The Spirits in Prison

The 4th Presbyterian Church Washington, D.C., Sunday evening, April the 5th, 1987, this is a recording of the sermon by Dr. Norris entitled The Spirits in Prison. It's written for references for his Peter the 3rd chapter, verses 18 through 22. This is the 22nd in the series, stumbling box to stepping stones. Christ died for sins, once for all. The righteous for the unrighteous to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but was made alive by the Spirit through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ages ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it, only a few people ate in awe were saved through water and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also, not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience towards God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him. Amen. Let's pray. Lord, there comes those parts of your word that are mysterious and yet true. We pray that you would always teach us that we might learn of you and bless us in Jesus Christ our Lord. We pray. Amen. If there is one mysterious passage in Scripture, this is it. The souls departed and there is part of the preacher that would like to avoid passages like this because they are not easy to understand. And yet as we believe the Scripture to be gods, infelible and in errant word, we cannot avoid that which is given to us. And so we approach the passage, humbly seeking to understand what it means and what it teaches us about God and about ourselves. And as we approach it, we come to the place where we recognize that what Peter is doing here is showing us a central theme. Then we come to the place, thank you. Then we come to the place where the Lord has to go to Calvary and is crucified again to bring us to God and we've seen the purpose of suffering. And we've seen the purpose of suffering within the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now between the 19th verse and the 22nd, where you have at the beginning of the 19th verse that announcement that he has died in the flesh. And in the 22nd verse where you find that the Lord Jesus Christ is raised again and seated at the right end of God and brings some takes of mission from all others, there you have this mysterious passage of in the spirit, the Lord Jesus went and preached to souls and spirits departed who had died at the time of Noah. Now let me say that as we deal with this passage there are four problems and yet they perhaps are not such great problems. And first of them, what is the meaning of in the spirit? What is it that we're talking about in the Lord Jesus Christ as he went in the spirit? The second problem is who were the souls that were departed in the time of Noah? Then what did the Lord say to them? And then where were they? As we begin to understand those things we begin to see also the breadth of the work of our Lord Jesus Christ because this is not an accidental passage that is added here, it is to show us something of the significant work of the Savior. The Savior who went to the cross for those who were in sin yet on the earth and whose ministry extended to others who were yet in prison, souls in prison. What does it mean after the spirit? Well, it means this, that the Lord Jesus when he was in the flesh talked about his human fear of existence, it does not mean that may be very clear, it does not mean some dichotomy between body and soul, that was all later understanding and misunderstanding in the church that suggested that there was a body under soul and that the body dies but the soul disembodied leaves on in some sort of heavenly ethereal bliss so that you got souls floating around out there in some mysterious spirit, well not at all, that is Greek philosophical notion that came in as a later aberration in Christianity, no no, in the flesh means that Jesus was in the fear of his existence and the human and that in the spirit means that Jesus is in his heavenly existence. There was a time when Jesus lived on earth and that meant that he was in the flesh, there was a time when Jesus lived in heaven, there was never a time when he didn't live. He was God the Son in eternity, he existed before eternal ages and he returned to the Father. And here you have the mystery of the eternity of the Lord Jesus Christ, recognized again he, you left heaven's glory and returned the world in the spirit talks about his heavenly body, his heavenly existence and in the spirit means that the Lord following the time of his crucifixion and before the resurrection is in that body, in that spirit, in that heavenly existence that he was to return to the Father with as he had left the Father and in between the crucifixion and the resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ was not asleep, here is another mistake that some people have that the Lord went to sleep awaiting that resurrection, that is not the case, there are some people who teach the sleep of the soul, it's known as the heresy and you don't need to write this down, I don't even know if I could spell it, I'm not sure that I can pronounce it, psycho panic here, the sleep of the soul, the soul go to sleep until the day of resurrection and the Jesus was the first one to go to sleep and to lead them in sleep, after all, here our Lord Jesus Christ is ministering, he is preaching in the word as Karugai, he is giving an announcement of his ministry and he's preaching the souls departed, well no, who are these souls that are departed? Some people have suggested that here