The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (269 page)

In the end, modern objections to Peter's authorship of 1 Peter are insufficiently strong to overturn the traditional ascription. The external testimony of the ancient Church, along with a careful handling of the internal evidence of the text, combine to support the apostolic authorship of the letter beyond a reasonable doubt. The epistle can thus be read and defended as the work of Simon Peter, the foremost apostle of Christ.

Date
 The question of "when" the letter was written is bound up with the question of "who" wrote it. Scholars who maintain its apostolic authorship usually date it in the early 60s. In other words, it must have been written
before
Peter's martyrdom in Rome in the middle 60s and yet
after
a sufficient period of missionary activity brought the Churches addressed in 1:1 into existence. Scholars who favor pseudepigraphical authorship naturally date the epistle after Peter's death. Most are content with a window of possible dates between
A.D.
70 and 100.

Origin
 The letter was written from "Babylon" (5:13). This is not a literal reference to the city of that name in lower Mesopotamia, but a figurative reference to Rome, the imperial capital of the Mediterranean world. Mark's presence with Peter at the time of writing (5:13) coheres nicely with this interpretation, for Paul seems to indicate that Mark was in Rome at the time of his first imprisonment in the early 60s (Col 4:10). Additional support comes from Christian writers who identify Peter, along with Paul, as a cofounder of the Roman Church (St. Irenaeus,
Against Heresies
3, 3) and as one who spent the latter years of his life there (St. Jerome,
On Illustrious Men
1). Archaeological evidence has likewise given reason to believe that Peter spent his final days in the capital, for it has convincingly established that the apostle was and remains buried on Vatican Hill. Finally, there are parallel uses of "Babylon" as a pseudonym for Rome in Jewish texts written in early Christian times (4
Ezra
3, 1; 2
Baruch
11, 1;
Sibylline Oracles
5, 143).

Destination
 The first recipients of the letter were Christians living in northern Asia Minor (1:1). Peter addresses them as "exiles of the Dispersion". Because the terms "exile" and "Dispersion" were closely associated with the Jewish people living beyond the borders of Palestine, it was held by some in the early Church that Peter had addressed the letter to circumcised believers (e.g., Eusebius,
Ecclesiastical History
3, 4). More likely, however, this opening description refers to Christians in general, irrespective of their ethnic or religious background. Indeed, one of the key metaphors of the letter depicts believers as aliens and sojourners living in temporary exile from their true homeland in heaven (1 Pet 1:17; 2:11-12). It is quite possible that Peter expected Hebrew Christians to be among his readers, but statements such as the one in 4:3 suggest that Gentile converts from paganism are primarily in view.

Themes
 First Peter is a pastoral letter written to encourage young churches perplexed by growing hostility toward Christians. With the tide of persecution steadily rising, the dangers of being a Christian in an unbelieving world were being felt more and more acutely. For some, pagan distain for believers might cause a crisis of faith; for others, it could quickly lead to discouragement and confusion about God's purpose for these trials. This painful situation called forth from Peter, an eyewitness to the sufferings of Christ (5:1), the pastoral wisdom to see hardships as integral to God's design for making us more like Christ. One might say that 1 Peter is to the NT what the Book of Job is to the OT—an effort of faith to see innocent suffering within the framework of God's plan for our lives.

Peter's counsel to these churches is warm and pastoral in tone as well as theological and ethical in content.
(1)
Theologically:
Peter informs readers that suffering for the name of Christ is not a curse but a blessing (3:14; 4:14). Instead of being disheartened by abuse, they should count it a privilege to suffer the same maltreatment endured by their Lord (4:13). This, he implies, is evidence that Jesus is replicating his own life in the experiences of the faithful, leading them down the path that he himself once walked (2:21; 4:1). The purpose of this is not to weaken or injure their faith, but to strengthen and refine it as something precious in the eyes of God (1:6-7). Though trials like these require patience, they last only "a little while" (5:10). The challenge is to look beyond the test of suffering to the salvation (1:9) and glory that await them on the other end (1:21; 4:13).
(2)
Ethically:
Peter gives practical guidance for living the gospel in an unfriendly environment. The supreme example for this is set by Christ: because he "did not revile" those who slandered him (2:23), neither should believers "return evil for evil or reviling for reviling" (3:9). Though abused by the godless and immoral (4:3-4), readers must fight their fallen "passions" (2:11) and cling to "the will of God" in everything they do (4:2). Hence, the proper response to suffering is to entrust oneself entirely to God (4:19), who will come to "restore, establish, and strengthen" everyone who holds fast to the faith under fire (5:10). In all of this, Christians must live above reproach. The saints are urged to be model citizens (2:13-17); servants are to endure with patience any unjust treatment from their masters (2:18-20); wives are to serve their unbelieving husbands (3:16); and husbands are to honor their wives (3:7). And Christians must be ready to give an intelligent defense of the faith to anyone who interrogates them (3:15-16). In these ways, believers show forth the image of Christ in their lives, and the grandeur of the gospel is displayed before the world. «

