The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Peter — Section 174

shall be nn hundred and twenty years." During all the time the ark was a-preparing the long-suffering of God waited, i.e. not to destroy. But the men of Noah's time were disobedient, i.e. refused, made light of proffered deliverance; lnd a,_q they were over- taken by an earthly judgment, which was so complete that on:y eight souls (" so few ns eight") were saved by means of the water, with regard to which the others, to their destruct.ion, were sceptical. And they are here represented in the next world as spirits in prison. And yet to them Christ went and announced his death ancl coming resur- rection. There is a certain mystery resting upon this fact which it was not the pur- pose of God by Peter to remove. It was sufficient to emphasize the fact that, so far from being crushed by death, he was gloriously active, even in the world of the unsaved dead. Seeing that the full significance of the fact has not been disclosed, it would be wrong to be dogmatic; at the same time, we are bound not to let go the fact which is to be regarded as an important addition to the facts contained in the Gospels. What has been given as the interpretation was substantially what prevailed until the time of Augustine. The Augustinian interpretation, the inAuence of which is evident in our translation, starts from the assumption that Peter does not intend to bring out an antithesis between what was done to Christ in the flesh and what was done to Christ in the spirit. It also proceedH on the assumption that it was not Christ that preached, but Noah. There was not a proper going from one place to another, and after Christ's death. The preaching was not founded on Christ's death. It was addressed not pro- perly to spirits, but to men in the flesh. These were not literally in prison, but in the prison of sin. They were not properly aforetime disobedient, but disobedient when NJah preached. Thus does the long-prevailing Augustinian interpretation break down along the whole line. (4) Not held in Hades, he reappeared in resurrection-form and with resurrection-power on earth. "Which also after a true likeness doth now save you, even baptism, not the putting away of the filth of the !lesh, but the interrogation of a. good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." ·water saved the eight; so water saves us still, i.e. in the antitype, the type being now baptism. How does baptism save us? It may be said of the Flood that it was the baptism of the earth. It was associated with the washing away of the filth of the old world; it was also associated with the bringing forth of a renovated world. So baptism is asso- ciated with the putting away of the filth of the flesh; it is also associated (which is to the purpose here) with the interrogation of a good conscience toward God. .A.t bnptism there used to be transacting by question and answer such as this: " Dost thou renounce Satan?" "I do renounce him." "Dost thou believe in Christ?" "I do believe in him." "Dost thou take thy stand by Christ? " "I do take my etnnd by him." Of the new life thus entered on by explicit covenant the efficient cause was the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thus the apostle gets back to bis line of thought. So far from being crushed by death Christ was not held within the world of the dead. The quickening which pervaded his spirit extended also, and from his spirit, to his body. He reappeared for a time on earth in resurrection-form, bringing in ~lorious resurrection-power first for the souls of men-of which the earthly channel is baptism. (5) Having risen from earth, he now reigns from the right hand of God in heaven. "Who is on the right band of God, having gone into heaven; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him." So far from being crushed by death, Christ is now established at the right hand of God. After having, as typified in baptism, efficiently left a channel of regenerating influence for men, he left earth. As he went from one department of Hades into another, so be went up from earth into heaven. In heaven he is at the right hand of God-gloriously reigning there, angels and authorities and powers, even all the orders of the heavenly hierarchy, being mada subject unto him. If Christ, then, suffering for righteousness' sake, thus came to be in the ascendant, shall not we, suffering for righteousness' sake, come to be in the asccn,1- ant too, all the more that he is now in a position to bring this about for us ?-R. F.  170 THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [oH. iv.1-10.