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Elect Exiles with a Living Hope: The Message of 1 Peter (1 Peter) | Thomas R. Schreiner · Reformed Thinking

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  Reformed thinking. Welcome back.
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  We're about to do a deep dive into a stack of source
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  materials, pulling out the core ideas so you can be genuinely
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  well informed. Today we're getting into the
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  epistle of First Peter, and the sources we're using for this
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  really get to the heart of the letters theology, how Peter
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  explains salvation, and the very practical advice he gave.
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  Advice for believers who felt completely out of place in their
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  world. Right.
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  And that feeling of alienation, that's really the key to the
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  whole letter. So our goal here is to untack
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  how Peter spoke to those early Christians.
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  These were people living in that, you know, that really
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  difficult tension, the tension between what God had already
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  done in Jesus and what was still to come.
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  We're looking for those big insights on suffering, on
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  identity and the hope they have for the future.
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  And if you had to boil down the whole framework of first Peter
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  to one idea, you would probably be that line from chapter 4,
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  verse 7. The end of all things is at
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  hand. That feeling of living near the
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  end of history, yes. That's the core thesis, this
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  tension, that salvation has decisively happened, but it's
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  full completion is still future. That's the condition that
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  defines their life in the world. It's the classic already, but
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  not yet. So let's unpack that already
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  part first, because Peter kicks things off by telling his
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  readers, who are, you know, scattered all over Asia Minor,
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  that they are living in a totally different time in
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  salvation history. It's a fundamental shift, and we
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  see it right away in Chapter 1, where he contrasts their reality
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  with, well, what the Old Testament prophets were longing
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  for. And the sources really lean into
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  this. The readers of First Peter are
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  living in a time that those old prophets, the ones he mentions
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  in verses 11:50, they could only look forward to.
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  Right. These prophets announced that
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  salvation and grace would come, but they didn't get to see it
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  happen. They didn't get to experience
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  the fulfillment of their own words.
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  They wrote about the Spirit of Christ, but they weren't on this
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  side of the cross in the resurrection.
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  And that's the huge privilege for Christians.
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  Now we are living after Jesus death and resurrection.
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  We get to live in the promise, salvation.
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  Peter sees this as a complete, irreversible change in how
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  history works. It's the moment the promise
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  becomes reality. He even mentions it again in
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  chapter 4 when he talks about the unique privilege of
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  suffering as a Christian. And that privilege is grounded
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  in a present spiritual reality. He gets into the mechanics of
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  this new life almost immediately, he says.
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  Believers have been born again. Right in verse 3 of chapter 1.
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  And it's so important to see that as a completed action.
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  It's not something they're hoping for.
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  It's a settled fact about who they are.
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  And this being born again, this regeneration, it's directly tied
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  to the message they heard, the Gospel.
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  Peter is clear that it happens by means of the Word of God,
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  which is the gospel. The living and enduring word he
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  talks about in verses 23 to 25. South, the Gospel is the
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  instrument God uses to create this new life.
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  It shows that salvation comes through God revealing Himself.
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  OK, so if the Gospel is the instrument, then the source is
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  the Triune Godhead. You see this really clear
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  Trinitarian structure right in the greeting in verses 1 and 2.
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  Yes. And it's so much more than just
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  a hello. It's a whole theological
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  statement about their security. The sources really pick up on
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  this. Talk a bit more about that.
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  How does he lay it out well? He describes believers as chosen
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  and elected by the Father, so their new life begins in God's
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  eternal plan. Then they are set apart by the
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  Spirit's sanctifying work. Which is the Spirit making them
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  holy, distinct. Right.
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  And finally, they're brought into this new covenant
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  relationship through the sprinkling of the blood of the
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  Son. That's what brings the
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  forgiveness and purification. And for his audience who are
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  suffering, why is that order so significant?
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  Why would he start with election?
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  Starting with election by the father gives them an anchor that
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  can't be moved. I mean, think about it.
