Participants: Pr. Stephen Bohr
Series Code: SOD
Program Code: SOD000006
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00:01 If a man dies, shall he live again?
00:07 What does it mean to be absent from the body 00:10 and present with the Lord? 00:13 Did Jesus go with a thief to paradise on Good Friday? 00:19 Did the souls of dead people 00:21 really cry out from below the alter? 00:25 Pastor Bohr answers these questions 00:27 and more in the amazing series. 00:34 So we bow our heads for prayer. 00:38 Father in Heaven, what a joy it is to be in Your presence. 00:42 We thank you Father, for giving us your Holy word 00:47 which is assured guide in a world 00:50 that is totally confused about so many things. 00:54 And Father, as we study today, 00:57 about that passage in 1 Peter 3 01:01 about the preaching of Jesus to the spirits in prison 01:06 we ask for divine wisdom. 01:10 I ask Lord, that You will take away 01:11 from our minds and from our hearts 01:14 any preconceived notions that we might have 01:18 and that we might be willing to listen to Your voice. 01:23 We thank you father, for hearing our prayer 01:26 for we ask it in the precious 01:27 and powerful name of Jesus. Amen. 01:32 As I mention in my prayer we are going to study today, 01:35 that famous passage about 01:37 preaching to the spirits in prison. 01:41 1 Peter 3:18-22. 01:47 What I am gonna do first of all is read this passage 01:51 and then we are going to take a closer look 01:55 at several of the details that we find in this passage. 02:01 1 Peter Chapter 3 and beginning with verse 18. 02:07 "For Christ also suffered once for sins, 02:13 the just for the unjust, 02:17 that He might bring us to God, 02:20 being put to death in the flesh 02:24 but made alive by the Spirit by whom also He went 02:31 and preached to the spirits in prison, 02:35 who formerly were disobedient 02:37 when once the Divine 02:38 longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, 02:41 while the ark was being prepared, 02:44 in which a few, that is, eight souls, 02:47 were saved through water. 02:50 There is also an antitype which now saves us-baptism 02:57 (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, 03:01 but the answer of a good conscience toward God), 03:05 through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 03:09 who has gone into heaven 03:12 and is at the right hand of God, 03:15 angels and authorities 03:17 and powers having been made subject to Him." 03:24 This is the famous passage 03:27 of the preaching to the spirits in prison. 03:31 Now allow me to tell you a few introductory things 03:34 about the two epistles that Peter wrote. 03:40 First of all I want us to notice 03:42 that these epistles were not written for theologians. 03:47 They were not written for philosophers. 03:51 They were written by common for common ordinary Christians. 03:58 In other words they have a practice purpose. 04:01 They can be understood by the lay person in the pew. 04:05 And Peter wrote these things 04:08 to bring encouragement in the midst of trails 04:13 and tribulations and sufferings. 04:17 So this passage even though it is complex 04:22 it cannot only be understood by theologians 04:24 it can be understood and applied to the life 04:27 by the common ordinary church member. 04:32 I want you to notice in 1 Peter Chapter 1 04:35 who this epistles is directed to. 04:38 1 Peter 1:1, 2. 04:43 "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, 04:47 to the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, 04:54 Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 05:02 elect according to the foreknowledge 05:04 of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, 05:07 for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, 05:11 Grace to you and peace be multiplied to you." 05:15 So notice he is writing to the Jews 05:19 primarily who are in the Diaspora, 05:22 in other words in the dispersion. 05:24 He is writing to common ordinary Christians. 05:30 Now there is a common mis- understanding of this passage. 05:35 I want to read now the way many Christians 05:38 read this passage or read things into this passage. 05:44 This is the way they read it. 05:46 While the body of Jesus was dead 05:51 his soul went down to hell 05:56 and He preached the good news of salvation 05:59 to the spirits of dead people 06:02 who disobeyed at the time of the flood 06:04 in order to give them a second chance to be saved. 06:11 That's the way that many Christians read this passage. 06:16 But they are actually reading into the passage 06:19 what is not there. 06:22 No where do you find here any reference to the word soul. 06:28 You find no reference to Jesus going down. 06:32 You find no reference to Jesus preaching the gospel. 06:35 You find no reference that the spirits 06:37 are spirits of dead people. 06:40 And you find no reference of a second change. 06:45 Now I want to give you several reasons 06:47 why Jesus could not have preached 06:52 to the disincarnated spirits of the dead. 06:57 Number one, the Bible teaches 07:00 that there will not be another chance 07:03 to be saved after you die, a second chance. 07:06 Notice Hebrews 9:27 07:09 where this is made absolutely crystal clear, 07:12 Hebrews 9: 27. 07:16 It says there, 07:18 "And as it is appointed for men to die" what? 07:26 "once, but after this the judgment." 07:31 What comes after a person dies? 07:35 The judgment according to scripture. 07:37 No idea that you can die 07:39 and then have the gospel preached to you 07:41 and you can be saved 07:43 and then after that you are judged. 