Sermon & translation by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 04 Oct 2015[1]
15. But y'all must begin to sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord,
ready always for a defense
toward every one who asks of you a word concerning the hope in you,
but with meekness and fear,
16. maintaining a good conscience,
so that in what you are talked down about,
the abusers of your good conduct in Christ might be put down.
17. For it is better to suffer - if the will of God so wills - while doing good, than while doing evil,
18. because Christ also suffered concerning sin,
[only] once -
the righteous on behalf of the unrighteous,
in order that He might lead us to God,
after having been put to death in the flesh,
but having been made alive in the Spirit,
19. in Whom He preached after going even to the spirits in prison
20. that were un-persuaded then
when the patience of God was waiting
in Noah's days during the equipping of an ark,
into which a few (that is, 8) souls were saved through water,
21. the antitype of which is now saving you also: baptism –
not displacing dirt from the flesh,
but rather a request for a good conscience in God
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
22. Who is at the right hand of God
after having proceeded into heaven,
angels and authorities and powers having been subjected to Him.
· In my last sermon, the question was raised, based on 1 Peter 3:15, “Are you ready to give a defense – to explain the hope of Christ to anyone who asks you about it?”
· In that last sermon I suggested Paul’s quick response to the Philippian jailer from Acts 16:31 and promised to come back to that topic this week.
· So now let’s look at salvation. What is it? What does it mean? How do we get saved?
· One of the few things I remember from my college Chemistry class is how to remember the difference between the solvent and the solute in a mixture. You often have to dissolve things in liquids in Chemistry labs, and it's helpful to keep straight which word applies to the liquid and which word refers to the thing being dissolved in the liquid. My Chemistry professor had a great way to remember the two terms. He did it by mispronouncing a Bible verse from John 4:22. You want to remember which is the solvent and which is the solute? Professor Dameron reminded us, “Solvation is of the juice.” The solvent is the juice, the liquid.
· But we're not studying solvation this morning, we're studying salvation.
· You know, another thing that Biblical salvation is not is: salvation from being crosswise with other people. This is one of the biggest mistakes that people make: They become fixated on getting everybody to affirm them and they ignore God’s wrath. Biblical salvation, on the other hand, is concerned with getting right with God, Who exists independently from us humans. Being on the receiving end of God’s grace instead of God’s anger does tend to put us at peace with other people around us, but it still puts us in conflict with humans who hate God, and so we have to endure persecution from them. Last week we focused on what to do while suffering for righteousness. We will never be able to get some people to affirm us, and that’s o.k., as long as we are safe with God.
· So, we’re not talking about chemical solvation, and we’re not talking about man-centered salvation, we’re talking about salvation from God’s wrath, and, what a glorious picture we see in First Peter at the end of chapter 3! As I look at this passage from verse 18 on, I see a rich landscape with four areas highlighted:
1. First is a snapshot of Jesus on the cross, which tells us how He saves us,
2. Then comes a snapshot of Noah and the ark – a story of how particular people were saved,
3. Next is a snapshot of baptism – a marker of the starting point of God’s salvation in us,
4. And finally is a snapshot of heaven and the power behind our salvation.
· I believe that Peter shares these four pictures with us for two reasons:
1. He wants Christians to be so sure of the gospel that they can cling to it and endure persecution,
2. He wants Christians to have the gospel so well in mind that they can share it with others.
· So I want to go through these four pictures of salvation with you now so that you also will be able to cling to God’s salvation despite persecution and share it with others!
“For it is better to suffer – if the will of God so wills – while doing good, than while doing evil, because Christ also suffered concerning sin, [only] once – the righteous on behalf of the unrighteous, in order that He might lead us to God, after having been put to death in the flesh, but having been made alive in the Spirit.”
· (Which, by the way proves the Roman Catholic theory wrong that Jesus’ body is sacrificed every day they have a mass.) This one-time event is our first picture of salvation.
· This Jesus whom Peter had seen crucified and then raised from the dead around 30 A.D., did these things for a specific purpose: to bring us to God. How does that work?
