1 Peter 3:18

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient when once the divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is eight souls, were saved through water. There's also an antitype which now saves us, baptism. Not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but an answer of a good conscience toward God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to him.

Why would God will the unjust suffering of His Son—and of His people? Because Christ's suffering won a victory that makes our own suffering temporary.

The Keys of the Kingdom

Since the end of January we have been studying through 1 Peter, a series that sits within a much larger study at Cross Connection through the whole New Testament that began back in November of 2008. We've gone through Acts and the epistles chronologically, and we're still not finished. The Lord could come back before we do, and then He can wrap it up and teach us the whole book of Revelation Himself—which I'm all for, because I'd much rather He teach Revelation than me.

It was my plan to finish 1 Peter in six weeks. By now we were supposed to be midway through 2 Peter. My pastor, Pastor Pat, who pastored this church for 27 years, had a magnet on his filing cabinet that read, "Man Plans, God Laughs." God has seen fit to keep us here, and I believe He has a message for us living in this place at this time. So I've called this series Keys of the Kingdom, because there are important truths—keys to being part of the kingdom of God—found in these five chapters.

Sojourning, Submission, Suffering, and Salvation

If you're a follower of Jesus, the Bible describes you as a citizen of heaven. Paul says this in Philippians 3—we are citizens of heaven eagerly looking forward to that kingdom. The first key is that this earth is not our forever home. When I look at all that's going on in the world and in our own nation, I'm all the more thankful: my hope is not in this nation or this world, but in another place.

Second, as representatives of King Jesus we are to represent Him well. In 2 Corinthians 5 Paul calls us ambassadors for Christ. Even if you were born and raised in America, your citizenship is in heaven—you have dual citizenship—and here you are an ambassador called to live in a way that honors the King.

Third, as ambassadors we are to be completely submitted to the ruling authorities of this world. Even though our King is greater—the King of kings—He directs His followers to submit to the leaders and authorities of this world. There's a part of us, especially those born and raised in America, that resists this. We have a great declaration of unsubmission called the Declaration of Independence. Yet we do not have diplomatic immunity. We cannot tell the kingdoms of this world, "We will not submit." Jesus calls us to submit and to live after the pattern of heaven, which is contrary to the world.

Fourth, if you live like this, you may suffer. Throughout Christian history, in nearly every place, believers have suffered for the cause of Christ. Here in the United States we have enjoyed great religious freedom, but in many other parts of the world right now followers of Jesus are being persecuted because of the kingdom of God.

Our Hope Is in Heaven

But the great key is this: though we may suffer here, this is not our eternal home, and we have a reward and an eternity awaiting us. That is where our hope comes from. This last week I watched an interview with Peter Hitchens, the evangelical Christian brother of Christopher Hitchens, the well-known atheist author of God Is Not Great who died of cancer a few years ago. Peter Hitchens had a pessimistic outlook on the United Kingdom and the United States, and the interviewer said, "That sounds very pessimistic. I thought you were a Christian." In his wonderful British accent—which instantly makes us think someone is intelligent—he said, "I may be pessimistic here, but my hope is in heaven. My hope is not in this place." That is one of the keys of the kingdom.

So 1 Peter speaks of sojourning, submission, suffering, and ultimate salvation. We are just passing through. We should be submitted to authorities, knowing it may cause suffering, but our salvation points to heaven.

"It Is Better to Suffer for Doing Good"

In the midst of this Peter writes in 1 Peter 3:17:

For it is better if it is the will of God to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

That is audacious, perhaps absurd. It is better to suffer? Peter says if you're going to suffer—and it's all but guaranteed for followers of Jesus—it's better to suffer for righteousness' sake than for being, in the 21st-century update, a bozo. Sometimes people suffer as Christians not because they're walking in righteousness but because they take the clear teaching of the Bible and become arrogant, rude, and obnoxious with it, thinking that will win people to the King. It doesn't work.

Why is suffering better? Look back to 1 Peter 2:19:

For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.

Commendation from whom? From God in heaven. Eschatologically, when you stand before God, you will receive praise and honor from the One who deserves all praise and honor. "For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps."

This wasn't only Peter's teaching; it was Jesus' teaching. In Matthew 5:10, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven... rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven." And that reward is the praise, honor, and commendation of God.

Did God Will Your Suffering?

So if you're going to suffer, suffer in a way that brings reward—because this is the kind of suffering God wills. Did you get that? God wills suffering? I'm not sure I like the sound of that. God, who is all loving, all powerful, and all good, wills the unjust suffering of His people?

Peter says it again in 1 Peter 4:19:

Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

This doesn't fit the cutely packaged American Christianity peddled by prosperity preachers. Yet Peter has said it twice. Even I, who would never be accused of being a prosperity teacher, have a hard time with this. So we must explain it.

