If ever a letter was written that suggested sure expectation to face suffering, yet at the same time provided immeasurable reason to hope and persevere through those sufferings, 1 Peter is that letter. During a time of rising opposition and persecution toward the early Christian church, the apostle Peter writes a letter to encourage Christians who are facing persecution who are “scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia”—five provinces of Asia Minor. And if ever there was a man to provide such encouragement and hope in the face of persecution, who better than Peter to do the job? He, after all, was informed by Jesus Himself that he would one day be persecuted to the point of death for Jesus’ sake; yet this very warning was given by Jesus after He had risen from the grave, and so Peter knew full well of the victory of Christ and of the confident hope and assurance believers could have of their eternal living hope in Him. With a personal commission from Jesus to “feed His lambs” and “tend and feed His sheep” out of love for Him, Peter does just this in his loving, shepherding, encouraging letter to Christ’s beloved sheep who are being scattered throughout the Mediterranean world. And as we will see, this letter of encouragement not only provided hope for the first century believers, but continues to provide hope for us today as it sets our hearts and minds on things above, and provides us with rich theological truths that will keep us persevering to the end.
Context
The time was likely around AD 64 when Peter wrote this letter—just before the intense persecution of the church by Nero began. Some scholars debate whether this date is accurate, suggesting that a later date such as AD 100 is more probable. Their argument is that Christians did not refer to Rome as “Babylon” until after the time of Nero, and since Peter uses this term in 5:13, the letter must’ve been written at a later date, and in fact, then, not even written by Peter! However, Peter’s authorship seems clear in his greeting, and he was most likely familiar with the Babylonian symbolism in the Old Testament as a reference to godlessness (such as portrayed in Isaiah 14) and so used it to identify his location in Rome to those who would also know the meaning and significance of the name.
Thus writing from Rome—the vast and powerful capital of the Roman Empire—Peter would’ve himself been directly face-to-face with the mounting persecution and sufferings instigated by the emperor Nero during that time. While Christianity was for a while being tolerated as a sect of Judaism in Rome, the reign of Nero (from AD 54-68) propelled unprecedented capturing, torturing, and killing of Christians throughout the Roman Empire. During this time, a large part of Rome was destroyed by a fire that was most likely caused by Nero’s own order, giving him a reason to further the capturing and killing of Christians as he turned the accusations toward them. During this time of unspeakable persecutions (such as being thrown to wild dogs in the Colosseum as a spectator sport, and being lit on fire as lamps to light the night), Christians were forced to choose between bowing before Nero or remaining faithful to Christ. Those who chose Christ, of course, would most likely die for their faith. Peter, then, seeing this firsthand, was led to warn his fellow believers of the reality of the sufferings that must be endured for Christ, yet includes in his letter words of immense encouragement and hope as they persevere.
Now, with that historical-cultural context in mind, it is critical to examine the literary context of the specific passage of 1 Peter 1:1-21 so as to correctly understand its meaning in light of the broader context. Our specific passage begins with verse 3, but its preceding passage is a greeting from Peter “to those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion […] according to the foreknowledge of God the Father”. We know, then, that our passage is directed to God’s elect, and that its purpose is for “sanctification of the Spirit and for obedience to Jesus Christ” (1:2). We also know, by reference of Greek translation, that God’s “foreknowledge” in this text refers to an intimate knowing of a person; not simply having knowledge ahead of time. This is important when reading our passage, because we know that “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” that verse 3 speaks of is a God who has had eternal intimate foreknowledge of His elect who are being written to…and that makes a difference.
Our chosen passage is broken up into three sections, each of which point to the unfading and eternal hope we have in God due to the glorious resurrection of Christ. In verses 3-9, believers are encouraged to persevere in their faith due to the joyful fact that they have been born again to a living hope. In verses 10-12, believers are encouraged by the prophecies of Christ that were predicted in ages past, and have now come to pass. And in verses 13-21, believers are called to be holy, since the One who calls them is holy. These three sections seem to form the foundation for the rest of the letter. Its immediate proceeding passage assures that “the Word of the Lord remains forever” (v. 25), and chapter two begins with “So [in light of these things] put away all malice and all deceit”. In light of what has been discussed in our passage in chapter one, Peter will go on to encourage and exhort the Gentile believers in the rest of his letter to do good and endure suffering (chap. 2), to be united in brotherly love (chap. 3), to cease from sin and entrust their souls to a faithful Creator (chap. 4), and to clothe themselves in humility as they wait on God to “restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish them” (chap. 5).
Content
Born Again to a Living Hope
As Peter begins to prepare his letter of hope and encouragement for suffering believers, he begins by giving praise to God (v. 3). The way in which he praises Him is significant, for although it was common in the Old Testament for writers to bless or praise God in their writings, Peter shows that in the New Testament believers now praise Him with a new name—one that was not used in the Old Testament: Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (v. 3). This praise beautifully encapsulates the first and second persons of the trinity, whose salvific work provides much hope for the struggling believers.
Now, it should be noted here that although the word of praise that Peter uses, eulogetos, means “blessed,” it does not mean that Peter is blessing God in the way in which He blesses us. Rather, “God gives us blessing, but we declare that God is the blessed One.” In light of “His great mercy” (v. 3) that provides us with living hope, how can we not bless and praise Him with all of our hearts? Perhaps we should look more closely into how great this mercy is.
God’s mercy (hesed in the Old Testament and eleos in the New Testament) is closely related to His covenant name and covenant-making works. All of the beautiful provisions that He has promised to us in the following passages of Peter (our hope, our inheritance, our salvation) are due to His bountiful mercy by which He has covenanted these promises to us. It is so critical to not overlook the fact that our eternal inheritance has been granted to us freely by God’s mercy and grace alone. There is nothing we could’ve done to earn our salvation, and for this reason we praise the One who has mercifully “caused us to be born again to a living hope”…an unfailing hope which we will look at next.
When Peter speaks of being “born again” into a living hope, he is referring to spiritual rebirth. The Greek verb anagennao (translated “give new birth”) only appears once in First Peter, and it echoes Jesus’ teaching of Nicodemus when He said that a person must be born anew and born of the Spirit if he hopes to see God’s kingdom. This spiritual rebirth, also known as regeneration, is the act of the Holy Spirit when He brings people into the family and kingdom of God. Therefore, in order to see God’s kingdom, one must be born again. And the hope that believers are born into refers to the promise of our eternal life with Christ in His kingdom. It is living because Christ lives in us, and the more we conform to His image, the more our hope grows and increases.
Being dramatically faced with new and traumatizing persecution, one can only imagine what Peter’s words of encouragement meant to these fragile Gentile believers; what strength this “living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” must’ve produced in their souls. And as Edmund Clowney emphasizes, the hope Peter writes of is no light, shakable matter: “Peter writes a letter of hope, but the hope he proclaims is not a ‘fond hope.’ It is not fragile. We often ‘hope against hope’ because we do not really expect what we hope for. But Peter writes of a sure hope, a hope that holds the future in the present because it is anchored in the past.” And to think that the sureness of this hope includes such promises as “the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1:9) and the “unfading crown of glory” (5:4), what more could these persecuted believers need (and we as well) to victoriously endure their sufferings?
Well, just in case we do need more (given that we are weak and wavering beings), the beautiful elements of our inheritance are given to us as well, so that we know our hope is secure. Peter writes that our inheritance is “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (v. 4). The word for “inheritance” here is kleronomia, and it speaks of an inherited property. It is the same word used to describe the inheritance that had been promised to Jews as they looked forward to the Promised Land (Num. 32:19). Although the people in that day lost their inheritance due to their sin, God graciously allows us to look forward to an eternal inheritance that cannot be obtained or lost due to our own efforts. This inheritance is imperishable—it will never come to ruin. It is undefiled—it will never be polluted by sin. It is unfading—it will never lose its glory. And it is kept in heaven for us—it is preserved and waiting for us.
More is to be said regarding the glorious reality of our preservation later in this discussion, but with the simple precious words we’ve just been given, no wonder Peter’s next sentence commands us to rejoice! “In this you rejoice,” he says, with “this” referring to the future hope of believers as discussed in 1:3-5. This hope that believers have is what sustains their joy and enables them to rejoice in every circumstance. And this word rejoice here refers to deep, spiritual joy. It is the type of joy that remains unhindered regardless of the difficult circumstances that occur in one’s life. And such circumstances are inevitable for the Christian, which is why Peter is encouraging us to rejoice even in the midst of the “various trials” that are causing our grief and suffering (v.6).
Now, as there is no question as to Peter’s emphasis on the believer’s suffering throughout his letter, commentator Douglass Harink makes a good point to clarify the often misunderstood type of suffering that modern-day believers (at least in non-persecuted areas) tend to undermine:
“It is crucial at this point, and throughout Peter’s letter, that we pay attention to the specificity of the suffering and testing in view here. It is neither natural calamity nor a generalized suffering of any and every sort, as the popular phrase ‘bearing my cross’ has come to mean. Not all suffering is cross-bearing. The cross of Calvary was not a difficult family situation, not a frustration of visions of personal fulfillment, not a crushing debt; it was the legally to-be-expected result of a moral clash with the powers ruling society.”
The type of trials that Peter is referring to here in verse 6 is not that which is brought upon by natural disaster or their own sin, but due to persecution for their faith. One of the main reasons Peter wrote this letter was to encourage believers who were suffering for their faith, reminding them that they are sharing in the suffering of their Lord, and that their suffering is temporary.
Another thing that is only temporary is the fact that believers must live now without seeing their Lord. But as Peter joyfully exults, “Though you do not see Him, you love Him. Though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” (v. 8). Peter is saying that loving and believing in God, whom we have not seen, does not depend on sight. To believe means “to trust,” “to depend upon,” and “to put confidence in.” To believe in God does not mean merely to believe in the fact that he exists, but to know Him personally. Therefore believers can rejoice with joy as they believe in Him, because they know He is with them and is leading them to His eternal glory in His kingdom, which is the “glorious outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (v. 9).
Prophecies of Christ
“Concerning this salvation,” Peter goes on to write, “the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully” (v. 10). This grace refers to the salvation that was to be brought by the sufferings of the coming Messiah, and Peter makes clear that it was foretold by the prophets in the Old Testament long ago. However, believers now (as well as in Peter’s day) have the privilege of understanding what the prophets were writing about even better than they did, for they were “serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you” (v. 12). It is interesting that Peter stops here in the midst of his encouragement and exhortation to the believers in order to seemingly emphasize the authority of scripture. He began the first segment of this text with the theme of scripture: our “new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (v. 3), and he closed that passage by exulting in “the salvation of [our] souls” (v. 9). It would be logical for Peter to now move directly into his next theme—the holy conduct of God’s people—in light of the glorious salvation brought to them. But instead, he pauses to reflect upon the role of scripture in their salvation, as he wants them to be assured that he is not speaking on his own authority, but “by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven” (v. 12).
Peter clearly wants to emphasize the inspiration and authority of scripture to his readers before moving on to exhortation. After all, before we can live rightly for God, we must believe rightly in Him. Therefore, of this precious salvation that Peter rejoices in in verses 3-9, he now explains that “the prophets foretold this salvation, Jesus accomplished it, and the Spirit led the apostles to describe it” in verses 10-12. The pattern seen in this passage is “the prediction of salvation, the fulfillment of salvation, and the interpretation of saving events,” which the knowledge thereof should encourage believers to take to heart their call to be holy that Peter lays out in his following exhortation.

Called to Be Hope 
“Therefore,” Peter goes on, meaning in light of these great truths and this great news that I have just delivered to you… “therefore set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (v. 13b). In order to do so, he writes that we must prepare our minds for action and be sober-minded (v. 13a). Setting our hope on Christ is therefore not a passive idea, but an active way of living. Believers should not live in the same manner in which they lived prior to knowing Christ, as Peter affirms in his exhortation to “not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance” (v. 14). For before being saved, we lived in ignorance to the tragedy of sin and its consequences. But now that we are saved, we have a new mindset, new goals, new desires to please God, and a new way of living altogether.
Another way of phrasing our new manner of living is to “be holy in all [our] conduct” (v. 15). Christians are to imitate their heavenly Father, who is holy in all that He does. God’s holiness refers to His complete separateness from sin and evil. (It also refers to his transcendence and complete other-ness—the fact that He is like nothing else). For believers to imitate God’s holiness is for them to be completely devoted to God—set apart from sin and set aside for His good use.
In light of the salvation brought to us by Christ, and in light of the holy God who graciously purchased our salvation for us, Christians should desire to honor and glorify God by obeying Him and reflecting His holiness. Even in his explicit attention to conduct, Peter consistently roots his call for holiness in theological truth. He first points to the “grace that will be brought to [us] at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (v. 13) and intends for this future grace to influence our conduct now. He then reminds us of the very character of God: He is holy, and therefore, we are to be holy (v. 16). And finally, Peter calls us to a holy conduct based on the price of our redemption: “knowing that you were ransomed…with the precious blood of Christ” (vv. 18-19). Considering Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf should undoubtedly shape how we live now. As Paul rightly concludes in 1 Cor. 6:20, “You have been bought with a price; therefore, glorify God with your body.”
