Jesus told the evil one he won

¹⁸ For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, ¹⁹ in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, ²⁰ because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. ²¹ 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, ²² who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. ¹

When did Christ preach to the spirits in prison? “When once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah.” In Christ’s day, the spirits of those men to whom Noah had preached were in prison, for they had rejected the message of Noah. They had gone into sheol. They were waiting for judgment; they were lost. But Christ did not go down and preach to them after He died on the cross. He preached through Noah “when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah.” For 120 years Noah had preached the Word of God. He saved his family but no one else. It was the Spirit of Christ who spoke through Noah in Noah’s day. In Christ’s day, those who rejected Noah’s message were in prison. The thought is that Christ’s death meant nothing to them just as it means nothing to a great many people today who, as a result, will also come into judgment.²

3:18 For Christ also died. Peter wished to encourage his readers in their suffering by again reminding them that even Christ suffered unjustly because it was God’s will (v. 17). Ultimately, however, Christ was marvelously triumphant to the point of being exalted to the right hand of God while all of those demon beings who were behind His suffering were made forever subject to Him (v. 22). God also caused Peter’s suffering readers to triumph. for sins once for all. Under the Old Covenant, the Jewish people offered sacrifice after sacrifice, and then repeated it all the next year, especially at the Passover. But Christ’s one sacrifice for sins was of such perpetual validity that it was sufficient for all and would never need to be repeated (see notes on Heb 7:27; 9:26–28). the just for the unjust. This is another statement of the sinlessness of Jesus (cf. Heb 7:26) and of His substitutionary and vicarious atonement. He, who personally never sinned and had no sin nature, took the place of sinners (cf. 2:24; 2Co 5:21). In so doing, Christ satisfied God’s just penalty for sin required by the law and opened the way to God for all who repentantly believe (cf. Jn 14:6; Ac 4:12). bring us to God. In this life spiritually, and in the next life, wholly (cf. Mk 15:38). put to death in the flesh. A violent physical execution that terminated His earthly life (cf. Heb 5:7). alive in the Spirit. This is not a reference to the Holy Spirit, but to Jesus’ true inner life, His own spirit. Contrasted with His flesh (humanness) which was dead for 3 days, His spirit (deity) was alive, lit. “in spirit” (cf. Lk 23:46).

3:19 made proclamation. Between Christ’s death and resurrection, His living spirit went to the demon spirits bound in the abyss and proclaimed that, in spite of His death, He had triumphed over them (see notes on Col 2:14, 15). spirits now in prison. This refers to fallen angels (demons), who were permanently bound because of heinous wickedness. The demons who are not so bound resist such a sentence (cf. Lk 8:31). In the end, they will all be sent to the eternal lake of fire (Mt 25:41; Rev 20:10).

3:20 disobedient … in the days of Noah. Peter further explains that the abyss is inhabited by bound demons who have been there since the time of Noah, and who were sent there because they severely overstepped the bounds of God’s tolerance with their wickedness. The demons of Noah’s day were running riot through the earth, filling the world with their wicked, vile, anti-God activity, including sexual sin, so that even 120 years of Noah’s preaching, while the ark was being built, could not convince any of the human race beyond the 8 people in Noah’s family to believe in God (see notes on 2Pe 2:4, 5; Jude 6, 7; cf. Ge 6:1–8). Thus God bound these demons permanently in the abyss until their final sentencing. safely through the water. They had been rescued in spite of the water not because of the water. Here, water was the agent of God’s judgment not the means of salvation (see note on Ac 2:38).³

Everything else in this paragraph is incidental to what Peter had to say about Jesus Christ. This material is parallel to what Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2:21ff. Peter presented Jesus Christ as the perfect example of one who suffered unjustly, and yet obeyed God.

The death of Christ (v. 18). In 1 Peter 3:17, Peter wrote about suffering for well-doing rather than for evil-doing; and then he gave the example of Jesus Christ. Jesus was the “just One” (Acts 3:14), and yet He was treated unjustly. Why? That He might die for the unjust ones and bring them to God! He died as a substitute (1 Peter 2:24), and He died only once (Heb. 9:24–28). In other words, Jesus suffered for well-doing; He did not die because of His own sins, for He had none (1 Peter 2:22).

The phrase “bring us to God” is a technical term that means “gain audience at court.” Because of the work of Christ on the cross, we now have an open access to God (Eph. 2:18; 3:12). We may come boldly to His throne! (Heb. 10:19ff) We also have access to His marvelous grace to meet our daily needs (Rom. 5:2). When the veil of the temple was torn, it symbolized the new and open way to God through Jesus Christ.

The proclamation of Christ (vv. 19–20). The phrase “made alive by the Spirit” (kjv, sco) creates a problem for us. In the Greek manuscripts, there were no capital letters; so we have no authority to write “Spirit” rather than “spirit.” Greek scholars tell us that the end of 1 Peter 3:18 should read: “Being put to death with reference to the flesh, but made alive with reference to the spirit.” The contrast is between flesh and spirit, as in Matthew 26:41 and Romans 1:3–4, and not between Christ’s flesh and the Holy Spirit.

