By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

In this series so far we have learned that Peter wrote this letter to followers of Christ who were scattered in the area of Asia Minor, what is now modern-day Turkey. His main emphasis in this letter was to remind Christians of the hope they have in God because of the gracious salvation provided for them in Jesus Christ as well as how the gift of the Holy Spirit within them works to lead them in sanctification. Christians were facing trials and they needed their hope in God encouraged. We continue now to learn even more about this wonderful salvation that God blesses His children with and how we are to live as Christ and love one another. Part of living as Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior is to seeking to think good and do good. In part eleven of this series we learned the holy spiritual attributes that a follower of Christ will exhibit as they obey the Word, keep in step with the Spirit and model their lives after Jesus Christ. Peter now in verse 13 of chapter 3 asks a very important question and then answers it for us.

 

1 Peter 3:13-15a

“Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. “

 

It is a fact of life that those who do good, follow laws, do what is right usually live longer, stay out of trouble and are blessed. This is Peter’s encouragement in this verse. But we know, as Peter did, that sometimes we will suffer for doing right. These are times when life doesn’t make sense and the world is not fair. Peter states the answer to such a situation is to consider that “you are blessed.” How can he say that? Peter is leading us to a similar conclusion that James spoke of in James chapter 1 where we learn that trials come to develop maturity and godly character in us.

 

James 1:2-4 – “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

 

Peter has already covered this topic earlier in chapter 2 as well.

 

1 Peter 2:20

“But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.”

 

Peter will also cover this same topic later in chapter 4 where he states;

 

1 Peter 4:12-15

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” So how can we understand Peter’s comment that we “are blessed” when we suffer for doing right, James advice that we should “consider it all joy” when facing trials and Peter’s later advice in chapter 4 to “keep on rejoicing” in such difficulties of persecution? There are several answers to these pieces of godly advice.

 

First, we should consider the fact that when we face trials they are an indication that God is allowing them to take place because He desires to increase our faith, patience, endurance and spiritual growth. We must realize that God will, at times, consider us worthy to place us in situations to build our spiritual stamina and grow us spiritually. If God never allowed anything difficult to happen in our lives we would be not only spiritual wimps, we would never grow deeper in our relationship with Him and our appreciation for the sufferings of Christ. It is also true that there is a blessing we can experience when we endure hardships. When our hope is in God and we grow in our faith we can respond to trials and unjust treatment as Christ did. Obedience to God’s Word in such situations brings a pleasure and joy as we are glorifying God, growing spiritually and modeling Jesus Christ in our life.

 

Secondly, we should remember that Matthew 5:10 tells us that those who are persecuted for doing good are blessed by God in this life with increased faith and in the future life in heaven with rewards for obedience and endurance. When you think about trials in this life from an eternal perspective, we will look back on this brief time on earth as a microsecond compared to the eternal life we have in Heaven. We will look back on this present suffering as a time when we rose to the task set before us, resting on God’s Word and empowered by the Holy Spirit to live for God, continuing to do good in a horrible situation.

 

Peter continues in this verse by addressing some of our normal responses to such situations by stating, “Do not fear…do not be frightened.” This is difficult to do in the flesh, but not when we allow the Spirit to rule our life. Peter knows that the early Christians were facing verbal abuse and prejudice against their commitment to Christ and they needed to respond with godly character. He also knew that when trials and hardships came in their life, facing them without fear and fright would be a witness to non-believers of the strength of God in their lives. Peter is attempting to encourage them to be spiritually strong and rely upon their Heavenly Father to grow spiritually and endure their storms of life. Paul in a prayer for fellow Christians in Colossae shares how he prays for those that face such hardships and trials. In this prayer he gives instruction in how to face struggles without fear.

 

Colossians 1:9-12

“We have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.”

 

Peter does not leave them without a way to combat their fear. He states, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.” How do you “set apart” or as some translations say, “sanctify” Christ as Lord? This is accomplished by seeking to let Jesus Christ be your Lord and Master, not only over your life, but also over your circumstances. When Jesus Christ is absolutely and completely Lord of your heart, you are releasing the struggle you face and placing it in His omnipotent hands. You are giving up your present fears and the eventual outcome of your situation and placing them in His loving arms.

