From: Over 50 Interpreters Explain First Peter Return to Home
By
Roland H. Worth, Jr. © 2017
List of All Sources
Quoted At End of File
CHAPTER 1:1-12
1:1 Translations
WEB: Peter,
an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen ones who are living as foreigners in
the Dispersion in
Young’s: Peter,
an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the choice sojourners of the dispersion of
Conte (RC): Peter, Apostle of Jesus Christ, to the
newly-arrived
elect of the dispersion in
1:1 Peter.
We note that the new name which his Lord had given him has replaced, in
his own mind as in that of others, that of Simon Bar-jona
(Matthew
[He] calls himself, not Simon, but Peter. In the opening of the second epistle he uses
both names. [2]
an apostle of
Jesus Christ. Peter announces himself “an apostle of
Jesus Christ,” not a prince of apostles, but one of the twelve. In neither of his Epistles is there the slightest
trace of that love of title and pre-eminence which has been so conspicuous in
the bishops of
Of all the catholic epistles, Peter’s alone puts forward his apostleship in the introduction. He is addressing churches with which he had no immediate connection, and which were distinctively Pauline. Hence he appeals to his apostleship in explanation of his writing to them, and as his warrant for taking Paul’s place. [2]
The
word [apostle] signifies one sent, a legate, a messenger, any one sent
in Christ’s name and about his work; but more strictly it signifies the highest
office in the Christian church. 1
Corinthians 12:28, God hath set some in the church, first apostles. Their dignity and pre-eminence lay in these
things:--They were immediately chosen by Christ himself,--they were first
witnesses, then preachers, of the resurrection of Christ, and so of the entire
gospel-dispensation, --they had a power of working miracles, not at all times,
but when Christ pleased,--they were led into all truth, were endowed with the
spirit of prophecy, and they had an extent of power and jurisdiction beyond all
others; every apostle was a universal bishop in all churches, and over all
ministers. [5]
Same point with more
scriptural texts: The word Apostle
originally means sent forth, but as
referring to the twelve has a special signification. Peter had all the necessary qualifications
for this office: (1) having received a
direct call, and having been associated with Christ from the beginning (Acts
Observe
also that while St. Paul constantly adds “by the will of God,” or some similar
phrase, by way of justifying his assumption of the title, St. Peter has no need
to do more than mention it; his claim was never questioned. [46] (Since he was one
of the original twelve apostles appointed by Jesus personally during His
earthly ministry. [rw])
to the strangers [pilgrims, NKJV] scattered. Persons sojourning for a brief season in a foreign country. Though applied primarily to Hebrews scattered throughout the world (Genesis 23:4; Psalms 39:12), it has here a wider spiritual sense, contemplating Christians as having their citizenship in heaven. Compare Hebrews 11:13. [2]
Only
elsewhere in the N.T. in
An expression applied originally to Jews outside of
Speculation as to distinctly Christian-centered reasons
the terminology might have been used [37]: Salmon
suggests that it means “members of the Roman Church whom Nero’s persecution had
dispersed to seek safety in the provinces.” Ramsay, who dates the Epistle as late as 80
A.D., finds a reference to the Fall of Jerusalem which left the Church a “dispersed”
body with no recognized centre. More
probably the word is used metaphorically, not merely in the sense that
Christians are a scattered body of sojourners in the world, but one of the
titles of the old
Words inserted between “to the” and “strangers [pilgrims, NKJV] scattered” in certain translations: “elect” (ASV, ERV, ESV) or “God’s elect”
(NIV). The KJV puts this at the beginning of verse 2. These
“sojourners of the Dispersion” in various provinces of modern
Christians
are called “the elect” inasmuch as God has chosen
them out of the kingdom of the world to be His own. The election
on God’s part is simply the outcome of free love, excludes all claims of merit
(Romans
throughout
The old kingdom of
To Galatia Paul paid two visits, founding and
confirming churches. Crescens, his companion, went
there about the time of Paul‘s last imprisonment [2 Timothy 4:8-10], just
before his martyrdom.
The Roman province included all the central part of
Proconsular
“
Of “
In depth: Why does
Peter omit any reference to his Divine call to apostleship [41]? “An apostle of Jesus Christ.” He
does not add, as Paul does, by the will of God.
This has been supposed to be because the apostleship of Paul was doubted,
and so he alludes to that miraculous dispensation of God which attended his
conversion, whereas Peter was called early in the Lord’s ministry. He was one of those respecting whom the Lord
prayed, “Thine they were and thou gavest
them me, and they have kept thy word.”
The whole epistle reads like that of a humble man who asserted his
apostleship simply because he was bound to do so, and at times, as in verse 1,
speaks of himself as occupying a lower grade that he might identify himself
with those holding the same lower place.
[41]
1:2 Translations
WEB: according
to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, that
you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood: Grace to you and
peace be multiplied.
Young’s: according
to a foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, to
obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace
be multiplied!
Conte (RC): in accord with the foreknowledge of
God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit,
with the obedience and the sprinkling of the blood
of Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied
for you.
1:2 Elect. Christians, or saints (Acts
The
term corresponds to the Old Testament title of Jehovah’s people: Isaiah lxv. 9, 15, 22; Psalms cv. 43. Compare Matt. xx. 16; xxii.
14; Rom. viii. 33.
[2]
If the apostle had directed his letter to persons elected to eternal life, no one, as Drs. Lardner and Macknight properly argue, could have received such a letter, because no one could have been sure of his election in this way till he had arrived in heaven. But the persons to whom the apostle wrote were all, with propriety, said to be elect because, agreeably to the original purpose of God, discovered in the prophetical writings, Jews and Gentiles, indiscriminately, were called to be the visible Church and entitled to all the privileges of the people of God, on their believing the Gospel. In this sense the word elected is used in other places of Scripture; see 1 Thessalonians 1:4. [18]
The
word and the thought that the disciples of Christ are
what they are by the election or choice of God, characterizes the whole
teaching of the New Testament. The word
is prominent in the Gospel of Mark, which we have seen reason to connect
closely with Peter’s influence [and preaching], and in that portion of our
Lord’s discourses recorded in it (Mark
according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father. He is distinguishing there between
foreknowledge and determinate
counsel. [2]
Their election and
salvation was in accordance with God's predetermined purpose to save men
through the gospel, and hence, according to foreknowledge. [22]
Cf. Romans 8:28-29,
“Called according to his purpose. For
whom he foreknew, he also foreordained.”
This parallel passage shows that what is meant is not foreknowledge of
character which led God to choose some men rather than others, but God’s
comprehensive foreknowledge of His own plans and working, so that
foreknowledge is practically equivalent to His deliberate and far-seeing
purpose. [45]
God the Father. This doth
not exclude the Son or Spirit from their interest in and concurrence to the
Divine decree, but only notes the order of working among the three Persons [of
the Godhead] in the affair of man’s salvation; election is ascribed to the
Father, reconciliation to the Son, and sanctification to the Spirit. [28]
Father . . . Spirit . . . Jesus Christ. Each
person of the Trinity has his share in the work of salvation. [39]
Note the separate reference to the three Persons of the Trinity [in this verse]. Cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14, “God chose you . . . unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit . . . to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” None of Paul’s salutations, however, introduce the Spirit; they simply couple the Father and Christ. [45]
The doctrine of the Trinity is very fully developed by Peter in this Epistle. Even in this first chapter he refers to the Father in verses 2, 3, 15, 17, 21; to Christ in verses 1, 2, 3, 7, 11, 13, 19; to the Holy Ghost in verses 2, 11, 12, 23. [50]
through sanctification
of the Spirit. Greek, “in”; the element in which we
are elected. The “election” of God
realized and manifested itself “IN” their sanctification. [20]
Set apart or
consecrated by the Holy Spirit. See Hebews 10:10. Viewed
with reference to perfect holiness, sanctification is a daily growth or
process. We are transformed by the
renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2), which involves obedience to Christ’s commands,
complete self-surrender and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. [1]
The word for
“sanctification,” for which, perhaps, consecration would
be a better equivalent, is used eight times by Paul, once in the Epistle to the
Hebrews (Hebrews
unto obedience and
sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. These words
mark the twofold end contemplated in their election. [51]
unto obedience. With the purpose of securing ongoing,
continued “obedience” to the Lord’s will.
“Obedience” was not the “one act play” of conversion, but a description
of a believer’s future life-long intention.
