To All of You
3:8 Finally (not to end the letter but to complete this passage) there comes a general exhortation to the whole Christian community, married and unmarried alike. Peter commends a set of attitudes which together depict what relationships within the Christian fellowship should be.
Christian believers must live in harmony with one another, literally, “being of one mind” (a single word in the Greek). The term is intended to convey a unity of aim and purpose, a oneness in attitude. Idealistic? But this was the actuality at the very beginning of the Christian church, rejoicing in the glow of the early days of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost when “believers were together and had everything in common” (Acts 4:32). On a purely practical level, unity among Christians was in any case highly necessary in the hostile environment in which they were living.
They must be sympathetic, sharing one another’s feeling. Believers’ hearts should go out to one another in love, during times of joy as well as sorrow (Rom. 12:15). The truly sympathetic attitude is the antithesis of selfishness.
They must love each other as brothers and sisters (1:22), for in truth they all belong to the one family of God in Christ. They are to treat one another (and both male and female are included under brothers) as having an equal standing in the sight of God—a notion that challenges the competitive nature of so much in the modern Western world. Such a sensitiveness to the feelings of other Christians will follow from a growing appreciation of belonging to the one body of believers (1 Cor. 12:26). Peter is simply relaying the teaching of Jesus that he heard in the Upper Room: “By this all … will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). The vertical relationship, God’s love for men and women in Christ, creates a horizontal relationship, the love between those who know themselves to be the objects of divine love (Cranfield, p. 76).
They must be compassionate, tenderhearted, caring deeply for one another—a powerful and rich term in the Greek for which there is no adequate English translation. All the emotions are involved.
They must be humble toward one another. The idea of humility as a desirable characteristic is promoted in the NT as a virtue of Christlike living (Gal. 5:23; Eph. 4:2; Phil. 2:3) and follows the teaching of Jesus himself (Matt. 11:29). To the Hellenistic world such a notion came as a startling novelty, for Greeks had always considered humility as a sign of weakness. Yet in truth, as the believer grows in the Christian life, there come constant reminders that an attitude of humility is entirely appropriate. Human abilities and wisdom all too often prove to be insufficient to cope with life’s ordinary experiences and relationships, let alone when the Christian is faced with the standard of perfection set by Jesus in both his teaching and example (Matt. 5:48; John 8:46). Peter will repeat the admonition to be humble later when he addresses young men in particular (5:5).
3:9 To treat others in such a charitable manner is not likely to prove impossibly difficult when a similar response is forthcoming, as it certainly should be within the Christian fellowship. But if it is not? Peter is no doubt thinking now of outsiders. Then the demand of Christ’s ethic for his followers is still to maintain a positive attitude, despite any adverse reaction. It would be a betrayal of the high moral standard expected by Jesus of those claiming to be his disciples if they repay evil with evil or insult with insult. Certainly evil and insults will come the believers’ way, for such will be part and parcel of the lot Christians are called upon to bear. It was not a new or unexpected turn of events for those seeking to live a godly life to attract undeserved suffering. The people of God have always been liable to face persecution; such is the malignant character of the spiritual world of evil opposed to God. But at the same time, those attuned to God’s mind on the subject have long admonished believers not to pursue the settlement of accounts: vengeance, when and where necessary, is the divine prerogative (Deut. 32:35). The believers’ sole task is to keep facing the light and to seek to reflect that light to others by their lives. They are to “get even” by blessing those who are antagonistic. In this they will be following both the example of their Master (2:23) and his teaching (Matt. 5:43–48), for by blessing we are to understand “seeking the highest good” of others, that is, by what we are and what we say advancing, not setting back, what God intends in his perfect plan for them.
Peter explains why believers are not to retaliate, but to bless. No doubt there are occasions when silence is the appropriate response, as in the example of Christ himself (2:23). But to bless involves speech, and there will be other circumstances in which the disciple should speak. Only a sensitiveness to the prompting of the Spirit as to the right reaction in any given situation will indicate which attitude to take.
To bless is one aspect of the Christian vocation: to this you were called. Jesus Christ looks to his followers to display his character in their lives, for this is the only opportunity non-believers have of glimpsing what he is like. But more than this, Peter tells his Christian readers to bless so that they themselves may inherit a blessing. The choice of term is significant: strictly speaking an inheritance is a gift, not something that can be earned or deserved.
3:10 Following his practice of supporting teaching with Scripture, Peter backs up his warning not to retaliate by citing a favorite psalm of his, and one which lends itself to the theme of the whole letter (see Additional Note on 2:3). The quotation, from Psalm 34:12–16 LXX, slightly modified for the purpose, is introduced simply by the conjunction For, without further indication of its source. Peter is not bothered about footnotes for scholars. The words he quotes carry their own authority.
When the psalmist addresses whoever would love life and see good days, he is in effect asking, “Who would like to live a long and happy life?” The apostle is more realistically not holding out the possibility of a trouble-free existence in this world. Peter uses the psalmist’s phrase to mean “Do you want to love life?” He is extending the OT words to include a spiritual sense, and he applies them not to quantity of life but to quality—to eternal life, the life worth having (v. 7), and to the ultimate full salvation in Christ which is to be revealed at the climax of history (1:5). All the same, the blessing which believers will inherit in the next life (v. 9) is not to exclude a foretaste for Christians in the here and now.