· Well, it talks about sin at the beginning of verse 18.
o Sin is everything we do that breaks God's commands and everything we don't do to measure up to His perfection.
o No one can measure up perfectly to God's rules in the Bible (Romans 3:9-20), and so God is obligated by His own justice to punish every human being on earth!
· The punishment for sin is death (Rom. 6:23). However, God showed His love to us and sent His Son Jesus to become a man and actually take on Himself the punishment we deserve for our sins.
o When Jesus was a man, he lived a perfect life; Jesus is the “just/righteous” one in this verse, and we are the “unjust/unrighteous” ones, because we all have sinned.
o When Jesus died, He died “for our sins,” taking on Himself the punishment of death which we deserve so that He might bring us to God.
· This is the essence of the Gospel, that Jesus died for our sins to bring us to God! This is all we need to say to explain our Christian faith – not that hard, is it?
· It’s also not that new. This salvation had already been presented in history previous to Jesus’ death on the cross! Look at verse 19...
“in Whom He preached after going even to the spirits in prison that were unpersuaded then when the patience of God was waiting in Noah's days during the equipping of an ark, into which a few (that is, eight) souls were saved through water,”
· Whoah, what's going on here? (TIMELINE) You see, Jesus is here, around 30AD, and we've just jumped back in time about 2½ thousand years to Noah. It's the same idea of sharing the story of salvation from sin, just in Old Testament terms. – God delivering His people from the judgment of sin!
· Now, I'm aware that some people interpret this passage differently and say that this is describing a preaching excursion done by Jesus in His spirit – without His body while His body was dead, and that this preaching was done to other spirits. This is mostly based on conjecture and extra-Biblical writings about the spirit world – which are interesting (and even plausible), but not particularly useful to us. Here is why I think this is talking about the gospel being displayed through Noah:
o I believe that Jesus was raised “in the Spirit” with a capital “S” – as in the Holy Spirit – because Romans 8:11 tells us that the Holy Spirit has a part in resurrection: “But if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will give life also to your mortal bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you.”
o I believe that Jesus suffered hell while on the cross, not after his resurrection, and that His cry, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me” (Matt. 27:46), tells us that He was undergoing separation from God the Father and God the Holy Spirit (“My God, My God”) in a heart-wrenching experience far more painful than divorcing your spouse or losing a close brother or sister. Separation from God is hell. Yet Jesus told the thief next to him, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43-46), and then said to God, “Into your hands I place my spirit,” and then He died. This indicates that upon physically dying, Jesus’ spirit went to be with the Father and also to meet that thief in heaven.
o If you track the grammar of the Greek sentences in verse 18 and 22, the verb tenses of the participles give a timeline of events: Jesus was put to death in the body, He was resurrected, and then He completed the reconciliation of us with God. Then we see in v.22 that God placed all angels, authorities and powers under subjection to Jesus, and Jesus went up into heaven, and now Jesus sits at the right hand of God.
o I believe that the Holy Spirit is the agent through which Christ “went and proclaimed” His message of the hope of God’s salvation, because this is a consistent theme throughout scripture:
§ Romans 1:4 Jesus “was declared the Son of God with power, according to the Holy Spirit, by the resurrection from the dead.”
§ Earlier in the book of 1 Peter (1:11-12) the Holy Spirit is called the “Spirit of Christ” Who was “preaching” through the Old Testament prophets: “the Spirit of Christ Who was in them… testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow… [T]hese things, have now been announced unto you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent forth from heaven...”
§ Later in 2 Peter 2:5, the apostle remembers Noah again and calls Noah a “preacher.”
§ Paul, in 1 Corinthians 2:11 teaches us that it is the Spirit of God Who can reveal to us the thoughts of God.
§ Preaching was done by Noah and other prophets, but the source of their message was Jesus, who delivered His word through the means of the Holy Spirit to those men.
o Next, verses 19 and 20 say that the audience who heard the message of the Spirit of Christ was “spirits in prison, [who were] disobedient/un-persuaded in the days of Noah.”
§ The fact that this is limited to the days of Noah indicates to me that this is a specific story from history illustrating the Apostle Peter’s point about the way God saves us.
