tripete
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I over heard the children in church as they where working on memorizing the entire book of 1Peter. As I listened to them I had some thoughts about what they where reciting. I thought I would write those thoughts and more down as a brief commentary on the book.
1 Peter 1: 1,2 New King James Version (NKJV)
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
Versus 1,2
Peter begins by identifying himself as an apostle of Christ. While this is common in the letters of the new testament it is no less important than any other part of the writing. In this identification we find his credentials for writing and instructing the believers that he is addressing. While others will make the claim to be apostles of Christ (see 2Peter 2), Peter has a unique privilege in doing so as he specifically traveled with Him and was ordained by the Lord to His ministry. This adds emphasis and importance to what will follow and identifies it as not being the opinions of a man but the writings of God to His people.
He identifies the individuals that he is writing to as pilgrims, other translations read sojourners, either way he is referring to them as people who are just passing through this world and whose homes are not of this world but that are of another place. This is a common theme in many parts of scripture, but perhaps best illustrated by the wanderings of the nation of Israel, prior to god delivering them into the promise land. In that illustration we see that almost none who started the journey finished it as only a hand full of the original captives lead out of Egypt ever make it to the land that God had prepared for them. They perished due to unbelief. Peter makes a distinction here though between the visible Israel (Rom 9:6,7) and those who he is writing to when he calls them "elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father". This gives those who he addresses a distinct classification and narrows down who the letter is written to. This is common to all the New Testament writers and is no different here. Peter is writing to the true Church of God, to those who God saved through the blood of His Son, the elect chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world was set in place (foreknowledge here does not refer to God looking into a crystal ball and seeing who would choose Him and then choosing them first. Rather it is His knowledge of who He will send His Son in the fullness of time to save.) (Eph. 1:4). Keeping in mind that the letter is written to the elect is important because it helps us to understand some of the ways things are phrased in this letter.
In this introduction he states why God elected a people to Himself; "elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ". Simply put, any man that is saved, is done so to serve God. Sanctification in this context means to be set apart for holy use. That use as shown in many places, but perhaps most clearly in Revelation 7:15, is to serve God in worship. This happens as God through the work of the Spirit ("in sanctification of the Spirit") causes His people to remember what has been done for them by the sprinkling of Christ blood on their behalf. This sprinkling of the blood is a reference to how the priest of the old testament use to be required to sprinkle all the common items, including themselves, to be used in the Levitical ceremonies (Lev. 8-10) with blood to clean them for holy use. Peter is equating believers to common unclean items that must be cleansed by the sprinkling of Christ blood before they can be used for anything that is good. Once cleaned the items where set apart for the service of God, and wielded by the priest and the priest only. As Gods people are cleansed with Christ blood they are His tools to be done with as He pleases. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Eph 2:10.
With the church of God identified he then goes on to pray on their behalf that; "Grace to you and peace be multiplied." Again a common component to the NT letters but an important one. Grace and peace do not exist for those who are not chosen by God for salvation. For those who are, it is the most important thing to them. Grace is that very gift by which we have been saved and peace is the declaration that we are no longer at enmity with God but that our sins and iniquities have been removed from as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). To multiply such wonderful things is simply to identify that they are never ending in Christ and that as they are worked out in the christians life that he/she would see more clearly the expanse of the work that has been done for them. Grace and Peace are necessary because all men in their sin are at war with God; "What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” "Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin." Romans 9:9-20.
In our fallen state we never sought after or desired the true God but simply made up a god that was in our own image serving and flattering us. A god that we could make our savior based on something that we could do; such as read enough, pray enough, do good, or choose to let into our hearts. This is not the true God but a god we create in our own image. A god who has to wait on us to accept him rather than actively choosing who will be saved by the death of His Son. Christ did not die for every individual every where but only for His Chosen people. These people have been sanctified by Him and have Grace and Peace multiplied to them through His work.
1 Peter 1: 1,2 New King James Version (NKJV)
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
Versus 1,2
Peter begins by identifying himself as an apostle of Christ. While this is common in the letters of the new testament it is no less important than any other part of the writing. In this identification we find his credentials for writing and instructing the believers that he is addressing. While others will make the claim to be apostles of Christ (see 2Peter 2), Peter has a unique privilege in doing so as he specifically traveled with Him and was ordained by the Lord to His ministry. This adds emphasis and importance to what will follow and identifies it as not being the opinions of a man but the writings of God to His people.
He identifies the individuals that he is writing to as pilgrims, other translations read sojourners, either way he is referring to them as people who are just passing through this world and whose homes are not of this world but that are of another place. This is a common theme in many parts of scripture, but perhaps best illustrated by the wanderings of the nation of Israel, prior to god delivering them into the promise land. In that illustration we see that almost none who started the journey finished it as only a hand full of the original captives lead out of Egypt ever make it to the land that God had prepared for them. They perished due to unbelief. Peter makes a distinction here though between the visible Israel (Rom 9:6,7) and those who he is writing to when he calls them "elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father". This gives those who he addresses a distinct classification and narrows down who the letter is written to. This is common to all the New Testament writers and is no different here. Peter is writing to the true Church of God, to those who God saved through the blood of His Son, the elect chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world was set in place (foreknowledge here does not refer to God looking into a crystal ball and seeing who would choose Him and then choosing them first. Rather it is His knowledge of who He will send His Son in the fullness of time to save.) (Eph. 1:4). Keeping in mind that the letter is written to the elect is important because it helps us to understand some of the ways things are phrased in this letter.
In this introduction he states why God elected a people to Himself; "elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ". Simply put, any man that is saved, is done so to serve God. Sanctification in this context means to be set apart for holy use. That use as shown in many places, but perhaps most clearly in Revelation 7:15, is to serve God in worship. This happens as God through the work of the Spirit ("in sanctification of the Spirit") causes His people to remember what has been done for them by the sprinkling of Christ blood on their behalf. This sprinkling of the blood is a reference to how the priest of the old testament use to be required to sprinkle all the common items, including themselves, to be used in the Levitical ceremonies (Lev. 8-10) with blood to clean them for holy use. Peter is equating believers to common unclean items that must be cleansed by the sprinkling of Christ blood before they can be used for anything that is good. Once cleaned the items where set apart for the service of God, and wielded by the priest and the priest only. As Gods people are cleansed with Christ blood they are His tools to be done with as He pleases. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Eph 2:10.
With the church of God identified he then goes on to pray on their behalf that; "Grace to you and peace be multiplied." Again a common component to the NT letters but an important one. Grace and peace do not exist for those who are not chosen by God for salvation. For those who are, it is the most important thing to them. Grace is that very gift by which we have been saved and peace is the declaration that we are no longer at enmity with God but that our sins and iniquities have been removed from as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). To multiply such wonderful things is simply to identify that they are never ending in Christ and that as they are worked out in the christians life that he/she would see more clearly the expanse of the work that has been done for them. Grace and Peace are necessary because all men in their sin are at war with God; "What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” "Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin." Romans 9:9-20.
In our fallen state we never sought after or desired the true God but simply made up a god that was in our own image serving and flattering us. A god that we could make our savior based on something that we could do; such as read enough, pray enough, do good, or choose to let into our hearts. This is not the true God but a god we create in our own image. A god who has to wait on us to accept him rather than actively choosing who will be saved by the death of His Son. Christ did not die for every individual every where but only for His Chosen people. These people have been sanctified by Him and have Grace and Peace multiplied to them through His work.