Peter answers in verse 18: "For Christ also suffered." If it is God's will that you suffer, remember that Christ also suffered for doing good. Anyone who has read the Gospels knows Jesus did nothing wrong. He fed the hungry, healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons, and preached salvation. Hebrews says He was tested in all points as we are, yet never sinned. And then He suffered a torturous, terrible death on the cross for doing good.

Christ's Suffering Fulfilled God's Will

Not only did Jesus suffer for doing good—He suffered according to the will of God. We know this clearly. In the Garden of Gethsemane, recorded in Matthew 26, He fell on His face and prayed, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." A few verses later He prayed it again, and then a third time. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, three times Jesus prayed, "I don't will this, but Father, whatever You will, I will submit to."

That's a heavy reality. Jesus, in His humanity, did not want to suffer. Can we be Christ-like in that? And yet He recognized that God the Father had planned, determined, and willed His suffering beforehand. This is point one: Christ's suffering fulfilled God's will.

Probably the number one question I receive from believers is, "What's God's will for my life? I want to do God's will." But what if God's will is that you suffer? Still want it? Jesus prayed, "Not My will, Your will be done." The skeptic might rightly ask, why would you serve a God who wills the unjust suffering of His own Son? Look at the rest of verse 18 for the answer.

Christ's Suffering Was for a Purpose and for Our Salvation

For Christ also suffered once for sins.

This is point two: Christ's suffering was for a purpose. Hebrews 10 records the words of Christ: "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God." The Father's will was that Jesus would suffer unjustly—but for a purpose, on behalf of my sin and yours. Jesus did not suffer for His own unrighteousness, but for our failures, in our place. That's what the gospel preaches.

Why? Verse 18 continues: "that He might bring us to God." This is point three: Christ's suffering was for our salvation. His unjust suffering was not pointless, absurd, or senseless. The crucifixion was the predetermined plan and will of God the Father. Outside of time, God decided this was the way lost humanity could be brought back into relationship with Him. It was the only way. That's why, when Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, "If there be any other way," heaven was silent—and that silence was loud. There is no other way.

Turn back to Acts 2, Peter's first sermon. In verse 22 he says, "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you... Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death." So who killed Jesus? Not merely the Jews, not merely the Romans, but God the Father in heaven, who determined that Christ would die—through the agency of the Jews and the Romans—so that He would die for our sins and make the way open for us to come to God.

One of my favorite verses is 2 Corinthians 5:21: "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Jesus became my sin and yours so He could give us His righteousness.

The Meaning of "Might"

That word "might"—"that He might bring us to God"—is important. It's the Greek subjunctive. It means the death of Jesus was sufficient to deal with all sin of all people at all times in every place. Yet His sacrifice is only effective for those who receive it by grace through faith. You cannot be saved by your good works, your church attendance, your giving, or your serving in the children's ministry—though that might be as close to some people ever get. Strike that from your memory; I didn't say that. There's no way that saves you. Christ alone. He suffered temporarily so that we might live eternally with Him.

The Most Difficult Passage in the Bible

I would love it if chapter 3 ended there, but it doesn't. Peter says Jesus was "put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient... in the days of Noah."

In 2 Peter 3, Peter writes about "our beloved brother Paul," who according to the wisdom given him has written some things "hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction." And I read that and think, "What about you, Peter?" This passage may be one of the most difficult in 1 Peter, perhaps in the whole New Testament, perhaps in the whole Bible.

If someone here is writing me a note explaining that they understand this perfectly, I apologize—you don't. And I know it because Martin Luther—not the civil rights leader, but the great Reformer of 500 years ago—said of this passage: "A wonderful text is this, and a more obscure passage than any other in the New Testament, so that I do not know for a certainty just what Peter meant." If Marty Luther doesn't have a clue, neither do you.

I've read numerous commentaries, and here's the truth: if you read five commentaries, you get ten opinions. After much study and conversation with friends I respect, I've come to agree with dear old Martin Luther: I do not know with certainty what Peter is saying.

Three Questions These Verses Answer

Still, these difficult words answer at least three important questions. First, what happens when we die? Second, what happened when Jesus died on the cross? Third, what did Jesus do between Good Friday and Easter Sunday?

When we die, we do not merely sleep or cease to exist—and that for me is good news. As for Jesus, from this passage we can tell He did not go straight to heaven (He wouldn't ascend until after the resurrection and forty days on earth). He did not lie frozen in the tomb awaiting Sunday. He did not cease to exist, as many today claim. Nor did He go and experience the torments of hell. What He did was win. This passage declares that at His death Jesus was victorious.

So where did He go between Good Friday and Easter Sunday? Upon His death, Jesus went as a living spirit to where others were, to whom He proclaimed His victory through the suffering and death of the cross. That opens a Pandora's box of questions: Where did He go? Who were these individuals? What was the message?

