Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 

1 Peter 3:13-17

In the previous section, Peter told us what it looks like to love one another in the form of a lesson or instruction, and he continues the theme here asking who would want to harm you if you are doing good?  He continues with transition, into an implied question of “What if they harm me anyway?”  Peter’s answer to that unwritten question is that you will be blessed in spite of everything. The result of course, is that even if we suffer for doing the right thing, as sometimes happens in this life, we will be blessed.

In telling us not to fear their threats (or the things that others fear) Peter is quoting from Isaiah 8:12, and if you think about it, this is a very apt quote, for we who will live even though we die, and to whom blessings are assured, need not fear what the world can do to us for doing right. It may seem odd what Peter says next: always be ready to tell people, who ask, why you have this hope in Christ, and do it with gentleness and respect…

It may be that Peter is thinking that the way we react to problems will serve as a catalyst for such questions; after all, shouldn’t we be afraid?  Everyone else would be− that makes “evangelism” look quite different from handing out leaflets and knocking on doors. Those who slander you may become ashamed and… who knows? They might come to see things quite differently than before.

In any event, if God wills it, it is better to suffer for good than to suffer for wrong… so always do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.

Now, when you view this in its fuller context of 3:8-17, the whole thing becomes clear:  Love one another, live your life in the love of Christ so that the world may see His love through you.  If the world should react badly, you have nothing to fear because of what you have in Christ… and it might even give you a better chance to share.  In any event, living our lives as Christ would live is better than doing wrong.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, 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 clear conscience toward 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.

1 Peter 3:18-22

As the chapter concludes, Peter continues his discussion of opportunity and suffering, with the ultimate example of Jesus.  Jesus suffered greatly that we might be saved from sin and death, and He did this while deserving none of the suffering, but accepted it anyway for the opportunity to redeem humanity.  As a result, He was killed in the body, but made alive again in the Spirit. This is a familiar story for a Christian I hope…

I really try to avoid complicating these lessons with discussions of various translations and Greek… but to understand verse 19, I can’t see a way to avoid it.

The NIV goes on to say: After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— In the NIV, there is a footnote after the words “…made alive…” that I have edited out (but probably shouldn’t have) that reads, “Or but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which also.”  

The more literal translation of the NASB says, in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison.  Looking at the Greek, I found the words, ᾧ καὶ (hos  kai) which mean “in which also”

Thus, I conclude that what Peter is telling us is that Jesus died in the body and was made alive again in the Spirit, in which also (in the Spirit) he preached to those who are now dead, but who were disobedient in Noah’s day.  The introduction of Noah’s day is important in Peter’s overall point as we will see in a minute.  Sorry for this little excursion, but this is a verse that is often misunderstood, as some do teach that Jesus died and went to Hell to redeem the lost there, and while that might be a nice thought, it isn’t the point Peter is making here.

Jesus, in the Spirit, or as the Spirit, preached repentance to those who were acting in rebellion against God while Noah was building his ark, as God was about to judge the earth and wanted to save as many as possible from His judgment, but in the end, only eight would follow God and they were saved through the waters of the flood (being in the ark). The waters of the flood now symbolize baptism, which saves us also, not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ… You will surely recall that Paul makes similar comparisons between our “death” in baptism, and our being raised out of the water to a new life.

As a result of what Jesus did, He now sits in majesty in heaven… and in due course we, as His co-heirs will join Him.  This is the ultimate opportunity for suffering, should God will it for us, to become a testimony of our faith in Him, that others who see this will come to belief and repentance.  Therefore, should suffering come your way, take heart, for God is working through you, and you will receive the prize for which we all strive.