Noah's Ark, Spirits in Prison, and Peter's surprisingly simple point in 1 Peter 3:13-22
- mww
- Apr 2
- 18 min read
God saved Noah from his wicked generation; He can save you, too.
Bible Study Ideas and Commentary for 1 Peter 3:13-22
This passage often gets lost in the admittedly weird questions about Noah, spirits in prison, and baptism being like the ark. But at its core, this passage is simply Peter using the illustration of the most wicked generation in human history to encourage his readers to boldly share Jesus with their own wicked generation with no fear and trust in God.
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous (3:18)
When We Studied This Passage in 2016
In that post, I offer
The nightmare pop quiz
Way more possible interpretations of the passage
Prison / Tartarus
It's a slightly different approach to the passage.
Getting Started: Things to Think About
It's the beginning of Spring Break and Master's Week in the CSRA. If you're not from around the Augusta area, you might not realize how big a deal the Master's golf tournament is. A lot of people bug out of here to avoid the rush (and to rent out their homes). As a result, we might not be exactly sure who will be in Bible study on Sunday morning! I give a handful of discussion ideas; go down the path best suited for the group that actually attends :)
When You Got in Trouble for Doing the Right Thing
This doesn't happen often (which is Peter's point), but it does happen. When was the last time you got in trouble for doing the right thing?
In our culture, I'd say the most common example is the "whistleblower". That person might not get in trouble with the law, but they get in trouble with other people.
To get in trouble with the law, your belief about "the right thing" must be at odds with the law, and it's most commonly connected to a "conscientious objection". Has that ever applied to you? Or, what are examples of that that you know of?
Peter has a very simple instruction about this: don't do the wrong thing because you are afraid of the repercussions for doing the right thing.
The Strangest Question You've Been Asked about Christianity
This week, Peter tells us to be ready to answer any questions people have about our faith. That has led to lots of fear: "What if I get asked a question I don't know the answer to?" (Scroll to the very bottom for my take on this.) But my guess is that you've been asked more "strange" questions than tricky questions.
What's the strangest question you've been asked about your faith?
Here are a few questions I scraped off of the internet:
Are you really supposed to treat every person as if they were Jesus?
Who is supposed to say Amen?
What did Jesus look like?
How old were Adam and Eve when they were created?
How often are you supposed to pray?
What do you wear to be baptized?
I'd say most questions are rooted in curiosity, unfamiliarity, or confusion (see my baptism testimony below). My recommendation: when you get asked a question like that, shift the discussion into a discussion about Jesus.
What Do You Remember about Your Baptism?
Peter says something very profound this week about baptism. It's also strange, which is what dominates the discussion of this passage. But at its core, Peter's words are about the power of the symbol of baptism.
So, what do you remember about your baptism? Did you appreciate it when it happened?
I think I've told this story before. Shelly and I got married, and not long after started attending Metropolitan Baptist Church in Wichita. (She grew up Church of Christ, I grew up Methodist, and we met at a non-denominational Bible study, so we tried Baptist.) The preacher preached out of the Bible, which was a new experience for both of us. As relatively new Christians, we were fascinated by "the Cooperative Program" and "missionaries" (we asked lots of strange questions, not having a Baptist background). In just a few weeks, we knew we wanted to join.
The pastor (I just knew to call him the preacher) actually came to my home. We talked for a while, and when I asked him about joining the church, he told me I would have to be baptized. I explained that I had been baptized as an infant, and he said that I would have to be baptized again; I don't remember him explaining why. (Shelly had been baptized not long before we got engaged, so she "was good".) Feeling very conscientious about this, I asked to be baptized at a Sunday night service when there were fewer people there, and they were happy to oblige.
I vaguely remember being baptized, but I don't remember appreciating it. It was treated like something "I had to do", and that's how I remember it.
That's why I am so sensitive to Christian adults who were "baptized" (their church's term) as infants and want to join our church -- I want them to have a greater appreciation of baptism than I did in their shoes. Baptism (believers' baptism by immersion) isn't just "something we're supposed to do" -- it's an act of worship and a step of discipleship that has a biblical source.
And this week's 1 Peter passage helps to show that.
What's a Fear You Have about Being a Christian in America?
To anyone who reads this post in a place where Christian persecution is a reality, know that where I am in America, we have religious freedoms and little fear of persecution. We have grown up with these freedoms (and many of us take them for granted).
But we're finally starting to realize that those freedoms are fragile. There are people in power who want to take them away from us. And that has caused some Christians to become fearful of the future. Do you have any such fears about the future? If so, what?
Peter's words this week should be profoundly helpful. What's the worst the world can do to you? It did even worse to Jesus, and He is now enthroned in glory! Take heart, for Jesus has overcome the world.
Where We Are in 1 Peter
There is no gap between last week's passage and this week's, so we really just need to recap what we've already learned.
Peter is writing to a small-ish group of scattered churches in the fringes of the Roman Empire, and they have started to attract negative attention from the culture around them.
Part 1 (1:1-2:12) -- Being a Christian means that you are now God's holy people, and so you need to live like holy people. But the priceless gift of salvation is worth any cost.
Part 2 (2:13-3:7) -- Here are some specific examples of what that looks like (1) as a resident under a hostile government; (2) as a slave to a probably non-Christian master; (3) as a wife or husband to a probably non-Christian spouse.
The repeated instructions are
resist the conforming influences of the culture;
represent Jesus in and to the people of that culture.
Part 3 (3:8-4:19) -- Don't be afraid if you suffer for resisting the culture or representing Jesus in the culture. In fact, let that make you all the more bold, knowing that your salvation is secure in Jesus and that He will judge those who oppose you.
So, that's the immediate context:
don't let fear of the government stop you from representing Jesus;
don't let fear of your master stop you from representing Jesus;
don't let fear of your spouse stop you from representing Jesus;
in fact, take boldness from Jesus' victory and example.
That's where we are this week, and I believe that helps us understand the two very strange questions people ask about this week's passage.
This Week's Big Idea: Jesus, Noah, and the Spirits in Prison??
For obvious reasons, verses 19-20 will attract your group's attention.
19 in which he also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison 20 who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared.
I'm saving some of this analysis for the lesson itself, so here I just want to give you the most common interpretations.
Early church leaders thought this meant that Jesus actually went and preached to the dead in hell.
Leaders of the Reformation thought that this meant that Jesus preached through Noah in Noah's day.
Today, a common interpretation is that after His crucifixion, Jesus sought out the evil spirits that corrupted the world in Noah's day and declared His victory over their scheme.
We can reject any suggestion that Jesus preached in hell to give damned spirits a "second chance". The Bible (Heb 9:27) is clear that we do not have a second chance after death to change our minds about Jesus. Further, the New Testament hardly ever uses this word for "spirit" to refer to dead people; instead, it uses the word for "soul".
That leaves us with two primary options:
Jesus was preaching through Noah to the hopelessly wicked people who lived in Noah's day who brought about the flood; or
Jesus, after His crucifixion, was preaching to the fallen angels who had instigated that wicked generation, declaring His victory.
Both of them can make sense in the context, and both have trustworthy Bible scholars who endorse them.
Option 1. Peter was writing to a group of Christians who were struggling to share Jesus with a wicked generation. But Peter wanted them to be bold and faithful -- through Noah, Jesus preached truth and repentance to the most wicked generation in human history. And none of them listened! Only Noah and his family survived the flood. But Noah was faithful to God's instructions, and you can be faithful, too.
Option 2. Peter was writing to a group of Christians who were feeling overwhelmed and powerless against the wickedness of the world. But Peter wanted them to take courage -- Jesus went and declared His victory over the evil powers behind the most wicked generation in all of human history (Noah's), and now Jesus sits triumphant over every enemy. As His followers, Peter's audience can take strength and courage in Jesus' victory.
Peter has clearly emphasized both messages in his letter. If you think Peter is focused on the churches' responsibility to share Jesus boldly with a wicked world, then it would make sense to adopt Option 1. If you think Peter is focused on the courage that comes from knowing that Jesus has overcome the world, then it would make sense to adopt Option 2.
I think I lean toward the first; I think that's most in line with Peter's message to these churches. "Noah faithfully fought a losing battle with a wicked world. He did so in the power of Jesus, and Jesus rescued him from judgment. You, too, should be faithful to declare the gospel message to your neighbors."