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  If you're suffering slander or social alienation, your
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  circumstances might make you feel like God has left you
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  behind. Sure, you'd question everything.
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  But Peter redirects them. He says no, Your identity
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  started before the world began. It's rooted in the Father's
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  sovereign choice. The fact that the Spirit then
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  applies that and the Sun's work secures it means they're
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  standing isn't based on how well they're doing.
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  Which they might feel is not very well under pressure.
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  Exactly, it's based entirely on the Triune God.
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  It just removes all doubt about where they stand with him.
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  And that phrase, the sprinkling of blood that pulls us right
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  back into the Old Covenant, doesn't it?
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  It does, and this is where you see that amazing contrast
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  between the shadow and the substance, the sprinkling of
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  blood. When the Sinai covenant was made
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  back Exodus 24, that was a pointer.
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  Moses sprinkled blood on the altar and on the people.
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  Yes, to show this binding relationship between God and
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  Israel. But the blood of animals was,
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  you know, temporary. It had to be repeated year after
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  year. It pointed forward to the final,
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  much more effective sprinkling through Christ's death.
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  His blood isn't just symbolic, it secures actual definite
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  forgiveness. Whole new relationship with God.
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  The first covenant promised access in a limited way.
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  The new Covenant provides full access through Christ.
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  And that same logic that shadowed A substance idea, it
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  applies to the whole sacrificial system, right?
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  All those spotless lambs that were sacrificed.
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  They all anticipated the the one perfect sacrifice of the true
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  sinless Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.
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  Peter brings us up in verses 18 and 19.
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  The sources we looked at really highlight two things about
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  Christ's sacrifice here, right? 1st it's purity.
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  He was, without blemish, a truly perfect sacrifice, which the
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  animal sacrifices could only ever symbolize.
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  And 2nd it's sufficiency. It was precious blood, he says,
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  worth more than all the silver or gold in the world.
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  And the redemption they get isn't just from, say, political
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  slavery or being in debt. No, it's a redemption from a
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  whole life of futility, a way of life they inherited.
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  And Peter uses the biggest Old Testament story of liberation,
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  the Exodus from Egypt, to frame this.
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  Israel's liberation pointed to something greater.
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  The Exodus was the model for God saving action.
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  It's what made Israel a nation. But what Christ did was a
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  superior final liberation from a life ruled by sin.
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  His death is the true Exodus. He paid the price to buy them
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  out of that bondage, making them a people who belong completely
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  to God. So all of this really cements
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  the already part of their existence.
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  They have been decisively set free.
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  And that freedom is the complete fulfillment of all God's past
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  promises. OK, so if the Exodus imagery
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  gives us the scale of this redemption, the suffering
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  Servant imagery explains the the mechanism how the ransom was
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  actually paid. Sources all know that Peter
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  really focuses on Jesus fulfilling Isaiah 53.
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  He does very sharply, especially chapter 2, verses 21 to 25, and
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  this lets him do two things at once.
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  First, he can say that the total forgiveness promised in Isaiah
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  is now a reality in Jesus, and 2nd and 2nd, the Christ's own
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  response to suffering is the pattern for how believers should
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  act when they're being mistreated.
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  So it's two sides of one coin. His suffering is an example for
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  us, but it's also a unique substitution for us.
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  Exactly. Peter points out that Jesus
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  suffered as the innocent 1 He was sinless, as verse 22 says,
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  and yet he didn't lash out. He didn't trade insults or make
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  threats. He just quietly entrusted
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  himself to God. That quiet trust is so key for
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  the example part Peter's readers, they'd naturally want
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  to hit back or get revenge. Of course, but Peter shows them
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  Christ's model was patient endurance and trusting the
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  righteous judge. But, and this is a critical
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  distinction, while his suffering is a pattern for our conduct,
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  His death was totally unique. It was substitutionary.
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  He's very clear on this. He says Jesus bore our sins and
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  his body on the tree. That's verse 24.
