By Nab B.
September 12, 2022
(updated Oct 10, 2025)
“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. In which (or by whom) 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.”
(1 Pet 3:18-20 ESV)
Oh, the danger of reading things into what isn't there! "Context! Context!" should be the maxim of serious Bible diggers. If not, fiction will prevail, not fact.
If you skim over Peter's passage above, instantly you think Jesus went to proclaim something to the "Spirits (most believe fallen angels) in prison."
Because the passage was difficult to understand and translate, it created strange interpretations (fiction, mostly!) contrary to the scriptures. To understand it better, we need to observe the immediate and distant contexts to grasp the writer's intended meaning.
But first, these three points will clarify Peter's passage:
Jesus, who was "Made alive in the Spirit," became "A life-giving Spirit" (1 Cor 15:45) to those who obey Him, and not some fallen angels.
As a "Sin offering," no part of Jesus (body, soul, spirit) could have been alive in the grave, else his sacrifice would have been nullified (had to be fully dead). This rules out any journey to the underworld.
"Fallen angels" are already condemned, and Jesus did not need to preach or proclaim a thing to them or (God forbid) convert them!
Because they are based on immediate and distant context, which can explain the meaning and rule out
Why are these three points helpful? Because they rely on immediate and distant context, which better explains the passage, and rules out silly, fictional possibilities, such as the disembodiment of Jesus' soul, a visit to the underworld, and communicating with fallen angels.
"In which (or by whom) he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison." (Verse 19)
"The spirits in prisons" are NOT fallen angels. They are all humans held captive or imprisoned in sin and death. To release them, a saviour was urgently needed. To make it happen, Jesus was "Put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit" (verse 18) and became a "Life-giving Spirit" (1 Cor 15:45) to set humanity [the spirits] free from the bondage of sin and death.
This agrees with 1 Peter 3:18 that, "Christ suffered... the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God." The "unrighteous" here refers to humans, not fallen angels.
I hope it is clear so far. Now, let's see how Christ brings us (the spirits) out of our spiritual "prisons". . .
The scriptures below are self-explanatory of how Christ, the life-giving spirit, has been saving and releasing humanity from their (spiritual) prisons and bondage to sin and death.
“Having cancelled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross." (Colossians 2:15)
“For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me because He has anointed...to proclaim liberty to the captives ...to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” (Luke 4:18)
“So that by His death...free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” (Hebrews 2-14-16)
"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."
(v. 20)
It does seem strange and out of place to mention the floodwaters here. But I assure you that what is written about the floodwaters is there for a reason.
Peter drew on how God saved eight souls through the floodwaters (a form of baptism) to wash the sins of the antediluvian world. He then compared it to how God now "saves us" from sin and death through the "spiritual washing" of Christ's death and resurrection. Here, the floodwaters typified Christ's spiritual washing by the Word,
"That he (Christ) might sanctify and cleanse it (the ecclesia) with the washing of water by the word." (Ephesians 5:26)
To further prove the "spirits in prison" are humans, Peter wrote that Jesus was "Put to death...to bring us to God" (1 Pet 3:18) Now, If the "spirits in prison" were fallen angels, I ask, why would Jesus want to bring them to God? The answer is obvious, isn't it?!
Humans—the spirits in prison—are the ones in desperate need to be set free from the prison of sin and death and be brought close to God, a feat only Jesus Christ can do!