07:45 The fact is you live once 07:47 and after you live you have the judgment. 07:51 The Bible tells us in the book of Hebrews 07:53 that today is the day of salvation 07:56 not tomorrow, not two or three thousand years 08:01 down the road after you are dead. 08:03 The Bible says if you hear His voice today 08:07 do not harden your heart. 08:09 In other words while we are alive 08:11 is when we can make decisions for salvations. 08:16 Further more, we are told 08:18 in the Book of Ecclesiastes 9:5 the following. 08:24 "For the living know that they shall die, 08:28 but the dead know not anything 08:32 neither have they any more a reward, 08:34 for the memory of them is forgotten." 08:37 So if the dead don't know any thing, 08:39 how is that the Jesus supposedly went to preach 08:43 to the spirits in prison? 08:45 If it is appointed for an individual to die 08:48 and after that the judgment 08:50 how could they have been preached to after the judgment? 08:56 If the Bible says if you hear His voice today, 08:59 do not harden your heart. 09:00 If the Bible says, today is the day of salvation 09:03 how is it that they could be saved 09:05 supposedly after they died? 09:09 Further more the Bible is very clear that 09:12 that generation of people 09:15 who live before the flood were irreversible. 09:21 Now if they couldn't be reached with the gospel 09:23 while they were alive 09:26 why suddenly would they listen 09:27 to the preaching after they were dead? 09:31 Notice Genesis 6:5, 09:34 Genesis 6:5 speaking about that pre-flood race. 09:40 It says there, "Then the Lord saw 09:44 that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, 09:49 and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart 09:54 was only evil continually." 09:58 Basically this is speaking about a race 10:01 that had become totally degenerate 10:04 and the Book of Genesis makes it clear 10:06 that when the door of the ark closed 10:08 that was it for those who lived 10:12 in this period before the flood. 10:15 So the idea that somehow later on 10:17 Jesus goes and preaches to these spirits of dead people 10:23 many thousands of years later 10:26 doesn't square at all 10:28 with the condition that they were in before the flood 10:31 which means that they had committed the unpardonable sin. 10:34 They were irreversible. 10:35 So how could they be reached? 10:37 How could they respond to the gospel 10:41 after they were dead? 10:42 It's simply not possible. 10:45 Now I would like us to go specifically to the passage 10:49 1 Peter 3:18 10:51 and the first thing that I want us to notice 10:53 is the structure of verse 18, 10:57 how it is organized 10:58 the literary structure of verse 18. 11:02 We have actually here a synonymous parallelism. 11:06 The first half of the verse 11:07 is explained in the second half of the verse. 11:11 It says, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, 11:18 the just for the unjust, that He might" 11:21 what "bring us to God." 11:24 Let me ask you would he have to be alive to bring us to God? 11:28 Of course he would 11:29 so what this is saying is that Jesus suffered 11:31 and died for our sins so that he could resurrect 11:34 and he could, what, bring us to God. 11:37 That is explained 11:39 in the second half of the verse, explicitly. 11:42 It says, being put to death in the flesh 11:45 is that parallel to suffered once for our sins? Yes. 11:49 Being put to death in the flesh 11:52 but made alive by the spirit 11:55 is that the same as that he might bring us to God? 12:00 Absolutely. 12:01 So you have a parallel in this verse. 12:05 Christ suffered for sins, 12:07 which is the same as being put to death in the flesh 12:10 that he might bring us to God 12:12 is the same as made alive by the spirit. 12:18 Now we need to understand 12:19 what is meant here 12:21 by being put to death in the flesh. 12:28 What does that mean being put to death in the flesh? 12:30 What does the word flesh there mean? 12:34 It's speaking about the tent 12:38 that we spoke about in our last lecture. 12:41 It's speaking about this body which was subject to mortality. 12:47 It was subject to death. 12:50 Notice Hebrews 5:7 where this is explicitly said. 12:55 Hebrews 5:7. 13:00 It says here speaking about Jesus 13:03 "Who, in the days of His flesh," 13:10 is that mean while He was on this earth 13:13 before his death and resurrection? Absolutely. 13:16 "Who, in the days of His flesh, 13:18 when He had offered up prayers and supplications, 13:21 with vehement cries and tears to Him 13:25 who was able to save him from death, 13:28 and was heard because of his godly fear. 13:33 So we find that put the death in the flesh means 13:36 that His human nature which was subject to weakness 13:42 and it was subject to death when He was crucified died. 13:48 His tent if you please, 13:50 the body which was mortal and subject to weakness. 13:56 But what does it mean 13:58 that he was made alive by the spirit, 14:03 I prefer the translation 14:05 I'll tell you the reason why in a few moments. 14:07 The translation in the King James Version 14:09 where it says, "Made alive in the spirit." 14:13 Now what does that mean, "Made alive in the spirit." 14:15 Put the death in the flesh means 14:17 that he was tent or his body mortal body, 14:23 weak body died and went to the grave. 14:27 But what does it mean 14:28 when it says made alive in the spirit? 14:32 Well, go with me to Romans 8:11, 14:37 Romans 8:11. 