Growth towards maturity is dependent on the presence of freedom, holiness and immortality. These are presented as divine qualities that are utterly lacking in human beings. However, while human beings are ignorant and weak, sinful and mortal the addressees of 1 Peter
We can find at least three sets of contrasting pairs in 1 Peter, each one of them characterising on the one hand the initial human condition, and on the other hand the divine life. First of all, there is the contrast between human mortality and divine immortality (1:24);
True freedom therefore manifests itself in ‘respecting all, loving the brotherhood, fearing God and honouring the king’ (1:17). According to Philo (
Salvation, which is ultimately eschatological (1:3–13), is already operative in the present time among believers: their mortality is overcome by their having been begotten anew by God (1:3, 23)
Through the proclamation of the gospel the addressees now find themselves in the time of fulfilment (1:10–12), but in this time of fulfilment they find themselves still in an ‘in between’ situation: their present experience is paralleled by the past sufferings of Christ while the present glory of Christ is their own future – their inheritance held for them in heaven (1:3–5).
The letter is filled with hope and joy, because the author sees the present sufferings and difficulties within a comprehensive perspective of history and creation (1:3–12). Within this perspective the focus is on the personal and communal transformation to which the addressees are called in the here and now – a transformation which has been made possible for them by God in Jesus Christ. The letter focuses on the present, which is full of hope because of the faithfulness of God the Creator (4:19) and because of Christ who is offered as a firm foundation stone to those who entrust themselves to him (2:6).
While the present is full of hope the believers are, nevertheless, still in the flesh, and still strangers and aliens.
In their condition in the flesh the faithful should humble themselves under the mighty hand of God, which means they should recognise their nothingness and total dependence on God (1:24). However, this does not amount to total passivity and a withdrawal from the earthly realm, but it requires an understanding of their condition and an active commitment to God, precisely in their present condition, marked by various trials. In other words, they should submit themselves to God,
This article will first look at the project of God, the faithful Creator, who established creation as ‘flesh’, but who also offers the gift of freedom by which human beings are able both to understand their condition by means of the Gospel and to submit to God. By doing so they open themselves to God’s generating power and transcend their ‘fleshly’ state, that is, they are made holy and immortal. A second part will look at the saving role of Christ as the powerful yet rejected stone placed and offered by God as the model and means to transcend the ‘flesh’ in the flesh (4:1–2). A final part will focus on the new birth and the process of growth.
‘Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good’ (4:19).
… an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1:4–5).
… for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls (1:9).
In order to understand 1 Peter as much as possible within its cultural background and in order to sensitise ourselves to ‘possible meanings’ of the text (not ‘the’ meaning), it will be helpful to keep in mind the writings of Philo
What deadlier foe to the soul can there be than he who in his vainglory claims to himself that which belongs to God alone? For it belongs to God to act, and this we may not ascribe to any created being. What belongs to the created is to suffer, and he who accepts this from the first, as a necessity inseparable from his lot, will bear with patience what befalls him, however grievous it may be. (
Human freedom is of necessity receptive freedom. Submitting oneself to the hard truth about oneself as ‘created’, is the way forward:
Know, then, O excellent man, that God alone is the truest, and most real, and genuine peace, and that every created and perishable essence is continual war. For God is something voluntary, and mortal essence is necessity. Whoever, therefore, is able to forsake war, and necessity, and creation, and destruction, and to pass over to the uncreated being, to the immortal God, to the voluntary principle, and to peace, may justly be called the abode and city of God. (
Human beings have been given this possibility to ‘pass over’, to transcend the limitations of the creature in order to share in the immortality, holiness and freedom of God instead of remaining chained to creaturely necessity and mortality. However, it is ultimately God’s work. Philo links this possibility with the gift of the mind in the human soul which tends to responsibility and freedom:
… for that is the only quality in us
Human beings find themselves in this condition of the flesh, but God has given them also the ability to transcend this condition by means of the ‘use of their energies in accordance with deliberate purpose’. These views are not elaborated philosophically in 1 Peter, but we can see how Philo articulates, in more philosophical language, the basic tenets which are also fundamental in 1 Peter. In this sense we can understand also 2:16 and 5:2:
As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil (2:16).
