The First Epistle of Peter
1Pe 1:11a Peter Matt. 4:18; 10:2; Acts 1:13; 2:14
The name Peter denotes Peter’s regenerated and spiritual man, whereas the name Simon denotes his natural man by birth (John 1:42; Matt. 16:17-18).
1Pe 1:12b apostle Rom. 1:1
An apostle to the Jews (Gal. 2:8).
1Pe 1:13c sojourners 1 Pet. 2:11; Heb. 11:13
Or, pilgrims. Strictly, in this book this term refers to the Jewish believers who were pilgrims, foreigners, dispersed in the Gentile world (2:11-12). However, the principle of being sojourners could be applied to all believers, both Jewish and Gentile, because all are heavenly sojourners, sojourning as foreigners on this earth. These sojourners are God’s elect, chosen by God out of the human race, out of all the nations (Rev. 5:9-10), according to His foreknowledge (v. 2).
1Pe 1:14d dispersion John 7:35; James 1:1
A term familiar to all the Jews scattered among the nations, indicating that this Epistle was written to the Jewish believers. It is from the Greek word that means to scatter or spread abroad; its root means to sow. This implies that the scattered Jews were sown as seeds among the Gentiles.
1Pe 1:15e Pontus Acts 2:9; 18:2
All five provinces mentioned here were in Asia Minor, between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
1Pe 1:1f Galatia Acts 16:6; Gal. 1:2
1Pe 1:1g Asia Rev. 1:4; 2 Tim. 1:15
1Pe 1:21a Chosen 1 Pet. 2:9; 5:13; 2 Pet. 1:10; Eph. 1:4; 1 Thes. 1:4; 2 Thes. 2:13; cf. Rom. 11:28
Both of Peter’s Epistles (2 Pet. 3:1) are concerned with the government of God. God’s government is universal and deals with all His creatures that He may have a clean and pure universe (2 Pet. 3:13) in order to express Himself. In the New Testament age this dealing begins from His chosen people, His elect, His own household (4:17), and especially from His chosen sojourners who are dispersed and are sojourning among the nations, the Gentiles, as His testimony. Hence, these two books emphasize the believers’ being chosen (2:9; 5:13; 2 Pet. 1:10). As God’s chosen race, God’s choice, God’s particular possession, the dispersed and chosen sojourners need to see that they are under God’s governmental dealing for a positive purpose, regardless of the situation and environment they are in. Anything and everything that happens to them, whether persecution or any other kind of trial or suffering (v. 6; 5:9), is just a part of God’s precious governmental dealing. Such a vision will perfect, establish, strengthen, and ground them (5:10) that they may grow in grace (2 Pet. 3:18).
1Pe 1:22 according
Here, the divine economy through the operation of the Trinity of the Godhead for the believers’ participation in the Triune God is unveiled. God the Father’s selection is the initiation; God the Spirit’s sanctification carries out the selection of God the Father; and God the Son’s redemption, signified by the sprinkling of His blood, is the completion. Through these steps the believers have been selected, sanctified, and redeemed to enter into the enjoyment of the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—into whom they have been baptized (Matt. 28:19) and whose virtues they are enjoying (2 Cor. 13:14).
1Pe 1:23b foreknowledge Rom. 8:29; 1 Pet. 1:20
God chose us before the foundation of the world, in eternity past (Eph. 1:4). Hence, the divine foreknowledge was exercised.
1Pe 1:24 in
I.e., by the sanctification of the Spirit. This denotes that God the Father’s selection is applied to and carried out in God’s chosen ones in and by the sanctification of the Spirit, which means that the Spirit sanctifies man by causing him to repent unto God, thus making him a chosen one of God.
1Pe 1:25c sanctification 2 Thes. 2:13; Rom. 15:16
Here the sanctification of the Spirit is not the sanctification of the Spirit that comes after justification through the redemption of Christ (the latter sanctification is revealed in Rom. 6:19, 22; 15:16). Here the sanctification of the Spirit, as the main emphasis in this chapter, an emphasis on holiness (vv. 15-16), comes before obedience to Christ and faith in His redemption, i.e., before justification through Christ’s redemption (1 Cor. 6:11), indicating that the believers’ obedience unto faith in Christ results from the Spirit’s sanctifying work. The Spirit’s sanctification in its various aspects is revealed in an all-inclusive way in 2 Thes. 2:13, and its goal is that God’s chosen people may obtain God’s full salvation. God’s full salvation is carried out in the sphere of the Spirit’s sanctification.
1Pe 1:26 unto
Three different prepositions are used in relation to the three steps taken by the Triune God to bring His elect into participation in His full salvation: according to denotes the ground, the base; in, the sphere; and unto, the end, the result. The believers’ obedience of faith (Rom. 1:5; 16:26) in the redemption of Christ and the applying to them of the sprinkling of the blood are the result of the Spirit’s sanctification, which is based on God the Father’s selection.
1Pe 1:27d obedience 1 Pet. 1:14
The New Testament dispensation has the blood of Jesus Christ. That blood is in contrast to the blood of animals, which the Old Testament dispensation had. The Jewish believers were familiar with the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of animals under the Old Testament dispensation, but now they had to realize that the dispensation had been changed and that under the New Testament dispensation the law of Moses and the blood of animals had been replaced by the person of Christ and the blood of Christ. The result of such a realization is that the believers obey Jesus Christ and are sprinkled by His blood.
1Pe 1:28e sprinkling Heb. 9:19-21; 10:22; 12:24
In typology the sprinkling of the expiating blood ushered the sprinkled people into the old covenant (Exo. 24:6-8). Likewise, the sprinkling of Christ’s redeeming blood brings the sprinkled believers into the blessing of the new covenant, that is, into the full enjoyment of the Triune God (Heb. 9:13-14). This is a striking mark that separates the sprinkled people from the common people, who are without God.
1Pe 1:29 blood
The blood for sprinkling denotes redemption. See vv. 18-19.
1Pe 1:210 Grace
See note 21 in Eph. 1.
1Pe 1:211 peace
See note 22 in Eph. 1.
1Pe 1:212f multiplied 2 Pet. 1:2; Jude 2; Dan. 4:1; 6:25
Multiplied grace corresponds with varied grace (4:10) and all grace (5:10). The believers have received the initial grace, yet this grace needs to be multiplied in them that they may participate in all grace.
1Pe 1:31a Blessed 2 Cor. 1:3; Eph. 1:3
See note 31 in Eph. 1.
1Pe 1:32 God
See notes 32 and 171 in Eph. 1.
1Pe 1:33b mercy Titus 3:5; Rom. 9:16, 23
See note 133 in 1 Tim. 1.
1Pe 1:34c regenerated 1 Pet. 1:23; James 1:18; Titus 3:5; John 3:3
Regeneration, like redemption and justification, is an aspect of God’s full salvation. Redemption and justification solve our problem with God and reconcile us to God; regeneration enlivens us with God’s life, bringing us into a relationship of life, an organic union, with God. Hence, regeneration issues and results in a living hope. Such regeneration is accomplished through the resurrection of Christ from the dead. “The resurrection of Christ, bringing in life and the gift of the life-giving Spirit, is that which potentiates the new birth unto a living hope” (Alford).
1Pe 1:35 unto
Issuing in, resulting in, with a view to.
1Pe 1:36 living
[ par. 1 2 ]
1Pe 1:36 [1] A hope for the future in our sojourning today—not a hope of objective things but a hope of life, even eternal life, with all the endless divine blessings. Such a hope should cause us to set our hope perfectly on the coming grace (v. 13).
1Pe 1:36 [2] The living hope, the hope of life, brought to the regenerated believers through regeneration, can be likened to the various expectations for the future brought to parents through the birth of a newborn babe; all such expectations hinge on the life of the newborn child. Likewise, the life that we, the believers, have received through regeneration enables us to have a hope, with numerous aspects, for this age, for the coming age, and for eternity. In this age we have the hope of growing in life, of maturing, of manifesting our gifts, of exercising our functions, of being transformed, of overcoming, of being redeemed in our body, and of entering into glory. In the coming age we have the hope of entering into the kingdom, of reigning with the Lord, and of enjoying the blessings of the eternal life in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens. In eternity we have the hope of being in the New Jerusalem, where we will participate fully in the consummated blessings of the eternal life in its ultimate manifestation in eternity. This living hope, the hope of life, hinges on the eternal life, which we received through regeneration. Only the divine life can enable us to grow in the divine life until we grow into the reality of the hope that is brought to us by that life. Thus we will obtain the various blessings mentioned above as our inheritance, which is incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading and is kept for eternity (vv. 3-4).
1Pe 1:3d hope 1 Pet. 1:21; 3:15; Eph. 1:18; 4:4; Col. 1:5, 27; 2 Thes. 2:16; Titus 2:13
1Pe 1:37 through
When Christ was resurrected, we, His believers, were all included in Him. Hence, we were resurrected with Him (Eph. 2:6). In His resurrection He imparted the divine life into us and made us the same as He is (see note 173 in John 20). This is the basic factor of our regeneration.
1Pe 1:3e resurrection 1 Pet. 3:21; 1 Cor. 15:20; Eph. 2:6
1Pe 1:41 Unto
Unto an inheritance here is in apposition to unto a living hope in v. 3. The living hope, resulting from regeneration, is our expectation of the coming blessing; the inheritance is the fulfillment of our hope in the coming age and in eternity.
1Pe 1:42a inheritance Acts 20:32; 26:18; Eph. 1:14; Col. 3:24
See notes 323 in Acts 20 and 186 in Acts 26. The inheritance here comprises the coming salvation of our souls (vv. 5, 9), the grace to be received at the revelation of the Lord (v. 13), the glory to be revealed (5:1), the unfading crown of glory (5:4), and the eternal glory (5:10). All these items of our eternal inheritance are related to the divine life, which we received through regeneration and which we are experiencing and enjoying throughout our entire Christian life. “This inheritance is the full possession of that, which was promised to Abraham and all believers (Gen. 12:3; see Gal. 3:6 ff.), an inheritance, as much higher than that which fell to the children of Israel in the possession of Canaan, as the sonship of the regenerate, who have already received the promise of the Spirit through faith as a pledge of their inheritance, is higher than the sonship of Israel: compare Gal. 3:18, 29; 1 Cor. 6:9; Eph. 5:5; Heb. 9:15” (Wiesinger, quoted by Alford).
1Pe 1:43 incorruptible
Incorruptible in substance, indestructible, not decaying; undefiled in purity, unstained; unfading in beauty and glory, not withering. These are the excelling qualities of our eternal inheritance in life. These qualities should be related to the Divine Trinity: incorruptible relates to the nature of the Father, which is like gold; undefiled, to the condition preserved by the Spirit’s sanctifying work; and unfading, to the glorious expression of the Son.
1Pe 1:4b unfading 1 Pet. 5:4
1Pe 1:44c kept Col. 1:5
Kept as the result of being guarded.
1Pe 1:51a guarded Jude 24; cf. Phil. 4:7
A military term; lit., garrisoned.
1Pe 1:52 by
Lit., in. In virtue of; hence, by.
1Pe 1:53 through
The power of God is the cause of our being guarded. Secondarily, faith is the means through which the power of God becomes effective in guarding us.
1Pe 1:54 unto
Three prepositions are used here concerning our coming salvation: by, through, and unto. By refers to the cause, through to the means, and unto to the result.
1Pe 1:55 salvation
[ par. 1 2 3 4 ]
1Pe 1:55 [1] Not salvation from eternal perdition but the salvation of our souls from the dispensational punishment of the Lord’s governmental dealing (v. 9 and note 2). The full salvation of the Triune God is in three stages and comprises many items:
1Pe 1:55 [2] (1) The initial stage, the stage of regeneration, which is composed of redemption, sanctification (positional—v. 2; 1 Cor. 6:11), justification, reconciliation, and regeneration. In this stage God justified us through the redemption of Christ (Rom. 3:24-26) and regenerated us in our spirit with His life by His Spirit (John 3:3-6). Thus we received God’s eternal salvation (Heb. 5:9) and His eternal life (John 3:15) and became His children (John 1:12-13), who shall not perish forever (John 10:28-29). This initial salvation has saved us from God’s condemnation and from eternal perdition (John 3:18, 16).
1Pe 1:55 [3] (2) The progressing stage, the stage of transformation, which is composed of freedom from sin, sanctification (mainly dispositional—Rom. 6:19, 22), growth in life, transformation, building up, and maturing. In this stage God is freeing us from the dominion of indwelling sin—the law of sin and of death—by the law of the Spirit of life, through the subjective working of the effectiveness of the death of Christ in us (Rom. 6:6-7; 7:16-20; 8:2); sanctifying us by His Holy Spirit (Rom. 15:16), with His holy nature, through His discipline (Heb. 12:10) and His judgment in His own house (4:17); causing us to grow in His life (1 Cor. 3:6-7); transforming us by renewing the inward parts of our soul by the life-giving Spirit (2 Cor. 3:6, 17-18; Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23) through the working of all things (Rom. 8:28); building us together into a spiritual house for His dwelling (2:5; Eph. 2:22); and maturing us in His life (Rev. 14:15 and notes) for the completion of His full salvation. In this way we are being delivered from the power of sin, the world, the flesh, self, the soul (the natural life), and individualism into maturity in the divine life for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose.