The psalmist’s words spell out the practical conditions involved. The heirs of blessing must keep the tongue from evil, avoid malicious and bitter words that disparage another person and are calculated to hurt. They are to keep their lips from deceitful speech: not to tell lies or be economical with the truth, for lies are calculated to deceive (2:1, 22). The tongue, for all its smallness in physical size (James 3:5), has always been recognized as a power for good, or more usually for ill, and needing to be kept under tight control (James 1:26). Words can achieve a temporary victory, but inflict lasting hurt, wrecking a relationship and spoiling a believer’s witness to Jesus Christ.
3:11 From referring to speech, Peter’s thought turns to actions, but the two aspects of words and deeds are not to be separated. Believers must turn from evil, and the Greek implies “not to lean toward” evil, not even to give it a passing thought as to whether some advantageous end might result from unworthy means. On the contrary, and positively, far from sitting back, content with supposedly nurturing their own souls quietly in a corner, Christians are to be actively engaged in God’s work: they are to do good. But the admonition equally covers both the Martha deeds of busy hands and the Mary devotion of hands together that, for example, leads to prayer for others: “To pray is to work.”
Again, there must be intense and persistent efforts to seek peace and pursue it. Personal relationships, of course, not politics, are primarily in view here. The phraseology is echoed by other NT writers (Rom. 14:19; 2 Tim. 2:22; Heb. 12:14), for the theme is plainly one close to the spirit of Jesus himself (Matt. 5:9), and indeed is the heart of his work of salvation in securing reconciliation between men and women and God. Peace in any sphere of life can never be taken for granted, but Christians must actively and persistently strive for it until it is achieved.
3:12 The psalm quotation goes on to reassure the loyal people of God who walk in his ways that the divine watchful care is unceasing. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous is a colorful biblical way of describing God’s personal concern for his own, as is the companion phrase his ears are attentive to their prayer. The vivid metaphors may appear to couch divinity in physical terms, but such picture-language is used simply to bring home the intimacy of God’s relationship with his people, not to apply any human traits—and limitations—to the Lord.
In contrast to the righteous, those who follow the right ways of God, the psalmist speaks of those who do evil as having the might of a holy God ranged against them. The face of the Lord is an OT phrase to express a relationship of God to people, either his gracious turning toward them or his disappointed turning away from them, the latter implying his withdrawal of grace and a refusal to hear any prayer they may offer.
Peter stops short of completing the quotation by omitting the closing clause of Psalm 34:16, “to cut off the memory of them [those who do evil] from the earth.” The ultimate fate of those who continue to do evil is not Peter’s concern in this letter, and as a Christian he would not want to suggest that the grace of God cannot reach evildoers beyond a certain point. While earthly life remains, so does an opportunity for repentance and salvation, as the penitent thief bears witness (Luke 23:43).
Additional Notes
3:8 Live in harmony with one another is a single word in the Greek: homophrones; the word occurs in the NT only here, although Paul touches on a similar notion in Rom. 15:5 and Phil. 2:2. Unity is, of course, one of the major themes of our Lord’s high priestly prayer (John 17:21). The wide application of Peter’s term is brought out in the various translations: “of one mind” (KJV); “have unity of spirit” (RSV); “agree among yourselves” (JB); “united” (REB); “one in your attitude to life” (Barclay); “like one big happy family” (LB). The theme of unity among Christians is stressed again and again in the NT, not as an optional luxury but as an essential characteristic of Christianity.
Be sympathetic (sympatheis; the only occurrence in the NT): lit. “suffer with,” i.e., share feelings; happier experiences are not excluded, for we are to rejoice with the joyful as well as to weep with the mournful (Rom. 12:15; 1 Cor. 12:26; Heb. 10:34).
Live as brothers (philadelphoi): Only here in the NT, although the similar term philadelphia occurs in 1:22.
Compassionate: The Greek eusplanchnoi (only elsewhere in the NT at Eph. 4:32) is derived from eu, well, and splanchna, the internal organs that were viewed as the seat of the emotions. As attempts at translation, “a tender heart” (RSV) and “kindly” (NEB) are passive, and “pitiful” (KJV) is condescending. The NIV’s compassionate is probably as near as English can get to a word so replete with feeling. The corresponding verb refers in the NT to the actions of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:33) and the Prodigal’s father (Luke 15:20). Usually it describes Jesus himself being moved with compassion (as in Mark 1:41, when he touches and heals the leper).
Be … humble (tapeinophrones): This is yet again a word that Peter alone uses in the NT.
Self-assertion is not always as profitable as it might promise. “A man that will walk abroad in a crowded street cannot choose but be often jostled; but he that contracts himself passes through more easily” (Leighton, vol. 1, p. 370).
3:9 The whole verse echoes the words of Jesus (Matt. 5:43–44; Luke 6:27–28; cf. Rom. 12:17; 1 Cor. 4:12; 1 Thess. 5:15).
Evil with evil: An adversary aware of the Jewish Scriptures would do well to recollect that “if a man pays back evil for good, evil will never leave his house” (Prov. 17:13; cf. Matt. 7:2).
Insult (loidoria; in the NT only here and in 1 Tim. 5:14: The corresponding verb loidorein in 2:23 referred to Jesus’ refusal to retaliate in kind.