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  And that's the definition of substitution.
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  He, the innocent one, took the full weight of their sins.
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  He suffered the penalty for sin that we could never pay
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  ourselves. Peters leaves no room for
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  confusion on this point. He uses some very precise
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  theological language. The most definitive statement is
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  probably in chapter 3 verse 18, that he suffered once for sins,
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  the righteous for the unrighteous that.
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  Phrase once for sins is huge. It tells them the atonement is
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  done, it's finished, complete and sufficient.
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  It doesn't need to be repeated or added to.
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  And for people struggling, feeling insecure, that would be
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  an immense comfort. Absolutely.
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  If the atonement wasn't finished, their suffering might
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  feel like it was needed to, you know, add something to it.
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  But Peter assures them no, it is done.
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  And the purpose of all this is also stated very clearly to
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  bring us to God. Right.
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  The sources connect this idea very strongly.
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  His substitutionary death dealt with the biggest barrier between
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  a holy God and sinful people. Sin is paid for, guilt is gone,
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  and believers now have access to God's presence.
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  That immediate access is the glorious result of what the
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  Suffering Servant did. Now, connecting Christ's death
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  to the idea of victory, that's where things get really
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  interesting. We often just focus on the
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  substitution part, but Peter shows that the crucifixion also
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  meant the defeat of demonic powers.
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  You're talking about that section in chapter 3, verses 19
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  to 22. It's a complex passage.
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  What do the sources say about Christ proclaiming to the
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  spirits in prison? It is complex, but the consensus
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  in the sources really focuses on Christ's triumph in His
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  sovereignty. Verses 19 to 22 are not really
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  about Jesus offering a second chance for salvation to people
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  in hell like some of thought. So what's the point then?
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  The point is to give this dramatic picture of Christ's
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  victory over all the spiritual forces that oppose God.
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  The idea is that Christ, after his resurrection, made a
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  proclamation, a declaration of victory to these disobedient
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  spirits, probably fallen angels or demonic powers.
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  He's declaring that his suffering wasn't a defeat at.
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  All not at all. It was the very means to his
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  exaltation and his rule. He's announcing that he has
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  successfully completed the work of Redemption.
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  So the cross isn't just about our guilt, it's a cosmic
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  victory. Jesus is raised, he ascends, and
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  he proclaims his triumph over demons as the sovereign Lord.
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  It's like a cosmic victory lamp. That's a great way to put it.
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  The focus is on Christ's status. He suffered, yes, but He was
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  made alive in the Spirit. He ascended, and now he is at
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  the right hand of God, with angels, authorities and powers
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  having been subjected to him. So this passage shows that his
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  triumph includes bringing all spiritual opposition under his
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  feet. The savior they follow isn't
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  just a martyr, he's the conquering king.
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  And because of that death and resurrection, a new age in
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  salvation history has begun. Peter doesn't use the specific
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  word Kingdom, but the idea is the same as what you see in the
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  sun optic gospels. The Kingdom has been
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  inaugurated. The balance of cosmic power has
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  shifted for good. Jesus is crowned as victor and
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  the demonic forces are subjected to him.
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  That's an incredible picture. It is, and this triumphant view
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  of Christ as the King who defeated his enemies is really
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  the theological engine that drives all the ethical
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  instructions that come later in the letter.
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  Right, that makes sense. The substitution and triumph of
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  Christ becomes the foundation for this radical new identity
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  for believers. If Christ's work is the already,
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  then they have to understand who they are now.
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  Which brings us to Peter's teaching on the Church's
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  identity as God's new Israel and new Temple.
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  And this is a truly radical reversal of identity, isn't it?
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  I mean, his readers were a mix of Jewish believers and it
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  seems, mostly gentile Christians.