1Pe 1:55 [4] (3) The completing stage, the stage of glorification, which is composed of the redemption (transfiguration) of our body, conformity to the Lord, glorification, the inheritance of God’s kingdom, participation in Christ’s kingship, and the topmost enjoyment of the Lord. In this stage God will redeem our fallen and corrupted body (Rom. 8:23) by transfiguring it into the body of Christ’s glory (Phil. 3:21); conform us to the glorious image of His firstborn Son (Rom. 8:29), making us wholly and absolutely like Him in our regenerated spirit, transformed soul, and transfigured body; and glorify us (Rom. 8:30), immersing us in His glory (Heb. 2:10) that we may enter into His heavenly kingdom (2 Tim. 4:18; 2 Pet. 1:11), into which He has called us (1 Thes. 2:12), and inherit it as the topmost portion of His blessing (James 2:5; Gal. 5:21)—even that we may reign with Christ as His co-kings, participating in His kingship over the nations (2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 20:4, 6; 2:26-27; 12:5) and sharing His royal, kingly joy in His divine government (Matt. 25:21, 23). In this way our body will be freed from the slavery of corruption of the old creation into the freedom of the glory of God’s new creation (Rom. 8:21), and our soul will be delivered out of the realm of trials and sufferings (v. 6; 4:12; 3:14; 5:9) into a new realm, one that is full of glory (4:13; 5:10), and will share in and enjoy all that the Triune God is, has, and has accomplished, attained, and obtained. This is the salvation of our souls, the salvation that is ready to be revealed to us at the last time, the grace to be brought to us at the revelation of Christ in glory (v. 13; Matt. 16:27; 25:31). This is the end of our faith. The power of God is able to guard us unto this that we may obtain it (v. 9). We should eagerly expect such a marvelous salvation (Rom. 8:23) and prepare ourselves for its splendid revelation (Rom. 8:19).
1Pe 1:5b revealed 1 Pet. 1:7; 4:13; Rom. 8:18-19
1Pe 1:56c last 2 Pet. 3:3; Jude 18; 2 Tim. 3:1
The time of the Lord’s coming (v. 7).
1Pe 1:61 time
Referring to the last time, mentioned in v. 5.
1Pe 1:6a exult 1 Pet. 1:8; 4:13; Jude 24
1Pe 1:6b little 1 Pet. 5:10; 2 Cor. 4:17
1Pe 1:62c trials James 1:2; Acts 20:19
Sufferings that become trials to test the quality. The purpose of this book is to establish and strengthen the suffering believers, who have been chosen by God, sanctified from the world unto God by the Spirit, sprinkled by the redeeming blood of Christ, and regenerated by God the Father unto a living hope, unto an inheritance kept in the heavens for them (vv. 1-4), yet are sojourners still sojourning on this earth (vv. 1, 17; 2:11). In their sojourn, sufferings are unavoidable. These are used by God to prove and try the believers’ faith (v. 7), to see whether they will follow Christ in suffering for doing good (2:19-23; 3:14-18). The sufferings are used to arm them with a mind against the flesh that they may live not in the lusts of men but in the will of God (4:1-2), that they may share the sufferings of Christ and rejoice at the revelation of His glory (4:12-19), that they may be witnesses of the sufferings of Christ (5:1), and that they may be perfected, established, strengthened, and grounded for the eternal glory into which God has called them (5:8-10). This is wholly under God’s government, that He may judge His chosen people (v. 17), beginning His judgment from His own house (4:17). Hence, this book can also be considered a book concerning God’s government.
1Pe 1:71a proving 1 Pet. 4:12; James 1:3, 12; Psa. 17:3; 26:2
I.e., testing for approval. It is the trying, the proving, of faith, not the faith itself, that may be found unto praise. (This is like the school’s examination of the student’s studying: what is found to be approved is the examination, not the student’s studying itself.) Of course, the approval of faith comes out of the proper faith. The stress here is not on faith but on the proving of faith by trials that come through sufferings.
1Pe 1:72 much
Much more precious than of gold…by fire modifies not your faith but proving.
1Pe 1:73 precious
In his two Epistles Peter presents to us five precious things: (1) the precious stone, which is the Lord Himself (2:4, 6-7); (2) the precious blood (v. 19); (3) the precious promises (2 Pet. 1:4); (4) the precious faith (2 Pet. 1:1); and (5) the precious proving (v. 7).
1Pe 1:7b proved 1 Pet. 4:12; Psa. 66:10; cf. 1 Cor. 3:13
1Pe 1:74 unto
The various trials in v. 6 come upon us so that the proving of our faith will result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of the Lord.
1Pe 1:7c praise 1 Cor. 4:5
1Pe 1:75e revelation 1 Pet. 1:13; 4:13; Luke 17:30; 1 Cor. 1:7; 2 Thes. 1:7; 2 Tim. 4:8
The Lord is with us today (Matt. 28:20), but in a hidden, veiled way. His coming back will be His revelation, when He will be seen openly by all. At that time not only He but also the proving of our faith will be revealed.
1Pe 1:8a seen Heb. 11:1, 27; 1 John 4:20
1Pe 1:81b love John 21:15-17; 1 Cor. 8:3; Mark 12:30
It is a wonder and a mystery that the believers love One whom they have not seen.
1Pe 1:82 into
Into whom modifies believing.
1Pe 1:83c believing John 20:29; 2 Cor. 5:7
We love Him whom we have not seen because of believing, because of the very faith that has been infused into us through our hearing of the living word (Gal. 3:2). Hence, this faith is under the proving, the trying, mentioned in v. 7.
1Pe 1:8d exult 1 Pet. 1:6
1Pe 1:84 joy
Joy full of glory is joy immersed in glory; hence, joy that is full of the Lord expressed.
1Pe 1:91 Receiving
According to grammar, this word continues v. 8, but according to fact, it is connected with v. 7. The proving of our faith being found unto praise, glory, and honor results in the receiving of the end of our faith, that is, the salvation of our souls.
1Pe 1:9a salvation 1 Pet. 1:5; 2:2; 2 Pet. 3:15
1Pe 1:92b souls 1 Pet. 1:22; 2:11, 25
We are of three parts: spirit, soul, and body (see notes 235 in 1 Thes. 5 and 122 in Heb. 4). Our spirit was saved through regeneration (John 3:5-6). Our body will be saved, redeemed, through the coming transfiguration (Phil. 3:21; Rom. 8:23). Our soul will be saved through sufferings into the full enjoyment of the Lord at His revelation, His coming back. For this we must deny our soul, our soulish life, with all its pleasures in this age, that we may gain it in the enjoyment of the Lord in the coming age (Matt. 10:37-39; 16:24-27; Luke 17:30-33; John 12:25). At the Lord’s revelation, through His judgment seat, some believers will enter into the joy of the Lord (Matt. 25:21, 23; 24:45-46) and some will suffer in weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 25:30; 24:51). To enter into the Lord’s joy is the salvation of our souls (Heb. 10:39 and note 3). This salvation is more precious than the salvation of the body, which the children of Israel expect to receive.
1Pe 1:101a prophets Luke 10:24; 2 Pet. 1:19-21
Like the Lord (Luke 24:25-27, 44-46), Peter used the Old Testament prophets to confirm his teaching concerning the New Testament salvation.
1Pe 1:102 grace
A synonym for salvation in this verse. See note 134. For grace, see notes 146 in John 1 and 101 in 1 Cor. 15.
1Pe 1:111 Searching
The searching of the prophets was the Spirit’s pre-application of God’s salvation in the Old Testament.
1Pe 1:112 what
The Old Testament prophets were searching into what time and what manner of time the Spirit in them was making clear concerning Christ’s marvelous accomplishment through His sufferings and glories. Eventually, it was revealed to them that they ministered those marvelous things not to themselves but to the New Testament believers (v. 12).
1Pe 1:113 of
The highly respected Vaticanus MS omits, of Christ. This omission fits into the New Testament revelation concerning the Spirit. However, the other authoritative MSS have of Christ in their text. In the New Testament revelation the Spirit of Christ denotes the Spirit after Christ’s resurrection (Rom. 8:9-11). Before Christ’s resurrection, the Spirit who is not only the Spirit of God but the Spirit of Christ was not yet (John 7:39). The Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of God constituted through and with the death and resurrection of Christ for the application and impartation of Christ’s death and resurrection to His believers. Although the constituting of the Spirit of Christ is dispensational—i.e., the Spirit of Christ was constituted dispensationally through and with Christ’s death and resurrection in the New Testament time—the function of the Spirit of Christ is eternal, because He is the eternal Spirit (Heb. 9:14). This is like the cross of Christ: as an event, it was accomplished at the time of Christ’s death, yet its function is eternal; hence, in the eternal sight of God, Christ was slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). In Old Testament times the Spirit of God, as the Spirit of Christ, made the time and the manner of time concerning Christ’s death and resurrection clear to the prophets who were seeking and searching diligently concerning the sufferings and glories of Christ.
1Pe 1:114 sufferings
[ par. 1 2 ]
1Pe 1:114 [1] Christ first suffered and then entered into glory (Luke 24:26). We should follow Him in the same steps (4:13; Rom. 8:17). The sufferings of Christ, as revealed to the prophets and prophesied by them in Psa. 22:1, 6-8, 12-18; Isa. 53:2-10a, 12b; Dan. 9:26; and Zech. 12:10m; 13:6-7, are for the accomplishing of God’s redemption, which, on the negative side, has solved all the problems between man and God and terminated the old creation, and, on the positive side, has released the eternal life of God for the fulfillment of His eternal purpose.
1Pe 1:114 [2] The glories of Christ (see note 6) are for His glorification, which He asked of the Father before His crucifixion (John 17:1) and which is for the executing of God’s New Testament economy for the carrying out of God’s eternal purpose. The sufferings of Christ and the glorification of Christ with the glories in different steps—the factors of God’s full redemption and salvation—being applied to and experienced by us equal the salvation mentioned in vv. 5, 9, and 10. This is what the prophets in the Old Testament sought and searched for diligently, what the Spirit of Christ revealed to them, what the apostles preached in the New Testament by the Holy Spirit, and what the angels long to look into (v. 12).
1Pe 1:115 of
Lit., unto. The sufferings that Christ endured were sufferings assigned to Him by God (Isa. 53:10); hence, they are of Him, belonging to Him.
1Pe 1:116 glories
The glories in different steps: the glory in His resurrection (Luke 24:26; Acts 3:13), the glory in His ascension (Acts 2:33; Heb. 2:9), the glory in His second coming (Rev. 18:1; Matt. 25:31), and the glory in His reign (2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 20:4, 6), as revealed in Psa. 16:8-10; 22:21-22; 118:22-24; 110:1, 4; 118:26; Zech. 14:4-5; Dan. 7:13-14; and Psa. 24:7-10; 72:8-11.
1Pe 1:121 these
Referring to the sufferings of Christ and His glories, mentioned in v. 11.
1Pe 1:122 preached
The preaching of the apostles is the Spirit’s practical application of God’s salvation in the New Testament.
1Pe 1:12a Spirit Acts 2:2-4; Heb. 2:4
1Pe 1:123 look
The Greek word portrays one who is stooping and stretching his neck to look at some wonderful sight. This shows how interested the angels are in observing the things concerning Christ for God’s salvation. They declared and celebrated the Savior’s birth (Luke 2:8-14), they rejoice over the sinners’ repenting to receive salvation (Luke 15:10), and they are happy to serve those who inherit salvation (Heb. 1:14; Acts 12:15; Matt. 18:10).
1Pe 1:131 Therefore
Verses 3-12 are a long sentence of blessing (well speaking) concerning God the Father, disclosing to us His marvelous and excellent salvation, beginning from the regeneration of our spirit (v. 3) and consummating in the salvation of our soul (v. 9), accomplished through the sufferings and glories of Christ (v. 11) and applied to us by the Holy Spirit (v. 12). Based on this, v. 13 begins an exhortation to those who are participating in the full salvation carried out by the Triune God according to His economy.
1Pe 1:13a girding 1 Pet. 5:5; Luke 12:35; Eph. 6:14
1Pe 1:132b sober 1 Pet. 4:7; 5:8; 1 Thes. 5:6, 8; 2 Tim. 4:5; 1 Tim. 3:2; 2 Tim. 1:7
Calm and clear in mind, able to realize God’s economy in His salvation, as revealed in vv. 3-12, without being disturbed by fear, anxiety, or any care.
