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: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. (1 Peter 3:18-20 KJV)
Christ’s Suffering and Ours
Here, the example of Christ is presented as an argument for patience in suffering. Jesus Christ was not exempt from suffering in this life, even though he had no guilt of his own and could have avoided it if he had chosen. The cause of his suffering was the sins of humanity—he suffered for sins. His suffering served as a true and proper punishment to expiate and make atonement for sin, and this extends to all sin.
In Christ’s case, the just suffered for the unjust. He substituted himself in our place and bore our iniquities. He who knew no sin suffered for those who knew no righteousness. The merit and perfection of Christ’s sacrifice were such that suffering once was sufficient. Unlike the legal sacrifices, which were repeated constantly, Christ’s once-offered sacrifice purges sin (Hebrews 7:27; 9:26, 28; 10:10, 12, 14).
The goal of Christ’s suffering was to bring us to God—to reconcile us to Him, to give us access to the Father, to make us and our services acceptable, and to lead us to eternal glory (Ephesians 2:13, 18; 3:12; Hebrews 10:21-22). As for Christ himself, he was put to death in his human nature but made alive by the Spirit. If Christ wasn’t spared suffering, why should Christians expect to be? If he suffered to expiate sins, why shouldn’t we accept sufferings that serve only to try or correct us? If he, though perfectly just, suffered, why shouldn’t we, who are sinners? If he suffered once and then entered glory, shouldn’t we patiently endure trouble for a short while, knowing we will follow him into glory? And if he suffered to bring us to God, shouldn’t we accept difficulties that help us return to God and fulfill our duty to Him?
The apostle then shifts from Christ’s example to that of the old world, pointing out the different outcomes for those who believed Christ preaching through Noah and those who remained disobedient and unbelieving. He suggests the Jews were under a similar judgment: they now had an offer of mercy, and those who accepted it would be saved, but those who rejected Christ and the gospel would be destroyed like the disobedient in Noah’s time.
Christ Jesus was the preacher, having been involved in the affairs of the church and the world since he was first promised to Adam (Genesis 3:15). He went, not by physical movement, but by divine operation, as God is often said to move (Genesis 11:5; Hosea 5:15; Micah 1:3). He preached by his Spirit, striving with the people and enabling Enoch and Noah to preach righteousness to them (2 Peter 2:5).
The hearers are referred to as spirits now in prison—not because they were in prison when Christ preached to them, but because they were disembodied when Peter wrote. The sin of these people was disobedience—rebelliousness and unbelief. This sin was aggravated by the patience of God, who waited 120 years while Noah prepared the ark, during which they were repeatedly warned.
The result was that their bodies were drowned, and their spirits were cast into hell, called a prison (Matthew 5:25; 2 Peter 2:4-5). But Noah and his family, who believed and obeyed, were saved in the ark.
From this we learn that God takes careful account of all the opportunities people have had for salvation. The old world was offered Christ’s help, given the Spirit, warned by Noah, and God waited long for their repentance. Though God is patient with sinners, His patience will eventually end; it does not befit the majesty of God to always wait in vain. The spirits of disobedient sinners, once out of their bodies, are committed to hell, with no chance of redemption. The majority’s path is not necessarily the best or safest; it is better to follow the eight souls saved in the ark than the multitudes drowned and condemned.