改革后的

阐释性的

评论性的

D a n i e l M . D o r i a n i

x BeCex

改革宗释经注释

系列丛书

系列编辑

理查德·D·菲利普斯 菲利普 ·格雷厄姆 ·莱肯

圣经书卷分卷主编

伊恩·M·杜古德，旧约 丹尼尔 ·M· 多里安尼， 新约

x BeCex

丹尼尔 ·M· 多里安尼

©2014 年丹尼尔·M· 多里安

版权所有。 未经出版商 P&R 出版公司 （地址： 新泽西州菲利普斯堡邮政信箱 817 号， 邮编 08865–0817） 事先书面许可， 不得以任何形式或方式—— 包括电子、 机械、 影印、 录音等—— 复制、 存储于检索系统或传播本书任何内容， 惟为书评或评论目的而简短引用除外。

除非另有说明， 经文引述均出自 《 圣经新国际版 》（NIV®）。 版权 ©1973、1978、1984 年国际圣经协会。 经 Zondervan 出版社许可使用。版权所有。

经文引述标注 (esv) 均源自 ESV® 圣经 (《 圣经 · 英文标准版 》®), 版权 ©2001 年归 Crossway 所有 , 该机构为 GoodNewsPublishers 出版事工。经许可使用。版权所有。

经文引述中的斜体表示强调为后加。

ISBN:978-1-59638-469-9(精装)

ISBN:978-1-62995-040-2 (电子书)

ISBN：978-1-62995-041-9（Mobi 版）

印刷于美利坚合众国

美国国会图书馆出版品编目数据

多里亚尼， 丹尼尔·M.，1953 年出生

1 彼得丹尼尔 M. 多里安尼.

厘米页数. --(改革宗释经注释系列) 包含参考文献和索引.

ISBN978-1-59638-469-9(精装)

圣经. 彼得前书--注释.I. 题名. II. 题名: 彼得前书. BS2795.53.D67 2014

227'.92077--dc23

2013048513

谨以此书献给我在中央长老会教堂的朋友们，特别是教会的长老和执事们。感谢他们批准我的研究假期以完成此书，感谢他们的友谊，以及他们渴望

成为彼得前书第 5 章所描述的敬虔牧者典范的心愿

目录

致谢 ix 丛书导言 xi 前言 xv

异乡之客 （彼得前书 1:1-2）3

确凿而活泼的盼望 （彼得前书 1:3-9）14

彼得及其书信的权威性 （彼得前书 1:10-12）24

盼望与圣洁 （彼得前书 1:13-21）36

福音的洁净 （彼得前书 1:22-2:3）51

基督徒的身份 （彼得前书 2:4-10）64

客旅与公民（彼得前书 2:11-17）76

被钉十字架的基督所塑造的生命 （彼得前书 2:18–25）91

贤德的妻子，体贴的丈夫 （彼得前书 3:1–7）107

美好生活，和平国度 （彼得前书 3:8–12）124

正确的敬畏 （彼得前书 3:13–18）134

活着的基督的工作 ( 彼得前书 3:18–22)146

与罪断绝 ( 彼得前书 4:1–6)158

来自神的恩赐，为神献上的礼物 (彼得前书 4:7–11)169

神赐的试炼之道 ( 彼得前书 4:12–19)187

耶稣通过仆人式领袖牧养祂的教会 （彼得前书 5:1-4）201

谦卑自己（彼得前书 5:5-6）218

劝勉与祝福 （ 彼得前书 5:7-14）227

彼得前书精选注释 239 经文索引 241

主题与人名索引 255

致谢

I thank Jo Durham and Andrew Allen for timely editorial and research assistance. Rick Phillips’s comments strengthened and clarified the book at many points. Walker Cosgrove offered invaluable assistance for the seg- ment on the Crusades. In ways that each one knows, Clay Smith, Robbie Griggs, Bryan Chapell, Iain Duguid, and Phil Ryken helped me to think through the issues or the presentation. My daughters Abby and Beth and my beloved wife, Debbie, became assistant editors at essential points. I especially thank Tom and Sue Hays, whose home on the South Carolina coast offered a blessed setting for a gentle launch of the final push toward completion. Their porch is the one of the finest places in God’s good world for blessed meditation that leads to action. ...

Series Introduction ...

In every generation there is a fresh need for the faithful exposition of God’s Word in the church. At the same time, the church must constantly do the work of theology: reflecting on the teaching of Scripture, confessing its doctrines of the Christian faith, and applying them to contemporary culture. We believe that these two tasks—the expositional and the theological—are interdependent. Our doctrine must derive from the biblical text, and our understanding of any particular passage of Scripture must arise from the doctrine taught in Scripture as a whole. ...

We further believe that these interdependent tasks of biblical exposition and theological reflection are best undertaken in the church, and most specifically in the pulpits of the church. This is all the more true since the study of Scripture properly results in doxology and praxis—that is, in praise to God and practical application in the lives of believers. In pursuit of these ends, we are pleased to present the Reformed Expository Commentary as a fresh exposition of Scripture for our generation in the church. We hope and pray that pastors, teachers, Bible study leaders, and many others will find this series to be a faithful, inspiring, and useful resource for the study of God’s infallible, inerrant Word. ...