Repay … with blessing: Christ’s admonition to pray for one’s enemies (Matt. 5:44) is echoed in Judaism, so it would not have sounded novel to Jewish converts at any rate. “If any man seeks to do evil to you, do well to him and pray for him, and you will be redeemed by the Lord from all evil” (T. Joseph 18:2). “The holy man is merciful to his reviler and holds his peace” (T. Benjamin 5.4). When Rabbi Meir (about A.D. 150) was accosted by highwaymen he at first prayed for their destruction. But his wife taught him better ways, to pray for their repentance, and the rabbi records that he did, for he saw that was always the right course to take (b. Ber. 10a).
Blessing (eulogountes) adversaries means seeking their highest spiritual good, defined by Jesus in terms of intercession, lifting them up to God to bring to pass in their lives what he sees is required (Matt. 5:44; Luke 6:28), a marked advance on the usual classical Greek sense of eulogein as merely “speaking well of.” In the present world order, temporal blessings, such as sun, rain, and crops, are bestowed upon all, irrespective of their attitude toward God (Matt. 5:45; Acts 14:17). Peter here has in mind spiritual blessings.
Called: The Christian’s call is a frequent theme in this letter (1:15; 2:9, 21; 3:9; 5:10).
Inherit: The Christian’s inheritance is preserved inviolate in heaven (1:4). See Turner, pp. 133–34.
3:10 The extended quotation from Ps. 34:12–16 LXX is but the most obvious example of Peter’s appreciation of the aptness of this psalm for his message. Echoes of Ps. 34 abound in 1 Peter (see Introduction, p. 00) and in the liturgy of the early church, for it was recognized from the first as being particularly appropriate for a community of God’s people facing undeserved suffering. See Kelly, p. 87; Gene L. Green, “The Use of the Old Testament for Christian Ethics in 1 Peter,” TynB 41 (2, 1990), pp. 278–82.
Whoever would love life: The Greek verb agapan, besides its usual meaning of “to love,” can also be translated “to choose, strive after, prefer” (Kelly, p. 138).
Tongue: The influence of words for good or ill is frequently mentioned in this letter: 1:10, 12, 25; 2:1, 9, 12, 15, 22, 23; 3:1, 7, 9, 10, 12, 15, 16, 19; 4:4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 14, 16; 5:1.
Evil (kakon): What is morally base or mean.
Deceitful speech (dolon, guile): No deceit was found in Christ’s mouth (2:22), and he is the believers’ example.
3:11 The admonition do good, or its equivalent, comes surprisingly often in this letter, apparently as an echo of Ps. 34 (1:15; 2:12–15, 20, 24; 3:6, 9, 11, 13, 17; 4:2, 17, 19). The Greek implies “carry out what is good in action.”
Seek peace and pursue it: a thought repeated in Rom. 12:18; 14:19; Heb. 12:14. The command is adapted in 2 Clement 10:2 to run: “If we are zealous to do good, peace will pursue us.”
Commenting on Ps. 34:14, the rabbis declared: “The Torah did not insist that we should actually go in pursuit of the commandment but said, ‘If you meet … (Exod. 23:4); if you see … (Exod. 23:5); when you beat … (Deut. 24:20); when you gather … (Deut. 24:21); when you come … (Deut. 23:25).’ In all these cases, if they come your way, you are commanded to perform the duties connected with them. But you need not go in pursuit of them. In the case of peace, however, seek peace (wherever you happen to be) and pursue it (if it is elsewhere)” (Midrash Rabbah 19.2 on Num. 21:21).
3:12 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, not simply to see what they are up to! The implication is “for their good.” Cf. Ps. 1:1–6.
The face of the Lord: In biblical terms, to seek the face of God is to draw near to him in prayer. See NIDNTT, vol. 1, pp. 585–87.
Do Good, Even If You Suffer for It
3:13 Who among the perpetrators of evil are able to harm believers, provided they for their part are eager to do good, concentrating on doing God’s righteous will? The rhetorical question expects the answer “Nobody!” This is not to deny the possibility that persecution, difficulty, and suffering will be encountered by the people of God, and Peter has already recognized this (1:6). The apostle does not view the situation solely in terms of the immediate present, but he considers the position of faithful believers in relation to eternity. No temporal suffering can do them permanent harm or alter their standing with God (2:20–21), for spiritual life is on a different plane from the physical. Neither can it affect the believers’ inheritance, safely out of harm’s way in heaven (1:4).
The believers’ eagerness to do good is a matter of obedience to God’s will. Their benevolent activities should by rights have the support of the civil authorities (2:14). But there is certainly no guarantee that the world will view what they do in the same favorable light. In fact, their very moral goodness will provoke antagonism. The scene on Calvary illustrates the point. The world seeks to eliminate both those who fall below average behavior (criminals) and any who exhibit an uncomfortably higher standard (saviors). The fact of their “doing good,” plain for all to see, may rob opponents of any real reason for their attacks, but it will not prevent their trumping up some other excuse, as was the case with Jesus himself (Acts 10:38).