14:42 "But if the Spirit of Him 14:45 who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you," 14:50 Who raised Jesus from the dead? 14:52 The sprit according to this. 14:54 "Who raised Jesus form the dead dwells in you, 14:58 He who raised Christ from the dead 15:02 will also give life to your" what? 15:06 "Mortal bodies through His spirit who dwells in you." 15:11 So what does that mean being made alive in the spirit? 15:15 It's speaking about the what? 15:18 The resurrection of Jesus through the power of whom? 15:23 Of the Holy Spirit. 15:25 So are these the two same states of existence 15:29 that are experienced by the tent 15:30 and the building that we studied last night. 15:33 Absolutely. 15:35 In other words, He died 15:37 and He resurrected is what its saying. 15:42 Notice also 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 15:46 on this very important aspect. 15:48 What it means to be put to death in the flesh 15:51 and resurrect in the spirit 15:53 of being made alive in the spirit. 15:56 It says in 1 Corinthians 15:42, 15:59 "So also is the resurrection of the dead. 16:03 The body is sown in corruption," 16:07 Is that the tent? Yes. 16:11 Is that being put to death in the flesh? Absolutely. 16:14 "The body is sown in corruption, it is raised" How? 16:21 "In incorruption." 16:22 Is that the building that we receive from God 16:24 at the moment of resurrection? Absolutely. 16:27 "It is sown in dishonor, it is raised" How? 16:33 "In glory. 16:34 It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. 16:41 It is sown a natural body, 16:45 it is raised a spiritual body." 16:49 You understanding what it means to be resurrected 16:51 in the spirit or getting life in the spirit. 16:54 It means that the Holy Spirit resurrects the person 16:56 and gives that person the building 17:00 that God has prepared in heaven. 17:03 And so the apostle Paul says, 17:05 there is a natural body and there is a spiritual body. 17:10 So are you understanding, 1 Peter 3:18? 17:16 It's simply saying that Jesus suffered once for our sins 17:20 which is a same thing as saying 17:22 that He is put to death in the flesh. 17:25 But then it says that he might bring us to God 17:29 and the way that He could do this 17:31 is He was made alive how? 17:33 In the spirit. 17:36 Now we need to look a little bit at the grammar 17:39 of chapter 3:19. 17:43 And you know, I debate 17:44 on whether to touch the issue of grammar 17:47 but in this particular case it is extremely important 17:50 for us to understand the grammar 17:53 in Greek of 1 Peter 3:19. 17:59 Now let me ask you must there be an agreement 18:03 between the noun and the pronoun. 18:08 Those of you who know about English 18:10 know that the pronoun and the noun have to agree. 18:15 Now the problem in English is that our pronouns 18:19 basically have one form, right? 18:26 And they are distinguished by gender. 18:30 But in Greek you have what are called cases. 18:36 A noun can be in nominative case, 18:39 it can be in the accusative case, 18:43 it can be in the genitive case 18:47 or it can be in the accusative case. 18:51 And each case has a different ending 18:54 for that Greek word, 18:57 which means that the pronoun 19:01 and the noun have to have the same ending in that case. 19:07 Are you understanding a little bit 19:08 of what I am saying? Yes. 19:11 Now the reason I am saying this 19:12 is because the expression in the flesh- 19:17 this is very important, 19:19 the expression in the flesh is in the dative case. 19:27 When I see Jonathan saying, yeah, remember my Greek 19:31 because he is just come back from college. 19:35 In the flesh is in the dative case. 19:37 The ending actually in Greek it is en sarki. 19:44 Not sarkus, en sarki. 19:48 The expression in the spirit is also in the dative case. 19:55 In pneumate, see it ends in E. 20:00 The interesting thing is that the expression that is used 20:08 in which verse 19 says, 20:14 "By whom also He went and preached 20:16 to the spirits in prison." 20:18 You'll notice that in the King James it doesn't say, 20:20 by whom also He went 20:21 and preached to the spirits in prison. 20:23 It actually says, in which He went 20:26 and preached to the spirits in prison. 20:30 In the king James, that a better translation 20:34 because that expression "in which" 20:36 which is a relative pronoun is also in the dative case. 20:42 So you have the noun, flesh, 20:47 you have the noun, spirit, 20:50 and you have the relative pronoun 20:53 in which all agreeing in the same case. 20:56 What does that mean? 20:58 In practical terms it means that when verse 19 says, 21:03 in which, or in which state 21:07 He went and preached to the spirits in prison 21:10 you have to look at the nouns 21:12 that come before the expression, in which. 21:17 In which, what? 21:19 Well, He was put to death in the flesh, dative case. 21:24 He was made alive in the spirit, dative case. 21:31 In which dative case, 21:33 He went and preached to the spirits in prison. 21:36 Let me ask you, when it says then in which He went. 21:40 He went how? After He what? 21:43 After He died and He resurrected. 21:49 Are you following me? 21:51 Now if you don't know English grammar you are in trouble. 21:55 The best way to learn another language 21:56 is by knowing the grammar of your own language. 22:00 It's much easier to learn a language that way, 22:03 but once again I underline that the word flesh, 22:07 the word spirit and the expression 22:09 in which are all in the same case. 22:12 They are all in the dative case 22:13 which means that the expression in which, 22:16 which is translated in the New king James by which 22:19 refers back to dying in the flesh 22:24 and being resurrected in the spirit. 