1 Peter 1-25
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Praise to God for a Living Hope
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
Be Holy
13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For,
“All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
And this is the word that was preached to you.
Peter, as tough as it is, is encouraging his readers with Grace and abundance in their time of their personal suffering...He tells them to find joy in their trials, as these trials serve a greater purpose...He says that trials are temporary...While suffering can be difficult, it is short-lived compared to the rewards of an Eternal Life...Our trials refine our faith...Just as gold is purified through fire, trials strengthen faith, making it more valuable and genuine...And our faith leads to glory...The ultimate outcome of enduring trials with faith is a glorious reward and the salvation of one's soul...Our trials show love and faith without us seeing Jesus...Even without physically seeing Jesus, believers can love and trust Him deeply...Because Peter (and the other original disciples) was an actual eyewitness of three years to His Majesty...
Paul also frequently addressed the topic of suffering in his epistles, offering hope and perspective to followers of Jesus...Paul saw suffering as a path to glory...Paul often compared Christian suffering to the sufferings of Christ on the Cross...He believed that sharing in Christ's suffering was a necessary part of sharing in His glory (Romans 8:17-18)...Paul also thought like Peter that their is a temporary nature of one's suffering and trials, when living a Spiritual Life...Paul emphasized that earthly sufferings are temporary compared to the eternal weight of glory that awaits believers (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)...He thought suffering was a means to strengthen character development...Paul saw suffering as an opportunity for Spiritual Growth and resilience (Romans 5:3-5)...Paul saw hope in the midst of one's suffering...Despite the challenges of suffering, Paul encouraged believers to maintain hope in God's promises and His Ultimate Plan (Romans 8:28)...And Paul was one who suffered many times during his teachings about Jesus and put in jail several times because of this...
Both Peter and Paul believe in the Resurrection of Jesus...They both talked about His Resurrection from death...Peter had seen Jesus several times after His death...Jesus had walked with two of His followers on the Road to Emmaus...These two after being with Jesus, found the Eleven Disciples and those with them, assembled together and the Eleven said, “It is true!...The LORD has risen and has appeared to Simon.”...Then the two apostles from the Road to Emmaus told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when He broke the bread with them...
Paul had seen Jesus on the Road to Damascus...Paul even went so far as to tell the Corinthians in his epistle that: For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve...After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep...Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all He appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born...For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God...But by the Grace of God I am what I am, and His Grace to me was not without effect...No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the Grace of God that was with me...Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed...
In essence, Peter and Paul are offering hope and and a different perspective to believers who are facing challenges, trials, and sufferings...And this is all because of their belief and faith and hope in the Living Jesus...They emphasize that their current suffering of followers of Jesus is not in vain, but rather a crucial step towards the Greater Reward of Eternal Life...Just as Jesus lives Eternally, we can live Eternally by having faith in Him and the God who sent Him...