also read it he says verse 1 in chapter 4 since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh arm yourselves So he has started verses 18 saying, for Christ also suffered just like you suffered.

And then in chapter 4 verse 1, which there's no chapters in the original, he says, since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves. So whatever is or know what it is in the mind of the apostle when he was writing this is the topic of suffering and Christ as the example of suffering and enduring suffering for the Christian. So he wanted to move our eyes and our souls towards the person of Jesus Christ in times of tribulation and difficulties and suffering in general. So that means that whatever the interpretation of verses 19 and 20, which is the difficult and controversial verses, they have to naturally fit into the purpose of the Apostle, which is writing as Christ as the example for suffering Christians. Whatever the solution for these difficult verses, they have to naturally fit into this idea that the Apostle clearly has in his mind.

That is the context, brothers and sisters, of the text. This is the clear context that it is not controversial, that it is not difficult to understand. That is the context of the text. And now let's just move into approaching the text, now understanding that context verse by verse, because now what the apostle is going to say first, it is that Christ also suffered. He is going to now point the eyes of the Christian brothers and sisters, something that is impossible to do by the power of men and the convincing words of eloquent men.

He's going to try to turn the eyes of people towards Christ, something that can only be done by the power of the spirit. Even as you read those verses to you, either they move your heart towards Christ or they don't. He says, for Christ also suffered once for sin. He's going to take these suffering Christians and he's going to point them to the example of the Lord Jesus Christ that he also suffered. These are exactly the same words that he had said in the previous chapter.

In chapter 2, if you remember, in verse 21, chapter 2 in verse 21, he said exactly the same words. In chapter 2, verse 21, he said, "...for to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you may follow in his steps." It is the same idea that is in the mind of the apostle as he is writing that section. He is going to point the eyes of the suffering Christian to the sacrifice, to the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And here is something very important, brothers and sisters, that this suffering or this suffering of Christ is not speaking about the temporal sufferings before his death, but it's actually speaking about the sufferings that were leading towards his death. So it incorporates everything, his sufferings before he died and his death. That's why he says that he suffered once, because he happened when he finished, when he died. And this is very important in the mind of the apostle, because then in chapter four, he's going to, use this once-for-all suffering of Christ. So we are not to see the suffering of Christ as this ongoing process in the previous time before he died, but it's actually the sufferings of Christ together with his death.

It's a once-for-all suffering of Christ, which the apostle uses that concept. He has it in his mind when he's in verse 1 in chapter 4, addressing the other section. He says, since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking for whoever now is changing that word suffering for the christian for whoever has suffering the flesh has ceased from sin he's attaching that concept of suffering to the death the death of the lord jesus christ this is very important for you to understand that he is not speaking about just the what do you call the the things that he endured and that he suffered before he died, but he's speaking of that until his death. He died once for all, and he's pointing the eyes of the Christian. towards the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Beloved brothers and sisters, not only for the eagerness that we may have to understand what verses 19 and 20 mean, we are not supposed to pass over the glorious truth of verse 18, because the apostle is saying that this Jesus Christ suffers once for sins. that he suffered once for sin, that is, that he suffered and died once for sin, speaking, brothers and sisters, of the sufficiency of the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, that nothing else was needed, that the death of Jesus Christ and his sufferings were going to take place only once. And this is very important that the worth of the Lord Jesus Christ was so much that His death only had to take place only once. And that was the sufficient payment for those who will receive salvation. That Jesus Christ, the high priest, the spiritual priest of His people, that He entered into the Holy of Holies only once and He offered Himself as the sacrifice that was sufficient to provide salvation for all of those who were chosen before the foundation of the world in Him, united in Him.

Brothers and sisters, this is good news in the gospel. This is good news of salvation. That means that our soul does not have to do anything in order to achieve the righteousness that God requires. The death of the Lord Jesus Christ is once for all insufficient. His death is of a value and a worth that no human, no creature can compare, because that is divine.