are people who have died before that at the time of Noah and they've rejected the preaching of Noah and here they are waiting for the Lord to preach to them again, I have a great problem with this, why isn't that these people should get a second chance, why they are nobody else, we're told get a second chance, some people have answered that question well everybody gets a second chance just like them, well that isn't the case, why is that well the word that is used here to talk about those departed souls isn't a word that is used of human spirits at all, if you read Genesis chapter 6 and verses 1 to 4 you find a word that is used only in reference to soup and natural beings, that is in Genesis 6 you have the Nephilim, those who are supernatural fallen angels coming to earth creating chaos, meeting and having children by women who lived at the time of Noah, under reference here, going back into the Jewish tradition is that which refers to those fallen angels who were banished at the time of Noah and banished to hell at the time of Noah and they are supernatural beings, they are not normal mortal souls, they are not the people that were condemned at the flood, they are not ordinary individuals who made choices to be saved, no no these are supernatural fallen beings that had children to disobey God, you find that same tradition, that same thought pattern emerging out of the Jewish understanding reflected in Jude verses 6 and 7 where again you have the same picture of prisoners after the flood placed there, these souls are not mortal individuals that rejected the message of the gospel, these are fallen angels to whom the Lord Jesus Christ went after the crucifixion and before the resurrection, no before I answer two other questions maybe you've never asked them let me add one little caveat here and that is some of you are thinking now is this what is meant by that phrase in the creed he descended into hell some have suggested that that is precisely what is referred to and that this is the experience of the Lord Jesus Christ descending to hell no it is not not in my own understanding it is not a reference here that historically was never why it was put there that is to experience the whole of the Lord being reduced in his own emotional state that's what the credal affirmation meant this has nothing to do with the those who made that credal affirmation that he descended to hell that belongs to another sermon to preach but it's enough to know that this is not a reference to the descent into hell that we speak about in the creeds this is part of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ after the crucifixion he pitches to the soul in hell where are they well I've answered that I've told you they are souls departed they are not floating around they are not disembodied spirit inhabiting our universe here's another tradition that some people have they connected with the mysteries of Ouija boards and all this sort of metaphysical nonsense in great part that's not the case these are in hell these are separated from the presence and from the love of God these have made choices in disobedience they've tried to deface and deform and destroy the creation and God has separated them fallen angels for all eternity from his presence well then what did our Lord do what did he say what was his word some have said oh well the Lord went and he preached the gospel that's not the word that's used here the word for gospel is Evangelion that's the Greek word you all know it well the word for Evangel the word that is used here is Kerosene or Karigman and it is the announcement of the triumph of the Savior over evil let me paint you the picture all the souls in hell have been watching a combat take place in human terms where the raging powers of hell have gathered against the Lord Jesus Christ as he walked upon this earth and they have seen him compelled to go to the cross the son of God slaughtered and murdered and it is as though hell triumphs for in that second they see God suffer and in his anguish they see him die for the creation that he has made and given himself for and loved and they see the precious son of heaven broken on Calvary and hell triumphs and then the Lord Jesus goes to hell and it is not the good news of the gospel the Evangelion that he announces but for those it is the bad news of the triumph of the grace of God and his word is a word of proclamation that God by his purpose and his victory has accomplished the salvation for the people that he made but all the purposes of hell all the cruel evil of Satan is laid or rest here for he announces not only his death but his coming resurrection and that is why in the 22nd verse you see the progress through hell's announcement and the receiving of the announcement of the Savior to the glorious fact of the resurrection that enables the Savior thus to return to the courts of heaven unto the praise of his Father it was bad news for the angels for it sealed the fate of their own choices what does all this mean to me what does it mean to you and how do we apply all this it all very well suddenly it has said well at last we can have some insight and see what this means but how does it touch us well the first thing that it tells us is that the mistaken notion that many of us have and treasure and preserve that we have choices beyond the grave has no foundation at all in God's word so many people treasure this thought that if we have not made a decision now well beyond the grave is a place of decision and men