The Book of Enoch
If you research 1 Peter 3 deep enough, you will inevitably find a group of "scholars" who talk about "The Book of Enoch". This is an apocryphal work of which fragments were found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. It has never been included in any form in any reputable Bible. But some skeptics will say that whoever wrote 1/2 Peter (and it wasn't Peter) was heavily influenced by this book (or rather, by the lore behind the book). There was a Jewish tradition in Jesus' day that said that Genesis 6:1-3 was about fallen angels, and the reason God flooded the earth was because those fallen angels had irredeemably corrupted the people in the world (except for Noah and his family). The tradition then follows that God defeated and imprisoned those fallen angels and sent Enoch to declare God's judgment against them. Whoever wrote 1 Peter simply absorbed that tradition and substituted Jesus for Enoch. The skeptics then often use this to conclude that "you can't trust 1/2 Peter, and thus you can't trust the Bible".
So, what do we do with this? Well, first, we acknowledge that the Bible is correct. So, if Peter was indeed citing this tradition and substituting Jesus for Enoch, that's because that's what happened.
BUT, the two primary options I mentioned above don't necessarily have anything to do with the book of Enoch, so it's quite possible that the book of Enoch is a red herring. That's where I lean.
This Week's Bonus Big Idea: Baptism Now Saves You????
This is about the jarring statement: "Baptism now saves you." I think it's easy to explain because Peter immediately clarifies, "I'm not talking about baptism the dunking but baptism the pledge of a good conscience."
Now, of course, what does that mean?
I think a paraphrase helps us immensely here:
You are suffering and being oppressed for your new faith in Jesus, but you need to continue to represent Jesus in your world and resist the corrupting temptations of the culture around you.
Remember Noah! He lived in the most wicked generation in history, and God warned him about a coming judgment. And so Noah built an ark -- a symbol of that judgment. And his neighbors ridiculed him and did not listen to him. But when judgment came, that ark was Noah's salvation because Noah listened to God and built and inhabited that ark.
That makes me think of baptism -- another symbol of judgment and salvation, of dying to your old life of sin and living a new life of victory in Jesus.
We're at a disadvantage today because baptism isn't always treated as importantly as it should. But in Peter's day, baptism was the point-of-no-return public declaration of faith in Jesus. They didn't have baptisteries in church buildings; baptisms took place in public places. Once you were baptized, there was no hiding your identity in Christ.
Baptism "painted a target" on you that you rejected the world and now followed Jesus.
And thus, the only people who would choose to be baptized were committed followers of Jesus! When Peter says "pledge", that word means "response". "When God saved you, you responded to Him by following in believers' baptism."
In other words, Peter is in no way talking about a works-based salvation. He is saying that "because you were saved, you followed Christ in baptism". Baptism, in Peter's day, was the first and clearest "proof" of salvation.
Today, when churches make baptism "optional" or when they fail to explain the meaning and importance of baptism, they render this verse incomprehensible.
Part 1: Win the World, Don't Fear It (1 Peter 3:13-17)
13 Who then will harm you if you are devoted to what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear them or be intimidated, 15 but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. 16 Yet do this with gentleness and reverence, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
This is one of those passages I find very helpful to read in different translations. The word choices give us an awareness of Peter's possible intended meanings.
[And yes, Peter's intended meaning is what matters.]
In verse 13, Peter uses a Greek construction that means that it would be abnormal to be harmed for doing good. But verse 14 makes it clear that it is possible.
In that situation, do not fear the person who intends to harm you. Instead, "regard Christ as holy". What does that mean? And how can it help you not fear a person who is trying to harm you?
Another way to translate that is "in your heart, sanctify Christ as Lord". In other words, settle in your heart that you have one Lord, and He is Jesus Christ. How might that truth help you endure fear?
Here's the outcome: when you are not afraid of someone who has the power to harm you (like, say, a wicked governor or a wicked master or a wicked husband), they will inevitably ask you, "How do you have hope right now? How have you not crumbled under the pressure of fear?" And when they do, be ready to explain who Jesus is and what He has done for you.