22:27 So how did Jesus go to preach to the spirits in prison? 22:32 He went after He died and what? 22:35 And resurrected. 22:37 Which means that He didn't go there 22:40 when He died at all. 22:43 Are you with me? 22:45 Now, let's take a look at 22:48 some of the words in this verse. 22:52 In which state, in which resurrected state, 22:59 He went... went... 23:04 that's the Greek word Poduthese. 23:11 It is used for going 23:15 up, down or horizontally. 23:21 For example it's used 23:23 to say that the apostle Paul went to the Damascus. 23:29 So that's horizontal going. 23:33 It's also used to speak about going down, 23:38 but it's also used to speak about going up. 23:44 The problem is that here it simply says He went. 23:48 And so most Christians assume 23:50 He went down to hell to preach to the spirits. 23:55 They are putting in the text what is not in the text. 23:59 The question is where did Jesus go? 24:02 Did He necessarily go down? No. 24:05 He could have gone, what? Up. 24:08 In fact let's notice a verse in Acts 1:10 24:12 that speaks about the ascension of Jesus 24:15 and the word go or the use the word went 24:18 is referring not to going down but to his ascension to heaven. 24:22 Notice Acts 1:10, 24:26 "And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven 24:30 as He" what... "went" that's the same word Poduthese. 24:35 "Went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel." 24:45 So the word went can refer to Jesus going up, 24:48 not necessarily going down. 24:51 In fact the context indicates that that's the way 24:55 that the word went should be translated. 24:57 You say how is that? 24:59 Go with me to verses 21 and 22 of 1 Peter 3. 25:05 It says, "Through 25:06 the resurrection of Jesus Christ," 25:09 this is the last part of verse 21 25:11 "Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ," 25:13 talking about the resurrection, right, 25:16 "who has gone," 25:19 I bet you cant guess what word that is " Poduthese. 25:24 The very word in the same context. 25:27 "It says who has gone" down to hell, no. 25:35 Who has gone where" 25:37 "Into heaven and is at the right hand of God, 25:42 angels and authorities and powers 25:45 having been made subject to Him." 25:48 Want you to remember 25:50 those angles, authorities and powers 25:53 because we are going to come back to those 25:56 a little bit later on. 25:58 So according to the immediately succeeding context 26:01 where did Jesus go? 26:04 He went but He didn't go down. 26:07 He went where? 26:09 Up to heaven. Very same word. 26:13 Now what does this text mean 26:15 when it says that He went and preached. 26:17 Christians add an expression. 26:19 They say He went and He preached 26:21 the good news of the gospel. 26:23 Where do you find the good news of the gospel 26:26 in that passage? 26:28 It's not there. 26:30 It's an assumption that people make. 26:34 Do you know that the word kerusso in Greek 26:37 which means to preach 26:38 does not necessarily always mean preach? 26:42 It is used in the New Testament 26:46 in the sense of proclaimed or announced. 26:51 Let's notice a couple of examples, 26:53 Revelation 5:2, Revelation 5:2. 26:58 This is speaking about the scene 26:59 where there is one seated on the throne 27:02 and He has a scroll in his hand. 27:06 It says there in Verse 2, 27:08 "Then I saw a strong angel" what 27:14 "proclaiming" that's the same word Kerusso 27:17 "proclaiming with a loud voice, 27:20 'Who is worthy to open the scroll, 27:23 and to loose its seals?'" 27:26 So the word Kerusso can mean also to what? 27:30 To proclaim or to announce. 27:34 Let us, another example, Luke 8:39. 27:38 Luke 8:39. 27:43 This is after Jesus has cast out 27:45 the demons from the men of Gadara 27:50 and He says to them "'Return to your own house, 27:53 and tell what great things God has done for you. 27:59 And he went his way and" what, 28:03 "And proclaimed throughout the whole city 28:06 what great things Jesus had done for him." 28:10 He went he proclaimed and he announced 28:14 the greatness and glory of Jesus. 28:17 So doesn't necessarily mean the preaching of the gospel. 28:22 That's an assumption. 28:24 It's an assumption that Jesus went down, 28:26 it's an assumption that he preach the gospel. 28:29 Now what about the spirits in prison? 28:32 Some people say, well, the spirits in prison 28:35 are the spirits of the dead. 28:41 That's not what the Bible teaches. 28:44 All you have to do is look up the word spirits 28:47 in the New Testament. 28:50 Let's notice a few verses that speak about spirits. 28:53 These spirits are not spirits of human beings at all, 28:56 they are evil spirits. 28:59 Let's read the text Luke 10:20. 29:03 "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, 29:08 that the spirits are subject to you," 29:12 what spirits are being spoken about there" Demons. 29:16 "But rather rejoice 29:17 because your names are written in heaven." 29:20 Luke 11:24-26. 29:23 Let's notice what the word spirits mean. 29:25 Luke 11:24-26, 29:27 "When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, 29:30 he goes through dry places, 29:32 seeking rest and finding none, 29:34 he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came. 29:37 And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. 