Peter begins his first epistle with an encouraging introduction. Then he moves into an explanation of the suffering that his audience is enduring, which leads to a brief aside, although it is by no means an insignificant topic in the context of his letter, on the topic of salvation – namely the mystery of the gospel that even confounds angels. Finally, he exhorts his audience to holy living, based on the example set by Jesus Christ and in the power provided by His Spirit through the word of God. Let’s take a look.
1) V1-6 – 1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with His blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance. 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
Peter introduces himself in v1 as an apostle, one sent by God on behalf of Jesus Christ. And he is sent “to God’s elect,” believers who are chosen by God to be believers. This first description of his audience is significant, because it encourages the faithful children of God to stand firm; even their faith was something God chose for them. That’s the kind of love God has for them, and Peter elaborates on that in v2, claiming that God’s choice was made according to His foreknowledge, which is not mere foresight. God didn’t just look down the corridor of time and see what would happen and declare it acceptable. Instead, He purposed whatsoever comes to pass for His glory. And so the fact that God calls His children “elect” is not meant to be simply an acknowledgement of what He saw would come to pass, but it’s much more than that. God didn’t choose believers because He foresaw them believing; He chose them to be believers because He fore-loved them. It’s an example of His sovereignty – that He “works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Not only did God elect based on foreknowledge, but He did it “through the sanctifying work of the Spirit” (v2). It’s an image of regeneration unto justification for the sake of sanctification and glorification. It’s a personal touch, whereby the Holy Spirit makes alive what was dead in sin. But He doesn’t stop there; He takes that new life and forms it into the image of Christ, grants that new life instant and permanent union with Christ by His presence. And the result is what Peter says next in v2, obedience to Jesus Christ. Where we were once slaves of sin, dead in our sin nature, incapable of proper obedience (from the inside out), the indwelling Holy Spirit made us alive, freeing us from enslavement to sin so that we would be slaves of righteousness, living a Holy life for God’s glory. When the elect are “sprinkled with His blood” (v2), they / we are forgiven of sin thanks to the work of Jesus in living a perfect life on our behalf, dying a sacrificial, atoning death on the cross, and rising to new and permanent life as victor over sin and death.
Returning briefly to v1, Peter further describes his audience as “exiles scattered.” Many translations include the word “dispersion,” usually used to describe scattered Jews in time of exile. This fact, along with other tendencies and personal preferences that Peter showed throughout the New Testament (namely in Acts 1-15 and Galatians 2), leads some scholars to believe the Peter writes to an audience of Jews. But the remainder of this epistle, as well as the likelihood that Peter experienced a great degree of personal growth through his relationship with Paul and the sanctification process he just mentioned, reveals that his audience is more likely made up of Gentiles. So why does Peter use the Jewish language? We’ll find that Peter uses Jewish language and imagery throughout the letter to do primarily one thing: encourage his Gentile audience that they are completely united with Christ and not some secondary accompaniment to the more highly valued Jewish children of God. No! Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians are of equal value in Christ, and Peter works hard in this letter to make sure we know that.
After issuing a benediction of grace and peace in abundance (v2), Peter praises (and urges his audience to praise) God for His mercy (v3). In v3-5, he proceeds to mention what I just mentioned above, the way God gave new birth into permanent union with Christ – thanks to His resurrection – and shielded His children with power so that they / we would receive an imperishable inheritance we can’t even fathom. And finally, in v6, Peter says that believers rejoice in and because of this. It’s a picture of salvation. And we rejoice, even though it’s not fully realized yet – there is suffering and grief remaining in this world, a series of trials purposed by God to strengthen our faith, and build character, perseverance, and hope.
2) V7-12 – 7These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 10Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
After the introduction, which he wrapped up with the mention of suffering “grief in all kinds of trials,” Peter turns to a discussion of trials. He says they “have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith…may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ” returns. In other words, the faith of the elect must be tested and proven true and genuine in order for Christ to be praised, glorified, and honored appropriately. Peter says this faith is more valuable than gold, and it is directed at Jesus, whom believers love despite not seeing Him. The fruit of this faith is joy, because of the coming, accompanying salvation.
