At the end of the letter, Peter gives one more command to "stand firm in it." The it is the GRACE of God which he describes as "true grace." And…
The reality of present suffering for bearing the name of Christ is a given. The problem is that we often lose heart and question where God is in the midst…
Suffering for bearing the name of Christ and facing the hostility of this world's hatred brings worry and anxiety to us. We are tempted to break from the suffering or…
In the context of calling the church to be prepared to suffer for Christ, Peter turns his focus on the Church's leaders. Peter was restored personally and powerfully by the…
All of chapter 4 has been about suffering. Specifically suffering for Christ. The suffering is the opposition, mocking and hostility we receive from the world for bearing the name of…
The end of all things is at hand. So how then shall we live? When we consider that we are in the Last Days and the return of Christ is…
No one likes to suffer because suffering involves pain. When we start to feel pain, we are tempted stop it. But if it is pain that comes from suffering for…
These verses, like last week's, are difficult to understand. But when we dig into the context, the meaning becomes more clear. The context is suffering and that it is not…
Verses 18-22 of 1 Peter chapter 3 have a couple of difficult and challenging statements to understand. Verse 19 talks about Jesus preaching to the spirits in prison and verse…
Having given specific commands to different groups of people within the church, now Peter concludes by stating that every Christian, every "elect exile," is called to serve and bless others.…
After commanding wives in the previous verses, now Peter turns to husbands and commands them to love their wives. Literally, the command is to live with your wife in an…
This is a passage that is difficult for our 21st Century ears to hear. The interesting thing is that while this passage fits in with the larger picture of what…
Following the command for us to be in submission to our human government, Peter turns his attention to servants. This is a challenging passage, but the heart of it is…
In these few verses, St. Peter distills the whole message of Isaiah 53, that the Messiah would suffer in our place and for our sins. Peter says four things about…
These two verses bring to a close the opening part of Peter’s letter. The focus from 1:3-2:10 is all on our identity in Christ as those who have been born…
There are many different metaphors that the Bible uses to describe Jesus. In this passage, Peter says that Jesus is a living stone (jewell), that is chosen and precious, and…
Having just been told that the gospel is the means that we have been born again to love another, Peter commands us to keep "yearning" for the gospel. This is…
Peter was with Jesus at His Last Supper when Jesus gave a New Commandment, "that as I have loved you, you love one another." Now Peter repeats Jesus' command for…
Building on the call to be holy as our Father is holy, Peter commands us to live in reverence to the Father. Why? He is the judge and we will…
In verse 13 of chapter one, the Apostle Peter begins to shift from our identity in Christ to how we should live. Building on everything that God has done for…