It happens once for all. That is the sufficiency, brothers and sisters, of the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. But this eternal sufficiency of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ is also a substitutionary atonement. When the Apostle says, for the unrighteous. It is that Christ took the place of the one who had broken the law of God, that he took the place of that person so that the righteousness of Christ, the sufficiency of the righteousness of Christ will be imputed and given to the unrighteous by faith.

so that what comes next will take place, which is very important for the interpretation of verse 19. He says not only that the sacrifice of Christ was sufficient once for all for the sins, but also substitutionary, which is the righteous for the unrighteous. But he's going to say something very important. He says that He, pay attention brothers and sisters, Christ, Jesus, that He may bring us to God. The purpose of the sufferings of Christ and the giving of Himself for our sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, was with the purpose that He may bring us to God.

Bringing us to God means that those who are being brought to God belong or were in a different place. They are being brought by the sacrifice and the workings of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is that these people, whoever they are, of course, the church, that they were not in the presence of God or that they were not in the realm of God and they were apart from it. But by the sacrifice of Christ, they have been brought to God. This is very important.

because the workings of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the workings of his atonement, brothers and sisters, bring a person from a completely opposite reality, which is death, to the reality of life. or from the reality of the flesh to the reality of the spirit. Those who have not received the powerful application of the atonement and of the gospel, they are death in their trespasses and they're in the realm of the flesh. Brothers and sisters, the gospel of Jesus Christ is not only a message that is to intellectually to be accepted and received in the mind, When a person truly is saved and receive the gospel and the power of the gospel, that person does not only confirm intellectually in their mind that those things are truth, but that person is brought from the realm of darkness into the realm of God, into the realm of death, to the realm of life, from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of life or light. Brothers and sisters, this requires, it necessitates an utter and complete transformation of the person who has been taken from darkness into light because that person has been brought to God.

the God that it is so impossible to dwell in his presence as we're going to see even through the Old Testament teachings that we're doing. Even to dwell in his presence requires so much detail and so much particular things that need to be done. It is because we cannot dwell in his presence. How are we going to say then that a person that is in the kingdom of darkness, that is brought now to the kingdom of life, and that that person remains internally, mentally, spiritually the same? That is impossible to say.

This is the glorious thing of the gospel, that Christ, by his sufferings and by his death and by his sufficient and substitutionary atonement, he accomplishes the fact that he brings a person to the presence of God. And he's going to give us now a qualifier of this moving from the kingdom or the system of the flesh to the kingdom and the system of the spirit by saying something very important that defines our interpretation of verse 19. He says, this bringing us to God is being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. As I have studied now this passage of Scripture, brothers and sisters, actually that portion of Scripture there is the most difficult one to explain, rather than the verses 19 and 20. But it says that Jesus Christ brought us to God by His atonement, the righteous for the unrighteous, once for all, paying for our sins.

How did He do it? Being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. Now, brothers and sisters, I want you to see the contrast that the apostle has given us between in the flesh and now made alive in the spirit. He's given us a contrast of Christ being dying in the flesh and now Christ being made alive in the spirit. Now, I first reading of this statement may give us the perception of the understanding that this is just the death of the flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And then he was resurrected in the spirit that his body ceased to exist when he died and then there was a lapse of time and then he was resurrected in the Spirit. But brothers and sisters, it contains that, but actually the apostle is telling us a deeper truth of the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ that helps us understand what comes after. And that is that when the Lord Jesus Christ died upon the cross and then he was powerfully resurrected, he removed himself from the system of the flesh to which he had subjected himself so that he would provide atonement for those who were of the flesh. That is, brothers and sisters, the Christ, the God, the second person of the Trinity that always existed as God in his kindness, goodness, and love, he decided to enter, to incarnate, to enter into the system of the flesh, so that he will become the atonement and the sacrifice that those who were of the flesh required to present themselves into the spiritual kingdom. This is, brothers and sisters, that by Christ dying, He died to the powers of the system of the flesh that had upon Him.

Christ was subject to death. When He came to this world, He came, He was incarnate, and then He grew, He became a man, and when He went upon the cross, He was subject to the powers of the system of the flesh, namely death. But when he was powerfully resurrected, then death did not have any power on him anymore because he had been taken from the system of the flesh in which he lived a perfect life. And now he was powerfully resurrected in the glorious system of the Spirit. So he moved from the flesh.

to the Spirit. And those who are in the Spirit, brothers and sisters, are also receiving this glory of Christ, that this death does not have any power anymore. I don't want you to see here a dichotomy between the body and that which is not tangible, not touchable, namely the Spirit. Because, brothers and sisters, in glory we are also going to have bodies. and bodies are part of this glorious system of the Spirit.

