Section 1:1–2

Peter greeted the people to whom he was writing

The letter begins in the usual way that letters began which Christians at that time wrote. First, the person who was writing the letter wrote his name: Simon Peter (verse 1a). Then he wrote the name or description of the people receiving the letter (verse 1b). After that, he included a Christian greeting (verse 2).

Paragraph 1:1–2

1:1a

Simon Peter: It will be clearer to include more information here, like this: “I, Simon Peter, am writing this letter.” Or you could add, “I am writing” in 1:1b. The Greek text and some English versions spell Simon according to the Hebrew spelling: Simeon. But it will be clearer for your readers if you spell Simon in the usual way in your language.

Peter described himself as a “servant” (a literal English translation of the Greek is “slave”) and an “apostle” of Jesus Christ. The word “apostle” means a person that someone sends to speak on his behalf. Peter described himself like this in order to remind the people who read his letter that God had given him the right to teach them. Peter was reminding them of this so that they would consider what he would say to be both true and very important, and so that they would obey him when he told them to do things.

1:1b

To those who…: Peter did not write the names of those he was writing to, but it is likely that they were the same group that received his first letter (1 Peter 1:1), because in 3:1 he said that he was now writing to them for the second time. Here Peter simply described the people to whom he was writing as those who trusted in Jesus in the same way that he and the other apostles did.

righteousness: This refers to Christ’s goodness and uprightness. All that he does is right, just and fair. So he enables anyone, not only Jews but people of any race, to believe in him and to become part of his own people.

our God and Savior: These terms probably both refer to Jesus. That is how most versions interpret this phrase.

faith: Most scholars think this refers to the power to believe and trust in Jesus. This is the most likely meaning. But some think that it refers to the teaching that Christians believed, and which Christians had taught to other people who were becoming Christians since the time when the apostles first taught these things (see 3:2b).

as precious as: The Greek word used here can have two meanings:

(1) “of equal privilege”. This is the most common meaning of the word. It means that the faith that those reading Peter’s letter have is not inferior to the faith of the apostles. It is the same kind of faith. For example:

for equal standing (Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version)

(Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version)

(2) “of equal value”. This is usually translated as Berean Standard Bible: “a faith as precious as ours.”

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version (2011 Revision), Good News Translation)

It is recommended that you follow the first interpretation (1).

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.