1 Peter 1:1-2
Verse 1
The Epistle of 1 Peter is written by Peter, an Apostle of Christ. This is the same Peter who denied Jesus three times, yet remained a devout follower of Christ, even to the point of being crucified upside down. Peter is writing to the Christians in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, where they were being endlessly persecuted through ostracism, slander, and immense hostility.
The word ἐκλεκτοῖς (elect) refers to those whom God chose before the foundation of the earth, and the word παρεπιδήμοις (exiles) refers to those who are temporary residents, pilgrims in a land not their own. This teaches that Christians are temporary residents on this earth because we belong eternally to the heavenly kingdom, as Jesus said, “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” (John 17:16).
Verse 2
“According to the foreknowledge” refers to God’s sovereign choice, by which He elected us to be in the faith and under the lordship of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Because of His blood, our sins are washed away.
“And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.’”
Because of their faith in Christ, the grace they receive, the forgiveness of sins and being clothed with Christ's righteousness, and the peace they receive, permanent reconciliation with God and the joy of no longer being under the bondage of sin, are multiplied to them.
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