◄ 1 Peter 1 Devotional Commentary ►

1 Peter 1:1

Much incorrect interpretation of New Testament epistles could be prevented if it was read in context. We should take note of the author of the letter, the people to whom it was written, and the reason it was originally sent.

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, was writing this epistle to Christians. He called them 'brethren' who were chosen of God, and living as aliens in foreign places. He was writing to persecuted believers who read more...

1 Peter 1:2

Peter was the beloved big fisherman who was called to follow the Lord that day when he was mending his nets on the banks of the Galilee. He was the one who boldly claimed by faith: You are the Christ the Son of the living God, and Peter was also the one.. who having denied his Lord three times, was thrice called to feed the flock of God.

And in this letter to the pilgrims and sojourners of Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia read more...

1 Peter 1:3

The God and Father of Jesus Christ is deserving of our thankful praise and eternal worship for His overflowing grace and His abundant mercy. He is FATHER with respect to Christ's divinity and He is GOD regarding the humanity of our Lord Jesus and how we bless His wonderful name. This is my Father - and this is your Father. This is my God - and your God.

Our praises stream back to the cruel cross and the Lamb slain from the read more...

1 Peter 1:4

We were born into this world in a fallen frame, the progeny of sinful man, and condemned by a holy God. But God loved mankind so much that He sent His only begotten Son into the world to save us, by becoming our sin-substitute and taking upon Himself the punishment that we justly deserve.

Christ died in our place so that by believing on Him we might be reborn into the glorious family of God. He identified with our sin and became read more...

1 Peter 1:5

The promises of God to His children are 'yes' and 'amen' in Christ, and God has promised that we who are saved by grace through faith in Him, have a glorious inheritance that is being reserved for us in heaven.

But not only is this priceless, imperishable, and undefiled inheritance being kept safe for us in heavenly places, but God has further promised to protect each one of us in this life and guard us by His almighty power, read more...

1 Peter 1:6

Peter rejoices to tell us that we are born to glory, saved to glory, and kept for glory. But he also reminds us that we are being prepared for glory by the things that we suffer in this temporal and passing life.

We too should rejoice that as the elect of God, we are set apart for God and are being sanctified by the Spirit of God. And we should live in obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ so that His grace and peace may be read more...

1 Peter 1:7

God's will for all His children is that we rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, and in all things to give thanks to Him, even during the inevitable difficulties of life that we all have to face, and in the midst of the various trials that are the portion of all humanity.

Trials are a criterion that God uses to test and increase our faith in Him, and to appraise and develop our trust in His Word. We are told in the Scriptures read more...

1 Peter 1:8

Peter was one of the three disciples that saw the glory of God in Christ on the holy mount. Having seen this and coming to a depth of understanding of our position in Christ, he rejoices to remind us that all Christians are born for glory - the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, for we are one with Him.

Peter reminds us that as we walk through this Christ-rejecting, sinful world, our miracle of read more...

1 Peter 1:9

Our eternal salvation does not rely on what WE do for God, but on what CHRIST did on the Cross for us, which we have to receive by grace through faith in Him. For we were bought with a price, the precious lifeblood of Jesus Christ the righteous.

The moment that we trusted Christ as Saviour, the salvation of our spirit, soul, and body was eternally secure in Him. From that point onward we are "accepted by God in the read more...

1 Peter 1:10

Although we are strangers in a foreign land, we have an eternal hope set before us and an incorruptible inheritance reserved for us in heaven. Indeed, we who have trusted Christ and who have been saved by grace through faith in Him, have much about which to rejoice, despite the sobering truth that in this world all who live godly in Christ Jesus will face various trials and tribulations and may even have to face persecution and death. But praise God, for we have an read more...

1 Peter 1:11

There were certain mysteries that were hidden from the prophets of old, but which God chose to reveal to Paul and other New Testament writers. These mysteries were secrets, planned in eternity past and kept hidden for long ages. But at the right time these unrevealed secrets were finally made manifest to us through the New Testament writers in general, and through Paul in particular.

There was a mystery about the partial read more...

1 Peter 1:12

What an important example the prophets of old set to all of us, and what consequential lessons we can learn from their ministries and God's dealings with them. These were chosen men of God who were anointed by Him to deliver heavenly information that was to one day be complied into the very Word of God. These were the select few, through Whom God incarnate was to reveal Himself and His message of salvation to His fallen creation. And over many centuries, holy men read more...

1 Peter 1:13

Having summarised the position and privileges of the believer and the glory of our salvation, the apostle Peter exhorts Christians to live their lives in a godly manner, and points out the responsibilities and duties that are incumbent on all who have been saved by grace through faith in Christ.

