Preached to the Spirits in Prison 1 Peter 3:19

Peter the apostle declared, “Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God” as He used Jesus for an example of “suffering”, and in chapter three and verse nineteen of his letter, Peter told the “scattered” Christians that He “preached unto the spirits in prison” after He died where we read:

By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

The verse begins, “By which also he went and preached...” Peter began with the words, “By which” or “with and in whom” “also” or “and, even and indeed” “he went” which refers to Jesus “leading, carrying over and transferring” “and preached” which means “heralded, published, proclaimed openly”. Peter told the Christians, that while Jesus was dead, He went and “preached” or published and proclaimed.

The verse continues, “... unto the spirits in prison;” Peter added, “unto the spirits” which refers to “the vital principal by which the body is animated” “in prison” or “the place where captives are kept”. The “spirits” of whom Peter writes are those who had already died while believing in God. People like, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and more were among those who lived in “paradise” which was like a place of captivity. Jesus went to share with them the salvation plan which He fulfilled by dying on the cross.

When we think through these words of Peter, we must marvel at the awesome plan of God. Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “this day shall you be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43), and “paradise” was where believers in God who died went before Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the grave. It was to these people Jesus went and preached the “gospel” or “good news” of God's salvation for man. May the Lord Jesus teach us the value He placed upon those who believed before Jesus appeared and even though they had not seen.

Next time Peter uses the example of “Noah” to share with the Christians, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.