BUT always treat people with "gentleness and reverence" (or "courtesy and respect"). Outsiders will want to know how you behave under the worst of circumstances. You are a representative of Jesus at all times, so everything Peter said earlier (like v. 9 -- Do not return evil for evil or insult for insult") applies even in this circumstance.
I think Peter's evaluation is perfect for just about anything: "will you have a clear conscience about your behavior in that circumstance, or will you have regrets?"
And the result? Even if that person doesn't choose to submit himself to Jesus, he knows the truth about Jesus, and he knows that you have faithfully followed Jesus.
Verse 17 follows the same Greek conditional structure -- God will not normally allow you to suffer for doing good. But if you are allowed to suffer, let it be for doing good, not for doing evil.
Those are the easy-to-understand verses, right? But they're also the hardest-to-live-by. I think that might be why people prefer to argue about the obscure verses that follow...
Part 2: For Christ Overcame the World (1 Peter 3:18-20)
18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 19 in which he also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison 20 who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared. In it a few—that is, eight people—were saved through water.
Let's start with Peter's overall point: if you do suffer, remember that Christ also suffered for you. And He most certainly suffered for doing good!
Let's talk about "flesh" and "spirit". By capitalizing "Spirit", the CSB makes it clear where they stand. It really comes down to the meaning of "in". In the Greek, that preposition can be causal, location, temporal, or even adverbial. Peter is almost certainly not talking about "flesh vs. spirit" like Paul would (i.e., as a person, Jesus had a body and a soul). Rather, if Peter is using "in" to describe location, this would mean "in the realm of the flesh" (the material world?) and "in the realm of the spirit" (the immaterial world?). If Peter is using "in" as causal, then this would mean "He died because His flesh was mortal, but He was made alive by the work of the Spirit" (which would probably mean "the Holy Spirit").
[One of my seminary professors said that 90% of Bible translation is deciding what to do with the prepositions.]
That matters because the same "in" starts the confusing verse 19. "In" what? If it's "in the spirit", then Peter could not have been referring to the Holy Spirit. If it's "in the realm of the spirit", then Peter is probably going with Option 2 from above (that Jesus traveled to the "place" where the wicked spirits were imprisoned, waiting for judgment). If it's temporal, then it could just mean something like "meanwhile" and not have an antecedent at all. If that's the case, then Peter is probably going with Option 1 from above (that Jesus preached through Noah to that most wicked of generations).
In any event, the phrase "spirits in prison" (spirits "now" in prison?) almost certainly does not refer to dead people. That would be a different phrase. So this is either referring to fallen angels imprisoned somewhere in the spiritual realm, or to the people in Noah's day who are now dead (and awaiting judgment), but Jesus/Noah preached to them when they were alive.
Verse 20 starts with a participle which means "having been disobedient formerly". And that formerly refers to the days of Noah -- so, either the people living when Noah lived, or the evil spirits who acted on those people in that day.
"In the days of Noah" is certainly temporal. And "in [the ark]" is certainly location. And in the ark, only 8 people were saved (Noah's family) because no one else listened to Noah's warning of coming judgment.
Above, I said I leaned toward "Option 1", that Peter is talking about the people living in the days of Noah, and that Jesus preached through Noah to that wicked generation. Why "through Noah"? Why could Jesus not be preaching in a "pre-Incarnation appearance"? Well, I guess that's possible. But if I think Peter is talking about "the realm of the spirit", then Jesus could not physically be present, which is why I think this means Jesus acted through Noah. Why not the Holy Spirit? This is getting into the Trinity, but in general, we believe that the Holy Spirit works in a new way on this side of Pentecost, so I think it could mean that Jesus Himself acted in/through Noah, or that the Holy Spirit did.
Hopefully you can see that we just don't have enough data to make hard-and-fast technical declarations. But we do know Peter's point (again, going with Option 1):
Jesus helped Noah preach repentance to the most wicked generation in history (we know it was the most wicked because God has never again wiped out humanity), and He can help you be strong and faithful in today's wicked generation. [We know that today, we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, giving us strength and guidance, but the Spirit acts in conjunction with Jesus -- God the Son and God the Spirit are "on the same page".]