1Pe 1:133 hope
The living hope obtained through regeneration (v. 3).
1Pe 1:134c grace 1 Pet. 1:10
I.e., the salvation of the soul (vv. 5, 9-10), which will be the consummation of God’s full salvation. Grace was brought to us by the Lord’s first coming (John 1:17). It will be consummated by His second coming. On such grace we should set our hope.
1Pe 1:13d revelation 1 Pet. 1:7
1Pe 1:14a obedience 1 Pet. 1:2
1Pe 1:141 fashioned
As in Rom. 12:2. Do not be fashioned denotes a state that is a path on which God’s elect, as sojourners, walk.
1Pe 1:14b lusts 1 Pet. 4:2
1Pe 1:14c ignorance Acts 17:30; 1 Pet. 2:15
1Pe 1:151 Holy
The Holy One is the Triune God—the choosing Father, the redeeming Son, and the sanctifying Spirit (vv. 1-2). The Father regenerates His elect, imparting His holy nature into them (v. 3); the Son redeemed them with His blood from the vain manner of life (vv. 18-19); and the Spirit sanctifies them according to the Father’s holy nature, separating them from anything other than God (v. 2) that they, by the holy nature of the Father, may be holy in all their manner of life, even as holy as God Himself (vv. 15-16).
1Pe 1:15a called 1 Thes. 4:7; 1 Pet. 2:21; 3:9; 5:10; 2 Pet. 1:3
1Pe 1:152 be
Through the sanctification of the Spirit (v. 2), based on regeneration (v. 3), which brings us the holy nature of God and issues in a holy life.
1Pe 1:15b holy 2 Pet. 3:11; Heb. 12:14
1Pe 1:15c manner 1 Pet. 2:12; 3:1, 2, 16; cf. 1 Pet. 1:18; 2 Pet. 2:7
1Pe 1:16a holy Lev. 11:44; 19:2; 20:7
1Pe 1:171a Father Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6; 2 Cor. 6:18
The Holy One, who as the Father has called us, has regenerated us to produce a holy family—a holy Father with holy children. As holy children, we should walk in a holy manner of life. Otherwise, the Father will become the Judge (4:17) and will deal with our unholiness. He begot us with life inwardly that we might have His holy nature; He disciplines us with judgment outwardly that we may partake of His holiness (Heb. 12:9-10). His judgment is according to our work, our conduct, without respect of persons. Hence, we should pass the time of our sojourning in fear. If we call Him our Father, we also should fear Him as our Judge and live a holy life in fear.
1Pe 1:17b without Rom. 2:11; Eph. 6:9; Acts 10:34
1Pe 1:172c judges 1 Pet. 2:23; 4:6, 17
[ par. 1 2 ]
1Pe 1:172 [1] Peter “is not speaking of the final judgment of the soul. In that sense ‘the Father judgeth no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son’ [John 5:22]. The thing spoken of here is the daily judgment of God’s government in this world, exercised with regard to His children. Accordingly it says, ‘the time of your sojourn[ing]’ here” (Darby). This is God’s judgment on His own household (4:17).
1Pe 1:172 [2] Since these two Epistles are concerned with the government of God, the judgment of God and of the Lord is referred to repeatedly (2:23; 4:5-6, 17; 2 Pet. 2:3-4, 9; 3:7) as one of the main items. God’s judgment began from the angels (2 Pet. 2:3-4) and passed through the generations of man in the Old Testament (2 Pet. 2:5-9). In the New Testament age it begins from the house of God (v. 17; 2:23; 4:6, 17) and continues until the coming of the day of the Lord (2 Pet. 3:10), which will be a day of judgment on the Jews, the believers, and the Gentiles before the millennium (see note 123 in 2 Pet. 3). After the millennium all the dead, including men and demons, will be judged and will perish (4:5; 2 Pet. 3:7), and the heavens and the earth will be consumed by fire (2 Pet. 3:10b, 12). The results of the various judgments are not the same. Some judgments result in a disciplinary dealing, some in a dispensational punishment, and some in eternal perdition (see note 15, point 2, in 2 Pet. 2). However, by all these judgments the Lord God will clear up and purify the entire universe that He may have a new heaven and a new earth for a new universe filled with His righteousness (2 Pet. 3:13) for His delight.
1Pe 1:173 work
I.e., conduct, behavior; as in Rom. 3:20; Gal. 2:16.
1Pe 1:17d sojourning 1 Pet. 2:11; Heb. 11:13
1Pe 1:174e fear 1 Pet. 2:17, 18; 3:2, 16; 2 Cor. 7:1; Heb. 12:28; Jude 23
A holy fear, as in Phil. 2:12; i.e., a healthy, serious caution that leads us to behave holily. Such fear is mentioned a number of times in this book (see reference 17e) because this book’s teaching concerns the government of God.
1Pe 1:181a silver Ezek. 7:19; Isa. 52:3; Zeph. 1:18
Lit., something silver or something gold (e.g., a coin).
1Pe 1:18b redeemed Titus 2:14; Rom. 3:24; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14
1Pe 1:18c from cf. Psa. 130:8
1Pe 1:182d vain Eph. 4:17; Rom. 1:21; 2 Pet. 2:18
[ par. 1 2 ]
1Pe 1:182 [1] The vain manner of life is in contrast to the holy manner of life in v. 15. As a general principle, the blood of Christ has redeemed us from sins, transgressions, lawlessness, and all sinful things (Eph. 1:7; Heb. 9:15; Titus 2:14). Here is an exception: Christ’s blood has redeemed us from our old, vain manner of life, because the emphasis here is not on sinfulness but on the manner of life. The whole chapter emphasizes the holy manner of life that God’s chosen people should have in their sojourn. Not only is the Spirit’s sanctification for this, even Christ’s redemption is for this—to separate us from our vain manner of life handed down from our fathers. Knowing that this was accomplished with the highest price, the precious blood of Christ, we should pass the days of our sojourning in fear (v. 17).
1Pe 1:182 [2] Our old manner of life, a life in lusts (v. 14), had no meaning and no goal; hence, it was vain. But now our goal is to live a holy life that we may express God in His holiness (vv. 15-16).
1Pe 1:191 precious
The blood of Christ, by which we are sprinkled and thus marked out from the common people, is more precious than silver and gold. The highest price was paid for our redemption that we might be redeemed from a vain manner of life to a holy life (vv. 18, 15). For this we should have a holy fear, a healthy, serious caution before God, so that, as God’s elect, redeemed with such a high price, we will not miss the purpose of this most high redemption of Christ.
1Pe 1:19a blood 1 Pet. 1:2; Acts 20:28; Heb. 9:12-14; Rev. 1:5
1Pe 1:19b Lamb Exo. 12:5; Isa. 53:7; John 1:29, 36; Rev. 5:6, 13
1Pe 1:19c without Lev. 4:3; 6:6
1Pe 1:201a foreknown 1 Pet. 1:2
Christ was foreordained, prepared, by God to be the redeeming Lamb (John 1:29) for His elect according to His foreknowledge before the foundation of the world. This was done according to God’s eternal purpose and plan; it did not happen accidentally. Hence, in the eternal view of God, from the foundation of the world, that is, from the fall of man as part of the world, Christ was slain (Rev. 13:8).
1Pe 1:20b before John 17:24; Eph. 1:4
1Pe 1:20c manifested Heb. 9:26; 1 John 3:5, 8
1Pe 1:202d last Heb. 1:2
Referring to the end of the Old Testament times. See note 21 in Heb. 1.
1Pe 1:211 through
Our believing into Christ brought us into an organic union with Him (Gal. 3:26-27). Then through Him we believe into God to be one with Him and participate in all His riches.
1Pe 1:21a raised Acts 2:24; Rom. 10:9
1Pe 1:212 gave
This is to glorify Him with glory (v. 11) and is the Father’s answer to His prayer (John 17:1).
1Pe 1:21b glory John 7:39; Acts 3:13; Heb. 2:9
1Pe 1:213 faith
See note 131 in 1 Cor. 13.
1Pe 1:21c hope 1 Pet. 1:3
1Pe 1:221 purified
The purifying of our souls is the Spirit’s sanctifying of our disposition that we may live a holy life in God’s holy nature (vv. 15-16). It is deeper than the purifying of our sins (Heb. 1:3) and the cleansing of sin (1 John 1:7). The latter two are the purifying of our outward doing; the former is the purifying of our inward being—the soul. This purifying is like the washing of the water in the word in Eph. 5:26 (see note 3 there).
1Pe 1:222a souls 1 Pet. 1:9
Our soul is composed of our mind, emotion, and will, which are also parts of our heart. To have our soul purified is to have our mind, emotion, and will, as parts of our heart, purified from any kind of defilement or contamination (Acts 15:9; James 4:8). Actually, this means to have our mind, emotion, and will delivered from all things other than God and fixed on God as the sole object and unique goal. This kind of purification is accomplished by our obedience to the truth, which is the content and reality of our faith (see note 11, point 2, in 1 Tim. 1). When we obey the truth, the content and reality of our faith in Christ, our entire soul is concentrated on God and is thus purified from all things other than God. This is to have our souls saved from all filthiness by our receiving the implanted word (James 1:21), which is the sanctifying truth (John 17:17).
1Pe 1:223 truth
The sanctifying truth, which is God’s word of reality, i.e., of truth (John 17:17 and notes).
1Pe 1:224b brotherly 1 Pet. 2:17; 3:8; 2 Pet. 1:7; Rom. 12:9-10; Heb. 13:1; 1 John 4:21
Since the purifying of our souls causes our entire being to be concentrated on God that we may love Him with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind (Mark 12:30), such purifying issues in unfeigned brotherly love, our loving from the heart fervently those whom God loves. First, God’s regeneration issues in a holy living (vv. 15-16); then God’s sanctification (purification) issues in brotherly love.
1Pe 1:225 from
Some MSS read, from the heart fervently.
1Pe 1:231 Having
This verse modifies v. 22. Having been regenerated, we have purified our souls unto brotherly love. Regeneration with the divine life is the base, the ground, for the purifying, sanctifying, of our souls unto unfeigned brotherly love. This section of the Word begins and ends with regeneration, which issues in a holy living toward God and brotherly love toward the saints.
1Pe 1:23a regenerated 1 Pet. 1:3
1Pe 1:232b seed Matt. 13:4; 1 John 3:9
A seed is a container of life. The word of God, as the incorruptible seed, contains God’s life. Hence, it is living and abiding. Through this word we were regenerated. It is God’s living and abiding word of life that conveys God’s life into our spirit for our regeneration.
1Pe 1:241 flesh
Referring to fallen man. The entire fallen human race is like withering grass, and its glory like the falling flower of grass. The believers were once like that, but the living and abiding word of the Lord, as the seed sown into them through regeneration, has changed their nature, making them living and abiding forever.
1Pe 1:24a grass Isa. 40:6-8; 51:12; Psa. 102:11; James 1:10-11
1Pe 1:251 word
Word in v. 23 refers to the constant word; word here (used twice) refers to the instant word. When the constant word is spoken to us, it becomes the instant word.
1Pe 1:252 Lord
Referring to God in v. 23, indicating that the Lord Jesus is God.
1Pe 1:253b gospel Rom. 1:15-17
The word announced by the apostles is the gospel that regenerates the believers.
1Pe 2:11 Therefore
The exhortation in vv. 1-10 is based on what is unveiled in ch. 1. Three main things accomplished in the believers by the Triune God are stressed in ch. 1: the Father’s regeneration (1:3, 23), the Son’s redemption (1:2, 18-19), and the Spirit’s sanctification (1:2). These make the believers a holy people, who live a holy life (1:15-16). Based on this, Peter charged the believers to grow in life (v. 2) for the building up of a spiritual house (v. 5).
1Pe 2:12a malice 1 Cor. 5:8; Eph. 4:31; Col. 3:8
The five negative things mentioned here constitute a sequence. Malice is the root, the source, and evil speaking is the expression. Guile, hypocrisies, and envies are the downward steps of the development from the source toward the expression.
1Pe 2:1b hypocrisies Matt. 23:13-15, 23, 25, 27, 29
1Pe 2:21 newborn
Born through regeneration (1:3, 23), the believers become babes who can grow in life unto further salvation, and that for God’s building, by being nourished with the spiritual milk.
1Pe 2:2a babes Heb. 5:13; 1 Cor. 3:1
1Pe 2:22 guileless
In contrast to guile in v. 1. I.e., without false purpose, without any goal other than to nourish the soul.
1Pe 2:2b milk 1 Cor. 3:2; Heb. 5:12-13; Isa. 55:1; 28:9
1Pe 2:23 of
The Greek word, translated reasonable in Rom. 12:1, is an adjective, derived from the noun word; hence, of the word; having the sense of pertaining to the mind (in contrast to the body), to the rational faculties; hence, rational, logical, reasonable. The milk of the word is not milk for the body but milk for the soul, the inner being. It is conveyed in the word of God to nourish our inner man through the understanding of our rational mind and is assimilated by our mental faculties.
