(3-12) PANEGYRIC OF THE GOSPEL FROM A HEBREW POINT OF VIEW.—The Apostle thanks God for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That fact is a regeneration of us, and a pledge of future glory, in view of which such afflictions as beset the Asiatic Hebrews were seen to serve a purpose, and that purpose the very “salvation” which had formed the theme of the Old Testament. read more
(8) Whom, having not seen.—Said in contrast to the word “revelation” in the last verse: “whom you love already, though He is not yet revealed, so that you have not as yet seen Him.” There seems to be a kind of tender pity in the words, as spoken by one who himself had seen so abundantly (Acts 4:20; Acts 10:41; 2 Peter 1:16). In this and the following verse we return again from the sorrow to the joy, and to the true cause of that joy, which is only to be found in the love of Jesus Christ. There... read more
(9) Receiving the end of your faith.—The “end of our faith” means, the object to which our faith is directed, the thing we believed for. And “faith” catches up the “believing” of last verse, so that, in reading, the accent of the sentence falls on “end,” not on “faith;” and the whole clause is added to justify the statement that we rejoice with a joy which has already attained its full perfection. The reason is, he says, because we receive already, in the present life, the object of all this... read more
The Trial of Faith 1 Peter 1:6-7 What is faith? Faith is the heart setting to its seal that God is true. Faith is an appropriating grace. Faith is an apprehending grace. True faith has a quick ear, a clear eye, a ready hand, and a Divine capacity for the word of God. One is tempted to ask, Why does our heavenly Father permit the faith of His poor children to be tried? The answer is in our text, because the trial of your faith is much more 'precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be... read more
Chapter 2 THE HEAVENLY INHERITANCE1 Peter 1:3-9"OUT of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh," words true of all this letter, but of no part more true than of the thanksgiving with which it opens. The Apostle recalls those dark three days in which the life he bore was worse than death. His vaunted fidelity had been put to the proof, and had failed in the trial; his denial had barred the approach to the Master whom he had disowned. The crucifixion of Jesus had followed close upon His... read more
Analysis and Annotations I. THE SUFFERING OF BELIEVERS AND EXHORTATIONS TO HOLY LIVING CHAPTER 1:1-21 1. The introduction and doxology (1 Peter 1:1-5 ) 2. Suffering and the coming glory (1 Peter 1:6-9 ) 3. As revealed in the prophets (1 Peter 1:10-12 ) 4. Exhortations to holy living (1 Peter 1:13-21 ) 1 Peter 1:1-5 As stated in the introduction, Peter writes to believing Jews in the dispersion throughout the provinces mentioned in the first verse. There is at once pointed out a... read more
Peter writes with apostolic authority and though it is directly to the dispersed Jewish Christians (strangers both because Jews among Gentiles, and because Christians separated from Jewish relatives), yet we who are Gentile believers may well recognize, that much of this is just as applicable to ourselves. We too are pilgrims and strangers, not at home on earth. The areas spoken of in v.1 are all in present-day Turkey, for Asia at that time was Asia minor, on the western end of Turkey. ... read more
THE LIVING HOPE The opening of this epistle reminds us of Paul in its salutation, 1 Peter 1:1-2 . Here we have the author’s name Peter, his official designation an apostle of Jesus Christ, and a characterization and location of the people addressed “strangers scattered throughout” the provinces of Asia Minor named. This last phrase is rendered in the Revised Version, “sojourners of the dispersion,” which indicates that they were chiefly Jewish Christians not at home in their own land.... read more
The Precious Blood of Christ 1Pe 1:19 My heart's desire has ever been to make known to men that there is no salvation but by blood, and not by blood only, but by the particular blood named in the text even the precious blood of Christ. I am afraid that in these latter days some of us have tried to find out some other word to use instead of this word blood. We shrink from it. A dainty piety has forced upon us a dainty vocabulary. As the intensity of our love has gone down, the intensity of our... read more
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John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Peter 1:1-25
Greeting in the Name of the Holy Trinity. Encouragement to Hope in Faith and Obedience1, 2. To the strangers scattered throughout.. elect] RV ’to the elect who are sojourners of the Dispersion in,’ etc. The RV order shows that the present circumstances of his readers, as well as their election and his own apostleship, are all according to the foreknowledge of God. Elect] i.e. chosen. Christians, like Israel of old, are God’s chosen people. The ’Dispersion’ was a term used to describe the Jews... read more