Sermon & translation by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church Manhattan KS, 10 May 2015
1:1 From Peter, Jesus Christ’s apostle.
To elect pilgrims scattered at Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
1:2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the holiness of
the Spirit
toward the goal of obedience and sprinkling of Jesus Christ’s blood,
grace and peace fulfilled in y’all.
1:3 Blessed is God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who, in accordance with His [having] a bunch of mercy,
re-birthed us into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead
1:4 into an imperishable and undefiled and unfading inheritance
which has been preserved in the heavens for y’all’s disposal -
1:5 y’all who are protected by God’s power through faith
for the purpose of a prepared salvation to be revealed during the final time.
1:6a In this y’all are rejoicing...
· As I start a new sermon series on the first epistle of Peter, I want to start by giving some context so that we can begin to see this as a living, breathing letter from a real man that we can relate to.
· Peter, you remember, was a fish merchant from the backwaters of Galilee, and a married man, at the time that Jesus called him to be one of His 12 disciples.
· This letter was written late in his life, long after Jesus had died and ascended into heaven. A.T. Robertson suggests a date of 65 A.D.
· Note that Peter introduces himself by the name Jesus gave him rather than by the name his parents gave him, which was Simon. (Vincent)
· Peter greatly respected Jesus but was also a bit impulsive, which meant sometimes he did courageous things which none of the other disciples would dare (such as walking on water and baptizing a Roman centurion), and sometimes he did things he regretted. He also seemed to struggle with worrying too much about what people thought of him (leading him to deny Christ before the crucifixion and leading him to exclude Gentile converts in Antioch).
· Legends abound as to what exactly Peter did after his last mention in the book of Acts. Many of these legends contradict the Bible or contradict each other. Many of the legends seem to center around Roman Catholics trying to support the untenable claim that Peter was the pope for 25 years in Rome – a claim that the New Testament record refutes. The most we can say with confidence is that after Peter’s early leadership of the startup of the church in Jerusalem, it appears he moved to Antioch in Syria to pastor for a while, and, then later in life, sometime after Paul’s ministry in Rome, Peter made his way to Rome, where he - and probably his wife - were crucified for their faith in Jesus.
· 1 Peter 5:12-13, Peter says that he is writing from “Babylon.” Scholars debate whether this was the literal Babylon on the Euphrates river where descendents of Jews from the time of the earlier exile still resided[1], or whether this was a figure of speech intended to mean the city of Rome, as it does in the book of Revelation. Most of the commentaries I read[2] supported the Persian Babylon, saying
o Peter wasn’t big on symbolic and poetic language; he tended to be real straightforward in speech,
o Babylon was also a likely place for Peter to be evangelizing Jews, because there were settlements of Jews there, and travel was common between Israel and Persia.
o Multiple commentators have also pointed out that list of provinces in v.1 starts with those closest to Babylon and radiates outward, which would be an expected progression if he were East of Asia Minor in Babylon instead of West of Asia Minor in Rome[3].
o Finally, the benediction in v.2 “peace be multiplied to you” is unique in the New Testament to the epistles of Peter and Jude, but it matches the traditional greetings of Babylonian kings from the book of Daniel (4:1, 6:24 LXX).
· Peter was not alone in Babylon. The Apostle Paul’s church-planting companions Silas and John Mark were apparently with him. It is possible that it was during this time that Mark wrote his gospel using Peter’s input. Silas (also known as Silvanus) may have been the one who wrote down Peter’s words in this epistle, and in chapter five, it says Silas is the one who delivered Peter’s epistle to the scattered believers as he made the rounds late in his life to the churches – many of which he had helped plant.
· One of the significant themes of this letter is that of enduring religious persecution. Peter had experienced persecution from the Jewish Sanhedrin in Jerusalem and from Herod Agripa, and, if A.T. Robertson is right that this letter was written in A.D. 65, that would have been within a year of Nero’s persecution of Christians in Rome. The same persecution could naturally be expected to come across the Asian provinces. Peter could see that coming, so he wrote this letter to assure believers in the faith, to encourage them to lead blameless personal lives, and to prepare them for the hardships of persecution.
· Was this letter effective? Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown’s commentary records that many of the early church fathers found this letter from Peter so meaningful and useful that they quoted from it in their writings, including Polycarp, Papias, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Eusebius, and Tertullian. This letter has always[4] been treasured by the church as a rich source of reassurance, godly exhortation, and comfort.
