The Holy Spirit, Noah, Jesus, and prison. What is the common thread?

The idea that the Spirit of God is very powerful cannot be denied. None of us would dare to do so. Some of the roles of the Spirit are clear, others are not entirely obvious. Without getting too complicated (whole books have been written on the subject), one of these roles is discussed here.

For two thousand years, people have interpreted Peter’s words in what we know as 1 Peter 3: 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.” (KJV) Other translations render this in similar words.

What in the world does this mean? There are various views, ranging from the view that the Spirit was in Noah preaching, to various views that Christ descended into Hell while He was in the tomb or before He ascended. It has even been suggested that this was indicative of the fact that Christ’s sacrifice was retroactive.

Without getting too specific, an often misunderstood term here is the meaning of the word “prison.” Every translation uses that term. This same Greek word “φυλακῇ” is used twenty times in the New Testament. Eighteen of those times it is translated as “prison.” The two other times it has a current time inference and so is translated during the “watch.” It is not translated as “hell” at any time.

This leads us back to the original question, what could “souls in prison” mean? As we noted above, the idea that “prison” means “hell” cannot be justified. Souls of dead people cannot be saved. Hebrews 9:27 makes that obvious. The clear explanation is that “souls in prison” here is a euphemism for “souls in bondage” or “souls in slavery to sin.” That was the common understanding of this phrase at the time – the literature of the period makes that clear.

What is the meaning of the words “quickened by the Spirit?” “Quickened” simply means “revived.” That is a clear reference to the way Jesus was raised from the dead – the Spirit obviously played a key role. Did Jesus really preach to souls in sin? Of course, He did. We know that. That is what His ministry was all about. After the Spirit revived Him, we have no reason to believe this changed. In fact, at this point, it is likely that Jesus was preaching to all people.

Why, then, does Peter start talking about the “days of Noah?” As far as we are concerned, the key to understanding this passage is the pause which takes place after the second use of the word “Spirit.” Some translations render this as a semicolon, some a comma, some even use a period. So, it is very clear that everything Peter says after that is talking about something else – the role of the Spirit.

We believe that, by the time Peter gets around to talking about Noah, he is drawing an analogy to the way the Spirit works. Noah was a preacher who talked with God directly (Genesis 6-7). It is not a stretch to believe that God used the Spirit to communicate with souls through Noah.

We know that one role of the Spirit is to be a “go between” in our communications with God. (Romans 8:26). While Romans is “one way,” this passage is talking about the Holy Spirit as a “translation layer” with God. The most logical explanation is for us to believe that Noah received his communication from God through the Spirit. Noah received instruction from God through the Spirit and was then motivated by the Spirit to preach to souls in bondage.

There is a reason Peter uses Noah. Notice the literary device Peter uses here, he is talking about the role of the Spirit in reviving Christ and causing him to preach to souls in bondage, then he explains why Noah did the same thing. Next, Peter explains how Noah and his family were saved through the water just as we are saved through the waters of baptism in Christ.

The Spirit is indeed powerful. Peter explains that only the Spirit can motivate people to preach to souls in bondage. This is one of those roles of the Holy Spirit that is harder to understand. A careful reading of Peter’s words makes it clearer.