8: A Good Apology

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8: A Good Apology

Or, Christ Vivified, Vindicated, and Victorious

April 3, 2022 • Sean Higgins • 1 Peter 3:18–22

# Introduction

Last summer when we agreed to cover 1 Peter during our Sunday evening sermon series I made recommendations to the other pastors on paragraphs we each should preach. I assigned myself this section, 1 Peter 3:18-22, for…fun. If you're keeping note, you remember that Dave taught last and covered 3:1-7. Jonathan has a message already for verses 8 and following, but he had an opportunity to be gone tonight, so we swapped evenings, not passages.

My title, though, and the reason for this paragraph, hinge on a part we’ve temporarily skipped. When we are suffering, and when we show a sort of hopefulness that causes others to ask about it, we want to be ready with a good apology. The word in 3:15, typically translated as “defense" or "reason" is ἀπολογία (*apologia*). Apology here means not admitting that we were wrong or saying that we're sorry, but explaining the foundation for why our hope is real. We’re to have our case prepared. There is actually plenty of basis before 3:15, and yet there is a "for" or "because" in verse 18 that sets up clear comfort for suffering Christians.

There are, as we'll see, some significant questions and competing interpretations that keep everything from being equally clear. But these verses contain some glorious, and hope case-making, truths.

> 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 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, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. (1 Peter 3:18–22, ESV)

# Christ Vivified (verse 18)

**Christ also suffered**, connects with Christian suffering in verse 13 and 17. It’s not that Christians suffered first, but rather that Christian suffering isn’t without precedence. In chapter 2 Peter said that Christ left us an “example,” an underwriting (ὑπογραμμὸν), that we should follow in His steps. This is where WWJD got its origin, with [the fictional story by Charles Sheldon](https://www.amazon.com/His-Steps-Charles-M-Sheldon/dp/1453832866). But Christ’s suffering is more than merely a pattern which we should imitate, it is also for our propitiation. His unique suffering was **once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous**. We have hope in whatever parts of our suffering that are similar to His because of His suffering that was something we could never do. His was a *substitution* which the “for” or “instead of” emphasizes.

> “He was pierced for our transgressions;
> He was crushed for out iniquities;
> upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
> and with his wounds we are healed.”
> (Isaiah 53:5-6, from which Peter quotes in 1 Peter 2:24, and see also Isaiah 53:11-12)

We also have hope because of the purpose of our justification: **that He might bring us to God**. This is my favorite reminder of Christ's work; He turns rebels into brothers, hostile enemies into companions and allies. Redemption is unto *reconciliation*, forgiveness unto *fellowship*, propitiation unto *peace* in His presence. Our sin offended His holy standard and it separated us from Him. The Son suffered to save and bring back the wandering sheep (1 Peter 2:25); He leads *you* to the Father (see Ephesians 2:18).

The end of verse 18 begins the challenging part, ** being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit**. He really died; He had a physical body that the Roman soldiers beat and nailed to a cross. In the flesh, as a man, He suffered. On one hand they killed Him, then on the other hand God made Him alive (μὲν...δὲ). He was vivified, from Latin *vivere*, “to live,” so enlivened. But in what way?

The word πνεῦμα (*pneuma*) is never capitalized in Greek, context always determines whether it is the Holy Spirit or the spirit of a person, the intangible, non-flesh animating part.

If it is the Holy Spirit (as represented in the KJV, NIV) then all three persons of the Trinity are mentioned in this verse as working for our salvation. Paul explicitly connects the Holy Spirit who dwells in us as the Spirit “who raised Jesus from the dead” (Romans 8:11). If it is the Holy Spirit, the phrase really isn't parallel; having been put to death *in the realm/sphere* of the flesh and being vivified *by the agent* of the Spirit. (Though see a possible similar use in 1 Timothy 3:16, ἐν σαρκί...ἐν πνεύματι, body and Spirit.)

