A Brief Exposition of 1 Peter 3:18-22

The Message of the General Epistles in the History of Redemption

The only scholarly consensus surrounding 1 Peter 3:18-22 is that the passage is quite challenging to interpret. The two primary exegetical issues pertain to the location and timing of Christ’s proclamation to the spirits in prison in verse 19 and the salvific efficacy of baptism in verse 21. Regarding Christ’s proclamation, Brandon Crowe provides two options for the recipients of Christ’s message: believing or unbelieving humans or spiritual beings such as angels or demons.[1] Regarding the time of the proclamation, Crowe explains that if the recipients are human, then it occurred in the days of Noah, but if the recipients were spiritual beings, then it occurred subsequent to Jesus’s resurrection.[2] The following analysis argues Jesus’s proclamation occurred to spiritual beings after the resurrection.

It would be difficult not to engage the allusions from the passage to the pseudonymous book of 1 Enoch found in the Jewish tradition. Karen Jobes notes that 1 Enoch provides the background language and imagery for 1 Peter 3:19-20, as both “involve spirits who receive a proclamation from God and who are closely associated with the story of Noah.”[3] More specifically, 1 Enoch 6-7 recounts the story of Genesis 6:1-4 by describing an episode where spiritual beings called the sons of God or Watchers copulated with human women who bore a line of giants called the Nephilim.[4] In 1 Enoch 9-11, the author tells of the intercession of four archangels that resulted in the Watchers being led away “to the prison where they will be confined forever” (1 Enoch 10:13).[5] The Watchers then ask Enoch to petition God so they might receive forgiveness and be released from prison under the earth (1 Enoch 10:13). Enoch petitions God, but then returns to the imprisoned Watchers and gives them the bad news: “You will not obtain your petition for all the days of eternity; but judgment has been consummated in the decree against you” (1 Enoch 14:4).[6] With the backdrop of 1 Enoch firmly in place, the meaning of the pericope begins to crystallize.

Peter utilizes allusions to 1 Enoch typologically and provides a theological analogy between Genesis 6 and Christ’s resurrection, which assists in understanding the passage. Michael Heiser explains that Jesus is a type of Enoch who, like Enoch, “descended to the imprisoned fallen angels to announce their doom.”[7] Thus, in 1 Peter 3:19, Jesus descends to the same spirits in prison declaring victory and proclaiming that “they were still defeated, despite his crucifixion.”[8] In other words, Peter used the allusion to 1 Enoch to highlight that all creation, natural and supernatural, is subject to Christ (1 Pet 3:22). According to Paul J. Achtemeier, when the passage is viewed in light of a victory declaration, the immediate literary context becomes supportive as the passage provides the theological basis for Christians to resist the persecution referred to in 1 Peter 3:13-17.[9]

In light of Peter’s message of the authority and victory of Christ over all opposition, the issues surrounding the topic of baptism begin to resolve. The interpretive key occurs in the final phrase of 1 Peter 3:21, where baptism is “an appeal (ἐπερώτημα) to God for a good conscience (συνειδήσεως).” Heiser explains that the term ἐπερώτημα is best understood as a pledge, and συνειδήσεως often connotes the “disposition of one’s loyalties” within Greek literature.[10] Thus, according to Jobes, Peter is not suggesting that baptism is in itself salvific, but instead, a pledge of loyalty to Christ that aligns with Peter’s exhortation to his readers “to continue to live, even under persecution, in a way that honors their baptism.”[11] Finally, it would be difficult to miss the connection between fallen angels and baptism as the sacred rite has always engaged in spiritual warfare between the powers of darkness and light.

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[1] Brandon D. Crowe, The Message of the General Epistles in the History of Redemption: Wisdom from James, Peter, John, and Jude (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R, 2015), 181–82.

[2] Ibid., 182.

[3] Karen H. Jobes, 1 Peter, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), 244.

[4] George W. E. Nickelsburg and James C. VanderKam, 1 Enoch: The Hermeneia Translation (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2012), 23–25.

[5] Ibid., 26-31.

[6] Ibid., 33.

[7] Michael S. Heiser, The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2019), 338.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Paul J. Achtemeier and Eldon Jay Epp, 1 Peter: A Commentary on First Peter, Hermeneia (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1996), 243.

[10] Heiser, The Unseen Realm, 338.

[11] Jobes, 1 Peter, 255–56.

Bibliography

• Achtemeier, Paul J., and Eldon Jay Epp. 1 Peter: A Commentary on First Peter. Hermeneia. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1996.
• Crowe, Brandon D. The Message of the General Epistles in the History of Redemption: Wisdom from James, Peter, John, and Jude. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R, 2015.
• Heiser, Michael S. The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2019.
• Jobes, Karen H. 1 Peter. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005.
• Nickelsburg, George W. E., and James C. VanderKam. 1 Enoch: The Hermeneia Translation. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2012.