Embedded Files
1 PETER
Living Hope in a Hostile World
BOOK AT A GLANCE: Peter encourages suffering Christians to live as holy exiles, follow Christ's example, serve faithfully, and hope in future glory.
Key Passage: 1 Peter 1:3
Google Sites Pattern: Chapter overview → Big Picture → collapsible passage groups → WEB Scripture guide → commentary → life application → prayer → infographic spot → chapter takeaway.
1 Peter Chapter 1 — A Living Hope
Theme: New birth through Christ's resurrection gives hope that shapes holy living
Key Truth: New birth through Christ's resurrection gives hope that shapes holy living.
Life Application: Let this truth reshape our beliefs, choices, relationships, and faithfulness to christ.
BIG PICTURE
This chapter develops the theme that new birth through christ's resurrection gives hope that shapes holy living. Its movement through An Imperishable Inheritance and Be Holy keeps the focus on God's grace, truth, and the practical response of faith.
INFOGRAPHIC SPOT — 1 PETER 1 OVERVIEW
COLLAPSIBLE GROUP 1 — 1 Peter 1:1-12 — An Imperishable Inheritance
SCRIPTURE — WEB PASSAGE GUIDE: Trials refine faith while believers rejoice in salvation promised by the prophets.
COMMENTARY: This section highlights an imperishable inheritance. Trials refine faith while believers rejoice in salvation promised by the prophets. The passage should be read inside the chapter's larger emphasis: new birth through christ's resurrection gives hope that shapes holy living.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR US TODAY: Respond to an imperishable inheritance with humility, faith, and practical obedience.
PRAYER: Our Father in heaven, help us respond to an imperishable inheritance with humility, faith, and practical obedience. Shape us through Your Word and make us faithful to Jesus Christ. In His name. Amen.
INFOGRAPHIC SPOT — 1 PETER 1:1-12
COLLAPSIBLE GROUP 2 — 1 Peter 1:13-25 — Be Holy
SCRIPTURE — WEB PASSAGE GUIDE: Hopeful minds, reverent conduct, redeemed lives, sincere love, and the enduring Word mark God's children.
COMMENTARY: This section highlights be holy. Hopeful minds, reverent conduct, redeemed lives, sincere love, and the enduring Word mark God's children. The passage should be read inside the chapter's larger emphasis: new birth through christ's resurrection gives hope that shapes holy living.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR US TODAY: Respond to be holy with humility, faith, and practical obedience.
PRAYER: Our Father in heaven, help us respond to be holy with humility, faith, and practical obedience. Shape us through Your Word and make us faithful to Jesus Christ. In His name. Amen.
INFOGRAPHIC SPOT — 1 PETER 1:13-25
CHAPTER TAKEAWAY
An Imperishable Inheritance.
Be Holy.
1 Peter Chapter 2 — A Holy People in the World
Theme: Believers are living stones and God's people, called to honorable conduct under pressure
Key Truth: Believers are living stones and God's people, called to honorable conduct under pressure.
Life Application: Let this truth reshape our beliefs, choices, relationships, and faithfulness to christ.
BIG PICTURE
This chapter develops the theme that believers are living stones and god's people, called to honorable conduct under pressure. Its movement through Living Stones and a Royal Priesthood and Honor Through Suffering keeps the focus on God's grace, truth, and the practical response of faith.
INFOGRAPHIC SPOT — 1 PETER 2 OVERVIEW
COLLAPSIBLE GROUP 1 — 1 Peter 2:1-10 — Living Stones and a Royal Priesthood
SCRIPTURE — WEB PASSAGE GUIDE: Christ is the chosen cornerstone, and believers become a holy people who proclaim God's excellencies.
COMMENTARY: This section highlights living stones and a royal priesthood. Christ is the chosen cornerstone, and believers become a holy people who proclaim God's excellencies. The passage should be read inside the chapter's larger emphasis: believers are living stones and god's people, called to honorable conduct under pressure.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR US TODAY: Respond to living stones and a royal priesthood with humility, faith, and practical obedience.
PRAYER: Our Father in heaven, help us respond to living stones and a royal priesthood with humility, faith, and practical obedience. Shape us through Your Word and make us faithful to Jesus Christ. In His name. Amen.
INFOGRAPHIC SPOT — 1 PETER 2:1-10
COLLAPSIBLE GROUP 2 — 1 Peter 2:11-25 — Honor Through Suffering
SCRIPTURE — WEB PASSAGE GUIDE: Christians live honorably under authorities and follow Jesus, who suffered unjustly without retaliation.
COMMENTARY: This section highlights honor through suffering. Christians live honorably under authorities and follow Jesus, who suffered unjustly without retaliation. The passage should be read inside the chapter's larger emphasis: believers are living stones and god's people, called to honorable conduct under pressure.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR US TODAY: Respond to honor through suffering with humility, faith, and practical obedience.
PRAYER: Our Father in heaven, help us respond to honor through suffering with humility, faith, and practical obedience. Shape us through Your Word and make us faithful to Jesus Christ. In His name. Amen.
INFOGRAPHIC SPOT — 1 PETER 2:11-25
CHAPTER TAKEAWAY
Living Stones and a Royal Priesthood.
Honor Through Suffering.
1 Peter Chapter 3 — Blessing Instead of Retaliation
Theme: Marriage, community life, suffering for righteousness, and Christ's victory are held together
Key Truth: Marriage, community life, suffering for righteousness, and Christ's victory are held together.
Life Application: Let this truth reshape our beliefs, choices, relationships, and faithfulness to christ.
BIG PICTURE
This chapter develops the theme that marriage, community life, suffering for righteousness, and christ's victory are held together. Its movement through Marriage Under God and Suffer for Doing Good keeps the focus on God's grace, truth, and the practical response of faith.
INFOGRAPHIC SPOT — 1 PETER 3 OVERVIEW
COLLAPSIBLE GROUP 1 — 1 Peter 3:1-7 — Marriage Under God
SCRIPTURE — WEB PASSAGE GUIDE: Wives and husbands are called to godly character, understanding, honor, and shared life in grace.
COMMENTARY: This section highlights marriage under god. Wives and husbands are called to godly character, understanding, honor, and shared life in grace. The passage should be read inside the chapter's larger emphasis: marriage, community life, suffering for righteousness, and christ's victory are held together.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR US TODAY: Respond to marriage under god with humility, faith, and practical obedience.
PRAYER: Our Father in heaven, help us respond to marriage under god with humility, faith, and practical obedience. Shape us through Your Word and make us faithful to Jesus Christ. In His name. Amen.
INFOGRAPHIC SPOT — 1 PETER 3:1-7
COLLAPSIBLE GROUP 2 — 1 Peter 3:8-22 — Suffer for Doing Good
SCRIPTURE — WEB PASSAGE GUIDE: Believers bless enemies, prepare a reason for hope, maintain a good conscience, and look to Christ's victorious suffering.
COMMENTARY: This section highlights suffer for doing good. Believers bless enemies, prepare a reason for hope, maintain a good conscience, and look to Christ's victorious suffering. The passage should be read inside the chapter's larger emphasis: marriage, community life, suffering for righteousness, and christ's victory are held together.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR US TODAY: Respond to suffer for doing good with humility, faith, and practical obedience.
PRAYER: Our Father in heaven, help us respond to suffer for doing good with humility, faith, and practical obedience. Shape us through Your Word and make us faithful to Jesus Christ. In His name. Amen.
INFOGRAPHIC SPOT — 1 PETER 3:8-22
CHAPTER TAKEAWAY
Marriage Under God.
Suffer for Doing Good.
1 Peter Chapter 4 — Live for God's Will
Theme: The end in view produces holiness, love, hospitality, service, and faithful suffering
Key Truth: The end in view produces holiness, love, hospitality, service, and faithful suffering.
Life Application: Let this truth reshape our beliefs, choices, relationships, and faithfulness to christ.
BIG PICTURE
This chapter develops the theme that the end in view produces holiness, love, hospitality, service, and faithful suffering. Its movement through Stewards of Grace and Do Not Be Surprised by Fiery Trial keeps the focus on God's grace, truth, and the practical response of faith.
INFOGRAPHIC SPOT — 1 PETER 4 OVERVIEW
COLLAPSIBLE GROUP 1 — 1 Peter 4:1-11 — Stewards of Grace
SCRIPTURE — WEB PASSAGE GUIDE: Believers leave former sinful patterns and use gifts to serve so God is glorified.
COMMENTARY: This section highlights stewards of grace. Believers leave former sinful patterns and use gifts to serve so God is glorified. The passage should be read inside the chapter's larger emphasis: the end in view produces holiness, love, hospitality, service, and faithful suffering.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR US TODAY: Respond to stewards of grace with humility, faith, and practical obedience.
PRAYER: Our Father in heaven, help us respond to stewards of grace with humility, faith, and practical obedience. Shape us through Your Word and make us faithful to Jesus Christ. In His name. Amen.
INFOGRAPHIC SPOT — 1 PETER 4:1-11
COLLAPSIBLE GROUP 2 — 1 Peter 4:12-19 — Do Not Be Surprised by Fiery Trial
SCRIPTURE — WEB PASSAGE GUIDE: Suffering for Christ is not strange; believers entrust themselves to the faithful Creator while doing good.
COMMENTARY: This section highlights do not be surprised by fiery trial. Suffering for Christ is not strange; believers entrust themselves to the faithful Creator while doing good. The passage should be read inside the chapter's larger emphasis: the end in view produces holiness, love, hospitality, service, and faithful suffering.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR US TODAY: Respond to do not be surprised by fiery trial with humility, faith, and practical obedience.
PRAYER: Our Father in heaven, help us respond to do not be surprised by fiery trial with humility, faith, and practical obedience. Shape us through Your Word and make us faithful to Jesus Christ. In His name. Amen.
INFOGRAPHIC SPOT — 1 PETER 4:12-19
CHAPTER TAKEAWAY
Stewards of Grace.
Do Not Be Surprised by Fiery Trial.
1 Peter Chapter 5 — Shepherd Humbly - Stand Firm
Theme: Leaders serve willingly, younger believers practice humility, and everyone resists the devil in steadfast faith
Key Truth: Leaders serve willingly, younger believers practice humility, and everyone resists the devil in steadfast faith.
Life Application: Let this truth reshape our beliefs, choices, relationships, and faithfulness to christ.
BIG PICTURE
This chapter develops the theme that leaders serve willingly, younger believers practice humility, and everyone resists the devil in steadfast faith. Its movement through Humble Shepherds and Humble Saints and Resist and Stand keeps the focus on God's grace, truth, and the practical response of faith.
INFOGRAPHIC SPOT — 1 PETER 5 OVERVIEW
COLLAPSIBLE GROUP 1 — 1 Peter 5:1-7 — Humble Shepherds and Humble Saints
SCRIPTURE — WEB PASSAGE GUIDE: Elders lead by example rather than domination, and all cast anxieties on God because He cares.
COMMENTARY: This section highlights humble shepherds and humble saints. Elders lead by example rather than domination, and all cast anxieties on God because He cares. The passage should be read inside the chapter's larger emphasis: leaders serve willingly, younger believers practice humility, and everyone resists the devil in steadfast faith.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR US TODAY: Respond to humble shepherds and humble saints with humility, faith, and practical obedience.
PRAYER: Our Father in heaven, help us respond to humble shepherds and humble saints with humility, faith, and practical obedience. Shape us through Your Word and make us faithful to Jesus Christ. In His name. Amen.
INFOGRAPHIC SPOT — 1 PETER 5:1-7
COLLAPSIBLE GROUP 2 — 1 Peter 5:8-14 — Resist and Stand
SCRIPTURE — WEB PASSAGE GUIDE: The devil prowls, but believers resist knowing suffering is shared and God's grace will restore them.
COMMENTARY: This section highlights resist and stand. The devil prowls, but believers resist knowing suffering is shared and God's grace will restore them. The passage should be read inside the chapter's larger emphasis: leaders serve willingly, younger believers practice humility, and everyone resists the devil in steadfast faith.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR US TODAY: Respond to resist and stand with humility, faith, and practical obedience.
