Imprisoned Spirits, Baptismal Regeneration, and Missing the Point

By Ryan Carpenter

Published April 2, 2025

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, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. 1 Peter 3:18-22

Martin Luther said of 1 Peter 3:18-22, “A wonderful text is this, and a more obscure passage perhaps than any other in the New Testament, so that I do not know for a certainty just what Peter means.” If this great reformer was perplexed, then what hope do we have? Despite this passage’s notorious reputation, we need not despair. 1 Peter 3:18-22 is a case study in how to approach a difficult text. The Holy Spirit, working through Peter, could have given us an easier passage to exegete, but I believe He gave us difficult passages like this to remind us of two important principles: (1) We must approach the Scriptures with humility. Difficult passages remind us that we are not God. Rather than try to “master” the Bible, the Bible must master us. (2) We must not miss the forest for the trees. Every verse in Scripture has a context. When we survey the most plausible interpretations for an obscure verse, can we find a singular main point—a least common denominator of sorts—for the passage as a whole, regardless of our preferred interpretation of the individual verse? I believe that we can, and I will use 1 Peter 3:18-22 to illustrate this.

The first step in finding the main point is to look at the larger context. One key theme of 1 Peter is suffering. Peter writes to Christians facing persecution, encouraging them to persevere.  Just prior to our passage, Peter addresses situations in which believers suffer specifically for “doing good” (3:13-17). When we are persecuted for good conduct, we may be tempted to compromise our morals to alleviate the ridicule, but Peter encourages us to keep a “good conscience” (v. 16), or persist in good conduct, because “it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil” (v. 17). So just prior to our difficult passage, the focus is on facing unjust suffering. Then, immediately after our passage, we read, “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking . . .” (4:1a). Suffering is still the topic, and here the Christian’s suffering is linked to Christ’s. The passages immediately preceding and following ours shed light on Peter’s point. He is not wandering down a tangential rabbit trail but pointing us to the work of Christ. His main point is that Christians can persevere through suffering by looking to the work of Christ. Peter makes this point through four aspects of Christ’s work: (1) Christ’s Suffering, (2) Christ’s Victory, (3) Christ’s Salvation, and (4) Christ’s Exaltation.

Christ’s Suffering (v. 18)

The opening words of v. 18 seamlessly transition from the suffering of Christians to the suffering of Christ: “For Christ also suffered.” Christians can persevere through suffering by looking to Christ’s suffering. Two aspects of Christ’s suffering are highlighted in this verse, and each encourages us in our suffering: (1) Christ suffered innocently (“the righteous for the unrighteous”). If Christ, who was entirely sinless, was reviled without reviling in return and entrusted Himself to God (cf. 1 Peter 2:21-23), then we can imitate his example. (2) Additionally, Christ suffered vicariously (“the righteous for the unrighteous”). Christ’s suffering atoned for our sins so “that he might bring us to God.” As a result, we have access to God in the midst of our suffering, and we can “with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). Christ’s suffering not only provides an example for us to imitate, but it also provides the very means by which me may ask God for the mercies we need to persevere.

Christ’s Victory (v. 19)

We have now reached the controversial part of the passage. Verse 19 tells us that Christ preached to the spirits in prison. The questions raised by this one verse are legion. Who are the spirits? What is the prison? What did Christ preach? When did he preach? The answers to each of these questions results in many interpretive permutations. Since my goal is to demonstrate that we can arrive at the same “big picture” regardless of our interpretations of this singular verse, I will not attempt to delineate every interpretative possibility or litigate the arguments for and against each one. Rather, I will list the three most common interpretation, give the reasoning behind my interpretation, and show how it connects to Peter’s main idea.

The three most common interpretations are as follows: (1) Christ descended into the underworld between his death and resurrection and preached to the spirits of deceased humans (with varying opinions about the identity of these humans). (2) By means of the Holy Spirit, Christ preached through Noah to those who were metaphorically “in prison” by nature of being dead in their sins. (3) The spirits are demonic forces, and Christ proclaimed victory over them. Most place this proclamation after Christ’s resurrection, but some locate it between his death and resurrection.

First, it should be noted that the much debated doctrine of a pre-resurrection descent of Christ into Sheol (or the underworld) does not stand or fall on this passage. The earliest church fathers who held this view did not even appeal to 1 Peter 3:18-22. With that said, I hold to view number 3, that Christ proclaimed victory over demonic spirits sometime after His resurrection. Briefly, my reasons for holding this view are as follows: (1) the Greek word for “spirits,” when not further qualified, always refers to supernatural being in the New Testament. (2) The identity of the spirits is further confirmed by their disobedience in the days of Noah (v. 20). These were fallen angels, or “sons of God who saw that he daughters of man were attractive, and took as their wives any they chose” (Gen. 6:3). They “did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling . . . [and God] has kept [them] in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day” (Jude 6, Cf. 2 Pet. 2:4-5). Obviously, this interpretation of 1 Peter 3:19 depends upon the “angel” interpretation of Genesis 6, which is in itself highly controversial and beyond the scope of this post for me to defend.

