The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Peter — Section 139

Heh. x. 6, 8, 18, 26). The J'ust for the unjust; flesh he was pnt to death, but in his spirit literally, just for unjust. There is no article. he WBB qaickened. When the Lord ha<i The apostle bege,n to speak of the dee,th of said, "Father, into thy hande I commend ~hriet, both here and in eh. ii., RB en ex- my spirit;" when he bowed his head, ancl ample; in both places he aeems to be led on gave up the spirit ;-then that epirit pas~ed by o.n instinctive feeling that it is scarcely into a new life. So Bengel excellently says, seemly for the Chrietio.n to mention that "Christas, vitam in semet ipso habcns, et stupendous event without dwelling on its ipse vita, spiritu vivere neque desiit, neque deeper and more mysterious meaning. The iterum ccepit; sed simulatqae per mortifir,a- preposition used in this clause ( 61dp) does tionem involncro infirmitatis in came solu- not necessarily convey the idea of vicarious tua erat, statim vit!e solvi nescire virtus auft'ering, as a.VTl (Matt. xx. 28; Mark x. 45; modia novis et mu Ito expeditissimis sese exse- comp. also I Tim. ii. 6) does; it means rere ccepit." Christ, being delivered from simply " in behalf of," leaving the character the burden of that suffering flesh which he of the relation undetermined ; here the con- had gracionsly taken for our salvation, was text implies the particular relation of sub- quickened in bis holy hnman spirit-quick- stitution (comp. Rom. v. 6; also St. Peter's ened to new energies, new and blesse,\ description of Olli' Lord as "the Just," in activities. So it shall be with those whn Acts iii. 14). That he might bring us to suffer for well-doing; they may even be put God. The Vatican and other manuscripts to death in the flesh, but "if we die with read " you." St. Peter opens out one of the him, we shall also lirn with him." It is far deeper aspects of the death of Christ. The better (-n:o>..>..rp µa:>..:>..011 Kpi,rruov) to dep[lrt veil that hid the Holiest was then rent in and to be with Christ, to be absent from the twain, o.nd believers were invited and en- body and to be present with the Lord. couraged to draw near into the immediate They that e.re Christ's shall, like their presence of God. The verb used herti is Master, be quickened in the spirit; they 1rpo'1d:yew; the corresponding substantive pass at once into the new life of Paradise ; (,rpoua')'Cd'Y~) occurs in Eph.iL18; iii.12; also their works follow them thither; it may be, in Rom. v. 2. In those ple.ces it is rendered we cannot tell, they will be employed in "access "-we have access to the Father blessed work for Christ, being made like through Oill' Lord Jesus Christ. Being put unto him not only in some degree daring to death in the flesh, but quickened by the their earthly life, but also in the intermedht te Spirit. The Greeks words are, E>avaTc.,6els state of rest and hope. ,.~., uap,d (c.,01ro1116els 6~ 1r11,oµaT1, the article Ver. 19.-lly which also he went and -r,; inserted before 1rv,ilµaT1 in the received preaohed 111!.~o the spirits in prison; rather. text being without authority. We observe in which c;,, rp). The Lord was no long, r the absence of any article or preposition, and in the flesh ; the component parts of Ii is the exact balance and correspondence of the human nat1ll'e were sepe.rated by death; two clauses. The two datives must be taken his flesh lay in the grave. As he had gone in the same sense; it is impossible to regard about doing good in the flesh, so now he one BB the dative of the sphere, and the other went in the spirit-in his holy human 11s the dative of the instrnment; both are spirit. He went. The Greek word (,ropeuBei,) evidently datives of" the sphere to which a occurs again in ver. 22, "who is gone into general predicate is to be limited" (Winer, heaven." It must have the same meaning x:a:i. 6. a) ; they limit the extent of the in both places; in ver. 22 it asserts a. changu p[lrtioiplea (comp. I Cor. vii. 34; Col. ii. or locality; it must do the like here. There 5). Thus the literal tran~lation is, " Being it is used of the 11scent into heaven ; it csn \lut to de11th in flesh, but quickened in scarcely mean here that, without any sucl.i .spirit." For the antithesis or" flesh" and change of place, Christ preached, not in his "spirit," common in the New Testament, own Person, but through Noah or the comp. Rom. i. 3, 4, "Made of the seed of David apostles. Compare St. Paul's words in Eph. according to the flesh, and deolared to be iv. 9 (the Epistle which seems to have been the Son of God with power according to the so much in St. Peter's thoughts)," Now tlmt Spirit of holiness;" and 1 Tim. iii. 16, he asrernled, what is it but that he ah;o "Manifest in the flesh, justified in tha descended first into the lol'l'er parts of tLe spirit;" see especially the close parallel in earth?" And preached (,id1pu(<11). It is eh. iv. 6, "That they might be jndged the word constantly used of the Lord from 11ccording to men in the fle8h, but live accord- the time when "Jesus bogan to preach ing to God in the spirit." It seems to follow, ("11pouuE111), nnd to s:iy, Repent: for tlio from the opposition of flesh and spirit, and kingdom or heaven is at hand" (Matt. iv. from o. comparison of the passages quoted 17). Then, himself in our human flesh, he above, that by -::v,iiµa in this verse we e.ro to preached to men living in the flesh-to a understand, not God the Holy Ghost, but few of his own age and country. Now the ihe holy hum[ln spirit of Christ. In his range of hi11 preaching was extended; hiw-  l34 THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [on. :u. 1-22,