1 Peter

There are many themes or repeated words throughout 1 Peter as you’ll see on Chart 8 of your handouts.

We’ve seen over the past two classes some very specific exhortations which have nonetheless been very helpful for us. The basic principles and examples are all ones that we must apply in our individual cases. But now, at 4:7 the exhortation turns general again as he talks to the household of faith and keeps on with his message of the fiery trials before the eternal glory.

In the last class Peter gave a couple of examples where it was important for believers to be submissive even if it meant innocent sufferings. First there was subjection to governments and the laws of the land. Second was servants to masters. At the heart of this was the example of the sufferings of the Messiah, who did no sin, yet committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. Now Peter continues “likewise” with wives being in subjection to their own husbands.

As we begin this section running from chapter 2:1-10 we will see some very similar teaching from the last class. This is because they are parallel in teaching. We have all ready mentioned Peter’s ability as a great teacher in his methodical repetition but he shows another great technique in presenting both a positive and negative side. It seems to be an aspect of our minds that we learn best when presented with comparisons, light and dark, cold and hot, etc. We will see that that is what he does here. Let’s look at the similarities between 1:13-25 and 2:1-10.

The first time that Peter met Jesus is recorded for us in John 1:42. Andrew, Peter’s brother, had already put it into his ear that he was about to meet the Messiah. Expectations were high. As they enter the room Jesus looks steadfastly on Peter, catches his eye, and says, “Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas.” That’s all that is recorded of their first meeting but imagine the impression it must have made on Peter.

Inside this pdf attachment is a collection of all the charts used in the 1 Peter studies