1Pet 3: 18 For Christ also has suffered once for sins, the Righteous on behalf of the unrighteous, that He might bring you to God, on the one hand being put to death in the flesh, but on the other, made alive in the spirit; 19 In which also He went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison,
According to verse 18, Christ was "put to death in flesh but made alive in spirit." This is not the Holy Spirit, but the spirit which is Christ's spiritual nature (Mark 2:8; Luke 23:46). The crucifixion only put Christ to death in His flesh, which He received through His incarnation (John 1:14), not in His spirit. His spirit did not die at the cross when His flesh did. His spirit was rather made alive, enlivened, with new power of life, so that in this empowered spirit He made a proclamation to the fallen angels after His death in the flesh and before His resurrection. Christ died on the cross for our redemption. But although He was put to death in His body, He was enlivened and empowered in His spirit even before the resurrection. In this enlivened and empowered spirit He went to proclaim to the rebellious angels God's victory over Satan, their leader. Peter's word in these verses is very meaningful. Peter unveils something extraordinary related to Christ's death. He shows us that Christ's death not only accomplished redemption for us, but also gained the victory over Satan and his followers. Therefore, after His death and before His resurrection, Christ proclaimed to Satan's followers God's victory over the Devil through the crucifixion of Christ. (c) 2007 Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of First Peter, pp. 217-220. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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