For Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the spirit. 19 In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison, 20 who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water. 21 This prefigured baptism, which saves you now. It is not a removal of dirt from the body but an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.
At the end of his earthly life, Jesus Christ, an innocent and just man, suffered and died for sins once so that he might appear before God on our behalf and offer himself as expiation for the sins of all who believe in him (Heb. 9:24-28). The Creed tells us that Jesus died and went to the abode of the dead. When Christ rose from the dead, transformed by the Holy Spirit into the risen, Glorified Christ, a life-giving spirit (1 Cor. 15:45), sin was conquered. The "spirits in prison" is not a reference to earthly beings but to supernatural beings who were disobedient to God, whose origin was not given. Christ’s salvation extended even to them.
Christians are saved by "passing through" the waters of baptism. This is a pledge for Christians to live as Christ taught them to live, and a pledge from God to remove the stain of original sin so that believers, through grace earned by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, can live in good conscience and keep God’s commandments. We are baptized into Christ’s death, and we are raised with him; “You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead (Col. 2:12).” The God of our Lord Jesus Christ placed him at his right hand, “Far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come (Eph. 1:21).”
Almighty God, grant us
the grace to have a clear conscience and keep your Commandments. Through our baptism we have the strength to faithfully
serve you; in our weakness give us the will so to do. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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