Last night, if you missed it, we began our series studying 1 Peter by reading the entire letter and thinking about its contents as a whole. After the time of discussion in small groups, I offered these observations:
1. The apostolic writings are authoritative, and we need them.
(1:1) “An Apostle” – The New Testament is made up of the writings of the men who saw Christ (Matthew, John, Paul), and of their close associates who worked with them (Luke, Mark, James). In other words, it is the apostolic witness to what God revealed and did in Christ (see 2 Pet 1:16-18). These writings are way God has decided Christians of all times could know what they needed to know about Christ and what He means for us today. Make them your life’s authority!
2. We are not in our home. We are “out of joint” with our environment.
This should affect what we expect out of life. Peter expects suffering. As he describes in this letter, we have a divine identity (1:3-5, 2:5) which leads to a giving up of old, ways of life (which are socially acceptable, but out of God’s will) (2:11-12) which leads to misunderstanding (4:3-4) and finally persecution (4:12 & 16)
3. This letter is a manual for how and why to “be different.”
We might have often said things like, “I want people to see something different about me.” To mature in our discipleship, we need to put biblical content to our vague ideas about the Christian life. 1 Peter will help us by filling in these empty spaces in our thinking and bringing focus to our living.
4. There is an authentic Christianity, and there are many false versions. (See 5:13) This takes us back to #1. The apostles gave witness, once and for all, to the truth about Jesus.
I’m looking forward to spending this Fall travelling through Peters writings with you all.