3:14–15a But even if believers, like their Master, should suffer in spite of their right conduct, then there is still a spiritual plus which adversaries cannot filch from them: they are blessed. The term is that used at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:3–11). The Beatitudes listed there spell out an ethical standard far beyond the unaided capabilities of any human being. In every case divine grace is essential for any believer even to approach such moral demands. Similarly, in times of persecution and suffering, Christians are to keep in mind that they are not left to their own devices—so often inadequate in a testing situation. At all times and in all circumstances they have available the powers of an understanding God, always at their side sharing his people’s lot. As believers draw on those divine reserves, they find as an unexpected bonus that they are being spiritually blessed: they are learning to grow in grace and in the knowledge of their Lord (2 Pet. 3:18). For this reason, there is no need for them to be afraid.
Once again, Peter supports his words with a quotation from the OT. Isaiah 8:12–13 LXX reads: “Do not fear what they fear, neither be frightened. Set apart [as holy; the Greek word means to sanctify] the Lord himself and he shall be your fear.” Isaiah’s words, spoken in the context of a threatened Assyrian invasion, were to encourage Judah. A parallel situation in the spiritual realm was being faced by Peter’s readers in the form of persecution. Initially it was probably local in character, but it may have started to become Roman government policy. Caesar brooked no rival king. By adding the words in your hearts, Peter could well be pointing out that individual personal devotion to Christ is the believer’s source of strength whenever it proves impossible to meet with others in worship—and not only, of course, in times of persecution.
In quoting the passage from Isaiah, Peter is doing more than simply claiming the OT promise on behalf of the early Christian community as it faced antagonism in its own day, like Judah of old. He is also, though quite incidentally, claiming divine honor for Jesus Christ with his use of the term Lord.
Do not fear what they fear. While Christians are not exempt from troubles, neither are they the only ones who face them. But there is a great difference: believers are aware that there are divine resources available to faith. So, unlike nonbelievers, they have no need to be afraid. Nor are they to be frightened—the word means to be greatly disturbed in spirit (“stormtossed”). Their spirit is the very place where they are to maintain the divine peace, for it is that which will carry them through. And how is that peace achieved? The way to counter fear is to displace it with a greater power. The believer is to submit wholeheartedly to the lordship of Christ and let him be the garrison of the heart (Phil. 4:7).
3:15b The calm poise of a Christian in the midst of an onslaught may well be baffling to nonbelievers, whose own natural reaction in a similar situation would be very different. What is the secret of an unruffled heart? That question will come sooner or later, and fear of opening the mouth is not to keep the Christian silent. Always be prepared to give an answer. But Peter probably has in mind being ready to respond to accusations of alleged wrongdoing, for the Greek word translated answer is apologia, meaning a defense. It would be the term familiar in a court of law (Acts 22:1), but Peter’s use here of the general expression “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone” suggests he means accusations from any quarter, official or otherwise. In either case, whether being challenged about the secret of peace of mind or being accused of evil practices, Christians must be ready to give the reason for their hope in the living God (1:21). Believers are not called upon to respond by preaching to their interrogators. They are expected to be able to say what Christ means to them. They are to answer with gentleness and respect. A quiet dignity is far more effective than any amount of argument or belligerence. The subject itself, faith in God, also demands respect, i.e., reverence. The Greek word is phobos, often translated “fear.” Fear of God is meant here, for Peter still has in mind the quotation from Isaiah 8:13, “He [God] shall be your fear.”
3:16 Christian lips must be corroborated by Christian lives. When believers are challenged, what they answer in words has to be supported by character. Hypocrisy is soon exposed for what it is. Their day-to-day conduct as professing followers of Christ must be such that they can face any false accusation with a clear conscience. Provided they are right with God and obedient to his promptings, then those who engage in scurrilous charges must sooner or later come to realize that such indictments are groundless. Truth will prevail. It may be that as a consequence the slanderers will become ashamed in the here and now, even if they are reluctant to own up to it. But certainly such people will be put to shame when they face the day of God’s perfect judgment.
3:17 For the present, the reaction of persecutors may not be so much a feeling of shame as of being incensed. If believers still have to suffer undeservedly for their Christian stand, it is better, if God should allow events to take their course just now, to put up with the injustice (2:20).
Such patient endurance is better because, being so unexpected to unbelievers and so unnatural in their view, it constitutes a convincing witness to the power of the gospel to transform and empower human lives. That indeed may be one reason why God trusts his believing servants to bear undeserved suffering: it has the value in God’s sight of issuing in good for his wider purposes (2 Cor. 1:4; 4:17).
But better has a more profound significance. All through his letter, and not least at this point, Peter is keeping in mind what is important beyond the present age. The Christian should be cherishing the longer prospect and remembering that God’s verdict on the day of final judgment is what matters.
The supreme exemplar of creative suffering is, of course, Jesus Christ himself, and Peter now turns to this aspect of the theme, for here is the sure foundation of the believer’s confidence in the ultimate triumph of good over evil.
Additional Notes
3:13 Undeserved suffering by believers, touched on earlier (1:6; 2:19), is addressed more fully both now and later (4:12–19).
Harm is the verbal form of “evil” in v. 12. The word is used in Acts 12:1 of Herod’s intention to persecute the church.
Eager (lit. zealous) to do good: cf. Titus 2:14.
3:14 Blessed (makarioi): This same word occurs in the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:10); the term describes a benefit bestowed by a superior on another, but in the Bible always with the spiritual dimension prominent: a gift of the divine favor to human beings. The blessing may not necessarily extend to pleasant feelings at the time!
