1st Peter 2:1-10 Analysis

Exegetical Analysis of 1st Peter 2:1-10

The New Testament's two documents, ascribed to Peter, represent a work in contrasts. Peter's first letter depicts a writing style, which reflects most of his letters. A reason behind this statement appears in 1 Pet. 5:12, where it is stated that the brief letter is written through Silvanus, who is regarded as a devoted brother, for encouraging readers and testifying that this truly is God's grace. This implies that the letter was not written by Peter himself, but by Silvanus (Latin name for Silas), who wrote it as directed by Peter. An ancient universal system for writing formal letters was through an amanuensis (Latin for writing secretary). Predictably, an individual who spent the major part of his adulthood traveling with Paul, the apostle, and had most probably also written some letters of Paul, would write Peter's ideas with a distinct Pauline quality to them. In contrast, the writing style of 2 Peter is very different from that of 1 Peter. The former, ridden with grammatical inaccuracies, comprises some of the poorest of the New Testament in Greek. While many scholars discard the notion that Peter was linked in any way with this document, mainly due to the above reason, a simply stated idea would be that Peter could not access any writing secretary towards his mortal life's end, when the letter was scripted (Cranford n.d.).

The First Epistle of Peter represents an Apostolic Letter composed, as we know, to reassure and educate Hebrew and Gentile Christians hailing from Turkey (or Asia Minor) at the time of severe oppressions by Nero, the Emperor of Rome. First Peter, longer than the second epistle, is scripted in superior Greek and quotes frequent Old Testament references. This epistle is written for the benefit of the dejected, to offer encouragement during times of hardship and distress. First Peter secures the hopes of Christians on Jesus Christ's unparalleled sacrifice, rather than on persuasion or reasoning; Christ suffered for mankind, leaving behind an example for Christians to follow in his footsteps .

Structure of the Epistles

After greeting readers , 1 Peter starts off on an optimistic note, praising the Almighty for being blessed with "living hope" reserved by God for those who believe. This hymn in God's praise establishes an exultant mood for the rest of the epistle, which may be split into three divisions: blessings, obligations, and tribulations. The verses through speak of the blessings. Since an 'undefiled' and 'incorruptible' inheritance is reserved for man in heaven , Peter urges readers to lead a pious and righteous life, reminding people that they make a "holy nation," God's very own, special persons (Nelson n.d.).

2.a Historical

The document's compositional history itself entails raising the characteristic "reporter" queries: Who wrote the document? When and where was the document scripted? Who does it address? What was its purpose of creation? Finding the solutions to these queries directs one towards analyzing two types of information sources. Firstly, the document's contents itself offer signs and hints. Secondly, sources external to the document typically become major information sources. This implies starting with information present somewhere else in the New Testament. Nearly always, it implies combing through Church Fathers' writings, beginning from the 2nd and continuing to 6th centuries, since such matters are discussed by them from time to time (Cranford n.d.).

This letter claims that it was written by Christ's Disciple, Peter (1:1). As only one Apostle of Christ went by the name Peter, one can be certain of the writer's identity. The whole of the New Testament mentions only one individual named Peter. For similarities between 1 Peter and his discourses in Acts, one can compare 1 Peter 1:20 with Acts 2:23; 1 Peter 2:7-8 with Acts 4:10-11 (cf. Matt. 21: 42); and 1 Peter 4:5 with Acts 10:42. Biblical scholars did not doubt Peter's authorship until the 19th century, in which destructive criticism of the Bible became popular. Ever since, most accepted views about the document are that the epistle was written by Silvanus, or co-authored by Peter, or that some anonymous author wrote and ascribed it to Peter, after the death of Peter. The letter has been popular and recognized consistently as Petrine, right from the 2nd century up to the modern age. On the other hand, much controversy revolves around 2 Peter's authorship. This letter was initially sent by Peter to believers residing in Northern Asia Minor (1:1). To the best of our knowledge, this region wasn't one evangelized by Paul. These Christians' locations, in addition to insinuations in the letter, signify that they largely comprised of Gentiles, as well as Jews (cf. 1:14, 18; 2:9-10, 25; 3:6; 4:3-4) (Constable 2015).

A popular practice of early biblical Church commentaries was identifying the purpose behind a particular biblical book from the very beginning. Therefore, what was 1 Peter intended for? Peter addresses churches in 5 areas (see 1:1), preparing them to undergo sufferings like Christ did. As they belong to God's household, churches must be aware of their fresh identity in Christ, understand how they can relate to people internal and external to the Church, as well as be prepared to suffer hardship for their belief. This epistle's characteristic feature is, in fact, the clear contrast of the earnest call for suffering in Christ's imitation with the intense joy (1:8) experienced because of one's fresh standing in Christ. Similar to a symphony, which oscillates between minor and major keys, First Peter also moves in the extremes: between the demonstration of extreme joy and the invitation to bear hardships. Peter aims at revealing that the life of Christians, while characterized by intense joy and living hope, will also involve suffering for Christ's sake (Keating 2011).

