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Now, here's today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig.
So there he hangs on the cross. Forsaken by man, and seemingly forsaken by God, bleeding, And crying, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? What do you feel now as the devil? You feel triumph. and vindication.
But of course, you couldn't be more wrong. This is his supreme triumph and your supreme defeat. He struck his heel into your mouth, and you bit it, and that blood destroyed you.
So Here's Peter's point. Suffering In the hands of a loving God can bring forth great benefit. And the Best example is look at Jesus' crucifixion. His crucifixion shows Purpose. There's a second phase.
to that journey of pain for Christ. Yes, he died on a cross. Yes, he experienced crucifixion, but that led to something great: resurrection.
So let's look in verse 21, where it says, Being put to death in the flesh, But made alive by the Spirit.
Now, I just want to give you a little footnote. Hold on to it in your head. I'm going to get back to that little explanatory made alive in the Spirit. I do not believe that refers to his resurrection, even though it looks like that. But go down to verse 21.
There is also an anti-type which now saves us: baptism, not the removal of the filth of the flesh. But the answer of a good conscience toward God through, here it is, the resurrection. Of Jesus Christ.
So Peter mentions his death, his crucifixion. And then his resurrection. Jesus' crucifixion led to Jesus' resurrection, which makes him alive permanently. He'll never die again. The Bible says he always lives to make intercession for us.
When Jesus was hanging on the cross, one of the last words he said were these. Is Finished. What was finished?
Well A lot of things were finished. Our redemption was finished, to name one. But something else was finished. I don't know if you've ever thought about this. His suffering, his pain, was just about over.
All of that horrible pain he was feeling in his body, that excruciating. Suffering. Was over. He had been at the hands of men for six hours. They did to him whatever they wanted to do.
They had arrested him. They yelled at him. They cursed at him. They beat him. and they killed him.
He was forsaken by his disciples. He felt, at least momentarily, forsaken by the Father. All of that is about over. He will die. but he will be raised and the resurrection changes the playing field.
assures a permanence of life. Suffering led to death, but death led. To resurrection. And resurrection ensures not only for Jesus, but for all of us, the Bible says that we'll live forever. Permanence.
Paul puts it like this: Romans 8, verse 18. I consider. That the sufferings of this present age aren't even worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed in us. I don't know what you're going through in your life. But if you're a believer, Take solace in this.
This is the closest you'll ever get to hell. This is it. This is as bad as it gets.
Well, it's pretty bad.
Okay, try to remember it because you won't have that last very long. It's momentary. And compared to what's coming, You can't even compare it.
Now, let me flip the coin. If you're not a believer, this is the closest you'll ever get to heaven. As bad as it is now, it'll get a lot worse. If you're a believer, it's all uphill from here. If you know Jesus Christ.
There's a permanence. In fact, you know, heaven is so great, it is so unlike our earthly experience that when the Bible wants to describe it, it often has to do so in negatives. To say, well, let me tell you what heaven is like. It's not like here. Because you know here you you can relate to here there You can't.
So listen to it. This is Revelation 21. This is what you can expect in your resurrected body. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more Death.
Nor Sorrow. Nor Crying, there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Just think about that. God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There'll be no more crying, no Kleenex in heaven.
You'll never go, I need to wipe my nose. Not there. This life is scarred by periods of tears Can you think back and remember a few days in your life? filled with tears. One that really stands out to me, the first one that is most memorable in my earlier years, was my first day of kindergarten.
I'm embarrassed to tell you this, but I was the biggest crybaby in school. I wanted my mommy so badly, I cried all day long. Goofy, huh?
Well, there were other days besides kindergarten that were more profound than that. The day my brother died was a day filled with tears. me My father's funeral was a day of tears. Sitting at my mother's deathbed, watching her take her last breath, that was a day of tears. Those are tears of loss.
We all experience them. Before this life is over. But there are more tears than that. There are tears of loneliness, misfortune, poverty, sympathy, persecution. And how about tears of regret?
Ever cry a few of those? Regret? Like the two teardrops that were floating together down the river of life. And one said to the other, Who are you? And the teardrop said, I am a teardrop from a woman who loved a man and lost him.
And then quickly said, and who are you to the other teardrop? And the other teardrop said, I'm a teardrop from the woman who got him.
So either way you spin it, there's There's tears of regret in life. No more tears. John also says there will be no more death. You'll never go to a cemetery ever again. You'll never attend a funeral.
And if there's no more death, there'll be no more conditions that bring death. No more disease, no more hospitals, no more doctors, no more dentists. That doesn't mean doctors and dentists won't be in heaven. I don't want to infer that at all. I'm being very careful.
Not to say that, but you'll never have to see one to get treated. John even says there will be no more sorrow. You ever just have a bad day, a sorrowful day, where it's just like Pigpen, the cloud follows you all day long? And so, when you see each other and you part company, you usually say to them, have a good. Yeah, day.
