1 Peter · chapter 1 of 5
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1 Peter 1 blesses God because by his great mercy he has caused believers to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and keeps for them an imperishable inheritance in heaven. Trials refine faith like gold, and Peter calls them to set their hope on grace, to be holy as God is holy and to love one another from a pure heart, because they were ransomed by the precious blood of Christ.
Peter writes to believers scattered across several provinces of Asia Minor, who lived as foreigners in a society that viewed them with suspicion and sometimes made them suffer. The first chapter reminds them who they are in Christ and what awaits them, so that they can bear the present with hope and holiness.
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, greets the elect exiles scattered in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, and blesses God, who by his great mercy has caused them to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and to an imperishable inheritance kept in heaven. They are guarded by God's power through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed.
In this they rejoice, though now they are grieved by various trials, so that their tested faith, more precious than gold, may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. They have not seen him, yet they love him and rejoice with inexpressible joy. The prophets searched carefully about this salvation, and it was revealed to them that they served not themselves but you; angels long to look into it.
Therefore they must set their hope fully on the grace to be brought to them when Christ is revealed and, as obedient children, be holy in all their conduct, because the one who called them is holy. They were ransomed not with silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish, foreknown before the foundation of the world.
Having purified their souls by obedience to the truth, they must love one another earnestly from the heart, since they were born again through the living and abiding word of God. All flesh is like grass, but the word of the Lord remains forever, and that word is the good news that was preached to them.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
By his great mercy God caused believers to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christian hope rests on a fact: Christ lives.
The tested genuineness of faith is more precious than gold, which perishes though refined by fire, and it will result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. God uses trials to purify faith.
The one who called believers is holy, so they must be holy in all their conduct, as Scripture says. Holiness is not an ornament but likeness to the God who saved them.
Believers were ransomed not with silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish. The price of their freedom shows the worth God gives them.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: To the elect exiles in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. — 1 Peter 1:1
Answer: Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. — 1 Peter 1:3
Answer: In heaven. — 1 Peter 1:4
Answer: Gold, though faith is more precious. — 1 Peter 1:7
Answer: Because the one who called them is holy. — 1 Peter 1:15-16
Answer: With the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish. — 1 Peter 1:18-19
1 Peter 1 encourages those who feel like foreigners at work, school or in their family for following Christ. In a small group you can share a current trial and read verses 3 to 9, remembering that hope does not depend on circumstances but on the resurrection and the kept inheritance.
The call to holiness is practical too. You can ask which old desires still shape your conduct and which concrete step of obedience you will take this week. When daily life weighs heavily, verse 18 reminds us what our ransom cost.
1 Peter 1 presents the hope and holiness of believers. Chapter 2 shows what it means to be God's people: living stones in a spiritual house and a royal priesthood who live honorably among unbelievers.
It is a new life that God gives by his mercy, through the resurrection of Christ. Peter presents it as God's work and not human effort, and adds in verse 23 that it comes through the living word of God.
Christians living in the Roman provinces of northern Asia Minor. They may be both Jewish and Gentile believers; Peter calls them exiles because their true homeland is heavenly and because they lived as a minority in a hostile setting.
That the salvation in Christ is so great that even heavenly beings desire to understand it. Believers have a privilege that the prophets sought and that has now been revealed to them.