1 Peter 1 Peter
1 Peter
Introduction
At a Glance
Author: The apostle Peter
Audience: Churches in northwestern Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey
Date: AD 62–65
Type of Literature: A letter
Major Themes: God’s nature, salvation, the church, the Christian life, and suffering
Outline:
Letter Opening — 1:1–2
Identity as God’s Chosen People and Foreigners — 1:3–2:10
Living Honorably as Foreigners — 2:11–3:12
Responding to Hostility as Foreigners — 3:13–4:6
Living in Christian Solidarity as Foreigners — 4:7–19
Suffering Together as Foreigners — 5:1–11
Letter Closing — 5:12–14
About 1 Peter
Everyone needs grace to overcome life’s hurdles. For some, they need to overcome a difficult marriage, or the frustration of children who have wandered away. For others it may be their limitations and hardships. First Peter is the book of strengthening grace and triumphant hope. There is an abundance of hopeful grace found within the verses of this book to set you free. You are a victorious overcomer, and God’s grace is our fuel to empower our hearts to soar!
Peter was the first preacher to bring the gospel of Christ to the Jews in Jerusalem. At Pentecost he stood fearlessly and told the thousands gathered around him that they had denied the Holy One of God and crucified their Messiah. Yet just fifty days earlier, the apostle Peter, while Jesus was being tried by Pilate, denied that he even knew Jesus. Three times he succumbed to the weakness of his flesh. But Jesus had prophesied all this beforehand and gave him both a promise and a commission:
“I have prayed for you, Peter, that you would stay faithful to me no matter what comes. Remember this: after you have turned back to me and have been restored, make it your life mission to strengthen the faith of your brothers.” (Luke 22:32)
Jesus told Peter that his life mission after his resurrection would be to strengthen the faith of believers worldwide. So you will discover that there is an unusual grace upon Peter’s letters (known as part of the General Epistles) to strengthen you in your faith. Don’t be surprised if after reading these letters you become emboldened to persevere, empowered to overcome, and encouraged to remain faithful to Christ. For the grace that restored Peter after his fall is also on Peter’s letters to restore every believer and impart to them overcoming grace.
The Roman historian Eusebius informs us that Peter was crucified in Rome by Nero. The church tradition records that when Peter was being crucified, he pleaded with them to turn the cross upside down, stating that he was not worthy to be crucified in the same way as Jesus. Because of their respect for the godly Peter, the soldiers complied with his request. Peter turned the world upside down with the gospel power he carried, then he died on an upside-down cross. Peter experienced the triumph of grace. Our prayer for you is that the truth you read in the following pages will release within you this same amazing grace and triumphant hope!
Purpose
There is rich teaching found in 1 Peter, showing us that the community of Christ is a holy nation made up of kings and priests and lovers of God. And Peter teaches us the ways of purity and righteousness, and how to remain faithful to God all the days of our lives as members of a kingdom that chafes against the values of the world. He wrote this letter to Christians undergoing persecution for living in a way that was different from their unbelieving neighbors. His letter was meant to encourage them in their suffering and give it purpose as a vital aspect of Christian living.
This is a letter about God and living for him—no matter what the costs. Some of the themes of 1 Peter include holiness and being faithful in the midst of persecution. When others turn away from us, the presence of Christ grows stronger in our lives. It pushes our souls deeper into God’s overcoming grace. No matter what you face and no matter what you may be passing through in your life today, there is a power from on high to make you into an overcomer. Let Peter’s letter show you the way!
Author and Audience
Written about AD 62 from “Babylon” (a cryptic term for Rome), Peter longed to encourage and strengthen the faith of those who were being persecuted for following Christ. Although Aramaic was his first language, the fisherman Peter’s refined use of Greek has caused some scholars to even doubt that he wrote this first epistle. We do know however that every good writer has a brilliant editor. Peter’s editor for this letter was Silvanus (5:12), who no doubt helped Peter with the more elegant Greek words (much like the vocabulary of Paul), which are found in these five chapters.
