2018-08-24
Good Morning Dear Ones,
As this discussion of supporting Scriptures to the book of Colossians continues, I will begin today, at the behest of the Holy Spirit, with 1 PET 3: 17-22. (17) “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if this should be God’s will, than for doing evil. (18) For Christ died for sins once and for all, as good man on behalf of sinners, in order to lead you to God. He was put to death physically, but made alive spiritually, (19) and in His spiritual existence He went and preached to the imprisoned spirits. These were the spirits of those (20) who had not obeyed God when He waited patiently during the days that Noah was building His ark. The few people in the ark -eight in all-were saved by the water, (21) which was a symbol pointing to baptism, which now saves you. It is not the washing off of bodily dirt, but the promise made to God from a good conscience. It saves you through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, (22) Who has gone to heaven and is at the right side of God, ruling over all angels and heavenly authorities and powers.” The phrase, “once for all” refers to Jesus Christ as an example of what conduct a true believer in Him should exhibit [PHIL 2: 5-11]. We should be willing to suffer for the sake of good. The quintessential example of this is Christ’s obedience to the Father in enduring humiliation and finally, the cross [HE 9: 28]. Several years ago, an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association [JAMA], outlined the physical changes and aspects of the slow, painful death one has in being crucified. It is a horrific and cruel death, that our Savior experienced for our salvation! Once this happened, Christ became the One and only acceptable Sin-sacrifice for us. No animal or other substitute was any longer necessary. The phrase, “being made alive in the Spirit” refers to the resurrection, which is attributed to the Father in AC 2: 32, GA 1: 1, and in EPH 1: 20 and to the Son in JN 10: 17-18.
Applying to 1 PET 3: 19-20a, there have been three suggested interpretations, each with its own weaknesses. 1. Some believe that before Christ’s incarnation, He preached through Noah to the wicked generation of his time. Its weakness is that Christ’s death and resurrection are not given in this context. 2. Others believe that between Christ’s death and resurrection, He went to the prison where fallen angels are incarcerated and preached to them. They are said to have left their proper state and married human women during Noah’s time [GN 6: 1,4; 2 PET 2: 4; JUDE 6]. The message Christ preached to these evil angels was one of His victory. They had presented themselves with the devil [GN 6: 2, 4; JOB 1: 6 and 2: 1]. Its weakness is that it assumes sexual relations between angels and women, and such physical relations may not be possible for angels since they are spirits. 3. Still others believe that between Christ’s death and resurrection, He went to the place of the dead and preached to the spirits of Noah’s wicked contemporaries. What He proclaimed may have been the Gospel or a declaration of victory for Himself and doom for His audience. It is weak in that the term “spirits” is used of humans when qualifying terms are added. Otherwise, the term seems restricted to supernatural beings.
The phrase “water symbolizes baptism,” found in 1 PET 3: 21, tells us that the flood prefigures baptism, and baptism symbolizes salvation. This is true in that in both examples (flood, baptism), the water speaks of judgment (in the flood, the death of the wicked; in baptism, the death of Christ and the believer). Believers are saved by what water baptism symbolizes, which is Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection [RO 6: 3-4]. The act of baptism is the believer’s commitment to the onset of salvation, the doing of good deeds, willingness to study and obey God’s teaching, and the transmittal of the Gospel message to those willing to listen. This commitment is to be life-long. Salvation is done supernaturally by the resurrection of Christ. In 1 PET 3: 22 we see terms like “gone to heaven, at God’s right hand” and “angels, authorities, and powers.” The former phrase is supported by AC 1: 1-9, HE 1: 3 and 12: 2. The latter is supported in EPH 1: 21 and 6: 12. If these supporting Scriptures aren’t familiar to you, please look them up.
PRAYER: Dearest Father, we can take no credit for the grace You show us. You have said, in 2 TIM 3: 16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and useful in teaching truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed.” By virtue of the Holy Spirit, You have given us the self-discipline to study Your word, the understanding we have of what we are studying, and the will to apply it to our daily lives. You have given us many reasons why being obedient to You is in our best eternal interests. We didn’t give ourselves grace; only You did that and deserve all the credit. You had already prepared us to do good deeds by giving us the talents we use in serving You and the will to do so [EPH 2: 8-10]. We stand before Your mighty throne to say, “we thank and praise You,” for these many blessings [DT 32: 3-4; PS 149: 1; PS 115: 1]. Never before Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection have salvation, eternal forgiveness, and justification been available to mankind. The impact for good on us of these things bears much contemplation and gratitude. All that we had before these momentous events was a way to know Your will through the law. We stand in awe of You and love the fact that we can speak to You at any time in prayer. You listen patiently and love us unconditionally. For that and so much more we offer our thanks, praise, and life-long service to You. In Christ’s holy/mighty name we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: The Holy Spirit commands me to discuss 2 COR 2: 14 as it relates to principles discussed in Colossians next week. There, but for the grace of God, do I go. There is nothing worse than spiritual death! Serial wrongdoers who continually refuse to take responsibility for their actions and reject God’s teaching are on a one-way trip to this horrific fate. It is conscious torment from which there is no escape for eternity. An integral part of avoiding spiritual death is accepting and acknowledging Christ’s supremacy and the supernatural power He uses to see to our basic spiritual needs. He wants us to make decisions and take actions that will allow Him to guide us to eternal life. Learning God’s will through study of the Scriptures and obeying His teaching is the best way to avoid spiritual death. The alternative to spiritual death, eternal life, is that believers in Christ who profess their faith in Him with a genuine heart and who participate in God’s efforts to sanctify us and mature us spiritually can expect to have a sweet and eternal fellowship with our Creator in heaven. Christ has died and been resurrected for us to be saved. He has promised to return for the events depicted in the book of Revelation, what happens in the end times. Our Father wants us to make ourselves aware of the countless blessings He gives us. He is to be given eternal thanks and praise!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2018. All Rights Reserved.
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