29:41 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits" 29:48 Is this talking about evil spirits, demons? 29:50 Absolutely. 29:52 "More wicked than himself and they enter and dwell there 29:55 in the last state of that man is worse than the first." 30:00 Let's read one more Mark 1:27-28. 30:03 Mark 1:27-28. "Then they were all amazed, 30:09 so that they question among themselves saying 30:12 'What is this? 30:13 What new doctrine is this for with authority 30:17 he commands even the" what "The unclean spirits 30:21 and they obeyed him.'" 30:25 So what are the spirits? Demons. 30:29 So you are saying, pastor, that you are saying that Jesus 30:31 preached the gospel to demons? 30:37 No because the word preached 30:38 is not necessarily mean preach the Gospel. 30:41 We gonna come to that a little bit later on. 30:44 Now, it speaks here about the spirits in prison. 30:48 Now in the New Testament who are the spirits 30:51 that are uniformly spoken of as been in prison? 30:55 Fallen angels. Let's read some verses. 30:59 Let's start with the leader of all of the evil spirits. 31:02 Who is that? The devil. 31:05 Notice Revelation 20:1,3 Revelation 20:1,3. 31:10 "Then I saw an angel come down from heaven, 31:12 having the key of the bottomless pit" 31:14 actually it's to the abyss. And a great what? 31:18 "Chain in his hand." 31:21 Verse 3, "And it cast him that is the devil 31:23 into the bottomless pit" or the abyss, 31:25 and what did he do? 31:27 "He shut him up, and set a seal on him, 31:30 so that he should deceive the nations 31:31 no more till the thousand years were finished 31:34 but after these things he must be released for a little while." 31:37 And by the way in verse 7 if you want to read verse 7 31:40 I will do it. 31:41 It says, that at the end of the thousand years, 31:44 Satan who was chained will be released from his prison, 31:51 Spirits in prison. Spirits are demons 31:56 and they are spoken up at least the little to this point, 31:59 is spoken off as been where? In prison. 32:04 Now let's go to a couple of other verses Jude 6. 32:08 Jude 6, speaking about the evil angels it says 32:14 "And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, 32:19 but left their own abode, He has reserved in" what? 32:26 "Everlasting chains under darkness 32:32 for the judgment of the great day." 32:34 Who are the once who are in everlasting chains? 32:38 The wicked angels. 32:40 Notice 2 Peter 2:4. 2 Peter 2:4, 32:44 "For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, 32:48 but cast them down to hell 32:52 and delivered them into chains of darkness, 32:57 to be reserved for judgment." So let me ask you, 33:01 who are the spirits that are in prison or the spirits 33:05 that are chained? They are fallen angels. 33:09 So here it's saying that Jesus proclaimed 33:13 something to the evil spirits or to the fallen angels 33:20 when he, what? When He resurrected. 33:28 Because He was put to death in the flesh, 33:31 He was resurrected in the spirit and in that state He went 33:37 and He preached to the spirits in prison. 33:41 If God had wonder saying that he preached 33:42 to the spirits in prison after He died. 33:45 It would have said, He was put to death in the flesh. 33:49 He went and preached to the spirits in prison 33:52 and then He was made alive by the spirit. 33:56 But the antecedent shows 33:59 that He was put to death in the flesh, 34:01 He resurrected in the spirit and in this state 34:04 He went and He proclaimed something 34:07 to Satan and his angels. 34:11 The question is what did He proclaimed 34:14 to Satan and his angels? 34:17 Let's go to 1 Peter 3:22. 34:22 When Jesus goes to heaven, 34:24 when Jesus ascends to heaven, when He resurrects. 34:30 There are powers that are made what? 34:35 Subject to Him. Notice, "Who has gone into heaven" 34:39 So he didn't go down he went what? 34:42 Up. "Who has gone into heaven 34:46 and is at the right hand of God," 34:49 and now notice "Angels, and authorities 34:53 and powers having been made" what" "Subject to him." 34:57 Let me ask you who are those angels authorities and powers? 35:01 There are other texts in the New Testament 35:03 that indicate that these are evil angel 35:06 authorities and powers. 35:08 You say, where is that? Go to Matthew 12:28-29. 35:13 Are you starting to get the picture here? 35:15 Matthew 12:28-29. Here Jesus says, 35:21 "But if I cast out demons by the spirit of God 35:25 surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. 35:28 'Or how can one enter a strong mans house 35:33 and plunder his goods?" 35:34 Who is the strong man here? The devil. 35:39 "Unless he first" what? "Binds the strong man 35:43 and then he will" what? "He will plunder his house." 35:50 By the way at the cross of Calvary did Jesus 35:54 ransack the house of the enemy? 35:58 Did Jesus take all the dominion 36:00 and ruler ship of the world legally. 36:03 Was the devil cast out of heaven as the prince of this world 36:07 and the representative of this world? 36:09 Yes, he was exiled. 36:14 Notice what we find in John 12: 30-31. 36:18 John 12: 30-31. Here Jesus says, 36:23 "Now is the judgment of this world" 36:26 this is shortly before his death. 36:28 "Now the ruler of this world will be" what? 36:34 "Cast out." 36:36 Let me ask you, could the devil go to heaven 36:37 representing this world before the cross. 36:40 Sure he could. Read the Book of Job. 36:42 Read 2 chronicles 18: 18-22. 