1st Peter 3:18. “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.” THE REASON. It happened once for all – but what an awful “once” In His spirit He was troubled – the Righteous and Holy One Always in continuous, perfect, harmonious fellowship With his Father – they both were always “One” But one dark day, divine justice picked the “Just” To suffer for the “unjust” – and in His spirit – He suffered – for me!
Emotions crowding in upon His holy soul Followers saying strong words from weak hearts – A denier, and worse – another one was a betrayer All the senses linked with His holy humanity Like tight cords binding Him to the divine will – To suffer for the “unjust” – in His soul – He suffered – for me!
Cords bound Him – led as an animal – humiliation Blindfold upon all-seeing eyes – fists – spittle Hair pulled out – thorns driven in – hatred The whip – the lash marks – the bleeding back The weight of the cross – the nails – the suffocation The darkness – to suffer for the “unjust” – in His body –
He suffered – for me!
“May I never forget, O God, ‘When He was on the cross, I was on His mind.’ May I never cease to review, to be humbled, to submit to Thy divine will. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”
An end of suffering for believers will come, and beyond that is glory. The Spirit of God who raised Christ from the dead, has given us new life. The Holy Spirit through the preaching of Noah presented the truth of salvation to people whose spirits are now are imprisoned because they rejected his warning message. Noah was ignored by the people who heard his preaching and they have learned that "My Spirit shall not always strive with man," is an indisputable fact. They were lost because they were disobedient to the message and rejected the truth. There was one hundred twenty years of preaching, and the visible testimony of the ark being built by Noah for his family left them without excuse. Noah "prepared the ark for the saving of his house (family)" by faith in the warning God gave him. Others could have been saved by faith if they had listened. The ark was not built to save everyone in the flood, but they could have been saved from the flood. The ark is a picture of salvation and security. It was in the ark that Noah and his family was saved through the judgment of the flood. Those who heard the Gospel preached by Noah before the flood had ample opportunity to be saved.
Noah and his family were forever separated from their old life. There was no going back. Their new life was lived by new rules. They were saved "to walk in newness of life." When a believer is saved, they have died with Christ. The "baptism" of the cross was the way our sins were dealt with. The baptism of the Spirit happened because of the Lord's death, burial and resurrection, and has been imputed to the believer. The baptism of a believer in water is a visible representation of that fact. Baptism does not put away our sins. That was done when "Christ suffered for sins." Rather baptism is the act of obedience to the demands of a good conscience. Our conscience appeals to us to be committed to that which we expressed in baptism.
This last of 16 references to Christ being at the right hand of the Father points us to the One who is in control. Suffering believers need to know that He is permitting the suffering. He orders and causes things to happen because He has an eternal purpose of which we are not fully aware. In spite of satanic attacks, government opposition, mockery by people or the challenges of wicked men, our Savior and Lord is in His place of authority on the right hand of God. We can be comforted by the fact that those sufferings for righteousness are temporary. That in which we are involved and represent, is eternal.