§ Note that the audience was “un-persuaded” by the preaching – they were “disobedient,” so whoever they are, they are not some group of God’s people in Sheol, waiting to be sprung.
§ Peter uses this word “un-persuaded/ disobedient/unbelieving” consistently throughout his book to refer to human beings (1 Pet. 2:7-8, 3:1, 4:17, cf. Acts 14:2, Rom. 10:21, John 3:36 “He who believes on the Son has eternal life; but he that does not obey/believe the Son shall not see life…”)
§ That leaves me to interpret the word “prison” figuratively as the “prison-house of sin,” as it was pictured in Isaiah 61:11, “The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me, because Jehovah has anointed me to evangelize lowly ones. He has sent me to bind up those who are broken of heart, for the calling out of liberty to the captives, and opening of the eyes for those which have been imprisoned...”
· I believe this paints a picture of Noah who became aware through the Holy Spirit communicating to him the word of God concerning God’s wrath against mankind’s sin and the only way to be saved from the deluge, which was by building the ark. For over a hundred years, Noah built this boat and told the people around him that God was going to flood and kill everyone who had sinned unless they would trust in God’s way of salvation and get on that ark. They were unpersuaded, but Noah and his family trusted in God’s way of salvation and stepped into that boat, and they were saved from the wrath of God.
· Now, the story of Noah was one picture of God speaking through His people to share the hope of salvation. This is something Jesus wants to keep doing through us:
o In 1 Peter 3:19, it says Jesus went and preached to the people of Noah’s day,
o and then in Mark 16:15 when Jesus gave the Great Commission, he used the exact same words “going… preach the good news.”
· Now, this picture of God’s salvation in Noah’s day reminded the apostle Peter of yet a third picture of salvation, namely baptism.
· Look at verse 21, “water, the antitype/symbol/like figure/corresponding to that is now saving you also: baptism – not displacing dirt from the flesh, but rather a request for a good conscience in God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ”
· Peter jumps back to the present, and shows how we are still saved in the same way. Notice that:
o Peter is still taking about sin with the mention of a “good conscience,”
o he is still talking about salvation,
o and he is still talking about Jesus’ death and resurrection.
o The writer of Hebrews tells us that the O.T. things were types that point us to spiritual realities in the N.T. (e.g. Heb. 9:24 )
· So why does Peter say that Baptism “saves” us?
o Whoah! Is he talking about getting sprinkled or dunked? No, Peter expressly says that he is not talking about that; it is “not the removal of dirt from the flesh.”
o So if it is not water baptism that saves us, what sort of baptism is Peter talking about that saves us? It is the appeal to God for a good conscience – for forgiveness of sin so that we may escape the punishment we deserve for our sin and be brought to God.
o The word “appeal” is a better translation than the word “answer,” which some other translations use.
§ Outside of this one instance, all 60 times that this Greek root ἐπερώτα- occurs – in both the King James and the NASB, it is translated as having to do with “asking” – never with “answering” or “pledging.” The ESV did well to follow the NASB in this verse with the word “appeal.”
§ Not only does the Greek word mean “request,” but also we cannot have a clean conscience until AFTER we have been saved. We have to ask God for that clean conscience, and He gives it to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
· Then, How is that a “baptism,” and what would that have to do with “water?”
o The O.T. symbolized cleansing from sin by sprinkling, pouring, and dipping in blood and water. If you are interested in seeing my research on that subject, look for the key word “baptism” on our church website.
o The cleansing from sin symbolized by washing with water is indeed an essential part of our salvation. For instance, Hebrews 10:19-22, “Having boldness therefore to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus… let us draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience: and having our body washed with pure water.”
o Isaiah connects a physical outpouring of water as a symbol of the Holy Spirit becoming involved spiritually in people’s lives in 44:3, “I will pour water on the thirsty and cataracts upon the dry ground. I will pour my Spirit upon your seed, and my blessing upon your offspring.”
o The Bible also speaks of the baptism of the Holy Spirit as being Christ’s New Testament counterpart to John’s pre-Christ water baptisms: (Mat. 3:11) “I [John] indeed baptize you in water unto repentance: but He [Jesus] who comes after me is mightier than I... He shall baptize you in/with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (This is the most-repeated statement on baptism in the Bible[2].) Jesus and the disciples continued to use water baptism, but they included the coming of the Holy Spirit upon new believers in the meaning of baptism.
o The union of the Holy Spirit with our spirit is an essential part of
our salvation too:
Titus 3:3-7 “For we also once were foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various
lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.
