1 Peter 3:18 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, 19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
For the explication of this we may notice,
(1.) The preacher—Christ Jesus, who has interested Himself in the affairs of the church and of the world ever since He was first promised to Adam, Gen. 3:15. He went, not by a local motion, but by special operation, as God is frequently said to move, Gen. 11:5; Hos. 5:15; Mic. 1:3. He went and preached, by His Spirit striving with them, and inspiring and enabling Enoch and Noah to plead with them, and preach righteousness to them, as 2 Pt. 2:5.
(2.) The hearers. Because they were dead and disembodied when the apostle speaks of them, therefore he properly calls them spirits now in prison; not that they were in prison when Christ preached to them, as the vulgar Latin translation and the popish expositors pretend.
[Matthew Henry’s commentary on 1 Peter 3:18-20]
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There are several interpretations of who these "spirits in prison" might be:
- **Fallen Angels:** Some scholars believe that the "spirits in prison" refer to fallen angels who sinned before the flood of Noah's time. This interpretation is supported by other passages in the Bible, such as Jude 1:6 and 2 Peter 2:4, which mention angels who sinned and are now kept in chains until the day of judgment.
- **Humans of Noah's Time:** Another interpretation is that the "spirits in prison" are the human spirits of those who lived during Noah's time and were disobedient to God. This view suggests that after His resurrection, Jesus proclaimed His victory over sin and death to these spirits.
- **Symbolic Representation:** Some theologians see the "spirits in prison" as a symbolic representation of all the dead who did not have the opportunity to hear the Gospel before Jesus's resurrection. In this view, Jesus's proclamation to them is seen as an offer of salvation.
The passage is complex and has been the subject of much debate over the centuries. Each interpretation has its own set of supporting arguments, and the true meaning might encompass aspects of all these views.
[Per AI (Ms Copilot)]