· “elect... according to the foreknowledge of God the Father”
o The King James and the NASB bump this word down to the end of the verse or into the next verse in their translations[5]. The reason is that the foreknowledge of God mentioned in v.2 seems to fit thematically with the characteristic of being elect.
o The root of the Greek word ἐκλεκτοῖς is the word “choice” – In the Bible this word is used to indicate people likely to be chosen because they are better than average or it could indicate that they have been chosen for some other reason.
o The first time that a choice not based on merit occurs in the Bible is the use of the word in 1Chron. 16:13 “O seed of Israel His servant, You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!” Elsewhere, God explains His choice of Abraham and Israel being based on His grace rather than on their merit.
o Some Christians say that God’s foreknowledge is merely His ability to see into the future and discover whether or not you will respond to the Good News of Jesus with faith, and that God retroactively decides to bless those whom He forsees will respond positively to him. But if this were the case, then your salvation would not be based merely on God’s free grace but also upon your personal merits. As Paul put it in Romans 11:6, “if it is by grace, it is not therefore on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.”
o In the New Testament, the word takes on a much more distinct theological tone, as Jesus says, “Mat 22:14 "For many are called, but few are chosen." and Mat 24:31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
o And Paul wrote in Romans 8:30-34, “Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called [εκαλεσεν]; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified... He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. (NKJV)
o The same term is used by the Apostle John to indicate those who will go to heaven (Rev. 17:14)
o Peter further describes the elect in his next chapter: and "A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE." They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:8-10 NKJV)
o “You did not choose me, but I have chosen you” John 15:16
o 2 Thess. 2:13 “God has, from the beginning, chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth”
· παρεπιδήμοις strangers/pilgrims/aliens/resident foreigners/
o This word only occurs two other places in the Greek Bible:
§ Hebrews 11:13-16 “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” (NKJV)
§ 1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul
o Although this term has been used to identify Gentiles[6] in particular or Jews[7] in particular, Peter’s epistle speaks to both Jews and Gentiles.
§ “Christians of the Jewish dispersion [are] prominently addressed, but still including also Gentile Christians... grafted into the Christian Jewish stock by adoption and faith, and so being part of the true Israel.” ~Fausset
§ so it seems best not to interpret this word as an ethnic identifier but as an identifier of persons with a particular attitude, who identify with the old song, “This world is not my home, I’m just a-passin’ through.”
§ “Peter, by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, makes use of principles that are valid for all times and for all places.” (G. Clark, p.8)
· scattered (διασπορας)
o The Greek word contains the picture of broadcasting seeds
o The locations mentioned here are all along the Northern part of modern-day Turkey, also known as Asia minor[8]. [show map]
o Why this area in particular, I can only guess:
§ Some of the commentaries I read (Clark, Vincent, Robertson) suggested that Peter was writing after the death or imprisonment of Paul to follow up on believers who would have looked to Paul’s apostolic leadership[9]. But that doesn’t explain these particular provinces.
§ My hypothesis at this point is that northern Asia Minor was the frontier of Christian mission at the time. Paul, Barnabas, and Silas had planted churches throughout the southern part, but had been prevented from going up North to Bithynia, following instead God’s lead to pioneer further West into Europe. There were also the natural barriers of the mountains in central Turkey. Now perhaps those churches planted in the lower part of Turkey were launching church-planting efforts across their country into the North.
· God is presented in Trinitarian terms: Spirit, Christ, and Father.
o It may seem odd that the Father is called “the God of our Lord Jesus[10],” but Jesus did call His Father His God (Mark 15:34), and this genitive “of our Lord Jesus” further distinguishes which God Peter is writing about. Not the Gods of the Romans or Zoroastrians, not the God of Islam or Mormonism, but the God “whom Jesus Christ made known[11].”
· I want to highlight how this passage presents God as having a wonderful plan for us. In verses 2, 3, 4, and 5, the Greek text employs a word that denotes purpose or intended result. It is the preposition εις, which can generally mean “into,” but it is used here in a more specialized sense of a planned intent. Let me step through each of the four instances of this word indicating God’s purposes:
o v.2 “elect/chosen... for the purpose of obedience and sprinkling by His blood”
§ I think we all know what obedience means, but what does sprinkling mean?