36:48 It says that whenever there was a heavenly council in heaven 36:51 Satan went representing planet earth 36:53 because he had taken away the throne from Adam. 36:56 But when Jesus over came the devil on the cross Satan 37:00 was cast out as the ruler of this world 37:03 and now Jesus represents planet earth. 37:06 The devil has been exiled and he is bound to this planet, 37:10 to planet earth as a result of what Jesus has done. 37:15 That's why Jesus says, 37:16 I saw Satan fall like lighting from heaven. 37:21 I love that. I mean how fast is lightening. 37:26 I mean this was fast fall real all the way down. 37:32 But the struggle was great. Wasn't it? 37:38 The Bible calls this the hour of the powers of darkness 37:42 when Jesus went through His trails in Gethsemane 37:45 and on the cross. 37:47 We can hear Jesus saying my Father, 37:49 if this cup can pass from me, let it be so, 37:54 nevertheless not my will be done but yours. 37:58 Ellen white says, that the destiny of the world 38:00 hung as a by a thread. 38:04 She says that Jesus was tempted to throwing the towel 38:08 and go back to heaven and allow the human race to parish. 38:12 In that case Satan would have been 38:13 the ruler of this world indefinitely. 38:18 She says that the devil tortured Jesus with temptations to try 38:22 and get Him to fall. 38:25 We can hear the agony in the voice of Jesus when he said 38:28 "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me? 38:32 We can hear the agony when Jesus said it is finished. 38:37 We can hear the agony when Jesus says, 38:39 Father into your hands I come into my spirit. 38:45 When Jesus died on Friday and said it is finished, 38:49 the devil knew that his kingdom was finished. 38:54 And when Jesus resurrected, Jesus came out of the grave 38:57 and he proclaimed his victory over the evil spirits. 39:02 Allow me to read you here a passage that we find 39:06 in The Desire of Ages, page 780. 39:09 Desire of Ages, 780 on the resurrection of Jesus. 39:14 Ellen White says this, "Hosts of evil angels 39:18 were gathered about the place." That is the tomb of Jesus. 39:23 Then she describes these are not her words but mine. 39:27 I am just shortening her statements. 39:29 Then she describes how Gabriel 39:31 descends to the tomb in these words. 39:35 "The earth trembles at his approach, 39:39 the hosts of darkness flee, and as he rolls away the stone, 39:46 heaven seems to come down to the earth. 39:49 The soldiers see him removing the stone as he would a pebble, 39:54 and hear him cry, Son of God, come forth, 39:57 Thy Father calls Thee. 40:00 They see Jesus come forth from the grave, 40:04 and hear Him proclaim over the rent sepulcher, 40:09 'I am the resurrection, and the life.'" 40:14 What is Jesus proclaiming when he comes up 40:16 from the tomb and when he ascends to heaven? 40:18 He is proclaiming his victory over the spirits in prison? 40:22 Over the devil and over his angels. 40:26 You say now pastor, 40:27 you are that to follow these principalities 40:29 and powers in angles that are spoken off there 40:31 in 1 Peter 3 is referring to evil powers? 40:35 Absolutely. Let's read some verses. 40:38 Go with me to Colossians 2:14,15. 40:42 Colossians chapter 2:14, 15. 40:47 And you are going to notice immediately similar terminology 40:50 to what we read in 1 Peter 3. 40:52 "And you, being dead in your trespasses 40:58 and the uncircumcision of your flesh, 41:03 He has made what alive together with Him." 41:07 Is that the same terminology we notice in 1 Peter 3? 41:10 Put to death in the flesh, that made alive by, what? 41:15 By the spirit. Here it says "You who dead in your trespasses 41:18 and the uncircumcision of your flesh, 41:20 He has made what alive together with Him 41:23 having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out 41:27 the handwriting of requirements that was against us, 41:29 which was contrary to us. 41:31 And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it" 41:34 to the what? "To the cross. 41:36 And now notice this. "Having" what" "Disarmed." 41:42 What did he do at the cross? 41:44 What does it mean to disarm? Their weapons are removed. 41:51 "Having disarmed" what? 41:53 "Principalities and powers, He made" a what? 41:59 "A public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it." 42:05 That is in the cross. 42:08 Did he make a public spectacle of them 42:10 when he came out and said, I am the resurrection, 42:12 and the life?" Yes, the evil spirits scattered. 42:18 The roman soldiers fell as if they were dead. 42:22 Notice Romans 8: 38,39. Chapter 8:38 and 39. 42:29 Once again speaking about principalities and powers. 42:33 Here the apostle Paul says 42:34 "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, 42:38 nor angels nor principalities nor powers," 42:43 and then later on in the verse he says can separate us 42:47 from the love of God 42:48 which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 42:49 Let me ask you, if these were good angels 42:51 and good principalities and good powers, 42:53 why would they want to separate us from the Lord? 42:58 Are you with me? Notice Ephesians 6:12, 43:02 time in again this comes through. 43:03 Ephesians 6:12 here the apostle Paul says 43:07 "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, 43:11 but against principalities, against powers, 43:15 against the rulers of the darkness of this age, 43:18 against spiritual hosts of wickedness" where? 43:22 "In the heavenly places." 43:23 What did Jesus do when He ascended to heaven? 43:27 He proclaimed His what? 43:29 He proclaimed His victory over Satan 43:32 and over his angels. 