Q:In the Apostle's Creed we say that Jesus descended into hell. Can you explain this?

A:The Lutheran Church teaches that when Christ descended to hell, he "conquered the devil, destroyed the power of hell, and took from the devil all his power" (SD IX:2). This teaching is based on 1 Peter 3:18-20: "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago." These verses tell us that, upon Christ's descent into hell, he proclaimed victory over Satan to those locked in hell's prison for their rejection of God. Thus, the descent into hell is said to be part of the "exaltation of Christ." That is, Christ, as an exalted conqueror through the cross, proclaims his triumph over hell while in hell.

This contrasts with the Roman Catholic teaching which states that Jesus descended into hell "to free the just who had gone before him" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 632). That is, they teach that Christ descended into hell to free those of virtue who had gone before him, but could not believe in him because they did not know of him. Yet, Scripture teaches that, even before Jesus' birth, people were justified through faith in the promise of a Messiah (cf. Hebrews 11:39-40). Thus, both before and after the time of Jesus, people received and receive salvation in the same manner: through the righteousness of Christ that comes by faith.