The Reformed Expository Commentary has four fundamental commit- ments. First, these commentaries aim to be biblical, presenting a comprehen- sive exposition characterized by careful attention to the details of the text. They are not exegetical commentaries—commenting word by word or even verse by verse—but integrated expositions of whole passages of Scripture. Each commentary will thus present a sequential, systematic treatment of an entire book of the Bible, passage by passage. Second, these commentaries are unashamedly doctrinal. We are committed to the Westminster Confession ...

of Faith and Catechisms as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Each volume will teach, promote, and defend the doctrines of the Reformed faith as they are found in the Bible. Third, these commentaries are redemptive-historical in their orientation. We believe in the unity of the Bible and its central message of salvation in Christ. We are thus committed to a Christ-centered view of the Old Testament, in which its characters, events, regulations, and institutions are properly understood as pointing us to Christ and his gospel, as well as giving us examples to follow in living by faith. Fourth, these commentaries are practical, applying the text of Scripture to contemporary challenges of life—both public and private—with appropriate illustrations. ...

The contributors to the Reformed Expository Commentary are all pastor- scholars. As pastor, each author will first present his expositions in the pulpit ministry of his church. This means that these commentaries are rooted in the teaching of Scripture to real people in the church. While aiming to be scholarly, these expositions are not academic. Our intent is to be faithful, clear, and helpful to Christians who possess various levels of biblical and theological training—as should be true in any effective pulpit ministry. Inevi- tably this means that some issues of academic interest will not be covered. Nevertheless, we aim to achieve a responsible level of scholarship, seeking to promote and model this for pastors and other teachers in the church. Significant exegetical and theological difficulties, along with such historical and cultural background as is relevant to the text, will be treated with care. We strive for a high standard of enduring excellence. This begins with the selection of the authors, all of whom have proved to be outstanding com- municators of God’s Word. But this pursuit of excellence is also reflected in a disciplined editorial process. Each volume is edited by both a series editor and a testament editor. The testament editors, Iain Duguid for the Old Testa- ment and Daniel Doriani for the New Testament, are accomplished pastors and respected scholars who have taught at the seminary level. Their job is to ensure that each volume is sufficiently conversant with up-to-date scholar- ship and is faithful and accurate in its exposition of the text. As series editors, we oversee each volume to ensure its overall quality—including excellence of writing, soundness of teaching, and usefulness in application. Working together as an editorial team, along with the publisher, we are devoted to ensuring that these are the best commentaries that our gifted authors can ...

Series Introduction ...

provide, so that the church will be served with trustworthy and exemplary expositions of God’s Word. ...

It is our goal and prayer that the Reformed Expository Commentary will serve the church by renewing confidence in the clarity and power of Scripture and by upholding the great doctrinal heritage of the Reformed faith. We hope that pastors who read these commentaries will be encour- aged in their own expository preaching ministry, which we believe to be the best and most biblical pattern for teaching God’s Word in the church. We hope that lay teachers will find these commentaries among the most use- ful resources they rely on for understanding and presenting the text of the Bible. And we hope that the devotional quality of these studies of Scripture will instruct and inspire each Christian who reads them in joyful, obedient discipleship to Jesus Christ. ...

May the Lord bless all who read the Reformed Expository Commentary. We commit these volumes to the Lord Jesus Christ, praying that the Holy Spirit will use them for the instruction and edification of the church, with thanksgiving to God the Father for his unceasing faithfulness in building his church through the ministry of his Word. ...

Richard D. Phillips Philip Graham Ryken ...

Series Editors ...

Preface ...

This book is the product of a long relationship with 1 Peter. When I first read Peter’s epistle as a new Christian, it seemed like a distillation of the whole of Christian theology and much of the Christian life. His epistle presents Jesus as both Redeemer and Exemplar of the holy life. It offers the broadest principles for Christian living, grounds them in the work of Christ past, present, and future, and then presents norms for life in the family, at work, and in society at large. Peter’s guidance is perfect for Christians who hope to engage their culture in uncertain times. It holds out hope that a beautiful life will be noticed, that no one will harm those who do good, and that we can do good because Jesus has given us life and gifts that we can use to serve others. On the other hand, Peter banishes triumphalism. We are aliens here, he warns, and must expect to attract unwarranted hostility, as Jesus did. ...

As a seminary professor, I surveyed Peter fourteen times, but never had the occasion to probe its depths. I finally had the opportunity to explore 1 Peter in a series of sermons for Central Presbyterian Church, where I was senior pastor until my recent return to Covenant Seminary. As always, the blessed members of the church and my many good friends there listened well, thanked me, and asked questions that made me study more thoroughly. I thank them for the kingdom-mindedness that led them to grant me the study leave that let me conclude the work. ...

Grace-Driven Discipleship in a Difficult Age ...

1

Strangers in a Strange Land ...

x BeCex x:x–z ...

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work ...

of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance. (1 Peter 1:1–2) ...

The Author: The Apostle Peter ...

The unanimous tradition of the early church declares that the apostle Peter wrote his first epistle while living in Rome, late in his life, around ...

a.d. 65.1 If that is correct, then Peter wrote from a lifetime of wisdom and conviction. He experienced everything, not least the trials and suffering that he describes in his letter. He also walked with Jesus every day for roughly three years. Yet Peter drew on more than experience when he wrote his epistles. He was an apostle, God’s ambassador, chosen by Jesus to see his ...

Peter writes from “Babylon,” which is code for “Rome” (1 Peter 5:13); church tradition places Peter in Rome, where he died in the mid-60s. ...

deeds, hear his words, and declare what it all means. Peter was at ease with this authority. He did not trumpet his credentials. Rather, he assumed that he had the right to describe God’s salvation and explain its significance. ...

Peter addressed his epistle to people and churches that he calls “God’s elect.” They lived in regions east of Rome, in “Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia” (1 Peter 1:1). ...

Since Peter identifies himself as “an apostle of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:1), he invites us to read his letter through the lens of his experience as dis- ciple and apostle. The Gospels name Peter as one of “the Twelve” (Mark 10:32; 14:10) and as a member of the inner three, “Peter, James and John” (5:37; 9:2; 14:33). Peter was, at a minimum, the most outspoken among the twelve disciples. At most, he was their spokesman, and in some sense their leader. He articulated their best thoughts, thoughts given by God himself. He confessed Jesus: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). But Peter also blurted out the disciples’ worst errors. He even dared to rebuke Jesus—on the very day that he confessed Jesus’ deity—for saying that he must go to the cross (16:21–22). He asked pointed questions (19:23–27), made rash vows (“I will never disown you,” Mark 14:31), and failed to keep them, above all by denying Jesus three times (John 18:15–27). ...

After the resurrection, Jesus commissioned the apostles to make disciples ...

of the nations (Matt. 28:18–20). Despite Peter’s failures, Jesus reinstated him as an apostle and commanded Peter to feed his sheep (John 21:15–17). At Pentecost, Peter proclaimed Jesus’ resurrection, and three thousand repented, believed, and were baptized. That marked the birth of the church as we know it (Acts 2:22–41). When Peter preached again, the church exploded with additional disciples (4:4; 5:14). Peter performed signs, testified to Christ, solved problems, and rebuked sin within the infant Jerusalem church. Before Paul took the lead, Peter inaugurated the mission to the Gentiles (Acts 10). Peter did betray Jesus, but even his failures fascinate us and illumine both the man and the message. It is fitting that Peter, who betrayed the Lord and received the grace of forgiveness, both opens and closes his epistle by offering his churches the grace of God. His letter begins, “Grace and peace be yours in abundance” (1 Peter 1:2). And he closes, “I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it” (5:12). Knowing Peter’s history, we understand that his talk of grace is no mere formula. Peter denied Jesus three times, ...

insisting, with oaths, that he did not even know Jesus. He did this despite warnings, despite vows to the contrary, and at the hour of Jesus’ greatest need. Yet Peter repented, in tears, and received forgiveness and reinstate- ment as an apostle (Luke 22:62; John 21:15–17). Because he knew the depth of his need and because he understood the perfection of Jesus’ offer, Peter loved the grace of God. ...

Peter’s need of grace was most acute when he denied Jesus during the trial. It is moving, therefore, that Peter wrote his letter to help God’s elect as they “suffer grief in all kinds of trials” (1 Peter 1:6). Yet trials bring more than misery and temptation. When we endure trials, when we remain loyal in hardship, according to Peter, it proves our faith genuine (1:6–7), and that brings us glory when Christ is revealed. So suffering can create confidence. If we are willing to suffer for Jesus, it shows that we truly belong to him (4:1) and stand fast with him (5:12). We stand fast when we remain holy in a corrupt age (1:14–16; 4:1–4) and when we remain loyal to Jesus through persecution (4:12–16). ...

The Audience: Believers Who Are Strangers in Their Own Land ...

Peter wrote for everyone, but especially for believers, God’s elect. He explicitly addressed a group of churches scattered through a wide swath in the northeast of the Roman Empire: “To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia” (1 Peter 1:1–2). These named areas represent millions of people across an area of roughly the size of Turkey or America’s Southwest from Texas to California (about 750,000 square miles). In short, this is a universal letter, not a local letter. ...

Peter reminded his people of their status, privileges, and responsibilities. The church is God’s elect, “who have been chosen according to the fore- knowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood” (1 Peter 1:2). The elect are redeemed by the triune God. The Father chose them according to his foreknowledge. The Spirit sanctifies them for obedience to the Son, who sprinkled them with his blood and so atoned for their sins. In God’s name, Peter blesses his readers: “Grace and peace be yours in abundance” (1:2). ...

