← Contents The First Letter of Peter

The First Letter of Peter

According to fourth-century church father Eusebius (Hist. eccl. 2.23.25; 6.14.1; see 3.25.2–3) and other early Christian writers, 1 Peter is one of the general or “catholic” epistles, alongside James, 1,2,3 John, 2 Peter, and Jude. These letters do not address a particular church (in this case a group of churches), but rather, address the general condition of churches.

First Peter aims to strengthen Christians—along with Acts 11.26 and 26.28, 1 Pet 4.16 is the only place in the New Testament where the term “Christian” appears—in a time of distress by offering them a theology through which to understand their suffering. They are taught to identify with the suffering of Christ, who also suffered unjustly, and to understand that suffering for being a Christian is a sign that the end of history is at hand (4.12–16). The epistle assures its readers that when Christ returns, those who have suffered for their faith will receive the reward of eternal glory (1.7; 2.11; 4.13; 5.4,10–11). For 1 Peter, faith means hope. Obedience and love are also essential, for they show the outside world that Christians are not a threat, but rather, model citizens.

The apostle Peter is the implied author of this letter (1.1; 5.1; 5.12–13), writing just before his death in Rome (known here as Babylon). The recipients are communities in the northern area of Asia Minor [Turkey] (1.1–2). References to “exiles” and “Dispersion” (1.1–2) may imply that this letter was directed to Jews, but many verses (1.14,18; 2.10; 4.3–4) point to the Gentile origin of at least many in these churches.

While second- and third-century Christian leaders such as Irenaeus (Adv Haer. 4.9.2; 4.16.5; 5.7.2), Tertullian (Scorp. 12), and Clement of Alexandria (Paed. 1.6.44) believed that the letter was by Peter the apostle, many modern scholars believe that it was written, in the apostle’s name, at the end of the first or the beginning of the second century. Peter was a Galilean fisherman, and the Greek of this letter is too good to have come from Peter’s hand, although the style could be attributed to Sylvanus, the letter’s scribe (see 5.12). More indicative of pseudepigraphical authorship: the letter’s scriptural quotations are from the Septuagint rather than the Hebrew text, and the Greek form of Peter’s name (rather than the Aram Cephas) is used in this epistle. Furthermore, there is no known connection between the historical Peter and the churches in Asia. Finally, this letter shows significant similarities to Romans and Ephesians (cf. 1 Pet 3.8–9 and Rom 12.16–18; 1 Pet 2.4–5 and Eph 2.1–21). Most likely, this letter was written in Rome in the style of Paul’s letters but in the name of Peter.

First Peter adopts terms and scriptural citations that Jews used to express their exclusive covenant with God and applies them to the Christian community. For example, 1 Peter transfers to the church the theological concept of Israel as “chosen” (1.2; 5.13). Readers are described as parepidemoi (“sojourners, resident aliens, visitors”) in 1.2 and 2.9, and paroikoi (“sojourners, aliens”) in 2.11 and 1.17, words that the LXX employs to point to the status of Israelites and Jews in a foreign place. (Elsewhere in the New Testament [Heb 11.9,13], these words are used to describe the patriarchs.) First Peter identifies its Gentile readers as living in the “Dispersion,” a term rare in secular Greek but used in the LXX (Deut 28.25; Jer 15.7; Ps 146[147].2) and in Jas 1.1 to describe the scattering of Jewish communities outside the Land of Israel. The readers have been sanctified by the sprinkling of blood (1.2), alluding to Jewish rites of purification and/or covenant ceremonies (Ex 24). Readers have received an inheritance (1.4), which in the Tanakh/LXX usually refers to the land of Israel (e.g., Num 34.2; Deut 20.6; Josh 17.4), though later Jewish literature uses the word in reference to possession of the entire earth in end times (Jub. 32.19) or life beyond this earth (2 Esd [4 Ezra] 7.9,17; Pss. Sol. 14.10; 1 En. 40.9). In 1 Pet 1.4 this inheritance is preserved for the Christ-believers in heaven. In other words, for 1 Peter, Israel’s promises now belong to the Church.

Marcie Lenk

1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2who have been chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with his blood:

May grace and peace be yours in abundance.

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you rejoice,a even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, 7so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Although you have not seenb him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

10Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours made careful search and inquiry, 11inquiring about the person or time that the Spirit of Christ within thesm indicated when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the subsequent glory. 12It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look!

13Therefore prepare your minds for action;a discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. 14Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. 15Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; 16for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

17If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. 18You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. 20He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. 21Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.

Isaiah’s Suffering Servant

First Peter 2.22–25, like other New Testament books (Mt 8.17; Acts 8.34–35), quotes and paraphrases verses about the suffering servant from Isa 52.13–53.12 and interprets Isaiah to be referring to Jesus. Isaiah 40–53 includes songs about God’s servant. Most of these explicitly name the servant as the people of Israel, “But you Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen …” (Isa 41.8–10; see 44.1–8,21–28; 45.4; 48.20; 54.17), while in others the servant is an unnamed individual (Isa 42.1–7; 49.1–7; 52.13–53.12; and perhaps 50.4–11). Jewish and other interpreters have explained this unnamed servant in several ways: as an individual or a group usually understood to represent the Jewish community in exile, a contemporary of Isaiah, Isaiah himself, or a future figure. For example, Num. Rab. 13.2 finds that all verses concerning God’s servant refer to the same figure, the people of Israel. Others note that there are differences between the poems in the first and second categories, pointing to different identities. According to b. Ber. 5a, while most of the servant poems point to Israel as God’s servant, the anonymous servant in Isa 52–53 represents the righteous people in every generation who suffer for their faith, while the Jewish medieval interpreter R. David Kimchi (1160–1235) suggests that the faithful are the “remnant” (Isa 10.20–22) who survived the Babylonian exile. B. Sot. 14a regards the servant as Moses; the Jewish teacher Saʾadiah Gaon (882–942) sees the servant as Jeremiah, and other prophets and kings have been suggested. Some Jewish sources understand the servant as the Messiah, who will suffer before redeeming Israel and the world (Tg. Neb.; b. Sanh. 98b; Ruth Rab. 5.6), but when this interpretation was adopted by Christians, it was largely abandoned within the Jewish community, as was Isa 52–53, which never appears as a scriptural reading in the synagogue service.

22Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the trutha so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeplyb from the heart.c 23You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.d 24For

“All flesh is like grass

and all its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers,

and the flower falls,

25but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

That word is the good news that was announced to you.

2Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. 2Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— 3if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

4Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and 5like living stones, let yourselves be builta into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For it stands in scripture:

“See, I am laying in Zion a stone,

a cornerstone chosen and precious;

and whoever believes in himb will not be put to shame.”

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

“The stone that the builders rejected

has become the very head of the corner,”

8and

“A stone that makes them stumble,

and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

9But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people,c in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

10Once you were not a people,

but now you are God’s people;

once you had not received mercy,

but now you have received mercy.

11Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. 12Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge.d

13For the Lord’s sake accept the authority of every human institution,a whether of the emperor as supreme, 14or of governors, as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. 15For it is God’s will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of the foolish. 16As servantsb of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil. 17Honor everyone. Love the family of believers.c Fear God. Honor the emperor.

18Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh. 19For it is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. 20If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. 21For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.

22“He committed no sin,

and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

23When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. 24He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross,d so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his woundse you have been healed. 25For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

Suffering under Persecution

First Peter guides suffering Christians to see themselves as imitating Christ, who also suffered unjustly, and to understand that suffering results from the temporary power of the devil, whose evil will be overcome by Christ when he returns (3.18–20; 5.8). At that time, those who have suffered for their faith will receive the reward of eternal glory (1.7; 2.11; 4.13; 5.4,10–11). Later stories of Christian martyrs used similar images in their insistence that the person who appears to be the victim will ultimately be the victor (e.g., Ignatius, To the Romans 4–5; 8; Mart. Pol. 9,11,14; Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas 4,10,18,20). The concept of suffering and death as redemptive can been seen in the stories of the Jewish Maccabean martyrs, who suffered for refusing to compromise their commitment to Torah during the second-century bce persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes (2 Macc 6–7; 4 Macc 1–18). An old scribe named Elazar who refused to eat pork accepted torture and death, and so he left “in his death an example of nobility and a memorial of courage, not only to the young but to the great body of his nation” (1 Macc 6.31). Seven brothers and their mother were tortured and killed one by one for refusing “to transgress the laws of our ancestors” (1 Macc 7.2). Similar stories are told in later sources about rabbinic sages such as R. Akiva (b. Ber. 61b) and R. Hanina ben Teradion (b. Avod. Zar. 17b) who were tortured and killed by Roman authorities because they persisted in teaching Torah in public. These narratives, together with the Binding (Heb Akedah) of Isaac (Gen 22), served as models for Jews who were killed during the crusades and who suffered in other persecutions throughout the centuries. Recognizing that there were righteous people who suffered, some rabbis even interpreted suffering as a sign of God’s love. Interpreting Ps 94.12 “Happy are those whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law” as a reference to “chastenings of love” (Heb yissurin shel ahavah), these rabbis suggested that suffering was not a sign of God’s displeasure, but of divine favor (b. Ber. 5a).

3Wives, in the same way, accept the authority of your husbands, so that, even if some of them do not obey the word, they may be won over without a word by their wives’ conduct, 2when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3Do not adorn yourselves outwardly by braiding your hair, and by wearing gold ornaments or fine clothing; 4rather, let your adornment be the inner self with the lasting beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in God’s sight. 5It was in this way long ago that the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves by accepting the authority of their husbands. 6Thus Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him lord. You have become her daughters as long as you do what is good and never let fears alarm you.

7Husbands, in the same way, show consideration for your wives in your life together, paying honor to the woman as the weaker sex,a since they too are also heirs of the gracious gift of life—so that nothing may hinder your prayers.

8Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called—that you might inherit a blessing. 10For

“Those who desire life

and desire to see good days,

let them keep their tongues from evil

and their lips from speaking deceit;

11let them turn away from evil and do good;

let them seek peace and pursue it.

12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

and his ears are open to their prayer.

But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

13Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? 14But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear,a and do not be intimidated, 15but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; 16yet do it with gentleness and reverence.b Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. 17For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. 18For Christ also sufferedc for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring youd to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, 19in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, 20who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. 21And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God fora a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

4Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh,b arm yourselves also with the same intention (for whoever has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin), 2so as to live for the rest of your earthly lifec no longer by human desires but by the will of God. 3You have already spent enough time in doing what the Gentiles like to do, living in licentiousness, passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing, and lawless idolatry. 4They are surprised that you no longer join them in the same excesses of dissipation, and so they blaspheme.d 5But they will have to give an accounting to him who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. 6For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead, so that, though they had been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the spirit as God does.

7The end of all things is near;e therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. 8Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. 11Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

12Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. 14If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory,a which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you.b 15But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or even as a mischief maker. 16Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear this name. 17For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18And

“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,

what will become of the ungodly and the sinners?”

19Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good.

5Now as an elder myself and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you 2to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight,c not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do itd—not for sordid gain but eagerly. 3Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. 4And when the chief shepherd appears, you will win the crown of glory that never fades away. 5In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders.e And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for

“God opposes the proud,

but gives grace to the humble.”

6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. 8Discipline yourselves, keep alert.a Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sistersb in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. 10And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. 11To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.

12Through Silvanus, whom I consider a faithful brother, I have written this short letter to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. 13Your sister churchc in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings; and so does my son Mark. 14Greet one another with a kiss of love.

Peace to all of you who are in Christ.d