CHAPTER 1

(A.D. 60)

INTRODUCTION

¹Peter (the name means rock, and is used metaphorically here to describe Peter as a man like a rock by reason of his firmness and strength of soul), an Apostle of Jesus Christ (presents the authoritative tone of this Epistle), to the strangers (strangers to Peter because he had not previously met them) scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (describes this Epistle being sent to Christian Jews who had settled in certain parts of the Roman Empire; however, it is also meant for the Gentiles),

²Elect (those who elect to favorably respond to the Call of the Holy Spirit, are the elect of God) according to the foreknowledge of God the Father (refers to God seeing ahead that He would have to send a Saviour to redeem man from the Fall; all who accept the Saviour are the elect), through Sanctification of the Spirit (elected to be Sanctified by the Holy Spirit), unto obedience and sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus Christ (pertains to the fact that the Holy Spirit Sanctifies us on the basis of the Finished Work of Christ, where our Faith must reside; as the Cross is everything concerning Salvation, it is also everything concerning Sanctification): Grace unto you, and Peace, be multiplied. (Both attributes come through the Cross, and will continue to multiply as long as our Faith is firmly anchored in the Cross of Christ.)

THANKSGIVING

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (we are to Bless God at all times because of what He has done for us through Jesus Christ), which according to His abundant Mercy (presents the fact that the Law and vengeance are no longer before us, but rather pure Mercy) has begotten us again unto a lively hope (proclaims the fact that we are transplanted from Adams heritage into the heritage of God) by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (this refers to us being raised with Christ to newness of life, which enables us to live a Holy Life [Rom. 6:3-5]),

⁴To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not away (we, as begotten Children of God, are Heirs of God and Joint-heirs with His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ [Rom. 8:17]), reserved in Heaven for you (carries the idea that God is guarding our inheritance for us under constant surveillance),

⁵Who are kept by the Power of God through Faith (refers to the Holy Spirit exerting His Power on our behalf, as our Faith is ever planted in the Cross [Rom. 6:5]) unto Salvat ion ready to be revealed in the last time (ready for the Rapture).

FAITH

⁶Wherein you greatly rejoice (refers to the time when this earthly sojourn will be finished, the Trump of God sounds, and we shall be changed [I Cor. 15:51-54]), though now for a season, if need be, you are in heaviness through manifold temptations (this life is the dress rehearsal for Eternity):

⁷That the trial of your Faith (all Faith is tested, and great Faith must be tested greatly), being much more precious than of gold that perishes (the emphasis is the testing of our Faith to show whether or not it is genuine; the Holy Spirit says such is more precious than the testing of gold, which is the most precious commodity in the world; is our Faith really in the Cross or not?), though it be tried with fire (the fire of temptation, trouble, etc.; such are meant to show the weakness), might be found unto Praise and Honour and Glory (which can only be done if the Cross of Christ is the sole Object of our Faith) at the appearing of Jesus Christ (we are being prepared by the Holy Spirit as fit subjects for the appearing of our Lord, as it regards the Rapture):

JOY UNSPEAKABLE

⁸Whom (Jesus Christ) having not seen, you love (we havent personally seen the Lord, but the Holy Spirit has made Him real to our hearts); in Whom, though now you see Him not, yet believing (proclaims total and complete Faith in Christ, though He has not been seen by the natural eyes, but Whom we shall one day see), you rejoice with Joy unspeakable and full of Glory (the intended state for every Believer, and which can be attained despite trials and afflictions if Faith is anchored firmly in the Cross):

⁹Receiving the end of your Faith, even the Salvation of your souls (refers to the coming Resurrection, when we will then be Glorified).

¹⁰Of which Salvation the Prophets have enquired and searched diligently (Old Testament Prophets carefully and diligently sought the meaning of the things they were prophesying as it concerned Christ and what He would do to redeem humanity [Gen. 49:10; Isa., Chpt. 53]), who Prophesied of the Grace that should come unto you (this Grace was not for their day, but for the coming dispensation, all made possible by the Cross):

¹¹Searching what (these men diligently searched their own Prophecies, and the Prophecies of other Prophets, so that they might know that of which was spoken), or what manner of time (what kind of time would usher in this particular unique Salvation? the time of Grace alone, which means the Law would be no more) the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify (whatever the Spirit of God did in Old Testament times, all pertained to Christ, without exception), when it testified beforehand the suf ferings of Christ (refers to the Message of the Old Testament, all given by the Holy Spirit, and all pointing to the coming Redemption of man, which would be brought about by the Cross of Christ), and the Glory that should follow. (This proclaims all the wonderful things made possible by the Sufferings of Christ.)

¹²Unto whom it was revealed (refers to the Church), that not unto themselves, but unto us they did Minister the things (proclaims the entirety of the Old Testament), which are now reported unto you by them who have Preached the Gospel unto you (refers to what Christ did at the Cross, which the Prophets predicted) with the Holy Spirit sent down from Heaven (the Holy Spirit verified what Christ did at the Cross by coming from Heaven in a new dimension, thereby abiding in the hearts and lives of Believers, and doing so permanently [Jn. 14:16-17]); which things the Angels desire to look into. (In other words, the Church is the University for Angels.)

HOLY LIVING

¹³Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind (in view of what the Lord has done for us, we should have a hopeful spirit of optimism), be sober, and hope to the end for the Grace that is to be brought unto you (actually speaks of the Glorification of the Saints) at the Revelation of Jesus Christ (refers to the coming Rapture of the Church);

¹⁴As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance (dont be ruled by the sin nature which ruled you before coming to Christ):

¹⁵But as He which has called you is Holy (God is Holy, so we are to be Holy as well), so be ye Holy in all manner of conversation (refers to lifestyle);

¹⁶Because it is written (Lev. 11:44), Be ye Holy; for I am Holy. (All of this can only be done in one way. Placing our Faith exclusively in the Cross of Christ gives the Holy Spirit latitude to help us, and He Alone can develop Holiness within our lives. It cannot be done by self-will, or by rules, regulations, etc.)

¹⁷And if you call on the Father (should have been translated, since you call on the Father), Who without respect of persons (says in the Greek, does not receive face; God does not receive anyones face; He is impartial) judges according to every mans work (God Alone is our Judge, not man; man can be fooled; God cannot!), pass the time of your sojourning here in fear (a fear of self-trust):

REDEMPTION

¹⁸Forasmuch as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold (presents the fact that the most precious commodities [silver and gold] could not redeem fallen man), from your vain conversation (vain lifestyle)received by tradition from your fathers (speaks of original sin that is passed on from father to child at conception);

THE CROSS

¹⁹But with the Precious Blood of Christ (presents the payment, which proclaims the poured out Life of Christ on behalf of sinners), as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot (speaks of the lambs offered as substitutes in the Old Jewish economy; the Death of Christ was not an execution or assassination, but rather a Sacrifice; the Offering of Himself presented a Perfect Sacrifice, for He was Perfect in every respect [Ex. 12:5]):

²⁰Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world (refers to the fact that God, in His Omniscience, knew He would create man, man would fall, and man would be redeemed by Christ going to the Cross; this was all done before the Universe was created; this means the Cross of Christ is the Foundation Doctrine of all Doctrine, referring to the fact that all Doctrine must be built upon that Foundation, or else it is specious), but was manifest in these last times for you (refers to the invisible God Who, in the Person of the Son, was made visible to human eyesight by assuming a human body and human limitations),

²¹Who by Him do believe in God (it is only by Christ and what He did for us at the Cross that we are able to Believe in God), Who raised Him (Christ) up from the dead (His Resurrection was guaranteed insomuch as He Atoned for all sin [Rom. 6:23]), and gave Him Glory (refers to the exaltation of Christ); that your Faith and Hope might be in God. (This speaks of a heart Faith in God, Who saves sinners in answer to our Faith in the Resurrected Lord Jesus Who died for us.)

²²Seeing you have purified your souls (in effect, says in the Greek, having purified your souls) in obeying the Truth (the great system of Truth respecting the Redemption of the world, which refers to the Cross) through the Spirit (everything is done through the Spirit) unto unfeigned love of the Brethren (refers to love which is not hypocritical), see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently (the God kind of love, which can only come about as the Believer anchors his Faith in the Cross, and does so exclusively):

²³Being born again, not of corruptible seed (refers to the fact that the Born-Again experience is not at all by virtue of any descent from human parents), but of incorruptible (which is the Lord Jesus Christ), by the Word of God, which lives and abides forever. (The story of the Bible is the story of mans Redemption, which is the story of the Cross.)

²⁴For all flesh is as grass (the Apostle is contrasting that which is begotten of God with that which is begotten by man [Isa. 40:6-8]), and all the glory of man as the flower of grass (refers to a very temporary glory). The grass withers, and the flower thereof falls away (considering that, our hopes had better be in the things of God, and not the things of man):

²⁵But the Word of the Lord endures forever (by contrast to that of man, which perishes quickly). And this is the Word which by the Gospel is preached unto you. (Preach the Cross, which brings Eternal dividends [I Cor. 1:21, 23; 2:2].)