1 Peter 1:1-2 meaning

Peter, the author of this letter, calls himself an apostle of Jesus Christ (v. 1). An “apostle” means one who is sent out on a mission. In this context, Peter identifies himself as one of the 12 men Jesus, the Messiah, chose from a large group of His disciples giving them the name “apostle” (Luke 6:13). Peter was among the three apostles that enjoyed a special close relationship with Jesus. It was Peter, James, and John who personally witnessed Jesus raise Jairus’ daughter from the dead in Jairus’ house (Mark 5:37), the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain (Mark 9:2), and the intimate prayer of Jesus at Gethsemane (Mark 14:33).

During the earthly ministry of Christ, the apostle Peter certainly had his ups and downs in his walk with Jesus. He experienced the faith high of walking on water with Jesus (Matthew 14:29) and also the low of having denied knowing Jesus three times (Matthew 26:69-75). He experienced both the highest spiritual high and deepest low during a single day while with Jesus at Caesarea Philippi. When Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Jesus gave Peter a special commendation for his answer:

“Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven”
(Matthew 16:17).

It was not long after this that “Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day” (Matthew 16:21). Peter, thinking from a human point of view, “took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You’” (Matthew 16:22).

Jesus responded by giving Peter a stinging rebuke that he likely never forgot: “But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s’” (Matthew 16:23).

This might have been in the front of Peter’s mind as he wrote this letter exhorting his disciples to endure persecution and continue in faith. He knew the bitter disappointment that attends being unfaithful (Matthew 26:75).

Jesus taught His disciples to expect difficulty to follow if they live as fully devoted followers of Him (Matthew 16:24-25). Peter eventually learned this lesson and made it a key theme of this letter. Peter will present learning to walk in faith, apart from a fleshly viewpoint, as being “saved”—speaking of being saved from the adverse consequences of walking in the flesh.

It is likely that his past failure had such a deep impact on Peter’s life and ministry that it formed the very purpose for writing his first letter. He desires to pass along to his disciples the lessons he himself had learned. He desires them to learn from his own mistakes.

Being delivered from sin and the world through faithful obedience is the thread that ties the whole letter into a single theme. Peter states this in verse 9, “obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:9). In this verse, the “salvation” Peter refers to is for our souls or lives to be delivered from the loss of benefit and reward that comes from walking faithfully in obedience to God’s commands.

Peter writes this letter to those who reside as aliens (v. 2). This same Greek word translated as “aliens” is used to describe Abraham and others before him as those who walked by faith in God and were true citizens of heaven, living as exiles and sojourners in this world (Hebrews 11:13). Peter might have this spiritual application in mind for the Jewish exiles receiving this letter. But the recipients of this letter were also residing as physical exiles from Israel and were living as foreigners in other nations.

Peter is concerned about the believers in Christ who once lived in Jerusalem but because of persecution were scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, and Bithynia (v. 2). These cities and regions were in the Roman province of Asia, which is known as Turkey today. These were Roman cities, not a part of Israel. These believing Jews were once citizens of Israel but now are residing as immigrants, aliens.

These relocated believers are described as those who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father (vs. 1-2). The Greek word translated chosen is “eklektos” in Greek. It can also be translated “elect.” It is an adjective describing the position before God of the believers receiving this letter from Peter. They are fittingly described as being among those who are chosen by God. Their being chosen is due to their position of being in Christ. Once they believed, they have a position of being chosen in Christ that is not conditional on anything other than God’s grace in having chosen them.

This description of being chosen is then modified. Their being chosen is according to which means in conformity with the foreknowledge of God the Father. The Greek word translated as foreknowledge is “prognosis.” It occurs one other time in scripture:

“This Man [Jesus], delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge [“prognosis”] of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.” 
(Acts 2:23)

The foreknowledge of God the Father works together with His choosing, such that the believers to whom Peter writes are completely secure in Him. There is no hint here of uncertainty with respect to their position in Christ. It is secure because God the Father made it secure.

Thus, scripture indicates that it is a matter of God’s choice who is placed into His family through Christ. It is according to His foreknowledge. Our understanding of this foreknowledge must be consistent with other passages that assert that it is up to each person to decide whether to believe (John 3:14-15, Romans 10:17-18, 1 Corinthians 17:27).

This creates a paradox humans cannot reconcile: God knows, God chooses, but we decide. This is beyond our ability to comprehend, but that is consistent with God’s nature, which is outside of our capacity to understand (Romans 11:33-35). There is much we cannot explain. We cannot explain how Jesus can be fully man and also fully God, but He is. We cannot explain how God can be in the beginning as well as before the beginning, but He was. We cannot explain God because He is God, and we are His creation.

Upon reflection, this is what we should expect. God is God, and His ways are higher than our ways (Romans 11:33). If we could explain God and His ways, then we would be on His level. But we are not; God is God, not us. Further, we see the same kind of paradox all around us. The universe and world around us has a sense of inevitability. The earth turns each day whether we like it or not. The earth revolves around the sun each year and does not consult us, nor can we affect it. And yet the choice of humans observably alters the entire course of history.

Not only are these readers described as chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, they are also described as chosen by the sanctifying work of the Spirit (v. 2). The Greek word translated the sanctifying work is “hagiasmo.” It means to be unblemished, pure, set apart for special service. The Holy Spirit sets these readers apart as holy to the Lord: 

1. to obey Jesus Christ, and
2.           to be sprinkled with His Blood

The same Spirit sanctifies to both of these ends. Peter’s letter will primarily focus on the first ministry of the Spirit, that the Spirit leads us to obey Jesus Christ (v. 2). It is through the obedience of Jesus that we can overcome the temptations and false rewards of the world and instead gain the great rewards offered by Jesus (Revelation 3:21). This work of the Spirit is an ongoing work that requires our active participation each day. Our daily choice whether to walk in the Spirit or the flesh has immense consequences on our life experience (Galatians 5:16-17, 6:8-9).

The other ministry of the Holy Spirit which Peter mentions is to have received the gift of eternal life through believing in Christ. When we believe in Christ we are sprinkled with His Blood (v. 2). This means to be cleansed and forgiven by Christ’s work on the cross. The Jewish apostle Peter’s audience would likely be Jewish as well. The reference to Blood being sprinkled would probably bring to their mind the annual sacrifice on the most holy of all days, the Day of Atonement.

This ceremony was prescribed by God in the covenant law. On the Day of Atonement, the High Priest entered the Holy Place to sprinkle blood on the Mercy Seat of the ark in order to atone for sins committed in ignorance (Leviticus 16:11-19). This ceremony foreshadowed Jesus being offered as a one-time sacrifice for the sins of the world by dying on a cross (Hebrews 7:27, 9:7, 9:11-12).

This one-time sacrifice of Jesus is appropriated by any believer for all time simply by believing on Jesus (John 3:14-15). The Jewish recipients of this letter already had this gift, as Peter acknowledges by saying they are chosen, a description of their current position in Christ. This secures our positional relationship as a member of God’s family by God’s grace. But the blood of Jesus also does a sanctifying work to forgive us of sins to restore fellowship with God (1 John 1:7-9).

Peter’s letter will primarily focus on the sanctifying work of the Spirit to lead his readers to obedience to Christ and walk in intimate fellowship with Him. Peter understands the difficulty these suffering Christians will have to endure in order to make their lives count for eternity. So in this opening part of his letter he prays, May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure (v. 2).

The Greek word translated May grace is “charis.” “Charis” refers to favor. Sometimes “charis” is translated as “favor,” as in Luke 2:52, where Jesus grew in favor with both God and man. A key question in assessing “grace” or “favor” is to determine from context who is favoring who and for what reason. In this case, the inference is that Peter prays for God’s favor through the Holy Spirit for those to whom he writes. That Peter prays for this favor would indicate that the Holy Spirit chooses how to move and how to favor, including being influenced by the prayers of believers (James 5:16).

Peter also prays for their peace. This likely refers to the Jewish idea of “Shalom,” which is an all-encompassing idea of harmony according to God’s (good) design. Thus, Peter is praying that they will grow to be spiritually as well as physically whole. Peter desires that Shalom or peace be yours in the fullest measure. This implies that there is a result each of us can gain in terms of reaching human fulfillment. Peter prays that each one of his readers would gain the fullest measure. Peter does not want them to miss out on anything God has for them. It is reasonable to presume that in addition to Peter’s prayer to gain the fullest measure, his instructions in this letter will also lead to that end.

As we will see, to gain the fullest measure of benefit in this life will entail each person walking in obedience to Christ, enduring rejection and loss from the world in the process. However, as Peter learned, this is the great opportunity of life, and is more than worth it.