OUTLINE OF THE FIRST LETTER OF SAINT PETER

1. Opening Address (
1:1-2
)

2. Dignity of the Christian Vocation (
1:3-2:10
)

   A. New Birth in Christ (
1:3-9
)

   B. Testimony of the Prophets (
1:10-12
)

   C. Be Holy Yourselves (
1:13-2:3
)

   D. Christ the Living Stone (
2:4-10
)

3. Duties of the Christian Life (
2:11-3:12
)

   A. Civil Duties of the Saints (
2:11-17
)

   B. Suffering like Christ (
2:18-25
)

   C. Household Duties of the Saints (
3:1-7
)

   D. Moral Duties of the Saints (
3:8-12
)

4. Difficulties of Christian Persecution (
3:13-5:11
)

   A. Conduct during Persecution (
3:13-22
)

   B. Living for the Last Days (
4:1-11
)

   C. Suffering and Christian Glory (
4:12-19
)

   D. Shepherds and the Flock (
5:1-5
)

   E. Humility and Vigilance (
5:6-11
)

5. Closing Benediction (
5:12-14
)

THE FIRST LETTER OF

Chapters

1
2
3
4
5

Essays and Charts

Christ and "The Spirits in Prison"

Salutation

1
 
*
 
Peter, an apostle
of Jesus Christ,

   To the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappado'cia, Asia, and Bithyn'ia,
²
chosen and destined
by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ
and for sprinkling with his blood:

May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

A Living Hope

3
 
Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been
born anew
to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
⁴
and to an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
⁵
who by God's power are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in
the last time
.
⁶
In this you rejoice,
^a
though now for a little while you may have to
suffer various trials
,
⁷
so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
⁸
Without having seen
^b
him you
^c
love him; though
you do not now see
him you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy.
⁹
As
the outcome
of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls.

10
 The prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired about this salvation;
¹¹
they inquired what person or time was indicated by
the Spirit of Christ
 
*
within them when predicting the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glory.
¹²
It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things which have now been announced to you by
those who preached
the good news to you through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

A Call to Holy Living

13
 Therefore
gird up your minds
, be sober, set your hope fully upon the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
¹⁴
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,
¹⁵
but as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct;
¹⁶
since it is written, "
You shall be holy
, for I am holy."
¹⁷
And if you
invoke as Father
him who judges each one impartially according to his deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile.
¹⁸
You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,
¹⁹
but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a
lamb without blemish
or spot.
²⁰
He was destined before the foundation of the world but was made manifest at
the end of the times
for your sake.
²¹
Through him you have confidence in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
^d

22
 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere love of the brethren,
love one another
earnestly from the heart.
²³
You have been born anew,
not of perishable seed
but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
²⁴
for

  
"
All flesh is like grass

  
and all its glory like the flower of grass.

  
The grass withers, and the flower falls,

²⁵
but the word of the Lord abides for ever."

That word is the good news which was preached to you.

The Living Stone and a Chosen People

2
  
So put away all malice and all guile and insincerity and envy and all slander.
²
Like
newborn infants
, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation;
³
for you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

4
 
Come
to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God's sight chosen and precious;
⁵
and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
⁶
For it stands in Scripture:

  
"Behold, I am laying in Zion a
stone
, a cornerstone chosen and precious,

  
and he who believes in him will not be put to shame."

⁷
To you therefore who believe, he is precious, but for those who do not believe,

  
"The very stone which the builders rejected

  
has become the cornerstone,"

⁸
and

  
"A stone that will make men stumble,