1 Peter 1

1 Peter 1

This chapter is written by Peter, it is the first of two letters, and he starts out by addressing those the letter is written to. He praises God for their salvation, he exhorts them regarding a few things that pertain to their walk with God. (Exhort = to give urgent advice, recommendations, or warnings.) Exhortations are different in admonishment or correction in a very important way…. exhortation is given to someone prior to them doing anything wrong – it is advice designed to keep them from harm or from making a mistake. Admonishments or corrections are given to someone after the mistake has been made to correct the path they have stepping onto. And both are a part of discipline.

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who 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.

This letter is written by the disciple formerly known as Simon. Jesus gave him the name of Peter, which means “rock” as an encouragement to his faith – Jesus saw his potential and called him by the name that represented the results of his faith rather than his current state. We can see that he has fully embraced not only the name, but also the title of apostle. He has greatly grown in maturity and faith and is now sharing that knowledge with others. The word apostle means “one sent, a messenger, any one sent in the name of Jesus to continue his work. The people he is writing to are mostly Jews, descended from the original exiles from Babylon, who had been placed in the cities of Asia Minor. It is likely that Peter had been among them and was responsible for their conversion to Christianity.

Praise to God for a Living Hope

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. This inheritance is 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 all 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 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. 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 end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

These Christians had been going through many difficulties and hardships. Peter reminds them that they can rejoice that God was always with them, always watching. He congratulates them on the dignity and job they have managed to maintain throughout their trials. They have the hope of Christ in them and the promise of eternal life with the Father. These are things to rejoice about and he commends them for their faith. He had seen Jesus and they had not, and yet they still had faith in abundance. He know that the joy they express is the result of their faith and perseverance. To lose the joy in our salvation is to become a hypocrite because it is a part of our faith that should never be shaken.

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 the Messiah 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.

The prophets of the Old Testament had the promise of the savior, and watched for him with anticipation, trying to figure it all out. We still do that today – but of course God never does things the way we expect or anticipate. Those prophets did not see the Messiah arrive, they were in actuality serving those who came after – showing the way with prophecies and signs.

Be Holy

13 Therefore, 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. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”[Lev. 11:44,45; 19:2]

Now, after commending them on their great faith and their joy through trials, he gives them advice designed to further them in maturity and keep them holy. He reminds them to stay alert, and keep Jesus Christ at the forefront of their lives. They must continue to deny the fleshly cravings of their sinful nature and seek only those things that would be of benefit to their walk with God. He reminds them that just as God is holy, we are to be holy, since we are his children. And just as Jesus, his son is holy, so we should be also. It is a daily perseverance to keep ourselves holy.

17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For 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, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Peter reminds them that God does not favor them over any other Christian, and that they are to give glory to God for everything they earn and all they are given. If we keep God first, money and earthly treasures will mean nothing to us. They are but a tool of this life and have absolutely no bearing on the next one. Our lives (even in sin) were so precious, they could not be redeemed by gold or silver, or the things of this world – they had to be redeemed from each with the blood of the most holy son of God. And so, we should keep that in mind when we are tempted to be anything less than holy before God.

22 Now 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. [from a pure heart]

And of course, when you are holy, as Jesus is holy, you cannot help but love one another. This is what God desires, what Jesus prayed for in the garden – the unity that comes from love. Specifically love that is given from a pure heart. Jesus cannot come back to this earth until we reach this goal, until we can show love to one another and be unified throughout the world with this love.

23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”[Isaiah 40:6-8] And this is the word that was preached to you.

We can obtain these goals, because we have been born of an eternal God, an eternal savior. Our spirits will never perish. All that is on this earth will wither, die, and become no more – but we will live on, because our Father is eternal and we are his children. This is the advice that Peter has for these Christians in the beginning part of his letter, and we can take this advice to heart and live by these words as well.