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The First Letter of Peter
The First Letter of Peter Purpose To encourage believers who were suffering to maintain a life of holiness and thereby bear witness to Christ Author Peter Date Early 60s AD Setting Written toward the end of Peter’s life to believers in northern Asia Minor who were experiencing persecution
1:1 to God’s chosen people: Peter opens his letter to suffering Christians by reminding them of the status they enjoy because of God’s act on their behalf (1:2). • living as foreigners (literally exiles of the dispersion): An exile had been uprooted from his or her homeland and taken to live in a foreign country. Peter uses the concept metaphorically to remi...
1:1 to God’s chosen people: Peter opens his letter to suffering Christians by reminding them of the status they enjoy because of God’s act on their behalf (1:2). • living as foreigners (literally exiles of the dispersion): An exile had been uprooted from his or her homeland and taken to live in a foreign country. Peter uses the concept metaphorically to remind Christians that they are living in a world dominated by anti-Christian values and ways of life. • Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia were Roman provinces in what is now Turkey. They might be listed in the order of the route that a messenger would have followed while carrying the letter to the various churches.
1:10-12 Our salvation is very great: The Old Testament prophets predicted it, and angels long to investigate it.
1:11 They wondered: Much was revealed about the future to the Old Testament prophets, but they did not know precisely when or how the salvation they predicted would come about. • The Greek translated what time could also mean what person. The prophets knew that a Messiah would come and that he would suffer before he was glorified, but they did not know who t...
1:11 They wondered: Much was revealed about the future to the Old Testament prophets, but they did not know precisely when or how the salvation they predicted would come about. • The Greek translated what time could also mean what person. The prophets knew that a Messiah would come and that he would suffer before he was glorified, but they did not know who that Messiah would be.
exodus 12:5
leviticus 10:3
leviticus 11:44-45
leviticus 11:44-45
leviticus 11:45
leviticus 19:2
leviticus 19:2
leviticus 20:7
Christian Suffering
Christian Suffering We should not be surprised when suffering comes (1 Pet 4:12). Christians who live a countercultural lifestyle in obedience to God should expect the culture to respond with hostility. We should expect mockery, discrimination, trumped-up charges, and even violence. God has a purpose for us in suffering: It brings us into fellowship with Christ, who suffered before he was glorified (4:13; see also Rom 8:17). By suffering in fellowship with Christ, we can be confident of enjoying the glory that he has already won. First Peter focuses heavily on Christian suffering, especially unjust persecution at the hands of people hostile to the faith. The several themes about suffering that are woven throughout the letter find their climactic expression in 4:12-19. We need to commit ourselves to doing what is right when we face suffering (4:19). Our difficulties can always provide an excuse for sinning, but when difficulties come our way, we must live exemplary lives, characterized by love for others. Our loving response to enemies in the midst of trials can be a powerful opportunity to share our faith. By treating our persecutors with love and kindness, we can make...
The Holiness of God’s People
The Holiness of God’s People God called on the people of Israel to be holy because he had ransomed them from their slavery in Egypt (see Lev 11:45). He has also ransomed us through Jesus Christ, who paid the price to release us from slavery to sin and death (1 Pet 1:18). God has paid the ultimate price to set us free: He has given “the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God” (1:19). He has purchased our freedom from the empty way of life that people experience before coming to Christ. At the heart of the lifestyle that God demanded of his people under the old covenant was the requirement that they be holy as God is holy (see Lev 19:2). God had rescued them from the domination of a cruel, foreign nation who served other gods; now they were to live as God’s people in the new land to which he was bringing them. Peter applies the same requirement to God’s people of the new covenant, those who have come to God through faith in Jesus Christ: “You must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy” (1 Pet 1:15). This holiness has both a negative and a positive side. Negatively, to be holy is to separate from this world, to avoid the ways of...