Introduction to 1 Peter

Who was it written to?

Unlike many of the New Testament letters, 1 Peter is not written to one particular church or individual. Instead, it is written to those who are described as Gods elect, exiles [who are] scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia (1 Peter 1:1). We will return to what Peter might mean by calling the readers of this letter exiles but first, we will try to pin down where they lived.

The areas mentioned are all part of the north west quarter of Asia Minor (what is now Turkey) in an area that Paul did not visit - indeed was stopped from visiting by the Holy Spirit (Acts 16:6-10). We have no other record of Peter having visited this area, but that does not mean that he did not. Indeed, as Paul had worked in the southern Galatian area (Acts 13:4ff), and we know that the two of them had slightly different areas of
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concentration in their ministries (Galatians 2:7,8), Peters working in the north would seem at least feasible. The slightly strange aspect to this, though, is that most of the Christians he was writing to would seem to have been Gentiles, though there is some debate about this. If they were Gentiles, this would seem to be at variance (but not in conflict) with what we know about the different ministries of Peter and Paul. However, Peter may not have travelled here himself, he may have known the churches through Silas or Mark (or even someone else). This is an area which is not central to the Roman Empire - a slightly out-of-the-way part, rather than being at its heart - as was the case with Rome and Corinth amongst others. The order in which the areas are mentioned in the letter follows the order that the bearer of the letter may well have travelled in visiting them. A similar pattern is found in the seven churches in Revelation. Even if we can make a suggestion as to where the original readers of this letter lived, we havent answered all the questions concerning them. The most important being, what does Peter mean when he refers to them as exiles? The most likely answer to this is that this is a social designation; that the people who, in these areas, had turned to Christ were those on the peripheries of society, the disenfranchised. However, it is also possible to see this as a spiritual designation; that turning to Christ places you on the edges of society and creates a sense of not-belonging. These two designations are not mutually exclusive, and applying the teaching of the letter will involve using the spiritual application as much as the social.

Who wrote it?

The letter itself claims to have been written by Peter, and the traditional view has been that this is the same Peter as Simon Peter from the gospels and Acts. There has been, and continues to be, much debate concerning this. One of the reasons for this is that the Greek of the letter is some of the most polished in the New Testament and there is a question as to whether someone of Peters background would be able to write such Greek. However, there are a number of ways in which this might happen, including the possibility that it was Silas (1 Peter 5:12) who physically wrote the letter from Peters dictation. If Simon Peter was the writer (and despite the debate, this seems a reasonable position to hold), then it was probably written in the early 60s, prior to Peters martyrdom in 66/7. It is probable that the mention of Babylon in 1 Peter 5:13 as the place where the letter was written refers to Rome. It was in Rome that tradition tells us Peter was eventually martyred during the persecution by Nero. It is clear that Peter was someone who knew his Bible. He quotes always from the Greek translation of our Old testament (the Septuagint) and in what is a fairly short letter, makes direct reference to at least ten Old Testament books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea. Another feature of the letter is the number of clear references to the gospel story - the life of Jesus - at least 18. One passage where these two aspects come together is 2:21-25 where the gospel account of Jesus trial and crucifixion (especially Matthew 27:12) is linked with Isaiah 53. A
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useful and interesting study is how Peter brings his readers back to the life of Jesus as an example for them to emulate.

What is it about?
There are a number of important themes in the letter which can perhaps be grouped under three major headings: Salvation Church Christian Life Within these major themes, Peter tackles a range of other issues, such as the return of Jesus, the nature of hope, the call to holiness and the churchs relationship to the world. We can perhaps sum up the message of the letter in two thoughts. First, Peter is keen to encourage his readers to find their identity not in their nationality or citizenship, but in their faith. Second, a faithful church - and a faithful Christian - will, like Jesus and Paul, have to endure suffering. It is worth mentioning here that in the NT suffering always refers to suffering for our faith, persecution; it never refers to illness, or bereavement. In the western church, where persecution has been less of an issue for many decades, it has become popular to see suffering in terms of illness etc. While we may be able to learn some things about the Christians attitude to illness through the NT, we need to remember that when reading this letter Peter is thinking of persecution and not anything else. So, if we bring some of these things together, we can say that Peters message is that Christians should find their identity in Christ and in the community that is the church, that this identity will lead them to feel themselves somewhat alienated from their society and that this faithful living as Gods holy people will lead to persecution from that society. They are, therefore, living as strangers in a strange land. This is a message which is an important one for us today. Many Christians have felt that they were living in a Christian country where laws and morals generally have followed biblical values. Whether this has ever truly been the case is a matter for debate, but recent changes in the law and in society as a whole have left many Christians unsure of what their role and place in society is. This can lead to a number of different positions, many of which seem to be little more than a desire to escape to an idealised, golden past. Peters letter reminds us that, as Christians, we have never been truly at home in the world as it is, that in fact our citizenship is elsewhere and we long for the full manifestation of the kingdom. Thus, we need to recapture the biblical truth that just as Christ suffered, so his followers will suffer and that the end of this will only come when the words of the prayer Jesus taught his disciples are answered and Gods kingdom has fully come.

How is it structured?
There are a number of ways of looking at the structure of 1 Peter, as a glance at the commentaries mentioned below, or any introductions to the letter will show. The following may be as helpful as any other.

I. II.

Opening Greeting Enjoying Salvation as Exiles A. Thanksgiving B. Call to Holiness C. The Christian Identity

1:1-2 1:3-2:10 1:3-12 1:13-25 2:1-10 2:11-4:11 2:11-12 2:13-3:7 2:13-17 2:18-25 3:1-7 3:8-12 3:13-4:11 4:12-5:11 4:12-19 5:1-5 5:6-11 5:12-14

III. Living as Exiles A. Living Ethically B. Living Relationally 1. Relationship to the State 2. Relationship between master and servant 3. Relationship between husband and wife 4. Relating in love C. How to Respond to Suffering IV. Suffering as Exiles A. Sharing in Christs Suffering B. Shepherding through Suffering C. Restoration after Suffering V. Final Greetings

What books might I read?

A good introductory commentary on 1 Peter is: Hillyer N, 1992, 1 and 2 Peter, Jude, Carlisle: Paternoster Press, ISBN: 0853646708 Two slightly deeper commentaries that are very good are: Davids PH, 1990, The First Epistle of Peter, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, ISBN: 0802825168 McKnight S, 1996, 1 Peter, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, ISBN: 0310492904 For reading on the history of the early church, it is difficult to beat these two books: Bruce FF, 1958 (1995 reprint), The Spreading Flame, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, ISBN: 0853643482 Witherington B III, 2001, New Testament History, Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, ISBN: 0801027691 If you are interested in the life of Peter, someone who is often overlooked in New Testament scholarship, then the following book is a detailed, academic study of the evidence: Bockmuehl M, 2012, Simon Peter in Scripture and Memory, Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, ISBN: 9780801048647

Copyright 2013 Simon Marshall

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