Expert: Ernie Laurence, Jr. - 8/30/2011

Question
Ernie,

In I Peter 3:18-20 the bible says that "Jesus went to the spirits in prison, preaching to those Who, in the days of Noah, went against God's orders"

What does this really mean. Did he really went to the hades to preach them. Or does it mean something else.

Praywin

Answer
Hey Praywin!  Good to hear from you again. :)

The KJV says:

18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

In this context Peter is speaking of what Christ did, leading up to the idea of how we are saved (through water immersion by His resurrection - vs. 21).  In verse 18 we read that it was the Holy Spirit that quickened Jesus (made Him alive, resurrected Him essentially).  The phrase in verse 19 begins with "by which" and it is important to understand the whole concept you are asking about.  Jesus, who is the Word (Logos), is the incarnation of the gospel.  This gospel was preached from Genesis 3:15 on.

What Peter is saying then is that Jesus was proclaimed to all the pre-Flood world while they were still alive, though now they are in "prison".  He was proclaimed by divine inspiration through the Holy Spirit, just as Peter would speak of in his second letter in chapter 1.  Peter is not saying that Jesus, while dead, went to Hades and while there proclaimed Himself as Messiah to those who could do nothing about it.  What purpose would such a proclamation serve?

No, the idea is that all men had the gospel, inspired by the Holy Spirit.  It is by the Holy Spirit that Jesus (who has authority over the Holy Spirit - see John 14-17) preached to those in the days of Noah.  They rejected that message and were destroyed for their disobedience.  Noah accepted the preaching and he and his seven family members were saved by the Flood (not the ark, the Flood).  Wickedness was wiped out by the water and all that remained was the new creation, the righteous man.  Immersion then is the antitype of that event in that it destroys the old man and leaves only the righteous.  Not by washing away physical dirt, but because that is the answer to the demand by an educated conscience (who has accepted the teachings of the Holy Spirit) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

You can take it a step further and see in the Greek the original construct.  It supports the Holy Spirit doing the preaching:

ἐν ᾧ καὶ τοῖς ἐν φυλακῇ πνεύμασιν πορευθεὶς ἐκήρυξεν,

In which and those in prison, Spirit went proclaimed

Those who are in prison (metaphor for Hades) now, the Spirit had gone and proclaimed the gospel to.  They had no excuse for being in prison because they rejected the message.  We have no excuse today for we have heard the gospel today.

Hope that answers the question.  It's a difficult passage.  I'm happy to expound or clear up anything if you need me to.

In Truth and Love,

Ernie