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Romans 5:6–11
“Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Rom. 5:9).
We have seen that Jesus will judge the world at His second coming, condemning some to hell for their sin and ushering others into eternal bliss. The condemned will receive God’s justice, while the saved will receive His grace. However, God’s grace is not completely free. The justice of God demands that the sin even of those He intends to save be punished. To do so, Christ went to hell in place of His people.
The Apostles’ Creed, in its section on the person and work of Christ, contains a curious and controversial affirmation: “He descended into hell.” Because of the controversy over it, some modern versions of the creed exclude this phrase, while others include it with a footnote interpreting it to mean that Jesus simply remained dead for a time. However, some churches affirm that Jesus literally did descend into hell following His death on the cross. Such belief relies heavily on 1 Peter 3:19, a much-debated verse, while overlooking other Scripture passages that seem to preclude Christ visiting hell. For instance, Jesus told the believing thief on the cross that “ ‘today you will be with Me in Paradise’ ” (Luke 23:43), which seems to indicate that Jesus’spirit was to go to heaven during the time His body lay dead in the grave.
But there is another way to understand the meaning of the creed. We know that Jesus, in paying for His people’s sin, perfectly satisfied divine justice. In other words, He took the full wrath of God. If that wrath were to fall on us, it would mean spending eternity in hell. So Jesus experienced the reality of hell as He suffered and died. It was this that prompted His cry of utter anguish, “‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ ” (Matt. 27:46). But once He had completed His satisfaction of divine justice, He declared, “‘It is finished’” (John 19:30). He had endured God’s wrath; in a sense, He had gone through hell prior to dying. For this reason, John Calvin wanted to change the order of the creed’s affirmations, placing “He descended into hell” after “crucified” and before “dead.”
Because Jesus “went to hell,” His people do not have to. He took their punishment and gave them His righteousness. That dual work opens the doors of paradise for them. But those who reject Him must endure hell for themselves.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
When Jesus sits on His throne to separate the nations, He will judge with full experiential knowledge of the penalty He is imposing. He will not rejoice to condemn the unrepentant (Ezek. 33:11). But He will rejoice over those He has saved (Isa. 62:5). Take time today to thank and praise Him for enduring God’s wrath to save you from it.
For further study
- Mark 10:45
- Romans 3:24–26
- 1 Timothy 2:5–6
- 1 John 2:2
- 1 John 4:10