So, it is not a controversy or dichotomy between the flesh being bad and the Spirit being good, and therefore we have a contrast here of substance. We don't. What the apostle is saying is that when Christ died, He had victory over the system of the flesh and He was resurrected. in the Spirit. Now, thankfully, the Apostle Paul explains this with extensive, or he explains this with a little bit more of explanation and detail that helps us to understand what the Apostle Peter is trying to say here.

So go to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, because in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, we're going to see this teaching here about not only those who are in Christ, but about Christ Himself. Brothers and sisters, those who are in the flesh are mortal. Those who are in the flesh are perishable. Those who are in the flesh have an end of time. But then when glory arrives, when glory comes, the perishable becomes imperishable.

the temporal becomes eternal. That happens for those who are in Christ, but also it took place for Christ Himself when He became incarnate. He was a man like us and He died upon the cross, but because He was the perfect sacrifice, He was powerfully resurrected to a life that has no end. So, His perishable body which died was resurrected in glory to remain to so that they will not have power on him and those who are united to him. This is what the apostle teaches in first Corinthians 15 in verse 42.

So is it verse 42, I said, right? So is it with the resurrection of the dead? He has spoken about the resurrection of the body for the Christians before. OK, what is shown is what is shown is perishable. What is raised is imperishable.

It is shown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. Now, brothers and sisters, let me just make a comment. Sorry to interrupt your reading of Scripture there. But every time that the apostle is addressing resurrection, do not think that heaven is like we are all spirits and there's no matter.

We are in the flesh in the sense of this body, we are resurrected in glory with both the material and the material. So it's not a contrast between flesh being bad and the spirit being good, but it's speaking of two different kingdoms, the kingdom or the system of the flesh, which is perishable and the kingdom of the spirit of God in which there is flesh, but a glorified flesh that endures forever. I hope that that is clear now. Verse 43. It is sown in dishonor.

It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is sown a natural body. It is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Now pay attention to this contrast now is going to be given in the context of the resurrection and this change from flesh onto the spirit to the person of Christ. Thus it is written. The first man, Adam, became a living being. But the last Adam, we know that that's Christ, right?

Became alive, given a spirit. But it's not the spiritual that is first, but the natural, and then the spiritual. Just as Christ was subjected to the system of the flesh, and then in his resurrection became the fullness of the Messiah who was going to be incarnate, that is the spiritual. Verse 47. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust.

The second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust. And as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven." Brothers and sisters, this is crucial and this is very important because when we are in 1 Peter chapter 3, We are not speaking about a dichotomy between Christ embodied before he's dead.

I hope that is the word embodied. And then Christ disembodied in the spirit without the flesh. It is Christ being taken now from the dominion of the system of the flesh, in the flesh. He was dead to that. And then he was made alive in the spirit, now in the system of the spirit.

So that means that what we're talking about here in the end, it is that Christ is in the spirit. So that's why many translations will have the spirit there with a capital S. because it is the system of the Spirit. The small s tells us that this is kind of like the spiritual immaterial thing, but this is the Spirit. Now, brothers and sisters, I hope that that is clear because this is important for us to understand what comes next.

Because now if we understand that, that means that whatever we have after 19 is speaking not about the time of Christ when he was subjected to the dominion of the flesh, but when Christ was in the Spirit. And that takes us away from these three days between the death and the resurrection and take us either to after his resurrection, when he recovered the glory that he had with the father from eternity past, or that takes us before those three days in which Christ was divine and God. So it is all of this portion of time which are the framework of time that define verse 19. I hope that that is clear now in verse 19 now it comes with the interesting verses that we have it says in which or if you have another translation you may say by which or by whom some other translation might even go because they translate the spirit as the spirit so they go by whom or in whom This is speaking about Christ in the Spirit or the Spirit of Christ. Christ in the Spirit is whom we have here in verse 19.