… to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion [ἀναγκαστῶς] but willingly [ἑκουσίως] (5:2).
Freedom as willingness to serve God and as human responsibility to give an account to God about one’s life (4:5; 1:17) is seen as a gift of sharing – in limited ways – in the divine qualities of immortality, holiness and freedom from necessity. Achtemeier (
The issue of being freed from necessity and becoming good soil for the Word by submission was a point of particular interest in the Early Church. Justin Martyr, for instance, pointed to the contrast between the two births in terms of the contrast between compulsion and ignorance on the one hand and choice and understanding on the other – a contrast we already find in Philo:
Since at our birth we were born without our own knowledge or choice, by our parents coming together, and were brought up in bad habits and wicked training; in order that we may not remain the children of necessity and of ignorance, but may become the children of choice and knowledge, and may obtain in the water the remission of sins formerly committed, there is pronounced over him who chooses to be born again, and has repented of his sins, the name of God the Father and Lord of the universe.
The expression of 1 Peter 5:2, μὴ ἀναγκαστῶς ἀλλ᾽ ἑκουσίως κατὰ θεόν, is very close to Philemon 14: ἵνα μὴ ὡς κατὰ ἀνάγκην τὸ ἀγαθόν σου ᾖ ἀλλὰ κατὰ ἑκούσιον. Jerome, in his commentary on this expression in Philemon, explains the reasons behind these two stages in God’s plan.
Jerome first broaches a question raised by some people, as to why God has not created human beings in such a way that they would of necessity do what is good. According to him, God could have created humans in such a way that they would not be able to do evil, but then they would be good by necessity, not voluntarily, and therefore not really good, because: ‘Certainly, nothing can really be called good, except if it is voluntary’ (411–412). Furthermore, in order for us to be similar to God, freedom of choice is required, as God is good by choice, not by necessity. If, however, we had been created good by necessity, we would no longer be similar to God. Therefore, by endowing us with our own free will, God made us more in his own image and likeness. Being like God is absolutely good, while being good by necessity is even in some way an evil (415–420). (pp. 280–281)
In light of our creation as mortals and our calling to freedom, holiness and immortality we can understand how 1 Peter can call for ‘submission’ to God in our suffering as the way to immortal life: ‘Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good’ (4:19).
Human beings are to face their condition with humility and hope. This condition is appropriately described as ‘resident aliens and strangers’ and as ‘in the flesh’. They are to respond to God in this condition by doing good, that is, by using their energies in accordance with the freely chosen purpose of doing God’s will: ‘so as to live for the rest of your earthly [
The will of God must be seen as the whole plan of God, from the creation to its fulfilment (1:20) in which the present life in the flesh is one stage in God’s design of salvation. In that sense it is a necessary stage (1:6). This is the kind of ‘necessity’ that is also asserted, for instance, in Acts 14:22 and which corresponds to the ‘necessity’ of the suffering and death of the Christ (Mk 8:31; Lk 9:22). The passage in 1 Corinthians 15:42–58 reflects a similar view of two stages in God’s work of creation and salvation, leading from the creation of the first Adam to the second Adam, from imperfection to perfection, from being earthly to being heavenly. The imperfect state must be borne in hope and in submission to God, because it is the way God works:
The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven (1 Cor 15:47–49).