PRAYER: Our Father in heaven, help us respond to resist and stand with humility, faith, and practical obedience. Shape us through Your Word and make us faithful to Jesus Christ. In His name. Amen.
INFOGRAPHIC SPOT — 1 PETER 5:8-14
CHAPTER TAKEAWAY
Humble Shepherds and Humble Saints.
Resist and Stand.
Four Reasons You Should Preach Through 1 Peter
Four Reasons You Should Preach Through 1 Peter
Christians easily lose sight of the glorious inheritance that awaits them.
A good deal of sin in the church is the result of
1) Christians being too comfortable in this world, or
2) Christians failing to grasp the eternal hope that enables them to push on in obedience.
The letter of 1 Peter addresses these issues more directly and succinctly than any other book of the Bible.
This letter reminds us that we are pilgrims in this world, and it spurs us on to a life of godliness in this world with the coming world in mind.
If you have never preached through 1 Peter, I would strongly encourage you to do so soon. It might save you a lot of time in counseling sessions, and it will bring hope and joy to your congregation.
In this article I’ll provide four reasons your church would benefit from an expositional series through 1 Peter. But before we get to those reasons, let me give you a one-sentence summary of the main idea of the letter:
First Peter reminds Christians that they are elect exiles in this world and, in their pilgrimage, calls them to focus on three key relationships:
1) with the God who elected them;
2) with the world they are living in; and
3) with the brothers and sisters who are their fellow pilgrims.
1 Peter Reminds Us That We Are Elect Exiles in the World
Peter addresses his readers as “elect exiles” (1 Pet. 1:1).
Many Christians in the West urgently need to be reminded that we too are elect exiles.
Far too often we live as if this world were our home.
But it is not.
We are pilgrims who have been born again to a living hope and to an inheritance that is being kept in heaven for us (1:3ff).
Peter helps us set our hope and joy on what is yet unseen and reminds us that our pilgrimage will lead us through various trials and grief.
God allows these trials to come into our lives to test and purify our faith (1:6f).
Thus 1 Peter is highly applicable for those who are facing trials, and it is highly applicable for those who have lost sight of the goal to which we have been called.
If your people don’t struggle with these two things, you might want to preach through another book of the Bible before turning to 1 Peter.
But if they do, don’t underestimate how greatly God might help your people in their various trials by preaching 1 Peter.
1 Peter Helps “Elect Exiles” in Three Key Relationships
1. With the God Who Has Elected Us
Undoubtedly, all of Scripture calls us to a relationship with God.
But many Christians have an unbiblical understanding of what this means.
They think of this relationship as one entered into by two parties who agreed to come together.
First Peter corrects this erroneous thinking, emphasizing that God alone was responsible for our relationship with him.
Peter makes this point plain in his opening paragraph (1:1–2), and he continues to remind his readers of this fact (1:3, 1:15, 2:9, 3:9, 5:10).
Peter demonstrates how all three persons of the Trinity work together to accomplish this task.
Our election is based on the “foreknowledge of God the Father” (1:2).
He calls us to bless the Father for our salvation, which was achieved through the work of his Son, Jesus Christ (1:3, 1:18–21, 2:21–24).
The benefits of redemption are then applied “in the sanctification of the Spirit” (1:2).
Preaching through 1 Peter will remind your church that our relationship to God is based solely on his sovereign will and work, which should lead us to worship him.
Furthermore, 1 Peter reminds us that God is with us in the sorrows and struggles of life.
Through his power he guards us until our final salvation will be revealed (1:5). God will “restore, confirm, strengthen and establish” his elect (5:10).
Weak and struggling Christians need to be reminded of God’s sovereign care.
Finally, Peter reminds us that God’s election was so that we might receive great and certain promises.
We have “been born again to a living hope . . . to an inheritance . . . and for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1:3–5).
Peter uses this to call the elect exiles to a life of holiness. If your church members need to be reminded of God’s call to holiness, 1 Peter provides the medicine they need.
His call to holiness is firmly rooted in what God has done for us, is doing in us, and will do for us when he brings his grace to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1:13ff).