If it is "spirit" (as in the Geneva Bible, NASB, ESV), then why emphasize that? The resurrection is about His body, which was dead and buried but now alive (which is also our hope). After He said, “It is finished,” Jesus “bowed his head and gave up His spirit” (John 19:30). So this is when He got it back?

The Greek word here is *not* the typical word for resurrection (which we find in verse 21), but a form of ζωοποιέω, meaning “to be caused to live, to be vivified.” Is this a time *between* His bodily death and bodily resurrection, when Jesus was disembodied but made alive again in His spirit, or is it another way to refer to His resurrection? Jesus did tell the thief on the cross beside Him that he would be with him *today* in paradise (Luke 23:43), which means that He did not suffer in hell from Friday to Sunday.

The questions spill into the next section.

# Christ Vindicated (verses 19-20)

In the (Spirit/spirit), Jesus went (somewhere) and preached (something) to an audience (of spirits).

> 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, (1 Peter 3:19–20a, ESV)

Who are the "spirits in prison”? What is the "prison" and where is it? When did this proclaiming occur? What did Jesus proclaim? Why is this so important? What is it doing here? Peter seems to expect that his readers know all of this; his lack of additional details suggests that he’s reminding them not revealing new info. We have less confidence.

> Luther wrote, “A wonderful text is this, and a more obscure passage perhaps than any other in the New Testament, so that I do not know for a certainty just what Peter means. (quoted by Schreiner)

**In which…having gone He preached** picks up with the last word in verse 17, so “in the Spirit/spirit” Jesus traveled somewhere. It seems that this was the next thing after having been made alive. Vivification/resurrection led to this proclamation.

The original word order is, “in which also to the in prison spirits having gone He preached,” with an emphasis on the spirits. When the plural **spirits** is used in the New Testament it is not about men, but angels, and usually fallen angels. And the only **prison** for spirits we're told about is a place for the disobedient spirits (namely Satan in Revelation 20:7) whom Jude perhaps describes in confinement.

> And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day (Jude 1:6, ESV)

Right after that Jude mentions Sodom and Gomorrah and “likewise” sexual immorality (Jude 1:7). Peter also refers to this angelic disobedience and detention.

> For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; (2 Peter 2:4–5, ESV)

Yet some commentators (such as Calvin) assert that this **prison** in 1 Peter 3:19 is figurative for those imprisoned in ignorance or sin or even those bound under the law. So to him, spirits is men, regardless of what the word usually refers to.

But what connection does that have to Christ “having gone preached”? Verse 19 sounds like a *message*, not an extended ministry (Heibert).

And how does that relate to **in the days of Noah**? We do know that it was particularly sinful, which resulted in God wiping out almost all humanity. Some (such as Augustine) see the “spirits” as the spirits of men, but the *now* disembodied spirits of the men who died in the flood, but the proclamation was through Christ’s Spirit *in Noah *preaching to them (compare with 2 Peter 2:5).

In 1995 I was taking a Greek class which worked through 1 Peter, and in my final project, an outline commentary on the book, I took the Noah as preacher interpretation. My professor wrote, "You can be wrong if you want to." Ha.

I have changed my mind, mostly because *every* prophet preached righteousness through Christ's Spirit (see 1 Peter 1:11), not just Noah. Plus the order presented in verses 18 to 19 makes the preaching *post* Christ being vivified; it’s not the pre-incarnate Christ. In addition to that, the part that stands out in Noah's day is the demonic activity, which also sets us up for verse 22.

It would fit the interpretation that the "sons of God" in Genesis 6 were demons, or at least that men were demon-possessed (MacArthur), and especially in their sexual immorality (Jude 1:6). They were “spirits” who **did not obey…in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared**. The spirits are pre-flood evil-doers. **God’s patience waited**, but not indefinitely.

This relates to Christ announcing His triumph.

> He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (Colossians 2:15, ESV)

> he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:20b–21 ESV)

In His preaching Christ wasn’t offering them a second chance, this isn’t a gospel message; there is “no missionary work in hell” (Lenski). It is a message of His victory.

