Did Christ Descend into Hell

Did Christ Descend into Hell?

A reflection on the Apostles’ Creed

The Apostles’ Creed is meant to be a statement of the fundamental or essential beliefs of all those who are followers of Jesus Christ. Many of you who read this will have grown up knowing and saying the Apostles’ Creed, perhaps every Sunday during worship. Through the years I have found that there is a common question asked by those who know the Creed well and those who have just been introduced to it: what does it mean that Christ “descended into hell”?

Here is what the relevant portion of the Apostles’ Creed reads: Jesus “was crucified, dead, and was buried, he descended into Hell; the third day he arose again from the dead.”

It is sometimes argued that “descended into hell” means that Jesus went to hell or hades between his death and resurrection. Indeed, this appears to be the most natural meaning from the phrase itself and its position in the sequence of events that happened to Jesus between His crucifixion and resurrection.

Therefore it may be surprising to read what the Westminster Larger Catechism says concerning this phrase:

Christ’s humiliation after his death consisted in his being buried, and continuing in the state of the dead, and under the power of death till the third day; which hath been otherwise expressed in these words, He descended into hell.

So the Westminster divines held that the phrase “he descended into hell” simply means that Jesus continued in the grave until the third day.

The Heidelberg Catechism gives an altogether different explanation. Question 44 asks,

Why is it added: He Descended into Hades?

Answer: That in my greatest temptations I may be assured that Christ, my Lord, by his inexpressible anguish, pains, and terrors which he suffered in his soul on the cross and before, has redeemed me from the anguish and torment of hell.

Though both of preceding explanations are certainly and wonderfully true, neither seems to be an adequate explanation of “he descended into hell.” If the Westminster Confession is right it is telling us that Jesus was buried and remained buried for three days, “descended into hell” would not seem to be the best and most obvious way to express this truth. The same is true of the Heidelberg Catechism. “Descended into hell” is not the best way to say that God poured His wrath out upon Jesus on the cross. In addition it’s place in the sequence after “he was crucified, dead and buried” makes this reading awkward and artificial.

The fact that two of the great confessions of the church do not concur on the meaning of “he descended into hell” might make us wonder whether this phrase should be included in the Apostles’ Creed alongside the great doctrines of the Christian faith agreed on by all.

You may well have noticed that neither catechism believes that Scripture teaches that Jesus went to hell between his death and resurrection. Let me give you several reasons why Scripture is opposed to the idea of Jesus making a trip to hell before His resurrection and then briefly address the passage most often used to defend this claim.

Jesus makes three different statements from the cross that appear to be opposed to Him going to hell after his death. First, he says to the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). Jesus implies that after his death, his spirit would go into the presence of his Father—to Paradise. Some argue that “Paradise” is not heaven, but another place, perhaps a kind of holding place in hell. But the two other uses of the word “Paradise” in the New Testament clearly refer to heaven (2 Corinthians 12:4 and Revelation 2:7).

Second, Jesus cries out on the cross, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). This strongly suggests that the suffering of Jesus and his alienation from God the Father were done. Therefore, he would not be going to hell to conclude unfinished business but directly into the presence of the Father.

Third, at his death Jesus says, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Again Jesus indicates that he expected the immediate welcoming of his spirit into the presence of God and not a detour to some other place.

So what evidence is there to support the claim that Jesus went to hell after his death and before his resurrection? The passage most often cited is I Peter 3:18-20.¹ Here is what it reads,

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, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.

Some have argued that this passage is teaching that Jesus went to hell after his death to “proclaim to the spirits in prison,” to give them a second chance to repent. But this interpretation creates more problems than it solves. If Jesus went to preach to those in prison in hell after his death, why did he preach only to those who were alive in the days of Noah “while the ark was being prepared”? Why did he not preach to all those who disobeyed in the times of the Old Testament? An even more difficult problem is that Scripture teaches that there is no second chance for repentance after death (Luke 16:26; Hebrews 9:27).

A more reasonable explanation that fits the context of I Peter 3 is put forward by Wayne Grudem who says, “I Peter 3:18-20 is telling us that when Noah was building the ark, Christ ‘in spirit’ was in Noah preaching repentance and righteousness through him to unbelievers who were on the earth then but are now ‘spirits in prison’ (people in hell).”²

You may agree or disagree with Grudem’s conclusion, but one thing should be clear at this point: there is much disagreement and confusion within orthodox Christianity regarding the phrase “he descended into hell.” It is worth considering whether it is wise to include this statement within a creed that is meant to be a summary of the basic and vital tenets of the faith. Grudem makes a point well worth bearing in mind, “The single argument in its favor [keeping “he descended into hell” in the creed] seems to be the fact that it has been around so long.³ But an old mistake is still a mistake—and as long as it has been around there has been confusion and disagreement over its meaning.”

Whatever your own conclusion may be, I think that we can all agree that we need to understand what we are saying when we confess our faith using the Apostles’ Creed.

Rejoicing with you that God’s truth brings unity, love and grace,

James

1. Other passages sometimes cited are Acts 2:27, Romans 10:6-7 and Ephesians 4:8-9. None of these are as convincing as I Peter 3.

2. Grudem, Wayne. I Peter, in the Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. P. 204. I recommend reading Grudem if you would like a more detailed analysis of this passage and his conclusion. This was also the view of Augustine among others.

3. We might also note that “he descended into hell” is not found in the earliest versions of the Apostle’s Creed. It was a late addition. See Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom.

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