43:37 In other words he went down when He died 43:40 but when He resurrected he went up. 43:43 Notice Ephesians 4:8-10. 43:47 Ephesians 4:8-10. 43:51 "Therefore he says, 'When he ascended high, 43:56 He led captivity captive,'" by the way that's speaking 44:01 about those who resurrected with Jesus 44:04 you can read it in Matthew 27:51-53, 44:07 they were captives of the grave and what Jesus do, 44:10 Jesus ransacked the grave. Who had the keys before this? 44:15 The prince of evil. Now Jesus goes in he grabs the keys, 44:18 and he opens the graves. 44:22 And it says, "And he gave gifts to men." 44:24 "Now this 'He ascended' what does it mean 44:28 but that He also first" what? 44:30 "Descended into the lower parts of the earth?" 44:32 In other words He was buried. 44:34 "He who descended is also the one who" what? 44:37 "Who ascended far above all the heavens, 44:41 that he might fill all things." So it's summarized. 44:48 Jesus died, 44:52 He resurrected, He ascended. 44:57 And as He ascended he proclaimed his what? 45:01 He proclaimed his victory over Satan and his angels 45:05 and Satan was cast out of heaven 45:07 as a representative of this world and he was earth bound. 45:11 Now let's go to Ephesians 2:4-6. 45:16 Ephesians 2:4-6, this is another passage that is parallel 45:21 to first Peter chapter 3:18. 45:23 Notice "But God, who is rich in mercy, 45:29 because of His great love with which He loved us, 45:33 even when we were" what? Dead like Jesus right? 45:41 "Dead in trespasses and sins." 45:45 He was dead because of our sins. "Made us" what? 45:51 "Alive together with" whom? 45:56 "With Christ. By grace you have been saved." 46:00 And then what did he do? 46:01 He made us alive and what raised us up together 46:06 and made us what? 46:08 Sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. 46:14 Do we go with the same process that Jesus went through? 46:18 Died, resurrected, ascended 46:25 and sat at the right hand of God. 46:27 You say I am not at the right hand of God 46:29 I am in Fresno Central church. 46:32 But through Jesus we sit at the right hand of God. 46:37 We have died with Him, we have been buried with Him, 46:40 we have been resurrected with Him, 46:41 we have ascended with Him 46:42 and we are seen at the right hand of God with Him. 46:46 That's why the beautiful thing is we don't have to worry about 46:49 what God things of us. 46:51 We have to worry about what God thinks about 46:53 Jesus our substitute. 46:58 So in other words Peter is saying the experience 47:00 that Jesus went through is the same experience 47:03 that we go through in him. 47:06 Is he trying to encourage the people there? 47:09 He most certainly is. Let's read one other verse. 47:12 Romans 6:3, 5 on this specific point of sharing 47:17 in the experience of Jesus through Him. 47:20 It says in Romans 6:3, "Or do you not know 47:24 that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus 47:28 were baptized into" what? "His death?" 47:32 When is that we benefit from everything of Jesus did? 47:34 When we are what? When we are baptized. 47:37 See when we are baptized- this is the wonderful thing. 47:40 When we are baptized we die, we are buried in the water, 47:45 we come out of the water we resurrect the notice of life 47:49 and then Jesus says, this is my beloved Son. 47:51 We sit with Jesus in heavenly places. 47:56 Verse 5 for if we have been untied together 48:01 in the likeness of his death, certainly we also shall be 48:05 in the likeness of His resurrection." 48:10 Now you notice one further thing in this passage, 48:14 it speaks about the flood in Noah's day 48:19 being a type or a symbol of the experience 48:23 that Jesus went through and the experience 48:27 that we go through when we are baptized. 48:30 Now let's take a look at that. 48:33 Jesus came to this world, 48:40 He suffered, 48:43 reproach He died- by the way He spoke about 48:47 His death as a baptism. 48:48 Can you be baptized with the baptism 48:51 that I will be baptized with? 48:52 Jesus asked his death was a baptism? 48:56 And then He came forth to newness of life victorious 49:01 over all of his oppressive 49:06 and He sat at right hand of God. 49:10 The flood is used as an illustration of this. 49:14 You see in the days of Noah, Noah was surely oppressed 49:18 by his enemies in that old sinful world. 49:23 But Peter is saying that Noah and his family entered the ark 49:27 and they went through the, what? 49:29 They went through the waters which symbolizes baptism. 49:34 And when they came out on the other side of the waters, 49:37 what happened to with all of their oppressive? 49:40 All of the oppressive have been buried. 49:42 All of their old life had been buried in the waters 49:44 and they came out to a new world. 49:50 That's the reason why the apostle Peter 49:52 is using this illustration of the flood. 49:54 He is saying that as Noah is oppressed 49:58 but he went into the ark, went through the waters 50:02 and came out the other side 50:03 with all of his oppressive being buried. 50:06 All of his whole life being buried 50:08 and coming out to a new world 50:09 that's what happened with Jesus. 50:11 1Jesus was also surely oppressive. 50:14 He was put to death in the flesh. 