Do not fear what they fear is lit. “do not fear the fear of them,” i.e., the fear that they [people in general] have when faced with similar troubles, for unbelievers lack an appreciation of divine resources available to a trusting soul. Peter’s quotation, based on Isa. 8:12–13, extends to the next verse (3:15).
Isaiah 8 was a favorite passage among the early Christians, since they found so many allusions there to Jesus the Messiah. Verses from it are quoted in Matt. 1:23 (Isa. 8:8, 10); Luke 2:34; Rom. 9:32; 1 Pet. 2:8 (Isa. 8:14); Rom. 2:9 (Isa. 8:22); Heb. 2:13 (Isa. 8:17; 8:18); 1 Pet. 3:14–15 (Isa. 8:12–13); Rev. 16:10 (Isa. 8:22). See Dodd, According to the Scriptures, pp. 78–79.
Do not be frightened recalls John 14:1 and 14:27, where the same Greek verb (“stormtossed”) is used.
3:15 Be prepared: The notion of readiness occurs twice more in 1 Peter, of “salvation ready to be revealed” (1:5) and of Christ standing “ready to judge the living and the dead” (4:5).
Always be prepared to give an answer: “Rabbi Eleazar said, ‘Be eager to study the Torah, and know what answer you should give to the Epicurean [heretic]. And know before whom you toil and who is your employer [God] who will pay you the reward of your labor’ ” (m. Aboth 2.14). Eleazar’s enthusiasm for studying the Mosaic law may have been prompted by an experience he had. After the death of the great spiritual teacher Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai (late 1st cent. A.D.), he left the company of his fellow students and went to live in Emmaus because it was a pleasant resort. In a short time he realized he was forgetting much of his learning.
A sure and certain hope (1:3) is what distinguishes Christians, for unbelievers have none (Eph. 2:12).
Gentleness is a fundamental Christian virtue, frequently mentioned in the NT (1 Cor. 4:21; 2 Cor. 10:1; Gal. 5:23; 6:1; Eph. 4:2; Col. 3:12; 2 Tim. 2:25; Titus 3:2; James 1:21; 3:13).
With gentleness and respect: A similar notion is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls: “teaching understanding to them that murmur that they may answer meekly before the haughty in spirit and humbly before men of injustice” (1QS 11.1).
The two qualities go closely together. Grammatically Peter’s expression may be a hendiadys for “respectful gentleness.” See Additional Note on 2:25.
3:16 To maintain a clear conscience, vital to Christian living, is frequently stressed in the NT (Acts 23:1; 24:16; 1 Cor. 4:4; 1 Tim. 1:5, 19; 3:9; 2 Tim. 1:3; Heb. 13:18). The subject occurs again in 2:19 and 3:21.
Speak maliciously against your good behavior echoes 2:12. The Greek is literally “in the matter in which you are spoken against,” i.e., the insults, threats, and abuse are specifically on account of their Christian life and witness.
The Christian’s behavior (anastrophē) is a main theme of this letter (1:15, 18; 2:12; 3:1, 2, 16; the corresponding verb occurs in 1:17).
In Christ, frequent in Paul’s writings, occurs in 1 Peter here and in 5:10, 14.
Christ’s Saving Work
3:18a No person was less deserving of suffering than Jesus Christ, who went about doing so much good (Acts 2:22; 10:38). Even the belief popular in that day, and not unknown in modern times, that suffering must be due to sin (John 9:2), did not apply to him, for his sharpest adversaries could pin nothing on him on that score (John 8:46). In the end, it was a trumped-up charge by frustrated foes that secured his illegal execution (Acts 2:23). Yet God allowed him to die, the righteous one for the unrighteous many, for the divine purpose embraced the whole world (John 3:16).
Christ died for sins, that is, as a perfect sin-offering for the sins of others; he himself was sinless (1:19; 2:22). In the OT, sin-offerings were made repeatedly. But Christ’s sacrifice of himself was of a different order. His death was once for all. He died only the once (Rom. 6:10), and that death is effective for all time, so that no further sacrifices for sins will ever again be needed (Heb. 9:26).
Winning people for God has been Peter’s theme in this chapter. He has shown wives how to bring their husbands to faith in Christ (3:1). Malicious opponents are to be disarmed and reached for Christ by a spirit of gentleness and respect (3:15). It was with the same motive that Christ himself died: to bring you to God, for apart from his sacrifice Peter’s readers would be without hope and without God (1:3, 21). On behalf of all believers, Christ opened up direct access to God (Eph. 2:18), and by taking away their sins he established their right relationship with God.
3:18b Verses 3:18b–4:6 form one of the most obscure and difficult passages in the NT. This is not least because much of the background and many of the allusions, to say nothing of what are to us strange notions in the popular religious literature of the intertestamental period, all no doubt clear enough to the first readers, are largely lost to later minds.
Every portion of Scripture must be viewed in its context. What has led up to 3:18–4:6 concerns the encouragement of Christians facing potential or actual persecution, and possibly even martyrdom. The preceding verses (3:13–17) have exhorted the readers to maintain their loyalty to Christ, both in keeping to his standards of behavior toward others and in holding firm to their faith toward God. (This stress on loyalty will be resumed in 4:1–6.) Verse 3:18b sounds the triumphant note of Christ’s victory over suffering and death. This sets the scene for verses 19–22, which describe the extent of that triumph.
