EXPLORE THE TEXT
Believers should praise God for the new life received through Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth
into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,
kept in heaven for you.
5 You are being guarded by God’s power through faith
for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
explain Peter’s call to be a Christ-follower and his experiences with Jesus.
While Rome was instigating abuse of believers, Peter’s readers in Asia Minor
(areas like Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia)
were suffering and experiencing persecution for their faith at the local level.
The text does not indicate how the gospel made its way to this region.
They were being discriminated against and mistreated.
Eventually, local attacks were formalized and gained the approval of the Empire at large.
Writing from Rome, Peter urged them to avoid faltering in their faith.
First, he reminded his readers of their “living hope” thanks to their personal relationship with Christ (1 Pet. 1:3-9).
As children of God, they were held by a Lord who could not let them go, regardless of the pressures and pains they might experience.
What’s more, their suffering helped them become more like Him.
That would allow them to fulfill their greatest mission:
bringing honor and glory to Christ.
Second, he assured them that salvation was an outworking of God’s plan across the centuries (1:10-12).
Rather than some impulsive act, God had been setting the stage for Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection before time began.
Prophets had spoken of such faith, so the believers in Asia Minor could know that God was always in control.
No one could change that.
Because of God’s great mercy. ".
highlight how each provision encourages confidence in the work of God.