One way of doing this, that is, of glorifying God with our bodies, is to “conduct [ourselves] with fear” throughout our time here on earth (v. 17), knowing that we were “ransomed from the futile ways inherited from our forefathers” (v. 18). Another word for ransomed here is redeemed. In Peter’s day, as well as in the Old Testament, the word redeemed was often used in reference to paying a price to purchase a slave’s freedom. The beauty of this term is magnified in light of the enormous price Jesus paid to purchase our freedom and save us from our sin. Believers should therefore despise the thought of displeasing God and rather long to bring Him glory, in light of the price He paid to redeem us.
And the price He paid was nothing other than the precious blood of His Son (v. 19). No amount of riches could’ve ever purchased our salvation; our redemption rests solely in the shed blood of Christ. It was the blood of Christ that was necessary to purchase our freedom, because God said from the beginning that “the life of a creature is in the blood […] it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life” (Lev. 17:11). And it had to be Christ’s blood—His precious blood—because He alone is flawless and perfect, and only a morally perfect being could pay the price for our sins. As David Helm rightly insists, “A reflection on the preciousness of Jesus’ sacrifice should compel us to live lives worthy of our calling.” The blood of Christ is precious indeed, and it should be the highest motivation for our call to holy living.
Finally, Peter ends this passage by highlighting Christ’s eternality and God’s sovereignty. Christ was “foreknown before the foundation of the world, but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you” (v. 20). This statement draws to light the fact that God in His sovereignty has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass, which includes the death and resurrection of His Son. The sacrifice made by Christ was not a “Plan B” after mankind rebelled, but was foreordained in the covenant of redemption before the foundation of the world. Christ existed with God in eternity past (for He is God), but was made manifest in the last times in His incarnation. Peter’s emphasis “for the sake of you” (v. 20) provides an intensely personal note, “encouraging his readers that Christ’s coming and the entire plan of salvation are for individual believers, loved and chosen by God.” This encouraging truth should propel believers to consequently place their “faith and hope […] in God” (v. 21), which is the final exhortation of Peter in these sweet passages of grace and hope.

Theology in the Text and the Text in the Church
The theological theme of hope is flooded throughout the passages of 1 Peter 1:3-21. The very comfort and encouragement that believers can have is due to their hope in Christ. As we see, the very first verse in this text begins with hope: our “living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (v. 3); and the very last verse ends with hope: “so that your faith and hope are in God” (v. 21). Because of the great hope that we have in Christ—the hope of eternity with Him due to the redemption brought to us by His blood—believers throughout history have not only persevered through their trials, but have even rejoiced in them. This is seen in the hopeful martyrdom of the saints of God throughout history. Countless stories can be told of similarity, but one such story is that of Justin Martyr who, upon being asked (right before his martyrdom) if he believed he would ascend to heaven after being beheaded, replied, “This is my hope…we will be saved because of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This reflects the unwavering hope that Peter speaks of that believers can have because of the resurrection of their Lord Jesus Christ.
The glory of redemption also fills the message of these passages in 1 Peter. The hope for believers that Peter talks about is only possible because of the redemption accomplished by the blood of Christ. It was His redemption that rescued us “from the futile ways inherited from [our] forefathers” (v. 18), and it was only by the shedding of “the precious blood of Christ” (v. 19) that made our redemption possible. This, too, is a theological theme that pervades not only scripture, but church history as well. In his Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin emphasizes that “redemption in Christ” is the only hope for fallen man, with his entire Book II being titled, “The Knowledge of God the Redeemer.”
Finally, the preservation and perseverance of the saints are united theological themes that are implicitly, if not explicitly, implied in these passages of Peter. Most prominently are these seen in his assurance that the believer’s inheritance is being “kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed at the last time” (vv. 4-5). As God is keeping our inheritance for us, He is also keeping us for the inheritance. Perhaps one of the finest descriptions that has been written throughout church history that articulates the assurance that believers can have that God will bring them into eternal life is in chapter 17 of the Westminster Confession, “Of the Perseverance of the Saints”:
17.1. They, whom God has accepted in the Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by the Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.
17.2. This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability of the decree of election, flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father; upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ, the abiding of the Spirit, and of the seed of God within them; and the nature of the covenant of grace: from all which arises also the certainty and infallibility thereof.