So Peter opens with his great themes: the work of the triune God who elects, gives grace, commands and empowers holiness, and leads us to a mission. The first hint of that mission arrives in the salutation. Peter iden- tifies us as “God’s elect, strangers in the world” (1 Peter 1:1). More literally, we are “elect exiles of the dispersion” (1:1 esv). The church is privileged by God; we are his chosen ones. Yet at the same time, and for the same reason, the church is disadvantaged in society. Because believers are God’s chosen people, we are “strangers” or “exiles” in our own world. The word stranger or exile (parepidemos) denotes a temporary resident, a traveler whose stay is measured in weeks or a few months.2 The term alien (paroikos), used in 1 Peter 2:11, is similar but suggests a long-term resident. It could describe an immigrant from a distant place who has lived in another land for several years, started a career, and found a home.3 Both terms signify that the person originally belonged elsewhere. ...

Peter wants believers to realize that we never fully belong in this world. Strangers have no permanent residence. Aliens cannot hold positions of power and rarely enjoy full privileges. This is essential to a Christian’s identity. People in Reformed and Calvinist churches have committed to engage the culture rather than fleeing from it, and rightly so. Yet we must remember that we are exiles and therefore will never be completely at home in this world. ...

Most commentators believe Peter’s audience consists primarily of Gentiles, not Jews. Peter’s people “were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down . . . from your forefathers” (1 Peter 1:18). For years, they did “what pagans choose to do” (4:3). Their neighbors thought it “strange” when they abandoned their former life of dissipation (4:4). Their lifestyle was manifestly different from the conduct of others in the empire. So most of Peter’s people did not grow up in the covenant. God’s election, salvation, and subsequent sanctification estranged them from their native culture. ...

The life of John Adams is illustrative. Adams was a Massachusetts farmer and lawyer. The Constitutional Congress named Adams as its ambassador to France. He was not successful. He was too fiery, too much the unyield- ...

Peter H. Davids, The First Epistle of Peter (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990), 95. ...

J. Ramsey Michaels, 1 Peter, Word Biblical Commentary 49 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1988), 6–9; Johannes Louw and Eugene Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, 2nd ed. (New York: United Bible Societies, 1998–99), 1:133. ...

ing crusader, to suit the cool and venial French court. Adams was a great American, but in France he was a stranger in a strange land.4 Travelers often experience the same sense of estrangement. Whether we know the language or not, we feel out of place when we first visit a new land. The food, the conception of time, and sundry unwritten rules of conduct conspire to surprise and unsettle us. Similarly, the first visit to any established group, whether social, spiritual, professional, or intellectual, can easily leave the newcomer feeling out of place. ...

These are the experiences of strangers and aliens. Peter understood that life. He knew Greek, he had once had a good income as a fisherman, and he had traveled widely in the Roman Empire before settling in Rome itself. But he was a Jew from Galilee, a backwater of the empire. When he first traveled to Jerusalem, he marveled at its sights (Mark 13:1). We can imagine how Rome impressed him. Since Galilee had been Hellenized to a degree, he was familiar with elements of Greco-Roman culture. Still, a wholly Gentile world had to seem strange at times to an observant Jew (Acts 10:14). ...

In fact, because Peter had followed Jesus from the beginning, he had become an outsider even within Israel. After he became a disciple, he left his business and family to wander through Galilee and Judea with Jesus (Luke 5:1–11). When the authorities began to question Jesus, Peter and the other disciples were implicated (e.g., Matt. 12:1ff.; John 18:1–27). After Jesus’ ascension, Peter became even more controversial. He performed miracles like the miracles of Jesus and did so in his name (Acts 4:2, 13). As the church grew, the authorities threatened, beat, and jailed Peter (Acts 4, 5, 12). Peter fit neither in Rome nor in Israel, and he tells the believers in the church that his lot will be theirs. They, too, will be outsiders and aliens. ...

But we must not think Peter resented his status. He knew his identity and savored his call. He knew that every disciple of Jesus will, in part at least, be an outsider, stranger, and exile in the wider world. ...

Peter wrote his epistle to Christians scattered through five provinces of the eastern empire, provinces that encompassed many peoples and languages. But Peter ignored race, ethnicity, and language and defined the churches by their status as God’s elect. He said that Jesus had sprinkled us with his blood and so atoned for our sin. We are sanctified by the Spirit, that we ...

David McCollough, John Adams (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001). ...

may believe the gospel, obey Jesus, and experience God’s grace and peace (1 Peter 1:1–2). ...

Exiles live between two worlds. When a couple has a baby, they remain in their old world, with the same marriage, skills, friends, and interests. Yet their baby places them in a new world, with a new schedule and a powerful new interest in the eating, sleeping, crawling, and babbling of their child. They meet other parents, who become new friends and advisers. The new world of parenting will partially alienate them from their former world, since they have less in common with their childless friends, whether single or married. But the change from pagan polytheist to Christian is greater than the changes wrought by parenthood. As strangers and exiles, we will never perfectly fit in with, never fully belong to, pagan society. We feel like aliens in our own world because we are—at least partially so. ...