and women who call themselves evangelicals have taught that I remember standing in a study when I was a student will a pastor in Stanford in England a very well-known and famous evangelical pastor who argued this that if God loves more than I do and I love enough for nobody to want to go to hell then he doesn't want them to go there either and he has greater power than I do so he won't let them go there and therefore this passage must mean that there is a second chance for those who have tested hell seen the reality of what was preached on earth and responded to escape that reality to find an eternal bliss and you know there is something about that that engages us we would like that to be the case we would want that to be a part of our preaching and our teaching it would be glorious if that were the case the great second chance offered to every man and every woman and a second chance that is built upon the fact that they have tasted the worst option and therefore nobody is going to want to choose that and so that everybody will choose the best option and everybody will be saved it's a subtle form of our wanting to see that happen and there's a part of us that human compassion that desire to see all come from the knowledge of the Savior and of the truth see there is a second chance and we put off decisions and we put off the cutting edge of the gospel and the place where we confront men and women with this most important decisions we put it off and we put it off and we take refuge here there is no refuge here there is no second chance this passage offers not that hope it robs us of the excuse that says well if we didn't make the choice now we can make it then that isn't true this passage tells us quite the opposite that the Lord Jesus Christ speaks to us with the message of the Evangel and of the good news while we hear it but one day the message of the Evangel becomes the announcement of the triumph of God's grace on Calvary and at that time the doors that were opened by which we may enter the kingdom are closed now is the place of choice there are some churches that believe that this also is the basis of a doctrine of so-called purgatory not hell but a place between heaven and hell where souls may go and wait and by different manner and different means they may wait upon God's goodness so that their fate may be determined again by their second choice this is no basis for the doctrine of purgatory of a second state and intermediate place it brings you and me with the fast point of the confrontation of who is this savior what has he done what does the resurrection mean there is no avoidance of it and there is no deferring of the decision it is a place now that we have to deal with the reality of the gospel that's the first application that we hear as we read this passage oh there is that mysterious continuance in those verses where we find that we are cleansed as in baptism what does it mean it's simply the process of our own dedication to the Lord here but baptism is not used in a technical sense at all it is simply talking about the cleansing not of the body but the dedication of the soul and of the spirit before God having been cleansed by Jesus Christ made a love alive by the blood of Calvary Calvary given a fresh hope by the resurrection now we may enter as people who are cleansed and it is a baptism into him our hope lies not in anything other than the resurrection of Jesus our salvation is to be found in this continuous action of God on Calvary dying in our place in Jesus Christ and raised again for our justification here then is the hope but there is a second application of this message a second application of the great suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ and it is this it teaches you and me about the nature and the place of suffering within our experience what does it mean here in the 18th verse all the way through to the 22nd you have that passage dealing with the nature of the suffering under death of the saviour and it teaches us certain truths about the reality of suffering both for God and for us it shows us that all suffering is a product of sin what do I mean be very careful do not leave the sanctuary and say well because I am suffering it is because I have made one sin there are those people who imagine that every act of suffering that we experience is the direct product and fall of a particular sin that we have committed that is not what I'm saying I am saying that as in Adam all men sinned as in Jesus Christ all many have been made alive what we are talking about is that the experience of suffering in this world is the product of fallenness and brokenness and sin and it doesn't mean that we have committed a particular sin we live amidst the society that is fallen and part of the mark of our fallenness is the reality sin touched us and we suffer not even for the necessary sins that we commit for God only knows we are sinners but sin in all its ugliness in all its awfulness and in all the reality of its power is brought before our eyes and as we begin to suffer as the Lord suffered there on Calvary we see that suffering is a consequence of the sin that entered into the world it is not natural it was not part of the created order it was not God's purpose for your life and for mine in the beginning we were created without that suffering points the reality of sin and the place that you and I want to emerge to where we run from that suffering into the arms of the Savior are you see let me jump ahead of myself you