 

Peter continues by stating another reason to remain strong in faith during hardships. You will very likely have an opportunity to share the Gospel of hope that gives you strength to endure and cope in perilous times. People will wonder why you are different because you are not living in fear, responding in anger and are able to trust God for the strength you need.

 

1 Peter 3:15b-17

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.”

 

Peter cautions us here that in this witness opportunity we have as a result of our godly character before non-believers, we are not to share in a condescending manner or out of disrespect with an arrogant attitude. Sometimes Christians can look down their noses at people who do not believe in Christ as Savior. As we live a holy life there are times we can transform into Pharisees and unfortunately let our fleshly pride rise up in how we witness to people. Thus we fall out of fellowship with the Lord, ruin our witness before others and turn people away from the Gospel of Christ. Peter tells us to keep a “clear conscience” in all we do, including our verbal witness with others. If they see it in our life, but it does not line up with our spoken words to them, they will be hindered in their attraction to Christ. The opposite is true as well though. If we walk as Jesus walked and talk as he talked, in love, then their malicious and critical talk about our being a follower of Christ will convict them of their unjustified slander.

 

Peter finishes in verse 17 by stating that if we are still mistreated no matter how loving, kind and tactful we are in our witness, it is better we suffer for doing good as Jesus would, than doing evil and responding to their threats, mistreatment and slander. We might summarize this portion of scripture with six key thoughts about how we can always be prepared to share the Gospel to others.

 

First, if Christ is in our heart then we will be seeking to share our hearts passion, which is to share God’s Word.

 

Secondly, if Christ is Lord of our life, we will obey His command to make disciples and share the Gospel.

 

Thirdly, if Christ is our Lord and we are living like Christ, we will be alert for opportunities to share our new life in Christ.

 

Fourthly, we will be a student of the Word and study so that we can witness accurately and properly.

 

Fifthly, we must live correctly as a godly person in order to be a good witness.

 

Sixthly, we should be a person of peace so we can be friendly when we share, without condemning. Now Peter shares several thoughts on Jesus work on the cross as well as some complicated words on his proclamation to spirits in prison and water baptism.

 

1 Peter 3:18-22

“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also — not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand — with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.”

 

Peter shares the basics of salvation that Jesus Christ died for the sins of all mankind. Jesus did this only once because this single act of obedience and submission to the Heavenly Father was sufficient to pay for all of our sins. In the Old Testament the Jews had to repeatedly keep offering sacrifices because they continued to sin and no single sacrifice offered on the altar was adequate to pay for all these transgressions of God’s law. Jesus’ sacrifice was both completely pure and totally adequate to pay for the sins of all mankind. While Jesus’ death was adequate to pay for the sins of everyone, it is only effective to save from sin if each individual accepts the sacrifice and commits their life to their Lord and Master Jesus Christ.

 

Although Christ is the One who is eternal life itself (1 John 5:20), He did experience a kind of spiritual death on the cross, defined not as cessation of existence but an experience of separation from God. Peter tells us here that during the time Jesus’ dead body lay in the tomb, His Divine Spirit traveled to the prison where “the spirits in prison” resided, placed there by God. The Greek word for “spirits” is “pneumasin” and identifies these as rebellious demonic spirits, not human souls otherwise a different Greek word would have been used. It is believed that these demons incarcerated in the “prison” or “abyss” were undoubtedly the most wicked, vile, and perverted of all the fallen angels. Jude describes some of them as “angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode,” noting that God “has kept [them] in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day.”

 

When the text says Christ “preached” or “made proclamation” to the spirits now in prison, it is indicating that He purposefully went to this abyss to make a triumphant announcement to these captive beings before He arose on the third day. Jesus was not preaching the gospel. He was preaching or proclaiming His victory over death to demonic spirits who had sought to frustrate God’s plans for mankind. These spirits were evil angelic beings spoken of in Genesis 6:1-4 who in an effort to frustrate God’s plan for saving mankind desired to contaminate mankind by having intercourse with women. God decided to destroy all creatures on the earth to eradicate this sinful corruption of man, but Noah found favor in God’s eyes and he and his family were saved. Peter speaks of how Noah and his family were saved from the destructive force by floating in the ark on the water. Peter compares such salvation from calamity to the symbolism of water baptism we participate in after we are saved. Peter explains that water baptism is a “pledge” of us to God that we are born again and he continues to state that what actual saves us is “the resurrection of Jesus.”