While it is true that Christ was put to death in the body, that is, physically killed at the instigation of sinful men, it is also gloriously true that he was made alive by the Spirit (Rom. 8:11), raised from the dead by the power of God. Christ was no longer constrained by his human frame (Luke 12:50 RSV), or by the realization that he must experience death to complete his saving work on earth. Now death in the body has been conquered and Jesus is liberated to work freely in the spiritual realm.
3:19 The shortness of this verse belies the number of problems it contains. Martin Luther, no less, cheerfully commented that this was “a more obscure passage perhaps than any other in the New Testament, so I do not know for a certainty just what Peter means.”
The statement that through whom also he (Jesus) went and preached to the spirits in prison prompts a series of questions.
1. What does through whom mean?
2. What does also signify?
3. When did Jesus go and preach?
4. What did he preach, salvation or judgment?
5. Who are the spirits in prison?
6. Where was their prison?
First, what does through whom (en hō) mean? The Greek phrase can be translated through whom (i.e., through the Holy Spirit, as NIV), “in which [spiritual state],” or even “when” (i.e., on which occasion, as in 1:6; 2:12; 3:16; 4:4). The preceding words, literally “made alive by (or in) spirit,” suggest that what Peter is saying is that after going through the experience of death, Jesus was liberated to act in the spiritual realm, free from the restriction of his earthly body. The encouragement this interpretation would give to Peter’s readers is that the risen exalted Christ, who is with them and in them, sharing their day-to-day experiences, is mighty to save, fully able to deal with any situation they may have to face, spiritually or morally as individuals, or politically or economically as members of the society in which they live.
Second, what is the significance of the also (through whom also he went and preached)? The meaning seems to be that, in addition to knowing liberation from physical restrictions after his death, Jesus also, in this new spiritual liberty, went off and did something—which Peter goes on to define as preaching to certain beings who were themselves in a spiritual, not a physical, form.
Third, when did Jesus go and preach? There are at least three possibilities. It could have been at some time before his human birth at Bethlehem; i.e., it was the preexistent Christ who did the preaching (1:11). But this answer seems to be ruled out by the context, which is the suffering of Christ during his earthly ministry. Or it could have been in the hours between his death (mentioned in v. 18) and his resurrection (mentioned in v. 21). This assumes that “made alive by the Spirit” refers not to resurrection but to an earlier state. Yet another suggestion is that this preaching took place during or after his ascension.
Fourth, what did Jesus preach on this occasion? Was it an offer of salvation or the announcement of condemnation? If the meaning is that he proclaimed judgment, Jesus was declaring that the power of evil had been finally broken, and that those who had exercised its power faced certain and total ruin. Such an interpretation would greatly increase the confidence of Peter’s readers to believe in their ultimate triumph by sharing in Christ’s victory, however testing their present or anticipated situation.
The alternative view that Jesus preached salvation is supported by the fact that, although the Greek verb kēryssein used here is a neutral term for any public pronouncement, in the NT it is almost always used in the sense of proclaiming the saving good news of the gospel. Again, if this is Peter’s meaning, his readers would find encouragement to believe that despite the apparent intransigence of adversaries, it was still possible to win them to Christ. The best way to overcome an enemy is, after all, to make that person an ally.
Fifth, who are the imprisoned spirits? There are three main possibilities. The long ago may indicate that Peter is referring to the fallen angels of Genesis 6:1–4, linking up with the disobedience to God mentioned in verse 20. This would be in line with highly popular traditions in Jewish literature prolific in the period between the OT and the NT. These disobedient angels were also considered to be representative of heathen rulers. Christ’s preaching to them would encourage Christians to follow his example by proclaiming the gospel to the pagan rulers of their own day, when they were summoned before them to answer charges.
Alternatively, the imprisoned spirits may be the godless people who perished in the Flood, the long ago in this case meaning “in Noah’s day.” That generation was branded in Judaism as the worst of sinners, who could never be saved. “The generation of the Flood have no share in the world to come, now shall they stand in the judgment” (m. Sanh. 10.3). That Christ preached even to them indicates that the gospel is capable of saving the worst of sinners—assuming that preached here refers to salvation rather than to the proclamation of condemnation.
Some have suggested that the imprisoned spirits are OT believers, that is, those who, although men and women of faith, under the old dispensation were confined to what was called “Sheol” in Hebrew and “Hades” in Greek, the abode of the dead. The reference to “disobedience” in verse 20 appears to rule out this possibility, and to restrict the preaching to the wicked. Yet 4:6 makes it clear that the gospel brought not only judgment to the dead but new life in God. The whole passage 3:18–4:6 is a unity, as its chiastic literary form indicates (see Additional Notes), and 4:6 implies that the total mission of Christ included the OT dead. The reference to “the spirits in prison” therefore is not restricted to the wicked dead but includes all who under the OT dispensation were confined to Sheol/Hades, the place of the dead, until Christ’s own triumph over death. This was the line taken, for example, by Tertullian (On the Soul 55).
Sixth, where was the spirits’ prison? In the ancient world this was considered to be in the lower regions of the earth, “Sheol”/“Hades.” This place of the dead, often described as a prison house (Rev. 18:2; 20:1–7), applied both to human beings and to fallen angels, the latter in particular being confined to an intense darkness (2 Pet. 2:17; Jude 6; 1 Enoch 10:4–5; cf. Rev. 20:3) somewhere in the depths of the earth (Jub. 5:6).