Three Classical Views

There are three classical interpretations. The first is that Jesus descended into a place called Hades and proclaimed His victory to the spirits of those who had died in Old Testament times. The second is that this has nothing to do with what Jesus did between the crucifixion and resurrection, but that Christ, through the Spirit, spoke through Noah to the people of his day about the coming judgment and about Christ. The third is that Jesus descended into the depths of the earth and proclaimed His victory over the spirits of fallen angels that had done some unique wickedness in the days of Noah, recorded in Genesis 6.

If you're confused, I can give you a stack of commentaries that will help you be more confused. This is why Luther and many others say we cannot know with certainty what this passage means. But here is what I do know, and this is essential: what you believe about these 45 words does not really matter as it relates to your salvation. You can have an opinion that differs from your neighbor's, or no opinion at all, and that's fine. But you cannot say you have no opinion about the vicarious redemption of Jesus Christ. You cannot say it doesn't matter whether His death on the cross matters. It matters, because that is essential.

Christ's Suffering Brought About Victory

The important point taught through these words is point four: Christ's suffering brought about victory. Notice it says Jesus "went and preached"—perhaps not the best translation. That word means to proclaim or to sound, and it's connected with proclaiming victory; it is the shout of victory. On the cross, when Jesus cried in agony, "It is finished," and breathed His last, He declared in victory that sin, death, and Satan were done, and the victory was won.

Which means that all the suffering you may experience as an ambassador of Jesus in this life is temporary. That is point five: Christ's suffering means that our suffering is temporary. I hope you don't watch them, but over the last couple of years videos have circulated of Christians being put to death by terrorists in Syria and Iraq—burned, beheaded, all kinds of twisted and sick things. We look at that suffering most of us will never experience, and yet even that, for the cause of Christ, is temporary. When they breathe their last in agony, they wake up in eternity with pure joy.

"Baptism Now Saves Us"

Peter continues with hard sayings in verse 21: "There is also an antitype which now saves us, baptism." Wait—what? If you've been around the Bible a while, this strikes a problem. Peter seems to say baptism saves us. Let's read it again: "There is also an antitype which now saves us... not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but an answer of a good conscience toward God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ."

People bring this to me, and I usually finish their sentence for them: you're stuck on the verse that seems to say baptism saves us. We answer it by the context. The previous verses speak of Noah. We believe there was a global flood by which God judged the earth for its sin, destroying humanity except for Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their sons' wives—eight people, with the animals, saved on the ark we affectionately call Noah's ark.

You say, "You believe that?" Yes—because Jesus preached and taught it, and the Bible records it. Call me crazy; we believe it. But here's what we don't believe: stone people, Noah going all ape, Kurt Russell on the ark—none of that is in the Bible. We believe a man and his family were saved through a global flood, and now Peter says that water is symbolic of the water we experience in baptism.

What Baptism Actually Symbolizes

Baptism is the act in which a person who has put their faith in Christ is taken down into the water, baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and raised up to walk in newness of life. But the act does not save you, and this passage cannot contradict the rest of Scripture, which declares baptism does not save by the act itself. The New International Version renders verse 21 helpfully: "And this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus."

The important point is this: the baptism experience, as a symbol, points back to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, which is what actually saves us. If there is no resurrection, baptism is worthless. You are buried with Christ under the water, and when you come up you symbolize the resurrection to newness of life that He gives.

Death Without Fear

Here is the awesome thing about baptism: if you've gone under the water, you know it is a temporary, painless, non-fearful experience. And that is exactly the truth the resurrection wins for us—death for the believer is a temporary, painless, non-fearful experience. Christ died for us, removing the sting and fear of death. Those who once lived in fear of death no longer need to, because death is as quick, painless, and temporary as going under the water and coming back up.

And why? Verse 22: Jesus "has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him." I can prove to you that death, even in suffering, is painless, temporary, and not to be feared. Acts 7 tells of Stephen, the first martyr of the Christian faith. As men stoned him, throwing huge rocks, he gazed into heaven with the face of an angel and said, "I see Christ standing at the throne of God." No fear in death, though he suffered agony in life. That is the promise to the Christian, and that is gospel.

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You for the good news seen through the cross, because Jesus, You who knew no sin became sin for us and destroyed sin and death 2,000 years ago, that we might know life abundantly and eternal. Lord, help us not to fear death. Help us not to fear suffering in this life, because anything we may suffer is at the worst temporary—a momentary light affliction working for us a far greater and eternal weight of glory. Help us to live with that kind of faith, with no fear, so that those who don't know You cannot help but be in awe of it. Work it into our lives, we pray.

Perhaps you would say you are terribly afraid of death, and you do everything to stay away from suffering. Christ came to remove all fear and to give us an outlook of faith and hope. If you would like to receive the free gift of His grace today, to receive forgiveness for your sins because of what Jesus did for you, pray with me: Dear Jesus, I recognize that I have failed. My life has not lived up to Your perfect standard. I need Your forgiving grace. Jesus, would You come into my life, forgive me of my sin, and help me to follow You by faith and turn away from the things I once held dear. Help me to follow You, Jesus. It's in Your name that I pray. Amen.