1 Peter 1:1-2. SALUTATION 1 I, Peter, am writing this letter as the commissioned Apostle of Jesus Christ and you, my readers in various Roman provinces of Asia Minor are God’s chosen people, the new Israel of God, although (like the Jews of the Dispersion) you seem to be strangers in a foreign lan... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΈΤΡΟΣ. His old name Simon is only used in narrative passages before his call as an Apostle, but our Lord afterwards addressed him as Simon, Simon Bar Jona, or Simon son of John, and St James in his speech at the Apostolic Conference, Acts 15:14, speaks of him as Συμεών. In St John’s Gospel he is ca... [ Continue Reading ]
This verse probably refers both to St Peter’s own position as an apostle of Jesus Christ and to that of his readers as the “chosen” people of God. Just as in Romans 1:1; Romans 1:6-7, St Paul couples himself and his readers together, he himself being “called to be an apostle” (κλητὸς�) and they “cal... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕΥ̓ΛΟΓΗΤΌΣ, _worthy to receive blessing_ is nearly always restricted to God in the LXX. while εὐλογημένος, _one who receives blessing_, is used of men. The same form of benediction occurs in Ephesians 1:3 and 2 Corinthians 1:3. Ὁ ΘΕῸΣ ΚΑῚ ΠΑΤῊΡ ΤΟΥ͂ ΚΥΡΊΟΥ Κ.Τ.Λ. The words are used in the same sens... [ Continue Reading ]
1 Peter 1:3-13. THE HIGH PRIVILEGES AND DESTINY OF THE CHRISTIAN _Benediction_ 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for by raising Him from the dead He has begotten us, His other children, to a new life of hope which is directed towards an inheritance which, 4 unlike Canaan,... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕἸΣ ΚΛΗΡΟΝΟΜΊΑΝ. The goal to which our hope points forward is the spiritual Canaan, “the lot of our inheritance.” Unlike the earthly Canaan it can never be ravaged by hostile marauders (ἄφθαρτον) or polluted by heathen profanation (ἀμίαντον) nor scorched and withered (ἀμάραντον). κληρονομία in the... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΝ ΔΥΝΆΜΕΙ ΘΕΟΥ͂ may describe the _fortress in_ which or the _garrison by_ which the Christian is guarded. ΔΙᾺ ΠΊΣΤΕΩΣ. Faith in God’s promised deliverance is the condition by which man must avail himself of the divine protection. ΕἸΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΊΑΝ. It is simpler to connect the words with those which im... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΝ ὯΙ�. Dr Hort, recognizing the difficulty of connecting these words with καιρῷ ἐσχάτῳ in the sense of “season of extremity,” would make ᾦ masculine—“In whom,” _i.e._ Christ. This would match the following phrase: εἰς ὂν πιστεύοντες�. But if καιρῷ ἐσχάτῳ means the Messianic age in which the readers... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤῸ ΔΟΚΊΜΙΟΝ. It is commonly stated that τὸ δοκίμιον must be a substantive and is equivalent to δοκιμεῖον = _a means of testing_. It certainly has that meaning in Proverbs 27:21, δοκίμιον� = fire is the test for silver and gold, from which passage St Peter probably borrows the word πύρωσις in 1 Peter... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟΥ̓Κ ἸΔΌΝΤΕΣ states a historical fact that they had not seen Christ in the flesh as St Peter himself had done (cf. John 20:29). ΜῊ ὉΡΩ͂ΝΤΕΣ describes their present condition, _though_ (_for the present_) _you cannot see Him_. No stress can be laid on the distinction between οὐ and μὴ, though some w... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΟΜΙΖΌΜΕΝΟΙ. The middle voice denotes either receiving back a possession, Matthew 25:27, or receiving a promised gift, Hebrews 10:36; Hebrews 11:39, and probably Hebrews 11:19, that Abraham received his long promised son figuratively out of death because his own body and that of Sarah were “as good... [ Continue Reading ]
Plumptre (_Camb._ Bible, 1 _Pet._, p. 98) and others would explain the passage which follows as referring to New Testament prophets or preachers of the first days of the Church, who constantly uttered inspired warnings of a coming time of persecution for Christians which would be followed by glory.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕἸΣ ΤΊΝΑ Ἢ ΠΟΙ͂ΟΝ ΚΑΙΡῸΝ, searching (to discover) what or what manner of season _was pointed to_ (εἰς). If God withheld from them the precise time when His promises were to be fulfilled, they desired at least to know whether it was to be in the immediate or only in the distant future. ΠΝΕΥ͂ΜΑ ΧΡΙΣΤΟ... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἿΣ�. In answer to their searching enquiry the prophets, says St Peter, though “it was not for them to know the times and seasons which the Father set within His own authority,” were nevertheless permitted to realize that the messages which they were delivering as God’s _ministers_ (διηκόνουν) were... [ Continue Reading ]
