August 23, 2024
My current thoughts on this passage will come at the end, but let me just say that God taught me something I did not expect from this. God works in amazing ways. First up is my look at 1 Peter 3:19-20 from December 15, 2022.
12/15/2022
1 Peter 3:19-20
Take Time to Pray
Psalm 115:1
1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us
but to Your name be the glory,
because of Your love and faithfulness.
Examine
(18 He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spriit,)
19 through whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison
10 who disobeyed long ago when God wanted patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, sight in all, were saved through water.
Notice
God
· God saves His own.
· God is patient.
· God keeps His promises.
· God is powerful.
· God is faithful.
Lesson
· After Jesus died on the cross, He went to hell to speak to the people.
· There were many times when God’s people were punished and many died. But Noah’s time was the only time God wiped out the entire planet.
· God’s patience does have a limit. He desires that all men be saved, but there will come an end to this world.
Do/Thoughts
· I wonder what Jesus would have said to those suffering hell. The Gospel would be a stinging rebuke. And there wouldn’t be much hope for them.
· What could the Gospel be (other than a stinging rebuke) to those in hell?
Question
How then, should we live our lives?
Response
· On alert for when He returns.
· Learn from His Word.
· Guard our hearts and minds.
· Watch out for false prophets.
· Be ready to give an answer for our faith.
· Remember our Baptism.
· Remember Jesus’ sacrifice.
August 22, 2024
I started looking at these verses and writing my thoughts about them yesterday. However, looking back at what I wrote, I was dissatisfied with what I had been thinking. I had been focusing on details and losing sight of the big picture. Sometimes, God's Word becomes clouded when we dig too far into details and lose the big picture. Sometime, we need to step back and loot at context and the overall meaning.
Context is definitely important for these verses. Prior to this, in verse 18, Peter relates how Jesus died for us. He says Jesus "was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit." This leads to what Jesus did in that risen form, "preached to the spirits in prison." Peter then singles out a particular group of people, the ones who were disobedient during the time of Noah. This then transitions into verse 21 which refers to the flood that symbolizes baptism and baptism's role in our salvation. Context, not detailed pulling apart, is what is important here.
The overall picture gives us insight into God's character and how he deals with people. I am struck by the patience God is said to have demonstrated during Noah's time. The ark took a long time to build, thereby giving people plenty of time to give up their wicked ways. God is the Savior. He saved Noah and his family. God is powerful. God's power is seen in the power of the flood. God keeps His promises. If we look back at the story of the flood, we see God's promises. He promised to take care of Noah. After the flood, He promised to never destroy the earth with again with a flood.
I love the lesson I learned, that digging into God's Word is good, but sometimes trying to dig too deep can defeat our original purpose. Our original purpose should be to learn more about God and draw closer to Him. That is where we must keep our focus.
What is this teaching me about God?
God is our strong, patient Savior who keeps His promises. God uses His Word to teach us and will do it in surprising ways. I certainly did not expect a lesson on my approach to studying God's Word from this passage. I am so very thankful that God opened me up to seeing my errors and seeing the truth.
Keep yourselves always open to God's instruction.
God's Blessings
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