1 Peter
Peter the Apostle writes Christian believers in five provinces in Asia Minor. Peter urges them to bravely face their persecution, and to be holy.
RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize
SUMMARY
AUTHOR. The first verse of the Letter clearly identifies the author as “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.”
Until relatively recent times the authenticity of the Letter’s claim to be authored by Peter went unchallenged. Then some modern scholars noted that the religious leaders of the day called him “unschooled” and “ordinary.”
But 1 Peter was almost certainly written by a master of the Greek language. It exemplifies superb literary style and sophisticated use of vocabulary.
However, calling Peter “unschooled” did not mean he was illiterate. Rather, it meant he had not been trained at a rabbinic school.
Plus, those very same religious leaders were astonished by Peter’s confidence and the power of his Spirit-controlled personality.
Peter’s public ministry spanned more than 30 years and took him from Jerusalem to Rome. He lived and preached in a multilingual world
It is reasonable to believe that after three decades Peter could have mastered the language of the majority of those to whom he ministered.
RECIPIENTS. Christian believers in five provinces in Asia Minor. That area today is northern Turkey.
The majority would have been Gentile Christians. A few would have been Christian Jewish believers.
PLACE AND DATE. Peter wrote this epistle apparently just before or shortly after the beginning of Nero’s persecution of the church in 64 AD.
PURPOSE. This Letter can be viewed as a handbook written for ambassadors to a hostile foreign land.
Believers were being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. Peter urges them to stand fast in the midst of that persecution, and to be holy.
OUTLINE
GREETING
CHOSEN FOR NEW BIRTH
1 Peter 1:3-12. Born-again to a living hope
1 Peter 1:13-17. Called to be holy
1 Peter 1:18-25. Our lives are all about Jesus Christ
1 Peter 2:1-3. Long for the pure spiritual milk of the Bible
1 Peter 2:4-8. Jesus Christ is the Rock Foundation
1 Peter 2:9-10. From Jesus Christ we get our calling
LIVING AS DISCIPLES
1 Peter 2:11-17. Conduct yourself honorably
1 Peter 2:18-25. Slaves who are Christian believers
1 Peter 3:1-6. How a wife can convert her husband
1 Peter 3:7. How a husband can love his wife
1 Peter 3:13-17. The Ministry of Apologetics
1 Peter 3:18-22. Jesus Christ suffered for our sins
1 Peter 4:1-6. Restrain your desires for sin
1 Peter 4:7-10. Love other people zealously
1 Peter 4:11. Exercise your gifts of the Holy Spirit
1 Peter 4:12-19. Endure your trial by fire
LIVING AS A COMMUNITY
1 Peter 5:1-4. Advice to elders
1 Peter 5:5-9. Advice to the community
1 Peter 5:10-11. Restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish
CONCLUSION
MEMORIZE
1 Peter 1:18. knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers,
1 Peter 1:19. but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish or spot, the blood of Christ,
1 Peter 1:24. For, “All flesh is like grass, and all of man’s glory like the flower in the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls;
1 Peter 1:25. but the Lord’s word endures forever.” This is the word of Good News which was preached to you.
1 Peter 2:9. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
1 Peter 2:11. Beloved, I beg you as foreigners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
1 Peter 3:18. Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit,
1 Peter 4:7. But the end of all things is near. Therefore be of sound mind, self-controlled, and sober in prayer.
1 Peter 4:11. If anyone speaks, let it be as it were the very words of God. If anyone serves, let it be as of the strength which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 5:5. Likewise, you younger ones, be subject to the elder. Yes, all of you clothe yourselves with humility, to subject yourselves to one another; for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
1 Peter 5:6. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time,
1 Peter 5:7. casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:8. Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Great verses to memorize from the entire Bible
1 PETER
RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize
Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.