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  For centuries, the Old Testament defined ethnic Israel as God's
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  chosen people. All that language of covenant
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  privilege from places like Exodus 19 was applied only to
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  them. But then Peter takes that exact
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  language, a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a
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  people for his own possession, and he applies it directly to
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  them. To this scattered group of
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  Gentile and Jewish believers together, it's a declaration
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  that the Church of Jesus Christ is the true and new Israel, the
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  fulfillment of those old promises.
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  Yeah, that must have been stunning for them to hear.
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  It's a profound rethinking of who belongs to God.
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  The sources are very clear that Peter sees this new people as
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  the heirs of the covenant. And it's not that this cancels
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  ethnic Israel. Jewish Christians are, of
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  course, full members of this restored community.
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  But the identity shift itself is what's so striking.
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  Peters redrawing the lines. So much so that the unbelievers,
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  even if they're ethnically Jewish, are now the ones he
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  calls Gentiles in relation to the covenant.
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  Right, they are the nations who are outside of God saving work.
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  It's a total reversal. The formerly covenant list.
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  Gentiles are now the chosen race and those who reject the Messiah
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  are now on the outside. This is the bedrock of their new
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  identity. And this new identity is also
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  expressed through the idea of the temple.
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  Believers are called God's household, which the sources say
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  is a clear reference to the church as a spiritual temple.
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  It connects to Old Testament hopes for restored temple.
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  You can see hints of passages like Ezekiel 9 and Malachi 3,
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  especially when Peter talks about judgment beginning at the
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  House of God in chapter 4. So the New Testament witness is
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  clear. The physical temple in Jerusalem
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  has been displaced and fulfilled by the people of God themselves.
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  Peter calls them living stones. In chapter 2 verse 5 and what
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  makes them living stones? Well, they're connected to
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  Christ, who is the living stone. Exactly.
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  The old temple was built with dead rock.
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  This new spiritual house is built out of people who are
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  animated by the Spirit and united to the risen Christ.
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  This means God's presence, which used to be located in one
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  building in Jerusalem, is now mobile.
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  It's embodied in his people scattered across the Empire.
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  And Christ is the center of it all.
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  He's the cornerstone, the one the whole structure depends on.
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  The people of God get their very life, their entire reason for
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  being, from Jesus, the risen, triumphant, reigning Lord.
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  So as the spiritual house, he says they offer spiritual
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  sacrifices. What does that mean in practice
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  if the physical sacrifices are fulfilled in Christ?
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  Their new priestly function, their royal priesthood, is
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  entirely spiritual. The sources interpret this to
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  mean a whole life of devotion. It's the sacrifice of praise, of
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  doing good, of sharing what you have, obedience, offering their
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  whole selves to God. So for Peter's audience, their
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  ethical conduct is their worship.
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  That's it. When they endure suffering with
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  holiness, they're performing their priestly duty inside this
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  new spiritual temple. It confirms just how Christ
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  centered this new identity is. OK, so we've established the
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  already salvation is a done deal, their new identity is
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  secure, Christ is victorious. But this is all happening while
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  they're still here on. Earth.
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  Which brings us to the not yet the reality of their exile and
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  the conflict that comes with it. Right.
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  Despite how decisive their salvation is, they're still
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  described as exiles and sojourners.
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  And Peter doesn't mean they've been literally banished.
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  The sense is that they are spiritually alienated from the
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  values and priorities of the culture around them.
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  They just don't share the world's ultimate citizenship.
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  That's a really important distinction.
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  It's an internal spiritual exile.
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  And how does that shape what they long for?
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  It directs their longing toward a future heavenly inheritance,
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  and the sources are careful to define heavenly here.
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  It's not some floaty non physical idea.
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  No, it means the inheritance is from God and it's not subject to
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  the decay and corruption of earthly life.
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  It's secure, incorruptible and kept for them.
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  Which is a huge assurance for people living in what feels like
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  a temporary and hostile place. And because they're exiles with
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  heavenly values, suffering becomes, well, inevitable.
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  This is a central theme of the whole letter.