3:20 The spirits singled out for Christ’s preaching, specified as those who disobeyed long ago in the days of Noah, are the angels whose fall is narrated in Genesis 6:1–4. The patient endurance of God (Gen. 6:3) is frequently mentioned in biblical and other Jewish writings, but it is a divine restraint that offers a limited opportunity for repentance before eventual and certain punishment falls.
The Flood in the days of Noah is frequently mentioned as an example of divine judgment, even if God will not use that particular method again (Isa. 54:9). But the incident serves to indicate the relative paucity of godly people compared with the vast majority of unbelievers, a point which Peter’s readers would readily appreciate. The reference to the building of the ark against the Flood will also introduce the subject of water, and thus of Christian baptism (v. 21).
3:21 Just as Noah was saved from the hostility of the godless, and water was involved in his deliverance, so Christian believers should appreciate that they too are saved from evil through water—the water of baptism. Their new status as forgiven servants of the living God should make them confident to stand before godless opponents without fear. That confidence is based not on some outward ritual washing, which could at best only remove dirt from the skin, but on a good conscience toward God. The significance of baptism is that it is the public acknowledgment of an inward spiritual purity brought about in the individual by the work of God in Christ. The pledge made by believers in their baptism to serve God and so maintain that good conscience is their expression of faith that through accepting the work of Jesus on the cross they have been forgiven and made right with God; they have a clear conscience before him. But to avoid any possible misunderstanding, Peter makes it clear that the effective power of Christian baptism is due not to any ceremony but to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That event set the seal on his triumph over death and evil. It is the foundation of all Christian life.
3:22 The resurrection was followed by Christ’s triumphant return to heaven. There he was accorded the supreme place of honor at God’s right hand. The metaphor, a quotation from Psalm 110:1, expresses the Father’s bestowal of the highest dignity and power upon his Son. In this position Christ now rules with God over angels, authorities and powers, an omnibus expression to include all spiritual agencies. Peter is thus further emphasizing the supreme and all-sufficient lordship of Jesus Christ that will aid his followers in whatever testing situation they may find themselves as they live for God.
Additional Notes
3:18 For sins is a phrase commonly used in the OT for the sin-offering (Lev. 5:7; 6:30; Ezek. 43:21).
The righteous: The Righteous (or Just) One was a well-known messianic title (e.g., Wisd. of Sol. 2:18; 1 Enoch 38:2). In the NT it was applied to Jesus: Acts 3:14 (by Peter); 7:52 (by Stephen); 22:14 (by Paul).
The unrighteous: The Greek term (adikos) basically concerns law rather than ethics; here it has the sense of “those who break God’s law.”
Bring you (prosagein) to God: The verb, found in the NT only here, is used of having the right of access to a tribunal or a royal court. In the Greek OT (LXX) it describes the act of offering sacrifices to God (Exod. 29:10) or of consecrating people to God’s service (Exod. 40:12). The Greek verb corresponds to the Hebrew hiqrîḇ, the technical term for “to proselytize,” i.e., to make a member of the chosen people one who was not so by natural birth. In rabbinic terminology such converts were also styled “newborn children” (cf. 2:2).
The balanced phrases put to death … made alive may echo a piece of an early Christian hymn, for something similar occurs in Rom. 1:3–4 and 1 Tim. 3:16.
The phrases in the body … by the Spirit translate two Greek datives of identical form, which one would expect to be reflected in an identical English translation. The Greek can be rendered “as far as the physical body was concerned” … “as far as the spirit [of Jesus] was concerned.”
3:19 For much more detailed discussion of this problematic verse, see Selwyn, pp. 314–62; R. T. France, “Exegesis in Practice: Two Samples,” in Marshall, ed., New Testament Interpretation, pp. 264–78; on the whole passage, see Grudem, pp. 203–39; Dalton, Christ’s Proclamation; Reicke, Disobedient Spirits.
Went: The preexistence of Christ is referred to in 1:11, and elsewhere in the NT it is mentioned in John 1:1; 8:58; 17:5, 24; Phil. 2:6–7. That Christ was active in some way between his death and resurrection is hinted at in Matt. 12:40; Acts 2:25–27 (one of Peter’s addresses); 13:35; Rom. 10:7; Eph. 4:9; Rev. 1:18.
Christ’s descent into Sheol/Hades, inferred from Ps. 16:8–11, also appears in Acts 2:27, 31; 13:35; Rom. 10:6–8; Eph. 4:8–10. The misleading statement about Christ’s descending into “Hell” (the place of punishment; Sheol/Hades is meant, the “neutral” place of departed spirits) was not included in the Apostles’ Creed until the sixth century. It was inserted to stress the real humanity of Jesus Christ, against those who taught that he only appeared to suffer and to die.
Preached: The fact of the dead hearing the gospel is alluded to in John 5:25; Phil. 2:10; cf. Eph. 4:9.