In v10 and onward, Peter shifts the focus from suffering trials and focusing on Jesus to “this salvation,” which prophets in the past tried unsuccessfully to foresee by the Holy Spirit in them. They were blessed, however, with some consolation, to learn that their prophecy was intended for future generations of God’s elect (v12). Would this truth comfort you in your lack of understanding? There’s a poster I saw with a sinking ship in the middle of the ocean, and the caption says, “It could be that the purpose of your life is to serve as a warning for others.” If that was true, at least in some sense, for the prophets of old, why can it not be true – even admirable – for you, that God would use you to warn others? To God be the glory! So those who preach the gospel in New Testament times, by the power of the Holy Spirit, are not preaching anything new, but only revealing previously hidden, yet foretold, truths from the past. This is a great mystery of the workings of God, which even angels long to comprehend. As Paul said after writing Romans 9-11, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them? For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.”
3) V13-19 – 13Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at His coming. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’ [Leviticus 11:44,45; 19:2]. 17Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
When Peter begins with “Therefore,” he is referring to the understanding of God’s ways being difficult. In other words, since God’s ways are complicated to comprehend (if even possible to understand), believers need to have minds that are alert and sober, focused on the hope of grace coming when Jesus returns. Since we don’t understand everything, we need to understand that we don’t understand everything, and be on the lookout for grace. We need grace, and we already have it; but we’ll be getting more when Christ returns. So we ought to hope for that.
The rest of this passage draws us to holy living, with judgment as a motive, but also knowing that Christ has redeemed us. We are now “obedient children,” having the Holy Spirit, and so we must guard against the evil desires that conquered us so consistently before our conversion, when we “lived in ignorance.” We are being restored to God’s holy image, predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29), and so we must strive for holiness. We are to live as sojourners, not too comfortable in our home away from home; we are to live in reverent fear, knowing that God is an impartial judge. We are not our own; we were bought with a price (v17-18; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20), “the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (v19).
4) V20-25 – 20He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith and hope are in God. 22Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart [or from a pure heart]. 23For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24For, ‘All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25but the word of the Lord endures forever’ [Isaiah 40:6-8]. And this is the word that was preached to you.
Peter uses God’s impartial judgment as well as the price He paid to buy us – His own Son, Jesus – to motivate us to holy living. This final portion of chapter 1 continues the back of forth method of exhortation and motivation, calling us to live holy lives but reminding us that Jesus has done it for us. Peter says, “He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake” (v20). He vaguely and implicitly refers to the Covenant of Redemption, made among the Godhead prior to creation – and therefore prior to sin – that the second Person of the Trinity, Jesus, the Son of God the Father, would fulfill the role of Savior of mankind, for the glory of God the Father, which He would then pour out on His Son. Peter keeps the attention on the Godhead in v21, saying that it is through Jesus that you believe in God the Father – an exclusive claim that limits access (and even true theism apart from idolatry) to God as coming only through Jesus (John 5:21-23,37-40; 14:6-9). Because God raised Jesus from the dead (by the Holy Spirit), Peter says, “Your faith and hope are in God” (v21).
Peter says in v22 that we purify ourselves by obeying the truth, and that obeying the truth leads to sincere and pure love for one another. It might seem strange, but Peter is saying that since we have purified ourselves by obeying the truth, which leads to love for others, we must love others deeply. In your freshman logic course, it might look like this: If “A,” then “B.” “A” is true, so make sure “B” is true. “B” must be true, since “A” is true, but you still need to work on making “B” true, so that “A” is not deemed untrue. But “A” can’t be untrue, because God says it is true. So make “B” prove true as well. And the proof that “A” is true is found in v23: “You have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” It’s the word of God, the gospel, that produces love for one another, and it accomplishes the purpose for which God sent it (Isaiah 55:11). If you weren’t sure, Peter says, “this is the word that was preached to you.”
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