1 Peter

1 Peter was penned around A.D. 64, during the reign of the infamous Emperor Nero. Fueled by his insatiable lust to build, Nero burned down the city of Rome. The Romans were devastated and became resentful of the Emperor because they believed he caused the fire. Nero quickly realized he had to redirect the animosity; Nero fabricated a lie, which accused Christians of the great fire in Rome. This ignited widespread animosity and led to the cruel persecution of Christians living in the Roman Empire.

In this context, the Holy Spirit inspires Peter to write 1 Peter for the strengthening and encouragement of persecuted Christians scattered throughout the Roman Empire. These believers, despite being recent converts, faced the grim reality of persecution. Naturally, they had difficulty reconciling the goodness of God with the sufferings they experienced. Peter addresses this issue by detailing the nature of salvation and providing practical directions on living in a secular world. In essence, this epistle instructs how Christians ought to behave when suffering unjustly for the name of Christ. Christians are called to: remember their glorious salvation (1:3-2:10), practice holy living before men (2:11-4:6) and anticipate the second coming of Christ (4:7-5:11).

Peter begins the epistle with a reminder to his audience of their glorious inheritance in Christ. This inheritance is eternal (1:4) and kept in heaven by God Himself (1:4-5). Moreover, the prophets in ages past searched and inquired carefully into the grace of God in Christ Jesus to the benefit of all believers (1:10-12). In this we observe that Christians receive blessings from both God and man. Furthermore, this inheritance not only provides a security for the believer, but also a new identity. Peter calls his audience “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” (2:9). Additionally, the duty of every Christian is to "offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (2:5). What a blessing to be God’s own possession! If we are God’s own possession, we can be confident that He will guard us as the apple of His eye (Zech. 2:8) and accept our spiritual sacrifices of praise. Therefore, believers need not fret about persecutions, for God is with them and carnal men can not destroy the soul (Matt. 10:28).

Next, Peter urges his readers to live holy lives (1:15-16), providing two practical suggestions. The first is abstinence - Christians must resist returning to their past sinful desires (1:14, 4:3-4). The second is submission - Christians must submit to the authority figures: citizens to emperors (2:17), slaves to masters (2:18), and wives to husbands (3:1). Submission is not contingent on an authority’s godliness; rather, Christians practice submission in order to imitate Christ (2:21-25). However, it is clear that living holy lives does not deter persecution and suffering. This is most clearly observed in the life of Christ - he was blameless according to the law and still experienced intense persecution and suffering (2:22-24). Peter speaks of the fiery trial for practicing righteousness (4:12) and encourages those undergoing it to glorify God in their sufferings (4:16). The apostle Peter calls Christians to true holiness, enduring unjust persecution for righteousness’ sake.

Lastly, Peter points to the second coming of Christ (4:7) as an encouragement during sufferings and provides practical direction on how a Christian should live in light of this truth. Christians are to be self-controlled and sober-minded (4:7) because the time of Christ’s return is unknown. In addition to these, Christians must be occupied with good works - namely, using God’s gifts to serve one another (4:10). God has given each Christian a role both in the church and in the secular world to bring glory to the name of the Lord. These roles are to be attended to sincerely and used to promote godliness and silence the mouths of the ungodly. Moreover, Peter warns his audience of the devil's schemes; for the devil is like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (5:8). In short, Peter exhorts Christians to fix their eyes on Jesus when facing persecution and in doing so, are reminded of their identity as pilgrims and their inheritance of a better, heavenly kingdom.

Martin Luther once said, "we are in a three pronged battle against the world, the flesh and the devil”. Peter mentions all three objects in this epistle and teaches how to combat these enemies. The main method is to look to Christ, for he is the perfect example of how a Christian ought to live in a sinful world. The world, the flesh and the devil will throw all their might to draw a believer away from Christ. Therefore, believers must fix their eyes upon Christ to stand firm against these attacks. The first readers of this epistle experienced heavy persecution from the Roman world, their own flesh, and the devil himself. Only the Word of God could empower these Christians to strengthen their weak knees and persevere despite hardships and great loss.