This relates to our hope. The comfort is that a culture dominated by evil, full of depravity, and even rife with demons doesn’t win. The great powers against Christ heard Christ proclaim His victory.

# Christ Victorious (verses 21-22)

Peter follows the flood waters of judgment with waters of baptism. It **corresponds** (ἀντίτυπον) to or “symbolizes” (NIV) the ark, but it's not the water, the analogy is to Christ. As the waters of judgment brought death, so we are buried in death when baptized, and we only “survive” because we are in Christ.

Peter is not teaching baptismal regeneration. The water isn't magic, the cleansing isn’t via ceremony. The external isn't the point, but the **appeal to God for a good conscience**.

Our salvation is **through the resurrection of Jesus Christ**, and the elect are born again by faith into hope (1:3).

Now He's ascended, our Lord ever more. All the angels, whatever their hierarchy, **authorities and powers**, have been made subject to Christ, and this is *especially true* of the *fallen* angels. He is **at the right hand of God**, a position of honor and authority. There is not one thumb’s-width in the entire domain of *all* existence over which Christ does not rule as Lord. His enemies are being made His footstool (see Psalm 110:1).

# Conclusion

For my final answers tonight, I’ll go with spirit instead of Spirit, and that being made alive refers to His bodily resurrection rather than a time of His disembodiment when darkness covered the earth for three hours during His crucifixion, that the spirits in prison are the fallen angels who sought to corrupt the human race while Noah built the ark and now are imprisoned, that the resurrected Christ proclaimed His triumph over them, that we are being delivered through our union with Christ and will be brought to God by Christ, and that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him.

This provides a good apology for our hope: Christ is alive. Christ has atoned for our sin. Christ announced His victory. Christ has ascended to His throne. He knows what it means to suffer for doing good, according to God's will (verse 17), and look at what His suffering brought.

