The Righteous for the Unrighteous

"The Righteous for the Unrighteous" - 1 Peter 3:18-19 The word spirit refers to the spirit of Christ. The contrast is between His flesh and spirit and not between the flesh of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Christ's flesh died, but His spirit remained alive.

I. (1 Peter 3:15-19) Christ suffered for sins once.

A. The Just for the unjust, to lead us to God.

1. He is indeed "dead in the flesh," but He Has been quickened in spirit.

2. He preached to the imprisoned spirits.

3. The word spirit refers to the spirit of Christ.

4. The contrast is between His flesh and spirit and not between the flesh of Christ and the Holy Spirit.

5. The flesh of Christ died, already went to the cross and paid for our sins in His body, the flesh of the Holy One, but His spirit remained alive.

6. Jesus' body was in the tomb, "of course," but His spirit, having departed at the time of His death. (Matthew 27:50)

7. (1 Peter 3:19) He was elsewhere during those three days.

8. Peter gives a little specific information about what happened in those three days between Jesus' death and the resurrection.

9. This happens, in the tomb is the body of Jesus, already dead, not yet risen and then He rises and goes to His own.

10. Jesus preached to the spirits in prison.

11. In the Greek word used it simply means that Jesus "preached a message."

12. Jesus suffered and died on the cross, "His body" "was put to death."

13. (Luke 23:46) But His spirit was quickened, and He surrendered Him to the Father.

14. According to Peter, sometime (1 Peter 3:19) between His death and His resurrection, Jesus made a special proclamation to the spirits in prison.

15. (John 19:30) His suffering ended when on the cross He said, "It is finished."

16. Where were these imprisoned spirits that Jesus spoke to in His death and resurrection?

17. Nowhere in the Bible are we told that Jesus visited hell.

18. The idea that Jesus went to hell to continue His suffering is not biblical; His suffering ended when on the cross He said, "It is finished."

19. (Acts 2:31) He went to Hades, "but "Hades" is not hell.

20. In the original Greek, the word "Hades" refers to the sphere of death, a temporary place where the dead wait.

21. Hades before the ascension (ascent, highest place) of Christ: a.) Hades was divided into two parts, one for the lost and one for the saved. First "paradise" and "Abraham's bosom", both names have their origin in the Talmud (tradition, doctrine, ceremonies and precepts of the Jewish religion), but Christ adopts them in Luke 16:22; Luke 23:43. The blessed were with Abraham, were

aware of their condition, and received consolation. (Luke 23:42) The believing evildoer received the promise that... He was to be with Christ, on that very day, in "paradise." The lost were separated from the saved by "a great chasm." —Luke 16:26. The representative man of the lost who are currently in Hades is the rich man mentioned in Luke 16:19-31. He was alive, conscious, in full use of his faculties, memories, etc., and in the midst of torments. b.) Hades since the ascension of Christ. As far as the lost are concerned, the Scriptures do not reveal that there has been any change in their condition or place in the afterlife. When the Great White Throne Judgment takes place, Hades will deliver up "the dead" and they will be judged and thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:7-14). But a change has been made that affects paradise. Paul "was caught up to the third heaven… to paradise (2 Corinthians 12:1-4) Paradise, therefore, "is now in the immediate presence of God." Ephesians 4:9-10 is believed to indicate the time when such a change took place. Ascending to the heights, He carried a multitude of captives. It is then added that He had previously (first) descended "into the lower parts of the earth"; that is, to the division of Hades called paradise. (1 Corinthians 15:52) During the present Church age, the saved departing from this world are absent from the body and "present with the Lord."

22. (Jude 6) Fallen angels, who were probably imprisoned, were involved in serious sin before the flood in Noah's time.

23. The beauty of Jesus, He went to "paradise," and took captive the captivity of those who had believed in Him prior to His death.

24. All of this is to say that the Bible is not entirely clear about what exactly Jesus did in the three days between His death and resurrection.

25. He comforted the departed saints and took them to their eternal home and proclaimed His victory over the fallen angels who are in prison. Amen.