CHRIST'S BURIAL
"Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and THAT HE WAS BURIED, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" - 1 Cor 15:1-4

Devotion 11 of 14
                                
CHRIST'S ACTIVITY WHILE HIS BODY REMAINED BURIED
      Knowing the nature of the Lord Jesus, I cannot conceive of Him being idle. On one occasion He reminded His disciples, "I work" (John 5:17). I would expect Him to be active during the three days His body was in the grave -- and, indeed, He was! 

When He preached
      Some texts of Scripture appear more challenging that others. Such texts, however, are to be believed and embraced. One such text deals with the activity of Christ while His body was buried. It is a controversial text, but only because it challenges stilted theologies. 

      "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water" (1 Pet 3:18-20, NASB).

      What an arresting passage! The spirit in which Jesus was "made alive" was the same one in which He made proclamation to "spirits." Peter is saying Jesus was not idle between His death and resurrection--while His body was buried. This certainly should not surprise us. If the rich man awakened in hades while his body was buried (Luke 16:23), why should it be considered strange that the One with the keys of death and hades was active after death and prior to resurrection?

      The difficulty with this passage lies in its implications, not its declaration. Peter states that Jesus, in the Spirit, preached to spirits that were disobedient while God was waiting in the days of Noah. Some consider this implies a "second chance" after one dies, and thus reject the apparent meaning of the text. For them, Peter is saying Jesus' spirit preached in Noah in the days prior to the flood. There are some difficulties, however, with this view.

      First, the ministry of Noah is never associated with the "Spirit of Christ." Noah did not speak of "the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow," as did other prophets, said to have Christ's spirit (1 Pet 1:11). Second, it is assumed that these were recalcitrant individuals that died in the flood itself. Peter does not say these died in the flood, but that they lived while the longsuffering of God waited, and while the ark was in preparation. It must be remembered that death reigned from Adam to Moses, even though people had not sinned as Adam, i.e., in violation of a commandment. That is why Paul, in his elaboration of justification, writes, "For the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there violation" (Rom 4:15, NASB). The sinners of Noah's day are not to be judged with the same judgement as those living in the blazing light of the Sun of righteousness! Additionally, Peter does not site this event as a kingdom standard. Those who die in a state of disobedience are not to think they will be exposed to the Gospel in  the unseen world. Also, it is an imagination to suppose that everyone that was "disobedient" while the ark was being prepared had been exposed to the preaching of Noah--or that they were all full-age adults with full possession of their mental faculties--or that they were striking out against the Lord. 

      Peter's words can be taken as they are stated, without modification. In so doing, no violation is done to the text, and no sound doctrine is disrupted. Throughout Divine history there have been exceptional occurrences--things that departed from the norm. The sinners of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire--that was not a standard. Pharaoh and his army were drowned--that was not a standard. The Israelites were exempt from all of the plagues that befell Egypt--that  was not a standard. Elijah was brought food by ravens--that was not a standard. The thief on the cross was saved in his dying hour--that was not a standard. Peter was delivered from prison--that was not a standard . . . etc., etc.

PRAYER POINT: Father, give me grace to believe Your Word without sifting it through the traditions of men. If You declare things hard to be understood, in Jesus name, give me understanding.

--  TOMORROW: WHAT JESUS PREACHED TO THE SPIRITS --