§ It relates back to a very significant covenant-making ceremony between God and the people of Israel detailed in Exodus 24:4-11, “And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, ‘All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.’ And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, ‘This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words.’ Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel... they saw God, and they ate and drank. (NKJV)[12]
§ Hebrews 10:22 “...let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (NKJV)
§ “obedience [is] ... the ground, sphere, and end of spiritual sanctification.” ~Vincent
o v.3 “God the Father...re-birthed us into a living hope”
§ Why? Because God had mercy to spare. Not because you deserved it.
§ How? Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (His death is encapsulated in that statement, because He had to die before He could be resurrected.) Because Jesus died to satisfy justice for the consequences of your sin and then rose from the dead, we have the hope or certainty of life. Eternal life. Our own resurrection after natural death to life forever with God.
§ But there’s also a re-birth process by which God takes us who are physically alive after that first birth from our mother where we squirmed into the world – and yet are only physically alive, not spiritually alive – and transforms us into spiritual men and women who are both spiritually responsive as well as physically alive. This spiritual life is seen in caring about being right with God, repenting from sin and rebellion against God, trusting Jesus to make us right, and following His leadership, imitating Him, and obeying what His word says.
§ 1Pet. 1:23 “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever”
§ James 1:18 “Of His own will [election] He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.” (NKJV)
o v.4 “into/in order to obtain an inheritance...”
§ not one that can be used up like your parents’ inheritance money,
§ and not one that can be corrupted, like the Israelites did to the Promised Land which they defiled with idols, but ....
§ “As between afqarton, incorruptible, and amaranton, unwithering, the former emphasizes the indestructibility of substance, and the latter of grace and beauty. [cf. the flower named amaranth] ~Marvin Vincent
§ “[p]reserved/kept in heaven for you” – the perfect tense spelling of “preserved” indicates that it has been developed in the past and is kept constantly available now. He keeps and guards this inheritance. You cannot lose it.
§ The “for you” is emphatic. Not for anybody else but you. Jesus isn’t building mansions in heaven willy-nilly for faceless masses who might happen to receive Him into their hearts. He is thinking of you and your personality and your needs in particular as he builds a customized house just for you.
§ John Calvin asked, however, “What does it avail us that our salvation is laid up in heaven, when we are tossed here and there in this world as in a turbulent sea? What can it avail us that our salvation is secured in a quiet harbour, when we are driven to and fro amidst thousand shipwrecks?” The next phrase quiets our fear!
§ “you who are protected by the power of God” Meanwhile He guards and keeps you to make sure that you reach heaven and connect with this inheritance.
§ What is the inheritance? I suggest it is Jesus Himself, just as He calls Christians His inheritance, so He is what we will inherit. This may seem a bit sparse if you have been imagining lots of gold and mansions as the greatest thing in heaven. I have no doubt those things will be there, but I think we will find when we meet Jesus face to face, such an awe-inspiring depth of personality and fun and intellect and action in the presence of the second person of the Trinity, that everything else will pale by comparison.
o v.5 “for the purpose of a salvation...”
§ salvation means you’ve got a problem that needs to be solved but God has a plan to fix it.
§ This salvation is a prepared salvation. The adjective for “prepared” in Greek clearly modifies “salvation.” It’s not like you see in a lot of action movies where the hero swoops into the bad-guy’s lair to rescue the heroine, depending on his wits to get back out. No, God has a well-thought-out plan to get you from dead to alive, from unsafe to safe, from losing to victorious.
§ But notice that we can’t see the entire plan laid out from start to finish. Sure there is a sense in which we can speak of salvation in past tense: God saved us through choosing to save us in eternity past, God saved us the day Jesus died for our sins, and we were saved when we were born again through the intervention of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and we started trusting Jesus, but there are still aspects of our salvation which can be spoken of in future tense, such as Jesus’ final stamp of approval when He sets you at his right hand on judgment day and says, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” and when your body is transformed into an imperishable, glorious body. You won’t get to see those end results until the “final time” the last day, but that part of your salvation is already in the bag. It’s ready to be revealed when the time comes[13].
