Questions

Scriptural Reflection
1 Peter 1:1–12

1 Peter

The early church fathers unanimously agreed that the Apostle Peter wrote this epistle as he claimed in the letter to the five Roman provinces in Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey. The contents of the epistle reveal that Peter wrote it at a time when persecution against Christians was on the rise in Rome and one of the main purposes for writing this epistle was to admonish believers how to live among a secular world in the midst of suffering. It is generally believed that he wrote this between the years 60-62 A.D. (i.e. before his martyrdom in the hands of Nero), in Babylon (5:13). Babylon should be a symbol for Rome, because it was still an uninhabited ruin at the time (TNTC, 33) and is used in Revelation 16:19; 17:5; 18:2 to refer to Rome. Based on the location of these provinces in the north-east corner of Asia Minor and the contents of the epistle, it is quite obvious that the recipients were mostly Gentiles.

1:1-2—Greetings

(1) See if you can recall:

1. How Peter was called by Jesus? (e.g. Lk. 5:8; Jn. 1:42)
2. One particular event in his three years of following Jesus? (e.g. Matt. 17:1ff)
3. The role he played in the early church (e.g. Acts 2)

(2) In writing to his recipients, what did he call them? How significant was this address applied to those who “were not a people” of God (2:10)?

(3) See if you can look up these provinces in a map of the NT: Why did Peter call them “exiles”?

(4) Which part does each of the “Three Persons” of the Triune God play in their election?

1:3-12—Glorious Salvation —Peter begins his letter (after the greetings) by reminding his recipients of the preciousness of salvation in Christ.

(5) Why does he begin with praise and to whom is it for? (v. 3)

(6) In pointing out that this salvation is God’s great mercy, Peter says we are born again into two things — what are they? (vv. 3-4)

(7) Why does he call our salvation a living hope?

(8) The OT speaks of the Promised Land of Canaan as Israel’s “inheritance” (e.g. Num. 26:54):

1. How different is ours from Israel’s Promised Land?
2. Since we have been born again, why does Peter say that our inheritance

1. Is now shielded by God’s power?
2. And is ready to be revealed in the last time? (see Rom. 13:11ff; 8:23ff)

(9) Living in the “now and not yet” (vv. 6-9) — while we have this living hope and inheritance, we still suffer all kinds of trials.

1. What is the purpose of our trials and sufferings? (v. 7)
2. The result of our faith is the salvation of our souls. What evidences do we have of salvation? (vv. 8-9)
3. Does verse 8 describe you? Why or why not?

(10) The mystery of Christ’s saving work (vv. 10-12)

1. Numerous prophets foretold the salvation through Christ

1. Who inspired them to prophesy? (v. 11)
2. What did they know about this plan of salvation?
3. In spite of their intense search, what didn’t they know about it?

2. Who now preached this gospel to us? (v. 12)

1. Who inspired them to preach the gospel?

3. Why do angels long to look into these things (concerning the salvation plan)?

1. What does this say about the angels?
2. What does this say about the mystery of the mercy and love of God?

(11) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
1 Peter 1:13–25

(1) As a result of our being born again into a living hope and an eternal inheritance (vv. 3-4), Peter now urges us (i) to hope and (ii) to become holy (vv. 13-16).

1. In order to live as urged, we need to have minds that are alert and fully sober (v.13):

1. What will cause our minds not to be alert and fully sober? (“alert” means to “gird the loins of our minds” in the original language)

2. On what should we set our hope?

1. What does “set our hope on” mean? (i.e. how can we do that?)
2. Where do you set your hope on today?

3. In urging us to become holy:

1. What are the reasons given in vv. 14-16?
2. What does it have to do with us being “obedient children”?
3. What does it have to do with the fact that the One who called us is holy?
4. Are you an obedient child who is (becoming) holy in all you do?

(2) Apart from reminding us that the One (the Father) who called us is holy, Peter also reminds us to live out (or rather “pass our time”) in fear of the Father.

1. Who is Father God that we should fear Him? (v. 17)
2. How does he describe our time on earth? (v. 17)
3. What does this fear have to do with how we were redeemed? (vv. 18-19)
4. Why does he contrast silver and gold with the precious blood of the utterly sinless Christ, the Lamb?
5. What does it mean that Christ was revealed in the last times for our sake? (v. 20)
6. Peter ends his exhortations here with the emphasis that our “faith and hope are in God”: What does this have to do with the foregoing exhortations? (v. 21)

(3) Peter points out that as we have obeyed the gospel truth, we have effectively purified our souls (v. 22).