That's a nice wish. Have a good day. You'll never say that in heaven. You never need to. The stupidest thing you could say in heaven is: have a good day.
Every day is a good day. There will be no more sorrow. And then it says there will be no more pain. Hmm. No more pain, no more chronic pain, no more episodal pain, just gone.
Think of how much aspirin we consume. more pain. You will have You will have a perfect body. You'll have a perfect body.
Now I'm seeing some of like these really young healthy folks going What do you mean? I already have a perfect body. Just wait a few years, buddy. Jesus' crucifixion shows purpose, his resurrection shows permanence.
Now Here's a third, as we go on this little pathway. Jesus' proclamation. His proclamation shows planning. I'm going to skim through some very difficult verses. Verse 19: By whom he, Jesus, also went and preached to the spirits in prison.
who formerly were disobedient. When once the divine long-suffering waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us: baptism, not the removal of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Now, let me just tell you something. When Peter wrote those words, he had no idea they would become some of the most difficult to understand in the New Testament.
So he didn't write with all of the Depth and wrangling that we sometimes read into it, I think it was much simpler for him. He was a fisherman. But they are difficult to understand. Martin Luther said of these words: A wonderful text is this, and a more obscure passage, perhaps, than any other in the New Testament.
So that I do not know for certainty just what Peter means I'm glad he said that. I'm glad he was honest to confess that. Because better minds than mine have grappled with this. But let me point out a few things and I'll save the heavy lifting for next week. Notice it says in verse 18 that Jesus was put to death in the flesh.
That means he physically. Died. It says, but made alive by the Spirit. I mentioned that I don't believe in that verse he's referring to resurrection. He is in verse 21, but not in that verse.
I think if you wanted to say that Jesus physically resurrected, he would have said he died in the flesh and he was made alive in the flesh. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig Weekend Edition. Your support helps reach people every day with biblical truth that brings hope, encouragement, and direction for real life. And this month we'd love to thank you with a special collection of resources designed to help you grow stronger in your faith. When you give today, you'll receive biblical wisdom for everyday living.
You'll find biblical encouragement to help you deepen your prayer life, experience God's joy, embrace forgiveness, and stand firm in every season with four of Pastor Skiff's lifestyle booklets. Pray this way, technicolored joy, unforgiveness, forgiveness versus sweet revenge, and standing firm in unsettling times. Your gift helps extend the reach of Connect with Skip Heitzig, connecting more people to God's Word around the world. Request your collection when you give $30 or more at connectwithgift.com slash offer or by calling 800-922-1888.
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Now, here's more from Pastor Skip. But he says. He was put to death in the flesh and made alive. By the Spirit.
Now, not every translation says by the Spirit. Other translations say in the Spirit.
Now, listen carefully. I don't want to lose you on this. The word Spirit is capitalized in my Bible. As if to refer to the Holy Spirit. But in the Greek language, there are no capital letters or small letters.
It's all the same text. There is no definite article in the Greek language, so. The best translation is Being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in spirit. I don't think he's referring to the Holy Spirit. He's referring to Jesus' own personal spirit.
That Jesus physically died, and his body remained in the tomb for three days while his spirit was very much alive. And during that time between death and resurrection, in verse 21, which he mentions. was a time of proclamation. He had a sermon to preach. He had an announcement to give.
He had a proclamation. To shout out. And who was it too? The spirits in prison, Peter tells us.
Now, who were they? And what did he say to them? Let me first assure you. That Jesus did not go to hell and preach the gospel to lost people to give them a second chance, as some misread the text. He didn't speak to people, he spoke to spirits.
And in the New Testament, the word spirits refers either to angels or to demons.
So that between the death of Christ on the cross and his resurrection, on the third day. He went to the spirit realm and visited them. We know in Acts chapter 2, Peter again says Jesus went into Hades, not hell, Hades, the abode of the dead, the abode of the spirits. You will not leave his soul in Hades, nor will you allow his. The Holy One to see corruption.
So Jesus for That time went and spoke a proclamation, a message to these spirits.
Now, these spirits somehow, as you see here in Peter, relate to the pre-flood era, the antediluvian civilization era, the time of Noah. And if you know your text from Genesis 6, it says that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were fair, and there was some weird, aberrant race that grew out of a cohabitation. Again, I want to do the heavy lifting on that at a later time. Peter doesn't tell us what they said or what Jesus said to them. He just delivered a message.
I'm guessing That he gave an announcement. of his victory. It went something like this. I just want all you demons who tried to stop this from happening to know that I just won the war against evil. By dying for the sins of the world and conquering death by physical resurrection.
I just wanted to bring you that announcement. Because the party is over. When Jesus died on the cross, There must have been a party of sorts. A victory party in hell. This is God's son.
