1 Peter 3:10-22. Spirits are Real; die to flesh, be raised in Spirit; live in the Heavens.

In the previous lesson, we have studied- paradise and Sion, the first level and the top level in heaven. "2 Timothy 2:20 says, But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour." If you are either an earthen vessel, or a vessel of gold, you will be happy since you are in the great house, which is heaven. By all means, please escape hell. Do not be jealous of someone striving for Sion; respect them, pray for them, if at all possible help them. According to your ability, you do. If you cannot strive for Sion, do not strive; but do not hate others for striving. If you do not understand what I say, please put up with me. "1 Peter 3:10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:" Love life refers to loving the worldly life, and this person seems to do well. Apostle Peter gives a warning to this person, not to take things for granted, and not to speak evil of others. They also speak guile, that is to speak with cunning flattery with intelligence to gain the support of other people, to get their favor; so, they may have many friends. But they speak evil of a righteous person, and with guile to an unrighteous person. "11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." Eschew evil means deliberately avoid evil or abstain from evil. In 2:11 Peter says, "abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;." It is the same thing. Do good means to live in righteousness. Seek peace with all, but not with guile, but with the truth. The reason is that God takes care of the righteous people, listens to their prayers, and God is against those who do evil. Mathew 6:13 says that God will deliver them from evil. So, they will escape. "13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?" If we follow Jesus Christ and that are good, nobody can harm you, because God is the one who will protect you, despite your difficult life.   

"14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;" The Spirit of God says that if we suffer for righteousness sake; in this case they suffer to stand as witness for Jesus Christ; God tells them to be happy and be not afraid. What is the logic or secret behind it? "1 Peter 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified." It is the fourth chapter, it says, since we are suffering for the sake of Christ, the Spirit of glory that is resting upon Jesus Christ will rest upon you also; that is, you will almost be in an equal status with Jesus Christ in heaven. So, rejoice. "15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:" Knowing your hope of the glory, rejoice in your heart, have peace, and you witness for the Lord with joy, still with meekness and fear towards God. "16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ." Good conscience is the first core of godliness in a person; and that is what had brought you to repent. Evildoers do not have good conscience, and that is why they talk evil about you. The verse says that they will be ashamed. That is, God will put them to shame. "17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing." It is better, and it will bring much reward. "18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:" While you suffer, remember that he might bring us to God, he was dead in the flesh, but he was raised in the Spirit; and it is the pattern for us, so that we must be dead in the flesh to sin, and be raised in the Spirit for eternal life. "Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins:" So, before you were dead to God or to Spirit, but now you are alive in heaven. This is what we say that we are saved by grace. "Ephesians 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) ... 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" A lot of people use this as a cliché, but it is a reality to be with the Lord Jesus Christ, and to be one with him in his Spirit. It is reality in Spirit; and we can feel the joy and peace in your heart.

"19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;" Which are these spirits in prison? We will see it in the next verse. By the way, God has created so many kinds of creations including small worms and big whales. We see them at least in pictures; and so, we know them. God has created small angels and big archangels also. We have heard about them, but we have not seen them, and so, we do not know them. Even though we do not know them, the Spirit beings also are as real as we are real. In the Spirit world, God has cursed and punished the archangel Lucifer, and many other angles with him; and they are cursed to be as evil spirits and demons. Even in the previous lesson, we have touched on the subject 'Spirits'. Christians and preachers use the name angels just for names sake, but not in a practical realistic way. But God operates with people in the Spirit realm, a lot more than in the flesh realm. "2 Corinthians 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works." Ministry of angels is as real as ministry of false preachers, even Satan deceives as an angel of light. We talk about the gifts of the Holy Ghost in healing and doing miracles. But do you know how it works? On the day of Pentecost, the gifts were visibly shown to the first recipients on the upper room, as tongues of fire. "Hebrews 1:7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire." The angels are ministers in the Spirit, in the ministry. As a servant of God, who has the gift of the Holy Ghost, pronounce a healing or miracle; these angels go behind and do the healing or the miracle; and that is how it is done; but it is not just a magic. So also, Satan also does it with evil spirits, to deceive believers. It is all the work of the spirits. But there are false preachers deceiving people with fake healings also, and I am not talking about them here. "20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing,..." Noah built a big boat; let me tell you that it might have taken a few years, without going to the details of the structure of the boat. It is apparent that God has given some assignments to some spirits, which they disobeyed, and these spirits were cursed and were locked in prison. Usually, when spirits disobey God, God curses them; strips them from some powers, and brings them down in status, to demons, evil spirits and such. In this case, God has locked them also in prison. Our subject context is, that when Jesus Christ was raised from death on the cross and became God; as God, he went to these spirits and preached to them in prison. What did he preach? Of course, it is not gospel of salvation. Probably he could have told them why they were locked in prison, or he could have delivered them from prison, as Satan will be delivered from prison after the thousand-year, in Revelation 20:7. ["7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison."] It is not given to us in scripture, and the secret things belong to God and not to us. ["Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law."]