And the framework of time again of this verse is not anymore in those three days between the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. But it's the whole Christ. It's the time in which Christ was not subjected to the system of the flesh. So now, brothers and sisters, if we are going to understand those verses, then we need to ask, of course, these questions, the difficult questions we need to ask ourselves. Who are these?

the spirits in prison, right? It's difficult. Those are difficult words. We don't usually hear those words. Who are those spirits in prison?

Because those spirits in prison heard or received the proclamation of the Spirit of Christ of something. That's the only conclusion that we can make of the text. that these spirits in prison were proclaimed unto by this Spirit of Christ. They received something. We don't know what it is and we don't know who they are.

These are the natural questions that we are supposed to ask ourselves from the text alone. So now brothers and sisters here when we are trying to answer that question is that we have very different answers for that particular question. People give different answers and they have lots of value and they're very good answers. So for instance some brothers and sisters they may say that these spirits in prison, that these are fallen angels. That these are fallen angels who were in prison and they have very good arguments because if you go to 2nd Peter, if you go to 2nd Peter chapter 2, If you go to 2 Peter 2, in verse 4, this is the same Peter, right?

This is the same Peter. 2 Peter 2, verse 4, it says, For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to change and of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment, you see similar language You see, you have the spirits in prison and here it says, did not spare the angels where they seemed by casting into hell and committed them to chains. That is kind of like prison, right? Of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment. Not only that, but the verse that follows it is similar because it speaks of Noah.

It says, but if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserve Noah, a herald of righteousness with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly. So they might say, you see, these spirits in prison are these fallen angels that Peter is addressing in second Peter, these fallen angels that are reserved, that are kept in change and in darkness for the judgment that they deserve. Even Jude is going to use very similar language of these spirits of these angels that have left their own abode and they are reserved in darkness under chains for the judgment of the great day, Jude says. So they say that these two spirits in prison, brothers and sisters, that these are fallen angels. And there's a lot of value for that particular answer, because this is just taking the context of what Peter says.

Some other brothers and sisters might say, it is not only that these are fallen angels, that they were proclaimed or preached unto, and Jesus Christ went to that place or that prison or to that place of bondage in which they were kept. But actually, it is that when Christ was ascended and that when He went unto glory, that from heaven Christ preached unto these fallen angels that were kept and reserved in darkness. He preached the victory of His atonement. And they will conclude that from verse 22 that we have in our passage. that says, speaking of Christ himself, they said, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities and powers being subjected to him.

So brothers and sisters, all of this, or at least this couple, because there are like five options, at least this couple of options, brothers and sisters, they have a lot of exegetical value. They have a lot of value that you can actually derive to and then you could arrive to that conclusion. But now, how are we going to know? And actually, the question that I ask myself, this in lore, how am I going to know what the text says? So usually what I do is that I try to put myself in the shoes of the people that received the letter.

Because if they received this letter, then they were supposed to understand what the apostle wanted to communicate with them. Now, 2nd Peter and these other letters, they come time after 1st Peter was written. So that means that whenever they received 1st Peter, the information and the understanding that these people had was sufficient for them to understand the message of the Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit wanted to communicate with them. And because there is so much controversy on these passages that I have even mentioned, because these fallen angels, and you have many controversies about whom these fallen angels are, the safest thing that we can do is to stick to the text that we have in front of us. and then not to refer to texts and read those texts into this particular text, which many times in Bible study is very important to do.

But we are going to stick with the evidence, biblical texts that we have in front of us. So stay with me, please, brothers and sisters, in this exercise, because this is going to be beneficial for our souls. I want us to ask the natural question that a person who only has the passage of Scripture in front of them will have, and that is, who is the spirits in prison, right? The question of the information that we have about these spirits in prison is, we can ask, what information do we have about these spirits in prison? What does the text tell me about these spirits in prison?

And the text, brothers, is very clear. The text is going to give us information about these spirits in prison. It says in verse 20, pay attention to verse 20, because they, OK, this is referring to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey. That is, that these spirits in prison, in the past, did not obey. Stay with me, brothers and sisters.