1Pe 2:24c grow 2 Pet. 3:18; Eph. 4:15; Col. 2:19
To grow is a matter of life and in life. We received the divine life through regeneration, and we need to grow in this life and with this life by being nourished with the milk conveyed in the word of God.
1Pe 2:25 unto
I.e., resulting in. Growth in life results in salvation. Salvation here, as the result of growth in life, is not initial salvation. God’s full and complete salvation has a long span—from regeneration, including justification, to glorification (Rom. 8:30). At regeneration we receive initial salvation (see note 55 in ch. 1). Then we need to grow by feeding on Christ as the nourishing milk in the word of God, unto full salvation, unto maturity for glorification. This will be the salvation of our soul, which will be revealed to us at the revelation of the Lord Jesus (1:5 and note 5; 1:9-10, 13). However, according to the context, unto salvation here refers directly to being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices in v. 5, and to tell out the virtues of Him in v. 9.
1Pe 2:2d salvation 1 Pet. 1:5, 9-10
1Pe 2:31a tasted Psa. 34:8; Heb. 6:4-5
The Lord can be tasted, and His taste is pleasant and good. If we have tasted Him, we will long for the nourishing milk in His word (v. 2).
1Pe 2:32 good
Or, pleasant, kind.
1Pe 2:41 living
A living stone is one that not only possesses life but also grows in life. This is Christ for God’s building. Here Peter changed his metaphor from a seed, which is of the vegetable life (1:23-24), to a stone, which is of the minerals. The seed is for life-planting; the stone is for building (v. 5). Peter’s thought went on from life-planting to God’s building. As life to us, Christ is the seed; for God’s building, He is the stone. After receiving Him as the seed of life, we need to grow that we may experience Him as the stone living in us. Thus He will make us also living stones, transformed with His stone nature, that we may be built together with others as a spiritual house upon Him as both the foundation and the cornerstone (Isa. 28:16).
1Pe 2:4a stone Dan. 2:34-35; Matt. 21:42; 16:18
1Pe 2:4b rejected 1 Pet. 2:7; Acts 4:11
1Pe 2:4c chosen 1 Pet. 2:6; Matt. 12:18
1Pe 2:42 precious
Or, held in honor; differing from the word used in 1:19. There the word denotes preciousness in essence; here it indicates preciousness that is recognized and held in honor by men.
1Pe 2:51 living
We, the believers in Christ, are living stones, like Christ, through regeneration and transformation. We were created of clay (Rom. 9:21). But at regeneration we received the seed of the divine life, which by its growing in us transforms us into living stones. At Peter’s conversion the Lord gave him a new name, Peter—a stone (John 1:42); and when Peter received the revelation concerning Christ, the Lord revealed further that He was the rock—a stone (Matt. 16:16-18). By these two incidents Peter received the impression that both Christ and His believers are stones for God’s building.
1Pe 2:5a stones Gen. 28:22; 1 Cor. 3:12; Rev. 21:11, 19
1Pe 2:52b built 1 Cor. 3:9; Eph. 2:20-22; 4:16; Col. 2:7
Feeding on Christ by taking in the nourishing milk in the word of God is not only for growing in life but also for building up. Growing is for building up.
1Pe 2:53 spiritual
Although the nourishing milk of the word is for the soul through the mind, it eventually nourishes our spirit, making us not soulish but spiritual, suitable for being built up as a spiritual house of God.
1Pe 2:54c house Gen. 28:19, 22; 1 Tim. 3:15; 1 Pet. 4:17
God’s goal in the believers is to have a house built up with living stones—not separated and scattered stones, nor even stones merely gathered and piled up together, but stones built up one with another.
1Pe 2:55 into
Some ancient MSS omit, into.
1Pe 2:56 holy
Spiritual denotes the capacity of the divine life to live and grow; holy, the capacity of the divine nature to separate and sanctify. The house of God subsists mainly by the divine life; hence, it is spiritual. The priesthood subsists mainly by the divine nature; hence, it is holy.
1Pe 2:57 priesthood
The holy priesthood is the spiritual house. In the New Testament three Greek words are used in relation to the priests: hierosune, referring to the priestly office, as in Heb. 7:12; hierateia, referring to the priestly service, as in Heb. 7:5; and hierateuma, referring to the assembly of priests, a body of priests, a priesthood, as in this verse and v. 9. The coordinated body of priests is the built-up spiritual house. Although Peter did not address his two Epistles to the church or use the term church in this verse in stressing the corporate life of the believers, he did use the terms spiritual house and holy priesthood to indicate the church life. It is not the spiritual life lived in an individualistic way, but the spiritual life lived in a corporate way, that can fulfill God’s purpose and satisfy His desire. He wants a spiritual house for His dwelling, a priestly body, a priesthood, for His service. Peter’s view concerning the believers’ corporate service in coordination is the same as Paul’s in Rom. 12. This service issues from the three vital steps in the spiritual life: being born anew (v. 2a), growing in life by being nourished with Christ (v. 2b), and being built up with the believers.
1Pe 2:58 spiritual
The spiritual sacrifices that the believers offer in the New Testament age according to God’s economy are: (1) Christ as the reality of all the sacrifices of the Old Testament types, such as the burnt offering, meal offering, peace offering, sin offering, and trespass offering (Lev. 1—5); (2) the sinners saved by our gospel preaching, offered as members of Christ (Rom. 15:16); and (3) our body, our praises, and the things that we do for God (Rom. 12:1; Heb. 13:15-16; Phil. 4:18).
1Pe 2:5d acceptable Isa. 56:7; Rom. 12:1; 15:16
1Pe 2:6a Behold Isa. 28:16
1Pe 2:61 cornerstone
See note 203 in Eph. 2.
1Pe 2:62b chosen 1 Pet. 2:4
Christ is a stone chosen by God to be the cornerstone for His building (Eph. 2:20).
1Pe 2:63 precious
See note 42.
1Pe 2:6c believes Rom. 9:33; 10:11
1Pe 2:71 preciousness
In Greek, a word kindred to precious in vv. 4, 6. The very Christ chosen by God as a stone, even a cornerstone that is precious to God, is the preciousness to His believers; but to the unbelievers He is a rejected, despised stone.
1Pe 2:7a The Psa. 118:22
1Pe 2:72 builders
The Jewish leaders in Judaism (Acts 4:11), who should have been building the house of God. They rejected Christ to the uttermost. The Lord predicted that they would do this (Matt. 21:38-42).
1Pe 2:7b rejected 1 Pet. 2:4
1Pe 2:73 become
In resurrection Christ became the head of the corner. In his early preaching Peter had already declared this to the Jews (Acts 4:10-11).
1Pe 2:8a A Isa. 8:14; Rom. 9:33
1Pe 2:81b stumbling Luke 2:34
The reliable Christ (v. 6), being rejected, became a stumbling stone, on which the rejecting Judaizers stumbled (Matt. 21:44a).
1Pe 2:8c offense 1 Cor. 1:23
1Pe 2:8d stumble 2 Pet. 1:10
1Pe 2:82 the
I.e., the word quoted in vv. 6-8.
1Pe 2:83 which
Referring to the Jews’ disobedience, which resulted in their stumbling.
1Pe 2:8e appointed cf. 1 Thes. 3:3; 5:9
1Pe 2:9a chosen 1 Pet. 1:2; cf. Deut. 7:6; 10:15; 14:2
1Pe 2:91 race
Race, priesthood, nation, and people are all collective nouns, referring to the believers corporately. As a race, we, the believers, are chosen; as a priesthood, a body of priests, we are royal, kingly; as a nation, we are holy; as a people, we are God’s possession, a possession particularly acquired and owned by God as His treasure (Titus 2:14 and note 3). Chosen race denotes our descent from God; royal priesthood, our service to God; holy nation, our being a community for God; and people acquired for a possession, our preciousness to God. These are all in a corporate sense. Hence, we need to be built together (v. 5).
1Pe 2:92 royal
See notes 56 and 57. Royal denotes the status of our priesthood, which is kingly, like that of Christ the King, our High Priest, typified by Melchizedek (Heb. 7:1-2, 26, and note 12; Gen. 14:18).
1Pe 2:9b priesthood Rev. 1:6; 5:10; cf. Exo. 19:6; Isa. 61:6
1Pe 2:93 holy
See note 23 in Rom. 1. Holy denotes the nature of the nation.
1Pe 2:94 tell
Or, proclaim abroad. First, we must be born anew and grow in life (v. 2), and then we must be built up and serve corporately (v. 5). Now we need to proclaim abroad, to tell out. To serve corporately is to satisfy God by offering up Christ as spiritual sacrifices; to tell out is to benefit others by proclaiming abroad as the gospel the virtues of the One who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.
1Pe 2:95c virtues 2 Pet. 1:3
Or, excellencies, excellent and glorious virtues (2 Pet. 1:3 and note 11); referring to what God is and has, and to the marvelous light of God, which consummates in His glory. To and by His virtue and glory God has called us (2 Pet. 1:3).
1Pe 2:9d called 1 Pet. 5:10; 2 Pet. 1:3; 1 Thes. 2:12
1Pe 2:96e darkness Isa. 42:16; 1 Thes. 5:4
Darkness is the expression and sphere of Satan in death; light is the expression and sphere of God in life. God has called us, delivered us, out of Satan’s death-realm of darkness into His life-realm of light (Acts 26:18; Col. 1:13).
1Pe 2:96f light 1 John 1:5; John 8:12; Eph. 5:8; Psa. 36:9
See note 96.
1Pe 2:101 Who
This word from Hosea 2:23 was quoted by Paul in Rom. 9:24-27, in reference first to the Gentiles and then to the remnant of Israel, “for not all who are out of Israel are Israel” (Rom. 9:6). Here Peter, quoting this word, referred to the recipients of his letter, the scattered Jewish believers. At one time they were out of Israel but were not Israel. Hence, they were not God’s people in the New Testament sense. Now, after being called by God, they became God’s people, God’s particular possession, as a treasure to God. They were shown God’s mercy, which they had never been shown before.
1Pe 2:11a strangers Lev. 25:23; Psa. 119:19
1Pe 2:11b sojourners 1 Pet. 1:1, 17
1Pe 2:11c abstain 1 Pet. 4:2; 1 Thes. 4:3; 5:22
1Pe 2:111d fleshly Rom. 13:14; Gal. 5:16, 24
The fleshly lusts are in man’s fallen body (Rom. 7:18, 23-24) and are warring against man’s soul—man’s inner being, composed of his mind, will, and emotion (Rom. 7:19-23).
1Pe 2:111f soul 1 Pet. 1:9
See note 111.
1Pe 2:121a manner 1 Pet. 1:15
This must be the holy manner of life (1:15) and the good manner of life in Christ (3:16), a life not only for God but filled and saturated with God. This manner of life is versus the vain manner of life of the unbelievers (1:18).
1Pe 2:122b excellent James 3:13
I.e., beautiful in its virtues.
1Pe 2:12c speak 1 Pet. 3:16; 4:4; Matt. 5:11
1Pe 2:12d good Matt. 5:16
1Pe 2:12e glorify 1 Pet. 4:11; 2 Cor. 9:13; Gal. 1:24
1Pe 2:123f visitation Luke 1:68, 78; 19:44; Acts 15:14
The basic meaning of the Greek word is observation, inspection, oversight, a looking upon. The day of visitation is the day on which God will look upon His sojourning people, as a shepherd watches over his wandering sheep, and will become the Shepherd and Overseer of their souls (v. 25). Hence, the day of God’s visitation is the time of God’s overseeing care.
1Pe 2:131 Be
All the items from this verse through v. 20 are details showing the good works of the excellent manner of life (v. 12).
1Pe 2:13a subject Rom. 13:1; Titus 3:1
1Pe 2:132 institution
Lit., creation; as in Col. 1:15. Referring to anything made, such as a creature, a building, a regulation, or an ordinance.
1Pe 2:133 for
For the expression and glorification of the Lord (v. 12).
1Pe 2:13b king 1 Pet. 2:17
1Pe 2:14a vengeance Rom. 13:3-4
1Pe 2:14b good 1 Pet. 3:13; 4:19
1Pe 2:15a will 1 Pet. 3:17; 4:2, 19
1Pe 2:15b ignorance 1 Pet. 1:14; Titus 3:3
1Pe 2:151 foolish
The slanderers (v. 12).
1Pe 2:16a free John 8:32, 36; Gal. 5:1
1Pe 2:16b not Gal. 5:13; cf. 2 Pet. 2:19
1Pe 2:16c slaves Rom. 6:22; 1 Cor. 7:22
1Pe 2:17a Honor 1 Pet. 3:7; Rom. 12:10; 13:7
1Pe 2:17b Love 1 Pet. 1:22
1Pe 2:171 brotherhood
The aggregate of the brothers, the family of the brothers, the brothers in the feeling of brotherliness (also in 5:9).