50:16 He experienced the baptism of death 50:19 but He also came up on the other side of death 50:22 having buried His whole life so to speak 50:27 left it in the tomb and came forth on the other side new. 50:34 And then Peter wants to apply it also to us. 50:39 The apostle Peter says, the experience that Noah 50:43 went through is an illustration of the experience 50:48 that Jesus went through and the experience 50:51 that Jesus went through is also an illustration 50:55 of what we go through when we die to sin, 51:01 when our sin is buried in the waters, 51:04 when we resurrect to newness of life after our old life 51:07 is been buried in the waters and when we ascend, 51:13 figuratively speaking and sit, where? 51:16 And sit at the right hand of God. 51:18 You see, the problem in Peter's day 51:20 is that the church was being slowly afflicted and oppressed. 51:23 I am gonna read it in a moment. 51:25 They were about to give up Christianity. 51:28 They were saying it's not worthy. 51:30 Too many trails, too many tribulations, 51:31 our enemies are after us, after us. 51:33 We are been afflicted, we are dying, 51:35 we been prosecuted. Jesus says don't worry. 51:39 You see, Jesus went through the same thing. 51:40 He gained the victory. 51:41 And if you are in Him it doesn't make any difference. 51:44 You can gain the victory as well. 51:46 Let's read this, 1 Peter 3:13-17, 51:52 here the apostle Peter explains why he is giving this passage. 51:56 Its not some theological passage, 51:58 the purpose is practical. 52:03 1 Peter 3:13, "And who is he that will harm you," 52:09 see that we are been harmed, 52:11 "if you become followers of what is good? 52:15 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, 52:19 you are blessed." Was Jesus blessed? Yes. 52:25 And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled," 52:29 That's what Noah went through. 52:31 That's what Jesus went through. 52:33 So don't worry about it. It happened before. 52:35 Don't they've done that? 52:38 "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, 52:41 and always be ready to give defense to everyone 52:43 who asked you a reason of the hope that is in you, 52:47 with meekness and fear, having a good conscience, 52:51 that when they defame you as evildoers, 52:55 those who revile your good conduct in Christ 52:59 may be ashamed." 53:01 It what happened with the devil and his angels? 53:03 Oh yes. "For it is better, if it is the will of God, 53:08 to suffer for doing good than for doing evil." 53:13 Let's read one more passage before we close. 53:15 First Peter 4:12,13. 53:17 Here Peter expresses 53:19 the practical purpose for his theology. 53:21 First Peter 4:12,13. 53:27 "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning 53:33 the fiery trial which is to try you, 53:37 as though some strange thing happened unto you," 53:41 let us don't think that your trails 53:42 and tribulations are really some wired strange thing 53:46 that has never happened before. 53:50 "But rejoice 53:54 to the extent that you" what? 53:59 There is a key word. 54:00 "That you partaker of Christ's sufferings," 54:07 is that the power where he is oppressed 54:08 and he has put to death in the flesh? Yes. 54:12 "You are partake of Christ sufferings," 54:16 now notice this the promise, 54:17 "that when His glory is revealed," when is that? 54:23 When Jesus comes. "You may also be" what? 54:29 "Glad with exceeding joy." 54:35 Is this a magnificent passage? 54:38 It has been totally misinterpreted by Christians 54:43 to give the idea that Jesus went down to hell 54:46 and He preached to all of these disincarnated spirits, 54:49 who sinned at the time of the flood. 54:51 He preached the gospel to them giving them 54:53 a second chance to be saved. 54:55 Where is that in of this passage? 54:59 No where. It's an assumption. 55:03 It's injecting into the text what is not in the text. 55:08 And it's done with a thief on the cross, 55:10 its done with the Witch of Endor, 55:12 its done with absent from the body 55:14 and present with the Lord, 55:15 its done with apostle desired to report 55:18 and be with the Lord. It's done with the dead 55:22 who stand before God, 55:24 the souls that cry from under the alter, 55:26 which are passages that we are gonna study. 55:28 You see, if we study these passages carefully 55:32 we discover that they are not teaching 55:34 what people say they are teaching, 55:38 when you allow scripture to interpret scripture. 55:42 I like to bring this to a conclusion 55:44 by reading 2 Timothy 2:11,12. 55:46 Here the apostle Paul has the same sequence suffering victory. 55:52 There is no suffering there is no victory with out what? 55:57 Suffering. We must partake of the sufferings of Christ. 56:03 We must go through His experience. 56:04 Do we have the benefit of His example? 56:07 When we go through sufferings that Jesus when through 56:10 and He came out victoriously not a problem. 56:13 2 Timothy 2: 11,12. 56:17 "For if we died with Him, 56:22 we shall also live with Him." 56:26 Is that a beautiful for all of us? 56:29 If we endure, that is if we pacifier 56:35 in the mist of suffering we shall also reign with Him. 56:43 That's a marvelous promise, isn't it? 56:47 And the promises of God are given to us for us to claim Him. 56:53 So don't get discouraged when we suffer. 56:58 When you go though trails and tribulations just remember 57:00 that you are just partaking of what happened to Christ. 57:04 And if we suffer with Him, the Bible says 57:08 that we shall also rain with Him. 57:11 Are we looking forward to the day when Jesus comes 57:13 and we shall rain with Him? 57:15 And then we will ascend to heaven, 57:17 where all of the wicked powers scatter 57:21 and Jesus will proclaim His final victory 57:25 over the principalities and the powers. |
Revised 2014-12-17