These spirits in prison did not obey in the past. Now, this is the glorious thing about the Word of God. Because, brothers and sisters, this concept of obedience is used multiple times in the New Testament. This concept of obedience is used multiple times to speak of different things or different types of obedience in the New Testament. The obedience of children to their parents, or the obedience of the people of the church to submit or to obey their elders in Hebrews 13, or the obedience that we have to the law, the obedience that the Jews will have to the law.

So there are many terms and many words that speak of obedience. But the glorious thing is that the word that we have in front of us for obedience that they did not obey, or some other translation will say that in the past they were disobedient, is used only 14 times in the New Testament. It is used only 14 times. And absolutely every time that the Holy Spirit speaks of this type of disobedience, It is always speaking of obedience unto salvation, that is, obedience unto the preaching of the gospel. This is vital, and this is very important.

Every time, brothers and sisters, that this word of this concept of obedience that we have here given to us by Peter is used in the New Testament 14 times, 100% of the time, not 99, not 13 out of 14, but 14 times, 100% of the time, this concept of disobedience is disobedience to the message of salvation that is provided in Christ by the gospel. This is very important. I just want to give you a couple of examples that you can see. Even this word, exactly the same word, attached to the concept of salvation. So go to John 3, please.

John 3, 36. John 3, 36. This is the first time that this word is used. This is the first time that this word, exactly the same word, brothers and sisters, is used in the New Testament. John 3, 36, it says, whoever believes in the sun has eternal life.

Whoever does not obey, that's the word, or disobedient, whoever is disobedient, the sun shall not see life. But the wrath of God remains on him. Now, brothers, keep that in mind. Disobedience to the message of the Lord Jesus Christ, disobedience to the message of the gospel. Go to Acts chapter 14.

Acts chapter 14. Acts chapter 14. Verse 1 and 2. And even here, this word is going to be translated with another English word which gives us even more insight into the heart of this word. Verse 14, verse 1 and 2.

Now at Icanium, Acts chapter 14, verse 1. Now at Icanium, they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great multitude of both Jews and Greeks believed Verse 2, but the unbelieving Jews, that is the disobedient Jews, it is exactly the same word. Imagine that the heart of that word, it is to either accept or reject the message of salvation of the gospel to the point that the translators here changed it to the unbelieving or to the disobedient Jews, stirred up the Gentiles and pushed their minds against the brothers. Go to Romans 2. Let me just show you a couple of more examples.

Romans 2, verse 5. Romans 2, verse 5. It says, Just waiting for everyone to get there. Chapter two, verse five. It says, But because of your heart, an impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.

He will render to each one according to his works to those who, by patient and well-doing, seek for glory and honor and immortality. He will give eternal life for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth. but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. Now, brothers and sisters, I have many other examples that my plan was to take you through, but now I think we need to just arrive to the end of this. Brothers, it's very important.

These spirits in prison, the disobedience that they had, was to the message of salvation that was preached of the Gospel. Now, why is this vital and important? Because the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes. To the Jews first, and also to the Greek, to the Gentiles. Why?

Because in the Gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. of humans, not of angels. You see, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation for those who were in Adam, for those who were men, for those who were humans, not angels. The power of the gospel is not unto salvation for the angels. The disobedience of the angels is in a different category.

They left their own abode. They left their place of authority. They rebelled against God. But the nature of the disobedience of those who are humans and are in Adam is against God himself and his law. And then this is the moment in which God provides a savior.

And when he provides a savior, then he commands everyone to repent. and to believe in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to the point that not only Paul, but also Peter, Peter, and even in first Peter, every time that a person rejects the message of the gospel, they call that disobedience to the truth, disobedience to the gospel, even in the verse that we have in chapter four, verse 19. Check that place at the last verse just to give you that. Chapter four, verse 18, it says, And if the righteous Verse 17, sorry. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God.

And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? This is exactly the same word that the apostle has used in this letter four times. One of them, which is the word that we have is disobedience. In verse 20, brothers and sisters, this is not speaking of angels or fallen angels. This is speaking of those who are able to be disobedient to the message of the gospel.

And not only that proof or evidence I wanted to give you, but I also wanted to give you a clear evidence just from the context of the text, in which if you read verses 19, 20 and 21, you see it says, "...but in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, Because, then he's going to contrast these spirits in prison with 8 people that were saved. It 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 8 persons, were brought safely through water." If you have a different translation, that word persons is translated souls.

