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.

This is said to be the most difficult passage in the letter, and one of the most difficult in the New Testament. Entire books have been written to deal with the language, theology, sources, and controversies related to the ideas contained in it.

As we come to this passage, we must decide on what kind of treatment we are to give it in terms of level and depth. Given the type of commentary that this is intended to be, we will not mention all the interpretations that have been suggested by scholars and consider the arguments in support of each. Such a procedure, while profitable, must be reserved for a more specialized study.

Instead, as we examine the passage, we will interact with only two major interpretations and the basic arguments for them. These are also the only two plausible positions. There are variations of these two interpretations, but the differences are not so significant as to warrant separate treatment in an elementary commentary such as this.

As for the other options that are more different, they are in fact quite contrary to the context and content of the passage, as well as against the general and consistent teachings of Scripture on the relevant topics. Therefore, any ordinary reader should be able to see through their flaws after some careful reflection. In any case, the exposition that follows will at least indirectly eliminate many false and impossible interpretations associated with the passage.

According to the first interpretation, these verses say that Christ went into hell, hades, or some place in the spirit realm, and declared his victory to those who were held there as prisoners. The details may differ among those who favor this view. Some believe that this occurred between Christ's death and resurrection, while others believe that it happened after he was raised. Some think that those held in prison were human spirits, but others think that they were fallen angels.

Then, in the second interpretation, Peter is saying that Christ preached by his Spirit through Noah to those who eventually perished in the flood, and who are now "in prison."

The latter part of verse 18 reads in the NIV, "He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit." The Greek does not distinguish between "spirit" and "Spirit," so this translation is one option. However, after stating "put to death in the body," some scholars argue that Peter could hardly expect his readers to have such a different understanding of the parallel portion of the sentence, written in the same grammatical structure. The RSV appears more natural and accurate: "being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit."

The contrast is thus between "death in the flesh" and "alive in the spirit." However, this translation in turn lends itself to a dangerous misunderstanding, that Christ was killed in the body but raised only in the spirit, so that there was no physical resurrection. But this misunderstanding is excluded for at least three reasons.

First, the rest of the New Testament insists that the death and resurrection of Christ were physical. His body was killed, and the same body was raised, albeit in an enhanced form. And second, Christ's spirit was never dead previous to the crucifixion, and it was never killed in any sense that required its resurrection. In other words, if the resurrection was not physical, then he would not have needed any resurrection in the first place.

Then, third, both flesh and spirit in fact lack the definite article, so that the verse literally reads, "put to death in flesh but made alive in spirit." Thus the verse is not referring to two parts of Christ – his body and his soul – but it makes a contrast between the human sphere of life and the "spirit" sphere of life.

This in turn influences our understanding of verse 19. Given what we understand about verse 18, rather than beginning verse 19 with the translation "through whom" (NIV), it is perhaps better to say, "in which," that is, in the realm of the spirit. The meaning is "in this sphere" or even "under this influence." Contrary to some, it does not have to mean "in the resurrection body" or "in the resurrected state."

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