Gnostics could not appreciate ‘the man of dust’ as having a positive place in God’s plan of salvation. They claimed that in view of all this imperfection, injustice and suffering the creator could not be seen as good and faithful. Irenaeus, in reply, articulated what was at least implicit in 4:19: the insistence on the
Centuries later, Bernard of Clairvaux, who continued the tradition of the Church Fathers, summarises the whole of salvation as a process of four stages in the transformation from imperfect love towards the perfection of love of God (
God’s work of salvation in 1 Peter can be seen as a progressive history, which started before the creation of the world (1:20) and will be completed at the end with the revelation of Jesus Christ (1:5, 7). This initial condition of the creatures is carnal: the creature is mortal, weak, prone to sin and
The model and means of this transformation is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1:3, 21; 2:6, 21–25; 3:18–25; 4:13; 5:1, 10). Jesus Christ is God’s gift to humanity. One image used in the letter is that of the living stone that God has ‘placed’ and to whom the believers are invited to come in order to become themselves living stones of a spiritual house,
In 2 Corinthians 8:9 Jesus Christ left his previous state of wealth in order to take on a state of poverty; in John 1:14–18 he left his position close to the Father’s heart in order to become flesh. In 1 Peter, Jesus is ‘placed’ by God as the living stone of a new or a renewed building in Zion (2:6). The image suggests something powerful, a stone, even a rock (2:8). However, he shares the vulnerability of the flesh (1:24) and is rejected (2:6–7), but afterwards the stone is vindicated as ‘a cornerstone chosen and precious’. The believers are challenged to approach it. It is in fact a participation
… as a lamb without defect and blemish (1:19).
‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth’. When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed (2:22–24).
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God (3:18).
Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same intention (for whoever has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin), so as to live for the rest of your earthly [
In this Jesus Christ is both the ‘exemplar and enabler’ (Elliott
Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance.
However, while Christ is the model and means of a holy life in the present condition in the flesh, the final goal is to share also in the glory of the risen Christ:
And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. (5:10)
By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead … (1:23)
This brings us to the issue of the new birth.
In contrast with the mortal and passing condition of the flesh, believers are begotten anew of the imperishable Word of the Gospel (1:23–25). The theme of a new birth
By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1:3–5)
The letter is focussed on the present time, the time between the event of the new birth (baptism)
In order to understand the generating power of the Word of God, it may be fruitful to pay attention to some texts of Philo, which refer to the generating power of wisdom. He probably expresses, in his own more sophisticated way, an understanding common in his Jewish community about the educational and life-giving power of God’s Word or God’s Wisdom:
We say, therefore, without paying any attention to the difference here existing in the names, that wisdom, the daughter of good, is both male and a father, and that it is that which sows the seed of, and which begets learning in, souls, and also education, and knowledge, and prudence, all honorable and praiseworthy things. (
The opposite kind of birth is the one mentioned in James 1:
But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death. (v. 14, 16)
There are therefore two possibilities, either to let the soul be ruled by one’s own desires or let it be educated by the Word of God as revealed in the gospel. The one leads to life, the other to death. In this way two groups of human beings are constituted based on each one’s human response. For those who open themselves to God’s Word the creature is given a share in God’s holiness and immortality. Those who abandon themselves to their carnal desires are alienated from God and miss out on the gifts of holiness and life, and end in death. These latter have failed to turn to the fountain of life.
For 1 Peter the human problem is not so much with the fleshly desires in themselves as with the quality of the soul. The fleshly desires, being what they are, are unable to appreciate God’s guidance. The direction must come from a soul, which is instructed by God’s Word and which is modelled after the example of Jesus Christ – in other words, which has been reborn.
Whether the tension in 2:11 is between the soul and the body,
If we compare 1 Peter to Paul, we can say that the rebegetting and maturation take place as the soul is shaped by the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16).
It is important to note that 2:1 continues in 2:2, where the emphasis is not merely on living for righteousness, but on right conduct among the Gentiles as a missionary witness to them: ‘Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge’.
The remainder of the letter from 2:13 onwards discusses what this honourable conduct entails in a variety of contexts: while among the Gentiles, while still in this world of the flesh with its limitations and challenges, and with its suffering and persecution.
1 Peter opens the minds of the addressees to the crucial value of the present time for their salvation (1:10–12, 18–21) by situating it within a comprehensive framework, a grand vision, between the creation of the world (1:20) and the time of final salvation (1:5). This present time is decisively marked by God’s action, by the fact that God has placed a precious stone in their midst as their means of salvation (1:4–8). The rejection and vindication of that stone established the pattern for the way to salvation. Jesus Christ shared human weakness and suffering, but did not succumb to sin. He became the precious cornerstone, the means and model of salvation for all (2:21–25). The vision goes together with the challenge to approach that stone by means of faith in this Good News, to let a strong desire for this ‘milk’ turn us away from the ‘fleshly’ desires. The addressees are reminded that they have been begotten anew by this Word of the Good News and that the challenge is now to grow into adulthood towards the eschatological salvation (2:2). Three aspects of this growth towards maturity are identified in this article: from the necessity of ignorance to the freedom of joyful faith (1:8–9); from the compulsion of evil desires to eager submission (2:16; 5:2); and from wicked ways (2:1, 11) toward holiness of life (1:14–17). Finally, it makes all transformations complete on the last day, from mortal existence to ‘an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, which is kept in heaven’ (1:4).