· v.2 “Obey”
o Obedience is God’s plan and desire for you.
o Pledging obedience is part of the covenant-making ceremony. It underlies the prayer many people pray for salvation where they call Jesus “Lord.” “Lord” means the master that you will obey.
o “But I have to work on Sunday. I need the money;” “I can’t complete the homework in time;” “My boss would have my head if I didn’t get this project done.” Fine, pick another day of the week and do no regular work in it, but it is a matter of obedience.
o Obedience is also is implied in the vows we take for church membership to “submit to the government and discipline of this church.”
o But Pastor Wilson gets on my nerves. I don’t want him to point out my spiritual failures. Fine, seek mentoring from Dr. Zachary or Dr. Linville instead, but don’t leave the church.
o Robert E. Lee is quoted as saying, “You cannot be a true man until you learn to obey... Obedience to lawful authority is the foundation of manly character.” Of course we’re not talking about obeying anybody and everybody, but ultimately obeying God. It is God’s will.
· v.3 “Blessed be God”
o The Greek word for “blessed” (eulogatos) is a compound of two words, one meaning “good” and the other meaning “word.” In light of our receiving grace and peace from God – forgiveness of our sin and a covenant relationship with God through Jesus’ blood, we should speak “good words” about our God!
o How easy it is to forget to say “thank you” to God. Have you ever considered doing that after a meal in addition to the blessing before the meal? If you enjoyed it, why not!
o But we all-to-easily use God’s name as a curse word, damning things or people when we get frustrated with them.
o No, BLESSED be God. Let us be people who say good things about God to others. And what better way than to speak of the good news of Jesus saving us from God’s wrath against our sins!
· v.5 “faith” – confidence
o Yes it is God’s power that protects us, but that protection – that guarding/shielding comes “through faith” – in the context of us trusting God to exercise His power to protect us.
o “...a diabolical opinion prevails, that we ought to doubt our final perseverance, because we are uncertain whether we shall be tomorrow in the same state of grace. But Peter did not thus leave us in suspense; for he testifies that we stand by the power of God, lest any doubt arising from a consciousness of our own infirmity, should disquiet us. How weak soever we may then be, yet our salvation is not uncertain, because it is sustained by God’s power. As, then, we are begotten by faith, so faith itself receives its stability from God’s power. Hence is its security, not only for the present, but also for the future.” ~John Calvin
· v.6 “Greatly rejoice” – but we’ll have to save that for next week.
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1 πετρος αποστολος ιησου χριστου εκλεκτοις παρεπιδημοις διασπορας ποντου γαλατιας καππαδοκιας ασιας και[14] βιθυνιας |
From Peter, Jesus Christ’s apostle. To elect pilgrims scattered at Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, |
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the * strangers[15] scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, |
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the * pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, |
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, |
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens[16], scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, [who are] chosen |
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To [God's] elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, |
1 Salutation From Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those temporarily residing abroad[17] (in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, the province of Asia, and Bithynia) [who are] chosen |
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2 κατα προγνωσιν θεου πατρος εν αγιασμω πνευματος εις ‘υπακοην και ‘ραντισμον ‘αιματος ιησου χριστου χαρις ‘υμιν και ειρηνη πληθυνθειη |
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the holiness of the Spirit toward the goal of obedience and sprinkling of Jesus Christ’s blood, grace and peace fulfilled in y’all. |
2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. |
2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. |
2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience [to Jesus Christ] and for sprinkling with [his] blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. |
2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying [work] of the Spirit, to obey [Jesus Christ] and be sprinkled with [His] blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. |
2 [who have been chosen] according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying [work] of the Spirit, for obedience [to Jesus Christ] and sprinkling by [his] blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance. |
2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father by being set apart by the Spirit for obedience and for sprinkling with Jesus Christ's blood. May grace and peace be yours in full measure! |
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3 ευλογητος ο θεος και πατηρ του κυριου ημων ιησου χριστου ο κατα το πολυ αυτου ελεος αναγεννησας ημας εις ελπιδα ζωσαν δι αναστασεως ιησου χριστου εκ νεκρων |
Blessed is God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, in accordance with His [having] a bunch of mercy, re-birthed us into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead |
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, |
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, |
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, |
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, |
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
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3 New Birth to Joy and Holiness Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, |
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4 εις κληρονομιαν αφθαρτον και αμιαντον και αμαραντον τετηρημενην εν ουρανοις εις υμας[18] |
into an imperishable and undefiled and unfading inheritance which has been preserved in the heavens for y’all’s disposal - |
4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, |
4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, |
4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, |
4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, |
4 [and] into an inheritance that can never perish, X spoil or X fade—kept in heaven for you, |
4 [that is,] into an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. It is reserved in heaven for you, |
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5 τους εν δυναμει θεου φρουρουμενους δια πιστεως εις σωτηριαν ετοιμην αποκαλυφθηναι εν καιρω εσχατω |
y’all who are protected by God’s power through faith for the purpose of a prepared salvation to be revealed during the final time. |
5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. |
5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. |
5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. |
5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. |
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. |
5 who by God's power are protected through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. |
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6 εν ω αγαλλιασθε ολιγον αρτι ει δεον εστιν[19] λυπηθεντες εν ποικιλοις πειρασμοις |
In this y’all are rejoicing although shortly since it is necessary to suffer in various trials. |
6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: |
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, |
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, |
6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, |
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. |
6 X This |
[1] Although Josephus mentions an expulsion of Jews from Babylon around this time, the Jews could have moved back, just as they did after being expelled from Rome by Claudius, and history seems to support this.