But when the kindness of God our Savior, and His love toward man, appeared, not
by works done in righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to His
mercy, He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the
Holy Spirit, which He poured out upon us richly, through Jesus Christ our
Saviour; that, being made righteous by His grace, we might be made heirs according
to the hope of eternal life.”
· Now, did you notice that the verb “saves” is in the present tense?
o There is a sense in which salvation is a fait accomplie, as the Aorist tense of “that He might lead you to God” says in v.18. Through His self-sacrifice on the cross, Jesus took care of the legal aspect of our salvation once and for all. We were saved (past tense) by His death on the cross.
o Yet there is a sense in which our salvation is present tense: We are in the process of being saved. How is that? Paul explains this most clearly in First Corinthians. In 1 Cor. 1:18 he wrote, “the word of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are being saved it is the power of God…” then in chapter 15, “Now I make known unto you brothers, the gospel which I preached unto you, which you also received, in which you also are standing, by which also you are being saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached unto you...” As the Holy Spirit sanctifies us by bringing the Word of God to bear on our lives and we continue to believe it, we experience God’s continuing work of salvation.
o Salvation also has a future tense: Mark 13:13 says, “You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.” The picture is of the final judgment day when each one of us will give an account to the Lord and will be judged. At that point there will be a final pronouncement made, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you… Depart from me, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire” (Matt. 25:34,41). That’s when we finally breathe that sigh of relief, “Yes, all these years of trusting Jesus when I couldn’t see Him are over; He has finally recognized me openly and accepted me into His presence forever!” That is the future salvation scenario, and it includes being glorified in heaven with Him.
· Notice also that the wording is very vague in 1 Peter 3:21 about the person making the appeal. We can all assume that a person can make an appeal to God for the cleansing of his own conscience, but can a parent appeal to God for a good conscience for their child? I believe the answer is, Yes.
o 1 John 5:16 affirms, “If someone were to see his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he will ask and He [God] will give to him life – to the ones who are sinning a sin not unto death.” So Biblically there is some circumstance in which God will forgive a third party that we ask Him to forgive. (The circumstances under which we may do this may be limited, but they at least exist, and I believe it is reasonable for one of these circumstances to be the children of believers.)
· So, we’ve seen three pictures so far of salvation:
o Jesus dying on the cross and rising from the tomb, telling us the way in which we are saved and what we are saved from (sin and death),
o Then the story of Noah and the ark, which tells us of the graciousness and patience of God’s salvation offered to mankind and yet at the same time of God’s resolve to get rid of evil.
o Then the symbol of baptism, which tells us that God washes our sin away by the work of the Holy Spirit.
o Now we have one more...
“Jesus Christ, Who is at the right hand of God after having proceeded into heaven, angels and authorities and powers having been subjected to Him.”
· This is an awesome portrait of power!
· Paul's letter to the Colossians clearly tells us in chapter two that all the powers and authorities were put in subjection to Jesus as a result of His death on the cross. “[T]he written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Col. 2:14-15, NIV) It is Jesus' death and resurrection that saves us.
· Throughout the Bible, we see that Heaven is where God lives. Not just anybody can get there. But there Jesus is, not passively “being taken up” into heaven, but boldly “conducting Himself“ there! He is assuming the rights of God!
· Furthermore, Jesus is not merely in heaven, He is at the “right hand” of God. (That’s how we know God is left-handed, by the way.) But seriously, in the Bible, the right hand is symbolic of favor, acceptance, and influence. It means Jesus can use the power of God to get anything He wants. It means God the Father will listen to what Jesus has to say before He listens to anyone else!
· After Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, He rose above the authority of every angel and every demon, and ascended into heaven to take the office of highest authority next to God the Father Himself. Talk about power!
