COMMENTARY ON FIRST PETER Vincent Cheung Copyright © 2006 by Vincent Cheung http://www.vincentcheung.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted without the prior permission of the author or publisher. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. 2 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 4 1 PETER 1:1-2 ................................................................................................................................................ 7 1 PETER 1:3-9 .............................................................................................................................................. 21 1 PETER 1:10-13 .......................................................................................................................................... 36 1 PETER 1:14-2:3 ........................................................................................................................................ 47 1 PETER 2:4-12 ............................................................................................................................................ 65 1 PETER 2:13-17 .......................................................................................................................................... 81 1 PETER 2:18-20 .......................................................................................................................................... 98 1 PETER 2:21-25 ........................................................................................................................................ 107 1 PETER 3:1-6 ............................................................................................................................................ 114 1 PETER 3:7 ............................................................................................................................................... 131 1 PETER 3:8-12 .......................................................................................................................................... 137 1 PETER 3:13-17 ........................................................................................................................................ 142 1 PETER 3:18-22 ........................................................................................................................................ 145 1 PETER 4:1-6 ............................................................................................................................................ 151 1 PETER 4:7-11 .......................................................................................................................................... 159 1 PETER 4:12-19 ........................................................................................................................................ 166 1 PETER 5:1-5A ......................................................................................................................................... 170 1 PETER 5:5B-11 ....................................................................................................................................... 174 1 PETER 5:12-14 ........................................................................................................................................ 178 3 INTRODUCTION Peter, originally a fisherman, was chosen by Christ to become one of the twelve apostles. He was eager, impetuous, and outspoken. At first his faith lacked substance and he overestimated his own devotion to Christ. When his master was arrested to be tried and crucified, he denied him three times out of fear, swearing that he did not even know the man. Afterward he was ashamed and wept bitterly. But Christ restored him, filled him with his Spirit, and he became a leading spokesman among the apostles. His life teaches us that our faithfulness to God is not something that is inherent in our personality, nor do we have the "free will" to simply decide to become loyal disciples. But our faithfulness to the Lord is itself a work of his sovereign grace, so that if we are faithful to him, it is not he who owes us, but it is we who owe him! There is no place for boasting, but only for praise and gratitude. He identifies himself as the author of First Peter (1:1), and states that he writes from Babylon (5:13), which is most likely a cryptic name for Rome. There is some discussion about the role of Silas in the writing of this letter (5:12), as to whether he is merely its bearer, or whether he has a hand in polishing the language, or if he is even the one who puts Peter's thoughts into words. Although this is a matter of interest, it does not disturb the fact of Peter's authorship, that this letter come from divine inspiration through the apostle and that it is sent with his approval. Commentaries offer arguments dating this letter to some time between AD 60-68, and even 63-64. While I am in substantial agreement with these arguments, there is one that I find problematic. Although it is unimportant to identify the precise year in which the letter was written, since this argument has to do with how one interprets a significant passage in the letter, it is worth a mention. In July of AD 64, a great fire broke out in Rome that destroyed numerous buildings and left many of its citizens homeless. When suspicion fell on the Emperor Nero, he diverted the rage of the populace by placing the blame on the Christians, who for some time had been preaching that the world would one day be judged and perish in fire. It was not too difficult for Nero to distort the teaching and then slander the Christians with it. Some scholars find it impossible to reconcile the deadly persecution that followed with the admonition in 1 Peter 2:13-17 that believers are to submit under "every authority instituted among men" and to "honor the king." This is given as a strong reason for dating the letter to some time before the great persecution under Nero, so that it must have been written before the great fire in AD 64. But the argument is defective, so that even if the letter was written in or before AD 64, the above should not be considered a compelling reason to adopt the date. One of Peter's main points in the letter is that Christians should disprove the slanders against them by their good 4 behavior. And so the admonition to submit under the government is precisely what we should expect, as it is also consistent with what the New Testament teaches elsewhere (Romans 13:1-7). Except in cases where the Christian must choose between God or man, he is to be a law-abiding person of the land in which he resides. As for the intended audience, Peter addresses his letter to "God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia." The locations named here cover most of Asia Minor, or modern Turkey. The words translated "strangers in the world, scattered…" is better rendered in the HCSB as "temporary residents of the Dispersion." The term "Dispersion" (diasporas) typically referred to Jews scattered throughout Gentile territories, and for this reason, some are convinced that the letter's primary readers were Jewish. However, it could be that Peter is applying to the Christians a term that was previously reserved for Jews. This is entirely in accord with New Testament doctrine (Galatians 6:16). Contrary to some, neither is the abundance of quotations from the Old Testament evidence that the intended readers were mainly Jewish, as if Gentiles were not expected to respect or have any knowledge of the Old Testament even through they were Christians. On the other hand, a verse like 1 Peter 2:10 strongly indicates Gentile readership: "Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." This is an allusion to the words of Hosea, which Paul quotes and applies to the salvation of Gentiles in Romans 9:23-26: What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory – even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? As he says in Hosea: "I will call them 'my people' who are not my people; and I will call her 'my loved one' who is not my loved one," [Hosea 2:23] and, "It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God.'" [Hosea 1:10] It is to these people that Peter writes, "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul" (2:11). Whether Jew or Gentile, all Christians are in one sense "strangers in the world," having been regenerated, and called out of the false thinking and wicked practices of the unbelievers. But because of this and other verses (1:18, 4:3), some even contend that the letter was written to mainly Gentile readers. After weighing the various arguments, I am content to agree with those who conclude that the letter was intended for a mixed audience, consisting of both Jews and Gentiles. At any rate, the most important point is that the letter is for "God's elect…who have been chosen