1. Why does he urge us here to “love one another deeply from the heart” in particular? (v. 22)
2. What reason does he give for this exhortation to love? (vv. 23-25)

(4) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
1 Peter 2:1–10

2:1-3—Facts of Life of All New-born

(1) How does Peter describe those who have just been born again in Christ? (v. 2)

(2) What should these babies in Christ do and for what purpose? (v. 2)

(3) What should be the incentive for craving pure spiritual milk? (v. 3)

(4) What does the word “crave” suggest to you?

(5) What is “pure spiritual milk”?

(6) What is its opposite? (v. 1)

(7) Why does Peter emphasize “all” and every kind?

(8) Of this long list of things that we should not crave, but be rid of, with which do you still struggle?

2:4-5—Purpose Greater Than the Individual New-birth

(9) Apart from likening us to “newborn babies”, what else does Peter liken us to? (v. 5)

(10) How did we become “living stones” (v. 4)

(11) Peter points out that the collective purpose of all believers is to be built into a spiritual house, i.e. God’s temple (v. 5).

1. What is our role within this spiritual temple?
2. What is our function within this role?
3. Given that we are God’s house (His dwelling place), how then should we live?
4. Given that we are a holy priesthood, what kind of spiritual sacrifices should we be offering that are acceptable to God?

2:6-8—Christ, the Corner Stone of This Temple—Peter uses three separate OT passages to point out the truth that NT believers (i.e. the Church) are the spiritual temple of God. This is a brand new concept:

(12) Isaiah 28:16—Who is the one laying this cornerstone and for whom is it laid? (v. 6)

(13) Psalm 118:22—How is this prophecy fulfilled? (v. 7, see Acts 4:11-12)

(14) Isaiah 8:14—Who are the ones who stumble because of this cornerstone? (v. 8; see Rom. 9:31-33)

2:9-10—More Than God’s Temple

(15) How does v. 10 suggest that Peter is talking mainly about Gentile believers?

(16) V. 9 is borrowed from Exodus 19:5-6:

a. Who was Israel to the Lord?

b. Although God had already appointed some of the Levites as priests:

1. How were they to function as a “kingdom of priests”?
2. How and why should they live out the reality of a “holy nation”?

c. Now as the “new” Chosen People of God: (v. 9)

1. Although God has also appointed some to be pastors and elders, how and why should we, as a church, live out the reality of a “royal priesthood” and a “holy nation”?
2. What does being “God’s special possession” mean to you?

(17) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
1 Peter 2:11–25

From here onward, Peter focuses on giving instruction on ethical issues that confront believers in the secular world:

2:11-12—Life as Sojourners and Aliens

(1) Abstain from sinful desires

a.   How do sinful desires wage war against your soul?

b.   With this admonition:

1. Does it mean that it is do-able?
2. How?

(2) "Live such good lives"

a.   How will our good deeds glorify God before pagans?

b.   When? (See note below)

2:13-17—Admonition to Submit to Human Authority

(3) What reason is given for submission to human authority? (v. 14; see Rom. 13:1)

(4) What does it mean by “for the Lord’s sake”?

(5) Should there be any exceptions? (See Exod. 1:17; Dan. 3:13-18; 6:10-24; Acts 4: 18-20; 5:27-29; Heb. 11:23.)

(6) Peter urges us “to live as servants of God" (v. 16). How? (v. 17)

(7) How can God use our good deeds? (v. 15)

2:18-25—Admonition to Slaves

(8) To what extent should slaves submit to their masters? (v. 18)

(9) Why? (vv. 19-20)

(10) Using Christ as the example (vv. 21-25),

1. In what ways did Christ set an example of submission like a slave? (vv. 22-23)
2. What is the result of His submission? (v. 24)
3. How have we benefited from His submission? (v. 25)
4. Now, as followers of Christ, what is our calling? (v. 21)

(11) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Note:

Day of visitation may refer the day of God’s judgment or the time when non-believers who persecute believers come to Christ (Matt. 5:16).

Scriptural Reflection
1 Peter 3:1–12

3:1-6—Admonition to Wives

(1) Peter urges wives to submit to their husbands saying, “in the same way”: What is he referring to?

1. “For the sake of the Lord”? (2:13) or
2. To follow Christ’s example? (2:21)

(2) Why does he specify that the submission is to her “own” husband?

(3) It appears that some (and perhaps many) of the believing wives have non-believing husbands: What is the added importance to their submission? (vv. 1-2)

(4) What do purity and reverence have to do with submission? (v. 2)

(5) Is outward adornment necessarily wrong? Why or why not? (v. 3)

(6) What is the value of the inner quality of a gentle and quiet spirit? (v. 4)

(7) In citing Sarah as an example of “holy women in the past”:

1. What did their inner adornment have to do with putting “their hope in God”?
2. How did Sarah express her submission to Abraham?
3. In asking wives to follow Sarah’s example (v. 6):

1. What do the "right" things refer to?
2. How does “fear” figure into the picture of wrong doing?

3:7—Admonition to Husbands

(8) Again, what does “the same way” refer to?