· And this is the sort of power that insures your salvation. When God reaches the point that He wants to destroy this world with fire (2 Peter 3) and get rid of all His enemies, and God’s finger lands on you, Jesus has the power to say, “Not that one. I died for her and she’s mine. I want her to live with us in our house.” And God will say, “OK!”
· This also means that no other human being on this planet (including yourself) and no spirit in the entire spirit world has the power to prevent Jesus from saving you.
o Clement of Alexandria, one of the first commentators on 1 Peter, wrote that Peter was using terms for various ranks of supernatural beings, “‘Angels’ being... the first order..., ‘principalities’... the second order, and ‘powers’... the third order.” Be that as it may, the point is that all ranks of supernatural beings are below Christ in rank. He rules over all, and nothing can snatch you out of His hand!
o In John 10:28-30, Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one.” (NKJV) Now that is what it means to be saved!
· So there’s our four pictures of salvation which together form a glorious landscape: Jesus on the cross, Noah & the Ark, Baptism, and Jesus in Heaven.
· What are we supposed to do with these pictures?
· In 1 Peter 5:12, Peter summarized why he wrote this epistle: “Through Silas... I am writing to y'all, calling [you] alongside and testifying that the true grace of God in which y'all must stand is this!” You see, Peter wrote to encourage a suffering church to persevere in the Christian faith.
o Now that you have meditated with me on the landscape of salvation and the true grace of God, I hope you will be even better equipped to stand fast in faith despite persecution!
· Remember also Peter’s second purpose not just to see the church survive, but to see it thrive and multiply. In 2:9 he wrote: “You are a chosen progeny ... a people [who have come] into acquisition so that y'all might declare the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
o I hope that as we have gone over the story of salvation in four different ways, you have pictures in your mind that you can use to tell the good news about Jesus to other people.
· May God give us grace now to be sure of our salvation and also to share our salvation with others!
|
Patriarchal Text |
NAW |
KJV |
NKJV |
ESV |
NASB |
NIV |
|
18 ὅτι καὶ ΧριστὸςNSM ἅπαξ περὶ ἁμαρτιῶν [ii]ἔπαθε AAI-3S, δίκαιος ὑπὲρ ἀδίκων, ἵνα ὑμᾶς[iii] προσαγάγῃAAS-3S τῳ Θεῷ, θανατωθεὶςRPP-NSM μὲν σαρκὶ, ζῳοποιηθεὶςAPP-NSM δὲ [iv]πνεύματι· |
18 because Christ also suffered concerning sin, [only] once - the righteous on behalf of the unrighteous, in order that He might lead you to God, after having been put to death in the flesh, but having been made alive in the Spirit. |
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: |
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, |
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, |
18 For Christ also |
18 For Christ X |
|
19 ἐν ᾧ καὶ τοῖς ἐν φυλακῃ πνεύμασι πορευθεὶςAOP-NSM ἐκήρυξενAAI, |
19 in Whom He preached after going even to the spirits in prison |
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; |
19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, |
19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, |
19 in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, |
19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison |
|
20 ἀπειθήσασίAAP-DPM ποτε, ὅτε [v]ἀπεξεδέχετοINI-3S ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ μακροθυμίαNSF ἐν ἡμέραις Νῶε, κατασκευαζομένηςPPP-GSF κιβωτοῦ GSF, εἰς ἣν ASF ὀλίγαι[vi], τοῦτ᾿ ἔστιν ὀκτὼ ψυχαί, διεσώθησανAPI-3P δι᾿ ὕδατος. |
20 that were un-persuaded then when the patience of God was waiting in Noah's days during the equipping of an ark, into which a few (that is, eight) souls were saved through water, |
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when [once] the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. |
20 who formerly were disobedient, when [once] the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. |
20 |
20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God
kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the
construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were |
20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited |
|
21 ὃ ἀντίτυπονNSN νῦν καὶ ἣμας[vii] σώζειPAI-3S βάπτισμαNSN, οὐ σαρκὸςGSF ἀπόθεσιςNSF ῥύπουGSM, ἀλλὰ συνειδήσεως GSF ἀγαθῆς GSF ἐπερώτημαNSN εἰς ΘεόνASM, δι᾿ ἀναστάσεωςGSF ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ, |
21 the antitype of which is now saving us also: baptism – not displacing dirt from the flesh, but rather a request for a good conscience in God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, |
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: |
21 There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, |
21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, |