He's comparing in the mind of the apostle, he's comparing those spirits who are in prison, who were disobedient, with those people, eight souls or eight persons who were brought safely through the water that is through the judgment that came in the days of Noah. This is not speaking, brothers and sisters of fallen angels. So now... This is not the important thing of the passage, brothers and sisters. It's not the important thing of the passage.

It's not about who are these spirits in prison. These spirits in prison are souls who have disobeyed the proclamation of the message of the gospel. And then the context is going to tell us who are these people? Who are these people that disobeyed? Who are these spirits in prison who were formerly disobeyed?

In verse 20 says, because, which word can be also translated to when? They formerly, that is in the past, they did not obey when? When God's patience waited in the days of Noah. Brothers and sisters, these are the people of the days of Noah that rejected the message that was preached unto them. Now, I had another section to explain all of that, but I know that now I've gone very long.

So I'm just going to make that very short. Genesis chapter 6 my brothers and sisters Genesis chapter 6 speaks clearly of the wickedness actually just go there just to point you to a couple of verses Genesis chapter 6 speaks of the wickedness that was taking place in the world actually my original plan was to get you to read the whole chapter, but let's just go to the verses that are important and Pay attention to verses one, actually, let's just read one through eight. OK, it says when men began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God so that the daughters of men were attractive and took as their wives and they chose. Now, pay attention to this here. Remember the countries of the flesh and the countries of the spirit.

It says, Then the Lord said, My spirit, the ESV says, shall not abide. But other translations say, may not contend against. My spirit shall not abide in men or contend against men forever. Why? For he is flesh.

His days shall be 120 years. Now, brothers, this is the wickedness that was in this Noah's generation. God Himself calls this the generation of Noah or your generation. The wickedness that was taking place here, it was at its maximum. People were giving themselves in marriage, as we know from the Gospels.

People were doing very wicked things to the point that God is going to come and He's going to bring the judgment that they deserve. Verse 4 says, the Nephilim were on the earth in those days and also afterward. when the sons of God came into the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. Now pay attention to verse 5.

The Lord saw that the wickedness of men was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of the earth was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made men on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, I will blow out men. whom I have created from the face of the land. men and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.

But Noah, it says, found favor in the eyes of the Lord." Now, brothers and sisters, we have the abundance of wickedness in the days of Noah. And because of the abundance of wickedness, we have the righteous judgment of God coming upon them. But we are also told that in the midst of that unrighteousness and wickedness, Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. And even he is going to follow all the instructions of building the ark in which he and seven persons more, seven or eight souls were going to be saved and brought safely through the water.

Pay attention now to verse one in chapter seven. It says, Then the Lord said to Noah, go into the ark. This is chapter seven, verse one, going to the ark. You and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. Now, something glorious happens here, brothers and sisters, because this is actually the message of Peter.

This is actually what he's trying to do. He's not trying to answer the question of who is the spirits in prison, but this is the message of the apostle Peter. This Noah, brothers and sisters, this Noah received from the mouth of God. the promise of the judgment that was going to come upon all men and all creatures. He heard that from the mouth of God.

A lapse of time was given to him so that he would put or build the ark in which he and his family were going to be saved. But he was by faith, as Hebrew says, he was building that ark, knowing that this judgment was going to come upon this generation. Yet, yet, yet, in second Peter, Peter himself tells us something very important about Noah. In 2nd Peter, Peter is going to tell us something very important about Noah, something that we have already read. In 2 Peter 2, verse 5, even he was completely certain of the judgment that was going to come upon that generation.

He was absolutely convinced that the words of the Lord were going to take place to the point that he took his family to build this ark for over 100 years. Working in the building up of this ark, he knew that salvation was going to be provided for him and his family, and he knew that the judgment was going to be executed on the whole generation. Yet, according to Holy Scripture, in chapter 2 of 2 Peter verse 5, it says, if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness with seven others. Now, this is very important. He was a preacher of righteousness.

He was a preacher of the righteousness of God to a wicked generation that had judgment upon them, that God himself had said that this generation was going to perish, that these only eight people were going to be saved. Yet Noah, while he was building the ark, he was a herald of righteousness. And this is glorious, brothers, because the word herald that we have there, it is exactly the same word. This is a noun. The other one is a verb.

