NOAH'S ARK AND THE GOSPEL (16 OF 20)
by Richard Laue
Scripture: I PETER 3:18-22
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Noah's Ark and the Gospel (16 of 20)
Richard Laue
I Peter 3:18-22
"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit."
There is no more difficult passage in the New Testament to preach than this one. Many preachers ignore it or say, "It can't be fully understood," but we must look at this passage and attempt to find the theme.
Verse 18 is a dead give away. That verse is a definite statement of the Gospel.
1. "For Christ also suffered once for sins."
2. "The just for the unjust"
3. "That He might bring us to God."
4. "Being put to death in the flesh."
5. "But made alive by the Spirit."
So this is the Gospel revealed and preached in the Old Testament.
Verse 19 ... "By Whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison."
This verse has troubled preachers and scholars for generations. We will settle it today once and for all and forever.
I. VIEWS AS TO WHO THESE "SPIRITS IN PRISON" MIGHT BE. (Verse 19) (Five views)
1. There are those who teach, and this is a common view that Christ after His death went to "Hades," the abode of the unsaved dead, and preached the Gospel to them and gave them another chance. (But nowhere does the Word of God teach you get another chance, once you die unsaved.) The rich man (Luke 16:19-31) didn't get another chance, and Lazarus didn't need another chance. When you hear the Gospel, you better believe it.
2. The "spirits in prison" others teach were the mongrel offspring of a union between fallen angels and women (Genesis 6:1-2).
To hold this view we must accept the idea that fallen angels were actually able to live in the marriage relationship with human women and produce offspring.
There is no evidence historically, Scripturally, sexually, nor biologically that angels of any kind can cohabitate with human beings and reproduce.
3. "The spirits in prison," some believe were wicked ange ...
Richard Laue
I Peter 3:18-22
"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit."
There is no more difficult passage in the New Testament to preach than this one. Many preachers ignore it or say, "It can't be fully understood," but we must look at this passage and attempt to find the theme.
Verse 18 is a dead give away. That verse is a definite statement of the Gospel.
1. "For Christ also suffered once for sins."
2. "The just for the unjust"
3. "That He might bring us to God."
4. "Being put to death in the flesh."
5. "But made alive by the Spirit."
So this is the Gospel revealed and preached in the Old Testament.
Verse 19 ... "By Whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison."
This verse has troubled preachers and scholars for generations. We will settle it today once and for all and forever.
I. VIEWS AS TO WHO THESE "SPIRITS IN PRISON" MIGHT BE. (Verse 19) (Five views)
1. There are those who teach, and this is a common view that Christ after His death went to "Hades," the abode of the unsaved dead, and preached the Gospel to them and gave them another chance. (But nowhere does the Word of God teach you get another chance, once you die unsaved.) The rich man (Luke 16:19-31) didn't get another chance, and Lazarus didn't need another chance. When you hear the Gospel, you better believe it.
2. The "spirits in prison" others teach were the mongrel offspring of a union between fallen angels and women (Genesis 6:1-2).
To hold this view we must accept the idea that fallen angels were actually able to live in the marriage relationship with human women and produce offspring.
There is no evidence historically, Scripturally, sexually, nor biologically that angels of any kind can cohabitate with human beings and reproduce.
3. "The spirits in prison," some believe were wicked ange ...
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