The questions 'from where' and 'when' are tougher to resolve. The assumption that the epistle has been authored by Peter limits its dating to somewhere before the 1st century's mid-60s when Roman Emperor Nero executed Peter. The answer to 'from where' appears in 1 Pet. 5:13: "Your sister church in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings..." This implies that the letter originates from 'Babylon.' This may be assumed by most as an obscure allusion to Rome, such as is seen in the book of Revelation. This was the interpretation made by a majority of Church Fathers. Several modern-day scholars agree with the above view, though some assume the reference entirely figurative, and implying that it originates 'from a location of evil torment (Cranford n.d.).'

2.b Literary Context

At its simplest, 2:1-10 represents the letter's proper body. Its basic sections comprise of Prescription, 1:1-2; Proem, 1:3-12; Body, 1:13-5:11; Conclusion, 5:12-14. The sections outlined in the letter's body, in the United Bible Societies' (UBS) Greek New Testament, 3rd revised edition are as follows: A Call to Holy Living, 1:13-25, The Living Stone and the Holy Nation, 2:1-10 Live as Servants of God, 2:11-17, The Example of Christ's Suffering, 2:18-25 Wives and Husbands, 3:1-7 Suffering for Righteousness Sake, 3:8-22 Good Stewards of God's Grace, 4:1-11, Suffering as a Christian, 4:12-19, Tending the Flock of God, 5:1-11. The passage (2:1-10) represents the letter body's second component of material. It is related to 1:13-25 through the illative conjunction appearing in 2:1, which normally translates as 'therefore' or 'then'. This implies that 2:1-10 emerges from the ideas contained in the verse 1:13-25. Ideas implied in the 1st section are expressed directly later in the 2 ndsection. Following the verse 2:1-10, the letter clearly changes course in 2:11, "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles..." Direct address to vocative case ("beloved") combined with new metaphors "exiles" and "aliens" moves thought towards a new course with fresh emphasis. Limited relation between 2:11-17 and 2:1-10 may be demonstrated in the historic experience of Israel's children as the Lord's people, being outcasts and foreigners in Egypt prior to their Exodus. This reverberation underlies the metaphors, strangers, and God's people. However, the key emphasis of Peter in the two metaphors of outcasts and foreigners in 2:11-17 marks a contrast of earthly living with an anticipation of Heaven as one's homeland in reality (Cranford n.d.).

Flow of Verbal Structure

The refinement and superiority of Greek used in First Peter has been disputed by scholars; however, nobody can doubt that the letter offers readers a unique and novel description of Christian life and the gospel. In a little over one hundred verses, sixty words can be found which are not used anywhere outside of First Peter, while a further 74 words can be seen mentioned only once in the New Testament outside of First Peter. The occurrence of such a large number of rare or new terms typifies a writer who can confidently proclaim Christ through his own style and words, without attempting to imitate another's writing style. Although 1 Peter isn't a rigidly ordered letter, it has a clear basic structure. After the initial greeting in verses (1:1 -- 2), the letter's first part (1:3 -- 2:10) states our identity in Jesus Christ as the Almighty's holy persons. The letter's second part (2:11 -- 5:11) mostly exhorts Christians on how they must live. Peter, however, is not only exhorting Christians to doing good deeds and keeping away from evil. He bases our novel way of leading life in our fresh birth in Jesus as members belonging to the household of God (Keating 2011).

The imagery of God's "household" or "house," when combined with related imageries of God's "people" and "nation," helps in uniting the letter's different parts. The gospel's opening proclamation (the kerugma) attains its pinnacle with the declaration that we make up God's people, house and temple (2:5 -- 10). After this follows the teaching (Didache) about how we must lead our lives as God's household and people. Peter, in a rather practical manner, demonstrates what being the Lord's holy people, as well as living as the Lord's household, means. That is, the letter's structure reveals that our mystical identity as the Lord's household and people in Jesus Christ has real-world consequences for as long as we are living (Keating 2011).

Key "Theological Terms" and Concepts

This epistle, in theological terms, is eschatological (i.e., deals with end times). In addition to this eschatological emphasis, much focus is given to holiness (social, personal, and communal), salvation, hope, community, the Trinity, relation with the world, and suffering, in particular. Just like James describes Christ's "Sermon on the Mount" in chapters 5-7 of Matthew, some identical ideas taught by Christ in His discourse on discipleship in Matthew 10 are elucidated by Peter (Constable 2015).

The appeal to shun evil and do good deeds is especially predominant in chapters 2 through 4. Although easily undervalued, this subject is characterized by an original and broad vocabulary. According to Peter, a central part of Christian life in a pagan culture is making our good actions and life visible. Through doing good deeds and shunning evil, we provide valuable witness to Jesus. A central image to First Peter is- Church as God's house and temple (2:4 -- 10). As will be seen in more depth later, Peter doesn't only employ the imagery of "household" or "house" for portraying the spiritual identity of the Church, but also makes use of "house"-related words for describing relationships among Christians (Keating 2011).