Some scholars speculate that the original MS of 1 Peter mentioned Enoch as the preacher. The suggestion was first put forward in Bowyer’s Greek Testament in the 1772 edition and supported the next year by the apparently providential discovery of the Ethiopic Book of Enoch. In 1 Enoch 12–14 we read of Enoch’s mission to preach to the fallen angels of Gen. 6:1–4, who were disobedient in Noah’s day. (Enoch is specified in this connection in Jude 14.) The basis of the proposal was that the original MS could have read “in which also Enoch …” The Greek for “in which also” (en hō kai) is almost the same as for the name Enoch, and the latter could easily have been accidentally omitted by a later copyist. The Greek text of the time had no spaces between words, so a slip of the eye was entirely feasible. But there is no surviving MS evidence of the proposed emendation. However attractive the suggestion, it seems unlikely to be correct, since it would make the passage more unintelligible, not less (as an emendation should). The sudden and unexplained intrusion of Enoch would in any case interrupt Peter’s argument, for Christ is the subject both of v. 18 and v. 22.
Spirits in prison: According to the book of Enoch, popular in Peter’s day, these spirits were patrons of powerful kings of the earth and as such promoted heathenism. Their punishment in the Flood was considered the prototype of the coming judgment of all heathen rulers who oppressed the people of God. “This judgment wherewith the [imprisoned] angels are judged is a testimony for the kings and mighty ones who possess the earth” (1 Enoch 67:12). The tradition, based on Gen. 6:1–4, of angelic disobedience was firmly established in Jewish thought (1 Enoch 6:1–8; 12:1–16:4; 19:1; 2 Baruch 56:12) and was placed just before the Flood (1 Enoch 10:2). The tradition is clearly alluded to in 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6.
The place of the dead (Sheol/Hades) is referred to in Matt. 11:23; 16:18; Luke 16:23; Acts 2:27; Rev. 1:18; 6:8; 20:13).
The whole passage 3:18–4:6 is a literary unity (chiasmus), with 3:18–20 inversely paralleled by 3:21–4:6. Note, for example, the following:
3:18 dead in body … alive in spirit
3:19 went … spirits
3:20 saved … water
3:21 saved … water
3:22 went … spirits
4:6 dead in body … alive in spirit
See S. E. Johnson, “The Preaching to the Dead,” JBL 79 (1960), pp. 48–51.
3:20 God waited patiently: The divine longsuffering prior to eventual judgment is a common theme (Isa. 48:9; 1 Enoch 60:5; Pirqe Aboth 5.2; Acts 17:30; Rom. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9).
The events of the days of Noah are often quoted as offering spiritual lessons (Isa. 54:9; Matt. 24:37; Luke 17:26; Heb. 11:7; 2 Pet. 2:5).
While eight undoubtedly stresses how few were saved in the deluge, the numeral itself was already significant in Judaism and was taken up by the early church. Circumcision was to be on the eighth day (Gen. 17:12; Luke 2:21); Noah himself was the eighth person saved (2 Pet. 2:5, KJV and Greek); David was the eighth son of Jesse (1 Sam. 16:10–11); a healed leper was declared “clean” on the eighth day (Lev. 14:10); the Feast of Tabernacles climaxed on the eighth day (Lev. 23:36; John 7:37); the Lord’s Day early became known as the Eighth Day (Justin, Dialogue with Trypho 138.1). In every example there is an association with the notion of a new beginning.
Through water (di’ hydatos): The Greek preposition dia can be taken as local or instrumental, meaning that he was saved from the peril of water, or by means of [floating on] the water in the ark. The distinction is unimportant. Either way, Noah was saved from godless opponents and water was involved.
3:21 Symbolizes translates a Greek noun, antitypon, a type or figure fulfilled in the life and work of Christ. See Turner, pp. 168–73, 363.
Pledge: The Greek eperōtēma occurs in the NT only here. Strictly speaking the word means “question,” but this is hardly appropriate in a baptismal context. The candidate for baptism would be expected to answer, not ask. The response to a question is probably what is meant, hence many modern translators agree with the NIV rendering. See Turner, pp. 342–44.
3:22 Gone into heaven: The ascension of Christ is also mentioned in the longer ending of Mark [16:19]; Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9; Eph. 4:8; Heb. 4:14; 9:24.
At God’s right hand alludes to Ps. 110:1, the most quoted OT passage in the NT (Matt. 22:44; 26:64; Mark 12:36; 14:62; [16:19]; Luke 20:42; 22:69; Acts 2:34; 5:31; 7:55; Rom. 8:34; Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2). See Dodd, According to the Scriptures, pp. 34–35; 120–21.
Jews, in common with most Eastern peoples, were careful to distinguish between the right and left hands. The right hand is used exclusively for blessing, salutation, giving (Ps. 16:11; Prov. 3:16), eating, and for receiving and showing honor. See Derrett, Law in the New Testament, pp. xlv–xlvi.
Angels, authorities and powers may be taken as the literary figure of hendiadys and mean “angels, authoritative and powerful as they are,” which would avoid our having to puzzle over the identity of “authorities” and “powers” in heavenly places. For hendiadys, see Additional Note on 2:25.
In submission to him probably alludes to Ps. 8:4–6. Christians understood this to indicate that Christ in his incarnation as Son of Man was temporarily reduced to a status inferior to that of angels, only to be raised to sovereign authority over all beings, including angels, following his death and resurrection (1 Cor. 15:27; Eph. 1:22; Phil. 3:21; Heb. 2:6–8).