What message did Christ preach? The Greek word for “preach” in 3:19 does not necessarily mean “to preach the Gospel” (though it often does have this meaning), but is the more general word for public proclamation, like when a herald reads a royal edict. Since we can reject the notion that Jesus gave an opportunity for repentance to fallen angels on theological grounds, the best way to understand this verse is that Christ proclaimed victory over demonic spirits. Though not much is revealed about this event, Christ’s victory over demonic forces is confirmed elsewhere in the New Testament, such as in Colossians 2:15: “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” When did this proclamation occur? I place it after the resurrection because of the last phrase in v. 18: “being put to death but being made alive in the spirit.” “Made alive in the spirit” almost certainly refers to the resurrection (another hotly debated interpretive decision that space does not permit me to defend), and it was in this resurrection state (“in which,” v. 19) that Christ made proclamation.

So how in the world would such an idea bring encouragement to suffering Christians? By reminding them that Christ has already defeated Satan and his hosts. If the kingdom of darkness has been defeated, then how much more so mere mortal persecutors who belong to that kingdom and do the bidding of its ruler? Christians can persevere through suffering by looking to Christ’s victory. For those who hold to a different interpretation, they may see this verse not as an exhortation to look to Christ’s victory, but perhaps to His deliverance, His justice, or His patience, depending on their exact interpretation. However, we all look to the work of Christ, regardless of the particular aspect of His work on which we choose to focus. Christ’s victory, deliverance, justice, and patience are all Biblical ideas, and each of these is hinted at elsewhere even in this very passage.

Christ’s Salvation (vv. 20-21)

From here, Peter moves from Noah’s flood to baptism. First-time readers of this passage struggle to follow the train of thought, especially in light of the highly controversial phrase “baptism now saves you,” but this transition is more natural than it seems at first. Peter is teaching that Christians can persevere through suffering by looking to Christ’s salvation, of which baptism is a symbol.  The waters of the flood, like the waters of the Red Sea (1 Cor. 10:2), are a type (or symbol) of baptism, and baptism symbolizes a present reality. Namely, we have been cleansed of our sins through faith, or what Peter calls “an appeal to God for a good conscience.” But baptism also points to the future aspect of salvation, or what author James Hamilton has described as the main theme of the Bible: “God’s glory in salvation through judgment.” When we think of salvation in future terms, we see that in one singular act, God with bring salvation to believers and judgment to unbelievers. Those who suffer unjust persecution do not avenge themselves, but look to the wrath of God, who will bring salvation to them through judgement on their persecutors. The same flood waters that wiped out a wicked generation also separated Noah’s family and “saved” them from that generation. Likewise, the same Red Sea waters that the Israelites passed through safely were a means of judgment on the Egyptians, and thus a means of salvation for Israel. Baptism, not as a physical act of washing but as a symbol of a spiritual reality, reminds us that “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” we have been set apart as the people of God and will escape the coming judgment, a judgment that will save the righteous by destroying the wicked. This mind-blowing connection between the flood and baptism easily gets lost in the weeds of the baptismal regeneration debate, but if we walk away from this verse thinking only of the controversy, we will miss the great encouragement God intends for us.

Christ’s Exaltation (v. 22)

Finally, Christians can persevere through suffering by looking to Christ’s exaltation. Christ’s work of exaltation includes his resurrection (v. 21), his ascension, and his session at the God’s right hand (v. 22). This work of exaltation encourages us in multiple ways. First, we are reminded that all angels, fallen or otherwise, have been subjected to Christ (the beauty of this verse is that even if one does not accept the victory proclamation interpretation of verse 19, a similar encouragement is found here). The implication is that everything, including unjust suffering, is under his authority. It also reminds us that suffering is the pathway to exaltation. Christ’s suffering is not the end of the story. “If we endure [suffering], we will also reign with him (2 Tim. 2:12a).” There is no greater motivation to suffer with Christ that to be exalted with Him.

Conclusion

In this passage fraught with exegetical difficulties, we have seen the value of focusing on the big picture rather than getting caught in the weeds. Though there is value in applying ourselves to the hard work of exegesis and weighing various interpretations (as I have attempted to demonstrate by still taking a side in the debate over v. 19), we must never lose sight of what the Holy Spirit intends to teach us through every passage of Scripture. If we walk away from 1 Peter 3:18-22 dwelling more on “spirits in prison” than the Christ who preached to them, we have missed the point. This passage offers tremendous hope for believers who are suffering. It teaches us that Christians can persevere through suffering by looking to the work of Christ.