Peter was the first missionary to go to the gentiles. After a divine trance he experienced on the rooftop in Joppa, Peter took the keys of the kingdom and opened the door of faith for the gentiles. He broke the religious limitation that the gospel was only meant for the Jews. Peter found his way to the house of Cornelius, a Roman gentile, and he and all his family became followers of Jesus. He continued this mission by writing to Christians living in the Roman regions of northeastern Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), to encourage them in their suffering, provoke holy living and growth in God, and explain their new birth through Christ’s blood. We all have a debt of love to the apostle Peter. Enjoy his letter as you read it with an open and thankful heart.
Major Themes
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Who God is and what God is like is front and center in Peter’s letter, because all of the teachings relate to him in some way. He’s referred to as “Father God” or “God the Father,” which should tell us something about how we encounter him: as a Father! He’s also described as the mighty and powerful Creator and Judge, but also as our merciful and gracious Redeemer.
Of course as Redeemer, the Son of God is also featured prominently in this letter. One of the most important names Peter uses for Jesus is “Anointed One.” This is a deeply Hebrew idea for the Messiah, the One whom God the Father destined “before the foundation of the earth was laid” (1:20) to be sacrificed for us “like a spotless, unblemished lamb” (1:19). It is this suffering that forms the basis for his saving work; our salvation was achieved through his crucifixion! While Jesus was fully revealed while he was on earth, he will be ultimately revealed on the last day, bringing with him the full revelation of our salvation and God’s grace.
Then there is the Holy Spirit, who is vital for our ongoing Christian life, for a number of reasons: he’s the One who has set us apart to be God’s holy ones in the first place; he is the source of the gospel revelation, which goes out from us and draws people into God’s family; and he lives in us to help us obey God as his chosen ones. Peter unveils before us the revelation-truth that he is our power as we live in this world as resident aliens and foreigners, awaiting Christ’s return when he comes to make all things new.
The Nature of Our Salvation. Peter uses a number of images and words to convey to his readers the breadth and depth of their salvation in Jesus Christ. Followers of Christ have been “gloriously sprinkled with his blood” (1:2), have been redeemed once and for all through the precious blood of Christ (1:18–19), have been purified through obedience (1:22), have tasted “of the goodness of Yahweh and have experienced his kindness” (2:3), have been brought near to God (3:18).
This language reflects two ways in which believers have been changed: through Christ’s sacrifice, and being born again. First, Peter uses sacrificial metaphors to explain what’s happened to us. These are drawn from the ancient temple cultic practices of blood-shedding and purification. Second, Peter explains that our salvation is to be reborn into a new family, and we’ve inherited all of the benefits of that royal birth. So when we say we’ve been “born again,” we are reflecting the language that Peter himself used to talk about what’s happened to us!
Life in God’s Family as a Spiritual “Nation.” The inevitable outgrowth of our salvation and new birth in Christ is a new way of living and in concert with our new family and a spiritual “nation.” We are to practice hope and holiness, fear of God, and growth in the knowledge of God. The reason why we devote ourselves to these pursuits is because we’ve been bought by the blood of Jesus. Without this new birth, there is no reason to obey; without the hope of salvation the Christian life is pointless.
What’s interesting about Peter’s letter is that he doesn’t envision this kind of life as a solitary endeavor. Life in God’s family is just that—a family affair! First, those in God’s family are described as being “chosen” and “elect” (see the first footnote at 1:1), which recalls the story of ancient Israel. This is intentional, as the church is the continuation and culmination of Israel as the new, true people of God. This idea of family frames the whole letter, appearing in the first verse and the last. They are the ones who’ve received God’s grace and favor. It also frames how we are to live: we are to live as “obedient children” (1:14); we are to be holy as the Father is holy; we are to live within a new familial structure, accepting the authority of elders; and we are to love one another as siblings, wrapping ourselves with “the apron of a humble servant” (5:5).
Suffering and Persecution. Inevitably, when we live as obedient children of God, and the believing community takes seriously its role as “priests who are kings, a spiritual ‘nation’ set apart as God’s devoted ones” (2:9), there’s going to be conflict with the surrounding world. But Peter wants believers, who are “resident aliens and foreigners in this world” (2:11), to take heart: “the grief of many trials . . . reveal the sterling core of your faith” (1:6–7). Persecution is a refiner’s fire that unfolds the brilliance of authentic faith. And when we do suffer for Christ, Jesus is praised, glorified, and honored. Ultimately, persecution is a privilege, for we “carry the Anointed One’s name!” (4:16). God will never fail those who suffer for him!
1 Peter
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