[rw]
It [has] the larger
sense in which the idea occurs again at 1 Peter 1:14, in which Paul also uses
it in Romans 6:16, and which is expressed more specifically in such phrases as obedience
to the faith (Romans 1:5), the obedience of faith (Romans 16:26), the
obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5), obeying the truth (R. V.
obedience to the truth, 1 Peter 1:22). [51]
and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. This refers to the voluntary sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, where his blood was shed for the remission of sins (Heb. 12.24). [1]
Moses, when he confirmed the covenant which the Israelites entered into with their God, sprinkled both the altar and the people with the blood of the sacrifices (Exodus 24:6, 8): and in like manner we, when we embrace the covenant of grace, are sprinkled with the blood of our Great Sacrifice, which purges us from the guilt of all our former sins, and sanctifies us as an holy people unto the Lord: “We come to the blood of sprinkling, which speaketh better things than the blood of Abel (Hebrews 12:24).”
And
here it is particularly to be noticed, that it is not by the shedding of
the Redeemer’s blood that any are saved, but by the application of it to
their souls. Millions “perish for whom
Christ died" (1 Corinthians
sprinkling. Here in a passive sense--the being
sprinkled. Properly,
the ritualistic act of sprinkling blood or water. See Numbers 19:19, 21. Compare Hebrews 9:13; 12:24; Numbers 19:9,
13, where the water in which were the ashes of the red heifer is called
[Greek], water of sprinkling [Septuagint], which the A.V. and Revised
Old Testament render water of separation. The word and its kindred verb occur only in
Hebrews and Peter. [2]
[This] refers to the
sprinkling of the people with the covenant-offering (Exodus 24:8), and
signifies here that the “elect” were received into the covenant concluded by
the shedding of the blood of Christ. The
conception belongs to the point of view distinctively represented by the
Epistle to the Hebrews (Hebrews
grace unto you and
peace be multiplied. Pauline terms. See Romans 1:7. The salutation is peculiar by the addition of
be multiplied, which occurs [in] 2 Peter 1:2; Jude 2, and nowhere else
in the salutations of the epistles. It
is found, however, in the Septuagint, Daniel 4:1 (Sept. iii. 31), and
peace. All sorts of peace may be here intended, domestic, civil, ecclesiastical peace in the church, and spiritual peace with God, with the feeling of it in our own consciences. [5]
be multiplied. Grace is God’s favor which now begins
in us, but which must continue to advance and grow even till death. [21]
In depth: The sprinkling of blood in the Old Testament [45]. Only elsewhere in the New Testament in Hebrews 12:24, “The blood of sprinkling that speaketh better than that of Abel. The sprinkling of the blood of the victim was part of the Levitical ritual for the various sacrifices (it was not confined to the sin-offering), it is connected in Exodus 24:7-8, with the conclusion of the Mosaic covenant, thus, “And he (Moses) took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that Jehovah hath spoken will we do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which Jehovah hath made with you concerning all these words.”
The combination of “obedience” and “sprinkling” suggests that Peter may have had this passage in his mind.
In the Old Testament the application of blood to the altar symbolized the Divine participation in the sacrifice; the sprinkling of other things and persons symbolized their association with the sacrifice and its effects, i.e., the realization or the restoration (atonement) of fellowship with God.
The
New Testament interpretation of the rite is found in Hebrews, the only book
which deals with this special detail of sacrifice. In Hebrews 9:11-28 we are told that as in the
sacrificial ritual the sprinkled blood cleansed persons and things, especially
the tabernacle and its vessels, and inaugurated the old covenant, so the blood
of Christ “cleanses your conscience from dead works to serve the living God,”
and inaugurates a new covenant, and cleanses the “heavenly things,” of which
the earthly sanctuary and its furniture are copies. Thus here the “sprinkling” signifies the
participation of the believer in the sacrifice of Christ, and in the salvation
which it effects; cf. verse 18.
In depth: Being part of the “elect” that are saved is conditional upon meeting the Divine prerequisites; it is not an irrevocable designation of individuals that is made by God from eternity [47]. “Election,” says the Rev. J. Wesley, “in the Scripture sense, is God’s doing any thing that our merit or power has no part in. The true predestination, or fore-appointment of God, [is], 1st, He that believeth shall be saved from the guilt and power of sin.
2d, He that endureth to the end shall be saved eternally.
3d, They who receive the precious gift of faith, thereby become the sons of God; and being sons, they shall receive the Spirit of holiness, to walk as Christ also walked.
Throughout every part of this appointment of God, promise and duty go hand in hand. All is free gift; and such is the gift, that the final issue depends on our future obedience to the heavenly call.
But other predestination than this, either to life or
death eternal, the Scripture knows not of.
Moreover, [traditional predestination doctrine is] 1st, Cruel respect of
persons; an unjust regard of one, and an unjust disregard of another. It is mere creature partiality, and
not infinite justice.
2d, It is not plain Scripture doctrine, (if
true,) but, rather, inconsistent with the express written word, that speaks of
God’s universal offers of grace; his invitations, promises, threatenings,
being all general.
3d, We are bid to choose life, and reprehended for not doing [so.]
4th, It is inconsistent with a state of probation in those that must be saved or must be lost.
5th, It is of fatal consequence; all men being ready, on very slight grounds, to fancy themselves of the elect number.
But the doctrine of predestination is entirely changed from what it formerly was. Now it implies neither faith, peace, nor purity. It is something that will do without them all.
Faith is no longer, according to the modern predestinarian scheme, a divine evidence of things not seen, wrought in the soul by the immediate power of the Holy Ghost; not an evidence at all, but a mere notion. Neither is faith made any longer a means of holiness; but something that will do without it. Christ is no more a Savior from sin; but a defense, a countenancer of it. He is no more a fountain of spiritual life in the souls of believers, but leaves his elect inwardly dry, and outwardly unfruitful; and is made little more than a refuge from the image of the heavenly; even from righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
[Traditional predestination theory assumes
that since you are predestined to heaven you will act morally. Obviously he had encountered a bent form of
Calvinism that had discovered that this was not the only conclusion one could
draw, i.e., that if one is truly and irrevocably going to heaven, how you
act can't alter it one iota. rw]
As none but the truly penitent and believing have in
Scripture the title of God’s elect, so such may be properly styled, elect
according to the foreknowledge of God, because God knows beforehand from
eternity who will turn to him in repentance and faith, and who will not; but,
as Milton observes, “Foreknowledge has no influence
on their fault, / Which had no less proved certain unforeknown.”
Nor is there any inconsistency between the divine prescience and human liberty; both are true, according to the Scripture; and doubtless God can reconcile them, if we cannot. Macknight explains the clause thus:
“The persons to whom the apostle wrote were with
propriety said to be elected according to the foreknowledge of God, because,
agreeably to the original purpose of God, discovered in the prophetical
writings, Jews and Gentiles indiscriminately were made the visible church and
people of God, and entitled to all the privileges of the people of God, by
their believing the gospel,” namely, with a faith working by love to God
and man: “God’s foreknowledge of all
believers to be his people,” (that is, true, genuine believers, possessed of
living, loving, and obedient faith; for only such are God’s people,) “was
revealed in the covenant with Abraham.
This the apostle mentions to show the Jews that the believing Gentiles
were no intruders into the
1:3 Translations
WEB: Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great
mercy became our father again to a living hope through the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead,
Young’s: Blessed
is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who,
according to the abundance of His kindness did beget us again to a living hope,
through the rising again of Jesus Christ out of the dead,
Conte (RC): Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy
has regenerated us into a living hope, through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead:
1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ. His Father, with
respect to His divine nature; his God, with respect to His human. [15]
We note the close
correspondence with the opening words of two of
The salutation is
followed by a similar amplified doxology in Corinthians and Ephesians,
beginning in each case, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ”; the corresponding paragraph in Colossians begins, “We give thanks to
God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
In the other Pauline Epistles the salutation is followed by expressions
of personal interest in those addressed.
Cf. Revelation 1:5b-7. “Blessed”
= praised. Phrases of such frequent
occurrence may have been liturgical formulae used in the worship of the
primitive churches. Cf. also Romans 15:6;
2 Corinthians 11:31. The phrase had been
translated, “God even the Father, &c.”; but “God and Father” is the more
natural rendering. In Ephesians
Difference in meaning of "blessed" when applied
to Jesus' earthly mother. "Blessed:" A form consecrated to God alone (e.g.,
Mark 14:61; Romans 9:5; 2 Corinthians 11:31), a completely different word from
the “blessed,” or happy, of the Beatitudes; and differing from the “blessed” of
the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:28, 42) in that this form implies that blessing is
always due on account of something inherent in the person, while that only
implies that a blessing has been received.