"20 ... wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water." The whole world of people was killed, only eight people and the species of animals were saved. "21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:" Here we see a phrase that "even baptism doth also now save us." The devil always hate God, always twists the word of God as he did on the garden of Eden, that also he will do it so many ways. One way is, that he will bluntly deny the truth. God's word says that baptism saves us, but now a days Pentecostal churches, evangelical churches, and even Baptists churches say that we must take water baptism, but it will not save us. They will cling on to the Calvinist doctrine that we are not saved by works; baptism is works and so, we will not be saved by baptism; and it is not a requirement to be saved, and salvation is free gift from the Lord Jesus Christ. They appear to praise Jesus Christ, just to deny him. They openly declare it in order to be politically correct. Whoever declare it, and whoever believe it, are of the devil, and they will end up where the first woman and man have ended up with. They do not have back bone to stand against Satan, and so, they bow down to Satan, even though they recommend baptism. It is ridiculous stupidity. The other way that the devil deceive Christians is, by giving them counterfeit baptism. Churches have so many kinds of baptism other than the immersion water baptism, which Jesus took under John the Baptist. So, either way the devil got them, and it is a shame. Jesus Christ says in "Mark 16:16, He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." According to Jesus, both groups of Christians; (1) who do not believe that baptism is one of the conditions for salvation but will take it to please others; and (2) they do not believe in water baptism; so, they will not take the true baptism, or they will take the counterfeit baptism to satisfy and to please the religious churches. Jesus Christ says that both groups will be damned eternally.  "22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him." Luke 16:19 also says, "So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God." So, after Jesus told them about baptism, he went up to heaven and sat on the right hand of God the Father on his throne. In short, if we are religious, we will please a lot of people, and they will praise us as godly people. But if we follow Jesus Christ even in baptism, many churches may not be pleased in us, but Jesus Christ will accept us, even in heaven, may be even in Sion.

Physiology, Psychology, Sociology, and such are studies about our bodies, mind, behaviors, and such things. But Soul and Spirit cannot be studied since it is neither science nor bluff. God teaches about them to his people through his Spirit. God created our Soul first; then he gave us our flesh body; and then if we are born again, he gives us the holy Spirit. So, the Soul is us, and at birth we receive our flesh body. We are either male or female, by our body. So, we are the body, and so we are either man or woman; and we may not even realize that we have a Soul. A little sign that we have a soul is that we see dreams, which we cannot see by our body. Then, the word of God says that we are Souls, and it is eternal; and souls will not die, but bodies will die. Born again people have the holy Spirit, it will be the body to our Soul after our body dies. So, we are Soul, we have two bodies, one is flesh and the other is Spirit. Flesh body and Spirit body desire opposite things. "Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." So, God tells us to walk in the Spirit, and reject the desire of the flesh. What is the desire of the flesh? Either you are a male or a female. You wish to be a great man or a great woman; in a certain way you like to be admired; it may be sexual, or in status, or even both. God says that you cannot do the things of flesh and of the Spirit at the same time because they desire opposite things. If you get the desire of the flesh, your Spirit will be dead, and if you get the life of the Spirit, your flesh will be dead. "Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." If you live in the faith of the Son of God, Jesus Christ will love you and give himself to you. How to live by faith of the Son of God? You walk with him to Gethsemane. "Matthew 26:36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. 37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. 38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39 And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. ... 42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. ... 44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. "What was the prayer on the third time? It was "thy will be done." He was crucified and was resurrected. Come to the beginning of Galatians 2:20. "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh is the life of Christ since he gave himself for me." If you study this verse very sincerely, your heart may break, you will become emotional, you may weep and cry, you will become more religious; but by that you cannot become holy. But if you walk with him to Gethsemane, when God the Father did not change his mind to his own son and required him to die; you will also die and will come back as Jesus Christ living in you; and then you will live with the Lord Jesus Christ here, as well as in heaven, even in his heavenly home Sion.

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