1Pe 2:17c Fear 1 Pet. 1:17; Psa. 111:10; Prov. 1:7; 24:21
1Pe 2:17d king 1 Pet. 2:13
1Pe 2:18a servants Eph. 6:5; Col. 3:22; Titus 2:9
1Pe 2:181b fear 1 Pet. 1:17
See note 174 in ch. 1.
1Pe 2:191 grace
Grace here refers to the motivation of the divine life within us and its expression in our living, which becomes in our behavior gracious and acceptable in the eyes of both man and God (v. 20). The same Greek word is used in Luke 6:33-34 and Rom. 7:25 for thanks. So in the next verse.
1Pe 2:192 because
Or, for conscience toward God. The consciousness of God is the consciousness of one’s relation to God, indicating that one is living in an intimate fellowship with God, having and keeping a good and pure conscience toward God (3:16; 1 Tim. 1:5, 19; 3:9; 2 Tim. 1:3).
1Pe 2:19a consciousness Rom. 13:5; 1 Pet. 3:21
1Pe 2:193 unjustly
According to the context (vv. 20-21), this must be the mistreatment inflicted by the unbelieving masters, who opposed and persecuted their believing servants because of their Christian testimony (3:14-18; 4:12-16).
1Pe 2:201 glory
Or, boast.
1Pe 2:20a suffering 1 Pet. 3:14, 17; 4:13, 15-16, 19
1Pe 2:211 this
We have been called to enjoy grace and express God in the midst of our suffering unjustly (vv. 18-20).
1Pe 2:21a called 1 Pet. 3:9; 1:15
1Pe 2:21b suffered 1 Pet. 3:18; 4:1, 13
1Pe 2:212c model John 13:15; Matt. 11:29
Lit., a writing copy, an underwriting (used by students to trace letters and thereby learn to draw them). The Lord has set His suffering life before us so that we can copy it by tracing and following His steps. This does not refer to a mere imitation of Him and His life but to a reproduction of Him that comes from enjoying Him as grace in our sufferings (see note 191), so that He Himself as the indwelling Spirit, with all the riches of His life, reproduces Himself in us. We become the reproduction of the original writing copy, not a mere imitation of Him produced by taking Him as our outward model.
1Pe 2:22a sin 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 1 John 3:5; John 8:46; Luke 23:4, 14, 22, 41
1Pe 2:22b mouth Isa. 53:7; cf. Luke 4:22; Psa. 45:2
1Pe 2:23a not cf. 1 Pet. 3:9
1Pe 2:231 all
All, inserted here, refers to all the sufferings of the Lord. The Lord kept committing all His insults and injuries to Him who judges righteously in His government, the righteous God, to whom He submitted Himself. This indicates that the Lord recognized God’s government while He was living a human life on earth.
1Pe 2:232b judges 1 Pet. 1:17; 4:6, 17
See note 172, par. 2, in ch. 1.
1Pe 2:241a bore Isa. 53:11-12; Heb. 9:28
This points out that when the Lord offered up Himself as a sacrifice (Heb. 7:27) on the cross, He bore up our sins in His body on the cross, the true altar for propitiation.
1Pe 2:24b body Col. 1:22; Rom. 8:3
1Pe 2:242c tree Acts 5:30; 10:39; 13:29
The cross made of wood, a Roman instrument of capital punishment used for the execution of malefactors, as prophesied in the Old Testament (Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13).
1Pe 2:243 having
Lit., being away from; hence, having died to. In the death of Christ we have died to sins (Rom. 6:8, 10-11, 18).
1Pe 2:24d died Rom. 6:2; Col. 2:20; 3:3
1Pe 2:244e live Rom. 6:13; Gal. 2:19
In the resurrection of Christ (Eph. 2:6; John 14:19; 2 Tim. 2:11).
1Pe 2:245 to
Righteousness is a matter of God’s government. We were saved so that we might live rightly under the government of God, that is, in a way that matches the righteous requirements of His government.
1Pe 2:246f bruise Isa. 53:5
A suffering that resulted in death.
1Pe 2:247 healed
The healing of death. We were dead (Eph. 2:1), but Christ’s suffering of death healed our death that we might live in His resurrection.
1Pe 2:25a sheep Isa. 53:6; Psa. 119:176; Jer. 50:6
1Pe 2:251 returned
Or, turned back.
1Pe 2:252b Shepherd 1 Pet. 5:4; John 10:11, 14, 16; Ezek. 34:23; Heb. 13:20
Christ was our Redeemer in His death on the tree (v. 24). Now He is our soul’s Shepherd and Overseer in the resurrection life within us. As such, He is able to guide us and supply us with life that we may follow in His steps according to the model of His suffering (v. 21).
1Pe 2:25c Overseer 1 Pet. 5:2; Acts 20:28; 1 Tim. 3:1-2; Phil. 1:1; Titus 1:7
1Pe 2:253d souls 1 Pet. 1:9
Our soul is our inner being, our real person. Our Lord, as the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls, shepherds us by caring for the welfare of our inner being and by exercising His oversight over the condition of our real person.
1Pe 3:11 like
Referring to 2:18.
1Pe 3:1a wives 1 Pet. 3:5; Eph. 5:22, 24; Col. 3:18; Titus 2:5; Gen. 3:16
1Pe 3:12 word
The word of God (1 Pet. 1:23, 25; Rom. 10:8; Eph. 1:13).
1Pe 3:1b wives 1 Cor. 7:16
1Pe 3:21 pure
Or, chaste; in Greek, a derivative from the same root as holy in v. 5 and 1:15. The pure and chaste manner of life must be the holy manner of life (1:15), the excellent manner of life (2:12), and the good manner of life (v. 16).
1Pe 3:22 in
In fear modifies pure manner of life.
1Pe 3:23a fear 1 Pet. 1:17
See note 174 in ch. 1.
1Pe 3:3a adorning 1 Tim. 2:9
1Pe 3:31 plaiting
Women’s hair is intended by God for their glory and as a sign of their submission (1 Cor. 11:15; S.S. 4:1; 6:5; 7:5). But it was misused by many, especially by those who lived in the luxurious and corrupt life of the Roman Empire at the time of this Epistle, to beautify their lustful flesh by adorning it extravagantly with gold and other costly things. Christian wives, as holy women, should absolutely abstain from this God-condemned practice.
1Pe 3:41 hidden
That the hidden man of the heart has the incorruptible adornment of a meek and quiet spirit indicates that the meek and quiet spirit in us is the hidden man of our heart. Our heart is composed of all the parts of our soul—mind, emotion, and will—along with the main part of our spirit—the conscience (Heb. 4:12). Among all these, our spirit is at the center; hence, our spirit is the hidden man of our heart. As wives, the sisters in the Lord should have as their adornment before God their inner being—the hidden man of their heart, which is adorned with a meek and quiet spirit. This spiritual adornment is very costly in the sight of God, and it is incorruptible, not like the material adornment of the plaiting of hair or the putting on of gold and garments, which is corruptible.
1Pe 3:4b spirit 1 Cor. 4:21
1Pe 3:4c costly 1 Tim. 2:9
1Pe 3:5a hoped 1 Tim. 5:5
1Pe 3:5b subject 1 Pet. 3:1
1Pe 3:6a lord Gen. 18:12
1Pe 3:6b fear 1 Pet. 3:14; Prov. 3:25
1Pe 3:61 terror
Lit., fright, or, nervous excitement.
1Pe 3:7a Husbands 1 Cor. 7:3; Eph. 5:25, 28; Col. 3:19
1Pe 3:71 according
I.e., in an intelligent and reasonable way, governed by human and spiritual knowledge that recognizes the nature of the marriage relationship and the weakness of the female, and not governed by any passion or emotion.
1Pe 3:72 weaker
The female, according to nature in God’s creation, is weaker than the male, physically and psychologically.
1Pe 3:73 vessel
Man, including woman, was made a vessel to contain God (Rom. 9:21, 23), and the believers in Christ are vessels to contain Christ as the treasure (2 Cor. 4:7). Although the wives, as female vessels, are weaker, they are still vessels of the Lord and can be vessels unto honor (2 Tim. 2:21).
1Pe 3:74 assigning
The Greek word for assigning means to apportion, to portion out; hence, to assign to. The word for honor means preciousness, valuable worth. The husbands should appreciate the preciousness, the valuable worth, of the wives and apportion it, assign it, as honor to them, duly and reasonably, as also to fellow heirs of the grace of life.
1Pe 3:7b honor 1 Pet. 2:17
1Pe 3:7c fellow Eph. 3:6; Rom. 8:17
1Pe 3:75 grace
The grace of life is God as life and life supply to us in His Trinity—the Father as the source of life, the Son as the course of life, and the Spirit as the flow of life, who flows within us, with the Son and the Father, as grace to us (1 John 5:11-12; John 7:38-39; Rev. 22:1). All believers are heirs of this grace. See note 42 in ch. 1.
1Pe 3:8a same Rom. 12:16; 15:5; 1 Cor. 1:10; 2 Cor. 13:11; Phil. 2:2
1Pe 3:8b loving 1 Pet. 1:22
1Pe 3:8c tenderhearted Eph. 4:32
1Pe 3:8d humble-minded 1 Pet. 5:5; Eph. 4:2
1Pe 3:9a evil Rom. 12:17; 1 Thes. 5:15
1Pe 3:9b reviling 1 Pet. 2:23; 2 Pet. 2:2
1Pe 3:91c blessing Luke 6:28; Rom. 12:14; 1 Cor. 4:12
The tense of the Greek participle means be always blessing.
1Pe 3:9d called 1 Pet. 1:15; 2 Thes. 2:14; 1 Cor. 1:9
1Pe 3:92 to
We have been called to bless others, so we, as a blessed people, should always bless others that we may inherit blessing. What we bless others with, we will inherit ourselves (Matt. 10:13).
1Pe 3:9e blessing 1 Pet. 3:14; 4:14
1Pe 3:101 good
Good days are days of good, referring to good things as blessings.
1Pe 3:10b tongue James 1:26
1Pe 3:11a turn Psa. 37:27; Isa. 1:16-17
1Pe 3:11b seek Rom. 12:18; Heb. 12:14; 2 Pet. 3:14
1Pe 3:12a eyes Psa. 33:18; 2 Chron. 16:9
1Pe 3:12b ears 2 Chron. 7:15
1Pe 3:12c face Jer. 44:11; cf. Num. 6:25
1Pe 3:13a good 1 Pet. 2:14
1Pe 3:14a suffer 1 Pet. 3:17; 2:19-20; 4:13-16
1Pe 3:14b righteousness Matt. 5:10
1Pe 3:14c blessed 1 Pet. 3:9; 4:14
1Pe 3:14d afraid Isa. 8:12; 1 Pet. 3:6; Matt. 10:28
1Pe 3:14e troubled John 14:27
1Pe 3:151a sanctify Isa. 8:13; 29:23; Matt. 6:9
If we are terrified and troubled by the persecutors (vv. 13-14), it will appear that we do not have the Lord in our hearts. So, in suffering persecution we should show others that we have Christ as Lord within us. This is to sanctify Him, to separate Him, from the other gods, not degrading Him so that He appears to be like the lifeless idols.
1Pe 3:15b Lord Acts 2:36; 10:36
1Pe 3:152c hope 1 Pet. 1:3
The living hope of the inheritance of eternal life. See notes 36 and 42 in ch. 1.
1Pe 3:16a meekness 2 Tim. 2:25
1Pe 3:161b fear 1 Pet. 1:17
A pious fear. See note 174 in ch. 1.
1Pe 3:162c conscience 1 Tim. 1:5; Heb. 13:18
Since the conscience is a part of our human spirit (Rom. 9:1; 8:16), to care for our conscience is to care for our spirit before God.
1Pe 3:16d spoken 1 Pet. 2:12
1Pe 3:16e revile 1 Pet. 3:9
1Pe 3:16f manner 1 Pet. 1:15; James 3:13
1Pe 3:163g in 1 Pet. 5:10, 14
The Christian’s good manner of life should be one that is in Christ. It is a living, a daily life, in the Spirit. This is higher than a living that is merely ethical and moral.
1Pe 3:17a will 1 Pet. 2:15; 4:19
1Pe 3:17b suffer 1 Pet. 3:14
1Pe 3:181 sins
Sins here and in 2:24, 1 Cor. 15:3, and Heb. 9:28 refers to the sins we commit in our outward conduct; whereas sin in 2 Cor. 5:21 and Heb. 9:26 refers to sin that is in our nature by birth. Christ died for our sins, bearing up our sins on the cross, that our sins might be forgiven by God. But He was made sin and took away the sin of the world that the problem of our sin might be solved. Peter did not deal first with sin in our nature but with sins in our conduct, in our manner of life (v. 16). The emphasis of this book is that Christ’s death redeemed us from our inherited vain manner of life (1:18-19).