We need to grasp the right lessons from this. Peter says that we are aliens, but he never tells us to alienate ourselves from this world by abandoning it or cursing it. God did not abandon his creation; he sent his Son to redeem and restore it and fully renew it one day. Since God’s ways are our model, we should remain engaged with this world. Historically, the Reformed or Calvinistic branch of Christendom has engaged the culture. We hope to form, reform, and transform it, not abandon it. We admire Calvin not only for his theology but also for his social action. For example, an infec- tious plague swept through Italy and Switzerland during Calvin’s day, in the sixteenth century. Showing admirable courage, Cardinal Borromeo of Milan stayed in his city to feed and pray for those who were dying. Yet we may admire Calvin more, not because he was braver, but because he was wiser. “Calvin acted better and more wisely, for he not only cared inces- santly for the spiritual needs of the sick, but at the same time introduced hitherto unsurpassed hygienic measures whereby the ravages of the plague were arrested.”5 ...

Nor was Calvin’s cultural engagement limited to the traditional sphere of ...

works of mercy. In sixteenth-century Europe, the growth of market econo- mies led to a sharp increase in the cost of living and a simultaneous drop in ...

Abraham Kuyper, Calvinism: Six Stone Foundation Lectures (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1943), ...

120. See also Cornelius Plantinga, Engaging God’s World (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002); Lee Hardy, The Fabric of This World (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990); Gene Edward Veith, God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2002). ...

the value of labor. Calvin spoke prophetically against a rising aristocracy that exploited the poor by depriving them of fair wages.6 We are prone to admire Calvin for his cultural engagement, but is this the way that God expects his exiles to act? ...

Scripture holds two ideas in tension. We are, simultaneously, exiles in this world and agents of change within it. Because we are exiles, we resist conformity to the patterns of this age. God told his people, living in the shadow of Babylon, that great city of wealth and decadent pleasures, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues.” Clearly, we must flee the corrupt world, for judgment will fall upon it (Rev. 18:4). Yet we are reformers, constantly ready to engage society. Jesus notes that his disciples are “in the world” but that “they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.” He continues, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one” (John 17:11–15). As we so often notice, Jesus called his disciples “the salt of the earth”—retarding its decay—and “the light of the world” (Matt. 5:13–14). ...

So, then, we are engaged exiles. A few years ago, I shared a long meal with the brilliant, crusading atheist Christopher Hitchens. His book title, God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, reveals his conviction.7 Hitchens’s tone was occasionally brutish but generally cordial (it helped that my agnostic dissertation adviser had been a friend of his). Through our long conversation, I came to understand atheism better and, as he listened to me and another theologian at the table, he came to understand Christian- ity better. Since his main ideas about Christianity came from European Catholicism, liberal Protestantism, and the atheist’s list of “repulsive things we found in the Bible,” we were able to blunt many of his objections to bib- lical Christianity. We cleared up serious misconceptions and introduced him to essential tenets of the faith. At times it seemed that we were making progress. Yet Hitchens remained a devoted atheist. A radical individualist and libertarian, he despised the very concept of a sovereign, all-powerful ...

Calvin had a view of “fair wages”—one formed both by an older cultural consensus and by theological convictions. See William P. Brown, “Calvin and Qoheleth Meet after a Hard Day’s Night,” in Reformed Theology: Identity and Ecumenicity II, ed. Wallace Alston and Michael Welker (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007), 75–76. ...

Christopher Hitchens, God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything (New York: Warner Books, 2007). ...

God who calls humans to worship him and render an account for their lives. He hated biblical notions of grace and called the atonement barbaric. He raged at the idea that hell awaits those who deny God, but found heaven offensive, too. He had no desire to spend eternity “groveling” before a deity. Therefore, no matter how cordial and instructive our discussion was, there was no ultimate rapprochement, for he believed the God of the Bible to be a cosmic despot. We would always be exiles if Hitchens hosted a table, unless the Spirit renewed him. ...

In a similar sense, Peter’s people were aliens in the empire. Their beliefs and practices were, and inevitably remained, radically at odds with their culture. In certain lands, Christianity is now so widespread that it obtains general tolerance, possibly even respect. But Christians are “aliens” and will never perfectly fit into secular society. We will never be able to laugh at every joke or enjoy every entertainment and pastime. ...

No one likes to be excluded. Everyone cringes or bristles when things we hold dear are mocked or dismissed, even if the manner is polite. But exclusion is not necessarily an evil. If we detest cigar smoke, we should not mind if we are banned from a cigar club, with its pointless discussion of the virtues of Cuba’s soil and climate, and its constant pollution of lips, lungs, and clothes. So, too, there are groups, however attractive they initially seem, to which a wise disciple will not want to belong. There are jokes that make people laugh, even though they are more cruel than funny, so that a noble person should not be amused. There are entertainments that are novel and exciting at first, but degrading and enslaving in the end. It is a gain, not a loss, to stand outside such groups, with their humorless jokes and weari- some entertainments. ...

