In First Peter 1:1 the apostle Peter addresses his letter to those “living as exiles,” (CSB). The Greek word means to reside temporarily not just pass through. The word is only used three times in the New Testament 1 Pe. 1:1; 1 Pe. 2:11; and Heb. 11:13. Paul told the Philippians that “our citizenship is in heaven.” Peter is saying essentially the same thing. People from a foreign country residing next door to us might dress differently, eat differently, and act differently. And that’s the problem these Christians were having in the first century. Overnight they have become what seems to their neighbors to be foreigners. They no longer worshipped many gods but only one God, therefore, they were seen as atheists. Their ethical and moral values had changed to the extent that they seemed to be antisocial. They didn’t go to the same places or do the same things that they used to. They wouldn’t take part in the local festivals or go to the sporting events that honored one of the many gods that were worshipped. Nor would they worship the emperor. They must be punished. Peter writes this first letter to encourage his readers to stay tough and persevere through the persecution, trials, and tribulations they faced. You may have noticed that several other New Testament letters encourage believers to persevere. Just think about Hebrews, James and in a few weeks the book of Revelation.
Persecution of Christians in this area continued into the second century. The Governor of Bithynia in the early part of the second century was a Roman aristocrat known as Pliny the Younger. His Roman name was Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus. Much has been learned from some 247 letters he wrote that have survived. One of particular interest was written to the emperor Trajan concerning what should be done with people in his province that are reported to be Christians. It’s in his Book 10 letter number 96. It’s written in Latin but there is an English translation available on the Internet at https://vroma.org/vromans/hwalker/Pliny/Pliny10-096-E.html It is worth your time to read to get some idea of what Christians faced in the Roman Provinces. Persecution in Rome after the fire in A.D. 64 was even more serious. There is a historical fiction book in the Church Library by historian Paul Maier titled Flames of Rome that covers what Christians faced in Rome at this time. Even with the persecution that Peter is concerned with in his first letter and the persecution in the second century under Trajan, many Christians remained true to the Gospel and by the early A.D. 300’s Christianity was a major religion in this same area.
Note First Peter 2:9-10. The CSB has most of verse 9 in bold print indicating a quote from the Old Testament, the NASB uses all capital letters for the same purpose while most English translations just use cross references to note the Old Testament use. Peter is saying that Gentile believers in Christ are now part of the people of God. Gentiles have been grafted in as Paul says in Rom. 11:17.
A passage that is much debated is 1 Pet. 3:19. Study Bibles can be a big help when you read a verse such as this and wonder what in the world does this mean? The CSB and ESV Study Bibles have good discussions on this verse. The ESVSB has a little more information and is available in the Church library. Christians that have a background in other denominations will probably be familiar with the Apostle’s Creed. The version that most will be familiar with states that after Christ died He descended into hell. This is one of the verses used to support that statement.
Second Peter is quite different from First Peter. In Second Peter, Peter will discuss how Christians ought to live in holiness and love, but he will also warn of false teachers that will come among them. Craig Blomberg states, “One main doctrinal error emerges in each of the three chapters of 2 Peter, each of which appears to derive from the errorists’ denial of Christ’s return (or at least of a cataclysmic divine intervention accompanying it): the denial of the inspiration of Scripture (refuted in 1:16–21), the denial of basic Christian morality (attacked in 2:1–22), and the denial of final judgment (rebutted in 3:1–10).”[1]
[1] Blomberg, Craig L., Darlene M. Seal, and Alicia M. Duprée. 2021. From Pentecost to Patmos: Acts To Revelation. Second Edition. Vol. 2. New Testament Introduction and Survey. London: Apollos.703
