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1:1 Peter, an apostle of
Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered
throughout
Pontus,
Galatia,
Cappadocia,
Asia, and
Bithynia, 1:2 Elect
according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father, through
sanctification of the Spirit, unto
obedience and sprinkling of the
blood of Jesus Christ:
Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
1:3 Blessed be the
God and
Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, which
according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively
hope by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1:4 To an
inheritance incorruptible, and
undefiled, and that fadeth not away,
reserved in heaven for you, 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God
through faith unto
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1:6 Wherein ye greatly
rejoice, though now for a season, if need be,
ye are in heaviness through manifold
temptations: 1:7 That the trial
of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth,
though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour
and glory at the appearing of
Jesus Christ: 1:8 Whom having not seen,
ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice
with joy
unspeakable and full of glory: 1:9 Receiving the end of your
faith, even the
salvation of your souls.
1:10 Of which salvation the
prophets have enquired and searched
diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
1:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which
was in them did signify, when it
testified beforehand the sufferings
of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us
they did minister the things, which are now
reported unto you by them
that have preached the gospel unto you with the
Holy Ghost sent down
from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
1:13
Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to
the end for the
grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation
of Jesus Christ; 1:14 As
obedient children, not
fashioning yourselves
according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 1:15 But as he which
hath called you is
holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
1:16 Because it is
written,
Be ye holy; for I am holy.
1:17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons
judgeth
according to every man's work, pass the time of your
sojourning here in
fear: 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not
redeemed with
corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain
conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 1:19 But with
the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot: 1:20 Who verily was
foreordained before the foundation of the
world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 1:21 Who by him
do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him
glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
1:22 Seeing ye have
purified your souls in obeying the truth through
the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one
another with a pure heart
fervently: 1:23 Being born again, not of
corruptible seed, but of
incorruptible, by the word of God, which
liveth and abideth for ever.
1:24 For all
flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower
of grass.
The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
1:25 But
the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word
which by the gospel is preached unto you.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
back to:
1 Peter
Book: 1 Peter
Chapter: 1
Overview:
The
Apostle blesses
God for his special benefits through
Christ.
(1-9) Salvation By Christ foretold in ancient
Prophecy.
(10-12) All are exhorted to holy
Conversation.
(13-16) Such as
is suitable to their principles, privileges, and obligations.
(17-25)
1-9 This epistle is addressed to believers in general, who are
strangers in every
City or country where they live, and are
scattered through the nations. These are to ascribe their
Salvation to the electing
Love of the
Father, the
Redemption of
the Son, and the
Sanctification of the
Holy Ghost; and
So to
give
Glory to one
God in three Persons, into whose name they had
been baptized.
Hope, in the world's phrase, refers only to an
uncertain good, for all worldly hopes are tottering, built upon
sand, and the worldling's hopes of
Heaven are
Blind and
groundless conjectures. But the
Hope of the sons of the living
God is a living
Hope; not only as to its object, but as to its
effect also. It enlivens and comforts in all distresses, enables
to meet and get over all difficulties.
Mercy is the
Spring of
all this; yea, great
Mercy and manifold
Mercy. And this
Well-grounded
Hope of
Salvation, is an active and living
principle of obedience in the soul of the believer. The matter
of a
Christian's joy, is the remembrance of the happiness laid
up for him. It is incorruptible, it cannot come to nothing, it
is an estate that cannot be spent. Also undefiled; this
signifies its purity and
Perfection. And it fadeth not; is not
sometimes more or less pleasant, but ever the same, still like
itself. All possessions here are stained with defects and
failings; still something is wanting: fair houses have sad cares
flying about the gilded and ceiled roofs; soft beds and full
Tables, are often with sick bodies and uneasy stomachs. All
possessions are stained with
Sin, either in getting or in using
them. How ready we are to turn the things we possess into
occasions and instruments of
Sin, and to think there is
No
liberty or delight in their use, without abusing them! Worldly
possessions are uncertain and soon pass away, like the
Flowers
and plants of the
Field. That must be of the greatest worth,
which is laid up in the highest and best place, in
Heaven. Happy
are those whose hearts the Holy
Spirit sets
On this inheritance.