The first Christians knew they were outsiders, for their beliefs and prac- ...

tices stood in radical conflict with their culture. Today, wherever Christian- ity is most widespread, it gets tolerance, if not respect. But we must neither attempt nor expect to fit perfectly into secular society. The life of the exile is not necessarily onerous, since we join God’s exiled community. Peter promises that although the redeemed are aliens now, we will have a better home and “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” (1 Peter 1:3–4 esv). That initiates the theme of the next passage. But before we consider that, we need an overview of the main message of 1 Peter and of its structure, that is, the way its message unfolds. ...

The Themes and Goals of 1 Peter ...

在《新约》二十七卷书中，十二使徒仅撰写了其中八卷； 新约 8 悠久的传统认为彼得彼得是马可福音的幕后作者。 在这九卷书中， 我们可以观察到一种倾向： 在卷首 （如《马可福音》1:1） 或卷末 （《马太福音》28:18-20；《约翰福音》20:31；《约翰一书》5:13） 阐明全书主旨。 事实上，《彼得前书》 的开头与结尾都呈现了主题陈述。

恩典

彼得开篇便告诉他的子民，他们是被天父拣选的，被圣灵分别为圣的，并蒙耶稣基督宝血洒净的（彼得前书1:1-2）。他赐予我们恩典；我们理当顺服于他（1:2）。我们赞美他的大怜悯，因这使我们得着重生，并拥有与基督共享永恒基业的盼望（1:3-4,7）。

当彼得结束书信时， 他向读者发出呼吁："劝勉并宣告这就是神的真恩典。 你们要在其中站立得稳"（彼得前书 5:12 和合本）。 短语 "这就是神的真恩典" 中的 "这" 字至关重要。 由于它出现在书信结尾， "恩典"似乎指向整封书信， 其中传递着福音中的盼望与救赎信息。 在这封书信中， 彼得始终是上帝 "百般恩典" 的忠心管家 （4:10 和合本）。 这恩典始于耶稣的赎罪 （1:2,18-21）， 延续于我们确信耶稣是我们的牧者与监督， 即便在患难中亦然 （2:25）。 此外， 当撒但如吼叫的狮子遍地游行， 弟兄们在世上受苦时，"赐诸般恩典的上帝" 应许要复兴、 坚固、 建立祂的子民 （5:8-11）。 “这……恩典”始于耶稣为罪代赎（1:17–21；2:24；3:18–22）， 包含神在现今苦难中的保守应许 ， 并应许将来与基督同享荣耀（1:6–9）。

因此， 尽管苦难始终萦绕在彼得心头， 但这并非他关注的焦点。 相反， 耶稣 "曾一次为罪受苦， 义的代替不义的， 为要引我们到神面前"(3:18 和合本)。 耶稣为 "你们灵魂的救赎" 受苦， 如同无瑕疵的羔羊倾流宝血， 成为那永恒 “无瑕疵的羔羊 ”（1:9，19）。 藉着这祭， 彼得教会的真成员们 “从你们祖宗所传的虚妄行为中被赎出来 ”（1:18 及后）。

这八卷书是马太福音、 约翰福音、 彼得前书后书、 约翰一二三书、 以及启示录。

教会的苦难是其新生命的必然结果， 但并非这生命的核心 。 相反， 因为彼得的子民如今已成为神的新子民 （ 彼得前书 1:1；2:4-10）， 他们必须与从祖先那里继承的异教生活方式决裂 （1:14，18）。 由于这种决裂， 他们在昔日友人眼中将显得怪异，甚至可能被视为邪恶（2:12；4:1-4）。 甘愿为信仰承受后果的人 ， 表明他们已与基督联合 ， 并将获得与祂同享永生的应许 （1:3–9；4:13；5:1，4，10）。 在我写下这段话的时代，任何人宣称上帝要让婚姻结合一男一女，都会被斥为偏执者和仇恨者。每个时代都有其敏感议题。 门徒必须甘愿为顺服基督而与所处文化发生冲突。

苦难中的信实

然而， 苦难在 《彼得前书》中占据重要地位。 使徒时代， 无论是罗马帝国还是犹太当局都未制定系统迫害教会的政策。 但由于信徒拒绝崇拜皇帝， 迫害始终是可能发生的。 基督徒追随的是一位被钉十字架的犹太人（即被定罪之人）， 这位宣称自己是以色列的主—— 这种主张在当权者听来可能构成威胁。 这有助于解释为何试炼与苦难成为《彼得前书》每一章的主题（1:6-9；2:18-25；3:13-18；4:12-19；5:9），且随着书信的展开，警告的力度似乎愈发强烈。试比较第三章与第四章的警告：

若你热心行善， 谁会伤害你呢？ 但即便你为义受苦， 也是有福的。 要常作准备， 以

凡有人问你们心中盼望的缘由，就要常作准备，以温柔敬畏的心回答各人。（彼得前书3:13-15）

亲爱的朋友们，你们遭遇痛苦的试炼时，不要惊讶， 仿佛什么稀奇的事临到你们。 倒要欢喜， 因为你们是与基督一同受苦。（4:12-13）

在第一段经文中， 迫害是可能发生的。 而在第二段， 这似乎已成定局。 显然，彼得想告诉读者苦难即将来临，但他以渐进的方式引导他们接受。 第 3 章指出：“ 这事可能发生。 要预备好， 以防万一它真的来临。”