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  It is, and the suffering he describes is mostly not, you
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  know, official empire wide persecution ending in martyrdom
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  that would come later. This is more sporadic and
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  relational. It's the rejection you get when
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  you live differently from everyone else.
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  We see the examples, they get slandered.
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  They're old friends mock them for not joining in the wild
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  parties. Slaves are abused by masters,
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  wives are mistreated by unbelieving husbands.
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  It's social and domestic friction.
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  But the theology gives them the strength to endure it.
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  The pattern for the disciple is the same As for the Lord.
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  For suffering then glory. Suffering isn't a sign God has
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  rejected them, it's a sign they're on the right path,
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  following their Lord. And because they're living in
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  this in between time, Peter gives them this strong command
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  for righteous behavior. They have to live in a way that
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  is pleasing to God. So that their conduct will
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  actually bring glory to God, even from the people who are
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  criticizing them. The word for conduct or manner
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  of life, anastrophy shows up a lot.
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  It does. They have to be holy,
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  recognizably different from the world.
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  It's a call to a holiness that shows up in every single
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  relationship and action. They're basically showing the
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  world what it looks like to be ruled by Christ.
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  And this distinctiveness is described by what they avoid
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  too. They have to abstain from evil
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  desires and all the typical Gentile activities like sexual
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  sin and idolatry. Yes, those old passions that
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  used to rule them have to be gone now.
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  They live for the will of God, and this provides A crucial
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  safeguard for them. If they suffer, it has to be for
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  doing good, for acting like Christians, not because they're
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  breaking the law or acting like criminals.
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  Because that would just bring shame on Krust's name.
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  Exactly. It would invalidate their
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  witness. Now Peter also gets into how
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  these exiles should relate to earthly authority, and
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  especially the whole question of fear.
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  He tells them to be model citizens, to obey the
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  government. Isn't that risky advice if the
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  government is hostile? It's a critical question, but
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  Peter adds a lot of nuance. He frames their obedience as
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  something they do voluntarily for the sake of his name.
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  It's not blind compliance. It's a free obedience done as an
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  act of allegiance to God first. So if the government demands
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  something that contradicts God's will, like idolatry, the higher
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  allegiance wins out. Right.
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  But in all the normal things, civil order, paying taxes, they
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  have to be exemplary. And this brings us to one of the
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  letters. Big themes.
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  Peter says over and over that only God should be feared.
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  That one fear of God governs all their other earthly
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  relationships. It's the anchor point.
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  If you fear God, you have the right perspective on human
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  authorities. They're temporary and they're
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  accountable to God. Slaves obey their masters out of
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  consciousness of God, feeling Him, not the master.
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  Wives fear God, not their husbands.
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  So all their obedience is filtered through that spiritual
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  lens. And the ethical advice turns
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  inward, too, within their own community at the new temple.
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  The new life in Christ demands a certain kind of behavior.
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  They have to genuinely love each other.
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  Getting rid of all the malice, deceit and envy.
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  The sources stress this Peter knows that external pressure can
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  cause a community to fracture from the inside, so they have to
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  be intentional about putting away those vices and replacing
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  them with sincere love for one another.
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  And the fact that the end is near just adds urgency to all of
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  this. It does.
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  The nearness of the end should push them toward more intense
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  love, more prayer, and using their gifts to serve each other.
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  Their external suffering has to be met with intense internal
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  unity. OK, so this focus on living
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  righteously while suffering it needs a really powerful
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  motivation, and Peter provides that through what he calls a
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  living hope. And Christ's resurrection is
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  what creates this hope. He calls it a living hope
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  because unlike worldly hopes hoping for better circumstances
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  or more money, this hope is attached to a living person,
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  Jesus, who conquered death. Because Christ is alive, the
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  hope is active and guaranteed. It's not dependent on their
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  situation, right? They're told to set their hope
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  not on temporary comforts, but on the grace that's coming when
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  Christ is revealed. And the quality of their lives,
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  their endurance, their holiness is what demonstrates this hope
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  to the world. He tells wives, for example, to
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  hope in God like their ancestors did, not to put all their
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  confidence in their husbands approval or their earthly
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  situation. It's a radical redirection of
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  hope away from finite things toward God's guaranteed future
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  action. And this hope is what gives them
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  the context for understanding God's sovereignty and their
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  suffering, their urge to persevere, knowing their
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  vindication is on its way. They can't interpret their
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  difficulties as a sign that God isn't in control or has
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  forgotten them. That is so crucial for Exiles.
