New Testament

1 Peter

First Peter is a letter of hope to believers scattered across Asia Minor who were suffering slander and hostility for their faith. Peter tells them who they are, a people born again to a living hope through Christ's resurrection, God's own chosen people, and how to live as exiles: doing good, submitting where they can, and following Christ's pattern of suffering before glory. It belongs in the Bible because it teaches the church how to endure unjust suffering without bitterness, by looking to the suffering and risen Christ.

Author: Peter, 'an apostle of Jesus Christ' (1:1), who calls himself a witness of Christ's sufferings (5:1) and wrote 'through Silvanus' (5:12), who may have helped compose or simply carried the letter. Some scholars think its fine Greek points to a later follower writing in Peter's name, while others credit Silvanus's help and accept Peter as the author.
Audience: 'The elect who are exiles of the Dispersion' in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia (1:1), regions of what is now Turkey. Their former ignorance and empty way of life inherited from their forefathers (1:14, 1:18; 4:3–4) suggest many were Gentile converts.
When: If written by Peter, in the early to mid 60s, before his death in Rome under Nero, as early tradition reports. Scholars who doubt his authorship place it later, often between AD 70 and 90.
Where: From 'Babylon' (5:13), most likely a code name for Rome, as in Revelation. Mark is with Peter there (5:13).
Genre: First Peter is a circular letter meant to be read in many churches. It is rich in Old Testament quotation and allusion, especially Isaiah, the Psalms and the Exodus story, and it mixes teaching with exhortation. Read it as pastoral encouragement to a minority community: every command is tied to an identity and a hope, and the household instructions (2:13–3:7) address people living in a society that suspected them.

Shape of the book

A Living Hope and a Holy People · ch 1God has given believers new birth into a living hope through Christ's resurrection, redeemed them with the precious blood of Christ, and calls them to be holy as He is holy.
Living Stones and Good Conduct Among Outsiders · ch 2–3Believers are built on Christ the living stone into God's people and priesthood, and are called to honorable conduct toward rulers, masters, spouses and neighbors, following Christ who suffered unjustly and who triumphed through death and resurrection.
Suffering as a Christian · ch 4Since Christ suffered in the body, believers arm themselves with the same mind, use their gifts for one another, and are not surprised by fiery trials but rejoice to share Christ's sufferings.
Shepherds, Humility and Standing Firm · ch 5Elders are to shepherd God's flock willingly under the Chief Shepherd, all are to clothe themselves with humility and resist the devil, and Peter closes with greetings from Babylon.

Themes

Exiles With a Living Hope. Peter calls believers foreigners and exiles (, ; ). They belong to God and to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading (), so they do not fully belong to the society around them. Their hope is living because Christ is risen ().
Suffering Then Glory. The prophets foretold 'the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow' (), and that pattern shapes the whole letter. Believers share Christ's sufferings now and will rejoice when His glory is revealed (). Suffering for doing good is commendable before God (), while suffering for wrongdoing is not ().
God's Chosen People. Peter applies Israel's titles from and to the church: a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession (). Those who were once not a people are now the people of God (; ; ).
Doing Good Under Pressure. Believers are to live so honorably that slanderers see their good deeds (), to submit for the Lord's sake to human institutions (), and to answer accusers with gentleness and respect (). Interpreters differ on how the household instructions apply today, but they are framed as witness, not as approval of every social arrangement.
Holiness and Love. God's call to be holy as He is holy () is joined to a call to love one another deeply from a pure heart (; ). Love covers a multitude of sins (), and gifts are to be used to serve one another as stewards of God's grace ().

Where Christ is

First Peter is centered on the suffering, death, resurrection and coming revelation of Jesus Christ. Peter reads , and as fulfilled in Him, and presents Christ both as the substitute who bore our sins and as the example His followers walk after. He is the Chief Shepherd who will appear ().

The Suffering Servant. Fulfillment. In 2:22–25 Peter weaves the words of into his account of the cross: He committed no sin, He bore our sins in His body on the tree, by His stripes you are healed, you were like sheep going astray. Christ's suffering is both substitution for sin and a pattern for believers. (; ; )
The Lamb Without Blemish. Type and fulfillment. Believers were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot (), recalling the Passover lamb of and the sacrifices of the law. Like Israel, they are redeemed in order to be a holy people. (; ; )
The Living Stone. Fulfillment. Peter gathers three Old Testament stone texts: the chosen cornerstone laid in Zion (), the stone the builders rejected (), and the stone of stumbling (). Christ is that stone, and believers are living stones built on Him (). (; ; ; )
The Spirit of Christ in the Prophets. Promise. Peter says the Spirit of Christ in the prophets predicted His sufferings and the glories to follow (), a direct statement that the Old Testament prophets spoke of Christ. (; ; )
Noah, the Flood and Baptism. Type. Eight people were brought safely through water in Noah's ark, and Peter says this prefigures the baptism that now saves, not by washing the body but as the pledge of a good conscience toward God, through Christ's resurrection (). (; ; )

Voices

Martin Luther. In his 1522 preface to the New Testament he ranked 1 Peter with John's Gospel and Paul's letters, especially Romans, among the books that show Christ most clearly and teach what is needed for salvation. More from Luther at CCEL ↗
Augustine. In a letter on the passage he proposed, with some caution, that describes Christ preaching by the Spirit through Noah to the people of Noah's day, who are now in prison, rather than a preaching to the dead in Hades. More from Augustine at CCEL ↗

Reading well, key terms and common misreadings

Read it well

Read it against Isaiah 40–53 and Exodus 19. Many of Peter's key phrases come from those chapters.
Keep the situation in view: the readers face slander and social hostility rather than empire-wide legal persecution, so the letter is about living faithfully as a suspected minority.
Follow the pairing of suffering and glory through the letter, from 1:11 to 5:10.
On the hard passage in 3:18–22, read slowly and hold views humbly. The main point is clear even where the details are debated: Christ suffered, was raised, and now reigns over all powers.

Key terms

Exile, sojourner παρεπίδημος / πάροικος (parepidēmos / paroikos) — A temporary resident or foreigner without full belonging. Peter uses these words for believers (1:1; 2:11), whose true home is with God.
Living hope ἐλπὶς ζῶσα (elpis zōsa) — Not wishful thinking but confident expectation grounded in Christ's resurrection (1:3, 1:21).
Submit ὑποτάσσω (hypotassō) — To place oneself under an ordered arrangement. Peter uses it for believers toward governing authorities, servants toward masters and wives toward husbands (2:13, 2:18; 3:1), always 'for the Lord's sake' (2:13).
Grace χάρις (charis) — God's undeserved favor. Peter calls his letter testimony to 'the true grace of God' (5:12), and believers are stewards of God's varied grace (4:10).
Revelation, appearing ἀποκάλυψις (apokalypsis) — The unveiling of Jesus Christ at His coming (1:7, 1:13; 4:13), the moment when present suffering gives way to praise and glory.

Easy to misread

Reading 3:19–20, Christ preaching to the spirits in prison, as a clear doctrine of a second chance after death. Interpreters differ: Augustine and others take it as Christ preaching through Noah in Noah's day; many modern scholars read it as Christ announcing His victory to fallen spirits; others see a descent to the realm of the dead. None of these is the main point, which is Christ's triumph over every power (3:22).
Reading 3:21 as teaching that the water of baptism saves automatically. Peter explicitly denies that baptism saves by removing dirt from the body, and grounds it in a pledge toward God and in Christ's resurrection. Traditions understand baptism's role differently, but all can agree Peter points beyond the outward washing.
Using the household instructions to demand silent acceptance of abuse. Peter's goal is witness and trust in God who judges justly (2:23); he also calls husbands to honor their wives as co-heirs of the gracious gift of life (3:7). The letter teaches enduring unjust suffering, not approving injustice.
Assuming all suffering is a sign of God's anger. Peter says believers should not be surprised by fiery trials as if something strange were happening (4:12); sharing Christ's sufferings is part of following Him.

Further reading: David Guzik, Enduring Word · Matthew Henry on CCEL · BibleProject overview video