(9) Husbands are to live with their wives “according to knowledge” (original words for “be considerate”):

1. What knowledge is Peter talking about?
2. In what ways are wives weaker?

(10) If husbands do not live with their wives “according to knowledge”

1. What will happen to their prayers?
2. Why? (Consider the meaning of wives being partners and heirs with their husbands of the gracious gift of life.)
3. If you are a husband or a wife, do you know why your prayer-life is hindered?

3:8-12—Admonition to All

(11) Peter points out that it is God’s desire that we may inherit a blessing.

1. What is that blessing according to v. 10 (see Ps. 34:12)
2. What are the conditions for inheriting such a blessing? (vv. 10b-11)
3. Why? (v. 12)

(12) In elaborating the admonition to “turn from evil and do good” (v. 11), Peter gives us a checklist in vv. 8-9

1. What is the evil we should turn from?
2. What is the good that we need to do?
3. Examine yourself in light of the list.
4. Which one might be hindering your prayers? (v. 12)

(13) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
1 Peter 3:13–22

3:13-16—Suffering for Doing Good

(1) Is Peter’s rhetorical question valid in v. 13? Why or why not?

(2) Why is suffering for doing good blessed? (v. 17)

(3) When we suffer for doing good:

1. What does it mean to revere (or in the original, treat as holy) Christ as Lord? (v. 15)
2. How may it help us not to fear or be troubled? (v. 14b)
3. Positively, we should always be prepared to answer:

1. What our answer is about?
2. What attitude should we have in answering?
3. Why?

3:17-22—Following Christ’s Example

(4) What has Christ’s suffering accomplished for us (v. 18)?

(5) What has He done that we could not have done for ourselves?

(6) Was His death final?

(7) While His proclamation to the “imprisoned spirts” of Noah’s time is a mystery to us (vv. 19-20; see note below):

1. How many people were saved from the flood (water) through the ark? (v. 20; Gen. 7:13)
2. What figure does that “water” symbolize concerning our salvation through Christ? (v. 21; also see Rom. 6:2ff)

(8) What has the resurrection of our Lord led to?

(9) How does this signify “it is better to suffer for doing good than doing evil" ? (v. 17)

(10) Why does Peter qualify this statement with “if it is God’s will”? (v. 17)

(11) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Note:

It is important to note that Peter does not say that

1. Christ’s Spirit went to preach to the imprisoned spirits “after” His resurrection, but rather it is His Spirit that went and preached; and
   
2. the “imprisoned spirits”, referring to the human spirits who rejected the words of Noah and because of their disobedience, were now in prison in Peter’s time.
   

Therefore the interpretation that is in line with the overall teachings of the Scriptures appears to be that the Spirit of Christ was behind the preaching of Noah to his generation, just as Paul says Christ was with the Israelites in their wilderness (1 Cor. 10:1-4).

Scriptural Reflection
1 Peter 4:1–11

4:1-6—Suffering for Christ’s Sake [continued]

(1) What was Christ’s attitude towards suffering that we should follow? (2:21ff)

(2) Why does Peter tell us to “arm yourselves”?

(3) Why would “whoever suffers in the body is done with sin”?

(4) What manifestation is there in the lives of those who have suffered? (v. 2)

(5) Is this your experience?

(6) Does the list of vices describe your former life or that of the non-believers around you? (v. 3)

(7) Did you ever have the experience described in v. 4?

(8) Given what is said in v. 5, what should our attitude be towards those who heap abuse on us? (Note: the “now dead” should be referring to believers “now dead”)

4:7-11—We Live in the End-time

(9) If the end was near then, how near is it now, given the signs told by Jesus? (see Matt. 24:7-8)

(10) What is meant by "be alert and sober", given the End-time is near? (v. 7)

(11) What has this to do with the ability to pray? (v. 7)

(12) Practical instructions concerning how to live among believers (vv. 8-11)

a. Love one another deeply (v. 8)

1. Why does Peter repeat this instruction here again? (see 1:22)
2. Whose sins is he talking about?

b. How may we apply this admonition about hospitality today? (v. 9)

c. Using our gifts (vv. 10-11)

1. What are gifts for? (v. 10)
2. How should we use them? (v. 10 and  v. 11)

d. What is his admonition to those who speak (i.e. preach)?

1. What is Peter’s emphasis here? (v. 11)

e. What is the ultimate goal of all of the above? (v. 11b)

(13) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?