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  God rules even during their suffering.
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  They are to entrust themselves to Him, knowing he is in control
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  of everything they're going through.
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  Peter promises them that after they have suffered a little
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  while, the God of all grace will Himself restore, confirm,
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  strengthen, and establish them. The difficulty is temporary, but
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  God's reign is permanent. And what's more, the sources
• 20:25
  point out, the God actually uses their suffering for their good.
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  It serves to refine and purify their faith.
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  It proves that their faith is genuine, more precious than gold
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  that perishes. And while this refinement is
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  happening, the devil is active. He's like a roaring lion trying
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  to terrify them into giving up. So they need that certainty of
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  God's rule and the guarantee of their inheritance to stand firm
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  against that pressure. They're told to resist Him, firm
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  in their faith. Their faith is their shield.
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  And he reminds them that they aren't alone in this, right?
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  The same kinds of suffering are happening to their brothers and
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  sisters all over the world. There's solidarity in that.
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  So they lived these holy, suffering lives because Jesus is
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  their Lord and because they have personally tasted that the Lord
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  is good. Yes.
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  That personal experience of God's grace is the internal
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  engine that fuels their ethics and their endurance.
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  Which brings us to the ultimate goal.
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  Peter sets out for them to proclaim the excellencies of him
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  who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
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  Their righteous conduct isn't just an end in itself, it's the
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  visible way they advertise God's goodness and mercy to a
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  skeptical world. Having received His mercy, they
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  live in a way that shows His excellence.
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  And Peter closes by calling them to stand fast in God's grace.
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  That has to remain central. They have to plant their feet in
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  God's love and sovereignty until Christ is revealed, knowing that
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  their final salvation is absolutely certain.
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  This has been a really detailed look at First Peter.
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  It's amazing to see how tightly Peter's theology and his
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  practical ethics are connected. If we were to synthesize this
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  for the listener, it seems like 3 big interlocked themes themes
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  really stand out. I think so.
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  First, there's the certainty that Christ has fully
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  accomplished salvation. He's the slain Lamb, the
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  suffering servant. The new exodus is done.
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  Second, there's the immediate corporate reality of being God's
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  new Israel and new Temple. A people who find their whole
• 22:18
  identity and purpose in Christ. And third, because those first
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  two there's the resulting necessity of godly conduct while
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  suffering as exiles, all in anticipation of the sure glory
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  that's coming. The certainty of the already is
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  what fuels the endurance needed for the not yet.
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  They're resident aliens who show they have a different master by
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  how they live, even under pressure.
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  Right. Their suffering often made them
• 22:41
  question if Jesus was really Lord or if God was really in
• 22:45
  control. And Peter's answer is a clear
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  yes. They just have to follow their
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  Lord's pattern. Suffering first, then glory.
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  So we'll leave you with a final thought to consider based on
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  Peter's counsel. If the goal of our godly conduct
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  is to live in such a distinct way that our good deeds might
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  provoke unbelievers to eventually give glory to God,
• 23:05
  how does the conviction that you are a resident alien inform your
• 23:09
  everyday actions today? And specifically, in our modern
• 23:12
  world, where social norms can clash so heavily with Christian
• 23:15
  reality, what does that distinction look like between
• 23:18
  suffering as a Christian for doing good and suffering as an
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  evildoer? Where is that line today that
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  Peter insisted his readers maintain?
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  Something to think about as you reflect on the certainty of your
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  hope.