1 Peter 3:19

By which. Or, “with respect to which,” “by virtue of which.” Opinion differs as to whether “by which” refers to “the Spirit” (v. 18) or to the thought of v. 18 as a whole.

Some of those who accept the reading “in spirit in v. 18 (see comment there) hold that the words “by which” refer back to “spirit,” and interpret v. 19 to mean that between His crucifixion and resurrection Christ “preached” to the supposed disembodied spirits of the antediluvians. However, this conclusion does not necessarily follow the adoption of the reading “in spirit.” Furthermore, the conclusion is entirely unscriptural and must therefore be rejected (see below under “spirits”).

The following three explanations of this difficult passage are all in harmony with the general teaching of Scripture on the condition of man in death.

1. “By which” refers back to “the Spirit,” and v. 19 means that Christ preached to the antediluvians by the Holy Spirit through the ministry of Noah.

2. “By which” refers back to the preferred reading, “spirit,” which is a reference to Christ in His pre-existent state, a state that, like His post-resurrection, glorified nature may be described as in “spirit.” Compare the expression, “God is spirit,” RSV (see on John 4:24). Christ’s preaching was to the antediluvians, “while the ark was a preparing,” and hence during His pre-existent state. Compare on Heb. 9:14.

3. “By which” refers back to v. 18 as a whole, and v. 19 means that by virtue of His yet future vicarious death and resurrection, in “spirit,” Christ “went and preached” to the antediluvians through the ministry of Noah. It was by virtue of the fact that Christ was to be “put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit” (v. 8) that He formerly preached salvation through Noah and “saved by water” those who accepted it. Similarly, it is “by the resurrection of Jesus Christ” that “baptism doth also now save us” (v. 21).

The first of these three explanations is possible if the reading “the Spirit” is accepted (see on v. 18). The second and third accord more closely with the Greek construction (of vs. 18, 19), with the immediate context, and with parallel passages elsewhere in the NT.

Also. That is, in addition to “us” (v. 18). The provision made at Calvary to “bring us to God” was “also” available to the antediluvians. In fact, no other provision has ever been made for men to escape from the devil’s prison house (see on Acts 4:12).

Went and preached. Emphasis is on the preaching, not on the going. The word translated “preached” (kerusso) is the usual word for Christ’s preaching while on earth. For the time when this preaching took place see on v. 20.

Spirits. Gr. pneumata, plural of pneuma “wind,” “breath,” “spirit” (see on Luke 8:55; cf. on Num. 5:14; cf. on Heb. 12:9, 23; cf. Num. 16:22; 27:16). Breath is one of the conspicuous characteristics of living beings, and by a figure of speech (synecdoche), in which a characteristic part of a thing stands for the whole, pneuma means simply “person.” Compare 1 Cor 16:18, where “my spirit” means “me,” and Gal. 6:18; 2 Tim. 4:22; etc., where “your spirit” means “you” (cf. Phil. 4:23). Accordingly, these “spirits” can be considered living human beings. In fact, the first part of v. 20 apparently identifies them as people living on the earth immediately prior to the Flood. They were as certainly real, living human beings as were the the “eight souls” of v. 20.

Some hold that ch. 3:18-20 and ch. 4:6 support the doctrine of an immortal soul and of consciousness after death, and that during the interval between the crucifixion and the resurrection Christ descended into Hades, the figurative realm of the dead (see on Matt. 11:23), to preach to disembodied spirits languishing there. But the logic of this view demands that the “spirits” here referred to be in some sort of purgatory at the time Christ preached to them and that the purpose of His preaching was to give them a second chance to be saved and thus to escape from purgatory. But most Protestants who believe that Peter here teaches the consciousness of man in death would be horrified to accept the papal doctrine of purgatory and the equally unscriptural doctrine of a second chance. Those who maintain that Peter here supports their belief in the so-called natural immortality of the soul must also explain why Christ would be partial to the “spirits” of dead sinners of Noah’s time and not give to those of other generations a similar opportunity.

The Scriptures plainly teach that a man must accept salvation in this present life, if at all, and that his personal probation closes at death (see on Matt. 16:27; Luke 16:26-31; Rom. 2:6; Heb. 9:27; cf. Eze. 18:24; Rev. 22:12). They also plainly teach that the dead are not conscious (see on Ps. 146:4; Eccl. 9:5, 6; Matt. 10:28; John 11:11; 1 Thess. 4:13; cf. on Gen. 2:7; Eccl. 12:7). Accordingly, to make these “spirits” out to be disembodied, conscious beings able to hear and accept the gospel, contradicts numerous plain teachings of Scripture. It should be noted that Peter does not say that Christ preached to disembodied spirits.

To argue that the people of Noah’s day did not have a fair chance to be saved is to ignore the fact that Noah was “a preacher of righteousness” to his generation (2 Peter 2:5), and that they deliberately rejected the message God sent to them through Noah (1 Peter 3:20, see comment there). “The longsuffering of God” would not have “waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing” (v. 20) unless those for whom God waited so patiently were being given an opportunity to believe and to obey.

Prison. Gr. phulake, “watch,” “guard,” and thus a place where men are watched and guarded, a “prison.” Whether Peter here speaks literally or figuratively must be determined by the context. If taken literally, this “prison” would be a place where departed souls such as the “spirits” of v. 19 are said, by some, to be kept under guard until their fate has been decided. If taken figuratively, “prison” would refer to the spiritual state of the “disobedient” “spirits.” For the use of “prison” in the latter sense see Isa. 4:27; cf. Isa. 61:1; Luke 4:18. How securely the antediluvians were held in the prison house of sin is evident from Gen. 6:5-13 and from the fact that only eight persons escaped from it (1 Peter 3:20). None but Christ can set men free from the evil habits and desires with which Satan shackles them.