Series: New Testament Overview
Category: Core Seminars, Suffering, Personal Holiness, Sanctification & Growth, Work of Christ, Faith, Glorification / Resurrection of the Body, Grace, Justification, The Gospel
Detail:
Have you ever felt out of place? 1 Peter was written to Christians who were out of place in this world and often felt that difficulty.
One key part of exile in this world will involve suffering persecution as Christians. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24). These words must have had a shocking effect on the crowd. Remember, these were Roman times. The cross Jesus was calling them to bear was not the nice spiritual symbol that we, in our day and age, see hanging from the necks, and tattooed on the biceps, of pop musicians or professional athletes, Christians and non-Christians alike.
No, the cross in Jesus’s time was a cruel instrument of state execution, a place where people suffered and bled and died. Here in this verse, Jesus was alerting his followers to a fundamental reality about the Christian life—namely, that it involves suffering. Jesus, in this verse was making clear that he was on his way to the cross and that if we would be his followers, we must go that way as well.
This is not to say that Christians are called to go out and court hostility through needless and unwise provocations. But in a world that is hostile towards God, it only follows that God’s people will face persecution as they seek to glorify him. Paul even says it point blank in 2 Timothy 3:12, which we looked at a few weeks ago: “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
Paul’s words accurately describe the experience of countless saints throughout church history, and if we would endeavor to pursue a godly life, then they will describe ours, as well.
So, why do Christians suffer and how should Christians, in the midst of suffering, respond?
To answer these questions and others, we turn this morning to the book of 1 Peter.
The main idea is this: Christians, as elect exiles, should consider Christ’s sufferings and live lives set apart for God—even through trials—as they look forward to their eternal inheritance .
Before we dive in too deep, let me give you some background on the book.
Background/Context (Date & Audience)
We know a bit about the location of the original audience: Look at verse 1: “To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.” He is writing to Christians in the northern part of Asia Minor (the northern part of modern-day Turkey). And they seem to be experiencing some kind of persecution, by Peter’s continued reference to suffering for Christ. Maybe you can relate.
We also have a good idea of where Peter was when he wrote this: He gives us a clue in 5:13, as he concludes the book. In that verse, he makes reference to writing from Babylon. Here, as in Revelation, Babylon is likely a symbolic reference to the city of Rome.
Also, in that same verse, Peter refers to Mark, but not to Paul. This is telling because we know that Paul was with Mark in Rome until 62 AD, the year that Paul was released from his first Roman imprisonment. For this reason, most scholars believe that 1 Peter was written around AD 63, after Paul’s release but before the Roman Emperor Nero’s intense persecution of Christians begins. So this letter likely was not penned to Christians experiencing the threat of imprisonment and death; that was to come later. Instead, the persecution these believers were facing was of a type that we would more commonly face here, today, in Washington DC as family, friends, and even strangers mock us for our hope in Christ.
The date of the book is important to understand because it means that the letter was not only a comfort to Christians already in the midst of suffering, whether social or economic, but that it was also helping to prepare its readers for harsher forms of persecution that were to come.
Any questions on the background?
Structure & Outline
Let’s now take a look at the structure of the book, which will introduce us to some of the themes that we will discuss in more detail in a few minutes.
1 Peter has been described as a model of the “pastoral letter.” The writer, the apostle Peter, clearly intends in this book to refresh believers who are suffering for Christ with line after line of comforting truth. This comforting takes two forms.
First , it comes in the form of encouragement. We can see this in passages such as 1 Peter 1:3-6:
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! [pause there] According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.
The tone of these verses is incredibly optimistic—ecstatic, you might even say. Peter’s optimism might seem ironic or even delusional at first, given the difficult circumstances these Christians find themselves in, but unlike the baseless morale boosting so commonly incanted in our culture—the clichéd “everything is going to be alright” or “just positive thinking will get you through!”—the comfort offered in these verses is rooted in a historical fact of monumental significance: the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Jesus’ resurrection—the fact that he defeated death and is alive and reigns now as King—gives Christians a “Living hope” and an “inheritance,” as verse 4 says, “that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.” The hope and inheritance that we have in Christ helps put our sufferings in this world in much-needed perspective. Indeed, in light of the riches we have in Christ and which we will enjoy for all eternity , this life and its hardships seem only like “a little while,” as it says in verse 6. We’ll come back to this perspective in more depth later in the class .
The second type of comfort the author gives in 1 Peter comes in the form of imperatives, or commands. Any of you who have run a marathon, taken the bar exam, or even experienced something as minor as a flat tire know something of the comfort that comes from being prepared, from having been instructed in how to respond.
We see this kind of comfort offered in passages such as 1 Peter 3:9, which commands suffering Christians, “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.” When people insult us for loving Christ, we are to bless them, pray for them, and love them, following in the footsteps of Christ, who loved us when we were once his enemies. Following Jesus, in other words, does not just mean that we suffer in the way Christ suffered, but also that we must respond to suffering as Christ did.
So, How did Jesus respond to persecution? 1 Peter 2:23 reminds us. It says:
When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
By blending Christ-centered encouragements and imperatives rooted in God’s character and our status as his children, 1 Peter offers an amazing arsenal of comfort for Christians who are feeling the weight of their exile.
So read and hear this letter as a bear hug and a push in the right direction from your loving Heavenly Father.
Outline
How does Peter organize his encouragements and commands? Unlike Paul’s letters, which often divide nicely into sections of theological argument and then sections of application, 1 Peter fuses the two, tethering imperatives to theology and vice versa, often in the space of a single verse. You will find that Peter reprises similar themes again and again, adding layers and nuances as he moves along.
Throughout, Christ is presented as the unique and blameless savior who rescues his people from the eternal suffering that they deserve. He is also presented as an example of how God’s people are to face up to suffering this side of heaven. (NOTE: You might summarize this more quickly, following the details noted in the handout.)
Chapter 1:1-2
Peter begins the letter by describing Christians in two ways. First off, he calls them “God’s elect ,” God’s chosen people, his representatives in the world. Then, in the very next phrase, he refers to them as “exiles of the Dispersion .” This juxtaposition—that Christians are both God’s elect and strangers in the world—helps order Peter’s commands and encouragements throughout the letter. First, he will focus on what it means to be “elect ,” and then move to what it means to be “strangers in the world .”
Chapter 1:3—2:10
And then we jump into the letter with verse 3 of chapter 1. The benefits and demands of being God’s elect, God’s chosen people, are the focus of this section, through 2:10. Peter reminds us of the living hope and inheritance we have in Christ. As we read in verses 10-12 of chapter 1, our salvation is made all the more glorious because of how it was prophesied in the Old Testament. So glorious is our salvation, in fact, that, they are “Things into which angels long to look. ” Peter writes in verse 12, before shifting to the responsibilities that come with being identified as God’s people. This section is perhaps best summed up in verses 15 and 16, in which Peter demands of Christians what God demanded of his people in the Old Testament. He writes:
But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Chapter 2:11—4:11
In the next section, the longest in the letter, Peter elaborates on the fact that God’s holy people are also, quote, “sojourners and exiles.” To this end, he implores them, in the words of a couple New Testament scholars, to exhibit “a lifestyle different from, yet attractive to, the hostile world in which they live. ” Being saved from the fate of this world does not exempt us from our responsibilities as workers and citizens and spouses. No, in fact our salvation frees us to be faithful in our sundry roles. The lifestyle Peter has in mind is characterized supremely by Christ-like submission—along with good and peaceful relationships with other Christians, and wherever possible, with non-Christians, too.
Chapter 4:12—5:14
In this final section, in many ways the crescendo of the book, Peter launches into appropriate responses to suffering. He is emphatic that Christians endure suffering “according to God’s will” by (1) entrusting their lives and circumstances to God and (2) by continuing to live righteously. Peter begins in 4:12, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you . . . But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings.” Also, chapter 5 calls on church leaders to care for the flock for the right reasons and, more broadly on church members—“young men” especially—to submit to their overseers. And the book closes with Peter urging his audience once more to “Stand firm.”
You might summarize the book, then, in this way: Christians—as elect exiles—should remember the grace of God and live lives set apart for God, even through suffering, as they look forward to their eternal inheritance .
Now that we have got our bearings in 1 Peter, having covered some of the background and structure of the book, let’s turn to some major themes.
III. Major Themes
Elect—Chosen by God
1 Peter contains some of the most glorious language about what God has done for us in Christ (choosing us, saving us, making us him own). Consider these passages:
1:3-7
1:18-21
1:23
2:9-10
2:21-25
3:18
The beginning of our lives as Christians, and the foundation for the rest of our lives as Christians, is in God’s gracious choosing of us. Notice what God calls precious: your faith (1:7); Christ’s blood (1:19); Christ the cornerstone (2:4); a gentle and quiet spirit (3:4); his promises (2 Pet. 1:4). Then Christ becomes precious to us (2:7).
And the contrast between what is perishable and what is imperishable: our inheritance (1:4) versus gold (1:7); Christ’s blood versus gold and silver (1:18); seed (1:23-24).
That gives us hope for the future and shapes the way we live now. Which bring us to the second point—as God’s chosen people, we are now exiles in this world, set apart for Him.
Exiles—Set Apart for God
It should not be surprising that those whom God has chosen, caused to be born again, called from darkness to light, and healed are now set apart to live lives for God. When we become Christians, we are exiles living in a foreign land. Chapter 2:11 sums up the idea, when Peter addresses the Christians as “sojourners and exiles.” They are born again of imperishable seed (1:23), into a new family and are now God’s people (2:10). Living stones as part of a new house built on Christ as the cornerstone (2:4-5). As Paul says in Philippians 3, as Christians, our citizenship is now in heaven.
With that new life and new citizenship come new instructions for how to live. Peter continues in chapter 2:11-12: “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”
Peter explores our new obligations in some depth:
We are to be holy because God is holy (1:14-16; 1:22)
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct; “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1:14-16). Our holiness, like God’s holiness, combines the idea of “set-apartness” and the idea of Christ-like purity. God has made us holy. We are to image God as his chosen people.
We are to be sober-minded (1:13, 4:7; 5:8)—think rightly, clearly, and with perspective about what matters and about what the future holds
We are to love and serve one another (1:22; 4:7-11)
We are to submit
Peter picks up the theme of submission beginning in chapter 2:13, and it runs through much of chapter 3. In chapter 2:13: “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.”
He goes on to command servants to submit to and respect their masters, wives to be subject to their husbands, and, later, he calls on the church to submit to and serve each other. Why so important?
Submission—to authorities, to husbands, to masters, to elders, to one another—is befitting of Christians because it displays our hope and trust in a higher authority ; it enhances our witness about God. Paul, in Romans 13, confirms that God has instituted and ordered authority in the world:
For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. (13:1b-2).
Christians should respect authority because it comes from God, and this bolsters our witness as those who follow God.
But what about when this authority is abused, and even used to ridicule us for doing good? Should Christians respect authority then? Well, though we should never submit to authority to the point that we disobey God, Peter—like Paul in Romans—makes it clear that the normal pattern is for Christians to submit to authority, in good times and in bad .
Caveat: There are important limits on this principle. You should obey God, rather than man—so you should not obey the government when it contradicts the Bible. Or if you are in an unbiblical marriage marked by spousal oppression, you should not suffer alone, but bring the church leaders and trusted friends into your difficulties.
This brings us to the second reason why submission is befitting for Christians: because it evidences our eternal freedom in Christ . Peter’s admonition in 2:13, “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution” is paired in verse 16, with the admonition “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil .” As Christians we can submit, even if we are persecuted for our faith by the people in authority over us, because we know that Christ, the ultimate authority, who was raised from the dead and now sits at the right hand of God, will have the final word.
So we have nothing, ultimately, to fear. We are free. And we can submit, and even do it with joy, knowing that we are living in a way that commends Christ.
So Peter instructs slaves or servants in 2:18-19: “Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.”
How is that going for you at work?
Likewise, Peter commands wives in the beginning of chapter 3: “Wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives”
In both of these instances—submitting to your master, or submitting to your husband—submission is presented as a way to witness to the lost and share in Christ’s sufferings. Peter again reminds us that we have the greatest example of submission in Christ himself: 1 Peter 2:23 tells us Christ “did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly .”
Another caveat: Wives should not submit to husbands who are abusive.
Peter doesn’t forget about those of us who have some leadership role. We are to exercise that position for the good of others:
Husbands (3:7)—sacrificially and lovingly (see Eph. 5)
Elders (5:1-4)—willingly, as undershepherds of Christ
And one aspect of our new set-apart lives deserves its own heading as a separate theme: suffering.
Suffering for Christ’s Sake
Peter is clear that Christians will suffer. In fact, 1 Peter has a lot to say about suffering.
What is this suffering? This is Christian suffering. See chapter 4:13-16. Peter writes in 2:20: “For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure?” Christians should never face this kind of suffering, the suffering that comes from doing wrong, because Christians should not do such things. And by extension, Peter isn’t writing about suffering that stems from our foolishness, like not managing our money well, refusing good counsel, or harboring ungodly patterns of thinking.
