By which also he [that is, Christ] went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 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 (I Peter 3:19–20).
WELL-MEANT OFFER
ARGUMENT:
Q. “Christ ‘went
and preached unto the spirits in prison.’ These ‘spirits’ are those who are
hell—‘in prison’; specifically, they are those who lived during the days prior
to the flood and who perished in that food. Christ is said to have ‘preached’
unto them. What would He have preached other than the gospel of salvation by
grace through faith? In what way did He
go to preach to these individuals in hell? Did He go after He died on the
cross? Or after the resurrection? or the ascension? Is this related to Christ’s
‘descending into hell,’ as the Apostles’ Creed mentions? And, more to the
question … was this preaching a well-meant offer of salvation?”
(I)
Prof. David J. Engelsma
You ask about the understanding of I Peter 3:19, 20, concerning Christ’s preaching to the spirits in prison, and then more specifically whether this preaching was a form of the well-meant offer. Evidently the enthusiasts for the offer appeal to the passage on behalf of the offer.
The passage does teach a reality of the work of Christ that is strange, and that is taught here only in Scripture.
This we know from the passage and its context. The event took place upon Jesus’ resurrection: when He was “quickened by the Spirit” (v. 18). The specific objects of Jesus’ mission were the spirits of those wicked humans who rejected the testimony of Noah as he was building the ark for a long time. At the time of Jesus’ preaching to them, these spirits, or souls, were in prison, that is, in hell. Jesus did this preaching and made this descent to the spirits in prison by the Spirit that had quickened Jesus. Therefore, the descent into hell was not bodily for Jesus. What He had to say to the spirits, He said by His Spirit. The content of the preaching is implied by verses 18 and 20. First, it was the message of Jesus’ resurrection, as the ultimate fulfillment of the salvation of the church typified by the salvation in the ark. What Noah had testified both by his act of building the ark and by his words to the scoffers as he built the ark was now a reality. And, second, it was the message of the refutation of the scoffers in their mockery of what Noah was doing. The message of Jesus effectively shut their mouths, so to say. At a crucial moment in the history of redemption, arguably the greatest type of salvation (and judgment) in the history of the Old Testament, these wicked had denied and ridiculed God’s great act of salvation in the flood. Jesus, now crucified and risen, set the seal to the witness of Noah. What those disobedient spirits had ridiculed had been realized in the cross and resurrection of Jesus. Noah’ faith as he built the ark had been vindicated in the full reality of that which he believed. Notice the reference also to the cross in verse 18.
If defenders of the well-meant offer do in fact appeal to this passage in support of their theory, the appeal borders on the ludicrous. The spirits to whom Jesus preached were “in prison,” that is, in hell. Hell is a prison from which there is not escape or loosing. Does God well-meaningly offer salvation now to those in hell? Does He indeed love those in hell? Does God desire the salvation of those in hell? Were few in Noah’s day saved by water, only to be given a chance to be saved upon Jesus’ resurrection? Did these spirits perish in the flood, outside the ark, which was a type of eternal death under the wrath of God, only to be offered salvation by Jesus? And is it even conceivable that men and women sent to hell by God can possibly escape from hell later on? Does God’s attitude toward these spirits change from punitive wrath to would-be saving favor? Is the Reformed faith to get into bed with the cults?
In addition, if addition is needed, the Greek word translated “preached” in verse 19 is not the word that means, “proclaim the gospel,” or “good news.” Rather, it is the Greek word that means simply, “proclaim a message.” It is keerussoo, not euaggelizoo, which means “bring good news.” Jesus did not bring the gospel to the spirits, but the word of judgment.
“It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
Christians should have such a high regard for the saving will of Jesus that, if He went to the spirits in the grace and desire of salvation that the defenders of the well-meant offer explain the passage as teaching, all of the spirits were released from hell and went immediately to heaven. The grace and well-meaning desire of Jesus cannot be frustrated. Then they perished in the flood, only to be saved by the death and resurrection of Jesus. Few were saved by water (v. 20), the type of salvation, but many of these spirits were saved by the reality, the death and resurrection of Jesus.
The Author of Hebrews 9:27 neglected to add this to His text. (DJE, 14/04/2022)
(II)
More to come! (DV)
The Reformed Free Publishing Association (RFPA) have published a fine commentary on I Peter:
A Pilgrim’s Manual: Commentary on I Peter, by Herman Hanko (RFPA, 2012).
https://rfpa.org/collections/books-by-herman-hanko/products/a-pilgrims-manual
https://cprc.co.uk/product/pilgrims-manual/
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