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THE SPIRITS IN PRISON

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Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Mar 6, 1907

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 33, No. 10.

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THE SPIRITS IN PRISON.

By Chas. Nelson

“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 long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” 1 Peter 3:18-20.
MANY, as they have read the above verses, have thought that the spirits here referred to had an opportunity to hear and accept the Gospel after they had departed this life, that Christ between His death and resurrection, while His body was in the tomb, went and preached to them.
But rightly to understand this subject it is necessary to note carefully what the Scriptures say of spirits. The wise man writing of what takes place at death says:
“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Eccl. 12:7.
Going back to the record of the creation of man, we read that God “formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Gen. 2:7.
Of what was man made?—Out of the dust of the ground. How did he become a living soul?—By God breathing into his nostrils the breath of life. What is this breath of life? We will let the word answer:
“The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” “All the while my breath is in me, and the Spirit of God [margin, the breath which God gave him] is in my nostrils.” Job 33:4; 27:3.
We learn from this that the spirit of life which is in man’s nostrils is the breath of the Almighty. What becomes of man when God takes this spirit to Himself?—“If He set His heart upon man, if He gather unto Himself his spirit and his breath; all flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.” Job 34:14, 15.
But the question may arise, Has not man an individual spirit?—Yes. We read in Job 32:8: “But there is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?” 1 Cor. 2:11.
How did man get this spirit?—It was formed within him (Zech. 12:1), not breathed into his nostrils like the breath of life.
When was the spirit formed?—When man was created out of the dust of the ground.
This spirit is separate and distinct from the spirit of life. It can fail (Isa. 57:16) and must be renewed. David prayed: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Ps. 51:10.
What spirit was it that David pleaded with the Lord to renew?—It was his mind. This is clear from reading Rom. 12:2: “And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
From this it is plain that the spirit of man is his mind. If not renewed, it is the carnal mind, which is enmity against God because it is not subject to the law of God. Rom. 8:7.
As man can not serve God with the carnal mind, he is sold under sin. Rom. 7:14. The law of God which he has transgressed shuts him up. Gal. 3:23. As the law of God is spiritual and can only deal with the mind, it follows that men while in this condition are in a spiritual prison.
How are they to be delivered out of this prison, and who shall deliver them?—In Isa. 61:1, we read:
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.”
Who was here spoken of?
“And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit unto Galilee; and there went out a fame of Him thru all the region round about. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto Him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:14-19.
When was this prophecy fulfilled?—“And He began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” Verse 21. That day, Christ, by the preaching of the Gospel, set captives free from the bondage of sin, spirits who had been in prison were liberated.
It was not only while Christ was personally upon the earth that He preached liberty to the captives, but in all ages ever since sin came into the world, Christ has been the One that has preached liberty to them, and those who have believed have been delivered out of bondage.
It is this the apostle Peter refers to when he says that Christ went and preached to the spirits who were in prison, living in disobedience in the days of Noah, “while the ark was a preparing.”
But how did he preach to them at this time?—By His Spirit that was in His servant Noah. The Spirit of Christ was in the prophets. 1 Peter 1:10, 11. Noah was a prophet, and thru him Christ preached to that people one hundred twenty years. If they had heeded the warning and turned from their evil ways, they would have been set free, they would have escaped condemnation, and would not have perished in the Flood. Heb. 11:7.
But some may ask, What does Peter mean when he says that the Gospel was preached also to them that are dead? 1 Peter 4:6. He means that it was preached to them while they were alive; because it would be impossible for them to hear or accept of it after they were dead, as we can see by the following scriptures:
“In death there is no remembrance of Thee; in the grave who shall give Thee thanks?” Ps. 6:5.
“While I live will I praise the Lord; I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” Ps. 146:2-4.
“The grave can not praise Thee, death can not celebrate Thee; they that go down into the pit can not hope for Thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise Thee as I do this day; the father to the children shall make known Thy truth.” Isa. 38:18, 19.
It is while men live that they are prisoners of hope (Zech. 9:12), and can turn to the Lord and receive pardon and forgiveness; for when death comes, the destiny of every soul is fixed, and the spirit (mind) of man lies dormant in the grave till the resurrection. CHAS. NELSON.