The author declares that he has no financial or personal relationships which may have inappropriately influenced him in writing this article.
All references to 1 Peter will be indicated only by chapters and verses.
The occurrence of the following words highlights this contrast: ἄφθαρτος (1:4, 23; 3:2) and φθαρτός (1:18, 23); ἀμαράντος (1:4), ἀμαράντινος (5:4) and ἐξηράνθη (1:24).
There is the contrast between the desires of the flesh fighting against the soul (2:11) and the challenge to desire ardently the milk of God’s Word (2:2). Parallel to this set of pairs is also that of ‘futile conduct’ (1:18) contrasted with ‘good or holy conduct’ (1:15; 2:12; 3:2, 16).
According to F.S. Jones (
See ἵνα ἐν αὐτῷ αὐξηθῆτε εἰς σωτηρίαν (2:2); the growth towards maturity is the work of God (notice the passive aorist) by means of their passionate devotion to the Good News. Following this holy desire stands in clear contrast to following the desires of the flesh (1:14; 2:11; 4:2-3).
I have followed P.H. Alexander
‘[
See Senior (
It is more likely that λογικός should be seen as referring the life giving Word mentioned a few verses before, 1:23–24 (see Spicq
‘In the one set of parallels, Christ’s past and the Christians’ present are paralleled, and Christ’s present and the Christians’ future are similarly paralleled. In the second set of parallels, which grows out of the first, the Christians’ past is contrasted with their future. In that way the events of Christ’s passion become the pattern for the temporal structure of the Christians’ life and fate’ (Achtemeier
Janse van Rensburg (
These would include amongst the various trials (1:6): mortality (1:24), inner division between the desires of the flesh and the well-being of the soul (2:11), leading to futile ways (1:18), malice, guile, insincerity, envy and slander (2:1), unjust suffering of the slaves at the hands of their masters (2:19), coping with an environment full of licentiousness, passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing, and lawless idolatry (4:3), and of course also the fact that faithfulness to God involves sufferings. Many scholars, however, prefer to interpret the ‘various trials’ as sufferings resulting from faithfulness to Christ (see Harink
All English translations from the Bible are from the NRSV.
The noun ὑπακουή is clearly used in the sense of obedience to God’s Word leading to action: 1:2, 14, 22 (Kittel
Doing good is not merely being a law-abiding citizen, but submitting to God’s will, which
The issue of suffering is prominent in 1 Peter: πάσχω occurs 12 times: 2:19, 20, 21, 23; 3:14, 17, 18; 4:1(2x), 15, 19; πάθημα occurs 4 times: 1:11; 4:13; 5:1, 9.
‘The term ‘all flesh’ (
‘Doing good’ also has a missionary and world transformative aim (Fagbemi
See 1:14–16: ‘Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”’
The preserved writings of Philo constitute an important body of evidence about Greek speaking Judaism in the first half of the 1st century CE. We can assume a broad common background between the New Testament writings and Greek speaking Judaism, although the focus of attention for the commonality with Philo has been on Paul, Hebrews and John (Runia
Winston (
That quality is that of the soul, which is made up of ‘a purer and more excellent essence of which the divine natures were formed’ (
The kind of ‘compulsion’ envisaged is illustrated in the second antithesis as being possessed by ‘sordid gain’, while the willingness is further developed as willingness to serve God, and by the second antithesis as ‘eagerness’ (see Achtemeier
According to Achtemeier (
The tradition, which seems to have shaped the texts which appear in the context of commands, like 1:14–15; 4:2, together with the texts which contrast positive and negative behaviours like 2:1–2 (‘rid yourselves … long for’); 11–12 (‘abstain … conduct yourselves’), can best be understood as shaped by the two ways tradition.