God not only gives his people
Grace, but preserves them unto
Glory. Every believer has always something wherein he may
greatly rejoice; it should show itself in the countenance and
conduct. The
Lord does not willingly afflict, yet his
Wise Love
often appoints sharp trials, to show his people their hearts,
and to do them good at the latter
End.
Gold does not increase
By
trial in the
Fire, it becomes less; but
Faith is made firm, and
multiplied,
By troubles and
Afflictions.
Gold must perish at
last, and can only purchase perishing things, while the trial of
Faith will be found to praise, and honour, and
Glory. Let this
reconcile us to present
Afflictions. Seek then to believe
Christ's excellence in himself, and his
Love to us; this will
kindle such a
Fire in the
Heart as will make it rise up in a
Sacrifice of
Love to him. And the
Glory of
God and our own
happiness are
So united, that if we sincerely seek the one now,
we shall attain the other when the soul shall
No more be subject
to evil. The certainty of this
Hope is as if believers had
already received it.
10-12 Jesus Christ was the main subject of the prophets'
studies. Their inquiry into the sufferings of
Christ and the
glories that should follow, would lead to a view of the whole
Gospel, the sum whereof is, That
Christ Jesus was delivered for
our offences, and raised again for our
Justification.
God is
pleased to answer our necessities rather than our requests. The
doctrine of the prophets, and that of the apostles, exactly
agree, as coming from the same
Spirit of
God. The
Gospel is the
ministration of the
Spirit; its success depends upon his
operation and blessing. Let us then search diligently those
Scriptures which contain the doctrines of
Salvation.
13-16 As the traveller, the racer, the warrior, and the
labourer, gathered in their long and loose garments, that they
might be ready in their business,
So let Christians do
By their
minds and affections. Be sober, be watchful against all
spiritual dangers and enemies, and be temperate in all
behaviour. Be sober-minded in opinion, as
Well as in practice,
and humble in your
Judgment of yourselves. A strong and perfect
trust in the
Grace of
God, is agreeable with best endeavours in
our duty.
Holiness is the desire and duty of every
Christian. It
must be in all affairs, in every condition, and towards all
people. We must especially watch and pray against the sins to
which we are inclined. The written
Word of God is the surest
rule of a
Christian's
Life, and
By this rule we are commanded to
be holy every way.
God makes those holy whom he saves.
17-25 Holy confidence in
God as a
Father, and awful fear of him
as a
Judge, agree together; and to regard
God always as a
Judge,
makes him dear to us as a
Father. If believers do evil,
God will
visit them with corrections. Then, let Christians not doubt
God's faithfulness to his promises, nor give way to enslaving
dread of his wrath, but let them reverence his
Holiness. The
fearless professor is defenceless, and
Satan takes him
Captive
at his will; the desponding professor has
No Heart to avail
himself of his advantages, and is easily brought to surrender.
The price paid for
Man's
Redemption was the precious
Blood of
Christ. Not only openly wicked, but unprofitable
Conversation is
highly dangerous, though it may plead
Custom. It is folly to
resolve, I will live and die in such a way, because my
forefathers did
So.
God had purposes of special favour toward
his people, long before he made manifest such
Grace unto them.
But the clearness of
Light, the supports of
Faith, the power of
ordinances, are all much greater since
Christ came upon
Earth,
than they were before. The comfort is, that being
By Faith made
one with
Christ, his present
Glory is an
Assurance that where he
is we shall be also, Joh 14:3. The soul must be purified,
before it can give up its own desires and indulgences. And the
Word of God planted in the
Heart By the
Holy Ghost, is a means
of spiritual
Life, stirring up to our duty, working a total
change in the dispositions and affections of the soul, till it
brings to eternal
Life. In contrast with the excellence of the
renewed spiritual
Man, as born again, observe the vanity of the
natural
Man. In his
Life, and in his fall, he is like
Grass, the
flower of
Grass, which soon withers and dies away. We should
hear, and thus receive and
Love, the holy, living
Word, and
rather hazard all than lose it; and we must banish all other
things from the place due to it. We should
Lodge it in our
hearts as our only treasures here, and the certain
Pledge of the
treasure of
Glory laid up for believers in
Heaven.