Dear brothers and sisters! Today, I want to share with you the message: "The Gospel of Christ Preached to the Dead." This message reveals the depth of God’s grace and the fairness of His salvation plan for all people, both the living and the dead.
Christ’s Sacrifice and the Gospel to the Spirits in Prison
1 Peter 3:18-20 "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits - to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built."
After Jesus died and was made alive, He proclaimed His victory to the spirits in prison—those who had died before Jesus came, including God’s people from the Old Testament.
1 Peter 4:6 "For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit."
The apostle Peter clearly taught that the grace of the new covenant, the gospel of Jesus - also extends to the dead.
Philippians 2:9-11 "Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Here, the phrase "under the earth" is commonly understood to refer to the realm of the dead. Why do they bow and confess Jesus as Lord? Because the gospel that brings forgiveness in Jesus’ name was also preached to them. Jesus is the Savior not only of the living but also of the dead.
The Lord of both the Dead and the Living
Romans 14:9 "For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living."
Paul testifies that Jesus is Lord of the dead as well. This means that the faithful people of the Old Testament are also saved through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Bible says, "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." Only the blood of Christ - not the blood of animals - can truly forgive our sins. That is why Jesus suffered and shed His blood on the cross for us. Before Jesus’ sacrifice, forgiveness awaited its complete fulfillment in Christ.
The Promise Fulfilled for the Old Testament Saints
Hebrews 11:37-40 "They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword... These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."
The "something better" is the gospel of salvation through Jesus.
The Old Testament people had to wait until the time of Jesus to receive this blessing. When the time came, they too were made perfect through Jesus Christ, together with New Testament believers.
Therefore, the gospel that brings forgiveness in Christ’s name also reaches the dead, including those from the Old Testament.
Luke 20:38 "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."
Jesus taught that the dead is still alive to God. Though their bodies have died, their spirits live before Him.
Understanding the Spiritual World
In Roman times, philosophers did not believe in the world of angels. They thought gods were just higher beings within the material universe. For them, death meant returning to nothing. So, the idea of preaching the gospel to the dead seemed foolish to them.
But the apostles taught that the souls of the dead are alive somewhere in the spiritual world, waiting for God’s promise.
Some groups today, like Jehovah’s Witnesses and Seventh-day Adventists, teach that when a person dies, the soul also dies. They believe that only at the resurrection will people live again. But Jesus taught differently.
Mark 12:19, 23-25 "Teacher," they said, "Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother... At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?"
Jesus replied, "Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven."
Jesus explained that the spiritual world is different from the physical world. The Sadducees’ thought remains in the physical world. They believed that existence would remain purely physical, even after death or resurrection.
In some modern interpretations, such as those held by Jehovah’s Witnesses, the millennial kingdom is understood primarily as a physical reality. The earthly paradise they dream of is nothing more than a physical world. But Jesus and the apostles were not speaking of a perfect physical world, but the spiritual world.
Salvation Only in Jesus’ Name
Acts 4:11-12 "Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved."
This means that all people, since Adam and Eve, can only be saved through the name of Jesus, including those from the Old Testament.
Jesus, Judge of the Living and the Dead
Acts 10:42 "He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead."
2 Timothy 4:1 "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge..."
Both Peter and Paul believed that Jesus would judge both the living and the dead. This means the gospel is preached to the dead as well.
Since Adam, countless people have lived and died. Many died without ever hearing the gospel. If the gospel were not preached to the dead, how unfair and sad would that be? God is just and merciful, giving sunlight and rain to both the good and the evil. That is why Jesus, after His resurrection, preached the gospel to the spirits in prison—the dead. How fair and righteous is our God! He deserves our praise.
Brothers and sisters!
Let us believe and follow the faith of the early church apostles, who taught that the gospel of Christ is for both the living and the dead. God’s salvation is truly for all.
The claim that Abraham and Moses were saved in the name of Jehovah is nonsense. This claim does not align with the teaching of Scripture.
Source: https://blog.naver.com/ceongkim