ΔΙῸ sums up all the preceding verses = on the strength of such a position of privilege and dignity. ἈΝΑΖΩΣΆΜΕΝΟΙ. Girding up the loins is a symbol of prompt readiness for active service as opposed to slackness and indolent heedlessness. So our Lord told His disciples that they must have their loins... [ Continue Reading ]
INTRODUCTORY EXHORTATION FOUNDED UPON THE BENEDICTION 1 Peter 1:13 to 1 Peter 2:10 13–25. 13 The new life of hope, faith and privilege to which you have been begotten involves corresponding responsibilities on your part. You must gird up the loins of your mind in readiness for active service, have... [ Continue Reading ]
ὩΣ ΤΈΚΝΑ ὙΠΑΚΟΗ͂Σ. The _form_ of the expression is a Hebraism (cf. sons of Belial), but (as in the parallel passage, Ephesians 2:2, τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς�) the phrase is used by St Peter to mean more than merely “obedient children.” “Children of obedience” are those who belong to obedience as a child to it... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑΤᾺ ΤῸΝ ΚΑΛΈΣΑΝΤΑ ὙΜΑ͂Σ ἍΓΙΟΝ (cf. Ephesians 1:4; Ephesians 4:1; Ephesians 5:1, etc.). _After the model of Him that called you, Who is holy_. Here we have the true model (εἰκών) to which men’s lives are to be conformed (σύμμορφοι, cf. Romans 8:29; Colossians 3:10). The original purpose of God in cr... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕἸ ΠΑΤΈΡΑ ἘΠΙΚΑΛΕΙ͂ΣΘΕ. _If ye invoke as Father_. ἐπικαλεῖσθαι in the middle does not mean merely to call a person by a certain name or title, but to _invoke_ or _appeal to for aid_. It is the word used by St Paul, Acts 25:11, “I appeal unto Caesar,” and of St Stephen appealing and saying, “Lord Jes... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕἸΔΌΤΕΣ. The thought of what their deliverance has cost increases the responsibility of Christians to “walk worthily.” ἘΛΥΤΡΏΘΗΤΕ, _ye were ransomed_. The word is used of deliverance from slavery or from exile, _e.g._ of the deliverance of Israel from Egypt (Exodus 6:6; Exodus 15:13, etc.). So St St... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΜΝΟΥ͂. Cf. John 1:29. The reference is most probably to the passover lamb, which, though not actually the ransom paid for deliverance from Egypt, was closely connected with that deliverance and did redeem the firstborn of Israel from the destroying angel. So the regulation about the paschal lamb, “... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΡΟΕΓΝΩΣΜΈΝΟΥ = _designated beforehand_ as God’s appointed agent. This was true not only of the Messiah as the long-expected King, but also of the suffering Messiah, the Lamb. This is the usual interpretation of Revelation 13:8, “whose name hath not been written in the book of life of the Lamb that... [ Continue Reading ]
ΔΙʼ ὙΜΑ͂Σ, _for the sake of you Gentiles_, cf. Ephesians 3:5; Romans 16:26. The revelation of Christ was made for your sake, because it is through Christ that you are enabled to be _faithful as resting upon God_ (πιστοὺς εἰς θεόν). πιστός in the LXX. never means “believing” or trustful, but is used... [ Continue Reading ]
St Peter continues his exhortation, which has been interrupted by a reminder to his readers of their high privilege (1 Peter 1:18-21). ἩΓΝΙΚΌΤΕΣ. The adjective ἁγνός in the O.T. means (_a_) _ceremonially pure_, free from defilement; (_b_) _morally pure_, which is its only meaning in the N.T. The ver... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΝΑΓΕΓΕΝΝΗΜΈΝΟΙ; cf. 1 Peter 1:3, the only other place where the word occurs. The verses which follow state the obligation and the source of Christian love. They have been brought into a new state of existence, they are born into a new divine sonship, and it is their common sonship which constitutes... [ Continue Reading ]
ΔΙΌΤΙ is used again to introduce a quotation in 1 Peter 1:16 and 1 Peter 2:6. The quotation is taken from Isaiah 40:6-8, and agrees with the LXX. in omitting the words “because the breath of the Lord bloweth upon it.” But it differs from the LXX. (1) by inserting ὡς, (2) by substituting αὐτῆς for ἀν... [ Continue Reading ]