1 Peter 1 explained: A Living Hope for Outsiders

Greeting to the scattered (vv. 1-2)

Peter writes to believers spread across what is now Turkey and calls them exiles, which some read literally as people living far from their homeland and others as believers who now feel like outsiders because of their faith. Being sprinkled with blood recalls Moses sprinkling sacrificial blood to seal God's agreement with Israel, so it pictures belonging to God through Jesus' death.

A hope that cannot spoil (vv. 3-9)

Because Jesus rose from the dead, Peter says believers are born into a new life and promised an inheritance that, unlike land or money, cannot rot, be stained or fade. Their present hardships are compared to fire that tests gold, showing their trust to be genuine.

What the prophets longed to see (vv. 10-12)

Peter says earlier prophets foretold a Messiah who would suffer and then be honored, and searched hard to learn when and how it would happen. They were told they were serving later generations, and even angels long to understand these things.

A call to be holy (vv. 13-16)

The older phrase, girding up the loins of your mind, comes from tucking up a long robe so you can move quickly, so it means be alert and ready. Peter quotes the law of Moses: God is holy, meaning set apart and good, and his people should be set apart in how they live.

Bought back at great cost (vv. 17-21)

Redeemed was the word for paying to free a slave or captive, and Peter says the price was not silver or gold but Christ's blood, like a flawless lamb offered in sacrifice. Many scholars think calling their inherited way of life empty suggests most readers came from non-Jewish backgrounds, though others read the letter as written mainly to Jewish believers.

Love rooted in a lasting word (vv. 22-25)

Peter urges deep, sincere love among believers, since their new life comes from God's word, which does not die. He quotes the prophet Isaiah: people fade like grass and flowers, but the word of the Lord lasts forever.

Key verse: 1 Peter 1:3

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on whether being chosen according to God's foreknowledge means God decided in advance by his own choice who would be his, or chose them knowing ahead of time who would come to trust him.

Something to think about

What do you rely on that could not be taken from you if everything else fell apart?