1 From Peter, apostle of Jesus Christ, to all those living as aliens in the Dispersion, in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithy nia,
2 to those whom God the Father has called, according to his plan, and made holy by the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be purified by his blood: may grace and peace in crease among you.
You have been saved
3 Let us praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for his great mercy. In raising Jesus Christ from the dead he has given us new life and a living hope.
4 The inheritance that does not corrupt nor goes bad nor passes away was reserved to you in heavens,
5 since God’s power shall keep you faithful until salvation is revealed in the last days.
6 There is cause for joy, then, even though you may, for a time, have to suffer many trials.
7 Thus will your faith be tested, like gold in a furnace. Gold, however, passes away but faith, worth so much more, will bring you in the end praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ appears.
8 You have not yet seen him and yet you love him; even without seeing him, you believe in him and experience a heavenly joy beyond all words,
9 for you are reaching the goal of your faith: the salvation of your souls.
10 This was the salvation for which the prophets so eagerly looked when, in days past, they foretold the favor of God with regard to you.
11 But they could only investigate when the Spirit of Christ present within them pointed out the time and the circumstances of this – the sufferings of Christ and the glories which would follow.
12 It was revealed to them that they were working not for themselves but for you. Thus, in these days, after the Holy Spirit has been sent from heaven, the Gospel’s preachers have taught you these mysteries which even the angels long to see.
Be holy
13 So, then, let your spirit be ready. Be alert, with confident trust in the grace you will receive when Jesus Christ appears.
14 Like obedient children, do not return to your former life given over to ignorance and passions.
15 Imitate the one who called you. As he is holy so you, too, be holy in all your conduct,
16 since Scripture says: Be holy for I am holy.
17 You call upon a Father who makes no distinction between persons but judges according to each one’s deeds; take seriously, then, these years which you spend in a strange land.
18 Remember that you were freed from the useless way of life of your ancestors, not with gold and silver
19 but with the precious blood of the Lamb without spot or blemish.
20 God, who has known Christ before the world began, revealed him to you in the last days.
21 Through him, you have faith in God who raised him from the dead and glorified him in order that you might put all your faith and hope in God.
22 In obeying the truth, you have gained interior puri fication from which comes sincere mutual love. Love one another, then, with all your heart,
23 since you are born again, not from mortal beings, but with enduring life, through the Word of God who lives and remains forever.
24 It is written: All flesh is grass and its glory like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flower falls,
25 but the Word of the Lord endures forever. This Word is the Gospel which has been brought to you.
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Comments Letter of Peter 1, Chapter 1
• 1.1 Notice the greeting, “in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” which is the same as Paul’s greetings.
This passage could be the preaching of a leader of a Christian community, addressed to adults who have just been baptized. In those days people were more preoccupied than they are now about their salvation after death. To those being baptized, the apostles spoke of the inheritance of God which was reserved for them and had been won by Christ in his resur rection: Beyond death, sin and all fleeting things (v. 4).
The newly baptized knew that their Christian faith was threatened and persecuted. To ask for baptism meant to commit oneself to Christ until death.
You have not yet seen him… (v. 8). Hope, love for Christ: the three virtues (or powers) urging Christians, go together. Christ came to glory through suffering. The Christian follows the same path and already knows true joy in the midst of trials.
• 13. The logical consequences of baptism are developed. We cannot go backward; giving in to the evils of the world would mean going back to the slavery from which Christ delivered us through his blood.
Verses 22-25: here we recognize this being born anew, being born from above, which Jesus tells Nicodemus in John 3:9.
What follows is a call to live perfectly: not attached to the things of the present, but ea ger to live a useful and holy life before God, in proportion to what we have cost him.