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Jesus Wins

Jesus Wins
September 25, 2016

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:18-22

I. Jesus wins through His death and resurrection and ascension.

A. Peter begins his paragraph (vs. 18) by talking about how Jesus died. He was condemned to death on a cross as a criminal by both the Jewish leaders and the Romans. And so He died. It looked like His story was over. Not for Jesus. His death was not a loss. It was instead a victory. Jesus did suffer unjustly on the cross. He had not committed any sins. But He died for a purpose. Peter says Jesus died once for sins. His death was unique. It was the only death that could bring us forgiveness for our sins.

B. Unlike the animal sacrifices in the Jewish temple which had to be repeated daily, Jesus died as a sacrifice for our sins just once. His death on the cross took away our sin and canceled its effects – forever. The death of Jesus on the cross reconciled us to God. Romans 5:10: “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” The death of Jesus then was not a defeat. It was a victory that brought us forgiveness from God and reconciliation with God.

II. Jesus wins against the powers of darkness.

A. Who are these powers of darkness? Peter says that after Jesus was resurrected in vs. 18 he went and proclaimed a message to the spirits in prison in vs. 19. The spirits are disobedient supernatural powers – demons – that were being kept in a prison. Jesus had a message for these demons after His resurrection: “I win. You lose. As you demons can plainly see, I am no longer dead. I am alive. You thought you had beaten me on the cross. But I won. And you demons are going to be judged for all the evil that you have done with and through wicked people.”

B. The church Peter was writing to could have been tempted to think that they were losing. They were submitting to evil human authority figures who were ruling over them. And demons were working through those evil humans to make the lives of the Christians miserable. So Peter reminded the church of Jesus’ victory. Peter said, “Don’t be afraid of those in authority over you who are treating you badly. Don’t even be afraid of the demons who are at work through those authorities in your life. Jesus is Lord! Jesus rules over everyone and everything. Jesus wins.”

III. Jesus wins on behalf of you in the church.

A. In 1 Peter 3 Peter wants the church to know that it is not just Jesus who wins. So will the church. That is the point of the comparison of the salvation of Noah’s family and the salvation of the church in vs. 20-21. In vs. 20 Peter says that eight people in Noah’s family were brought safely through water in the ark. Then in vs. 21 he says that “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Just like the people in Noah’s ark were saved from God’s judgment so also will those Christians who have been baptized be saved from God’s judgment. The same God who saved Noah and his family will also save the Christians in Peter’s day. And He will save you.

Application:
Jesus wins and so will you if you are united with Jesus. Make sure you are one with Jesus.

Sources:
The letter of 1 Peter
Commentaries on 1 Peter by David Helm, I.H. Marshall and Karen Jobes