1Pe 3:182a on 1 Pet. 2:21
This indicates that Christ’s death was for redemption, not for martyrdom. On the cross He was our Substitute and bore our sins; He, the righteous One, was judged on behalf of us, the unrighteous, by the righteous God according to His righteousness, that He might remove the barrier of our sins and bring us to God. This was to redeem us from our sins back to God, from our unrighteous manner of life back to the righteous God.
1Pe 3:18b to Eph. 2:18; John 14:3, 16
1Pe 3:183 Spirit
Not the Holy Spirit but the Spirit as the essence of Christ’s divinity (Rom. 1:4; cf. John 4:24a). The crucifixion put Christ to death only in His flesh—which He received through His incarnation (John 1:14)—not in His Spirit as His divinity. His Spirit as His divinity did not die at the cross when His flesh died; rather, His Spirit as His divinity was made alive, enlivened, with new power of life, so that in this empowered Spirit as His divinity He made a proclamation to the fallen angels after His death in the flesh and before His resurrection.
1Pe 3:191 which
This refers to the Spirit in v. 18, indicating and proving that Christ, after dying in His flesh, was still active in this Spirit.
1Pe 3:192 proclaimed
Not to preach the good news but to proclaim the victory achieved by God, that is, that through Christ’s death on the cross God destroyed Satan and his power of darkness (Heb. 2:14; Col. 2:15).
1Pe 3:193 spirits
Throughout the centuries great teachers of different schools have had varying interpretations concerning the spirits in prison. The most acceptable according to the Scriptures is as follows: the spirits here refer not to the disembodied spirits of dead human beings held in Hades but to the angels (angels are spirits—Heb. 1:14) who fell through disobedience at Noah’s time (v. 20 and Life-study of Genesis, Message Twenty-seven, pp. 363-4) and are imprisoned in pits of gloom, awaiting the judgment of the great day (2 Pet. 2:4-5; Jude 6). After His death in the flesh, Christ in His living Spirit as His divinity went (probably to the abyss—Rom. 10:7) to these rebellious angels to proclaim, perhaps, God’s victory, accomplished through His incarnation in Christ and Christ’s death in the flesh, over Satan’s scheme to derange the divine plan.
1Pe 3:194 prison
Referring to Tartarus, the deep and gloomy pits (2 Pet. 2:4 and Jude 6), where the fallen angels are kept.
1Pe 3:201 Who
Not human but angelic beings, different from the eight souls.
1Pe 3:20a Noah Gen. 6:13-14; 7:1, 7, 23; Heb. 11:7; 2 Pet. 2:5
1Pe 3:202 brought
“The Greek means ‘arrive safe into a place of security through difficulty or danger,’ as Acts 27:44” (Darby).
1Pe 3:203 by
Water was the medium through which the saving was accomplished. The ark saved Noah and his family from God’s judgment, the destruction of the world by the flood. But the water saved them from the corrupted generation and separated them unto a new age, just as the water of the Red Sea did for the children of Israel (Exo. 14:22, 29; 1 Cor. 10:1-2) and the water of baptism for the New Testament believers (v. 21).
1Pe 3:20b water Matt. 3:11; John 3:5
1Pe 3:211 Which
Referring to the water mentioned in the preceding verse, of which the water of baptism is the antitype. This indicates that Noah and his family’s passing through the flood within the ark was a type of our passing through baptism. The water of the flood delivered them out of the old manner of life into a new environment; in like manner the water of baptism delivers us out of the inherited vain manner of life into a manner of life of resurrection in Christ. This is the main emphasis of this book. Christ redeemed us for this (1:18-19). Christ’s redemption was accomplished by Christ’s death and was accepted and applied to us, in baptism, by the Spirit through Christ’s resurrection. Now our daily walk should be in the Spirit of the resurrected Christ; it should be a walk in which we live Christ in resurrection through the life power of His Spirit (Rom. 6:4-5). This is a new and excellent manner of life that glorifies God (2:12).
1Pe 3:212 baptism
In apposition to antitype.
1Pe 3:213 not
Baptism itself does not and cannot put away the filth of our flesh—the dirt of our fallen nature and the defilement of fleshly lust. The erroneous teaching concerning baptismal salvation, a teaching based on this verse and Mark 16:16 and Acts 22:16, is corrected here. Baptism is only a figure; its reality is Christ in resurrection as the life-giving Spirit, who applies to us all that Christ passed through in His crucifixion and resurrection, making these things real in our daily life.
1Pe 3:214 appeal
The Greek word denotes a question, an inquiry. Its meaning is very much disputed. The right meaning seems to be as indicated by Alford—“the seeking after God in a good and pure conscience.” It is this that governs the proper Christian life. This kind of question, which asks for something, can be considered an appeal or demand. Peter’s thought here may be that baptism is the baptized one’s appeal to God for a good conscience toward God. Baptism, as a symbol, a counterpart of our belief in all the accomplishments of Christ, testifies that all the problems we have before God and with God have been solved. Hence, it is also a testimony, witnessing that in our conscience there is no more accusation and that instead we are full of peace and are confident that we have been baptized into the Triune God (Matt. 28:19) and have been organically united with Him through the resurrection of Christ, that is, by Christ in resurrection as the Spirit of life. Without the Spirit of Christ as its reality, baptism by water immediately becomes an empty and dead ritual.
1Pe 3:21a conscience 1 Pet. 2:19; 3:16
1Pe 3:21b resurrection 1 Pet. 1:3; Col. 2:12; Rom. 6:5
1Pe 3:221 Who
This additional word not only unveils to us, further, the glorious result of the suffering of Christ—His exaltation after His resurrection and the high and honorable position He now holds in the heavens at the right hand of God—but also indicates how glorious and honorable is the organic union we have entered into with Him through baptism, for we were baptized into Him (Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27).
1Pe 3:22a right Rom. 8:34; Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:1
1Pe 3:22b heaven Mark 16:19; Acts 1:11; Eph. 1:20
1Pe 3:22d authorities 1 Cor. 15:24
1Pe 3:22e subjected Eph. 1:21-22
1Pe 4:1a suffered 1 Pet. 2:21; 3:18
1Pe 4:11
Some MSS add, for us.
1Pe 4:12b arm Rom. 13:12; Eph. 6:11, 13
This indicates that the Christian life is a battle.
1Pe 4:13 same
One main purpose of this book is to encourage and exhort the believers to follow the footsteps of Christ in their suffering of persecution (1:6-7; 2:18-25; 3:8-17; 4:12-19). They should have the same mind that Christ had in His suffering (3:18-22). The main function of our mind is to understand and realize. To live a life that follows the footsteps of Christ, we need a renewed mind (Rom. 12:2) to understand and realize the way Christ lived to fulfill God’s purpose.
1Pe 4:14 suffered
Pleasure heats up the lusts of our flesh (v. 2); suffering cools them down. The purpose of Christ’s redemption is to deliver us from our inherited vain manner of life (1:18-19). Suffering responds to Christ’s redemption in fulfilling this purpose, preserving us from a sinful manner of life, from the flood of dissoluteness (vv. 3-4). Such suffering, mainly from persecution, is God’s discipline in His governmental dealing. To undergo such suffering is to be judged, dealt with, and disciplined in the flesh by God (v. 6). Hence, we should arm ourselves with a sober mind to endure such suffering.
1Pe 4:21a No 1 Pet. 2:11
I.e., no longer to live in the vain manner of life handed down from our fathers (1:18), but in a holy and excellent manner of life (1:15; 2:12), pure in holy fear and good in Christ (3:2, 16). This is the will of God.
1Pe 4:2b live 2 Pet. 2:6
1Pe 4:2c lusts 2 Pet. 1:4; 2:10, 18; Titus 2:12; 1 John 2:16
1Pe 4:2d will 1 Pet. 4:19; 2:15
1Pe 4:3a sufficient Ezek. 44:6
1Pe 4:31 desire
Lit., purpose, will. I.e., intention, inclination; hence, desire.
1Pe 4:3b Gentiles Eph. 4:17-19; 1 Thes. 4:5
1Pe 4:32 in
I.e., in the vain manner of life (1:18).
1Pe 4:41 strange
The Greek word means to be a host or a guest, to be foreign, alien; to entertain, to lodge; to think it strange. To live in the flesh in the lusts of men (v. 2) is common among the unbelieving Gentiles, who are running together into the flood of dissoluteness. But to live a holy life in the will of God, not running together in the indulgence of lusts, is strange to them. It is a foreign thing, alien to them. They are surprised and astonished at it (cf. v. 12).
1Pe 4:42 running
Rushing on in a crowd like a band of revelers. This is to live in the flesh in the lusts of men (v. 2), to carry out the desire of the Gentiles (v. 3) in the vain manner of life (1:18).
1Pe 4:43 flood
The Greek word means a pouring forth, a pouring out upon (as in a tide); hence, a flood. It denotes here the overflowing indulgence of lusts, the excess of moral corruption and degradation, which is like a flood, into which one sinks when one runs into it.
1Pe 4:4a dissoluteness Eph. 5:18; Titus 1:6
1Pe 4:44 slandering
I.e., speaking evilly of (you), speaking injuriously of (you) (Acts 13:45; 1 Pet. 2:12; 3:16). The believers, whose behavior was thought strange, were slandered unjustly and accused of all manner of crimes.
1Pe 4:51 Who
Referring to the Gentiles (v. 3), who are astonished at the believers’ different manner of life and speak evilly of them (v. 4).
1Pe 4:52a render Matt. 12:36
I.e., to relate to God all that one has done and spoken in his entire life. This reveals the government of God over all men. He is ready to judge all, both the living and the dead. His judgment is His governmental administration by which He deals with the situation among men.
1Pe 4:5b Him Acts 10:42; 17:31; 2 Tim. 4:1
1Pe 4:53 judge
This must be to judge first the living among the nations (the Gentiles) at Christ’s throne of glory before the millennium (Matt. 25:31-46) and then the dead at the great white throne after the millennium (Rev. 20:11-15). This too will be God’s governmental judgment, but it differs from the judgment on the believers in v. 6, which begins from the house of God in this age (v. 17). See note 172, par. 2, in ch. 1.
1Pe 4:61 those
Those who are now dead refers to the dead believers in Christ, who suffered persecution because of their Christian testimony, as referred to in 1:6; 2:18-21; 3:16-17; and 4:12-19. This kind of persecution was considered by Peter in this book as God’s judgment, which is according to the government of God and which begins from the house of God (v. 17). The gospel was preached to these dead believers while they were living, that they might, on the one hand, be judged, dealt with, by God in the flesh according to men through the opposers’ persecution, but, on the other hand, live in the spirit according to God by believing in Christ. This shows how strict and serious is the judgment of God in His governmental administration. If the believers, who have been obedient to the gospel, are dealt with by God’s governmental judgment, how much more will those who oppose the gospel and slander the believers be judged by God’s dealing (vv. !
1Pe 4:62a judged 1 Pet. 4:17; 1:17; 2:23
See note 172, par. 2, in ch. 1.
1Pe 4:63 spirit
The believers’ spirit, regenerated and indwelt by the Spirit of God (John 3:6; Rom. 8:10-11). Thus it has become a mingled spirit, in which the believers live and walk (Rom. 8:4).
1Pe 4:71 end
All things on which the flesh rests will pass away, and the end of them, the apostle tells us here, has drawn near. This warns us that a life lived in the flesh in the lusts of men (v. 2) will soon be ended, for it is related to all things that will shortly pass away. Therefore, we should be sober-minded and be sober unto prayers.
1Pe 4:7a near cf. Rom. 13:12; James 5:8
1Pe 4:72 be
The Greek word means be of a sound mind, have a mind of sobriety, be able to understand things properly and thoroughly without being disturbed.
1Pe 4:73 be
I.e., be sober to watch, be vigilant. This is to be on guard; hence, to be sober unto prayers. This equals the Lord’s word, “Watch and pray” (Matt. 26:41; Luke 21:36). See note 81 in ch. 5.
1Pe 4:7b sober 1 Pet. 1:13; 5:8
1Pe 4:7c prayers Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:2
1Pe 4:8a fervent 1 Pet. 1:22
1Pe 4:8b love 1 Cor. 13:4-7
1Pe 4:8c covers Prov. 10:12; James 5:20
1Pe 4:9a hospitable Rom. 12:13
1Pe 4:9b murmuring Phil. 2:14
1Pe 4:10a Each Matt. 25:15; Rom. 12:6-8
1Pe 4:101 ministering
Or, serving.
1Pe 4:10b stewards Luke 12:42; 1 Cor. 4:1-2; Titus 1:7
1Pe 4:102 varied
See notes 212 in ch. 1 and 102 in ch. 5. The varied grace of God, like the “all grace” in ch. 5, is the rich supply of life, which is the Triune God ministered into us in many aspects (2 Cor. 13:14; 12:9). As good stewards, we should minister such grace, not merely doctrine nor any vain thing, to the church and the saints by the gift we have received.
