THURSDAY October 5th
1 Peter 3:21–22
‘. . . resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him’.
In affirming in verse 18 that ‘Christ also suffered once for our sins’ Peter comes to where we are today in verses 21 and 22 to remind us that Christ was raised from the dead and has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God.
Within these few verses, 18-22, we see the fundamental truths that make the gospel what it is, the good news of salvation. Jesus needed to suffer once for our sins, but he also needed to be raised, for his resurrection demonstrates beyond any doubt that he had won the victory over Satan, sin, death and the grave and that he has the power to grant eternal life.
Remember what Peter has already written in the first chapter, ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead’. (1:3) In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul teaches us so much concerning the importance of the gospel and what the resurrection of Christ means for each one who believes.
Those of you that hear me preach on a regular basis already know that this resurrection chapter is my favourite chapter in the Bible, it reminds us so clearly that if Christ has not been raised then our hope is in vain, but Paul affirms in verses 20-22, ‘But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive’.
May we always keep the truth and the wonder of both the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ in the forefront of our lives for this is our eternal hope and as Paul says of first importance, ‘Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures . . .’ (verses 1-4). I will continue with the 1 Peter 3:21-22 in the next devotion.