[224]. Vid. History of the apostles Creed.
[225]. The Creed called the Apostles’ is not offered by the first writers in whom it is found, upon its own authority. They attempt to prove it from the scriptures, and we can receive it in no other way. The article “He descended into hell” did not originally stand in the Eastern, nor in the Roman creed; it was first found in the creed of Aquileia, which had nothing of Christ’s burial; and no doubt as αδκσ is often put for the grave, this article meant in it his burial. When inserted from thence into the two other creeds, which mentioned his burial already, it was understood of his human soul. Yet it stands incoherently, for his body was crucified, dead, buried, arose, and was seen to ascend: but this article, in the midst of those verbs, predicates something of another subject, his soul. Yet if taken in the sense of “Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,” (Psa. xvi. Acts ii.) it is true. But שאול and αδκσ are each taken for the invisible world or separate state, of the good, as well as evil, both in the old and new Testament, and this was thought by Jews and Gentiles to be under the surface. Thus Abraham and Lazarus were supposed there, and Samuel to have been called up from thence. Christ asserting his divinity, must allege he came from heaven, for that was the place of God. He also returned thither, and is to come from thence; yet he has gone to prepare a place, and his disciples expected by his promise to be with him, and so all other Christians. His descent therefore means that his soul, when separated from his body, was immediately with the separate spirits, who are happy, and so said to be in paradise. But whether above, or below the surface, is unimportant. None but the Divine Spirit is ubiquitary, but the transitions of others may be as quick as thought. They have means of communication with each other, and can receive what answers to our sense of light, without bodily senses, and no doubt vastly more satisfactorily, than we do in our most vivid dreams. The Divine Nature of Christ was, and is, omnipresent; for he declared he was in heaven whilst on earth, and it is not probable that his human soul was separated from this after his death any more than during his life.
[226]. This they call Limbus Patrum.
[227]. See Vol. I. page 54, 55, and page 209, ante.
[228]. 1 Peter iii. 18. describes the sufferings, death, and resurrection of Christ, as encouragement for the suffering saints. There are no prepositions before σαρκς, and πνευματι (flesh and spirit:) our translators have taken the former as the dative of the part affected, the latter as the dative of the cause; and have expressed the former by in, the latter by by. Some preposition, or prepositions must be inserted in the translation. It is said, to preserve the antithesis, the same should be repeated, and so it will be; “Was quickened in the Spirit,” which will refer to his human soul. But his human soul was not dead, and could not be quickened. And it is absurd to substitute the adjective quick, (as Dr. Horseley has done) for this is to make, not translate scripture. Nor could his human soul quicken his body; it was the power of God, whether we understand by Spirit his divine nature, the person of the Father, or of the Holy Spirit. Now as the word Spirit here cannot mean his human soul, this passage will not prove that it went to any place, or prison, whatever.
By which, (ver. 19.) relates to the Divine Spirit: he, that is, Christ, went (πορευθεις having gone,) preached (this is also the indefinite past tense) to the spirits in prison. The omission of the substantive verb makes the present tense; and the spirits here spoken of were still in prison, at the time of the writing this epistle, and therefore whether good or evil, they had not been set at large by Christ from their imprisonment. The word disobedient is also the indefinite participle. Went, preached, and disobedient, are all the same tense; and, coming together, evidently relate to the same time. Ποτε οτε connect them with, and pin them down to the time of the verb waited, which is the unfinished action, was waiting, the tense, which is most definite, and in this case actually connected with absolute time, to wit, “in the days of Noah.” The going forth, the preaching, and the disobedience, were therefore all, as well as the waiting of God, in the days of Noah, and not between the death, and resurrection of Christ.
The reason that the Apostle fixes on the fearful example of rejecting divine instructions in the days of Noah, was probably that Noah had been called in scripture a preacher of righteousness: the Lord had also said of that generation, that his Spirit should not always strive with man, which implies, that his Spirit did go forth with the preaching of that age; and their disobedience was proved by their destruction by the deluge; and their death in impenitency was a proof of their everlasting punishment.
[229]. שאול and Αδης.
[230]. This observation is of use for the explaining the sense of several scriptures, which contain a seeming contradiction between them: thus, in Luke ix. 28. it is said, About eight days after these sayings, Jesus took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray; whereas Mark says, in chap. ix. 2. that this was done after six days, Luke speaks of the eight days, inclusive of the first and last. Mark speaks of eight days, exclusive of them both, which is but six days.
[231]. This they call νυχθημερον.