Thoughts on 1 Peter

Over the last few weeks, I have read through the entire book of 1 Peter probably 6 or 7 times. Not sure why...but after I slowly made my way through the first time, I decided that there was way too much good stuff in there & I wanted to soak in some more. So I started to slowly make my way through it again..and for some reason after that, I still didn't want to move on from this book. So many different themes can be traced throughout the book, so many familiar verses that become exponentially greater when found within their given context - all contained in such a short letter! So a couple nights ago, I read through the whole letter in one setting to capture more of the flow. Last night, I read it through once more before bed. Today I've read it 2 or 3 times. I know...not normal. But I know the Spirit of God kept bringing me back there for a reason, and He has shown me a very timely theme woven throughout the 5 chapters of this amazing letter. And I'm going to try my best to share that with you...while also trying my best to not make this a 5 chapter letter of my own!

First of all, it's very clear who Peter is writing this letter to. Not "who" as in a specific church, city, or people group (Jews, etc)...but "who" as in more of a category of people. He addresses it at the beginning to "elect exiles of the dispersion" (or those who are scattered), so we know right off the bat that his readers are 1) believers and 2) living all over the place. But the greeting aside - it can be seen clearly throughout this letter that Peter is writing to believers who are suffering. I counted Peter referring to some form of suffering around 19 times in the book...I counted words such as trial, temptations, and all variations of the word suffer. Attempting to use a concordance, I traced these references back to at least 5 different Greek words. Now - I fully admit that I probably either missed or miscounted the uses of these words or the Greek words they point back to. I'm sure if I dug around in some commentaries, I would be able to find the accurate count of all of these things.

However - regardless of the exact number of Greek words & the English ones they have been translated into, my ramblings on this matter are supposed to make this point: it was not one specific form of suffering or trial that Peter was addressing in his letter. Not all of his original readers were suffering in the same way. While he specifically addresses a few of the different forms (persecution for their belief in Christ {3:14-17; 4:12}, servants treated poorly by their masters {2:18-19}), he also mentions trials & suffering in a general sense {1:6-7}. In fact, the Greek word that I found to be used by Peter the most had this statement next to it in the concordance, "Almost always (used) in (the) New Testament with reference to unpleasant experiences."

What does that mean for me - what does that mean for you? Well, one thing I think it means is that suffering takes on so many various forms. I believe this implies that we should not "compare" the suffering of two (or more) different people. What I mean by that is this: circumstances that might not seem all that terrible for one person may very well be a completely heartbreaking, seemingly unbearable circumstance for another. We should never look at someone's life & tell them that the circumstances or situations they are dealing with aren't "that bad." Different things hit different people different ways, and it is not my job to determine what "suffering" should really look like for someone else. But all of this also tells me how applicable this letter is to me; to us as the church...because we can't read this letter and say, "Well, this isn't applicable because I'm not going through (insert specific trial here)." There's always some kind of hurdle in the road, isn't there?

Which brings me to what I took away as the main theme of this entire letter. I will say this first - there are various topics or themes that one could probably take away from 1 Peter. But the great part about Scripture is that the Spirit of God helps us & teaches us while we read - and this is the theme He made stand out to me as I read through this book: What is my responsibility in the midst of suffering? I believe this is the theme based on who Peter is writing to, and I believe the answer to this question is very clearly presented. In fact, the answer to this question is also exactly the same as it would be to the very basic question of, "What is my responsibility as a follower of Christ?" The answer to both of those questions is this: Holy living. This is most obviously seen in chapter 1, verses 14-16: "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy' " (all of the references of holy living in 1 Peter can be seen Here).

The Why of holy living is easy, but it is profound: Jesus Christ gave His very life to enable us to do so. He bought us out of sin - He found us spiritually dead & made us alive. This is so beautifully mentioned over & over again in the letter. My life is not my own, it is the possession of Christ. The How of holy living though - that's where we get tripped up. I think this calling usually gets thrown into 2 different categories. The first category is legalism. When thinking of "holy living" or "personal holiness," some instantly tie it to legalism in their heads. They start thinking about all the extra-biblical boundaries others set up for themselves, and scoff at them...so instead, some choose to go and re-enter the slave market of sin that we've been bought from & do so in the name of "Christian liberty." The other category is impossibility. We think of all the great passages of God's holiness, such as Isaiah 6, and we instantly realize that we can never attain such a standard. "Be holy as I am holy" - ?? There's no way...so instead, we give up on personal holiness altogether. But my last pastor, who is now one of my best friends, gave the simplest explanation of personal holiness I've ever heard, and I found it echoed again right here in 1 Peter: choose right. In each daily situation; every turning point in your day - choose right. Man...that seems so much easier to follow than the grandiose thoughts of God's indescribable character, doesn't it? That explanation is pretty difficult to link to legalism, isn't it? Just choose right. Obviously it's not always easy to do so. We are literally at war with our old sin nature. But does it make personal holiness seem like something much more attainable? Absolutely, especially since I have the very Holy Spirit of God living inside of me. So how does this link back to my responsibility in the midst of suffering, or trials?

1 Peter 4:19
ESV: "Let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good."
NLT: - "So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for He will never fail you." 

My favorite part is that I'm not supposed to do good or choose right just because I'm told to. No, there's a much deeper reason - it's because I can trust my "faithful Creator." It's because I can trust the God who "will never fail" me. At the very beginning of the book, Peter says that the ultimate reason for trials & suffering is to test the genuineness of our faith. But at the very end of the book, he tells us the result of enduring them:

1 Peter 5:10-11 - "And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To Him be the dominion forever and ever."

The result is that God Himself will build both my character and my hope in Him as He carries me through - but the best result is that HE receives the glory for doing so.