Our Lord had a real body (Matt. 26:26), soul (John 12:27), and spirit (Luke 23:46). He was not God inhabiting a man; He was the true God-Man. When He died, He yielded His spirit to the Father (Luke 23:46; see James 2:26). However, it seems evident that, if He was “made alive in the spirit,” at some point His spirit must have died. It was probably when He was made sin for us and was forsaken by the Father (Mark 15:34; 2 Cor. 5:21). The phrase “quickened in [with reference to] the spirit” cannot mean resurrection, because resurrection has to do with the body.

So on the cross, our Lord suffered and died. His body was put to death, and His spirit died when He was made sin. But His spirit was made alive and He yielded it to the Father. Then according to Peter, sometime between His death and His resurrection Jesus made a special proclamation to “the spirits in prison.” This raises two questions: Who were these “spirits” that He visited? What did He proclaim to them?

Those who say that these “spirits in prison” were the spirits of lost sinners in hell, to whom Jesus brought the good news of salvation, have some real problems to solve. To begin with, Peter referred to people as “souls” and not “spirits” (1 Peter 3:20). In the New Testament, the word “spirits” is used to describe angels or demons, not human beings; and 1 Peter 3:22 seems to argue for this meaning. Furthermore, nowhere in the Bible are we told that Jesus visited hell. Acts 2:31 states that He went to “hades” (nasb), but “hades” is not hell. The word “hades” refers to the realm of the unbelieving dead, a temporary place where they await the resurrection. Read Revelation 20:11–15 in the New American Standard Bible or the New International Version and you will see the important distinction. Hell is the permanent and final place of judgment for the lost. Hades is the temporary place. When a Christian dies, he goes to neither place, but to heaven to be with Christ (Phil. 1:20–24).

Our Lord yielded His spirit to the Father, died, and at some time between death and resurrection, visited the realm of the dead where He delivered a message to spirit beings (probably fallen angels; see Jude 6) who were somehow related to the period before the Flood. First Peter 3:20 makes this clear. The word translated “preached” simply means “to announce as a herald, to proclaim.” It is not the word that means “to preach the Gospel” that Peter used in 1 Peter 1:12 and 4:6. Peter did not tell us what Jesus proclaimed to these imprisoned spirits, but it could not be a message of redemption since angels cannot be saved (Heb. 2:16). It was probably a declaration of victory over Satan and his hosts (see Col. 2:15; 1 Peter 3:22).

How these spirits were related to the pre-Flood era, Peter did not explain. Some students believe that “the sons of God” named in Genesis 6:1–4 were fallen angels who cohabited with women and produced a race of giants, but I cannot accept this interpretation. The good angels who did not fall are called “sons of God,” but not the fallen angels (Job 1:6; 2:1, and note that Satan is distinguished from the “sons of God”). The world before the Flood was unbelievably wicked, and no doubt these spirits had much to do with it (see Gen. 6:5–13; Rom. 1:18ff).

The resurrection of Christ (v. 21). Since death comes when the spirit leaves the body (James 2:26), then resurrection involves the spirit returning to the body (Luke 8:55). The Father raised Jesus from the dead (Rom. 6:4; 8:11), but the Son also had authority to raise Himself (John 10:17–18). It was a miracle! It is because of His resurrection that Christians have the “living hope” (1 Peter 1:3–4). We shall see later how the resurrection of Christ relates to the experience of Noah.

We must never minimize the importance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It declares that He is God (Rom. 1:4), that the work of salvation is completed and accepted by the Father (Rom. 4:25), and that death has been conquered (1 Thes. 4:13–18; Rev. 1:17–18). The Gospel message includes the Resurrection (1 Cor. 15:1–4), for a dead Saviour can save nobody. It is the risen Christ who gives us the power we need on a daily basis for life and service (Gal. 2:20).

The ascension of Christ (v. 22). Forty days after His resurrection, our Lord ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, the place of exaltation (Ps. 110:1; Acts 2:34–36; Phil. 2:5–11; Heb. 12:1–3). Believers are seated with Him in the heavenlies (Eph. 2:4–6), and through Him we are able to “reign in life” (Rom. 5:17). He is ministering to the church as High Priest (Heb. 4:14–16; 7:25) and Advocate (1 John 1:9 2:2). He is preparing a place for His people (John 14:1–6) and will one day come to receive them to Himself.

But the main point Peter wanted to emphasize was Christ’s complete victory over all “angels and authorities and powers” (1 Peter 3:22), referring to the evil hosts of Satan (Eph. 6:10–12; Col. 2:15). The unfallen angels were always subject to Him. As Christians, we do not fight for victory, but from victory—the mighty victory that our Lord Jesus Christ won for us in His death, resurrection, and ascension.

The Ministry of Noah

The patriarch Noah was held in very high regard among Jewish people in Peter’s day, and also among Christians. He was linked with Daniel and Job, two great men, in Ezekiel 14:19–20; and there are many references to the Flood in both the Psalms and the Prophets. Jesus referred to Noah in His prophetic sermon (Matt. 24:37–39; see Luke 17:26–27), and Peter mentioned him in his second letter (2 Peter 2:5; see 3:6). He is named with the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11:7.