Main Idea of passage (text) (MIT) and Main Idea of the Sermon (message) (MIM)

The thought flow of the passage depicts three key elements. These deal with 3 controlling metaphors: (1) thirsting for milk as a new born, verses 1 to 3; (2) involving in building our Lord's new house, verses 4 to 9; and (3) becoming the Lord's new people with everything that implies, verses 9-10. This section will revolve around the above-mentioned three key points.

Craving milk, vv. 1-3

Vv.1: laying aside -- once for all: expressed by the aorist (Greek) as a vestment put off. Here, Christians alone are exhorted, as the novel nature by which "the inward man" (Ephesians 3:16) may discard the old because it represents something outward exists in nobody else; the Christian, by means of constant renewal of one's inward man, may also externally present self as a fresh person. To unbelievers, however, Peter addresses the demand, that inwardly, with respect to their nous (mind), unbelievers must repent and change themselves (meta-noeisthai). The term "therefore" recommences the exhortation started in verse 1:22 of 1 Peter. It beseeches believers that, seeing, as they are reborn of an honorable seed, they must not again entangle themselves in evil, as evil does not possess any substantial being; it denotes acting in opposition to our being, formed within us. Malice and so forth are completely contradictory to the "love of brethren," unto which one has purified one's souls (1 Peter 1:22). Here, the vices represent those acts, which go against brotherly affection instilled above. Every succeeding one emerges from one that immediately precedes it, forming a bloodline of evils against love. Guile springs from malice; hypocrisy (or pretending that we are something, while our reality is entirely different; the opposite of sincere love, without dissimulation) from guile; envy towards persons to whom one believes one is forced to act the hypocrite, from hypocrisy; and malevolent, evil-speaking, envious slander of others, from envy. Guile forms the permanent character, while hypocrisies represent acts that stem from it. Guileless people know no envy. "Sincere," can be compared with Greek, "guileless." Malice revels in hurting others; envy hungers for another's good; duplicity of heart is imparted by guile; hypocrisy (flattery) inculcates duplicity of tongue; and evil-speaking inures another's character (biblestudytools n.d.).

Vv2: new-born babes -- altogether without "guile" (1 Peter 2:1). So long as man lives here, he is a "babe," related rather tenderly to the Almighty (Isaiah 40:11). For us to enter heaven, a childlike essence is crucial. Here, "Milk" isn't basic truths contradistinguishing more complex Christian facts, as in Hebrews 5:12, Hebrews 5:13 and 1 Corinthians 3:2; but contradictory to "hypocrisies and guile" (1 Peter 2:1); Christian doctrine's simplicity, on the whole, to an innocent spirit. The very word grace, which marks an instrument of regeneration, is also the instrument for building up. A child's mother is also his natural nurse. Babies, rather than chemically analyzing, impulsively crave and feed on milk; thus, our part isn't autonomous in justifying and querying, but merely accepting truth in appreciation of it (Matthew 11:25 ) (biblestudytools n.d.).

Vv3: Peter refers to Psalms 34:8. The initial "tastes" of the goodness of God are later followed by thorough and better experiences. One's appetite is whetted by taste. (Gracious denotes Greek kind, good, benignant). As the Almighty reveals himself in Christ (1 Peter 2:4), those born again must be kind and good to their brethren (1 Peter 1:22). As has been stated, whoever hasn't had a taste of the word, it isn't sweet to him as it hasn't reached his heart; but it does taste sweet for those who have felt it, who believe with their hearts, 'Christ has been sent' for them and become their own 'My miseries are His, and His life mine,' (biblestudytools n.d.).

Building God's House, vv. 4-8

This segment relates back to the first segment at verse four's beginning, regarding who we come to- to our Lord, whom we have recognized as gracious. Verses 4 and 5 contain the second key expression. The remaining key expressions (10-14) in verses 6 to 8 largely magnify via Old Testament quotation, the assertion in the 9th statement. The elaboration in the 6th verse (or statement 10) lays down the Old Testament base for the house construction's declaration. From this stems the implication introduced in the 7th verse (statements 11 through 14) relating to the community of believers now. Peter is seen to have gone to great lengths to emphasize Gentile Christians' inclusion in this process of house construction. This section's central point is that the Almighty is creating a new place for worship. Given that Jerusalem's temple was destroyed some years subsequent to this epistle's composition, Peter's words assumed added meaning. Jesus Christ is the keystone of this fresh abode on earth. Though rejected by Jewish 'builders' in those times, he has been made the keystone by God. Therefore, the stones used by God are people who value the 'keystone' (Christ) with commitment and faith. This includes Gentiles as well as Jews, rather than only covenant Israel. Such thinking, of course, was considered sheer heresy in Judaism of the first century. However, it was a key apostolic Christian principle. To Peter, it was grounded in Old Testament scripture (Cranford n.d.).