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1 Peter 1:1-3
New Catholic Bible
1 Peter 1:1-3
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 1
Salutation[a]
To the Faithful in the Dispersion. 1 Peter,[b] an apostle of Jesus Christ, to all the exiles of the Dispersion who are now living in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 chosen[c] in the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification by the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with his blood: may grace and peace be yours in abundance.
The Privileges and Responsibilities of Salvation[d]
The Song of the New Life.[e] 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy he has given us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Peter 1:1 Christians regarded themselves as the true Israel and made use of the term Dispersion, which designated the Jews who had been dispersed and awaited the reunion of their people (see Jas 1:1). By divine choice, they are the New Covenant, evoked by the mention of the Blood of Christ (see Ex 24:3-8; Heb 9:12-14). Related to the three divine Persons, the Church is born of the Trinity. This is an extremely dense salutation.
- 1 Peter 1:1 Peter: see notes on Mt 16:18; 16:19; Jn 1:42. Apostle: see notes on Mk 6:30; Rom 1:1; Heb 3:1-6. Exiles: literally, “strangers” or “pilgrims,” because the homeland and inheritance of the children of God are in heaven (see 1 Chr 29:15; Ps 39:13; Heb 13:14). Living in Pontus . . . Bithynia: Jewish and Gentile Christians living in Asia Minor.
- 1 Peter 1:2 Chosen: see note on Eph 1:3—3:21. Father . . . Spirit . . . Jesus Christ: all three persons of the Trinity are involved in the redemption of the Elect. To be sprinkled with his blood: in the Old Testament, the blood of a sacrificial animal was sprinkled on the altar and the benefit of the sacrifice descended on the offerer. The sprinkled blood of Christ brings us these benefits: (1) justification (see Rom 5:19); (2) sealing with God’s Covenant promise represented for us in the Eucharist (see Lk 22:20); (3) cleansing of all sin (see 1 Jn 1:7); and (4) empowerment to become citizens of the Kingdom of heaven (see Heb 10:19).
- 1 Peter 1:3 The author stresses the privileges and responsibilities that come with salvation (the Greek word means “deliverance” or “preservation”). Salvation was prophesied in the past and achieved by God in Christ, and it calls for a life of holiness and love on the part of Christians, including the true worship of God, for they are a “nation of priests.”
- 1 Peter 1:3 Adversity can do nothing in the face of the joyous certitude of believers. May they relive the fundamental experience of faith described in this grand praise. In Christ, the mercy of God gives human beings an inviolable faith that has no common measure with all human projects. The rebirth of Baptism opens another life and another history; a promise of salvation is on the way to being fulfilled. How then can Christ’s personal love fail to take hold of hearts? The plan of God is not a theory but a reality in the life of each person. Today, the goal toward which all the expectations of the Prophets were directed, has become a reality and it brings about the joy of angels.
In this great passage of praise the fundamental experience of faith is described.
