Excerpt from 1 Peter By Howard I. Marshall The IVP New Testament Commentary Series

 

 

1 Peter

I. Howard Marshall

Grant R. Osborne

series editor

D. Stuart Briscoe

Haddon Robinson 

Consulting editors

Outline of 1 Peter

1:1–2 Opening Greeting

1:3–12 Thanksgiving

1:13–2:10 The Basic Characteristics of Christian Living

1:13–21 Hope and Obedience

1:22–2:3 Love and Purity

2:4–10 The Spiritual House and the Chosen People

2:11–3:12 Social Conduct

2:11–12 Strangers in the World

2:13–17 The Ruling Authorities

2:18–20 Slaves and Their Masters

2:21–25 The Basis for Christian Living

3:1–7 Wives and Husbands

3:8–12 General Instructions

3:13–5:11 The Christian Attitude toward Hostility

3:13–17 The Blessings and Opportunities of the Persecuted

3:18–22 The Significance of Christ’s Victory

4:1–6 Maintaining a Christian Lifestyle

4:7–11 The Life of the Christian Congregation

4:12–19 Suffering, Joy and Judgment

5:1–5 Leadership in the Church

5:6–11 Concluding Practical Advice and Encouragement

5:12–14 Closing Greetings

COMMENTARY

☐ Opening Greeting (1:1–2)

My sister used to receive letters from her friend Bob in the local Youth for Christ group that invariably began in this sort of way: “Dear Margaret, Greetings in the name of our risen and wonderful Lord.” The exuberance of the language sometimes caused us a little amusement, but Bob was actually doing just what the first Christians did. They began their letters with a greeting that followed the pattern found in Jewish letters of the time but with a distinctive Christian flavor. The greeting had three basic parts: (1) the naming of the sender, (2) the naming of the recipient or recipients, and (3) an expression of good wishes. In each part the Christian character of the writing was quite obvious, and so it is here.

The Sender (1:1) The first person ever to have the name Peter may well have been Simon, the brother of Andrew and one of the first disciples. Jesus gave him the Aramaic name Cephas, which means “rock,” but he came to be generally known in the church by the corresponding Greek word Petros.

By identifying himself as an apostle, Peter gives his credentials and authority to write a letter which will convey the promises and commands that God has given to him for his people. He has been personally commissioned by Jesus Christ as a missionary, and this carries with it authority to convey his message to the church. Although, therefore, this letter is a human composition, its message ultimately comes from God and is inspired by the Spirit (1:11).

The Recipients (1:1–2)* The readers are identified at some length in a way which specifically characterizes them as Christians and sets the tone for the rest of the letter. These Christians lived in the Roman provinces which occupied the area of modern Turkey. They were a set of scattered groups and perhaps isolated individuals in a wide territory. In this respect they resembled the many Jews who lived in small communities scattered throughout the ancient world, and Peter’s wording deliberately echoes the self-description of the Jews as the scattered people outside their homeland.

1 Peter By Marshall, I. Howard  The IVP New Testament Commentary Series

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