第 4 章警告道：“ 这事必然发生， 所以当它来临时不要惊讶， 要以你们与基督联合的关系来看待它。” 彼得因此旨在教导信徒如何在这个常常充满敌意的世界中尽可能忠实地生活。

忠信之道显明。 我们在这堕落时代持守圣洁（彼得前书 1:18；2:9；4:3-4）。我们遵循使社会生活得以维系的准则（2:20；3:8-12）。 并且时刻预备忍受逼迫，效法基督的榜样（2:21-23；3:13-18；4:12-16）。

关于彼得前书的结构说明

观察彼得书信的结构也很有益处。 在开篇问候 （彼得前书 1:1-2）之后， 彼得赞美上帝赐予信徒新生进入活泼的盼望 （1:3-9）， 这在圣经中已有描述 （1:10-12）。 上帝呼召祂的子民过圣洁的生活， 这根基在于基督的救赎之工。因上帝是圣洁的，我们也是圣洁的。既然耶稣赎买了我们，我们也尝过祂的恩慈，就当弃绝罪恶（1:13-2:3）。 因为我们是上帝拣选的子民，是圣洁的国度，所以我们远离罪恶，活出尊贵的生命，即使遭受毁谤也不改其志（2:4-12）。

圣洁体现于社会层面， 即顺服于执政者与主人 （《彼得前书》2:13–25）。 妻子虽仍需顺服丈夫， 丈夫亦当敬重自己的妻子， 使二人能在恩典中共同生活 （3:1–7）。 只要我们存爱心、 行诚实， 追求和睦 （3:8–13）， 通常就能蒙神眷顾， 得享美善生活。 然而为行善而受苦的情形也确实存在 （3:13–17）。 耶稣正是如此当他为我们受苦并将我们从死亡中解救出来时（3:18-22）。耶稣的榜样使我们能够抵御外邦人的反对（彼得前书 4:1-6）。

Nonetheless, the disciple is not combative. He is self-controlled, loving, hospitable, and eager to use God’s gifts to administer God’s grace (4:7–11). This is necessary if we hope to face the trials that will come to those who share in Christ, to whom we entrust ourselves (4:12–19). While individual believers seek to endure and do good, the elders of the church lead by setting an example and by watching over all (5:1–5). While Peter is glad to advise people in their specific callings, the great principles of life are the same for all: we humble ourselves before God, cast our cares on him, resist Satan, and stand firm in God’s grace (5:6–14). ...

So, then, let us plunge into the riches of the work of Peter, eyewitness and apostle of Christ, and servant of God’s elect. ...

2

A Sure and Living Hope ...

x BeCex x:3–s ...

once wrote a short story and everyone seemed to like it, but I have no contacts in fiction, so I have faint hope that it will ever be published. I have a middling hope of visiting Hawaii someday. e to hike its isolated trails, yet it seems far away, commercial- ...

ized, and expensive. But if I say I hope my wife will always love me, I mean something quite different. That hope is strong and personal, and a great deal rests on it. Even if I shiver at the weight of saying, “I hope she always loves me,” I am not troubled with doubts, because I know her. ...

In a similar vein, Peter begins with a strong and personal hope. It rests on the God he knows. His hope rests in God’s election (1 Peter 1:1), God’s foreknowledge (1:2), and God’s power (1:5). Peter also names Jesus Christ five times in his first seven verses. He tells us to praise Jesus and obey him (1:2–3). Our hope is “living,” that is, imperishable and undying (cf. Rom. 6:9). It depends on Jesus’ blood (1 Peter 1:2), Jesus’ resurrection (1:3), and Jesus’ second appearance (1:7). ...

After he describes God’s character and work, Peter moves swiftly to bless- ing and praise. “Blessed be God” was a common phrase in Jewish devotion, but Peter’s focus on Jesus makes it a Christian blessing (see 1 Peter 1:3 esv). Peter gives us several reasons to bless God. We were chosen by God the Father, sanctified by God the Spirit, and sprinkled clean by the blood of Jesus, the Son. Because of the triune God’s work, Peter can tell us, “May grace and peace be multiplied to you” (1:2 esv). Peter knows that God has blessed his people, but he also says that God is blessed—and, he hints, we may bless him, too, as we see the present hope and future inheritance that God has granted us (1:3–5). ...

This hope was essential, since Peter’s churches, scattered through the region now called Asia Minor, suffered all kinds of trials (1 Peter 1:6). These fiery trials tested and refined their faith, but also provoked fear (3:14; 4:12). Peter assures his people that God’s power will shield them. They will pass these tests, prove their faith genuine, and gain honor when their salvation is complete (1:7–9). ...

Blessed Be Our Lord God ...