The idea of blessing God (literally, speaking Him well, Psalms 100:3)
is, of course, wholly Hebrew. [46]
which according to
his abundant mercy. Literally, as in the
margin, “his much or great
mercy.” The thought, though here
not the phraseology, is identical with
Peter gives this as
the reason why God is to be praised. Mercy is that special form of the free
grace of God which pities the misery and wretchedness of sinful man. It is God the Father who is the author of our
regeneration (here and James 1:18); the personal agent who brings about the new
birth is the Holy Spirit (John 3:5); the audible instrument which God uses is
the Word (James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23); the visible instrument or channel is
Baptism (1 Peter 3:21; John 3:5; Titus 3:5); the procuring cause of it the
Resurrection of Christ (here and Colossians 2:12), including, of course, His
sufferings and death. [50]
hath begotten us
again unto a lively [living, NKJV] hope. The idea of a new
birth. [16]
He begat us again, a phrase used in the
New Testament only by Peter, and by him only here and in 1 Peter 1:23,
embodying, however, the same truth as is conveyed in somewhat different terms
by Paul (Titus 3:5; Galatians 6:15), James (James 1:18), and John (1 John 3:9;
5:1), and reflecting the Master’s own instructions to Nicodemus (John 3:3, etc.). It is to be taken, therefore, in the full
sense of the new birth or begetting, and not to be diluted into the idea of
rousing out of hopelessness. [Yet would
not that being born again, out of sin, also be a rebirth into hope,
leaving the hopelessness of drowning in sin behind? rw] The direct
past (begat, not hath begotten) is used, because the change from
death to life in the individual is regarded as a definite, historical act, once
for all accomplished, or perhaps because the regeneration of all is regarded as
virtually effected in the historical act of Christ’s resurrection. In the latter case Peter would be again in
affinity with Paul, whose habit is to speak of all as dying in Christ’s death
and rising in Christ’s resurrection (Romans 7:4; 2 Corinthians 5:14, etc.).
unto a lively
[living, NKJV] hope. Better perhaps “a living hope,” a hope
not destined, as human hopes proverbially were, to be frail and perishable, but
having in it the elements of a perennial life.
And this was brought about by God’s regenerating work on and in the
soul. The word which St Peter uses is peculiar to him among the writers of the
New Testament, and meets us again in 1 Peter 1:23. The thought, however, is common to him with
St James (“of His own will begat He us,” James
again. “Begotten again” means, “By Adam’s sin
man lost all hope; by raising from the dead the last Adam, our Lord Jesus, God
gave this hope back again to all who are in Christ. Having no hope is a sign of being without God
in the world. [42]
by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Which is not only a pledge of ours, but a part of the
purchase-price. [15]
The
Resurrection must have been to all the Eleven, and to
Peter especially, such a change from despair to hope as could only be expressed
as a beginning of new life: compare
Romans 6:4; Ephesians 2:5; Philippians 3:10.
[24]
It
was Peter who preached the first sermon on the Resurrection, immediately after
it had happened; and his audience was the multitude assembled on the Day of
Pentecost, who could have refuted him, had he been impressing on them either a
delusion or an invention. [49]
The very existence of Christian hope is here
traced to the resurrection of Christ, for “if Christ hath not been raised, your
faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins” (1 Corinthians
Three ways of connecting these words with the context: This
admits of being connected immediately either with the begat us again—the
idea then being that the regeneration takes effect only through Christ’s
resurrection—or with the preceding clause as a whole, in which case Christ’s
resurrection becomes the event by means of which we are brought by God’s
begetting into this new life of hope (so Calvin, Weiss, Huther,
Alford, etc., substantially). Or, as the
position of the adjective perhaps indicates, it may be connected with the term living
(so Luther, Bengel, de Wette,
Hofmann, etc.), the sense then being that the hope gets its quality of life
through Christ’s resurrection—because He lives, it cannot but survive and
assert itself as a living and enlivening principle. [51]
1:4 Translations
WEB: to an
incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that doesn't fade away, reserved in
Heaven for you,
Young’s: to an
inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and unfading, reserved in the heavens
for you,
Conte (RC): unto an incorruptible and undefiled
and unfading inheritance, which is reserved for you
in heaven.
1:4 To an inheritance. Called an
inheritance because it belongs to the children of God. Eternal life cannot be a gift to any but
these; for, even in heaven, the lot is dealt out according to law: if children, then heirs; if not children,
then not heirs. [18]
The land of promise
(Hebrews 11:9) was the inheritance of
Three negative but
gloriously descriptive words represent the character of the inheritance[1:] “incorruptible,” “undefiled,” “fadeth not.” [39]
Connection to preceding context: Some
connect this closely with the hope, as a definition of that to which it
points—a living hope looking to the inheritance. Most connect it with the begat, the
two clauses introduced by ‘unto’ being regarded as dependent on the same verb,
and the latter clause defining the former more nearly. When we are begotten, that is to say, into
the hope, we are begotten into the inheritance.
To have the one is to have the other.
So perfect is God’s act, so secure against failure the hope which comes
by that act. [51]
The hope is not
merely of eternal existence, but we become heirs of God, joint heirs with
Christ. [22]
incorruptible. It has no seeds of decay, it cannot
perish. [7]
Immortal,
everlasting, which being once possessed, cannot be taken away, nor pass over to
others. [28]
and undefiled. Neither
tainted nor tarnished. [51]
Free from all stain of sin. [7]
The land, in which men who are sinners dwell on
earth, is said to be defiled by their sins, Leviticus 18:28, Numbers 5:3,
35:34, Deuteronomy 21:23, Isaiah 24:5, Jeremiah 2:7, 16:18; heaven, into which
no unclean thing can enter, being the only inheritance undefiled. [4]
The word does not elsewhere occur in the New
Testament. As applied to an inheritance,
it means that it will be pure. It will
not have been obtained by dishonesty, nor will it be held by fraud; it will not
be such as will corrupt the soul, or tempt to extravagance, sensuality, and
lust, as a rich inheritance often does here; it will be such that its eternal
enjoyment will never tend in any manner to defile the heart. [31]
and that fadeth not away. That never decays in its value, sweetness, or
beauty, like all the enjoyments of this world, like the garlands of leaves or
flowers, with which the ancient conquerors were wont to be crowned. [15]
The idea here, therefore, is not precisely the same as is
expressed by the word “incorruptible.”
Both words indeed denote perpetuity, but that refers to perpetuity in
contrast with decay; this denotes perpetuity in the sense that everything there
will be kept in its original brightness and beauty. The crown of glory, though worn for millions
of ages, will not be dimmed; the golden streets will lose none of their luster;
the flowers that bloom on the banks of the river of life will always be as rich
in color, and as fragrant, as when we first beheld them. [31]
reserved in heaven. Where the God of glory dwells. The earthly inheritance had been invaded by
Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, and Romans; its wealth plundered and its
holy places ravaged and destroyed; but the heavenly
The perfect tense, which hath been
reserved unto you, i.e., either in the temporal sense—“kept all this while
until you came,” or “with a view to you.” (Compare Hebrews 11:40.) He now adds explicitly that it is no earthly,
but a heavenly possession. [46]
The kingdom was regarded as “in heaven,” because
Christ was expected to descend thence (1 Thessalonians
Similar is our Lord’s teaching on the treasure and
the reward in heaven (Matthew
Every word which follows is weighty. The inheritance is said to be reserved, or
preserved, that we may know that it is beyond the reach of danger. For, were it
not in God’s hand, it might be exposed to endless dangers. If it were in this world, how could we regard
it as safe amidst so many changes? That
he might then free us from every fear, he testifies that our salvation is
placed in safety beyond the harms which Satan can do. [35] The only way our
heavenly salvation can be lost is if we voluntarily “cancel” the “reservation”
by our own reprobate behavior. Barring
that, no force exists that can deny it to us.
[rw]
for you. Showing the immediate and
personal relevance of the fact to every single faithful believer. [rw]
Peter now assures his readers that this
inheritance is intended for them, but at the same time still concealed. This inheritance is “incorruptible” in its essence, “undefiled” in its purity, “unfading” and perpetual in its beauty and glory, heavenly and spiritual
(“reserved in heaven”) in its character. [50]
1:5 Translations
WEB: who
by the power of God are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be
revealed in the last time.
Young’s: who,
in the power of God are being guarded, through faith, unto salvation, ready to
be revealed in the last time
Conte (RC): By the power of God, you are guarded
through faith for a salvation which is ready to be
revealed in the end time.
1:5 Who are kept [guarded, ESV; protected, NASB] by the power of God through
faith. Overview: A still
better reason why they should lift a thankfully confident eye to the heavenly
inheritance. The possession might be
reserved for them, and the reservation be to no
purpose, if they themselves were left to the risks of earth and their own
weakness. All the more insecure of it
might they seem in their present circumstances of danger and temptation. But if
the inheritance is kept for the people, the people are also kept for the
inheritance. The word indicates a
different kind of keeping from that expressed by the reserved. It is the military term used both
literally (of the keeping of a city as with a garrison, 2 Corinthians
The efficient cause (so Huther, Gerhard, etc.) of this sustained protection, or, as the preposition may be more strictly taken, the sphere within which it moves, the force behind which they are shielded as by a garrison, is nothing weaker than God’s power,—a phrase to be understood here in the ordinary sense, and not as a title of the Holy Spirit (as Weiss, de Wette, etc., suppose on the false analogy of Luke 1:35).
