By which also he went, &c.— By which Spirit also he, going, preached to the spirits in prison. That is, our Lord, by the Spirit, inspired Noah, and thereby constituted him a preacher of righteousness unto those who were disobedient in that age. See Genesis 6:3; Genesis 6:22. The inspiration of the prophets seems every where to be ascribed to the Holy Spirit of God, which is the principal reason for our understanding τω Πνευματι, the Spirit, in that sense, 1 Peter 3:18. That our Lord imparted the Spirit unto the Old Testament prophets, see ch. 1 Peter 1:11.; and as he had glory with the Father before the world was, even from all eternity; and as by him God made the worlds, and governed his church and people in the early ages; he imparted the Spirit unto Noah and other prophets, before his coming in the flesh. The word going, may be either looked upon as ornamental and giving strength to the idea,—as that and other like words are in the scriptures and other authors;—or as God the Trinity is represented as doing what he did by his Spirit in the prophets, (Nehemiah 9:30. Isaiah 48:16. Zechariah 7:12.) so our Lord is represented as coming (or going) and doing what others did, in his name, and by that Spirit which they had received from him. And in like manner he may here be represented as going, and preaching to that wicked generation which perished in the flood; because he gave the Spirit to Noah, and thereby inspired him to preach to them. He preached by that preacher of righteousness, in whom was his Spirit, which then strove with man. Compare 2 Peter 2:5 with Genesis 6:3. By the spirits in prison we may therefore understand such persons as are now in the custody of death; and shut up, as it were, in a prison; where they are reserved unto the judgment of the last day: but unto whom Christ formerly preached, by the Spirit, that is, in the days of Noah, when those wicked persons lived here upon earth. For he inspired Noah to preach repentance unto that wicked generation, all the while the ark was preparing. But they continued impenitent, it is to be feared, and therefore perished in the flood; when a few persons, viz. righteous Noah and his family, were saved in the ark: and if, through grace, we have that, which is principally intended by Christian baptism,—the stipulation of a good conscience towards God, we shall be saved by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, when the wicked world shall inevitably perish.
Dr. Fulke has quoted the venerable Bede, as giving the sense of the text in words to the following purpose: he, who in our time, coming in the flesh, preached the way of life to the world; even he himself came before the flood, and preachedto them who were then unbelievers, and lived carnally. For, even he, by his Holy Spirit, was in Noah, and the rest of the holy men who were at that time; and by their good conversation preached to the wicked men of that age, that they might be converted to better manners. This interpretation Dr. Fulke doubted not but that Bede took from the more antient fathers.
To make out this interpretation, let the following things be carefully observed. The word spirit is commonly applied by the antient writers, not to living men, but to men after they are dead. Plato (toward the conclusion of his famous dialogue, entitled Gorgias) terms the place where wicked men are detained after death, το δεσμωτηριον, the prison, which they call Tartarus; and afterwards he speaks of wicked men deceased as εν Αδου — εν δεσμωτηριω,— in Hades, in prison. Elsner has quoted Aristotle, as using the phrase εν φυλακη ειναι, to be in prison, concerning the dead. For when Evoesus Syrus had hanged some of the satraps who were about to revolt, he ordered it to be told to their friends, that they were in prison, οτι εν φυλακη εισιν. But he used the word equivocally: for though he meant that they were dead, yet he designed that their friends should think they were in prison; and accordingly they gave money to ransom them; which when he had received, he brought them out dead. What therefore he said amounted to this, "That they were in custody," whereby he meant, that they were in the custody of death. But he would not add πνευματα, spirits, εν Αδου, in Hades, or any like words, because that would have made his meaning clear, which he intended should be obscure.
The persons here spoken of, are termed spirits in prison; that is, who are now in prison; though they formerly lived in bodies upon earth, and were disobedient in the days of Noah, all the while the ark was preparing. We find the word φυλακη, a prison, used concerning wicked spirits, Revelation 18:2; Revelation 20:7 and the same word is applied to wicked men after they are dead. The Syriac version has rendered the words thus; He preached unto those souls which were (or are) detained in Sheol, or Hades; that is, to wicked men, who are now spirits, confined in their proper place, in the state of the dead.
Our blessed Saviour cautioned wicked men to repent before death, lest they should be cast into prison; Matthew 5:25; Matthew 18:30. Luke 12:58. And St. Peter seems here to be speaking of that prison, in which the spirits of wicked men are detained in safe custody; reserved unto the judgment of the last day; as it is said of the fallen angels. 2 Peter 2:4-5.Jude 1:6.
To conclude.—If this part of the present epistle be looked upon as a digression, it was a very pertinent one, and a carrying on of the grand view of the epistle; which was, to encourage the Christians to bear persecution with patience and fortitude, and still to continue to do good. For, Christ, their Lord and Master, did so, and persevered unto the death; but he rose again, and was amply rewarded: inlike manner the Christians also, after suffering with him, might expect, at last, to be glorified together with him. Nay, farther; Christ was always doing good, and particularly endeavouring to render men pious and holy. For, he inspired Noah, and sent him to preach unto the antediluvians, who are now dead; and the effect was much the same with his own preaching in person, or by his apostles, afterwards; that is, some believed, but others were disobedient. It may be asked, "And what became of them?" The answer is, "The righteous few were saved in the ark: the numerous disobedient, who had rejected the admonitions of Noah for a hundred and twenty years, perished in the flood." What happened during therains, &c. we must leave. And the event will again be analogous; for the unbelieving world must perish. But as righteous Noah and his family were saved in the ark, so they who are baptized with the true Christian baptism, (which is not a mere putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the stipulation of a good conscience towards God,) will finally be saved, if they continue faithful, in consequence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is gone into heaven, and is placed at the right hand of God; angels, and authorities, and powers, being made subject unto him: 1 Peter 3:22.