He descended into hell. This is probably the most neglected phrase in the whole of the Apostles' Creed. In actuality, the history of this phrase in the Creed is in keeping with the neglect it has suffered. Peter quotes this verse in his sermon on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. There are many people who are not comfortable with this phrase in the Creed, and I even know of one individual in another church who, when the Creed is recited, refuses to say this phrase.
Some people are uncomfortable because of the spurious history to the phrase.
Others are uncomfortable because they don't like the idea of Christ going to hell. Still others are uncomfortable with the phrase because they don't like the idea of hell itself. The idea of damnation and eternal punishment is not popular in our culture today, so some people reject this phrase in the Apostles' Creed because it offends their sensibilities. However, we should remember that Christ talked more about hell than He did about heaven. We should also remember that the Bible says that it is because Christ experienced hell on our behalf that we won't have to, and therefore we can have hope of an eternal future with God.