12: A Flock Who Stands Firm

July 17, 2022 • Sean Higgins • 1 Peter 5

# Introduction We started Peter's epistle almost ten months ago to the day. I taught the opening verses, I also get the last chapter (and I took us on a brief trip into Hades in 3:18-22). These final paragraphs are a call to *humility that wrecks self-importance and stress and Satan*. This sort of staunch humility only comes by grace. In fact the whole letter has been about the true grace of God (see verse 12), and our God is the God of all grace. We'll see four sections, which don't follow the paragraph divisions in the ESV. Here are four graces for a flock who will stand firm, and they are more connected than a quick reading would surface. # Grace through Shepherds (verses 1-4) The last part of the letter is filled with exhortations and encouragements. The first exhortations are aimed at those called to oversee the flock on behalf of the Chief Shepherd. > So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (1 Peter 5:1–4, ESV) The Christian life is hard enough already, with the fiery trial (4:12) and insults from aggravated pagans (4:3-4) who don't understand the good you're doing (4:16, 19). Adding to all that jerk shepherds would be injury to insults. So Peter has a word for the elders. The title in these verses is **elders** (Πρεσβυτέρους, so presbyters), though shepherds and overseers are represented in verb form. The elders are pastors are bishops (from the noun ἐπίσκοπος); in the New Testament they all apply to the same group. There are two offices in the church: elders and deacons, though again elders have additional labels, and for that matter, as ministers they are related to deaconing. The elders belong with local churches (note “the flock…that is among you), and they come in groups (note the plural). Rather than set himself above the elders as a fore-elder, Peter relates himself to them as a **fellow-elder**. He exhorts them as one with similar responsibilities, not as having responsibilities *over* them. (There is no Pope Peter, even though he was an apostle.) Maybe most significant is that he refers to himself as **witness** (μάρτυς) **of the sufferings of Christ**, which, as these first century elders would have known, connected Peter to his thrice *denial* of Christ. But he saw the suffering, and he had a word for those charged to shepherd the suffering. The verb **shepherd** (also a person, and the shepherd person is *pastor* in Latin) refers to responsibilities for feeding, protecting, leading, caring. Also, this responsibility is a stewardship, because they are **the flock of God** (see also Acts 20:28). To **exercise oversight** relates to *bishops*, a word we don't use in our branch of the body, which is an English word derived from ἐπισκοπέω, an “above-looking,” though we do use "overseer." The title Supervisor might have too much business baggage to be beneficial in a church context. Motive matters for elders. First, the work should not require being bossed, **not under compulsion**; when you work for a boss you usually only work up to what the boss wants. It's the lowest level of motivation, just doing what you’re told can be an excuse for laziness. Reluctance, let alone resistance, is ruled out. Let it be done **willingly**, with a whole-heart, like it’s your idea not someone else’s (see “aspires/desires” in 1 Timothy 3:1). Second, the work should also not be for money, **not for shameful gain**. It doesn't mean that the worker shouldn’t earn a wage (1 Corinthians 9:9-11; 1 Timothy 5:17-18), it means that mercenary ministry is about what the shepherd gets for himself not the flock. **Eagerly** means interested in the sheep not just the income. To be examples of *greed* for “fylthy lucre” (Tyndale) is to be a bad example. Peter puts repetition weight on *want* with the words "willingly/“voluntarily and "eagerly.” Likewise, the third motivation, not being bossy pants, **not domineering**, not control freak kings (see Matthew 20:25-27). Set an example. Be a model, not a sub-par master. Pull don’t push. Shepherds lead they don’t drive (Hiebert). **Those in your charge** are the ones “allotted” (NASB) to a shepherd’s responsibility by God. He ordains a field with fences, a flock with faces. The reward is that the **Chief Shepherd** will be pleased and give an **unfading crown of glory**. This is the only use of the description (ἀρχιποίμενος) in Scripture. Jesus is the Arch Shepherd, the Shepherd of shepherds, the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep. We are *under*shepherds, and humble shepherds are a grace to the sheep. So many shepherds have not been humble, and whether or not they have been anxious, their pride has a systemic effect on the anxiety of the sheep. # Grace for the Humble (verses 5-7) There are two aspects here, a horizontal humility and a vertical humility. First is our attitude toward one another. > Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5, ESV) The **younger** are not younger pastors (as we might think about a youth pastor coming under a senior pastor), this is the younger in age and the **elders** in context would be those in the office, but it could certainly extend to those who are older in age. The young are most likely to think they know better, most likely to resist any sort of constraint. Peter says, **submit** (NIV), a theme he already wrote much about in chapters 2 and 3. The main command applies to **all of you**, regardless of age or office. **Cloth yourselves with humility**. Like a slave puts on an apron to work, wrap yourselves in humility. The reason comes from Proverbs 3:34. God sets His face against the proud; God does battle against the boastful. Grace doesn't make a man proud, grace stays away from the proud. > Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6–7, ESV) Verses 