“For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”
This verse is one of the most challenging verses in the Bible to interpret. The rules of interpretation that we should keep in mind are that we interpret unclear verses with clear verses and the minority of texts with the majority of texts. Unfortunately, neither is this verse clear nor the majority of texts dealing with this subject.
For this reason
“For” is a term of explanation. Peter is explaining that unbelievers must give account to God (v.5).
“This reason” means unto this end. For what purpose was the gospel preached? There is a twofold purpose found in this verse:
1. that non-Christians will evaluate Christians as people in the flesh, and
2. that those who accept the gospel will live forever according to God’s norms
the gospel was preached also
The tense in the verb “was preached” is most important (aorist tense [one point], indicative mood [actually happened]). Peter deals here with the historical past. He is not saying that the gospel is in the process of being preached to the dead. The preaching took place when these “dead ones” were still amid the living. This is the only time when preaching is effective — when we are alive physically on earth. Thus, the “dead” here are those physically dead at the point of writing First Peter.
to those who are dead,
There is no verb “are” in this verse. Literally, this phrase would read “to dead ones.” They are dead from the viewpoint of the remaining Christians on earth. The dead Christians of verse six had the gospel preached to them while alive on earth (aorist tense; indicative mood). They became Christians while on earth and are now dead. They heard the gospel while alive and have now passed into eternity before the writing of this epistle. This statement encourages Christians that they have something for which to live beyond this present life.
What is the difference between the “dead” of verse five and verse six? The dead of verse five “will give account” (future tense). Therefore, these persons are spiritually dead, dead in sin. They are eternally out of fellowship with God (Romans 5:12; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13). The “dead” of this verse are Christians who have come to Christ and have their sins eternally paid for by the sufferings of Jesus on the cross.
PRINCIPLE:
Christians face an altogether different future than the lost.
APPLICATION
Is there a gospel of the second chance? According to this verse–no! There is no second chance. The only time we can come to Christ is when we are alive on earth.
The Bible says that those without Christ are dead while still physically living. They are dead spiritually.
“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23)
“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).
Are you dead, spiritually? Would you like to come alive spiritually? All it takes is trust in Christ’s death for your sins to give you eternal life.
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24).
Note that the above passage says that you immediately pass from death (spiritual) into life (eternal) at the moment of belief. Will you now trust what Christ has done for you?
Hi,
There were a lot of people who died before “This Gospel,” or “The glad tidings from God” was preached to anyone. It wasn’t preached until after Jesus died on the cross and rose again. Don’t you think that is obvious to most people?
Terry, I am not sure about the point you make.
Grant
I thought are was a verb and it is in the verse ? “There is no verb “are” in this verse”
Would you be able to clarify this somewhat?
1 Peter was originally written in Greek–the Greek has no word for “are.” It is in the English but not in the Greek.
Isn’t this related in someway to what Peter wrote in 3:19? Christ through the Spirit went to preach to those in prison- those who had disobeyed long ago. Isn’t 4:6 probably referring to the same idea?
That is probably what Terry means. I think Terry is saying that it seems Peter is referring not to those who died already having received the gospel, but those who had died before the gospel had been preached- meaning Jesus preached to them after they had died.
But keeping it in the overall context, this passage is about how a Christian should live. How we are made different and strange from other people, and how we are to serve and speak differently. Peter is setting apart those who believe from those who don’t. This makes Dr. Richison’s interpretation seem more plausible- with verse five referred to those who died apart from the gospel, and verse six referring to those who died after accepting the gospel.
The article “Did Jesus descend into hell?” at the below link gives a good explanation of the relationship (or non-relationship) of these verses- with what I think is a similar line of thought to Dr. Richison.
http://sundoulos.com/biblical.aspx?in=1
Ryan, thanks for your good comments.
I don’t think this verse refers to those in 3:19 because Jesus did not preach the gospel but made an “official proclamation” to those in hades (not hell). The official proclamation had to do with making an announcement about the fact that they did not have to fall. Jesus proved in time on earth that man could succeed as a theocratic king without falling. See commentary on 3:19. This was no attempt at evangelism. At least, that is how I see it at the moment.