See also the text from Philo quoted in footnote 21.
Justin,
For the text of Jerome’s commentary on Philemon, see Bucchi
Similar ideas are found in other texts of Origen: ‘… that man received the honor of God’s image in the first creation, whereas the perfection of God’s likeness was reserved for him at the consummation. The purpose of this was that Man should acquire it for himself, by his own earnest efforts to imitate God. In this way, while the possibility of attaining perfection was given to Man in the beginning through the honor of the ‘image,’ even so he should, in the end, obtain for himself the ‘perfect likeness’ by the accomplishment of these works’ (Origen,
Compare with 2:15; 3:17.
Commentators commonly contrast this order with Philo’s view of the order: first the heavenly and then the earthly (Barrett
See for example Irenaeus,
In the edition by Leclercq & Rochais (
‘Finally, these verses [
Compare with Philo,
Elliott (
Jesus, as the corner stone or the cap stone, is found in a variety of New Testament passages besides 1 Peter: Matthew 21:42–45; Mark 12:10–11; Luke 20:17–18; Romans 9:32–33 as well as in
According to Achtemeier (
I take the datives as indicating the sphere of existence: with regard to the flesh indicates then the earthly life of Jesus subject to mortality; in this condition he suffered and was put to death; he shared our human condition of weakness and mortality; in this condition he suffered for the sins of the wicked although he was just. He was brought to life, a life in the realm of the Spirit, the realm of fullness of life, of holiness. For other interpretations, see Achtemeier (
That Christians are living stones in this context must be understood in relationship to Christ, the living stone, whom God has placed as source of life. It is God who placed the stone and it is God who built the spiritual house in which they became living stones. The purpose is that they should become a holy priesthood offering spiritual gifts (2:5), which, according to Achtemeier (
Selwyn (
‘This kind of conduct is distinctive, defensive, and attractive. It distinguishes believers from non-believers (1:14–16; 4:2–4), it refutes suspicions and charges of wrongdoing (2:15), and it can lead detractors themselves to join believers in the glorification of God (2:12; 3:1–2)’ (Elliott
This behaviour is detailed a little more in a later verse: ‘You have already spent enough time in doing what the Gentiles like to do, living in licentiousness, passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing, and lawless idolatry’ (4:3).
The noun ἀναστροφή and the corresponding verb occur a number of times and display the letter’s focus on holiness of conduct (1:15); holiness like that of God: 1:17; 1:18; 2:12; 3:1, 2, 16. The theme of ‘purification’ in 1:22 also further emphasises the aspect of moral conduct.
While the image of the seed focuses on the aspect of generation rather than the aspect of birth, the two obviously cannot be separated. The NRSV maintained the language of birth, probably because birth can be taken in its broader sense including generation, being borne in the womb and being delivered.
There is some disagreement amongst interpreters whether the ‘new birth’ refers to baptism. Senior (
We find in 1:13–15 a reference to the
The growth of the seed, as the growth of a person to maturity, is a mysterious process and is in God’s hand (Mk 4:26–29). At the same time, human receptivity is crucial (Mk 4:1–20). James 1:21–27 speaks about the word that is implanted and has the power to save their souls, but he insists that they need to be not merely hearers of the word but doers. 1 Peter fully agrees with that; the frequency of the phrase
Philo sees the milk as the symbol of the encyclical sciences, which are merely preparing for the fuller gift of the virtues (see
This is also the argument in 4 Maccabees about ‘devout reason,’ which is understood as reason guided by the Law (1:13–18; 18:1–2).
Janse van Rensburg (
A number of scholars have recognised here a reference to Exodus 24:7–8 where the promise of obedience is followed by the sprinkling of the covenantal blood (Achtemeier
Philo (
As Jacob (
As proposed by Schweizer (
Philo (
Philippians 2:5 and 12–13 refer to that work of God in the soul whereby God shapes the person’s thinking, outlook and behaviour. Hawthorne (
1 Corinthians 3:1–3 switch to fleshly as the contrast with spiritual, while 2:14 used ψυχικός.
Some texts from Philo (