1 Peter 3:18: Victory
1 Peter 3:18: For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. [1]
Peter so concisely depicts Christ as “Victor” [2] that we might miss Jesus’ magnitude. Peter teaches that Christ’s “unique” suffering as the sinless Savior satisfies divine “justice” which “enables us to enter God’s presence.” [3] When our sin, evil, and corruption separated us from God, [4] the Trinity worked redemption for the elect through Christ. [5]
In addition to justification for sins, when Christians suffer for righteousness [6] they have hope and power to face their trials with Christ-like “meekness” and “boldness.” [7] Believers are called to suffer for God’s glory, their good, and because Christ is our example. [8] When people rest in Jesus, their sins are forgiven and they have hope in hardship. If you are not in Christ, know that He can become yours when you see your unrighteousness, and confess your need of His. If you are a believer, continue facing your suffering in the One Who has “suffered once for sins” and gained the victory. [9]
This blog was written by Seth Dunn
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (Wheaton, IL: Standard Bible Society, 2016), Logos Bible Software. All Bible references will be ESV from here on out, unless noted otherwise.
[2] Edmund Clowney. The Message of 1 Peter: The Way of the Cross. Ed. John R.W. Stott. (Leicester, England: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 154.
[3] Simon J. Kistemaker. New Testament Commentary: Exposition of the Epistles of Peter and the Epistle of Jude. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House Co., 1987), 138-39.
[4] Isaiah 59:2, Romans 1:18-32, Revelation 21:27, etc.
[5] Psalm 130:4-8; John 1:29, 1:36; Acts 4:10, 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Hebrews 2:8-10, 1 Peter 2:24. See also: Daniel B. Wallace Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament with Scripture, Subject, and Greek Word Indexes. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 98, and John Murray, Collected Writings of John Murray: The Claims of Truth, Vol. 1. (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2001), 52.
[6] 1 Peter 2:18-25, 3:17, 4:1-13.
[7] Clowney, The Message of 1 Peter, 155.
[8] John 10:7-18; Acts 4:1-22; Romans 8:17, 2 Corinthians 4:17; Philippians 1:12-30, 3:12-21; Hebrews 12:1-3; 1 Peter 2:18-25, 3:17, 4:1-13.
[9] 1 Corinthians 15:57-58.