1 Peter 1 - God's Word NEVER Changes! It Changes US!

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Today we dig in to the first letter of Peter. Most think the writer is the apostle Peter, though some think it was someone else because the stylistic writing in Greek, which people do not think a fisherman would have been able to produce. Regardless, the majority of scholars presume Peter is the author of this letter. The other major debateable matter is the dating of the letter. Since persecution is a main theme, the question is what persecution is the writer referring to. You will see below the three main periods of persecution of Christians during the 1st century by each Roman emperor. If Peter had already been matyred which is supported by the bible, then a later dating would be supported (like 95-100 AD). But if Paul was undergoing persecution under Nero it supports the earlier date of 62-67 AD. 

Here is an overview from ESV.org, which assumes Petrine authorship and an early dating. 

Introduction to 1 Peter

Timeline

Author, Date, and Recipients

The apostle Peter wrote this letter (1:1). He was once a fisherman but now was a disciple, a “witness of the sufferings of Christ” (5:1). He probably wrote the letter from Rome (see 5:13; “Babylon” almost certainly refers to Rome) around A.D. 62–63 during Nero’s reign. The letter is addressed to Christians scattered in “Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1:1). This is an area north of the Taurus Mountains in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). These territories had been impacted by Greco-Roman culture and had been under Roman control from the mid-first century B.C.

Theme

Those who persevere in faith while suffering persecution should be full of hope. They will certainly enjoy end-time salvation, since they already enjoy God’s saving promises through Christ’s death and resurrection.

Purpose

Peter is writing to encourage his readers to endure suffering and persecution (1:6–7; 2:18–20; 3:9, 13–17; 4:1–4, 12–19; 5:9) by giving themselves entirely to God (4:19). They are to remain faithful in times of distress, knowing that God will vindicate them and that they will certainly enjoy the salvation that the Lord has promised. Christ’s death and resurrection are the model for believers. Just as Christ suffered and then entered into glory, so too his followers will suffer before being exalted.

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.

We see the audience is believers who are spread throughout Asia Minor. We see the Trinity here. The foreknowledge of the Father, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ. 

Since we know the Christians were scattered after Nero's persecution, it also gives evidence of the earlier dating. Exiles is usually associated with the Jewish people who were exiled from Jerusalem. We also know at Pentecost, Jewish Christians were in Jerusalem when the heard the gospel in their own native tongues. 

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. 

We see Trinitarian language used again. Peter talks about a new birth into a living birth. The living birth is a living hope, which can never fade away. It is a result of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Peter certainly would have known a lot about the authenticity of the resurrection since he was one of the first disciples to encounter the risen Lord! In fact he ran to the tomb to see it! 

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. 

The fact that their salvation was so secure in Christ was a reason they could rejoice even in suffering. Since their permanent residence was in heaven, they could rejoice that these trials were purifying them and proving how genuine their faith was. No one could ever accuse them of being "fair weather" Christians. 

To stand faithful under trials and suffering is a great testimony to true faith in Jesus and the power of faith in the Risen Jesus!  Where are you suffering for being a Christian? How is it purifying your faith? How can it be a witness to others who don't know Jesus? 

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.”

Since they were undergoing trials, they needed to keep their focus on the hope they had in Christ. Hope is so important when you are going through a hard time. When you have hope, you can get through a lot. You know there will be an end to what you are going through. On the flipside, when you lose hope it can be a very dark place. 

Also, Peter calls them to be holy, or set apart as a result of their calling. They had been delivered from their sinful past, but it would always be tempting them to come back to it. Our call to holiness is a result of the One who called us. Though we are not God, our goal is to be more like Him. Peter references an Old Testament verse from Leviticus, "Be holy, because I am holy!" 

I don't believe this is a call to legalism or thinking we need to be justified by the works of the Law. Notice he says, "Be holy, as I am holy." We are holy because God set us apart to be holy. We have received the Holy Spirit, who lives in us and makes us holy. 

This is a good word for all of us. Where do you need to be holy as God is holy? Or better yet, where in your life have you allowed your sinful nature to get a hold of you, so that you are not acting in a way in concert with your call to be holy. 

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.”

Peter talks about the power of the Word of God, through which they became born again. The Word of God endures because it is from God. Later in the gospel of John we read that Jesus is the Word. Our culture and even more liberal parts of the body of Christ have tried to change God's Word to accomodate what is happening in culture. We cannot change God's eternal Word. God's Word changes us. 

The things of this world will wither and corrode but those who rely on God's Word will always bear fruit. One day our bodies will give way but God's Word Jesus Christ who lives in us will cause us to live forever! 

Where do you need to be true to God's Word?