Chapter One
1 PETER 1:1-2
Text and Exposition
I. Salutation
1:1-2
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the fore-knowledge
of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience
to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
1 Peter begins by using his name in its most common NT form. His name in Hebrew
was probably "Simeon" (Acts 15:14; 2 Peter 1:1 [Gk. ]), the Greek equivalent of which
was "Simon." He also had the Aramaic nickname of "Cephas" (John 1:42; Gal 2:11
[Gk.]). "Peter" is the Greek translation of "Cephas" or "rock." Cullmann suggests that
to bring out the power of the nickname and to follow the common NT practice ("Simon
Peter"), Peter should be called "Simon Rock" (TDNT, 6:101). "An apostle of Jesus
Christ" indicates the dignity and authority as one selected by Jesus and given unique
responsibilities of ministry in the establishment of the Christian church (Matt 16:18-19;
Mark 1:16f; 3:16; John 1:42; John 21:15-19).
As is common in Greek letters of the NT era, the writer first identifies himself, then
identifies the recipient, and finally gives a word of greeting. Peter begins by designating
those he is writing to as "God's elect." In biblical teaching, election is a central
theme and the foundation of spiritual blessing (cf. Deut 4:37; 7:6; 142; Ps 105:6, 43;
Isa 45:4; Eph 1:4-5). No believer should ever feel threatened by the doctrine of
election, because it is always presented in Scripture as the ground of comfort. So here
the designation of "elect" reminds the scattered Christians in danger of persecution
that God's purposes for them are certain and gracious. "Strangers in the world"
(parepidemoi) points to the fact that Christians are "pilgrims" who do not reside
permanently on earth. They belong to the heavenly realm (cf. Eph 2:19; Phil 3:20;
Heb 11:13-16). The destination of the letter is "Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and
Bithynia." These were the Roman provinces north of the Taurus Mountains in what
is today Turkey.
2 Peter next announces some basic themes of his letter ("foreknowledge of God the
Father," "sanctifying work of the Spirit," and "obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling
by his blood") that will later be expanded and developed. Here he reminds his
readers of their Triune faith and of the Triune work of God. While Peter does not go
into the developed theological form of the Trinitarian faith, the triadic pattern of the
Christian faith is already evident in his words. The "foreknowledge of God" is more
than God's simply knowing what will take place in the future, for it includes God's
special relations with mankind even before creation (cf. 1:20; Amos 3:2; Acts 2:23;
Rom 8:29-30; 11:2). The "special relations" include God's election and his special
plans for his people (cf. TDNT, 1:714). The "sanctifying" of the Spirit is his operation
of applying the work of redemption to the Christian, purifying him and setting him
to tasks of service. The goal of election and redemption is obedience that grows out
of faith (cf. Paul's reference to "the obedience that comes from faith" in Rom 1:5). The
salutation closes with the wish for the multiplication of God's grace and peace to the
believers.
II. The Privileges and Responsibilities of Salvation (1:3-2:10)
A. God's Plan of Salvation (1.3-12)
1. The praise of God for salvation
1:3-9
3 Praise 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, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept
in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming
of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly
rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds
of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which
perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in
praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though 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, 9 for you are receiving the goal
of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
The first major section of Peter's letter concerns salvation (soteria), the key term
of this unit that occurs at 1:5, 9-10 and 2:2 but nowhere else in the book. Its basic
meaning is "deliverance," "preservation," or "salvation" (BAG, p. 808-9). In 1:9 Peter
defines his use of it as "the salvation of your souls" (cf. below). The section closes with
an OT quotation, as the next major division also does (cf. 3:10-12).
3-4 The nature of this salvation as a new birth according to the mercy of God evokes
praise to God the Father, who is the source of salvation. The new birth is the work
of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus taught in John 3:3-8. The Christian has a "living hope"
because Jesus has been raised by the Father (cf. Titus 2:13). This hope is further
described in v.4 as an inheritance "that can never perish, spoil or fade." The concept
of inheritance is one of the major Bible themes and stresses family connection and
gift. As Paul wrote to the Galatians, "God in his grace gave it [the inheritance] to
Abraham through a promise" (3:18; cf 1 Peter 3:9; Matt 5:5; 19:29; 25:34; see also
DNTT, 2:295-303). The inheritance is kept (teteremenen, perfect tense) or reserved
by God for his people in "heaven."
5 God's people are described as "the ones being guarded" (tous phrouroumenous,
present passive; NIV, "who are shielded"). This stresses the continued activity of God
in their lives, while the phrase "through faith" stresses the believers' activity. The
divine protection and the final salvation are only for believers. The salvation "ready
to be revealed in the last time" looks at the final aspects or realization of what
Christians already have and enjoy.
6 "In this" (en ho) probably refers to anticipation of the future deliverance. As the
Christian longs for his inheritance, he can "rejoice" (agalliasthe, which is best taken
as a present indicative). Bultmann says, "God's help is always the theme of [agalliae]
which is a jubilant and thankful exultation" (TDNT, 1:20). The participle lypethentes
(grieve) is concessive, as the translation "though now for a little while you may have
had to suffer grief" shows. The Greek emphasizes that the suffering is brief, for the
present time (arti), and necessary (ei deon). The aorist participle also plays down the
duration of the grief of the believer. That Peter uses peirasmoi ("trials") instead ofdiogmoi ("persecutions") or thlipseis ("tribulations") is significant. While they are not
technical terms (cf. BAG, s. v. ), diogmoi or thlipseis are not found in Peter's epistles.
Peter is thinking in terms of the broadest category of the pagans' attitude toward
Christians rather than of specific actions, and this may be an evidence of the early
dating of the book.
7 Gold is one of man's most prized objects. When it is refined, its impurities are
removed by a fiery process. Though extremely durable, gold belongs to the perishing
world-order. Faith, which is more valuable than gold because it lasts longer and
reaches beyond this temporal order, is purified in the tests of life. Gold, not faith,
is presently valued by men. But God will set his stamp of approval on faith that has
been tested and show this when Christ is revealed. Then the believer will openly
share in the praise, glory, and honor of God.
8 Faith is directed toward Jesus Christ and produces love and joy in Christians.
Without seeing Jesus (either because they were second-generation believers or because
they were geographically removed), Peter's readers have come to love Jesus
because they believe he has loved them enough to die for them. Christians do not
rejoice because of sufferings but because of the glorious expectation of their future
with Christ. "This is a mystery of faith contradicting everyday experience, and so thejoy is inexpressible" (italics his) (Kelly, p. 57).
9 "For you are receiving" (komizomenoi, a present causal participle) gives the reason
for the paradoxical joy while stressing that the anticipated salvation is even now in
the process of realization. The "goal" (telos) or consummation of faith is "the salvation
of your souls." No soul-and-body dichotomy of Greek thought is implied. The "soul"
is used in the Semitic biblical sense of "self" or "person." Therefore the thought of
this section closes with the believers' enjoyment of the future salvation in this present
age.
2. The prophecy of salvation
1:10-12
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to
come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the
time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he
predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 It 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.
10-11 This salvation was the subject of the OT prophecies of the messianic sufferings
and glories. The prophets not only spoke to the situation of their contemporaries, but
they also spoke of the longed-for messianic times. In predicting the future, they did
not always understand their utterances. The clearest example is Daniel and his visions
(8:27; 12:8) and his study of other prophets (9:2ff.). The prophets longed to see the
messianic time and so searched into what they could know of it (cf. Luke 10:24). The
motivating force in prophecy is not the human will (cf. 2 Sam 23:2: "The Spirit of the
Lord spoke through me; his word was on my tongue"; cf. also 2 Peter 1:21); it is the
Holy Spirit. The content of the prophecies embraced both the "sufferings" and the
"glories" of Christ (cf. Luke 24:26), Both words are plural. The gospels list various
aspects of the predicted sufferings of Christ-e.g., hatred by his people, betrayal by
his friend, being forsaken by his flock, his scourging and crucifixion, etc. His glories
include his transfiguration (2 Peter 1:17), his resurrection (1:21), his glorious return,
and his reign.
12 Through revelation the prophets learned that some of their utterances related to
future generations. The writings of the prophets contain both "near" and "far" aspects.
Yet the prophets were unable to understand the time significance of their prophecies
or to understand fully the relation of the sufferings of the Messiah to his glory. Denial
or ignorance of these things has led to denial of supernatural predictive prophecy. The
word translated "serving" (diekonoun) is significant, for it points to the fact that the
writings of the OT are of service to the new community-the church. The unity of
the OT and NT writings centers in Christ and his salvation. This message of salvation
has come to humanity through men under the power of the Holy Spirit, who has come
from heaven.
The last statement of v.12 is especially significant-"even angels long to look into
these things." The Scriptures reveal that the angels have intense interest in human
salvation. They rejoice at the conversion of a sinner (Luke 15:10); they observed Jesus
in his early life (1 Tim 3:16); they will rejoice in songs of praise at the completion of
redemption (Rev 5:11-14).
The verb parakypto (NIV, "long to look") means "to stoop over to look." It implies
willingness to exert or inconvenience oneself to obtain a better perspective. Here the
present tense gives it a continuous aspect. The verb is also used in Luke 24:12; John
20:5, 11; and James 1:25. It means continuous regard rather than a quick look.
The Bible says nothing about salvation for angels. On the contrary, they learn about
it from the church (Eph 3:10); and they serve the church (Heb 1:14).
(Continues.)