So whatever the specific meaning, Peter is using the example of Noah's boldness to and salvation from the most wicked generation in history to give encouragement to his readers.
Aside: The Ark Encounter!
Shelly and I visited the Ark Encounter in Kentucky a while back, and I talked about that when we studied Genesis last year.
That experience has helped me retain an appreciation for this illustration. People have dismissed Noah's Ark as myth, but both Jesus and Peter referred to Noah's Ark as history. Having walked through a full-scale imagining of what the ark might have been like, I can more easily understand the purpose of Peter's words.
Part 3: And We Are Now Saved in Christ (1 Peter 3:21-22)
21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you (not as the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.
I talked about this above, as well.
So, how did Peter jump from the ark to baptism? As far as I can tell, it's because they both involve water. Water is an amazing thing -- we need it to survive, but too much can kill us.
The word for "corresponds" basically means "antitype". Paul talked about baptism as a symbol of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 6). But Peter talks about baptism as a declaration of faith. Both are right, of course.
Remembering that baptism was (is) a public declaration of faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, we can appreciate that submitting to baptism was a big deal in Peter's day. There could be no hiding your faith once you have been baptized.
So, Peter sees Noah's ark as a "type of" baptism. Noah had heard the warning of coming judgment, and God told him how to be saved from/through it. Noah obeyed God by building the ark, which was itself a testimony of that coming judgment. (2 Peter tells us that Noah also preached the gospel to everyone who came to ridicule him.) And by getting in the ark, Noah was able to be saved by God. Noah getting on the ark was a rejection of the world and an embrace of God's plan of salvation.
In that sense, baptism is just like the ark! In baptism (using Paul's imagery), you declare that you are dying to your old life of sin and embracing a new life of following Jesus. A difference: the act of baptism does not save in the same way that the act of getting on the ark did. But the declaration of baptism (that Jesus alone is your Lord and Savior) does save in the same way that the declaration of the ark (that judgment is coming and the only way to be saved is by getting on the ark) did. Does that make sense?
Peter does tap into the obvious resurrection imagery of baptism, of being lifted up out of the water. [Aside: why does anybody think that baptism shouldn't be by immersion??!?] After Jesus' resurrection, He ascended into heaven when He now sits at the right hand [of God].
"Angels, authorities, and powers" basically covers everything the people could have been worried about. It also covers both the fallen angels in Noah's day and the wicked people of Noah's day, so either interpretation could work here. "Don't fear because Jesus has the ultimate authority over that person, power, or demon."
So, yes, lots of technical questions here, but I hope you see Peter's point. What causes you fear? How can setting Jesus firmly as your only Lord help you overcome that fear?
Aside: Ancient Baptism Rituals
The earliest baptisms were solemn dunkings in the name of the Father, Son and Spirit.
[Appreciating that some Christians lived in deserts, an important first century "church manual" called The Didache said that if you don't have access to large amounts of water, you can baptize by pouring water on the head. Around here, we have no trouble of access to water.]
But after a few generations, various rituals sprung up in different churches. One of my favorites comes from a third century book called The Apostolic Tradition. In it, the person being baptized would first face west and renounce their sin (sometimes even spitting "on the devil"!), and then they would be anointed with oil (as a kind of exorcism). Then, they would remove their "old clothes" and go into the water to be baptized. Finally, they would emerge and put on a white robe and declare their commitment to follow Jesus faithfully in word and deed.
What I most appreciate about that ritual is the dual emphasis of turning away from your old life of sin and embracing your new life in Christ. We capture that in our church when we say that the person being baptized is dying to their old life and rising into a new life, but I like the idea of the person facing their "old life" and spitting on it. Call me juvenile, but how dramatic is that!
Closing Thoughts: Apologetics and Not-Apologetics
Let me be very clear that "apologetics" -- the study of answers to every question a non-Christian could ask a Christian -- is important. If a non-Christian has a question about our faith, we need to have an answer for it!
But Peter isn't talking about the esoteric or technical questions here. He's talking about the very basics of someone asking you "why do you have faith in Jesus?" Every Christian can and should be able to answer that question!
Don't worry if you're not an expert in philosophy or ancient languages. Very few people are. But you have a relationship with Jesus, and that's all that truly matters.
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