Alive in the spiritual realm

Read 1 Peter 3:18-20

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Having died for our sins, Christ was “made alive” (18) i.e. “God raised him from the dead” (Acts 2:24; 1 Cor.15:3-4). He did that through the Holy Spirit (Rom.1:4) though here the Greek word pneumati should perhaps be read “in the spirit” (ESV). Jesus was put to death in the physical realm of the body but made alive in the spiritual realm.

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That may give us a clue to understanding v19-20. These difficult verses are sometimes taken to mean that between his death and resurrection Jesus preached to those who are dead, but if so why refer especially to the time of Noah? Peter calls Noah “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Pet.2:5) and he’s already said that Old Testament prophets spoke of salvation through “the Spirit of Christ in them” (1:10-11; cf. 1 Cor.10:4).

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So it fits well with the context of Peter’s theme in this section to see Noah as a particular example of suffering for the sake of righteousness. He too belonged to God’s people – always a minority group – and he too was called to be a bold witness to God’s judgement and salvation. Just as Christ spoke through Noah in the spiritual realm, so too he will speak through us as we point people to that coming day (2 Pet.3:11-13).