As believers we are called to 'gird-up our minds' so that we are ready for every eventuality that may overtake us in our Christian walk. read more...

1 Peter 1:13

The epistles of Peter are filled with confidence building facts, placing an emphasis on our security in God's power, detailing the many precious promises we have in Christ, and outlining our permanent possessions in Him. He encourages us to rejoice in our trials because we have believed the glorious gospel of grace and have a heavenly hope founded on Christ. Peter builds up these foundational facts in order to prepare us to live a victorious Christian life that is read more...

1 Peter 1:14

In his introductory remarks, Peter scatters before us the manifold wisdom of God, the superabundant blessings that are ours in Christ; the multiplied glories of salvation and the eternal inheritance which is kept for us in heaven - all of which we received by His grace, through faith in Christ's sacrificial death, burial and resurrection. And in light of these superlative facts.. Peter presents a heart-felt motivation that should spur-on all believers, who are read more...

1 Peter 1:15

As the children of God, we are commanded to be holy because God is holy. But God is perfect and we are not perfect, so some may consider this to be an impossible task. However, when Scripture calls us to perfection, we have to understand that this is only achievable in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is only achievable as we live and move and have our being in our new born-again life in Christ, and not as we live and move and have our being in our old, fallen read more...

1 Peter 1:16

God expected His people Israel to be holy and set apart unto Him, and as part of the new creation in Christ. We are also exhorted to be holy, for God is holy. Indeed by grace through faith in Christ we have been given the indwelling Holy Spirit.. to empower us to live the godly lifestyle that God demands - a life that is set apart unto Him.. a life that reflects His character and attributes.

Peter does not leave us floundering read more...

1 Peter 1:17

Our salvation was given to us freely by God's grace and yet the high cost of our redemption is incalculable. God gave His only begotten Son to redeem us from penalty and power of sin and death.. and to free us from the curse of the Law. The price that the immortal, invisible, eternal Son of God paid.. to save the fallen race of sinful humanity, is beyond our comprehension.

The immortal, deathless God had to become a mortal man so read more...

1 Peter 1:18

What do you value in life and what is it that I consider precious? Most people would put gold and silver pretty high up on the list, for 'money speaks' in this world, and silver and gold are commodities that are highly valued by the rich and poor alike, but they are perishable and valueless when it come to the redemption of a lost humanity.

From the fall of Adam, every man inherited an empty life, devoid of all that is good read more...

1 Peter 1:19

Because of our sin we deserve death, and the wages of sin is death - spiritual death. The result of sin is eternal separation from our mighty Creator God. But through faith in Christ, we have been redeemed. We have been bought with a price. We have been purchased back from the slave-market of sin and death, by our gracious Saviour God.

He paid a tremendous price to redeem us from our lost condition and it was a price that only He read more...

1 Peter 1:20

Jesus is a Man like no other member of the human race. On the one hand, He was foreknown before the creation of the world, but on the other, He was revealed at God's appointed time - and was made manifest for our sake, when He was born into His own creation to become the Saviour of the world, by means of His sacrificial death and glorious resurrection.

Jesus is the only Person Who could make the statement: before Abraham was, read more...

1 Peter 1:21

Never diminish the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ, for it is ONLY by faith in Him that we are redeemed from the slave-market of sin. Only by faith in the sacrificial death of the Son of God, can our sins be forgiven and eternal life received. And that faith includes Christ rising from the dead.. for it is only because of His glorious resurrection from the dead, that we have the unshakable assurance that our bodies will also be raised to read more...

1 Peter 1:22

Peter's letter is mainly addressed to Jewish Christians, who were residing as aliens in foreign parts, and scattered throughout Gentile territories. No doubt, many had fled from the severe persecution that took place in those early days of the Church. The tone of this letter demonstrates the genuine love Peter felt for these believers and he encourages them to develop the same, sincere love for one another that he has towards read more...

1 Peter 1:23

We all love to think of the apostle Peter as the blustery young fisherman whose energy and enthusiasm often caused him to make rash promises which, all too often, brought him crashing down into the traumatic reality of his own inability, sinfulness, and pride.

But as we read through his two epistles, we recognise a beautiful maturity and godly wisdom which descended on this beloved, ageing apostle, as he records his deepened read more...

1 Peter 1:25

As the elderly apostle wrote this epistle to God's elect people who had been chosen according to the foreknowledge of the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, it must have gladdened Peter's heart to know that these saints had purified themselves - which was being manifested to the world through their deep love for one another.

Peter rejoiced in God's great mercy, knowing that all who trust in Christ for the read more...