[2] Calvin, Vincent, Clark, Fausset, further supported, I am given to understand, by Alford, Adam Clark, Beza, and Lightfoot. In support of Rome, on the other hand, were Luther, Robertson, & Earle, as well as several Roman Catholic scholars.
[3] The last point was Fausset’s
[4] Admittedly with a few exceptions, such as its omission in the Muritorian canon.
[5] Wycliffe kept the word in its Greek order in his English translation, but the Geneva Bible moved the word down to the next verse, so perhaps the KJV editors followed that.
[6] Wycliffe translated it “comelingis” the term he used for Gentile proselytes to Judaeism
[7]
“It is mainly the Jews that Peter has in mind, for to them applies the word dispersion.” (Gordon Clark, p.7)
cf. ATR “mainly Jewish Christians, but not to the exclusion of Gentiles”
[8] “These five Roman provinces include what we call Asia Minor north and west of the Taurus mountain range (Hort)” ~ATR, p.79
[9] “There is every reason why Peter, as the leading apostle to the circumcision, should write to these believers in the provinces, especially since Paul’s long imprisonment in Caesarea and Rome had removed him from his accustomed activities and travel.” ~ATR, p.79
[10] cf. matching statements in Rom. 15:6, 2 Cor. 1:3, 2 Cor 11:31, Eph. 1:17.
[11] Clark, p.14. cf Calvin: For, as formerly, by calling himself the God of Abraham, he designed to mark the difference between him and all fictitious gods; so after he has manifested himself in his own Son, his will is, not to be known otherwise than in him.”
[12] cf. similar consecration of priests in Ex. 29:21
[13] Although “last time” is used to mean the time beginning when Jesus died on the cross (Heb. 9:26) or the time of the writing of the epistles (1 John 2:18), here it is obviously speaking of a future time, and logic demands that it be the time of Christ’s return and of our glorification.
[14] Curiously, the Sinaiticus manuscript of this scripture which is dated to the 4th century omits “Asia,” and the Vaticanus manuscript omits “Bithynia,” but both locations are attested by the vast majority of other Greek manuscripts, including Papyrus #72 which is older than both the Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus.
[15] KJV renders the same word “pilgrims” in Heb. 11:13 and 1 Pet. 2:11
[16] NASB renders the same word “exiles” instead of “aliens” in Heb. 11:13, and as “strangers” in 1 Pet 2:11
[17] NET renders the same word “foreigners” in Heb. 11:13 and “exiles” in 1 Pet. 2:11
[18] The older Stephens’ Textus Receptus disagrees with the Scrivener Textus Receptus here, following a minority of Vulgate manuscripts and the reading of Papyrus#72 with the First person pronoun (ημας) rather than the Second person pronoun. This appears to be an outlier variant, yet it does not change anything theologically, for either way, we assume Peter will be included in the inheritance of the elect! Papyrus #72 is a bit tricky because it has several unique variations from all other Greek manuscripts in this passage, including omitting “mercy” in v. 3, omitting “God” in v.5, throwing the “rejoice” of v.6 into the past instead of the present, and substituting “multitudinous” (pollois) for “various” (poikiliois) at the end of v.6.
[19] Not found in The Siniaticus or Vaticanus, but considered original in the Nestle-Aland critical text (26th edition=UBS 3rd edition).