The niv translates Peter’s first words as “Praise” be to God (1 Peter 1:3a), while the esv says “Blessed” be God. It is easy to defend both choices. The word that Peter uses, eulogētos, means “blessed.” Yet Peter does not bless God in the way that God blesses us. God gives us his blessing, but we declare that God is the Blessed One. Full of knowledge and strength (1:2, 5), he gives us grace, mercy, and life (1:2–3). When we say these things, we praise God. God doesn’t need our blessing, so in one sense we cannot bless him. As Hebrews 7:7 notes, the greater blesses the lesser. God doesn’t need to hear nice words in order to feel better about himself or to stay motivated to do good. Rather, it is good for us to declare God’s excellence. ...

In verse 3, Peter cites Jesus’ full title, “our Lord Jesus Christ,” which appears about thirty-five times in eleven different books of the New Testament.1 Working backward, Christ means that he is the promised Messiah. Jesus means that he is Savior; in Hebrew, Joshua/Jesus means “Yahweh saves.” Lord means that he rules all things. Beyond all that, he is ours, and we are ...

There is some doubt about the numbers because of variant readings in the original text. ...

his. So he is the Lord and our Lord. He is God’s Anointed, and Yahweh saves through him. ...

Our Hope and Inheritance ...

Peter’s praise mentions both the quality and the certainty of God’s salva- tion: “In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade” (1 Peter 1:3b–4a). The opening verses of Peter are steeped in covenantal language. Peter has already said that God elects and has foreknowledge of his people. His mercy (hesed in the Old Testament, eleos in the lxx2 and New Testament) is closely linked to God’s covenant name and covenant-making deeds. He shows mercy (hesed is also translated “steadfast love”) to thousands who love him (Ex. 20:6; Deut. 5:10). When he reveals himself to Moses, he says that he is “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love [hesed] and faithfulness” (Ex. 34:6). In his mercy, Peter continues, “he has given us new birth” (1 Peter 1:3). “Give new birth” translates one Greek verb (anagennaō) that appears only in 1 Peter. The term echoes Jesus’ teaching of Nicodemus, Israel’s teacher, that he had to be born anew and born of the Spirit if he hoped to see God’s kingdom (John 3:1–10). Nicodemus and Peter, Jews and Gentiles, you and I—all need God’s Spirit to breathe life into our dead souls. Pastors need to believe this, and to say it, to move believers to gratitude and to move unbe- ...

lievers to humble themselves and receive this rebirth. ...

In his mercy, God has given us three things: a living hope (1 Peter 1:3), an inheritance (1:4), and salvation (1:5). All three follow our new birth. Our hope rests not in teachings, nor even in a teacher, but in the Redeemer who rose from the dead. ...

Through his death, Jesus bore our sins (1 Peter 2:24), and through his resurrection, we obtain “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1:4 esv). The resurrection of Jesus gives us hope because it proves that death is not the last word. Death could not hold him (Acts 2:24), and it cannot hold us if we are united to him by faith (Rom. 5:21–6:9). An inheritance is a gift based on a relationship, not ...

The Septuagint (lxx) is the oldest translation of the Hebrew Old Testament in Greek. It was completed around 100 b.c ....

a wage for a performance. Because the gift rests on the Father’s grace and covenant, and because God keeps us safe, our inheritance is safe. In lan- guage that is almost poetic in the original, Peter says that this inheritance is “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.” Nothing can spoil our inheri- tance. It is “untouched by death, unstained by evil, unimpaired by time; it is compounded of immortality, purity and beauty.”3 Nothing can jeopardize it and nothing can ruin it.4 ...

Nothing can keep this inheritance from us, and, Peter declares, nothing can keep us from it. Our inheritance is “kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:4b–5 esv). The symmetry is perfect. God keeps the inheritance for us, and he keeps us for the inheritance. He keeps the treasure for us, and he guards us so that we will properly enjoy it.5 ...

Suppose someone’s fortieth birthday is at hand. Family and friends plan a surprise party. The celebrants have everything ready at the chosen venue. But if it is a surprise, someone has to deliver the birthday girl to the appointed place at the ordained time. Peter says that God plays both roles in this vignette. He prepares the perfect party and he brings us to the party. Philippians promises that God “who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). ...

The Westminster Confession perhaps offers the finest description of the assurance that believers should have that the Lord will grant them eternal life in chapter 17, “Of the Perseverance of the Saints”: ...

They, whom God has accepted in His Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eter- nally saved. ...

This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability of the decree of election, flowing from the free ...

F. W. Beare, The First Epistle of Peter, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Blackwell, 1970), 83–84. ...

Inheritance is a common concept in Scripture. Believers can inherit the kingdom, the promise, the land, the earth, and salvation. An inheritance is a settled and sanctioned possession, whether it comes from family or from God. See J. Ramsey Michaels, 1 Peter, Word Biblical Commentary 49 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1988), 20–21. ...

The Greek verbs are different. The first, tēreō, means “to keep” or “guard.” The second, phroureō, means “to guard” or “watch over.” Clearly, their meanings are close. ...