1 Peter 5:12-14

By Silvanus, a faithful brother, unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand. V.13. The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus, my son. V.14. Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen.

The apostle now adds some personal remarks: Through Silvanus, a faithful brother in my opinion, I have written to you briefly, admonishing and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you are standing.

Silvanus, or Silas, the companion of the Apostle Paul on his second missionary journey, was a valued assistant in the missionary work of the early Church, personally known, moreover, to many of the readers of this letter. Not only Paul, but also Peter considered him a faithful brother in Christ. The letter, as the apostle here remarks, is only brief, but it certainly contains enough of admonition and of testimony to convince any believer that his faith in the grace of God, as assured to him in the Gospel-message, was not an imaginary, futile thing, but was a solid foundation, on which he might well continue to stand.

In conclusion, St. Peter writes: The congregation at Babylon, elected together with you, greets you and Mark, my son. With the common personification of the Church as we find it in the early letters, the apostle says, literally, that she who is elected together with you in Babylon (Rome) salutes yon. The members of the congregation at Rome were elected and called by the same Lord, in the same manner as those in Asia Minor. They were therefore united by the bonds of the same faith and hope and love, hence the brotherly greeting.

Mark was Peter's spiritual son, standing about in the same relation to this apostle as Timothy did to Paul.

The apostle, in closing, bids the members of the congregations greet one another with the kiss of love, a custom which was observed for a number of centuries at a certain point in the communion service, the men saluting the men and the women the women. His very last word is that peace, true peace, based upon the love of God in Christ Jesus, on the reconciliation earned through His obedience, might be with them all. Christ is our Peace: with this thought we may well close this letter and with it close our eyes in death.

Summary. The apostle exhorts the pastors to be faithful in their oversight of the Lord's flock, admonishes all Christians to show humility, vigilance, and steadfastness in resisting the devil, and closes with greetings and a benediction.