21 Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you--not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience--through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, |
21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, |
|
22 ὅς ἐστιν ἐν δεξιᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ πορευθεὶςAOP-NSM εἰς οὐρανόν, ὑποταγέντων APP-GPM αὐτῳ ἀγγέλων καὶ ἐξουσιῶν καὶ δυνάμεων. |
22 Who is at the right hand of God after having proceeded into heaven, angels and authorities and powers having been subjected to Him. |
22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. |
22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him. |
22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. |
22 who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him. |
22 who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him. |
[1] See earlier versions of this sermon delivered at the Graduation service at Sangre de Cristo Seminary, December 2000 and at Christ the Redeemer Church, 07 June 2009
[2] See Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:31, 33, Acts 1:5; 11:16
[i] Where the
traditional Patriarchal edition of the Greek Bible is challenged by the Textus
Receptus or by the modern critical editions, I note that. When an English
translation adds words not in the Greek text, but does not indicate it has done
so by the use of italics (or greyed-out text), I put the added words in [square
brackets]. When one English version chooses a wording which is different from
all the other translations, I underline it. When a version chooses a
translation which, in my opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning
of the Greek word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original Greek
word, I use strikeout. And when an English version omits a word which is
in the Greek text, I insert an X. (Sometimes I will place the X at the end of a
word if the Greek word is plural but the English translation is singular.) I
have also tried to use colors to help the reader see correlations between the
Greek original and the various translations.
[ii] There is a Greek textual tradition supported by a few of the most ancient manuscripts ( P72, א, A, and C) which substitutes the word “died” instead of “suffered,” thus the reading of the NASB and NIV. However, this variant is not supported by the latest editions of the Nestle-Aland or UBS critical editions, and the vast majority of Greek manuscripts (including the Vaticanus) reads as above.
[iii] There is a Greek textual tradition copied throughout history from the (Alexandrinus and Ephraemi Rescriptus to the Textus Receptus which substitutes ημας (“us”) for the second-plural humas (“you”), thus the reading of the KJV, ESV, and NASB diverges from the majority of Greek manuscripts as well as from the reading of the modern critical editions. This does not change the theology of the passage, however, for the apostles acknowledge elsewhere their need for reconciliation with God themselves.
[iv] The Textus Receptus adds the definite article (τω) – only one Greek manuscript is cited in N-A as containing this variant. This has bearing on the debate as to whether Peter meant to indicate that it was the Holy Spirit which resurrected Jesus or whether Peter meant to indicate that it was Jesus’ spirit, as opposed to His fleshly body, which was made alive. The definite article seems to support the Holy Spirit. In their rush to disagree with the Textus Receptus, the ESV and NASB did not capitalize “Spirit” as the other standard English translations did, and while it is true that Jesus was spiritually alive, the affirmation of only part of the whole truth opens the door toward the heresy that no physical miracle happened because Jesus’ body was not resurrected.
[v] The oldest manuscripts did not use spaces inbetween words, so sometimes it would be possible to interpret a space where it didn’t need to be. The Textus Receptus divided this word in two and changed one letter, changing the meaning from “was waiting” to “once waited” (απαξ εξεδεχετο) - KJV. It doesn’t significantly change the meaning, though.
[vi] Critical Editions of the GNT spell this word masculine (ολιγοι) instead of feminine because the majority of the oldest-known manuscripts (as well as the Latin Vulgate translation) spell it this way, but the overall majority of Greek manuscripts, including one of the most ancient (C) spell it feminine, and it makes no difference in English.
[vii] All the oldest-known Greek texts move the kai and the personal pronoun up toward the beginning of the verse and change the person from first to second person (ὑμᾶς). This explains the difference between the “us” and “you” in the KJV and NASB/NIV translations. It’s a very common variant in the Bible, with only half a pen-stroke of difference between the spellings in Greek, and, as usual, does not affect the theology if we believe that all have sinned and stand in need of salvation.