1Pe 4:10c grace Eph. 4:7; Rom. 12:3
1Pe 4:111a oracles Acts 7:38; Rom. 3:2; Heb. 5:12
The divine speakings or utterances as revelations. In the ministry of grace, as mentioned in v. 10, our speaking should be God’s speaking, God’s utterance, which conveys divine revelation.
1Pe 4:112b supplies Rom. 12:3, 6
Through the Spirit of Christ, God supplies to us the serving strength of Christ’s resurrection life (Phil. 1:19; 4:13).
1Pe 4:11c glorified 1 Pet. 4:16; 2:12; 1 Cor. 10:31
1Pe 4:113 through
This indicates that all our ministry of grace, whether in speaking or in serving, should be full of Christ, that God may be glorified through Christ in all things.
1Pe 4:11d to 1 Pet. 5:11; Rom. 11:36; Jude 25; Rev. 1:6
1Pe 4:114 glory
Glory is without and might is within. Might supplies the strength within us; glory is God glorified upon us. Hence, glory corresponds with glorified, and might with strength.
1Pe 4:121a fiery 1 Pet. 1:7
The Greek word for fiery ordeal means burning, signifying the burning of a smelting furnace for the purifying of gold and silver (Prov. 27:21; Psa. 66:10); this is similar to the metaphor used in 1:7. Peter considered the persecution that the believers suffered as such a burning furnace used by God to purify their life. This is God’s way to deal with the believers in the judgment of His governmental administration, which begins from His own house (vv. 17-19).
1Pe 4:122b trial 2 Pet. 2:9
Or, testing.
1Pe 4:123 strange
See note 41. Fiery persecution is common to the believers; they should not think that it is strange or alien to them, and they should not be surprised and astonished by it.
1Pe 4:13a sufferings 1 Pet. 2:21; 5:1; Rom. 8:17-18; Phil. 3:10-11
1Pe 4:13b rejoice Acts 5:41; James 1:2
1Pe 4:13c revelation 1 Pet. 1:5-7
1Pe 4:13d exultingly 1 Pet. 1:6, 8; Jude 24
1Pe 4:14a reproached Matt. 5:11; Luke 6:22; Heb. 13:13; 11:26
1Pe 4:141 name
The name denotes the person. To be in the name of Christ is actually to be in the person of Christ, in Christ Himself. The believers, having believed into Christ (John 3:15) and having been baptized into His name (Acts 19:5), that is, into Himself (Gal. 3:27), are in Christ (1 Cor. 1:30) and are one with Him (1 Cor. 6:17). When they are reproached in His name, they are reproached with Him, sharing in His sufferings (v. 13), in the fellowship of His sufferings (Phil. 3:10).
1Pe 4:14b Christ 2 Cor. 12:10
1Pe 4:14c blessed 1 Pet. 3:14
1Pe 4:142 the
Lit., the Spirit of glory and that of God. The Spirit of glory is the Spirit of God. The Spirit of glory is the One through whom Christ was glorified in His resurrection (Rom. 1:4). This very Spirit of glory, being the Spirit of God Himself, rests upon the suffering believers in their persecution, for the glorifying of the resurrected and exalted Christ, who is now in glory (v. 13).
1Pe 4:143 rests
The same word as in Matt. 11:28. The sense here is to remain.
1Pe 4:15a suffer 1 Pet. 2:19-20; 3:14, 17
1Pe 4:151b meddler cf. 2 Thes. 3:11; 1 Tim. 5:13
Lit., an overseer of others’ affairs; denoting one who makes trouble by interfering in others’ business.
1Pe 4:161a Christian Acts 11:26; 26:28
[ par. 1 2 ]
1Pe 4:161 [1] Gk. Christianos, a word formed from Latin. The ending ianos, denoting an adherent of someone, was applied to slaves belonging to the great families in the Roman Empire. One who worshipped the emperor, the Caesar, or Kaisar, was called Kaisarianos, which means an adherent of Kaisar, a person who belongs to Kaisar. When people believed in Christ and became His followers, some in the Empire came to consider Christ a rival of their Kaisar. Then, at Antioch (Acts 11:26) they began to call the followers of Christ Christianoi (Christians), adherents of Christ, as a nickname, a term of reproach. Hence, this verse says, “As a Christian, let him not be ashamed”; that is, if any believer suffers at the hands of the persecutors who contemptuously call him a Christian, he should not feel ashamed but should glorify God in this name.
1Pe 4:161 [2] Today the term Christian should bear a positive meaning, that is, a man of Christ, one who is one with Christ, not only belonging to Him but also having His life and nature in an organic union with Him, and who is living by Him, even living Him, in his daily life. If we suffer for being such a person, we should not feel ashamed but should be bold to magnify Christ in our confession by our holy and excellent manner of life to glorify (express) God in this name.
1Pe 4:16b ashamed Mark 8:38; 2 Tim. 1:8, 12
1Pe 4:162c glorify 1 Pet. 4:11
To glorify God is to express Him in glory.
1Pe 4:171a judgment 1 Pet. 4:6; 1:17; 2:23
This book shows the government of God, especially in relation to His dealings with His chosen people. The sufferings they undergo in fiery persecution are used by Him as a means to judge them that they may be disciplined, purified, and separated from the unbelievers and not have the same destiny as they. Hence, such disciplinary judgment begins from His own household, and it is not exercised just once or twice but is being carried out continuously until the Lord’s coming. See note 172, par. 2, in ch. 1.
1Pe 4:17b begin cf. Jer. 25:29
1Pe 4:172 house
Or, household; that is, the church, composed of the believers (2:5; Heb. 3:6; 1 Tim. 3:15; Eph. 2:19). From this house, as His own house, God begins His governmental administration by God’s disciplinary judgment over His own children, that He may have strong ground to judge, in His universal kingdom, those who are disobedient to His gospel and rebellious toward His government. This is for the establishing of His kingdom, which is covered in Peter’s second Epistle (2 Pet. 1:11).
1Pe 4:173 what
This indicates that the unbelievers, who disobey the gospel of God, will undergo a judgment more severe than that which the believers undergo.
1Pe 4:174d disobey 2 Thes. 1:8
This refers mainly to the disobedience of the unbelieving Jews, who rebelled against and opposed the change of dispensation, a turn from the Old Testament law of Moses to the New Testament gospel of Jesus Christ. This Epistle was written to Jewish believers (the chosen sojourners of the dispersion—1:1), who were suffering persecution. The persecution they were suffering did not come mainly from the Gentiles; it came mainly from the opposing Jews, the unbelieving Jews, those who disobeyed the gospel.
1Pe 4:181 righteous
Referring to the believers, who become righteous by being justified through their faith in Christ (Rom. 5:1) and by living a righteous life in Christ (Phil. 3:9; 2 Cor. 5:21; Rev. 19:8).
1Pe 4:182 saved
Not saved (through the Lord’s death) from eternal perdition but saved (through the trials of persecution as God’s disciplinary judgment) from the coming destruction (1 Thes. 5:3, 8 and note 83). The believer, who is disciplined by God through the suffering of persecution that his life may be purified, is saved through the difficulty of persecution from the destruction by God’s wrath toward the world, especially toward the unbelieving Jews, and from the coming destruction of Jerusalem.
1Pe 4:18a ungodly Jude 15; 1 Tim. 1:9
1Pe 4:183 appear
I.e., stand. Among the early apostles there was a strong belief that the Lord Jesus would come back soon to judge the unbelieving sinners, who are ungodly and disobey His gospel (2 Thes. 1:6-9). Peter’s word here should refer to this. In God’s government, if the righteous, who has obeyed God’s gospel and lives a righteous life before God, is saved with difficulty, suffering persecution as the means of God’s disciplinary punishment that his life may be purified, where will the ungodly, who disobeys God’s gospel and lives a sinful life against His government, stand when the destruction by His wrath comes?
1Pe 4:191 also
Those also who suffer according to the will of God should trust in the Lord as others do.
1Pe 4:19a suffer 1 Pet. 2:20
1Pe 4:192b will 1 Pet. 4:2; 3:17
According to His will, God wants us and has appointed us to suffer for Christ’s sake (3:17; 2:15; 1 Thes. 3:3).
1Pe 4:193c commit Psa. 31:5; Acts 7:59
Lit., to give in charge as a deposit; as in Luke 12:48; Acts 20:32; 1 Tim. 1:18; and 2 Tim. 2:2. When the believers suffer persecution in their body, especially as in martyrdom, they should commit their souls as a deposit to God, the faithful Creator, as the Lord committed His spirit to the Father (Luke 23:46).
1Pe 4:194 souls
Persecution can damage only the bodies of the suffering believers, not their souls (Matt. 10:28). Their souls are kept by the Lord as the faithful Creator. They should cooperate with the Lord by their commitment in faith.
1Pe 4:195d well-doing 1 Pet. 2:14
Or, doing right, good, and noble deeds.
1Pe 4:196e Creator Gen. 1:1; Eccl. 12:1; Isa. 40:28; 43:15; Rom. 1:25
The Creator not of the new creation in the new birth but of the old creation. Persecution is a suffering in the old creation. God as our Creator can preserve our soul, which He created for us. He has even numbered our hairs (Matt. 10:30). He is loving and faithful. His loving and faithful care (5:7) accompanies His justice in His governmental administration. While He is judging us, His household, in His government, His love cares for us faithfully. In suffering His just disciplinary judgment in our bodies, we should commit our souls to His faithful care.
1Pe 5:11 Therefore
This indicates that vv. 1-11 are a concluding word to the preceding section (4:12-19), concerning suffering for Christ in nobly doing right. The exhortation is spread over the elders in the church in vv. 1-4, over the younger members in v. 5, and over all in common in vv. 6-11.
1Pe 5:12a elders Acts 11:30; 14:23; 15:2; 20:17; 1 Tim. 5:17, 19; Titus 1:5; James 5:14
Elders are the overseers of the church (see note 21 in 1 Tim. 3), those who take the lead among the believers in spiritual things (Heb. 13:17). The apostle exhorts them first, expecting that they will take the lead to suffer nobly for Christ.
1Pe 5:13 fellow
Peter was the first of the initial twelve apostles (Matt. 10:1-4; Acts 1:13), and, while he was an apostle, he was also one of the elders in the church at Jerusalem, as was the apostle John (2 John 1; 3 John 1; Acts 15:6; 21:17-18). Here, in exhorting the elders in the other churches, Peter used not his apostleship but his eldership that he might speak with them on their level in an intimate way.
1Pe 5:14b witness Luke 24:48
Peter and the early apostles were witnesses of Christ (Acts 1:8), not only as eyewitnesses testifying of what they had seen of Christ’s suffering (Acts 5:32; 10:39) but also as martyrs vindicating their testimony by suffering martyrdom for Him (Acts 22:20; 2 Cor. 1:8-9; 4:10-11; 11:23; 1 Cor. 15:31). This is to share in the sufferings of Christ (4:13), to participate in the fellowship of His sufferings (Phil. 3:10).
1Pe 5:15 partaker
Peter was first a witness, a martyr, a partaker of the sufferings of Christ, then a partaker of His glory (Rom. 8:17). Christ Himself had gone the same way (1:11; Luke 24:26).
1Pe 5:1c glory 1 Pet. 4:13; Titus 2:13; Luke 9:26; Jude 24
1Pe 5:21a Shepherd John 21:16
To shepherd the flock of God requires suffering for the Body of Christ as Christ suffered (Col. 1:24). This will be rewarded with the unfading crown of glory (v. 4).
1Pe 5:22b flock cf. Isa. 40:11
Lit., little flock; i.e., the church of God (Acts 20:28), which is little in number (Luke 12:32) compared with the world. The church as the little flock is a little herb for the supply of life, not a big tree for birds to lodge in (Matt. 13:31-32 and notes), not a huge religion like Christendom.
1Pe 5:23c overseeing Acts 20:28; 1 Tim. 3:1-2; 1 Pet. 2:25
Taking the oversight, looking diligently to be aware of the situation.
1Pe 5:2d willingly 1 Cor. 9:17; Philem. 14
1Pe 5:24 according
I.e., according to God’s nature, desire, way, and glory, not according to man’s preference, interest, and purpose.
1Pe 5:2e seeking 1 Tim. 3:3, 8; Titus 1:7; 2 Pet. 2:15
1Pe 5:31a lording Ezek. 34:4; 2 Cor. 1:24; Mark 10:42-44
I.e., exercising lordship over the ruled (Matt. 20:25). Among the believers, besides Christ there should be no other lord; all should be servants, even slaves (Matt. 20:26-27; 23:10-11). The elders in the church can exercise only leadership (not lordship), which all the believers should honor and follow (1 Thes. 5:12; 1 Tim. 5:17).
1Pe 5:32 allotments
Lit., lots, portions; hence, allotments, portions entrusted, referring here to the flock mentioned in the following clause. The churches are God’s possession, allotted to the elders as their allotment, their portion, entrusted to them by God for their care.
1Pe 5:33 becoming
I.e., taking the lead to serve and care for the church, that the believers may follow.
1Pe 5:3b patterns 2 Thes. 3:9; 1 Tim. 4:12; Titus 2:7; Phil. 3:17
1Pe 5:4a Shepherd 1 Pet. 2:25; Heb. 13:20; John 10:11, 14
1Pe 5:41b unfading 1 Pet. 1:4
At the apostle’s time crowns were given to victors in athletic games (1 Cor. 9:25; 2 Tim. 4:8). Those were corruptible crowns, whose glory faded. The crown given by the Lord to the faithful elders will be a reward for their loyal service. The glory of this crown will never fade. It will be a portion of the glory for the overcomers’ enjoyment in the manifestation of the kingdom of God and Christ (2 Pet. 1:11).
1Pe 5:4c crown 1 Cor. 9:25; 2 Tim. 4:8; James 1:12; Rev. 2:10; 3:11
1Pe 5:5a younger 1 Tim. 5:1; Titus 2:6; 1 John 2:13-14
1Pe 5:51 elders
Although the Greek word is the same as in v. 1, it should, in principle, refer to all older men.
1Pe 5:52 gird
The Greek word is derived from a noun meaning a slave’s apron; such an apron girded up the slave’s loose garments in the service. It is used here as a figure of speech, signifying the putting on of humility as a virtue in service. This figure came evidently from Peter’s impression of how the Lord girded Himself with a towel when He humbled Himself to wash the disciples’ feet, especially Peter’s (John 13:4-7). The thought of girding up had already been introduced by Peter in 1:13.
1Pe 5:53c humility 1 Pet. 3:8; Phil. 2:3; Eph. 4:2
Or, lowliness; as in Eph. 4:2.
1Pe 5:54d resists James 4:6
A strong word used for an army preparing to resist the enemy.
1Pe 5:55e proud Psa. 138:6
Lit., those having a show above (others).
1Pe 5:5f gives Prov. 3:34
1Pe 5:56g grace 1 Pet. 1:2; 4:10; 5:10
Referring, strictly, to the Triune God Himself as the life supply, which is multiplied in the humble believer. See notes 212 in ch. 1 and 102 in ch. 4.
1Pe 5:57h humble Isa. 57:15
Or, lowly; as in Matt. 11:29.
1Pe 5:61b humbled Prov. 29:23
In Greek the word is in the passive voice, indicating being made humble by God, mainly through sufferings in persecution (v. 10). This, however, requires that we cooperate with God’s operation; we must be willing to be made humble, lowly, under the mighty hand of God. Hence, be humbled. Humbled is passive, but be is active. While God is acting to operate on us, we need to take the initiative to be operated on by Him. To take the initiative is active; to be operated on is passive. This is our willingness to be under the hand of God, which is mighty to do everything for us.
1Pe 5:6c hand Psa. 89:13; 136:12; Isa. 5:25; 40:10
1Pe 5:62d exalt Luke 14:11; 18:14
To be submissive to God’s mighty hand, to be willing to be made lowly, is to take the God-honoring way that gives Him the ground to exalt us in His time. To be willing to be made low by God’s humbling hand in His discipline is a prerequisite to being made high by God’s exalting hand in His glorification.
1Pe 5:71a Casting Psa. 55:22
Or, throwing…upon; i.e., committing… to, giving up…to. The tense of the verb indicates a once-for-all act.
1Pe 5:72 all
I.e., the whole lot of your anxiety throughout your entire life, the whole life with all its anxiety.
1Pe 5:73b anxiety Matt. 6:25; Phil. 4:6
Or, worry, care. The sufferings experienced by the believers in their persecution cause them to worry and be anxious. They need not only to be humbled, to be brought low from their pride, their haughtiness, but also to throw their life with its care upon God; for He is not only mighty and just but also loving and faithful concerning them.
1Pe 5:74 it
Or, He cares for you. The disciplining and judging God has a loving concern for the believers, especially the persecuted ones. He cares for them faithfully. They can throw their care on Him, especially in their persecution.
1Pe 5:81a sober 1 Pet. 1:13; 1 Thes. 5:6, 8
To be sober is to have a clear mind of sobriety and self-control that we may know, especially as disclosed in this chapter, God’s purpose in disciplining us and His enemy’s scheme to destroy us. See note 73 in ch. 4.
1Pe 5:82b watch Matt. 24:42; 26:41; Luke 21:36; Eph. 6:18
To watch is to be vigilant as in warfare, as with soldiers on the frontier. Here it refers especially to the suffering believers’ being watchful against the anxiety that the enemy brings in while they suffer persecution.
1Pe 5:83c adversary Matt. 13:25
Lit., an opponent (in a lawsuit); referring here to Satan, who is our accuser (Rev. 12:9-10 and note 94).
1Pe 5:84d devil Eph. 4:27; 6:11; James 4:7; Rev. 12:9, 12; cf. Job 1:9-12; Luke 22:31; 2 Cor. 2:11
See note 13 in Matt. 4.
1Pe 5:85 roaring
Howling in hunger.
1Pe 5:8e lion Psa. 22:13, 21
1Pe 5:86f walks Job 1:7; 2:2
This indicates the devil’s constant and aggressive activity in seeking prey.
1Pe 5:87 seeking
Peter here warned the believers who were suffering in persecution. If they would not be humbled under God’s mighty hand (v. 6) and cast their anxiety on God (v. 7), they would be devoured by the roaring lion, the devil, their adversary. This teaches us that pride and anxiety make us delicious prey to satisfy the hunger of the roaring lion. In this matter Peter no doubt could not forget the Lord’s warning to him regarding the devil’s desire (Luke 22:31).
1Pe 5:91a withstand James 4:7; Eph. 6:11, 13
Not to resist nor to struggle against but to stand firmly, like a rock, on the ground of our faith before the roaring devil.
1Pe 5:92 faith
Your faith refers to the believers’ subjective faith, their faith in God’s protecting power and loving concern.
1Pe 5:93c sufferings 1 Pet. 4:19; Acts 14:22; 1 Thes. 3:3
I.e., sufferings in persecution, according to the context of this chapter and the preceding one.
1Pe 5:94 brotherhood
See note 171 in ch. 2.
1Pe 5:101a But Jude 24
Here but, indicating a contrast, brings in a word of comfort and encouragement to the suffering believers: You and your brotherhood are suffering your adversary’s threatening, the devil’s lion-roar, for only a little while, but the God of all grace, of the bountiful and gracious supply of life that exceeds all your need, will perfect, establish, strengthen, and ground you.
1Pe 5:102 all
All grace refers to the riches of the bountiful supply of the divine life in many aspects ministered to us in many steps of the divine operation on and in us in God’s economy. The initial step is to call us, and the consummate step is to glorify us, as mentioned here in who has called you into His eternal glory. Between these two steps are God’s loving care while He is disciplining us, and His perfecting, establishing, strengthening, and grounding work in us. In all these divine acts, the bountiful supply of the divine life is ministered to us as grace in varied experiences (see notes 212 in ch. 1 and 102 in ch. 4). The God of such grace will perfect, establish, strengthen, and ground the persecuted believers after they have suffered a little while.
1Pe 5:10b called 1 Pet. 1:15; 2 Pet. 1:3; 1 Thes. 2:12; 1 Tim. 6:12
1Pe 5:103 into
I.e., to partake of, to participate in.
1Pe 5:10c eternal 2 Tim. 2:10
1Pe 5:104d in 1 Pet. 5:14; 3:16
In Christ Jesus indicates that the God of all grace went through all the processes of incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension to accomplish the complete and full redemption that He may bring His redeemed people into an organic union with Himself. Thus they can participate in the riches of the Triune God as their enjoyment. All the steps of the divine operation are in Christ, who is the embodiment of the Triune God and who became the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit as the bountiful life supply to us. It is in this Christ, through His all-inclusive redemption and based on all His achievements, that God can be the God of all grace to call us into His eternal glory and to perfect, establish, strengthen, and ground us in the Triune God (1:1-2) as the solid foundation, thus enabling us to attain His glorious goal. What a miracle that fallen sinners could be brought into God’s eternal glory! And how excellent is His perfecting, establishing, strengthening, and grounding work in us! This is all accomplished through His “all grace,” which is the “true grace” (v. 12).
1Pe 5:10e little 1 Pet. 1:6
1Pe 5:105 Himself
Indicating that God is personally active in the work of grace.
1Pe 5:106f perfect Heb. 13:21
See note 92 in 2 Cor. 13.
1Pe 5:107g establish Rom. 16:25; 1 Thes. 3:2, 13; 2 Thes. 2:17
Lit., to set fast, to confirm. The same word was used by the Lord in His charge to Peter in Luke 22:32.
1Pe 5:108h strengthen Eph. 3:16
Its meaning is very close to establish.
1Pe 5:109i ground Eph. 3:17
Derived from the word that means foundation. Hence, it means to ground solidly, as in Matt. 7:25, Eph. 3:17, and Heb. 1:10. There is a progression in the four divine acts of grace. Perfecting leads to establishing, establishing to strengthening, and strengthening to grounding in the God of all grace—the Triune God in His dispensing (1:2) as the solid foundation.
1Pe 5:111 the
Some MSS omit, the glory and.
1Pe 5:12a Silvanus Acts 15:22; 2 Cor. 1:19; 1 Thes. 1:1; 2 Thes. 1:1
1Pe 5:12b exhorting Heb. 13:22
1Pe 5:121c testifying 1 Thes. 2:11
Peter was an eyewitness (v. 1), testifying of what he had seen and experienced. He testified that what he wrote in his Epistle as an account of God’s grace is true.
1Pe 5:122 true
Referring to the “all grace” in v. 10. The apostle charged the believers to enter into this grace and stand in it. This book was written mainly to show the persecuted believers God’s governmental purpose in their sufferings. That they may pass through those sufferings, God supplies them with all the multiplied, varied, and true grace (v. 10; 1:2; 4:10), which is sufficient to enable them to participate in the sufferings of and for Christ (2:21; 3:14-17; 4:12-16) and which will perfect, establish, strengthen, and ground them in the Triune God and bring them into His eternal glory (v. 10).
1Pe 5:12d stand Rom. 5:2; 1 Cor. 15:1
1Pe 5:13a co-chosen 1 Pet. 1:2; 2:9; 2 John 1, 13; Rom. 16:13; 8:33; Eph. 1:4
1Pe 5:131 chosen 1 Pet. 1:2; 2:9; 2 John 1, 13; Rom. 16:13; 8:33; Eph. 1:4
The Greek word and its definite article are feminine. It may refer to Peter’s wife, who traveled with him (1 Cor. 9:5), or to a prominent sister in the Lord, who was chosen by God not only with the recipients of this Epistle but also with Peter and all other believers. Some suppose that it refers to the church.
1Pe 5:132 Babylon
Through the centuries the great teachers have held two different interpretations of this name: that it is figurative, referring to Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, or that it is literal, referring to Babylon, a large city on the Euphrates (Perath). The reasons for the latter interpretation are more logical than those for the former. First, it seems that Peter had no reason to use a figurative name to hide the name of the city he was in at the time. Second, all the names he used for the places in the address of his Epistle (1:1) were literal. Third, in the New Testament the name Rome is always clearly mentioned (Acts 19:21; 28:14, 16; Rom. 1:7, 15), even up to the time of the writing of Paul’s last Epistle, 2 Timothy (2 Tim. 1:17), which was written probably after 1 Peter. It was when John’s Revelation, a book of figures, was written, about A.D. 90, that the figurative name Babylon the Great was used for the city of Rome (Rev. 17:5; 18:2).
1Pe 5:133 Mark
John Mark (Acts 12:12, 25), the writer of the Gospel of Mark. As Peter’s spiritual son, he was there with Peter. Later he was taken to Paul by Timothy (2 Tim. 4:11).
1Pe 5:14a kiss Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1 Thes. 5:26
1Pe 5:141b Peace 1 Pet. 1:2; Eph. 6:23
Peace results from grace and issues from the enjoyment of the Triune God. Such enjoyment of God as the multiplying and multiplied grace (1:2), the varied grace (4:10), the all grace (5:10), and the true grace (5:12), as the reality of the contents of the Christian life under the government of God, issues and results in a condition of peace with both God and man.
1Pe 5:142c in 1 Pet. 5:10; 3:16
Peter stressed the fact that the believers are in Christ (3:16; 5:10). It is of God and through our faith and baptism that we are in Christ (1 Cor. 1:30; John 3:5; Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3). This results in an organic union with the Triune God (Matt. 28:19) and makes us one spirit with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17).