1 Peter

Peter sends greetings from the church "at Babylon," a sign that God's grace is found in unlikely places, and from Mark, whom Peter calls his son, once a deserter and now restored. He tells them to greet one another with the kiss of love, showing mutual affection in Christ. His final word is "Peace to all of you who are in Christ." That peace is both the objective peace of justification, declared righteous through Christ's righteousness credited by faith, and the experienced peace of his presence.

Syria and Israel come up against Jerusalem, and the hearts of Ahaz and his people shake like trees in the wind. Isaiah is sent to tell Ahaz to be careful, be quiet, and not fear these two smoldering stumps, for their plan will not stand. The Lord had promised David an everlasting dynasty, and Ahaz's faithlessness could not undo it. The warning follows: "If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all." God's people stand only by trusting his promises.

Peter calls believers to humble themselves under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time he may exalt them, casting all their anxieties on him because he cares for them. Humbling oneself means acknowledging that God is mighty, the deliverer who will vindicate his people in his time. Anxiety, whether voiced or bottled up, often shows a lack of trust in God. The remedy is not denial but throwing every care on the Father, who has already shown his care by saving his people in Christ.

Peter tells younger people to be subject to their elders and all believers to clothe themselves with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Scripture commands honor for the aged as part of fearing God. Pride shows itself in self-sufficiency and refusing to depend on God and others. Clothing oneself with humility is like putting on a servant's apron, as Christ did when he washed his disciples' feet, and the humble are humble only by God's grace.

Peter charges the elders to shepherd the flock of God among them. Pastors and ruling elders are to know, feed, guard, and care for the sheep actively, as the OPC Form of Government describes, not only on Sundays. They must avoid serving under compulsion, for shameful gain, or by domineering over the flock. Jesus taught that greatness in his kingdom is service, and he, the chief shepherd, laid down his life for his sheep. Faithful elders will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Peter exhorts the elders as a fellow elder to shepherd the flock of God among them. The passage reflects God's shepherd heart, and the church follows the biblical pattern of government by elders. Christ is the chief shepherd, and elders are under-shepherds accountable to him. They are to serve willingly, not under compulsion, not for gain, and not as lords or little popes over their congregations, but as examples to the flock. When the chief shepherd appears, faithful elders will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Peter tells believers not to be surprised at the fiery trial, as though something strange were happening, but to rejoice in sharing Christ's sufferings, for the Spirit of glory rests on them. They do not add to his atonement; their suffering resembles his. They must not suffer as wrongdoers, but if as Christians, they should not be ashamed. Judgment begins at the household of God, a refining that separates true believers from false, so those who suffer entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

"The end of all things is at hand," Peter writes, so believers are to be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of their prayers. Christ's return could come at any time, and its nearness shapes how his people live. Above all they keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins, show hospitality without grumbling, and use their gifts to serve one another as stewards of God's varied grace, so that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

Since Christ suffered in the flesh, Peter tells believers to arm themselves with the same way of thinking: whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, God having released them from its rule. They are to live the rest of their time for the will of God, not for the sensuality and idolatry of their former lives, though the world maligns them for it. Those who mock will give account to the Judge of the living and the dead. Believers, clothed in Christ's righteousness, can take comfort in that judgment.

Peter sets out the heart of the gospel: Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. His death, of infinite value, paid the debt for sin in full, so no one needs to offer another sacrifice, and the accuser has no ground against those who trust him. Men put him to death in the flesh, but God made him alive in the Spirit. Baptism corresponds to Noah's deliverance through water and is an appeal to God through Christ's resurrection. Christ is the sinner's substitute and Savior.