What relationship did Peter see between his readers and the ministry of Noah? For one thing, Noah was a “preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5) during a very difficult time in history. In fact, he walked with God and preached God’s truth for 120 years (Gen. 6:3), and during that time was certainly laughed at and opposed. The early Christians knew that Jesus had promised that, before His return, the world would become like the “days of Noah” (Matt. 24:37–39); and they were expecting Him soon (2 Peter 3:1–3). As they saw society decay around them, and persecution begin, they would think of our Lord’s words.

Noah was a man of faith who kept doing the will of God even when he seemed to be a failure. This would certainly be an encouragement to Peter’s readers. If we measured faithfulness by results, then Noah would get a very low grade. Yet God ranked him very high!

But there is another connection: Peter saw in the Flood a picture (type) of a Christian’s experience of baptism. No matter what mode of baptism you may accept, it is certain that the early church practiced immersion. It is a picture of our Lord’s death, burial, and resurrection. Many people today do not take baptism seriously, but it was a serious matter in the early church. Baptism meant a clean break with the past, and this could include separation from a convert’s family, friends, and job. Candidates for baptism were interrogated carefully, for their submission in baptism was a step of consecration, and not just an “initiation rite” to “join the church.”

The Flood pictures death, burial, and resurrection. The waters buried the earth in judgment, but they also lifted Noah and his family up to safety. The early church saw in the ark a picture of salvation. Noah and his family were saved by faith because they believed God and entered into the ark of safety. So sinners are saved by faith when they trust Christ and become one with Him.

When Peter wrote that Noah and his family were “saved by water,” he was careful to explain that this illustration does not imply salvation by baptism. Baptism is a “figure” of that which does save us, namely, “the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21). Water on the body, or the body placed in water, cannot remove the stains of sin. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can do that (1 John 1:7–2:2). However, baptism does save us from one thing: a bad conscience. Peter had already told his readers that a good conscience was important to a successful witness (see 1 Peter 3:16), and a part of that “good conscience” is being faithful to our commitment to Christ as expressed in baptism.

The word answer in 1 Peter 3:21 is a legal term meaning “a pledge, a demand.” When a person was signing a contract, he would be asked, “Do you pledge to obey and fulfill the terms of this contract?” His answer had to be, “Yes, I do,” or he could not sign. When converts were prepared for baptism, they would be asked if they intended to obey God and serve Him, and to break with their sinful past. If they had reservations in their hearts, or deliberately lied, they would not have a good conscience if, under pressure of persecution, they denied the Lord. (Peter knew something about that!) So, Peter reminded them of their baptismal testimony to encourage them to be true to Christ.

It may be worth noting that the chronology of the Flood is closely related to our Lord’s day of resurrection. Noah’s ark rested on Ararat on the seventeenth day of the seventh month (Gen. 8:4). The Jewish civil year started with October; the religious year started with the Passover in April (Ex. 12:1–2), but that was not instituted until Moses’ time. The seventh month from October is April. Our Lord was crucified on the fourteenth day, Passover (Ex. 12:6), and resurrected after three days. This takes us to the seventeenth day of the month, the date on which the ark rested on Mt. Ararat. So, the illustration of Noah relates closely to Peter’s emphasis on the resurrection of the Saviour.

There is a sense in which our Lord’s experience on the cross was a baptism of judgment, not unlike the Flood. He referred to His sufferings as a baptism (Matt. 20:22; Luke 12:50). He also used Jonah to illustrate His experience of death, burial, and resurrection (Matt. 12:38–41). Jesus could certainly have quoted Jonah 2:3 to describe His own experience: “All Thy billows and Thy waves passed over me.”⁴

3:19, 20 There are various interpretations of the meaning of these verses, primarily because of the ambiguity of the phrase spirits in prison. The Greek term translated spirits can refer to human spirits, angels, or demons. There are three main interpretations: (1) Some interpret these verses as describing Jesus as going to the place where fallen angels are incarcerated and declaring His final victory over evil in His work on the Cross. These commentators suggest that Peter is referring to the days of Noah because these fallen angels were typified by the gross immorality of those “spirits” who married human women at that time (see Gen. 6:1–4; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 1:6). Depending on the commentator, this proclamation is assigned to the time between Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, or to a time after Christ’s ascension to heaven. (2) Others hold that spirits refers to human spirits. Thus Christ preached to human beings who had died in Noah’s day and were in the realm of the dead (hell or Hades). Although some have insisted that Christ’s preaching included an offer of salvation to these people, this is at best unlikely and at worst misleading, for Scripture never concedes a “second chance” for sinners after death. The content of Christ’s preaching was most likely a proclamation of His victory over sin. (3) Finally, another major interpretation understands this passage as describing Christ preaching through Noah to the unbelievers of his day. Since they rejected Noah’s message of salvation, they were presently in prison—that is, hell.⁵

1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (1 Pe 3:18–22). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

2 McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Epistles (1 Peter) (electronic ed., Vol. 54, pp. 76–77). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

3 MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (1 Pe 3:18–20). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

4 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, pp. 415–418). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

5 Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson Study Bible: New King James Version (1 Pe 3:19–20). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.