see that the Savior returns to glory and there everything is placed in subjection to him angels and powers and in glory there is no more suffering that passage in revelation tells us and every tear will be wiped from our eye and we will suffer no more this is what the Lord has done there is a place where he is victorious even over the suffering that contaminates our world and invades our human experience all suffering comes out of the sinful brokenness of our world are but the suffering of our world is different too for the reality is that the scripture teaches us that there are times when we suffer for our sins and that specific sins carry with them suffering not in every case and because you are ill and because you suffer and because you are mortal does not mean that you have specific sins to repent of but there are times when God brings to you and to me in the affliction of our own suffering the reality of specific sins and he uses suffering to remind us that we need to return to him not in every case please do not go away believing that because you have a particular ailment and a sin a particular ailment and a particular suffering that you have a particular sin to be healed of but there are times when it is true you'll remember in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 that there were those who took no consequence about taking the Lord's suffer and ignoring the fact that it belonged to God and they had no time to see that this was a sacred mystery and what happened to them they fell asleep God killed them because they did not discern the body of Christ you can't escape it I wish it were not there but the reality my friends that in some cases we suffer because of some of our sins the Lord uses it to remind us to punish us that we might be restored I wish that were not the teaching but it is and we cannot avoid it not all are suffering as I say is that but that is a part of the mystery of it the Lord uses suffering to call us to repentance so that we might not only be punished but that is an element but that we might be restored again you'd think of Ananias and Sophia or what happened to them as they had lied about God they fell down dead that's punishment from God there is part of suffering that is that there is another part that brings restoration we're suffering is given to us that we might see how much we need him and fly into the arms of the Lord that we might find in him our strength our hope and our life that in the suffering that we experience we are grown back into the presence of his love and into his majesty and we experience the care of forgiveness the healing and the binding up of our wounds and in our suffering we find that restoring love of God sufficient for us there is another dimension yet to suffering for the Lord uses it to produce in us sanctification that is that as we learn to suffer so we learn to grow so we find our characters leapend and strengthened so we find our love made trueer and whole as you read Romans chapter 5 and verses 4 through 9 you see there the part of the process by which we grow in Christ is that our suffering causes us to develop and the Lord uses that which is not part of his purpose he uses the evil that is suffering and suffering is always evil but he uses it to bring out of evil good he uses it so that we will turn back to him and find him our refuge and our strength and he takes out of the evil of the fallenness of sin and of this world and he makes it to be used in his own pure purpose for us to grow and to deepen and to be blessed oh why does God allow suffering he brings it partly in judgment and partly in healing to make us his own well there is a third application that we recognize here in this scripture as we deal with the master returning gain and it's this we see him returning to the father's throne and we see all things brought beneath his feet and we see his majesty and his dignity and his glory established and we see his power eternal and we gas with all and with wonder for we see the king of kings triumphant we see the Lord Jesus before whom every knee bows at whose word and behest every angel and power and principality is subject and we see in the conquering master the one who is able to take all that we offer to him the one who is able to take our needs and our fears our sin and our weakness and to must of them and we can commit our ways to him confident that he is able here then is what this passage means it is not a mystery but it is a call again to see the greatness of our Christ it is to see him in his pre-existent form ministering holding hell captive and returning with his glory to the father it is to see him raised up Lord of all things and to force us to the place where we to make our decisions as to what to do with his Lord and as we make those decisions the rest in the reality of his power and to live in the strength of that power amidst all the suffering of our mortal bodies knowing that he is able here is the reigning power of the triumphant Christ of a suffering and sin over death and over hell and he causes us that we might worship let's pray our Heavenly Father as we fall before you we are here that word of announcement that Jesus is Lord Lord over heaven and earth and hell itself Lord over all things we bow gracious Father and would worship as in the name of Jesus we come as by His grace we have been born in you as by His power we stand leaders leaders quiet in submissively into your presence and cause us to worship now in Jesus Christ our Lord come in