How immensely reassuring to know that our perseverance in the faith is firmly solidified and guarded by God’s promise to preserve us to the end.

Application
With such rich theological truth and such sweet promises of God, there is no doubt as to whether believers can apply the content of Peter’s letter to their lives. But in order to propose ways in which we can apply 1 Peter 1:3-21 to our contemporary lives, we must first examine how the biblical principles in this passage address the historical-cultural situation. There are three key elements involved in this passage to consider: Element 1) The author, Peter, is a Christian; Element 2) Peter is writing to persecuted believers who need encouragement; and Element 3) Fixing our hope on Christ, who is our Living Hope, will enable struggling believers to remain faithful to God and persevere in holiness. With these elements in mind, we can now discover a parallel situation in a contemporary context.
Although intense persecution such as experienced by these first-century believers isn’t as prevalent in our Western society, terrorism and other forms of persecution are nevertheless present, and believers in America need to be encouraged to stay faithful to God when persecution comes, keeping their hope fixed on “the grace that will be brought to [us] at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:13). A parallel situation, then, would be for a mature Christian (not an apostle, like Peter, but perhaps a pastor) to encourage God-fearing college students who are prone to be threatened for their faith to meditate on the rich doctrines that Peter lays out in this passage, so as to strengthen and encourage them when trials comes. Peter reminds believers that they have been “born again to a living hope […] to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, unfading, kept in heaven for you,” and that we can rejoice in this even when we are “grieved by various trials” (1:3-6). And because we know that the “tested genuineness of [our] faith […] will result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:7), we are encouraged to “prepare [our] minds for battle and be sober-minded” (1:13) until that time comes.
An application even more close to home can be made for Christians who journey with “M” teams during the summer, or even for longer periods of time. Many of these teams go to places where Christianity is not welcome, and risk of persecution may be prevalent. Just like these believers who are being addressed by Peter, we, too, need to prepare ourselves for action (through daily prayer and reading of the Word), be sober-minded (by guarding our hearts and minds from worldly lusts and vain pursuits), and keep our hope fixed on the grace and glory of Christ as we set out to testify of His grace and glory to others.
Furthermore, regardless of whether we are being persecuted for our faith or facing trials of various kinds, the serious truths declared in these passages—such as the holiness of God and the shed blood of Christ that brought salvation to our souls—should instill in every believer a deep reverence and fear of God that permeates every aspect of their lives. Whether simply cooking dinner, doing homework, or going on a mission trip, all should be done for the glory of God in light of who He is and what He’s done for us. As Paul states, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God,” and this should be the attitude of the believer after reading Peter’s rich letter of hope.
Conclusion

As we have seen, the theological richness of Peter’s letter, as well as the reassuring comfort and encouragement it gives, not only provided hope for the first-century believers in Peter’s day, but continues to provide hope and encouragement for Christians today as well. Peter’s letter reminds us of the living hope that we have been born into, due to the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; it strengthens our trust in the inspiration and authority of scripture, due to the prophets who prophesied about what has now been fulfilled in Christ; and it compels us to live lives of holiness in light of God’s character and what He has done for us. Peter’s letter surely does nothing less than set our hearts and minds on things above as we journey through our exile here on this earth, on our way to our inheritance securely awaiting us in His kingdom.

Works Cited
Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Vol. 1, 2:6:1. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1960.
Clowney, Edmund. The Message of 1 Peter. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Prss, 1988. 44.
Doriani, Daniel M. Reformed Expository Commentary: 1 Peter. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: P&R Publishing, 2014. 14-50.
First Peter: LifeChange Series. Colorado Springs: NavPress, Inc., 1986. 10.
Harink, Douglass. 1 & 2 Peter. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group, 2009. 117-120.
Helm, David, R. 1 & 2 Peter and Jude: Sharing Christ’s Sufferings. Wheaton, IL: CrosswayBook, 2008.
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Nelson Study Bible, NKJV. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1997. 2114.
Orthodox Presbyterian Church. The Confession of Faith and Catechisms. Willow Grove, PA: Committee on Christian Education of the OPC, 2008.
Osborne, Grant, et al. Life Application Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Peter/Jude. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1995. 1-43.
Philips, John. Exploring the Epistles of Peter: An Expository Commentary. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2005.
Schaff, Philip. The Anti-Nicene Fathers. Vol. 1. New York: T & T Clark Publishers, 1897.
Tyndale Bible Dictionary. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2001.