6 and 7 are one sentence, even though a few English translations (i.e., NIV, NRSV) try to make verse 7 its own imperative. The importance and comfort in verse 7 starts with getting in the right position before God. Humility and anxiety are inversely proportionate; more of one necessarily means less of the oather. Pride and it’s ugly step-sister self-pity are the fountain of chronic anxiety. Grace is the fountain of *peace*. Pains, memories, threats, feelings, crooked bosses, disobedient husbands, problems, considered in one blend of an **anxiety** cocktail of whatever nature and flavor and duration. We might even be anxious thinking that the Lord should praise us for all our service (think Martha, Luke 10:41, and Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:28). Stop holding the burden, **casting all** the worry. Transfer the concern. Like men threw their cloaks on a horse (same Greek verb in Luke 19:35), load your burden on the Lord. Casting *all* the worry, considered as one singular; cf plural "anxious thoughts" in Psalm 94:19. The command, again, is to be **humble under the mighty hand of God**. It's not a hand that crushes, but it is a hand of power. And again, the *way* to be humble in this text is to throw all your cares before Him because He cares for you. You cannot care for yourself better than God cares for you. And *you cannot make God care for you more than He does.* God is not taking a nap or a journey. He is sovereign, He is attentive, He is affectionate. His sent the Son of His love to show His love. He knows the path of low to exalted (Philippians 2). He knows suffering and burden. He knows His sheep. He raises them “in due time” (NIV). # Grace for Sufferers (verses 8-11) Verses 8-11 belong together, but there are a few parts. > Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. (1 Peter 5:8-9, ESV) When we are in full dependence on God we are not done, we are in the right position to *fight*. Anxiety can consume a man like alcohol; depression can be as distracting and destructive as drunkenness. So be sober. Take off the ball gown of angst and gird up the loins of your mind (see 1 Peter 1:13). Don’t worry, be watchful. Peter hadn’t been watchful in Gethsemane. There is an **adversary**, not just an enemy but an *accusing* enemy, and he is restless (he **prowls around**) and ruthless (**seeking…to devour**). He is**roaring** - ὠρυόμενος - from ὠρύομαι, probably onomatopoetic (see also Psalm 22:13). Resist him. We’re exhorted to flee sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18) and idolatry (1 Corinthians 10:14) and youthful passions (2 Timothy 2:22, but nowhere are Christians told to run from the devil (Hiebert). Fight him with faith and the *devil will flee* (James 4:7). Fight him as a community. You are not alone, your suffering is not unique, even if it is particularly heavy (see 1 Peter 1:6). We are part of a company of sufferers, “the **brotherhood**” (one word in Greek: ἀδελφότητι). “We have a contest in common with all the children of God” (Calvin). > And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (1 Peter 5:10) There is no narrow definition of suffering, and there is no definitive limit on **a little while** (compare with 1 Peter 1:6). But compared to **eternal glory**, the suffering is not long. Look to **the God of all grace**. What a perfect and uninventible truth; what man would be audacious enough to dream up such grace apart from God’s own revelation of Himself? That He chose us at all, that He guards us every minute, that He purposes glory and inheritance for us, this is all grace all the way up. The final four: restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish. > To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:11, ESV) A doxology breaks out. The God of all grace is the God of sovereignty, κράτος = might, rule. The God who promises eternal glory will be there to sustain it. # Grace for Christian Readers (verses 12-14) Here are Peter’s personal goodbyes. > By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son. Silvanus is likely the amanuensis, the one who wrote most of the letter as Peter spoke it. The author’s summary of what he had written was that this letter was about **the true grace of God**. And the final thing to do with the grace is, “in it **stand**.” The **she…at Babylon** is a church, not a woman, and John Calvin's bent against the Pope notwithstanding, I've got no problem taking Babylon as a nickname for Rome which would have resonated among those who knew the story of Israel’s exile. Mark is Peter's son in the faith. > Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ. (1 Peter 5:12–14, ESV) The kiss of love, or holy kiss, was already a typical greeting. It didn't last many centuries longer. Hard to believe any group with teenage girls could hold on to it. # Conclusion Why did the elders pick 1 Peter? We also are elect exiles built as living stones on the Cornerstone, Jesus Christ, chosen as a people for His own possession. So taste that the Lord is good (2:2-3), refuse the passions of the flesh (2:11), follow in His steps (2:21), bless that you may obtain a blessing (3:9), love one another earnestly (4:8), rejoice by faith with joy that is inexpressible and full of glory (1:8-9). Keep doing good provocatively. Let their be no embarrassment about your faith in your suffering. Be the kind of humble that wrecks self-importance and stress and Satan’s attacks. Among a people of almost innumerable pathologies and anxiety, stand out as you stand firm under the mighty hand of the God of all grace.

12: A Flock Who Stands Firm

July 17, 2022 • Sean Higgins • 1 Peter 5

11: All the More Gladly

June 12, 2022 • Jim Martin • 1 Peter 4:12–19

10: Anticipating Conduct

May 15, 2022 • Ryan Hall • 1 Peter 4:1–11