The
instrumental cause of this protection, or the means through which the
force works to guard us, is faith,—not to be taken in any limited sense
(such, e.g., as faith in the future, or a general reliance upon God,
with Hofmann, Weiss, etc.), but in the specific Christian sense, the faith
which grasps God’s power, and which, while itself God’s gift, is the subjective
response to what is objectively offered.
Thus, with the Lord Himself encompassing them as the "mountains are
round about
Who are kept [guarded, ESV; protected, NASB]. A [Greek] military term.
Lit., garrisoned. Rev., guarded. Compare 2 Corinthians
Of that guarding we
have (1) the objective aspect, the “power of God” being as the force that
encompasses and protects us, and (2) the subjective faith, as that through
which, as in the vision of Elisha’s servant (2 Kings
6:16), we feel that we are guarded, and see that “those that are with us are
more than they that be against us.” [38]
“Kept:” This word implies kept in a very safe place,
as in a fortress, secure from all harm; even as the wise man hath said, “The
Name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth
into it and is safe” (Proverbs 18:10). And again the Prophet, “Salvation will God appoint for walls and
bulwarks” (Isaiah 26:1). [42]
by the power of
God. In view of their faith in
him. [7]
Much
seen in the saints’ perseverance.
“My Father is stronger than all; none therefore can take you out of my
hands, since I and the Father are one,” John
through faith. Through
the continued exercise of that faith, by which alone salvation is both received
and retained. The clause is very emphatical: “It
represents,” says Macknight, “believers as attacked
by evil spirits and wicked men, their enemies, but defended against those
attacks by the power of God, through the influence of their faith (1 John 5:4),
just as those who remain in an impregnable fortress are secured from the
attacks of their enemies by its ramparts and walls.” [47]
This place proves only, that they who are thus
preserved, are kept through faith, i.e. “if they hold the beginning of
their confidence firm to the end: (Hebrews
The Apostle is
fearful lest the last words should give a false assurance. God can guard none
of us, in spite of His “power,” unless there be a corresponding exertion upon
our part—which is here called “faith”—combining the notions of staunch fidelity
and of trustfulness. It is through such
trustful fidelity that we are guarded. [46]
unto salvation. “Salvation”
probably includes two ideas: (1) It is that salvation on which Paul had not
yet laid hold (Philippians 3.12; Romans 13.11; 1 Thessalonians 5.8), a complete
victory over the lower self or the flesh;
(2) a deliverance from trial,
persecution and sorrow. [1]
Salvation has in it
the double idea of being made safe, and being made sound. Peril threatening to slay, and sickness unto
death, are the implications of the conditions which this great word
presupposes. The man that needs to be
saved needs to be rescued from peril and needs to be healed of a disease. And so salvation means, negatively, the
deliverance from all the evils, whether they be evils
of sorrow or evils of sin, which can affect a man, and which do affect us all
in some measure. But it means far more
than that, for God’s salvation is no half-and-half thing, contented, as some
benevolent man might be, in a widespread flood or disaster, with rescuing the
victims and putting them high up enough for the water not to reach them, and
leaving them there shivering cold and starving.
But when God begins by taking away evils, it is in order that He may
clear a path for flooding us with good.
And so salvation is not merely what some of you think it is, the escape
from a hell, but it is the investiture of each of us with every good and glory,
whether of happiness or of purity, which it is possible for a man to receive
and for God to give. [27]
This great word salvation,
so often upon Peter’s lips, and occurring thrice within half-a-dozen verses
here, seems used by him preferentially in the eschatological sense. Occasionally in the N.T. it has the simple
sense of deliverance from enemies (Luke 1:71; Acts 7:25), or preservation of
life (Acts 27:34; Hebrews 11:7), but it occurs for the most part as the
technical term for spiritual salvation, or the Messianic salvation (John 4:22;
Acts 4:12; Romans 11:11, etc.), now in the limited sense of the opposite of perdition
(Philippians 1:28), and again in the general sense of eternal salvation;
now in the sense of a present salvation (Philippians 1:19; 2 Corinthians 1:6),
again in that of a progressive salvation (1 Peter 2:22), and yet again in that
of the completed salvation, which is to enter with Christ’s return (Romans
13:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:8-9; Hebrews 9:28, etc.). Here it is the future salvation, and that not
as mere exemption from the fate of the lost, but (as the underlying idea of the
present distresses and fears of the readers indicates) in the widest sense,
somewhat parallel to that of the inheritance, but with a more direct
reference to the state of trial, of final relief from the world of evil, and
completed possession of all Messianic blessing.
[51]
ready to be revealed in the last time. Not something to be provided hereafter, or in course of preparation, and therefore liable never to be realized, but an accomplished fact, ready and waiting to be manifested at the right moment. [45]
It is fully prepared; but its
certain and glorious manifestation will be only at the day of judgment. [39]
The tense of the word “revealed” implies the
suddenness of the unveiling. It will be
but the work of an instant to put aside the curtain and show the inheritance
which has been kept hidden so long behind it.
[46]
The expression points to the certainty of the advent
of this salvation (in the term ready, stronger than the usual about
to be, or destined to be, and indicating a state of waiting in
preparedness), and perhaps also (in the tense of the verb) to the "rapid
completion of the act" of its revelation in contrast with the long process
of the guarding of its subjects (Alford). The word revealed has here the
familiar sense of bringing to light something already existent, but unknown or
unseen. [51]
in the last time. At the end of the world. [14]
In one sense we were saved, as the Apostle
declares, at Baptism (3:21), in another we are being saved (Acts 2:47,
Revisers), but the final accomplishment of the purposes of God towards us in
our sanctification, discipline, and instruction, is in the salvation not now
revealed, but ready to be revealed at the last time. This is one of the many passages of scripture
which show how totally unfounded is the view of salvation preached by so many
fanatics amongst us, that God gives to a converted man, generally at the
beginning of his [spiritual] career, a sense of salvation on which he is to
place such confidence that he must give himself not the smallest anxiety
respecting his acceptance at the last.
He has no need of watchfulness and labor to work out his salvation; such
anxiety, it is asserted, shows that he does not truly believe. Some even go so far as to say that sin is no
longer sin in him, no matter what he does.
[41]
In depth: Can “the
last time” refer to the fall of
But what
is said, 1 Peter 1:9-12, concerning this salvation; that it is a salvation, not
of the body, but of the soul, to be bestowed as the reward of faith; that
the prophets, who foretold this salvation, searched diligently among what
people, and at what time, the means of procuring it were accomplished; that it
was revealed to the prophets that these means were to be accomplished, not
among them, but among us; and that these things were to be preached by the
apostles as actually come to pass: I
say, the above mentioned particulars concerning the salvation to be revealed in
the last time, do not agree to the deliverance of the Christians from the
destruction of Jerusalem, but are applicable only to the salvation of believers
in general from eternal death, by a resurrection to an immortal life in heaven,
at the time of Christ’s coming, when this salvation is to be revealed; and that
time is called the last time, because it will be the concluding scene of
God’s dispensations relating to our world.” — Macknight.
1:6 Translations
WEB: Wherein you greatly rejoice,
though now for a little while, if need be, you have been put to grief in
various trials,
Young’s: in
which ye are glad, a little now, if it be necessary, being made to sorrow in
manifold trials,
Conte (RC): In this, you should exult, if now, for
a brief time, it is necessary to be made sorrowful by
various trials,
1:6 Wherein. A reference to already being in the “last days” or a
broader fame of reference intended? There is a little doubt as to the
antecedent of the word “wherein.” At
first sight it would seem to be “in the last time,” and the thought would then
be that this “last time,” with all its predicted afflictions, was already
begun, and that the Pontine Hebrews were fulfilling
the injunction of our Lord in Luke 21:28, and “rejoicing” (the word is one of
enthusiastic and demonstrative joy) in the near approach of their
redemption. This makes good sense, but
it is better to see the antecedent in “the whole complex sense of the preceding
verses, concerning the hope of glory. In
this thing ye rejoice, that ye are begotten again; that there is such an
inheritance, and that you are made heirs of it; that it is kept for you, and
you for it; that nothing can come betwixt you and it, and disappoint you of
possessing and enjoying it, though there be many deserts and mountains and seas
in the way, yet you are ascertained that you shall come safe thither.”
