Bible studies which were originally produced for use at St James Chorley in 2016. I later preached sermons on 1 Peter during Covid. The sermons and Bible studies divide up the text slightly differently.
See the introduction to the series at the bottom of the page.
1 Pet 1.1-5 New Life
1 Pet 1.6-12 The Testing of Faith
1 Pet 1.13-25 Prepare for Action
1 Pet 2.1-8 Living Stones
1 Pet 2.9-25 God’s People
1 Pet 3.13-22 Suffering for Righteousness
1 Pet 4.1-11 Self-controlled and Sober-minded
1 Pet 4.12-19 Fiery Trials
1 Pet 5 Christ-like Shepherds
Notes for Leaders (don’t cheat if you are not a leader 😀)
Notes on 1 Pet 1.6-12 The Testing of Faith
Notes on 1 Pet 1.13-25 Called to be Holy
Notes on 1 Pet 2.1-8 Living Stones
Notes on 1 Pet 2.9-12 God’s People
Notes on 1 Pet 3.1-12 Godly living
Notes on 1 Pet 3.13-22 Suffering for Righteousness
Notes on 1 Pet 4.1-11 Self-controlled and Sober-minded
Notes on 1 Pet 4.12-19 Fiery Trials
Notes on 1 Pet 5 Christ-like Shepherds
Introduction to the studies on 1 Peter
My British Passport contains the words “Her Britannic Majesty’ Secretary of State requests and requires” those foreign johnnies to ensure I can pass freely “without let or hindrance and to give me such assistance and protection as I need” - though probably not protection from mosquito bites and sun burn.
For some reason it also has a picture of some criminal in the back - who looks a bit like me but thoroughly suspicious.
Exiles in Dispersion
In these Bible studies on the first letter of Peter we discover that the Apostle Peter was writing to people whom he describes as “exiles in dispersion”.
The word dispersion is used in John chapter 7 to refer to the Jews who no longer lived in Israel. They were descended from people who at various times had had to leave Israel, particularly at the time of the Babylonian exile but at other times since, including when Israel was under Greek and then Roman rule. They had been scattered far and wide.
Therefore, some have suggested that Peter is writing this letter to Jewish Christians who he calls the exiles in dispersion.
But there are other places in the letter which sound very much like Peter is not writing to Jews but to non-Jews, that is to Gentiles, because he writes about their past lives as Gentiles.
Therefore, rather than writing to Jews Peter seems to be using language associated with the Jews but applying them to the new Christian believers and churches, whatever their background. So, for example, in chapter 2 verse 9 he writes about Christians being:
a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation
The followers of Christ become, through Christ, what the people of Israel were. This is something said by Paul in his letters too. he true descendants of Abraham are not now those who are of the blood line of Abraham, but those who have the same faith as Abraham, whether Jews or Gentiles.
Temporary
If you think about those terms, holy nation and so on. They suggest something solid and permanent. Peter also writes in this letter about believers being built into a spiritual house. Again, a solid image.
Alongside that we have the language of verse 1, exiles in dispersion. That idea of exiles is not of someone who truly belongs where they are. They belong elsewhere, they have been exiled from it and generally hope to return.
Therefore, we also find Peter writing in chapter 2 verse 11: Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
Sojourners are people on the move, like travellers, with no fixed abode.
This then sounds much like what we find in Paul’s letter to the Philippians chapter 3 verse 20: For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
It is something we are familiar with from the New Testament. I may have my British passport and be proud to be British, but, as someone belonging to Christ, my true citizenship is in heaven.
We might find ourselves having to leave our earthly homes as many people do around the world every year because of conflict or persecution of famine, becoming refugees, sojourners and so on. But even if that happened, our citizenship is still in heaven, and that is far more important than our present, where we are exiles in dispersion.
There are various things we can see that follow on from this fact but here are some that we find in 1 Peter.
Morality
The first is that being exiles, having our citizenship in heaven, means that our conduct should match where we belong not where we live.
When British people go and live abroad they often become more self-consciously British in how they live. The English may make a point of drinking tea and playing cricket, the Scots wear their kilts and so on. People from other backgrounds often do the same.
Peter seems to be saying that when we are citizens of heaven, our conduct should not be to just fit in with the locals where we live, but to live by the standards of the kingdom to which we belong.
So verse 11 of chapter 2 again: Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
They were not to live as the Gentiles did - that is as they themselves had once lived.
Because our nation has been strongly influenced by Christian faith and practice the teaching of the Bible has in the past shaped how the general population behave. That is no longer the case. I all sorts of ways, especially it seems in sexual morality, the world around us has now turned away from Christian teaching and gone back to pagan ideas and to what would have been found among the gentiles at the time of Peter.
Sadly, many churches are now simply imitating the world rather than following the teaching of the Bibe.
We are a holy nation, Peter says, but we will therefore also see how he reminds us:
as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct
Holiness is not what we say it is - Peter reminds us of what God said:
be holy as I am holy
Therefore holiness is about learning from God what is holy, from His character and his commands, and following that. Being exiles, being citizens of heaven means that though we live in the world, we should live by the standards of heaven, by God’s standards.
The Future
Being exiles means living differently, but we will also see that it means having an eye on the future. That is something evident in both the letters of Peter.
We will see in the first couple of Bible studies how we are to look to the things that are imperishable and faced with current trials we are to look to our heavenly inheritance.
We will see how Peter writes to the women to beware of just being concerned with physical beauty which fades, but rather with imperishable beauty, that is a gentle and quite spirit.
Being exiles means that this present is not our home, therefore how foolish we are to be concerned only about the present. Because all that you work for will one day fade and perish.
If we understand that we are exiles, then our sights should be on the future and we will look for those things which are imperishable, unfading, and they will carry far more weight with us in our lives now.
We will see much in this letter, but one thing is to challenge us to have the right perspective on our lives. To see that if we are followers of Christ then our true home is not here, where we are just sojourners, exiles, but our true home, our citizenship is in heaven and all that goes with that is eternal, unfading, imperishable.