Identity Matters

Something they used to teach in school was the art of letter writing. Do they still do that? While there are several formats that are most commonly used, most have a date at the top, identification of the recipients, a greeting, the letter, the closing and identification of the author.

As with most letters of his day, Peter begins this letter with the traditional greeting format, mostly. The format looks like this:

1. Identify the author (who wrote it)
2. Identify the audience (who should read it)
3. Present a greeting or blessing

He will continue with the body of the letter and then with a benediction. I really wish they had included the DATE in their letter writing like we do!

In the months to come we hope to unpack the body of the letter and then the closing… or should I say closings? But for today, I am hoping we can look at the introduction, because this intro really sets up the foundation for the rest of the letter.

1 Peter 1:1–2 CSB

¹ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ:

To those chosen, living as exiles dispersed abroad in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, chosen ² according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ.

May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

About the Author

1 Peter 1:1 CSB

¹ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ

Peter, an Apostle of Jesus the Messiah. Peter was an “Apostle”. He was one that was “sent” by someone, and he identified that someone as Jesus.

While most of our NT was penned by Paul, most of the gospels were filled with narrative about Peter.

• Peter was the one who caught the fish with the coin in its mouth (Matt 17:27)
• Peter was the only disciple to walk on water (Matt 14)
• He was the only one willing to draw a sword and fight to defend Jesus when he was arrested (John 18:10)
• Peter was the first disciple to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God (Matt 16:15-20)
• Peter was also the only one that we know about that denied Jesus 3 times (Matt 26)
• Peter was the one who lead the church in Jerusalem after Jesus ascended into heaven. He was the one who kept the disciples together and waiting for the promise of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1)
• It was Peter that explained what took place at Pentecost by giving his first recorded sermon (Acts 2)
• And it was Peter who first preached to and baptized Gentiles (Acts 10)

The events that took place in Acts 2 happened around 30, or 33 AD. Most commentaries I read place the writing of 1 Peter between 60-65 AD. That means that Peter has been leading the church for about 30 years.

By way of introduction, Peter certainly has established credentials! He was with Jesus, he was there when the HS was given, he was the first to see God pour out his spirit on the Gentiles, he was a leader of the church for 30 years and he was sent by, or appointed by Jesus the Messiah. Wow.

The only thing that surprises me is that we only have 2 letters from Peter. Perhaps because a fisherman might not have been skilled in writing? After all, he did not have the formal training that Paul had. We really don’t know why we only have two letters, but we do know that it was someone else, Silvanus (or Silas) who actually penned this letter for Peter. He tells us that at the end of the letter:

1 Peter 5:12 “12 Through Silvanus, a faithful brother (as I consider him), I have written to you briefly in order to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!”

We also find out at the end of the letter that Peter was probably in Rome when he wrote this letter:

1 Peter 5:13 “13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, as does Mark, my son.”

You might be wondering how that is translated as Rome, but for now we can simply say that it was a common practice to associate the “persecutors” of God’s people as “Babylon”, and Rome certainly was! That, along with Mark being present, the time of the writing and then audience all seem to point to Rome.

Speaking of Rome… during this time, Nero was the Emperor of Rome from 54-68 AD and was a notorious persecutor of Christians. Keep that in mind as we travel through this letter from Peter.

About the Audience

1 Peter 1:1 CSB

¹ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ:

To those chosen, living as exiles dispersed abroad in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, chosen

Geography

They are from regions of Asia Minor, or modern-day Turkey.

These are REGIONS, not town. You could think of them like counties. Peter was writing to any/all the churches in this regions, not just to the church in a few towns. This is referred to as an encyclical letter. A letter that was meant to be read and then passed along. It was probably carried to each of these regions by Silvanus.

We were introduced to these regions in the book of Acts – when the church first began.

Acts 2:1–12 CSB

¹ When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. ³ They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them. ⁴ Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them.

⁵ Now there were Jews staying in Jerusalem, devout people from every nation under heaven. ⁶ When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷ They were astounded and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ How is it that each of us can hear them in our own native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts), ¹¹ Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God in our own tongues.” ¹² They were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

When the glory of God was revealed upon the people of God, it was during the Feast of Pentecost, In Jerusalem. The Spirit of God rested on the believers there and they told the Jesus story to the masses by speaking in languages they had never studied. People heard about Jesus in their own language! And many believed.

Then they went home.

There were some from Cappadocia, Pontus, and Asia.

After the events of Pentecost and prior to Peter writing this letter, Paul had already taken 3 missionary journeys.

• Paul’s 1st Missionary Journey took him to regions where there were Jews, scattered throughout Asia Minor – Turkey. But there were also many Gentiles that believed. Around 48-50 AD
• Paul’s 2nd missionary journey he and Silas wanted to go to Asia Minor, but the HS forbid them. They also wanted to go to Bithynia, but the Spirit blocked that as well. They were able to go through the region of Bithynia. Around 50-53 AD
• Paul’s 3rd missionary journey went through some of the regions of Asia Minor. Around 53-57 AD
• Around 60 AD Paul was in prison in Rome which lasted for at least 2 years.

By the time this letter is written by Peter, Paul was already in Rome either in Prison or between imprisonments.

So in the regions where this letter will be read, we have a mixed group of Jews from Pentecost 30 years prior, and Gentiles in a few of the regions from Paul’s missionary journeys.

And he refers to them BOTH as “chosen exiles”.

1 Peter 1:1 CSB

¹ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ:

To those chosen, living as exiles dispersed abroad in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, chosen

Peter defines his audience as “the chosen, living as exiles” in Turkey (Asia minor).

I want us to focus on this phrase, because it is key.

If I were to ask you, “Tell me who you are” or “Tell me about yourself”, what types of details might you include? [relationships, work, geography, faith, passions, hobbies, etc]

Peter does not define his audience by their common distinctions: Jews or Gentiles. In the book he will walk through some of the classifications: slaves, free, husbands, wives, (there is NO correlation to that order!) Gentile, etc but ALL of the people hearing this letter belong to this group of “chosen exiles”. This phrase has challenged Bible translators for centuries, as it is unique to this letter. As you read different translations you will see:

• CSB: To those chosen, living as exiles dispersed abroad
• LEB: to the chosen who are residing temporarily in the dispersion
• NIV: To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces
• ESV:  To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion

While the dominant interpretation is that they are chosen by God and living as exiles, I cannot help but acknowledge that it is also possible that they were chosen by God TO BE exiles. It is a small nuance but can certainly expand our perspective on some things.

Can you think of anyone in the Bible that was chosen by God to be an exile?

Genesis 12:1–8 CSB

¹ The Lord said to Abram:

Go from your land,

your relatives,

and your father’s house

to the land that I will show you.

² I will make you into a great nation,

I will bless you,

I will make your name great,

and you will be a blessing.

³ I will bless those who bless you,

I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt,

and all the peoples on earth

will be blessed through you.

⁴ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. ⁵ He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, ⁶ Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.) ⁷ The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring^, I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. ⁸ From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to the Lord there, and he called on the name of the Lord.

God gave Abram a one-verb command with four aspects to it. Abram was to go out from (1) his land, (2) his relatives, and (3) his father’s house, (4) to a land chosen by God. Obedience to God often means leaving one thing in order to receive something else even better. [CSB Study Bible: Notes Chapter 12 ]

Abram was a chosen exile. He was asked to willingly leave his family and his land and choose obedience to God. He was a willing exile in exchange for the promise of God.

That promise was one of God’s blessing and God using Abraham to be a blessing to all the nations – Jew and Gentile, through one of his descendants – the Messiah, Jesus.

I think Peter is reminding his audience that they are called to be like Abraham. They are called to be chosen exiles that follow God so they can be a blessing to the nations. You will see this theme come out in the rest of the letter.

While it would be natural to think of the Jews in Asia Minor as exiles, this letter is also to Gentiles. They could have grown up in this land. They might have been there for generations. Why would they be exiles?

Because Peter is using a physical event to speak to a spiritual reality. It is not that Jews or Gentiles were exiles. It is that the people who follow Jesus are exiles. Why?

Because no matter where you reside on this earth, it is NOT your home. It is not our place.

John 14:1–3 CSB

¹ “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ² In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? ³ If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.

They are exiles because this world is no longer their home. The days living on this earth are miniscule compared to the life we have for eternity, so they are going to be encouraged to live with the future home in mind. There is a home with the Father that is much greater than the land they are living in.

The Chosen

While the TV series, “The Chosen” has been crazy popular, that is not what Peter is referring to here when he calls his audience “the chosen”. He does not view just the 12 disciples as the chosen, he sees the entire church as the chosen.

NOTE: interestingly, Peter never uses the word “church” in this letter!

Peter uses the word “chosen” two times in the intro.

1 Peter 1:1–2 CSB

¹ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ:

To those chosen, living as exiles dispersed abroad in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, chosen ² according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ.

May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

Peter chose the word “chosen” intentionally. That is what “choose” or “chosen” infers -> intentionality.

I cannot think of a more vivid image of “choosing” then the privilege I had of going to the market in Bogota, Colombia with Vale and her mom. Araceli did not just accept fruit or vegetables from the vendor – she hand picked every piece. If she was buying a big batch of onions, she looked over every one. And if someone tried to give her bad produce… well, that is when I started looking around at the other vendors stuff 🙂 Araceli picked produce based upon whether it was good or bad. I am very glad God has a different standard.

Peter immediately launches into his definition of chosen to make sure there is no misunderstanding here.  ⭐

1 Peter 1:2 CSB

… chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ.

NOTE: can I just say that THIS verse is one I will probably be unpacking until I see Jesus face to face? WOW!

Peter brings the trinity into focus in his unpacking of what it means to be chosen.

Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.

Was Peter saying that the Jews were chosen by God before the foundations of the world to be God’s people?

• I think so. (Rom 11:1-6, )

Was Peter saying that the Gentiles were chosen by God before the foundations of the world to be God’s people?

• I think so (Gal 3:8).

Was Peter saying that these people were sanctified through the Spirit because Jesus was chosen before the foundation of the world to shed his blood for our forgiveness?

• I think so… wait until we study 1 Peter 1:18-21!

BUT does he also mean that each person who believes in Jesus was chosen by God ahead of time – according to God’s foreknowledge?

The Apostle Paul would seem to believe so:

Romans 8:29 CSB

²⁹ For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

The brothers and sisters of Jesus are all who place their faith in Jesus. Paul’s statement is that those who have placed their Faith in Jesus were chosen beforehand.

I have to admit, verses like this can open up a can of worms! I appreciate Justin allowing me to have this passage. Of course, the big challenge is that we do not know the mind of God completely, we can only know what has been revealed. And that revelation appears to teach that God chooses some and not others.  This can be something we wrestle with, especially with verses like:

Romans 9:18 CSB

¹⁸ So then, he [God] has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

If God has chosen some people to be his children and others not to be, and some to show mercy to, and other not, how is that just? Paul actually addresses that as you continue in that passage in Romans:

Romans 9:19–24 CSB

¹⁹ You will say to me, therefore, “Why then does he still find fault? For who resists his will?” ²⁰ On the contrary, who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Will what is formed say to the one who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?” ²¹ Or has the potter no right over the clay, to make from the same lump one piece of pottery for honor and another for dishonor? ²² And what if God, wanting to display his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much patience objects of wrath prepared for destruction? ²³ And what if he did this to make known the riches of his glory on objects of mercy that he prepared beforehand for glory—²⁴ on us, the ones he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?

While I cannot understand all of the ways of God, I can acknowledge that he has the right to choose whom h wants since he is the Creator of all beings. In the end, I will still share Jesus with whomever I can because they need to hear to respond, and I do not know who is chosen and who is not.

Believers, you and I were individually selected, chosen by our Father in heaven! FORTUNATELY it was not because we were good or bad, like that produce I talked about earlier. He chose us because of his free will and pleasure. (read Romans 9:6-11).

I want to avoid the temptation to make this a message about Romans 9 – but wow is that a powerful chapter! If you are looking for another passage to study this week it would be a good one.

They were chosen, intentionally. You and I were chosen, intentionally.

So, these exiles were chosen by the foreknowledge of God,

through the sanctifying work of the Spirit

To sanctify is to set apart or to be made holy. Those who were chosen were made holy – set apart for God. We talked about this when we studied the church being the bride of Christ.

In the Bible, many things were “sanctified”:

• the priests were set apart
• the tabernacle and its utensils were set apart
• the offerings of the people were set apart

But the believers in Asia Minor were also set apart for God by the work of the Spirit. They have been transformed into tools that God can use for his honor and glory. They have become the dwelling place of the Spirit of God.

That means that you and I have also been remade, refashioned, into tools for the master to use. Just as the temple, the utensils and the priests were “set apart”/consecrated/sanctified – so are you and I as living temples and a royal priesthood.

to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ

Just as the concept of being chosen exiles is a Jewish historical reference, I believe this is also. There is a lot more here than just a few words. As “chosen exiles” takes us back to Abraham, this passage takes us back to Moses.

Your Bible might very well read a little different on this part. It is one of many challenging passages in Peter’s letter. I think to better understand it we should probably visit the OT passage it was probably referring to:

Exodus 24:3–8 CSB

³ Moses came and told the people all the commands of the Lord and all the ordinances. Then all the people responded with a single voice, “We will do everything that the Lord has commanded.” ⁴ And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early the next morning and set up an altar and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel at the base of the mountain. ⁵ Then he sent out young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. ⁶ Moses took half the blood and set it in basins; the other half of the blood he splattered on the altar. ⁷ He then took the covenant scroll and read it aloud to the people. They responded, “We will do and obey all that the Lord has commanded.”

⁸ Moses took the blood, splattered it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you concerning all these words.”

There is much that can be unpacked here:

The chosen people of God, entering into a covenant with God, pledging obedience to the Word of God and sealing the vow with the sprinkling of blood from a  sacrifice made to God.

Peter’s understanding of his audience is that they have entered into a covenant of obedience to the Father which was consummated by the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, the perfect sacrifice.

WHY the elaborate introduction?

Peter spends far more energy identifying his audience, and this marks one of the most important contributions of the letter—namely, to press upon them, indeed, to form them in, their true identity. He does so by inscribing them into the world of Israel’s Scriptures and the record of God’s relationship with his chosen people, and by characterizing their lives in relation to God the Father, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ—that is, in trinitarian terms.

Their true identity was not that they were from Asia Minor, nor that they were Jew or Gentile, or that they were at the Feast of Pentecost or met the Apostle Paul.

Their true identity was that they had been hand selected by God the Father, set apart for his purpose through the work of the Spirit and sealed into a covenant relationship of obedience through the blood of Jesus.

I hope you realize, that that also means that EVERYONE, past, present and future, that calls on the name of Jesus has this as their identity as well.

YOU have been hand selected by God the Father, set apart for his purpose through the work of the Spirit and sealed into a covenant relationship of obedience through the blood of Jesus.

Ephesians 1:3–8 CSB

³ Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. ⁴ For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him. ⁵ He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.

⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace ⁸ that he richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding.

So let’s let that settle in for a minute. Let’s marinate on that. I believe that most of you in this building, and many watching online have called on Jesus as your Savior. But have you grasped what your new identity is?

Our identity in Christ is what should be shaping our lives. It is was makes us exiles in this world. Our identity in Christ must inform our world view, our politics, our way of doing business, the way we treat our co-workers, the way we treat our spouse and children, and the way we confront sin and temptation.

You WERE called…

• YOU were hand picked by God before you were born.
• YOU were made holy, set apart for God by the work of the Holy Spirit.
• YOU were made a part of the new covenant, engaged to Jesus, because of his sacrifice for you.

You were called, and you ARE called…

• to live as sojourners – living for your future home, not for this one
• exiles – people who are not a part of the culture they live in
• to be God’s people, bringing the good news to the nations

It is only when we understand AND live out our true identity that we can experience the full grace and peace of God and show that same grace a peace to others.

That is how Peter wraps up his greeting…

1 Peter 1:2 CSB

² according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ.

May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

May grace and peace be multiplied to you. Grace and peace to live out your calling as chosen exiles – obedient to God and a blessing to the nations.

Have you experienced the grace and peace that comes from belonging to God? You can!

Romans 10:9–10 CSB

⁹ If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.

If you would like to make that your confession today please come see me or talk to the friend sitting next to you. Today is the day you can be called, set apart and connected to your Father in heaven through Jesus.

If you have already made that commitment, it is my prayer that you and I, over the weeks to come, will comprehend the amazing identity that we now have because of our Savior.