It is the exact word that Peter used to speak in the passage that we have. So when you go and you see in verse 19 that he says the spirit of Christ or Christ in the spirit in which he went on herald or he which he went on proclaimed to the spirits in prison. So what am I saying? What am I saying that the meaning of the text is? Brothers, I'm saying, and sisters, I'm saying something that Peter has already said.

that Peter or that Christ and the Spirit of Christ was in the prophets of the Old Testament and that the Spirit of Christ in them was prophesying about the salvation and about the righteousness and about the sufferings and the subsequent glories of Christ. See it yourself. Chapter 1 verse 10. Chapter 1, verse 10, the apostle is using the same terminology for the spirit in Christ that was in the prophets of the Old Testament that were prophesying about the salvation that was coming. That is, that every time the prophets of the Old Testament were preaching or heralding righteousness, that was the spirit of Christ in them.

It says, verse 10, concerning the salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours, Search and inquire carefully. Inquire in what person or time, speaking of the Old Testament prophets now, the Spirit of Christ in them. It is the same construction of language that the apostle uses in chapter 3. It was in the Spirit by whom or in whom Christ went and proclaimed through Noah in the old times to these souls that were disobedient to the proclamation of righteousness. Every time that the prophets opened their mouth in the Old Testament, it was the Spirit of God in them that was speaking the righteousness.

And brothers and sisters, that suits naturally and organically the context of persecution and trials and tribulations, because the apostle has said to the people, When they revile you, do not revile them in return. When they persecute you, you are to be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within you. You are to be filled with the Spirit to speak the things of Christ. You are to not respond how they are going to attack you or persecute you or to be after you. It was, brothers and sisters, the example of Noah, a herald of...

Imagine! a generation that was condemned by the judgment of God. And yet these men and his family, for prolonged periods of times, were building an ark of a judgment that they could not see. But more than that, he was a herald, a proclaimer of the righteousness. And heralding the righteousness of God was speaking about the wickedness in which they were enslaved.

And that takes us to spirits in prison, brothers and sisters, because really, it doesn't matter what position you take about in prison. It could be an imprisonment of those souls that were in the generation of Noah, bandaged to their sins, that they were in bandage in a prison of wickedness, or that they were actually judged and that they are now in prison, awaiting for the final of the judgments. Whatever position you take is okay. I don't know. But the important thing, brothers and sisters, is that the Apostle is trying to give us encouragement in times of trials and tribulation.

And now, think about the things that the New Testament says of Noah's generation. That in that time, they were given in marriage, that they were eating and drinking, and that the end of the days is going to be just like the days of Noah. The Apostle is going to say in chapter 4, verse 7, the end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be self-control and sober minded for the sake of your prayers. This urgency of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and this urgency of the judgment of God that was going to come and was going to be afflicted or given to all this generation was always in the mind of the Apostle, yet he calls these saints to always be ready to give an answer for the hope that was within them.

Now, brothers and sisters, this was speaking of a judgment that is going to fall upon people, judgment that is going to fall upon a generation, a generation that is compared to our generation. Noah was by himself with only eight people in his generation. Now in New Covenant times, the church is more than eight people, even though it says that there's few that will make it. But the church is greater than eight people, and the Lord is calling us not only to endure this type of tribulations, but also to be heralds of the sufferings and the victories of Christ because the passage that we have in front of us concludes in verse 22 saying that Jesus Christ has gone into heaven and that by going into heaven he's seated at the right hand of God and that all powers and authorities and angels have been subjected to him. Just as our brother Bernie said about this passage on Monday, if Peter would have wanted to use the words angels, he would have used the words angels because he had freedom to do it.

He did it in 2 Peter 2, verse 4. He used the words angels and he uses the word angel here. This judgment fell upon people and the judgment of God, the reality of the judgment of God that falls upon people is that which is supposed to ignite in us love towards them and holiness towards God, to remain being heralders or proclaimers of the righteousness of God, but at the same time seated and positionally placed in the righteousness of God, living it and being like Jesus Christ. Amen?