I Peter

I Peter 

Historical Background

At the time of the writing of I Peter, Christians were undergoing persecution for their faith. Christianity was not approved of by the Roman government during this time. Rather, it was deemed an illegal religion. Because of this, believers would have been forced to scatter to various locations (1:1). These believers would also have been placed under great persecution and would have been in need of hope and encouragement (1:1,1:6,7).

Character and Nature of God

Peter reveals Christ as the One who suffered (3:18-4:2). Peter describes the suffering that Christ went through when He laid down His life on the cross. This would have been a great encouragement to the believers who were suffering for Christ. They could rest in the knowledge that Christ understood the suffering that they were going through because He suffered in the same way.

Reason Written

I Peter was written to encourage the believers who were scattered throughout various provinces. These believers were being persecuted for their faith at this time and this letter would have encouraged them to remain strong in the face of persecution (1:1; 2:18-21; 4:1,19; 5:10). 

Main Idea

The main idea from I Peter is that those who are suffering for Christ’s sake should continue to endure and not give up for their suffering pleases Christ and brings them great reward (2:19; 3:14,12-13; 5:10). The Jews that this letter was written to were encouraged to continue to endure because they were imitating Christ by imitating His suffering (2:17-4:1). They were encouraged to rejoice because just past their sufferings lay a great joy (1:6). They were also informed that their faith would prove the genuineness of their faith (1:7).