(Leighton.) [46]
ye greatly
rejoice. In this glorious hope you rejoice. [22]
In
which hope of salvation. The
idea is, that the prospect which they had of the
future inheritance was to them a source of the highest joy, even in the midst
of their many sufferings and trials. [31]
The English verb and
adverb answer to the single Greek word which expresses, as in Matthew 5:12,
Luke 1:47, Luke 10:21, the act of an exulting joy. The verb occurs three times in this Epistle,
not at all in
This particular term
for joy, aptly rendered "greatly rejoice," is one which occurs very
rarely outside the Septuagint, the N.T., and ecclesiastical literature. It is probably a Greek reproduction (see Buttmann’s Greek Grammar by Thayer, p. 5) of a familiar
Hebrew verb often used in the poetical and prophetical books (Psalms 2:11;
Psalms 9:15; Job
though now for a
season. Such is our whole life, compared to
eternity. [15]
It is possible,
however, that Peter supposed that the trials which they then experienced would
soon pass over. They may have been
suffering persecutions which he hoped would not long continue. [31]
if need be. It won’t necessarily happen to everyone and
even the many it happens to won’t necessarily have to go through it all at the
same time. Hence those who are suffering
should always be able to find those who are not, who can comfort and assist
them in their struggles. [rw]
Sometimes there is a kind of necessity that the
followers of God should be afflicted; when they have no trials they are apt to
get careless, and when they have secular prosperity they are likely to become
worldly-minded. [18]
This phrase seems to have been thrown in here to
intimate that there was a necessity for their afflictions, or that there was
“need” that they should pass through these trials. There was some good to be accomplished by
them, which made it desirable and proper that they should be thus afflicted.
The apostle expresses it delicately by suggesting the possibility that
there might be need of it, instead of saying absolutely that there was
need. [31]
ye are in
heaviness [have been grieved, NKJV]. The trials of this life had worn down their spirits. There is a point in life where external
difficulties and pressures seem unbearable, seem “just too much.” They either crush us or we hold fast to God’s
grace, knowing that however trying and stressful events may be that others have
successfully gotten through them already.
And that, with God’s help, we can as well. [rw]
through. Greek, “IN”: the element in which
the grief has place. [20]
manifold. Literally the word means variegated. It is used to describe the skin of a leopard,
the different colored veinings of marble, or an
embroidered robe; and thence passes into the meaning of changeful, diversified,
applied to the changing months or the variations of a strain of music. Peter employs it again, chapter
temptations. Better, trials, as in margin of
Revision, since the word includes more than direct solicitation to evil. It embraces all that goes to furnish a test
of character. Compare James 1:2. [2]
Thus
the Lord says: “Blessed are ye when men
shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against
you falsely for my sake; rejoice and be exceeding glad.” Thus
1:7 Translations
WEB: that
the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes even
though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor
at the revelation of Jesus Christ--
Young’s: that
the proof of your faith -- much more precious than of gold that is perishing,
and through fire being approved -- may be found to praise, and honour, and glory, in the revelation of Jesus Christ,
Conte (RC): so that the testing of your faith, which
is much more precious than gold tested by fire, may
be found in praise and glory and honor at the
revelation of Jesus Christ.
1:7 That the trial of
your faith. The word “trial” here does not mean exactly
the same as in the passage of James; in that passage it signifies the active
testing of faith, here it has rather the meaning of the cognate word translated
“assurance” in Romans 5:4, “proof” in 2 Corinthians 2:9, Philippians 2:22,
i.e., the attested worth, the genuine character. This seems necessitated by the comparison of
the trial with the gold itself, as we shall see. You cannot compare an act or process
with gold, but you can compare “the genuine character” brought out by the
process properly enough. Besides,
that which you wish to “praise” at Christ’s coming is not the process by which
the faith was proved, but the worth of the faith itself. “Faith” seems to mean the same as in 1Peter
1:5. [46]
being much more
precious than of gold that perisheth. For
gold, though it bear the fire, yet will perish with
the world. [15]
He does not say
“your faith is more valuable than gold,” but “your faith’s genuineness
is more valuable than gold.” [46]
though it be tried by
fire. The point of comparison is not gold in
general, for that would make the statement feeble, but tried gold, as compared
with untried. More than refined gold excels that which is
unrefined, does faith that has been tried excel that which is untried. [6]
For though gold, if
it be pure gold, when put into the hottest fire, will lose nothing, and come
out the brighter; yet it will gain nothing by the process. The same quantity thrown into the furnace, it
will be well if it come out, more it cannot. But not so by faith. True faith, the faith of God's elect, will be
increased tenfold by the trial; and the oftener it is tried, the greater both
in quantity and in quality, it will become.
[25]
Already
in the Old Testament, the trial by sufferings is often compared with the test
of gold by fire (cf. Ps. lxvii. 10; Prov. xvii. 3). If
then gold, which is also perishable,
as are all earthly things, is tested by fire, how much more precious will the
genuine character of faith turn out to be if it stands the test of such fire of
adversity? [9]
might be found unto
praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus
Christ. This
they will receive at the return of the Lord.
[rw]
The
words stand somewhat vaguely in the Greek as in the English, and might possibly
express that what men suffer is for God’s glory. The context, however, and the parallelism of
Romans 2:7, make it certain that they refer to the “praise” [found here only in
conjunction with the familiar combination (Romans 2:7, 10; 1 Timothy 1:17) of “honour and glory”] which men shall receive (compare 1
Corinthians 4:5), when sufferings rightly borne have done their work, in and at
the revelation of Jesus Christ in His Second Coming as the Judge of all
men. [38]
The reward of grace which true believers
shall receive “at the revelation of Jesus Christ” consists (1) of the praise of their fidelity of faith
(Matthew 25:21; 1 Corinthians 4:5; Romans 2:7, 10; 2 Thessalonians 1:5); (2) of
the glory, which the Father has given
to Christ (1:11, 21; Acts 3:13), and which He will communicate to all that are
His (4:13; 5:1; 4:14); (3) of the honor
which Christ has promised to His faithful servants (John 12:26; Revelation
3:21; 22:4). [50]
In depth: Possible distinctions between “praise and
honor and glory" [51]. With the
best editors (Lachmann, Tischendorf,
Tregelles, Westcott, and Hort)
the order runs rather praise, and glory, and honour. This
is the only instance in the N.T. in which the three terms come together,
although the conjunction of honour and glory
is common enough (Romans 2:7, 10; 1 Timothy
But the descriptions are cumulative rather than ascensive, word being added to word in order to convey some
faint conception of the gracious reward which is to be found (a strong
term indicating the open discovery of something, the proving of an object to be
something after scrutiny) at last to have been the end in view.
1:8 Translations
WEB: whom
not having known you love; in whom, though now you don't see him, yet
believing, you rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory--
Young’s: whom,
not having seen, ye love, in whom, now not seeing and believing, ye are glad
with joy unspeakable and glorified,
Conte (RC): For though you have not seen him,
you love him. In him also, though you do not see
him, you now believe. And in believing, you shall
exult with an inexpressible and
glorious joy,
1:8 Whom having not
seen. Jesus Christ. [22]
Yet they had heard
of His character, His preaching, His sacrifice for sin, and His resurrection
and ascension, and they had learned to love Him. [31]
Assuming a relatively early date for the epistle: It
is very possible that among these dispersed Christians, there might be some
who had visited Jerusalem whilst Christ was there, and might have seen, or even
conversed with Him; but as the greater part had not, Peter speaks,
according to the usual apostolic manner, as if they all had not. Thus he speaks of them all as loving Christ, though
there might be some among them who were destitute both of this Divine principle
and of that “joy” which he speaks of. [17]
ye love. Though
not having seen Christ, they knew him by faith.
[22]
in whom, though
now ye see him not. He is
now in heaven, and to mortal eyes now invisible, like
his Father. Faith in him is the source
and fountain of our joy. It makes
invisible things real, and enables us to feel and act, in view of them, with
the same degree of certainty as if we saw them.
[31]
Did there float in his mind the recollection of the
words “Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed” (John
yet believing. They had long been expecting the vision of Christ at his second coming; they had not yet seen him, thus, yet their faith stood the strain. Cf. John 20:29, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” [45]
ye rejoice with
joy unspeakable and full of glory. That there are those who have not great
comfort in their religion, no one indeed can doubt; but this arises from
several causes entirely independent of their religion. Some have melancholy temperaments, and are
not happy in anything. Some have little
evidence that they are Christians, and their sadness arises not from religion,
but from the want of it. But that true
religion does make its possessors happy, anyone may easily satisfy himself by
asking any number of sincere Christians, of any denomination, whom he may meet. With one accord they will say to him that
they have a happiness which they never found before; that however much they may
have possessed of the wealth, the honors, and the pleasures of the world--and
they who are now Christians have not all of them been strangers to these
things--they never knew solid and substantial peace until they found it in
religion. [31]
The quality of this joy is expressed both by the
repetition of the verb already used to express exultant joy (1 Peter 1:6), and
by the addition of two remarkable adjectives.
The former of these, which is found in no other passage of the N.T., and
is of very rare occurrence elsewhere, conveys a different idea from the
"unspeakable" in 2 Corinthians 12:4, and is more analogous to the
"which cannot be uttered" of Romans 8:26. It means, "too
deep for expression," and that in the sense of "not capable of being
told adequately out in words," rather than in the sense of not capable of
being fitted to language at all. The
latter adjective means more than ‘full of glory.’ It designates the joy as one already
irradiated with glory, superior to the poverty and ingloriousness of earthly
joy, flushed with the colors of the heaven of the future. Compare the proleptic
"glorified" of Romans
1:9 Translations
WEB: receiving
the result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Young’s: receiving
the end of your faith -- salvation of souls;
Conte (RC): returning with the goal of your faith,
the salvation of souls.
1:9 Receiving the end of
your faith, even the salvation
of your souls. Rather,
“acquiring,” “getting possession of.” As
their faith survived one trial after another, they would feel more and more
that the safety of their souls, the end and aim of their faith, became not
merely a future hope but a present possession.
[45]
“The end of your faith”, means that at which faith
aims or in which it results, which the apostle says the believer is now
“receiving,” now bearing off as a prize.
[32]
the salvation of your souls.
Literally, “the salvation of souls,” but the reference is clearly to the
readers’ own souls; there is no reference, either in the immediate
context, or in the Epistle generally, to evangelistic work. Cf. 5b. [45]
In depth: Are they “receiving” their salvation now or in the future [38]? The question has been raised whether these
words refer to the present or the future.
It has been urged on the one hand that the word for “receiving” applied
in 2 Corinthians 5:10, and perhaps in Hebrews
On the whole therefore there is no adequate reason
against taking the words in their natural and obvious meaning. Those to whom the Apostle wrote were thought
of as already receiving, very really, though not, it might be, in its ultimate
fullness, that which was the “end” or “goal” of their faith, and that goal was
found in the “salvation” of their “souls”—the deliverance of their moral being
from the burden of guilt, the sense of condemnation, the misery and discord of
alienation from God.
WEB: Concerning
this salvation, the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of
the grace that would come to you,
Young’s: concerning
which salvation seek out and search out did prophets who concerning the grace
toward you did prophecy,
Conte (RC): About this salvation, the prophets
inquired and diligently searched, those who
prophesied about the future grace
in you,
As on the Pentecost,
Peter here, too, grounds his doctrine on the Old Testament prophecy. He then quoted Joel and David (Acts
have inquired and
searched. Two synonyms used to express a single
idea, in order to set forth a prolonged, diligent, often renewed search. This statement is made on Peter’s own
authority, and is a natural deduction from evident facts: it is not in human nature to be indifferent
to the time when such predictions will be fulfilled. The Old Testament nowhere describes this
search, though there are passages which illustrate and partly justify the
statement. In Isaiah
have inquired. This
word is intensive. It means that they
sought out, or scrutinized with care the revelations made to them, that
they might understand exactly what was implied in that which they were
appointed to record in respect to the salvation which was to be made known
through the Messiah. [31]
They sought to know more fully the meaning of the
prophecies which they uttered concerning Christ, and the blessings he would
bestow on his people. [14]
and searched. Used nowhere else in the
New Testament. Compare
Septuagint, 1 Samuel
diligently. Their being inspired did not make their
industrious search needless; for, notwithstanding their extraordinary
assistance from God, they were obliged to make use of all the ordinary methods
of improvement in wisdom and knowledge.
Daniel was a man greatly beloved and inspired, yet he understood by
books and study the computations of time, chapter
9:2. Even their own revelation required
their study, meditation, and prayer; for many prophecies had a double
meaning: in their first intention they
aimed at some person or event near at hand, but their ultimate design was to
describe the person, sufferings, or
who prophesied of
the grace that should come unto
you. χάρις
is specially used by
Importance of this prophetic
searching to first century Christians: The object of this
reference to the prophets seems to be to lead them to value the religion which
they professed more highly, and to encourage them to bear their trials with
patience. They were in a condition, in
many respects, far superior to that of the prophets. They had the full light of the gospel. The prophets saw it only at a distance and
but dimly, and were obliged to search anxiously that they might understand the
nature of that system of which they were appointed to furnish the comparatively
obscure prophetic intimations. [31]
In depth: Efforts to make these prophets New Testament era prophets [37]. Plumptre and others would explain the passage which follows as referring to New Testament prophets or preachers of the first days of the Church, who constantly uttered inspired warnings of a coming time of persecution for Christians which would be followed by glory. Such persecution however did not come immediately, and so the prophets gradually realized that their message was not for their own generation. Now however their warnings are being fulfilled in the Neronian persecution.
In support of this view it is urged that “the
Spirit of Christ” would be more appropriate to Christian prophets than to
those of the O.T. and that τὰ εἰς Χριστὸν παθήματα
means sufferings of Christians as members of Christ which pass on to Him as
their Head. But this interpretation is
somewhat unnatural; moreover St Peter had himself been one of the earliest
preachers of the Church, and he distinctly contrasts the ministry of the
prophets with the proclamation which is now made by the
Other evidence for and against Christian prophets being in mind [51]: The prophets referred to are
obviously the O.T. prophets, as almost all interpreters hold. The supposition is advanced, however, that
they are mainly the prophets of the
WEB: searching
for who or what kind of time the Spirit of Christ, which was in them, pointed
to, when he predicted the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that would
follow them.
Young’s: searching
in regard to what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ that was in them
was manifesting, testifying beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory
after these,
Conte (RC): inquiring as to what type of condition
was signified to them by the Spirit of Christ, when
foretelling those sufferings that are in Christ, as well
as
the subsequent glories.
Searching what time, or what manner of time
[searching what, or what manner of time, NKJV].
But the prophets did not know when and how this deliverance was to take
place. For this reason they were
compelled, as Daniel once was (cf. 9:2-3; 23 sqq.),
to hunt and search for the time, which perchance they could recognize only by
certain signs, to which all that which the Spirit spoke to them referred. [9]
The two words have
each a distinct force, the first indicating the wish of men to fix the date of
the coming of the Lord absolutely, the second to determine the note or
character of the season of its approach. Of that craving we find examples in the
question “wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” which was met
by our Lord with the answer “It is not for you to know the times and the
seasons” (Acts 1:6-7), in the over-heated expectations which Paul checks in 2
Thessalonians 2:1-2, in the hopes that were met by the mocking scorn which St
Peter himself rebukes in 2 Peter 3:3-8. [38]
what . . . time. What particular period. [15]
The case of Daniel
furnishes a notable illustration (Daniel
or what manner
of time. By what marks to be
distinguished. [15]
This phrase, in Greek, (ποῖον καιρὸν
poion kairon) would properly relate, not to
the exact time when these things would occur, but to the character or condition
of the age when they would take place; perhaps referring to the state of the
world at that period, the preparation to receive the gospel, and the probable manner
in which the great message would be received.
Perhaps, however, the inquiry in their minds pertained to the time when
the predictions would be fulfilled, as well as to the condition of the world
when the event takes place. The meaning
of the Greek phrase would not exclude this latter sense. [31]
Or: As referring
to the nature and identity of the Messiah as well: “What,
or what manner of time.”—If this be right, it must mean, “what exact or
approximate date.” But the simplest
translation would be, to whom, or what period, the Spirit of Christ in them was
pointing. This would give new
significance to the sentence. They were
aware that they were speaking of a Messiah; but who the man should be who would
hold that office, or at what period of their history he would arise, this was
what they longed to know. They foresaw a
Christ, but they could not foresee Jesus; they could give to their Christ no
definite position in future history.
(Compare Matthew 22:42; Luke
the Spirit of
Christ which was in them did signify. So styled, as being of the Son, no less than of the Father, both by
eternal procession and temporal mission, John 14:16, 26;
This denotes the
source of the communications which formed the subject of the study. So far, therefore, it also explains the
impulse under which they both studied and declared them. They rose on the minds of the prophets in
virtue of a power which, though in them, was not that of their own
intelligence. The men were conscious
that those future things of grace which they saw inwardly came to them not as
the forecastings of their own sagacity, but as the
communications of a revealing Agent.
Hence they both "searched" them for themselves, and
"prophesied" of them to others.
[51]
This does not prove that they knew that this was the
Spirit of Christ, but is only a declaration of Peter that it was actually so. It is not probable that the prophets distinctly
understood that the Spirit of inspiration, by which they were led to foretell
future events, was especially the Spirit of Christ. They understood that they were inspired; but
there is no intimation, with which I am acquainted, in their writings, that
they regarded themselves as inspired by the Messiah. It was not improper, however, for Peter to
say that the Spirit by which they were influenced was in fact the Spirit of
Christ, so called because that Spirit which suggested these future events to
them was given as the great Medium of all revealed truth to the world. Compare Hebrews 1:3; John 1:9; John 14:16;
John 14:26; John 16:7; Isaiah 49:6. [31]
when it testified
beforehand the sufferings of Christ. Yet it is not
necessary to suppose that they had clear apprehensions of his sufferings, or
were able to reconcile all that was said on that subject with what was said of
his glory and his triumphs. There was much about those sufferings which they
wished to learn, as there is much still which we desire to know. We have no
reason to suppose that there were any views of the sufferings of the Messiah
communicated to the prophets except what we now have in the Old Testament; and
to see the force of what Peter says, we ought to imagine what would be our views
of him if all that we have known of Christ as history were obliterated, and we
had only the knowledge which we could derive from the Old Testament. [31]
the glory [glories,
NKJV] that should follow. That is, they saw that
there would be glory which would be the result of his sufferings, but they did
not clearly see what it would be. They
had some knowledge that he would be raised from the dead, (Psalm 16:8-11;
compare Acts
The
unusual plural, ‘glories,’ is chosen here, either in reference to the several
steps of His glorification, in His resurrection, ascension, session at God’s
right hand, and Second Advent (so Weiss, Schott, etc.), or simply as a balance
to the other half of the clause, the standing phrase for what Christ had to
endure being the plural form, "sufferings." [51]
In depth: Efforts to shoehorn into the text not only the timing of the Messiah but also identifying information on the Messiah [51]. This participial clause, introduced by the simple form of the intenser compound verb "earnestly searched," takes up the prophetic study and specifies the particular point to which it was directed. It was the question of the era at which this grace was to come. Both pronouns refer to the word season. They are not to be dealt with separately, as if the ‘what’ meant ‘which person,’ and the ‘what manner of’ pointed to the time (so Peile, Mason, etc.).
In that case the man in whom their expected
Messiah was to appear would, as well as the date of his coming, be what they
wish to ascertain. But the object of the
prophetic reflection is here defined simply as the time itself, or the kind
of time—a phrase meaning not (as Steinmeyer)
"the time or rather the kind of time," but, in a descending
climax, "the time, or, failing that, the kind of time." By diligent reflection these prophets sought
to discover the precise period (whether soon or late), or, if that were denied
them, at least the signs of the times—the kind of era (whether, e.g., one
of peace or one of war) at which the revelation given them of the destined
admission of the Gentile world into Israel’s grace was to be made good.
In depth: The nature of the “Spirit of Christ” [51]. The revealing Power in them is designated "the Spirit of Christ," not in the sense of the Spirit that speaks of Christ (Augustine, Bengel, etc.), but in the sense of the Spirit that belongs to Christ, or possibly the Spirit that is identical with Christ. The designation is to be taken in the breadth which naturally belongs to it (cf. Romans 8:9, etc.).
It is not to be reduced, contrary to the analogy of the Epistles, to anything so subjective as "the Messiah-Spirit," or "the Messianic Spirit" (Mason), nor, on the other hand, is it used here with a view to the "procession" of the Third Person of the Trinity (Cook). Its point is caught rather in the well-known sentence of the Epistle of Barnabas (chap. 5)—‘the prophets having the gift from (Christ) Himself prophesied in reference to Him.’
Peter does not draw any distinction here between the "Spirit of Christ" as a purely official title, and the "Spirit of Jesus," or the "Spirit of Jesus Christ" as the personal title, so that the designation should mean nothing more than that the Spirit of the Messiah (unidentified with the Christ of history) was in the prophets. He indicates rather that the Revealing Agent who gave the prophets their insight into a grace to come was Christ Himself—the very Christ now known to the Church as the subject of O.T. prophecy and the finisher of salvation. This is in accordance with analogous modes of statement in Peter (1 Peter 3:20) and Paul (1 Corinthians 10:4, 9), as well as with the doctrine of the Reformed Church that the same Being has been, in all ages, the Revealer of God and the Minister of light and grace to the Church—the Word of God, the Logos, pre-incarnate, incarnate, or risen. It is admitted, therefore, by cautious exegetes like Huther, that the great majority of interpreters are right in recognizing here a witness to the pre-existence of Christ, and to His pre-incarnate activity in the Church.
Other expositions which deal with the term
"Spirit of Christ," as if it were identical simply with "Spirit
of God," come short of Peter’s intention here. More is expressed than the general identity
of the work of grace in the O.T. with that in the N.T., or the identity of the
Spirit of God in the former with the Spirit of Christ in the latter (de Wette), or the idea that the Spirit, who worked in the
prophets, was the same Spirit of God that Jesus received at His baptism, and since
then has possessed (Schmid, Weiss, etc.).
In depth: The nature of prophetic inspiration [46]. “Searching.”—This further explains the “inquired and searched” above; it particularizes the object of the inquiry. They knew that they spoke “concerning a salvation,” but they did not know the details.
The present passage is perhaps the most striking in the whole New Testament in regard to the doctrine of prophetic inspiration. Assuming that the prophets did not speak simply of their own human calculation, but somehow under the influence of the Divine Spirit, we are brought to face the question, how far their utterances were their own, and how far suggested to them from on high.
The doctrine of Montanism, which has not altogether died out of the Church yet, asserts that from first to last prophecy is superhuman; that every word and letter is forced upon the man by a power not his own, which leaves him no choice. God, and God alone, is responsible for every syllable. The human will and intelligence need not even concur in the message they deliver, nor even be conscious that they are delivering it. Thus Montanus makes God to say through him: “Lo, man is as a lyre, and I am as that which strikes the chords: the man is unconscious, and I alone wake.”
On the other hand, some of the early opponents of Montanism went so far as to say that the inspired writers had a clear and immediate perception, a complete insight into the mysteries which they foretold,—that Isaiah, for instance, saw, as plainly as we do, Mary and Jesus in his prophecy of Immanuel.
Our present verses show a doctrine between the
two. The prophets find themselves
impelled to say words which they are conscious of choosing and using, but which
they feel to have a deeper meaning than they themselves were conscious of
intending. It is clear to them (1 Peter
1:12) that what they meant primarily as applying to present circumstances, was
in reality being overruled by the Spirit to apply more fully to the future. But what that future was they struggled, and
half in vain, to know.
WEB: To
them it was revealed, that not to themselves, but to you, they ministered these
things, which now have been announced to you through those who preached the
Good News to you by the Holy Spirit sent out from heaven; which things angels
desire to look into.
Young’s: to
whom it was revealed, that not to themselves, but to us they were ministering
these, which now were told to you (through those who did proclaim good news to
you,) in the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, to which things messengers do desire
to bend looking.
Conte (RC): To them, it was revealed that they were
ministering, not for themselves, but for you those
things which have now been announced to you through
those who have preached the Gospel to you, through
the Holy Spirit, who was sent down from heaven to the
One upon whom the Angels desire to gaze.
but unto us. They
were reaping the benefit of all the labors of the prophets. They were permitted to see truth clearly,
which the prophets themselves saw only obscurely. They were, in many respects, more favored
than even those holy men had been. It
was for them that the prophets had spoken the word of the Lord: for them and their salvation that a long line
of the most holy men that the world ever saw, had lived, and toiled, and suffered;
and while they themselves had not been allowed to understand the fall import of
their own predictions, the most humble believer was permitted to see what the
most distinguished prophet never saw.
See Matthew 13:17. [31]
they did minister. Imperfect
tense, were ministering. The term
is applicable to any kind of service, official or not. Compare 2 Corinthians 3:3. [2]
the things, which
are now reported unto you. Information “gets around,” good or bad, near
or distant. Sometimes it is even impossible
to guess the "who" or "how" it is conveyed. It is part of nearly everyone’s nature to
want to know more about what is going on around them in whatever subject they
are interested in. So it would be
natural for these Christians to keep alert to any word involving the gospel or
its proclaimers.
[rw]
that have preached the gospel unto you. Who the individuals were who had preached the gospel to the readers, Peter does not say. No doubt the form of the apostle’s expression does not compel us to think of him as excluded from the [description] yet it is very probable that Peter, had he intended to include himself, would somehow have given this to be understood. [?]
with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. Since it was regarded as the Spirit of God, it was conceived to be sent forth from heaven. [16]
The
previous verse implied that the prophets were inspired by the spirit of Christ;
this verse by the phrase “Holy Spirit” implies that the preachers of the Gospel
were inspired by the same spirit as, and therefore equally with, the
prophets. The allusive references show
that these truths, like many others touched upon in this paragraph, were taken
for granted alike by the Apostle and his readers. [45]
Peter evidently
refers to the outpouring of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost (Acts
2:1-4), for since that day the Holy Spirit worketh in
and through the Word which is entrusted to the Church. [50]
which things the
angels. The object of this reference to the
angels is the same as that to the prophets.
It is to impress on Christians a sense of the value of that gospel which
they had received, and to show them the greatness of their privileges in being
made partakers of it. It had excited the
deepest interest among the most holy men on earth, and even among the
inhabitants of the skies. [31]
“The omission of the
article before αγγελοι,
angels, renders the meaning more grand. Not any particular species of angels, but all
the different orders of them, desire to look into the things foretold by the
prophets, and preached by the apostles.
See Ephesians 3:10. This earnest
desire of the angels to contemplate the sufferings of Christ,
was emblematically signified by the cherubim placed in the inward tabernacle,
with their faces turned down toward the mercy-seat, Exodus 25:20. To that emblem there is a plain allusion in
the word παρακυψαι here, to stoop.
The apostle’s meaning is, If our salvation,
and the means by which it is accomplished, are of such importance as to merit
the attention of angels, how much more do they merit our attention, who are so
much interested in them!” — Macknight. [47]
desire. The word commonly denotes intense
desire. It is used by Christ in
expressing his wish to eat the Passover (Luke
to look into. The term
look into signifies to bend forward in order
to look more closely, or to see to the bottom.
The facts of the wonderful story, from the promise in
This is a most
important revelation. It teaches us that
the holy angels are not perfect in knowledge, but are fellow learners with us,
and have the same lesson of Redemption to learn as we have; only it does not,
we should suppose, so directly affect them.
In Ephesians
In depth: Attempts to limit
the prophetic reference to the prophet Daniel [8]. Definite
corroboration of the ideas here expressed is to be found in the Book of Daniel,
12:4, 9,10, 13.
The fundamental presupposition is that the “when” of the
fulfillment was unknown to the prophets; according to verse 12, all that was
revealed to them was that it would take place only in the times to come. De Wette asserts
too much when he says that searching as to the time cannot be predicated of the
genuine prophets of ancient Judaism, although the words of Daniel may have
given occasion for the apostle’s statement, still that statement is not
incapable of justification. If the
apostles searched as to the time when the promises of Christ would receive
accomplishment, why should it not be presupposed that similarly the prophets,
too, inquired into that which the [Spirit] testified beforehand to them, more
especially as to the [time] of its fulfillment?
In depth: What is the relationship of the “searching” of verses 10-11 to the “revelation” of verse 12 [51]? Many interpreters regard the latter as the result or reward of the former. And this is put in two different ways, either that the prophets searched, and therefore revelations were given them, because they were ministering for others; or, that they searched, and their search was answered by its being revealed to them that they were ministering for others. But to make their receipt of revelations (whether in the wide sense of revelations generally, or in the narrower sense of the revelation of the one fact that in some things they were speaking to a later age) dependent so far upon their own previous diligence in inquiry, is strangely out of harmony with the initiating and impelling activity ascribed here, and again in 2 Peter 1:21, to the Spirit.
The connection, therefore, is to be taken either
thus: ‘they searched, and to them, too, it was revealed;’ or (with Huther, etc.), ‘they searched inasmuch as it was
revealed to them.’ The revelation in
view occasioned and incited their inquiry.
It was discovered to them that in regard to certain things which the
Spirit communicated they were dealing with things meant for others, and this
fact (pointing, as it did, to the mystery of a place for the Gentile world
sooner or later in Israel’s grace) stimulated their inquiry. How this fact was discovered, or
‘revealed,’ to them, whether by a special intimation of the Spirit, or simply
by the unmistakable import of the communication itself regarding the future
grace, is left unexplained.
BOOKS/COMMENTARIES
UTILIZED IN THIS STUDY:
1 [Anonymous]. Teacher’s Testament/Nelson’s Explanatory
Testament
Thomas
Nelson & Sons;
2 Marvin
R. Vincent, D.D. Word
Studies in the New Testament.
Charles
Scribner’s Sons;
3 Robert
Young. Commentary
on the Holy Bible. A. Fullarton & Co;
4 Daniel
Whitby, D.D. and Moses Lowman. A Critical Commentary and
Paraphrase
on the New Testament. Carey Hart,
5 Matthew
Henry. Vol. IV: Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible.
6 Rev. Dr
C. G. Barth. The Bible Manual.
1865
7 Charles
R. Erdman. The
General Epistles.
Press, 1918.
8 Joh. Ed. Huther, Th. D., Critical
and Exegetical Handbook to the
General
Epistles of James, Peter, John, and Jude
[Meyer’s Commentary
on the New Testament].
9 Professor
Bernhard Weiss, D.D. A
Commentary of the New Testament Vol. IV.
10 Charles
Simeon, M.A. Horae
Homileticae Vol. XX.
and Ball, 1833.
11 Rev. S.
T. Bloomfield, M.A. Recensio
Symoptica Annotations Sacrae
[
12 George
Leo Haydock. Haydock’s Catholic Family Bible and Commentary
UTS,
13 Howard
Crosby, D.D. New
Testament, With Brief Explanatory Notes. New
14 Anonymous [Justin
Edwards]. The New
Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
This edition has more notes, but Edwards’ name is
attached to a shorter
edition of the
same material at UTS,
15 John
Wesley, M.A. Explanatory Notes upon
the New Testament.
16 Orello Cone, D.D. International Handbooks to the N.T. Vol. 3:
The Epistles. New York:
G. P. Putnam’s Sons / Knickerbocker Press,
1901.
17 Philip
Doddridge, D.D. The Family Expositor
(Paraphrase and Version of
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Amherst, Ms.: J. S. & C.
Adams,
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18 Adam
Clarke, LL.D., F.S.A., etc.
The New Testament of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ Vol. VI.
19 Donald
Fraser, M.A., D.D. Synoptical
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II.
20 Rev.
Robert Jamieson, D.D. Rev. A. R. Fausset, A.M. Rev. David Brown D.D. A
Commentary, Critical and explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments Vol. II The S. S. Scranton Company
21 Martin
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St. Jude Preached and
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22 Barton
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23 Arno Gaebelein. Annotated Bible. Internet Edition. 1920s.
24 John R. Dummelow. Dummelow’s Commentary on the Bible. Internet Edition. 1909.
25 Robert Hawker. Poor Man’s Commentary. Internet Edition. 1828.
26 Johann
A. Bengel. Gnomon of the New
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1742.
27 Alexander
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18--.
28 Matthew
Poole. English
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1685.
29 John Trapp. Complete Commentary. Internet Edition.
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30 Joseph Sutcliffe. Commentary on the Old
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31 Albert Barnes. Notes on the New
Testament. Internet Edition. 1870.
32 James Gray. Concise Bible Commentary. Internet Edition. 1897-1910.
33 F. B. Meyer. Thru The Bible
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34 John and Jacob Abbott. Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament. Internet
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35 John Calvin. Commentaries. Internet Edition. Written in 1500s. Printing:
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36 William R. Nicoll,
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37
38
E. M. Plumptre. Internet Edition. 1890.
39 D. D. Whedon. Commentary on the New Testament;
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40 Ariel A. Livermore. The Epistles to the Hebrews, the Epistles
of James,
Peter, John, and Jude and the Revelation of John the Divine[:] Commentary
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41 M[ichael] F.
Sadler. The General Epistles of SS.
James, Peter, John, and
Jude. Second
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42 Robert S. Hunt. The Epistle to the
Hebrews and the General Epistles.
In
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43 A. T. Robertson. New Testament Interpretation (Matthew to
Revelation):
Notes on
Lectures. Taken
stenographically. Revised Edition by William
M.
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44 William G. Humphry. A Commentary on the Revised Version of the
New
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45 W. H. Bennett. The General Epistles: James, Peter, John and Jude. In the
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46 A. J. Mason. “First Epistle of Peter” in Ellicott’s New
Testament
Commentary for English
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47 Joseph Benson. Commentary on the Old
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48 William B. Godbey. Commentary on the New
Testament. Internet Edition.
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49 James Nisbett,
editor. Church
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[Note: this is not “The Pulpit
Commentary.”]
50 Revere F. Weidner. Annotations on the General Epistles of
James, Peter,
John,
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Commentary series.
Literature Company, 1897.
51 Schaff’s
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Internet
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1879-1890.