1 Peter 1

[Note: Because it is sometimes difficult to follow the flow of a letter like this, we have added a synopsis of each chapter & passage to try to help clarify Peter’s train of thought and where he is going with his writing.]

• v.1,2 Greetings to the Scattered Church
• v.3-12 Praise to God for a Living Hope in the Face of Present Trials
• v.13-17 Live Holy Lives as you await His Return
• v.18-21 We are what we are because of Christ
• v.22-25 The result is born-again lives of love

[Chapter 1 Synopsis: We are suggesting that each of the five things seen in this chapter are seen as ‘anchors of faith’ to help the scattered believers stand in the face of persecutions: God has a plan, that plan is seen in the work of Christ, that plan stretches into eternity for us, a plan guaranteed by the death of the Son of God, and a plan we are living out by the word of God.]

v.1,2 Greetings to the Scattered Church

[Passage Synopsis: Anchor No.1: Peter sets the scene for what is coming by helping anchor the scattered believers reminding them first that they are all part of God’s plan – He knows what they will face.]

v.1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,

v.2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

[Note: Peter to the scattered Christians, the believers who can trust in the knowledge that God chose them knowing how they would respond and cope as He used circumstances to change them to be more Christlike.]

v.3-12 Praise to God for a Living Hope in the Face of Present Trials

[Passage Synopsis: Anchor No.2: Whatever trials occur, the  believers are to be anchored in the knowledge that all needs to be seen within the context of God’s eternal plan being worked out, seen as things that just prove the reality of our faith in Christ that the prophets of long ago foresaw.]

v.3-5 A hope and an inheritance

v.3-5 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

[Note: Everything about them is rock solid in the plan of God being worked out in them. The new birth generates a hope through what happened to Christ, and opens the door to an eternal future for us.]

v.6,7 Despite the above wonder, we may yet suffer trials in this life

v.6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

v.7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

[Note: We rejoice in this plan even if it involves trials because such trials just prove the reality of His work in us.]

v.8,9 A faith life

v.8,9 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

[Note: It’s a faith life that loves without seeing, working to an end goal.

v.10-12 A prophesied life

v.10,11 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.

v.12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

[Note: The prophets sensed this plan and the sufferings of the coming messiah, they saw it was you they were seeing in their spirit.]

v.13-17 Live Holy Lives as you await His Return

[Passage Synopsis: Anchor No.3: We cope with recent pressures by seeing the big picture, and a hope of eternity, as well as remembering we have a different life to live out to the one we used to have.]

v.13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.

v.14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.

v.15,16 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

v.17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.

[Note: We are helped in our present struggles by looking forward to eternity and Christ’s return, so now we reject the way we lived in the past, so we can live the holy lives we are called to, [Lev. 11:44,45; 19:2] looking to our Father in heaven, remembering that is our real home.]

v.18-21 We are what we are because of Christ

[Passage Synopsis: Anchor No.4, is to remember how we are here – by Christ’s life given for us.]

v.18,19 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

v.20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.

v.21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

[Note: Our lives are precious because they were bought with Christ’s blood, a plan that was formulated before creation and is now being revealed, so it’s all through Christ, risen & ascended, our hope.]

v.22-25 The result is born-again lives of love

[Passage Synopsis: Anchor No.5 is the knowledge of what has already happened to us by the word of God]

v.22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.

v.23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

v.24,25 For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.”  And this is the word that was preached to you.

[Note: We are made holy through our obedience to live the life of love, by his everlasting word which is what led us to be born again. The grass may die but God’s word never does [Isa 40:6-8].

For those who may wish to make a study of this chapter, to perhaps think some more about what you have been reading, use the link below: