1Pet 1:1
Πέτρος ἀπόστολος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐκλεκτοῖς παρεπιδήμοις διασπορᾶς Πόντου, Γαλατίας, Καππαδοκίας, Ἀσίας, καὶ Βιθυνίας,
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the elect foreigners, scattered of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia
Paraphrase: Peter, an apostle called and set apart for this work by our Savior and King, Jesus Christ. I am writing this letter to God’s chosen people, to those pilgrims (Hebrews 11:13) who are living in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.
Comments:
1Pet 1:2
κατὰ πρόγνωσιν θεοῦ πατρός, ἐν ἁγιασμῷ πνεύματος, εἰς ὑπακοὴν καὶ ῥαντισμὸν αἵματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ· χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη πληθυνθείη.
according to the foreknowledge of God, the Father, by sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ; grace to and peace be multiplied.
Paraphrase: To those whom God knew before all time and chose them to be His children and as a result of this have been baptized with the Spirit of God and so cleansed from every impurity (Acts 1:5; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Titus 3:5). To those who as as result of God’s love and choice have learned to submit to the lordship of King Jesus (2 Thessalonians 1:8) and have come under the sprinkling of His blood. (Numbers 19:18-19) May the grace and peace of God be richly multiplied to you.
Comments:
On πρόγνωσιν, see v20 and especially Shedd. Plumptre writes: “The word hovers between the meaning of a mere prevision of the future and the higher sense in which “knowing” means “loving” and “approving,” as in 1 Corinthians 8:3, Galatians 4:9, and probably Romans 8:29, 11:2.” source Denney translates it “those of whom God took knowledge from eternity.” source On foreknowledge, see Edwards and Storms.
1Pet 1:3
Εὐλογητὸς ὁ θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὁ κατὰ τὸ πολὺ αὐτοῦ ἔλεος ἀναγεννήσας ἡμᾶς εἰς ἐλπίδα ζῶσαν δι’ ἀναστάσεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐκ νεκρῶν,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to the greatness of His mercy, regenerating us to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Paraphrase: Praise be to the Great God and Father of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It was our Father’s abounding mercy which gave us a new birth into an entirely new kind of existence. We all remember the hopeless and futile life which we lived before we came to know Jesus. (1 Peter 1:18) Now, however, we live with hope and purpose. How did we receive this hope? It came to us as a result of our union with Jesus who died as an atoning sacrifice for us and was raised again by the power of God; and since we are joined to Christ in an indissoluble union, we died when He died and we rose out of the grave when He was raised. When we emerged out of that filthy grave, we were a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) and we were given the promise of a blessed future.
Comments:
1Pet 1:4
εἰς κληρονομίαν ἄφθαρτον καὶ ἀμίαντον καὶ ἀμάραντον, τετηρημένην ἐν οὐρανοῖς εἰς ὑμᾶς
into an inheritance, imperishable and uncorrupted being kept in the heavens for you.
Paraphrase: This future is like an inheritance which God gives to all His children. It is not something they earned or something they had to work for. It is just God’s gift which He freely bestows on those who are His adopted children. Furthermore, unlike gifts which we receive here, this inheritance is imperishable and never rots or decays. (Hebrews 12:27-28) God is always guarding it and keeping it ready for us so that when the day arrives, we may enter into it with joy and gladness.
Comments:
“From these examples it will appear that the dominant Biblical sense of ‘inheritance’ is the enjoyment by a rightful title of that which is not the fruit of personal exertion. The heir being what he is in relation to others enters upon a possession which corresponds with his position; but there is no necessary thought of succession to one who has passed away (yet see Matthew 21:38 and parallels; Luke 12:13). An inheritance, in other words, answers to a position of privilege and describes a blessing conferred with absolute validity; and an heir (κληρονόμος) is one who has authority to deal with, to administer, a portion, a possession (κλῆρος). source
1Pet 1:5
τοὺς ἐν δυνάμει θεοῦ φρουρουμένους διὰ πίστεως εἰς σωτηρίαν ἑτοίμην ἀποκαλυφθῆναι ἐν καιρῷ ἐσχάτῳ.
Those who by the power of God being guarded through faith to salvation ready to be revealed on the last time.
Paraphrase: Now you might wonder how we can ever be sure that we will enter into this inheritance when there are so many dangers that threaten us. Every day, Satan is working hard to lead us into sin and to drag us down to hell with him. How can we be sure that we will one day arrive at our eternal home and claim our inheritance? Well this is the truth; God’s mighty arm is stretched out over you to protect you from every enemy. No matter how severe the trial becomes or how sharp the persecution, God’s everlasting arms (Deuteronomy 33:27) never waver and never grow weary. (Isaiah 40:28) Furthermore, Jesus, the Glorious second Person of the Blessed Trinity is praying and interceding for you that your faith will not fail. (Luke 22:32) You can be sure of this; when that day arrives, your eyes will open upon a scene of unparalleled beauty and glory.
Comments:
τοὺς is anaphoric to ἡμᾶς in v3.
1Pet 1:6
ἐν ᾧ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε, ὀλίγον ἄρτι εἰ δέον λυπηθέντες ἐν ποικίλοις πειρασμοῖς,
in this you rejoice, although being necessary for a little while at this time being grieved in many trials
Paraphrase: I realize that it is difficult for you to think about this inheritance when you are up to your neck in suffering, but consider what I am calling you to do. Look up and see that the time is drawing near when you will lay claim to this inheritance and enter into its glory. When you think of this, you will be able to rejoice even in the face of all these painful experiences which you are having to endure. (2 Corinthians 6:10) God our Father has His own reasons why we must pass through these afflictions.
Comments:
δέον is a participle with a concessive nuance; see §437-438.
1Pet 1:7
ἵνα τὸ δοκίμιον ὑμῶν τῆς πίστεως πολυτιμότερον χρυσίου τοῦ ἀπολλυμένου διὰ πυρὸς δὲ δοκιμαζομένου εὑρεθῇ εἰς ἔπαινον καὶ δόξαν καὶ τιμὴν ἐν ἀποκαλύψει Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.
in order that the trial of your faith, more valuable than gold which decays, being tested through fire might then be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Paraphrase: One of these reasons is that by these trials, our faith is tested and shown to be genuine. You all have seen the goldsmith as he heats up his metal to extreme temperatures. By doing this, he is able to remove all that is not gold from the gold itself. In a similar way, our Father brings us into these difficult places to purify our faith and to give us clear evidence that our faith, which is many times more precious than even the purest gold, is genuine. Then when our Lord returns and shows Himself to be the Great King and Messiah, we will see His glory and honor and will fall at His feet and worship Him. If our faith were not genuine, we would be cast out of God’s presence into eternal punishment.
Comments:
1Pet 1:8
ὃν οὐκ ἰδόντες ἀγαπᾶτε, εἰς ὃν ἄρτι μὴ ὁρῶντες πιστεύοντες δὲ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε χαρᾷ ἀνεκλαλήτῳ καὶ δεδοξασμένῃ,
whom not seeing, you love, to whom although not now seeing, believing and you rejoice with joy unspeakable and glorious.
Paraphrase: It’s true that we can’t meet with our Savior face to face as we used to. For all that, however, we never stop loving him and looking for His return. We put our full confidence in Him and patiently wait for His appearing. This faith fills us with such confidence, that we are able, even here, to rejoice with great joy. It’s a joy that cannot be expressed in words; it’s a joy that delights in heaping glory and exaltation upon our Lord and Savior.
Comments:
“…a joy in believing on Him, which is better experienced than expressed; a joy that not only strangers intermeddle not with, know nothing of, which entirely passes their understanding, but is such as saints themselves cannot speak out, or give a full and distinct account of; they want words to express it, and convey proper ideas of it to others.” source
1Pet 1:9
κομιζόμενοι τὸ τέλος τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν σωτηρίαν ψυχῶν.
1Pet 1:10
Περὶ ἧς σωτηρίας ἐξεζήτησαν καὶ ἐξηραύνησαν προφῆται οἱ περὶ τῆς εἰς ὑμᾶς χάριτος προφητεύσαντες,
1Pet 1:11
ἐραυνῶντες εἰς τίνα ἢ ποῖον καιρὸν ἐδήλου τὸ ἐν αὐτοῖς πνεῦμα Χριστοῦ προμαρτυρόμενον τὰ εἰς Χριστὸν παθήματα καὶ τὰς μετὰ ταῦτα δόξας·
1Pet 1:12
οἷς ἀπεκαλύφθη ὅτι οὐχ ἑαυτοῖς ὑμῖν δὲ διηκόνουν αὐτά, ἃ νῦν ἀνηγγέλη ὑμῖν διὰ τῶν εὐαγγελισαμένων ὑμᾶς πνεύματι ἁγίῳ ἀποσταλέντι ἀπ’ οὐρανοῦ, εἰς ἃ ἐπιθυμοῦσιν ἄγγελοι παρακύψαι.
1Pet 1:13
Διὸ ἀναζωσάμενοι τὰς ὀσφύας τῆς διανοίας ὑμῶν, νήφοντες τελείως, ἐλπίσατε ἐπὶ τὴν φερομένην ὑμῖν χάριν ἐν ἀποκαλύψει Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.
1Pet 1:14
ὡς τέκνα ὑπακοῆς, μὴ συσχηματιζόμενοι ταῖς πρότερον ἐν τῇ ἀγνοίᾳ ὑμῶν ἐπιθυμίαις,
1Pet 1:15
ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸν καλέσαντα ὑμᾶς ἅγιον καὶ αὐτοὶ ἅγιοι ἐν πάσῃ ἀναστροφῇ γενήθητε,
1Pet 1:16
διότι γέγραπται ὅτι Ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε, ὅτι ἐγὼ ἅγιος.
1Pet 1:17
Καὶ εἰ πατέρα ἐπικαλεῖσθε τὸν ἀπροσωπολήμπτως κρίνοντα κατὰ τὸ ἑκάστου ἔργον, ἐν φόβῳ τὸν τῆς παροικίας ὑμῶν χρόνον ἀναστράφητε·
1Pet 1:18
εἰδότες ὅτι οὐ φθαρτοῖς, ἀργυρίῳ ἢ χρυσίῳ, ἐλυτρώθητε ἐκ τῆς ματαίας ὑμῶν ἀναστροφῆς πατροπαραδότου,
1Pet 1:19
ἀλλὰ τιμίῳ αἵματι ὡς ἀμνοῦ ἀμώμου καὶ ἀσπίλου Χριστοῦ,
1Pet 1:20
προεγνωσμένου μὲν πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου, φανερωθέντος δὲ ἐπ’ ἐσχάτου τῶν χρόνων δι’ ὑμᾶς
1Pet 1:21
τοὺς δι’ αὐτοῦ πιστοὺς εἰς θεὸν τὸν ἐγείραντα αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν καὶ δόξαν αὐτῷ δόντα, ὥστε τὴν πίστιν ὑμῶν καὶ ἐλπίδα εἶναι εἰς θεόν.
1Pet 1:22
Τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν ἡγνικότες ἐν τῇ ὑπακοῇ τῆς ἀληθείας εἰς φιλαδελφίαν ἀνυπόκριτον ἐκ καρδίας ἀλλήλους ἀγαπήσατε ἐκτενῶς,
1Pet 1:23
ἀναγεγεννημένοι οὐκ ἐκ σπορᾶς φθαρτῆς ἀλλὰ ἀφθάρτου, διὰ λόγου ζῶντος θεοῦ καὶ μένοντος·
1Pet 1:24
διότι πᾶσα σὰρξ ὡς χόρτος, καὶ πᾶσα δόξα αὐτῆς ὡς ἄνθος χόρτου· ἐξηράνθη ὁ χόρτος, καὶ τὸ ἄνθος ἐξέπεσεν·
1Pet 1:25
τὸ δὲ ῥῆμα κυρίου μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν τὸ ῥῆμα τὸ εὐαγγελισθὲν εἰς ὑμᾶς.