But neither is Peter talking about the suffering that comes, say, from things like natural disasters, wars, or economic turmoil. He is not talking about unemployment or disease or broken hearts. Although we find direction for some of those situations other places in Scripture, and although the pain caused by them is real and can be devastating, Peter has another kind of suffering in mind in 1 Peter: That is, explicitly the suffering that comes from following Christ.
His readers were going through rough times because of their faith. Once, these individuals were accepted by everyone as good people. Now that they had become Christians and were doing good, they were suffering “various trials.” (1:6).
So what is this suffering? Christian suffering.
Why do we suffer? Fundamentally, because we are God’s elect exiles. Because God is our Creator and Lord, and he has chosen us to be his special people. If God’s people live as a holy people, the world will think they are strange. Why? Because Christians live in reverent fear of God rather than in conformity to the world. The Christian, as Peter writes in chapter 4:2, is the one who will
Live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; (4:2-4).
Christians, in a sense, live in two worlds at once. The new world has begun for us because God has given us a new birth. On the other hand, we continue to live within the old world, which is the only world non-Christians see. So our actions and attitudes, comments and commitments, seem strange, even bizarre, to them.
You see, Christianity is not solely an argument over doctrine. It is also a witness borne by the way your new life says to your non-Christian friends, “There is a different way to live.” And the fact is that people do not like to be confronted with a different way to live. It implies that they might need to change the way they are living.
If you experience this suffer, it’s a reminder that some degree of abuse from the world around us is not only normal for Christians, it is a good diagnostic that things are going well for us in our life of love for God. So use this letter both to inform exactly how our lives should be different from the world around us, and as a source of comfort when that holiness results in persecution, as it so often does.
We are following the model Christ set for us. In 2:20-21, Peter writes, “For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.”
In the most importance sense, Christ’s sufferings were unique. He died for our sins. Christ was a substitute, bearing God’s punishment for those who would repent and believe in him. But in a secondary sense, Peter hears a calling and sees an example for the Christian in Christ’s sufferings. They present a model for what we Christians are to do as we continually repent of our sins and follow him.
So, with this in mind, we recognize that we suffer because Christ suffered. And just as his sufferings made his victory over sin more glorious, our suffering will result in all the more joy when he and his people are finally vindicated.
When will our suffering end?
Christ may be our example in suffering, but he is also our example in vindication. Just as we follow Christ in his suffering, we look forward to the hope of sharing in Christ’s glory. Our eternal, imperishable inheritance. Our suffering has an end date. And it will make our trials on this earth seem like only “a little while.” That’s at the beginning and the end of the letter. Look at 1:6 and 5:10. God will soon “restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish us.” We will share in the imperishable inheritance.
Don’t miss this: Our rejection on earth is a passing human verdict. It is not final, and it is not divine. We will be saved through Christ’s own vindication. This is not to trivialize our suffering, but to keep it in perspective. (If time, note Noah as an example in chapter 3, verse 20-22.)
How should we respond to our suffering? We’ve established that suffering for us as Christians is a given—for a time—but that it too will pass, as God vindicates us in his glory. But how do we respond now, in the midst of our suffering:
We already mentioned that it should encourage and comfort us because holiness leads to persecution.
Peter’s main answer, which could be taken as the theme verse of the whole book: 4:19—“Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good.” Or 5:7: “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” Ultimately, we are following Christ’s example—see 2:23.
In short, keep going. Keep living as an elect exile, remembering how God has redeemed you, called you out of darkness, caused you to be born again. Look forward to the hope of the future. And live your life now as God calls you to. Suffering will make that more difficult. It will strain the commands to be humble, to submit to one another, to love one another. That’s why Peter grounds the entire book in our identity as Christians, as elect exiles.
This will not only serve us well, but it will also be a witness to others (2:12; 3:2; 3:14-17). We must also remember how good God has been to us. We deserted him, yet he responded with incredible love toward us. How then can we treat those who mock us in any other way?
Conclusion
We should conclude. I hope you’ve gotten a taste of that comfort we discussed earlier, in Peter’s words of encouragement and direction in how to live. God has saved us and called us, and we can entrust ourselves to him, knowing he will finish what he has started.
Peter himself did that. Early historical sources inform us that Peter was crucified in Rome as a martyr, because he was living for Christ. Entrust your soul to your faithful Creator, and continue to do good.
