1 Peter 3:18

Context

1 Peter is a letter sent in the name of Peter to Christians scattered throughout various regions of Asia Minor (1 Peter 1:1). The immediately preceding passage, 3:13–17, teaches that it is better to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. Verse 18 opens with the words "For Christ also" and grounds this teaching in the sufferings of Christ. The following verses, 19–20, speak of preaching "unto the spirits in prison," and verse 21 connects the flood of Noah with baptism.

Interpretation

• A substitutionary reading: The phrase "the just for the unjust" is read to mean that the sinless Christ died in the place of sinners. Substitution here means paying the price on behalf of another. The Reformed and evangelical traditions frequently cite this verse when explaining the doctrine of the atonement.
• The emphasis on "once": The word "once" is read as referring to a single, unrepeatable death. Protestants cite it, along with the similar emphasis in Hebrews, as grounds for holding that Christ's sacrifice need not be offered again.
• "Flesh" and "Spirit": There are two views on the meaning of "spirit" in the phrase "in the flesh … by the Spirit." One view takes it as the Holy Spirit and reads the phrase as "quickened by the Holy Spirit." The other holds that the expression contrasts two spheres of Christ's existence: his weak earthly life and his new life after the resurrection. Whichever view they adopt, mainstream churches understand "quickened" as referring to the resurrection.

Controversies and Issues

• The nature of the resurrection: Jehovah's Witnesses teach on the basis of this verse that Jesus was raised not in a body but as a spirit being. Most Protestant denominations and the Catholic Church affirm a bodily resurrection, citing passages such as Luke 24:39 and John 20:27. They counter that "spirit" in this verse refers not to a bodiless state but to the sphere to which resurrection life belongs.
• Relationship to the spirits in prison: Because this verse leads into verse 19, it has been read in connection with the doctrine of the descent into hell, according to which Christ descended into Hades (the realm of the dead) between his death and resurrection. Interpretations vary as to when this preaching took place and to whom it was addressed. The translation of the Apostles' Creed widely used in Korean Protestantism does not contain a clause corresponding to this teaching.
• Manuscripts and translation: In some manuscripts, the verb rendered "died" reads instead "suffered." For this reason, some English Bibles translate it as "suffered."

Related Passages

• 1 Peter 2:24
• 2 Corinthians 5:21
• Romans 5:6-10
• Hebrews 9:28
• 1 Peter 3:21