ARTICLE III. PROBATION AFTER DEATH; OR, "THE SPIRITS IN PRISON." AN EXAMINATION OF 1 PETER III, 18-20. BY C. F. MUSSEY, D. D. I PETER III, 18-20: "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit; by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah while the ark was a-preparing, wherein few, that is eight souls, were saved by water." THIS passage has been a source of much perplexity to students of the Bible. When one carefully studies the language in which it is expressed, in connection with the general tenor of Scripture concerning doctrines which it appears to contradict, one does not wonder at the confession of difficulties which ablest interpreters make. It may be that the passage is one which will never be so explained as to satisfy the minds of all good men until they see the light of new revelation in the presence of God in 'the future life. Believers in a probation for men after death appeal to this passage as decisive. It certainly is 'their stronghold. If this does not prove a probation after death-or if probation be an unacceptable word-if it does not prove that opportunity will be given to any or to all who have died impenitent, to accept salvation by Jesus Christ and be saved in a future life, then no single passage of Scripture does prove it, and we think no combination of passages proves it. As this is a time when, in some quarters foundations are disturbed and old faiths are doubted, and new faiths are smiled upon and complacently requested to be seated in the waiting-rooms of men's minds, it is well for us to ask, What does this portion of Scripture teach, or what interpretation should be placed upon its language? Before examining the passage we should fix in mind certain principles, in accordance with which we should interpret all Scripture. These are, in brief: 1. To ascertain, as clearly as possible, the meaning of the language in the passage to be explained. 2. To see what light the immediate context throws upon the passage. 3. We must compare the passage with the general drift of the inspired author, or with that of the whole Bible, concerning the points involved, bearing in mind that there is a divine inspiration running like a chain through the Scriptures, connecting all parts near or remote, in time or in subject, in a unity which makes all individual authors and books, and even seemingly isolated passages, tributary to the will and purpose of God, and renders it impossible that his book should contradict itself. There are three questions around which controversy concerning this passage has turned; they are these: What was the Spirit by or in which Christ went and preached to the spirits in prison ? What was the nature of his mission? When was this mission fulfilled? Nearly all commentators agree that the spirits in prison were the spirits of dead men, who, at the time of Christ's death, were confined in a place of punishment, or in custody awaiting punishment. There is one notable exception to this view-John Calvin.* As he stands virtually, if not absolutely alone, and his view is not essential to the main *The view of Calvin is substantially this: The spirits are the spirits of the good of Noah's time; the prison, øvλakŋ, is not a place in which they are in custody, but is a place which they keep-a place of watching and waiting for Christ, and the blessings which he shall bring, etc. The text did not make a shadow of belief, in his mind, of probation after death. point in the discussion, we need not now consider it, but will turn to our investigation. 1. What was the spirit by or in which Christ went and preached to the spirits in prison? Our text says that Christ was "put to death in the flesh," but "quickened in the Spirit." We shall use the preposition "in" instead of "by" henceforth in this article, as better suiting the demands of the Greek in speaking of the flesh and the spirit. Here is an apparent antithesis; the flesh and the Spirit are opposed to each other. If we know what the flesh means, that may help to determine the meaning of Spirit. In speaking of Christ the writers of the New Testamentparticularly Paul-use the word flesh to denote his human nature. Thus in Romans i, 3, 4, Christ is said to have been made of the seed of Abraham according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, by the resurrection from the dead. There is no doubt that the word flesh here means his human nature; as to one nature he is a son of Abraham, a Jew, a man; as to his other nature he is divine, the Son of God. So the apostle speaking, as we think, of the human and divine natures in the Christian, calls them "the flesh and the spirit.' Galatians v, 17: "The flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh." The two natures did not exist in Christ in the same antagonism, but in equally marked distinction. The writers of the New Testament do not say, when speaking of a man's dying, he died "according to the flesh," but simply that he died. Of Christ they say, He came of the seed of Abraham, according to the flesh, and that he is "over all God." Being put to death in the flesh, signifies, then, that he died as a man. The phase "quickened in the spirit" means made alive again, raised from the dead in his divine nature. The word translated quickened means made alive, not kept alive; the the verb woлorέw, of which this word is a variation, occurs only twelve times in the New Testament, and always means to quicken, to make alive. the divine power within him, in accordance with that passage which says: "As the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself." (John v, 26.) The meaning of flesh having been determined, the signification of its antithesis, spirit, becomes evident. It was not his spirit as a man by which he was quickened; it was not the Holy Spirit, the third person of the holy Trinity; but it was by the divine Spirit within him, which was a part of his twofold nature. He died as a man, he arose because he was God. He was put to death in his human nature, he was made alive again, quickened, by the power of his Godhead by the Spirit. In this Spirit he preached to the spirits in prison. In his divine Spirit, then, Christ was then made alive by he preached to them. 2. What was the nature of Christ's mission to these spirits in prison? Some think that he preached to the ancient believers— the patriarchs-who were looking for his coming. Some think he went to proclaim his triumph over the powers of hell; that at the hour when he was supposed by them to have been destroyed, when they deemed his work of grace on earth to have been frustrated and his kingdom. brought to naught, he appeared among them, and cut their exultation short, and put them to shame. These commentators, or dogmatists, say that Christ went to show the pow ers of darkness that their machinations were in vain; that grace would have its course in the world; that he was Lord over them; and that they were doomed to an increased pun. ishment and an eternal subjection because they had warred against God in the person of his Son. Others think that Christ rescued those who believed on him from among the condemned in hades and transported them to heaven. What was the fact? Let us not outrun the revelation, but look at our text. There we find that these spirits in prison were those, or some of those, who were disobedient in the days of Noah. The patriarchs are not mentioned. Νο VOL. V, No. 20-31 believers are spoken of. Nothing is said of the powers of hell. There is no ground in the text or in the nature of the case for the notion that Christ should go and preach increased condemnation to the devil and his angels. It is not said whether Christ's mission was in wrath or in mercy. It might have been in wrath. He who blessed the peacemakers and the pure and broken in heart, pronounced wo upon the Scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy. The men of Noah's time were among the chief of sinners—certainly of the ancient world; through them the earth was filled with violence and blood; but in the absence of a revelation we can not see why Christ should go and preach condemnation to spirits already condemned, and reserved in chains and darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Was Christ's mission to the spirits in prison one of mercy? We The text speaks neither of mercy nor of wrath. can see no reason why it should have been in wrath. From the whole revelation of Christ in the Scripture up to the time when he shall come to the judgment he appears as the bearer of grace to men, and, in all honesty and conformity to the general tenor of the Word of God, we should infer that this mission of which the Apostle Peter speaks was one of mercy. This inference may be substantiated by the answer to our third question: When did Christ preach to the spirits in prison? This question is variously answered. Some say that Christ, by the apostles, preached between his death and resurrection. One commentator says, that after he had ascended into heaven he caused the Gospel to be preached to the spirits in prison. These two views are so unlikely, they agree so ill with the language of the text, as to require no refutation. Some say-and they are a somewhat numerous class-that between Christ's death and resurrection he went and preached to spirits of the dead. Let us examine this answer. The language of the text would at first seem to favor such an interpretation. It reads: "In which |