To encourage believers to endure suffering for righteousness’ sake on account of their faith in Christ, in chapter 3:18-22 of his first letter, Peter gives us a most beautiful description of the redemptive work of Christ on our behalf as a motivation. Through His suffering and death, Christ conquered sin in order to bring us to God (v18); secondly, we saw last time that upon His death on the cross, He went in the spirit to declare a victory sermon over fallen angels whose spirits were bound in prison awaiting the final judgment. Through His death, Christ “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them..” (Col 2:15); and through faith in Christ, we overcome Satan’s temptation to fear and despair in our time of suffering.