First Peter grounds the confidence of the elect exiles in the immovable God who has elected them, who is with them and who will safely lead them home.
2. With the World in Which We Live
Peter addresses believers as exiles.
We were once at home in the world.
But then God intervened and called us out of the world and made them his children.
Our adoption into God’s household should change how we live.
Peter explains: “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” (1 Pet. 1:14).
Pastors, we must remind our people that they no longer belong to this world.
We are prone to conform to the world we live in, but we are called by God to be distinct from the it. In 4:3–4, Peter challenges the elect exiles by pointing out that they have previously spent enough time doing what the godless do.
Now, living as exiles, they will not find the approval of this world.
Christians need to prepare themselves for the world’s rejection and for the accompanying persecution (3:14, 3:17, 4:4, 4:13f, 5:10) because they are called to follow Christ who himself endured much pain and suffering (1:11, 2:21ff, 3:18, 4:1, 4:13).
While elect exiles can at times be painfully aware that they do not belong to this world, God has placed them into this world for a reason.
First Peter repeatedly calls Christians to live in a way that entices the interest of unbelievers:
“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation” (2:11–12).
Godly lives will provoke questions.
Peter reminds us that we should not only live so that as to provoke questions, but that we should also be prepared to respond “to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (3:15).
None of this is easy, of course.
But God helps his elect exiles so that they successfully pass through this world to their ultimate home.
One way that God helps elect exiles to reach the goal is by giving them fellow pilgrims.
This is the third key relationship to address when preaching 1 Peter.
3. With Our Fellow Pilgrims
While 1 Peter is not directly addressed to a local church, it addresses elect exiles corporately and calls them to be pilgrims in this world together. In our individualistic age we need to hear Peter’s exhortation.
Repeatedly he calls elect exiles to brotherly love (1:22, 3:8, 4:8) and to unite as living stones being built up as a spiritual house (2:4f).
As exiles in this world we should be there for one another and should serve one another with our God-given gifts (4:10).
We today— as much as the elect exiles back then— need to be challenged to think and act in this way.
Our heavenly Father has given his elect exiles all we need to make it through the trials of this world, but he has not given everything we need to each person individually.
Instead, he has given us everything we need corporately, and we therefore need to share with each other as we sojourn together through this world.
Lastly, preaching 1 Peter will not only challenge your church members to serve each other in brotherly love, but it will also challenge you and your fellow elders to exercise your responsibility in the same way.
Teach through 5:1–4 and consider ways to regularly meditate on it in your elders’ meetings.
But it’s also good for your church to hear these verses so that they are better equipped to appoint those as elders who are truly willing to serve as under-shepherds.
Your church should learn from 1 Peter to appoint elders who are following the example of Christ and humbly serving the Chief Shepherd—until he appears and our pilgrimage comes to an end.
A Journey Through Exile
The members of your church are elect exiles in this world.
Yet, growing comfortable in the world, we often forget this fact.
First Peter teaches us about our good and merciful God who gave us a new identity and a citizenship in heaven, who helps us persevere as long as we live in this world, and who will safely bring us home.
To help your people prepare for our rapidly secularizing and increasingly hostile culture, preach through 1 Peter.
Favorite Commentaries
Commentary on Peter & Jude, Martin Luther. This might be my national bias, but Martin Luther’s classic is well worth reading.
I and II Peter, Jude (The New American Commentary), Thomas R. Schreiner. This commentary will help you understand the text and the flow of Peter’s arguments. Schreiner is also very helpful in drawing in and explaining Old Testament background and allusions.
The Message of 1 Peter (The Bible Speaks Today), Edmund Clowney. Once you have done your exegetical homework, Clowney’s insights can be very helpful in structuring your sermon and applying the text.
1 Peter (Reformed Expository Commentary), Daniel M. Doriani. I love the whole REC series and found this volume particularly helpful in thinking more about how 1 Peter applies to my life and the lives of others in our congregation.
1 Peter Overview Living Hope For God's People In A World That Opposes Them - Infographic
1 Peter Overview Living Hope For God's People In A World That Opposes Them - Infographic
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse