but quickened by the Spirit: by which also he went and preached to the spirits in prison." The English version is an exposition, us well as a translation of the passage. As the words stand in our Bible they afford no ground for the doctrine that Christ after death went into hell and preached to the spirits there confined. The Greek is, 6avaT<jjOd<; /xkv arapKi, ^cuoTrotT^^eis Se Trveu/xari, ec cL koi rots iv (jivXaKj) TTvev/xaaL -rropevOeU (.K-qpv^iv. If in this passage aapid means the hody^ and Trjei'^.art, the soul; if the dative is to have the same force in both clauses; and if Cwo7rot77i9ets be taken to mean preserved alive; then the natural interpretation undoubtedly is, 'Being put to death as to the body, but continuing alive as to the soul, in which having gone he preached to the spirits in prison.' How- ever different the views entertained as to what spirits are here meant, whether the spirits of living men in spiritual bondage ; or the evil spirits of the dead ; or the spirits of the faithful of former generations, still detained in Hades; the passage must, in this view, be understood to teach that Christ preached after his death, and if so, to the spirits of the dead. This is the interpretation which has been extensively adopted in all ages of the Church. The principal argument in its favour is that when oap^ and 7r^£u/xa are placed in antithesis, if the former mean the body the latter must mean the soul. In the present case as Christ's death is spoken of, and as it was only the body that died, it is urged that crapKL must refer to the body. The objections, however, to this interpretation are very serious.
1. When Christ is the subject the antithesis between crap^ and TTve.vp.a is not necessarily that between the body and soul. It mav be between the human and the divine nature. So in Romans i. 3, it is said. He was the son of David Kara crdpKa^ as to his human nature ; but the Son of God Kara ■n-vevp.a, as to his divine nature.
2. The word ^woTroteoj never means to continue in life, but al- ways to impart life. Therefore to render ^oDOTrotrj^ets, beiiig preserved alive, is contrary to the proper meaning of the word. It is more ovei opposed to the antithesis between that word and ^aiarw^et's , as the one exprf^sses the idea of the infliction of death, the other expresses that of vivifying. ' He was put to death as to his hu- manity, or as a man ; but was quickened by the Spirit, or divine nature, energy or power that resided in his person.' He had power to lay down his life, and He had power to take it again.
3. The difference between the force of the two datives is justi- fied and determined by the meaning of the participles with which aapKi and TTvev/xart are connected. ' He was put to death as to the
620 PART ni. Ch. XII. — HUMLIATION of CHRIST.
flesl) ; lie was made alive by the Spirit.' The one word demands one force of the dative, and the other a different, but equally legit- imate sense.
4. Another objection to the interpretation above mentioned is, that it makes the passage teach a doctrine contrary to the analogy of tiiith. Whenever Christ is spoken of as preaching, in all cases in which the verb Kypvna-eiv is used, it refers to making proclama- tion of the gospel. If, therefore, this passage teaches that Christ, after his death and before his resurrection, preached to spirits in prison, it teaches that He preached the gospel to them. But accord- ing to the faith of the whole Church, Latin, Lutheran, and Re- formed, the offer of salvation through the gosjjel is confined to the present life. It is certainly a strong objection to an interpretation of any one passage that it makes it teach a doctrine nowhere else taught in the Word of God, and which is contrary to the teachings of that Word, as understood by the universal Church. For such reasons as these the authors of our standards have discarded the doctrine of a descensus ad inferos in any other sense than a dej)art- ure into the invisible state. The meaning of the whole passage au given by Beza is in accordance with the doctrine of the Reformed Church. " Christus, inquit [apostolus], quem dixi virtute vivifi- catum, jam olim in diebus Noe, quum appararetur area, profectus sive adveniens, e ccelo videlicet, ne nunc primum putenius ilium ecclesijE curam et administrationem suscepisse adveniens, inquam, non corpore (quod nondum assumpserat), sed ea ipsa virtutf;, per quam postea resurrexit, praedicavit spiritibus illis, qui nvnc in carcere meritas dant poenas, utpote qui recta monenti Noe .... parere olim recusarint."^
The majority of modern interpreters adopt the old interp /etation. Bretschneider^ expresses the sense of the passage thus: *' As God once through Noah exhorted men to repentance, and threatened to bring upon them the flood, as a punishment, so Jesus preached redemption, or announced the completion of the work of atone- ment, to the souls of men in Hades." According to others the souls to whom Christ preached were those who in the days of Noah had rejected the offers of mercy. According to the Luther- ans Christ after his death descended to the abode of evil spirits, not to preach the gospel, but to triumph over Satan and despoil him of his power. The " Form of Concord *' ^ says on this subject, " Sim-
1 Beza, Nmum Testamentum, 1 Pet. iii. 19, edit. (Geneva?) 1565, p. 570.
2 Bretsclineider, Dogmniik, 3d edit., Leipzig, 1828, rol. ii. p. 219. « Art. IX. 2; Hase, Libi-i Symbolici, p. 788.