_Christ having died to flesh, arm yourselves with the same thought that_ (or _because_) _he that died hath ceased to sins_. παθόντος σαρκί Peter goes back to the starting point of 1 Peter 3:18 in order to emphasise the import of the first step taken by Christ and His followers, apart now from the co... [ Continue Reading ]
Christians who were baptised into Christ's death and resurrection (Romans 6:2-11) are not taken _out of the world_ at once (John 17:15); they have to live in the flesh but not to the flesh, because _they have been born not of the will of the flesh nor of man but of God_ (John 1:13). Their duty is to... [ Continue Reading ]
The use of the rare ἀρκετός indicates the saying which St. Peter here applies, _sufficient unto the day_ [that is past] _its evil_. Compare Ezekiel 44:6, ἱκανούσθω ὑμῖν ἀπὸ πασῶν τῶν ἀνομιῶν ὑμῶν. The detailed description of _the evil_ follows the traditional redaction of the simple picture of absor... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐν ᾧ, _whereat, i.e._ (i.) at your change of life (1 Peter 4:2 f.) explained below by μὴ συντρεχ.… or (ii.) _on which ground_, because you lived as they did. ξενίζονται, _are surprised_, as in 1 Peter 4:12, where this use of ξ. (elsewhere in N.T. _entertain_, except Acts 17:20, ξενίζοντα) is explain... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀποδώσουσιν λόγον, _will render account_ if of their blasphemy, _cf._ Matthew 12:36, if of their ἀσωτία (see note) _cf._ the steward of Luke 16:2. τῷ ἑτοίμως κρίνοντι, _i.e._, to Christ rather than to God (as 1 Peter 1:17). The Christians took over the Jewish doctrine that every man must give an acc... [ Continue Reading ]
The judgment is imminent because all necessary preliminaries have been accomplished. There is no ground for the objection “perhaps the culprits have not heard the Gospel”. As regards the living, there is a brotherhood in the world witnessing for Christ in their lives and the missionaries have done t... [ Continue Reading ]
But the end of all things and men has drawn nigh; Christians also must be ready, _watch and pray_, as Jesus taught in the parable of Mark 13:34-37 (_cf._ Mark 14:38). σωφρονήσατε parallels ἀσελγ. ἐπιθυμίαις (1 Peter 4:3) _cf._ 4Ma 1:31, _temperance is restraint of lust_. In Romans 12:3 St. Paul play... [ Continue Reading ]
πρὸπάντων, St. Peter emphasises the pre-eminent importance of love of man as much as St. cf. John 1:22. ἑαυτούς put for ἀλλήλους in accordance with the saying _thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself_ as much as with the contemporary practice. ὅτι … ἁμαρτιῶν, quotation of Proverbs 10:12, _love hide... [ Continue Reading ]
Hospitality is the practical proof of this _love_; its practice was necessary to the cohesion of the scattered brotherhood as to the welfare of those whose duties called them to travel. The inns were little better than brothels and Christians were commonly poor. Chrysostom cites the examples of Abra... [ Continue Reading ]
f. supplement the foregoing directions for the inner life of the Church and rest partly on Romans 12:6 (with simpler classification of _gifts_), partly on the conception of disciples as _stewards_ (Luke 12:42) serving out rations in God's house. διακονοῦντες, in the widest sense (as διακονία in Acts... [ Continue Reading ]
follows the primitive division of ministry into that of the word and that of tables (Acts 6:2-4); compare _prophecy_ and ministry (in narrower sense like διακονεῖ here) of Romans 12:6. λαλεῖ covers all the speaking described in 1 Corinthians 12:8; 1 Corinthians 12:10, _to one by means of the spirit... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀγαπητοί marks the beginning of the third division of the Epistle in which Peter having cleared the ground faces at last the pressing problem. ξενίζεσθε, _be surprised_, as in 1 Peter 4:4. τῇ ἐν ὑμῖν πυρώσει, _the ordeal which is in your midst or rather in your hearts_. ἐν ὑμῖν, _cf._ τὸ ἐν ὑμῖν ποί... [ Continue Reading ]
καθό, _so for as_, _i.e._, so far as your suffering is undeserved and for Christ's name. κοινωνεῖτε … παθήμασιν, _ye share the sufferings of the Messiah_. The dative after κ. usually denotes the partner; here the thing shared as in Romans 15:27; 1 Timothy 5:22; 2 John 1:11; and in LXX; Sap. 6:23; 3M... [ Continue Reading ]
The Beautitude, μακάριοι … ὅταν ὀνειδίσωσιν ὑμᾶς ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ is supported by prophecy which referred originally to the root of Jesse. Both are partially paraphrased for sake of clearness. For ἐν ὀνόματι; _cf._ Mark 9:41, ἐν ὀνόματι ὅτι Χριστοῦ ἔστε. For the reproach _cf._ Hebrews 13:13, _let us come... [ Continue Reading ]
γάρ. I assume that you suffer in Christ's name as representing Him and bearing only the reproach which attaches to it _per se_. The crimes of which slanderers had accused Christians are given in the order of probability and are selected as belonging to the pattern. Christ Himself was implicitly accu... [ Continue Reading ]
εἰδὲ ὡς χριστιανὸς, _if one suffers as a follower of Christ, in the name of Christ_ (14). See on Acts 9:26 and Introduction. μὴ αἰσχυνέσθω echoes the saying, _Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and my words of him also the Son of Man shall be ashamed when He cometh in the glory_; so St. Paul says _I s... [ Continue Reading ]
That Judgment begins at the House of God is a deduction from the vision of Ezekiel 9. (_cf._ Ezekiel 7:4, _the_ καιρός _has come_); the slaughter of Israelites who are not marked with Tau, is ordained by the Glory of the God of Israel; the Lord said, ἀπὸ τῶν ἁγίων μου ἄρξασθε and the men began at (ἀ... [ Continue Reading ]
To the summary excerpt from Ezekiel Peter appends the Septuagint version of Proverbs 11:31, which is followed by the Syriac and partially by the Targum: The original according to the Masoretic text is _Behold_ or _if the righteous will be punished on the earth: how much more the wicked and the sinne... [ Continue Reading ]
_So let even those who suffer in accordance with the will of God with a faithful Creator deposit their souls in well-doing_. The Christian must still follow the pattern. It is God's will that he share Christ's sufferings in whatever degree; let him in this also copy Christ, who said, _Father into th... [ Continue Reading ]