Grant
Dr. Richison,
Thank you for your good work. And also ‘thanks’ to those who take the time to comment. Please tell me what or where is hades?
“Hades” is the abode of the dead. It is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Sheol (cf Ps. 6:5). “Hades, (????,)” which is a transliteration, not a translation, of the Greek word. When we transliterate a word we take the spelling of that word over into another language in the respective letter equivalents, whereas when we translate a word, we take the meaning over into that language. The word itself means “The Unseen.” This was the technical Greek religious term used to designate the world of those who departed this life. The Septuagint, namely, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, uses this word to translate the Hebrew “Sheol, (?????,)” which has a similar general meaning. The “Hades (????)” of the pagan Greeks was the invisible land, the realm of shadow, where all Greeks went, the virtuous, to that part called Elysium (???????), the wicked, to the other part called Tartarus (????????).
The difference between the pagan and Biblical conceptions of Hades is that the former conceives of Hades as the final abode of the dead, whereas the latter teaches that it is the temporary place of confinement until the Great White Throne Judgment in the case of the wicked dead, and until the resurrection of Christ, in the case of the righteous dead, the latter since that event going at once to heaven at death (Phil. 1:23).
In Revelation 6:8, Death and Hades follow in the wake of war and famine, Hades ready to receive the dead of the Great Tribulation period. In Revelation 20:13, 14, Death itself, and Hades with all the wicked dead are cast into the lake of fire.
There is no indication of where Hades is except that it is “down.”
Dr. Grant,
It seems as if this verse can be taken a little differently if you apply what you say about there being no verb ‘are’ in the verse.
The verse could then read, “… the gospel was preached also to the dead, ..”
You could also apply what you mentioned earlier under ‘Application:’, namely, “The Bible says that those without Christ are dead while still physically living. They are dead spiritually.”
Taking these ideas into account, this verse could be speaking of people who were spiritually dead and who came to life spiritually as a result of accepting the gospel.
-see Eph. 2:1-7 for a reference
What is the meaning of 1 Peter 4:6? “In fact, for this purpose the good news was declared also to the dead, that they might be judged as to the flesh from the standpoint of men but might live as to the spirit from the standpoint of God.” (Were these “dead” the people who had died prior to the death of Christ? As already shown, the dead are not “the spirits in prison.” Those spirits were disobedient angels. And preaching would not have benefited physically dead humans because, as Ecclesiastes 9:5 says, they “are conscious of nothing at all,” and Psalm 146:4 adds that at death a person’s “thoughts do perish.” But Ephesians 2:1-7, 17 does refer to persons who were spiritually dead and who came to life spiritually as a result of accepting the good news.)
Bo, in answer to your question about who are the dead, please read 4:6b.
Ephesians 2:1f clearly deals with those who are “dead in trespasses and sin” and then become believers by grace. They were physically alive but spiritually dead.
Chris, yes, that is what I believe about the principle of verse six, however, Peter refers to those who heard and accepted the gospel when they were still alive but were dead when Peter wrote 1 Peter.
The point of this verse is that those who heard and believed the gospel faced a different future than those without Christ (4:1f). For Christians, physical death does not lead to judgment but to eternal life.
I am just curious…is it possible that 1 Peter 4:6 is in no way connected with verse five?
Des, the difficulty with disassociating verse 6 from verse 5 is the phrase “for this reason (or purpose).” The Greek word for “for” means explanation (explanation of verse 5). Peter is explaining what he just said.
“This reason” is literally “with a view to this,” that is, that everyone must give account to God. Some non-Christians reading 1 Peter knew that dead saints were martyrs. “Was preached” is a past event (aorist tense; passive voice; indicative mood).
Verse 5 mentions the judgment that awaits both the living and the dead. Peter takes up the issue of judgment in verse 6. Understanding of verse 6 depends on verse 5.
Dr. Grant,
Thank you for your reply. I was just a little confused about the verse. I was confused because I thought that the purpose for the gosple being preached to those who had died was so that they would live according to God in the Spirit.
Des, go to my studies in 3:18 to the end of the chapter. The event of chapter 3 is different than the event of chapter 4. Also, go to the study for the last 1/2 of this verse in 4:6b.
I believe that it is wrong to violate the simple rendering of a passage in the Scriptures regardless how indigestible that passage may be. We may need to widen our theological scope to include that very passage, or admit our limitation to grasp it. Peter had used many terms (disobedient 2:9, Gentiles 2:12 , unreasonnable2:18 [pagan])to refer to the living unsaved. The first reference of the dead in 3:19 also tie us with the context as far as (who, when, why, and how). This reference in 1Pet 4:6 is lined up with what Peter had already mentioned 3:19, only this time to widen the circle to include all dead who had not been exposed to the Gospel and who could not have been exposed to Gospel. I believe that God made some general rules, as far as “It is appointed for man once to die after that the judgment.” God in His sovereignty my choose to make an exception. For, at the end, He will also be a just God.
Marc, as you say, all of us have to admit our limitations in determining the meaning of this verse. That is why the 1) the argument of the book of 1 Peter and 2) the immediate context are so important to understand a passage like this.
I want to encourage you Dr Grant in this great work that you are doing to equip the body of Christ. Added to this massive work that you put together, you also make time to respond to your readers’ comments. As a pastor/teacher, I know the sacrifice involved. Although I was still perplexed about the verse after reading your comment on it; I must tell you what a blessing you have been to me, for I’ve been looking for a site like this where I can trust the orthodoxy, and where the author is still alive. You are both, and this is not the last time you will hear from me.
God bless!
Marc
Thanks Marc. In terms of the discipline to study the Word–it takes one to know one! I value your concern for authenticity in Bible exposition.
The NIV translates this verse slightly differently: using the word even instead of also. What is your opinion on this translation?
The problem with the NIV is that it is a dynamic translation. It is, therefore, not as accurate as translations such as NKJV, NASV, ESV, among others. There has been much criticism of the NIV by scholars in recent years.
I read Dr. Grants explanation and the comments that several people left. This particular verse cought my attention when I was reading through First Peter. I understand That Dr. Grant is saying that basicaly, the dead referred to in verse 6, are those who have not received new life in Christ and are NOT the souls of unrightous people who died before Jesus came to earth and died on the cross. Is that correct?
Jasmine,
That is not correct. “To dead ones” of verse six refers to believers who are dead from the viewpoint of Christians living during the time of the writing of First Peter. These people became Christians at some previous point (at that time the gospel was preached to them).
Grant
hi, As MR.Grant’s comment about the dead in verse six, I also believe that those dead are spiritual dead but physically alive,then they heard the gospel before they died,and their sin are paid eternally. Is this correct? i have a question this statement ”that they might be judged according to men in the flesh”. May I have your complete explanation of this statement?
Shemer, did you go to 4:6b to see my comments on that phrase? You may not have noticed that I continue on with the study.
Friends its extremely important to maintain these verses within context..truth be told.
For the sake of the advancement of the Gospel we all live by.
Be blessed!
Dr Richison, There’s been some comments about the difference between the ‘physically’ dead, and the ‘spiritually’ dead. I have always read this verse with the understanding of a physical death because: …. the Good News (JC) was (past tense) preached to those who WERE dead, killed by the flood …. that to me is a physical death … and then goes onto to say that although their bodies were punished with death (again past tense), they could STILL LIVE in their spirits as God lives. How can ‘being killed by the flood’ refer to a spiritual death? Am I just reading this too simply? On the other hand, I’ve always believed the way to eternal life is through Jesus Christ, whom you believe in as the Son of God and have faith in, WHILE YOU ARE STILL PHYSICALLY ALIVE, here on earth. No second chances. No wonder there’s confusion with this one!! But THANK YOU, THANK YOU for your explanations and comments (and to everyone for all your input) … I hope it’s OK with you, but for now, I just accept that I’m probably never going to have a full and complete understanding until I get to heaven.
Christine, You are certainly right in that none of us will fully understand this passage until the eternal state. Having said that, I don’t want to minimize God’s revelation. He wants us to try to understand it otherwise he would not have revealed it. With that said, we need (as you said) to realize our limitations.
Phil, context, as you said, is our best hope of understanding this passage.