We killed him. It's over. It says in 1 Corinthians 10: None of the rulers of this age understood it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
So, in their little time of celebration, Jesus shows up to make the proclamation. That all the plans of the devil to stop the good work of God. have been overturned. And God had enacted his own greater, perfect plan. that Jesus was victorious over this demonic plan.
He made that proclamation.
Now The point of Peter is that our suffering Whatever Satan uses to block our greater happiness and good. God has a purpose in it. And he made it by this proclamation. I heard about a man who uh He always went to a weekly prayer meeting, and during the week, he'd blow it, he'd fall, he'd stumble, he'd sin. And at the prayer meeting in this church, At the end, he would always say, and Lord, just Just remove the cobwebs from my life.
Meaning, you know, I blew it again, so just Clean it all out.
Next week, you know, he'd live his life during the week, come back to the prayer meeting, Lord, just clean the cobwebs out of my life.
Next week, Lord, I just want, you know, I confess this and that, clean the cobwebs out of my life.
Well, this one guy in the prayer meeting got so upset by this because he knew how the guy was living.
So Finally, at another prayer meeting, when the man said, God, clean the cobwebs out of my life, the other man shouted out, God, don't do it. Kill the spider. Kill the spider. What Jesus basically announced is I've killed the spider. Satan does not have the kind of a power and grip he once had on the world.
I made sure of it by what I did on the cross. I'll go into more detail next time. Let's finish this out. Look at verse 22 for our fourth. This is now the exaltation.
The final step in this journey is that Jesus, he died, he was crucified, he made a proclamation, he had a resurrection, but. He left Earth. He took off. He ascended into heaven. Verse 22: Who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God.
Angels And authorities and powers, those are other rankings of angelic beings, either demonic or good. Angels, authorities, and powers having been made subject to him. He's now The supreme authority. The term right hand means power. And prestige.
Most people are right-handed. I'm sorry if you're a lefty. That's just in the Bible when it says right-hand. It's not ditzing you, it's just saying that's the power of prestige. The place of prestige and power, authority.
So the right hand of God is the ultimate place. of power And prestige. Philippians 2, God has highly exalted him and given him a name above every name that the name of Jesus Christ every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess, of all those in heaven and on the earth. and under the earth. Every single being, he has authority.
Over. He ascended. He's exalted. He's at God's right hand, and he's going to bring you with him. He's going to bring you with him.
So, yes, yes, yes, Jesus suffered. And yes, his suffering led to a painful death. But after a crucifixion, Came proclamation, resurrection. and exaltation. The whole point is that Jesus' suffering was leading somewhere to glory, and so is yours.
So is yours. We are an embattled minority in a hostile world, just like Noah and those eight. But they were kept. And the point is that God will keep you, and your future is secure. Have you ever heard of the Nicene Creed?
Anyone here? Nicene Creed? I've heard of it. Am I the only one? Have you heard of the Nicene Creed or the Apostles' Creed?
Okay, I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. It's what most Christians are taught. In Sunday school, When you grow up, that's the core of what we believe. The Nicene Creed is named after a council in the city of Nicaea around 325 AD. It was attended by three hundred and eighteen delegates.
These 318 men, all of them. All of them, except for about 12. Had either lost an eye, a hand, Or we're limping. It couldn't walk. Because they had been tortured for Christ.
They suffered. But here they are to vigorously defend. Doctrine, truth, forge what is biblical belief system to pass on to generations because they saw. A reason. for their ouch.
And that what God has planned for us is. Our sufferings aren't even worthy to be compared with that. Not worthy to be compared. The crucifixion? Shows purpose.
The resurrection? Shows permanence. The proclamation? Planning all part of the plan. And his exaltation shows His ultimate power.
What happened in the life of Christ happens for a follower of Christ. You're suffering. is all for a reason. By the way, as we close, here's a thought I want to leave with you. You know what the.
The ultimate reason for Jesus' ouch was? Yeah. Yeah. It says to bring us to God, the just. In the place of the unjust.
to bring us to God. It's as if Jesus could look through the mist of time and see out into the future. and see you and you and you and you and you and you and you and you and all of us. And say, Father, It's worth it. If I can bring them with me into glory, into heaven.
Then I'll do it. It's worth it. There's a reason for this ouch, this horrible, excruciating pain and suffering. I'll do it. If I can bring them with me.
For the joy that was set before him The writer says. He endured the cross. You are that joy. We're so glad you joined us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before you go, here's a reminder.
When you give $30 or more this month, we'll send you biblical wisdom for everyday living as our thanks. This special collection of four Lifestyle Booklets from Pastor Skip Heitzig offers biblical encouragement for prayer, joy, forgiveness, and standing firm when life feels uncertain. Your support helps keep this Bible teaching ministry reaching people around the world with the life-changing truth of God's Word. Give today at connectwithskift.com slash offer. or call 800-922-8888.
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