1 Peter

Composition

The First Letter of Peter (“1 Peter”) is attributed to Peter, a fisherman from Galilee who abandoned his profession to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. According to the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Peter was originally named Simon. Jesus proposed the name Peter, which means “stone” or “rock,” in place of Simon, as Jesus identified his close confidant as the “rock” on which the Christian church would later be built. Peter, or Simon Peter as he is sometimes called in the Bible, was later beatified as a saint. He is also officially recognized as the first pope in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.

Peter is identified as the author of the First Letter of Peter in the first verse of the book’s first chapter. However, questions over the authorship of 1 Peter and its accompanying book, the Second Letter of Peter (“2 Peter”), arose early in the history of Christianity. A core issue in the authorship controversy focuses on the elevated, literary quality of the Greek language in which 1 Peter was originally written. Many observers, including early Christian ecclesiastical authorities, believe the letter is too eloquent to have been written by a former fisherman with no formal education. Another important aspect of the authorship questions centers on 1 Peter’s contents. The letter addresses persecuted Christians facing oppression and punishment for their religious beliefs. However, the letter is traditionally dated to around 60–65 CE, at which time Christianity was still a small, localized offshoot sect of Judaism. Some scholars have argued that the type of widespread persecution referenced in the letter did not occur for decades if not centuries after Peter’s death.

Multiple theories endeavor to address these gaps. One holds that a group of early Christians convened to write the letter in Peter’s name after Christianity had spread far enough to elicit a widespread oppressive response. Another more readily accepted idea suggests that the letter follows directly from the teachings and advocacy of the historical Peter but was written at a later date by an educated spokesperson or scribe from Peter’s inner circle. For example, 1 Peter 5:12 references a man named Silvanus, who experts believe may have fulfilled this function.

At the same time, other expert analysts accept Peter as the author of the 1 Peter. This viewpoint endorses an alternative interpretation of the contents of the letter, suggesting that the epistle was not a response to persecution at the state level but rather to the informal and localized hostilities of religious vigilante groups operating in Asia Minor. Proponents of this perspective argue that 1 Peter does not contain any specific details that anchor it to a particular date, nor does its contents align with known aspects of the organized and officially sanctioned persecution of early Christians that took place under a succession of Roman emperors from about 54–117 CE.

Notably, 1 Peter ranks among the last works to be formally adopted into the Christian canon. It is part of the Catholic Letters, a series of seven epistles traditionally credited to major early Christian figures. Most of the Catholic Letters, including 1 Peter, were only officially approved for inclusion in the New Testament in 367 CE.

Summary

The First Letter of Peter is organized into five chapters. It begins by identifying its author as Peter, the disciple of Christ, who wrote the letter as an address to “the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1 Peter 1:1). Peter offers warm greetings to these readers, reminding them that their faithfulness represents their claim to an “inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, [which is] reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4). The introduction also acknowledges the persecution they face and encourages these early Christians to remain resolute and steadfast in their belief while reminding them that Christ paid with his blood to create their path of entry to Heaven.

The second chapter of 1 Peter identifies the epistle’s readers as God’s chosen people and explores the responsibilities that accompany such a position. It describes the Christian faithful as “lively stones” that build a “spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5), in which Jesus Christ serves as the foundation. The chapter reminds readers to follow the example set by Christ and respect authority: “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men” (1 Peter 2:13–15). These instructions encourage readers to lead by example and show themselves superior by exercising restraint, deference, and propriety.

Chapter 3 offers advice on everyday life to early Christians, beginning with directions for husbands and wives on how to live together virtuously and harmoniously. It also reminds readers to remain ready to explain and defend their faith in Christ: “Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15). Passages from this chapter also urge Christians to maintain a “good conscience towards God” (1 Peter 3:21), reminding readers that some members of the faith community have met abrupt and violent ends because of their religious beliefs.

The letter’s fourth chapter continues urging readers to purify their thoughts and lives, and to eschew the “will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revelings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye not run with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead” (1 Peter 4:3–5). Peter also acknowledges that such social ostracism represents only one mild form of persecution faced by Christians: “Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf” (1 Peter 4:16). At this early point in its history, the Christian condition contemporary to 1 Peter was largely defined by suffering and oppression. God will provide the necessary strength for the faithful to overcome such persecution.

In the letter’s fifth and final chapter, Peter encourages Christians to remain strong and firm in their faith. He reminds them that the oppressors of Christianity are actively seeking to do them harm and calls on Christian leaders to follow the inspirational example set by Jesus in guiding their communities through their earthly suffering.

Themes

The central unifying theme of 1 Peter is its call for early Christians to draw inspiration from the example set by Jesus Christ in navigating this difficult and trying time in the history of the early church. Commentators note that Peter was not writing from a removed perspective. He personally endured a great deal of persecution during his lifetime for preaching the Christian gospel. Peter was imprisoned, beaten, and ultimately executed. Catholic tradition holds that he was sentenced to crucifixion by Roman authorities, with apocryphal scripture relating that Peter asked to be turned upside-down during his crucifixion as he considered himself unworthy of dying in the same manner as Christ.

This foundational theme is explored in multiple ways throughout the text of 1 Peter, beginning with a diaspora subtheme established in the early stages of the epistle’s first chapter. These “strangers,” as they are called in 1 Peter 1:1, create the unified community of Christ, which is the church’s sole source of hope. That same hope also functions as a major subtheme, reminding Christians of the powerful gift that their faith represents. For Christians, hope transcends simple optimism to become a tool for defeating death, and 1 Peter urges readers to channel their hope in Christ to achieve resurrection and spiritual rebirth in Heaven.

Another key thematic feature of 1 Peter recasts the suffering experienced by persecuted Christians as a source of joy. Again, this subtheme reflects the example of Christ, whose suffering and death unlocked the gates of Heaven and made it possible for God’s faithful to achieve the greatest joy imaginable. At various turns of 1 Peter, the author characterizes the oppression of the early Christians as a source of joy as it provides an opportunity for the faith community to live in Christ’s image in a literal rather than figurative way. Some observers draw parallels between 1 Peter and the Old Testament’s Book of Job, which details the unjust and severe suffering of a righteous, pious man named Job, who loses his family and fortune but not his faith in God.

Together, these subthemes coalesce with the foundational theme at the center of 1 Peter to call readers to live holy lives worthy of the Christian name. The book positions holiness as a gift available to anyone who decides to answer Christ’s invitation. It is a gift from God, and is “not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18–19).

Bibliography

“1 Peter.” The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2022, bible.usccb.org/bible/1peter/0. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.

Arichea, Daniel C. and Eugene Albert Nida. A Handbook on the First Letter from Peter. United Bible Societies, 1994.

Cline, Austin. “The Importance of Peter the Apostle (Simon Peter) to Christianity.” Learn Religions, 25 Jun. 2019, www.learnreligions.com/peter-the-apostle-simon-peter-important-248821. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.

Strawbridge, Jennifer (ed.). “The First Letter of Peter: A Global Commentary.” Lambeth Conference, 2020, www.lambethconference.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/The-First-Letter-of-Peter-A-Global-Commentary-Introduction-and-Chapter-1.pdf. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.

Swindoll, Chuck. “First Peter.” Insight for Living Ministries, 2022, insight.org/resources/bible/the-general-epistles/first-peter. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.

“Who Wrote 1 Peter?” Zondervan Academic, 30 May 2019, zondervanacademic.com/blog/who-wrote-1-peter. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.