In 3: 18 three interpretations of the meaning of Christ's death are given; (i) it was an atoning sacrifice, (ii) it was vicarious, for the sake of others, and (iii) its aim was to reconcile mankind with God. Peter then witnesses to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. In 3: 19-20 there is some difficulty of interpretation. Peter says that the spirits to whom the Spirit of Christ preached were all those who had died in the Flood (Genesis 7:21-23).

Later, in 4:6, it says that the Gospel was preached to the dead so that they might know the truth and this can be understood to mean that all who had died from the beginning of time until the coming of Christ into the world, were given their chance to hear the Good News of salvation. In the Apostles' Creed it is a statement of faith that Jesus Christ descended into hell; 1 Peter 3:19 refers to Sheol or Hades, the shadowy place of the spirits of the dead, rather than the place of torment. The credal statement that Jesus Christ went to the dead conserves two important truths, that Jesus really died, and that the triumph of Christ is absolutely universal, as Paul says in Ephesians 4:9-10 and Philippians 2: 10-11. The truth of the death of Jesus on the cross is a serious stumbling block to Islam, which accepts Jesus as a prophet of God.

jesus on the cross

In 3:20-21 Peter understands the experience of Noah and his family in their boat to foreshadow the experience of Christian baptism. In 3:21 Peter emphasizes that the inner, spiritual change in the believer that takes place in baptism is through the grace of God, made known to us in Jesus Christ. Baptism is not an external washing. 3:21-22 tersely connects baptism with the glory and power of the risen Christ. Peter's teaching may be compared to what Paul says in Galatians 3:26-27.