About This Book

1 Peter is written to Christians who feel the strain of being different, believers living as outsiders in their own communities. Peter does not minimise the pain of rejection, slander, or social cost. Instead, he anchors the church in God’s mercy and Christ’s victory, so that suffering does not shrink faith but purifies it. The letter is deeply pastoral, it teaches weary saints how to endure with joy, how to live honourably under pressure, and how to face opposition without bitterness.

The movement of the book is both theological and practical. Peter begins with a doxology that celebrates the new birth and the living hope secured by Christ’s resurrection (chs.1 to 2), then he builds a strong identity for the church as God’s chosen people and holy priesthood in the world (ch.2). From that identity he applies the gospel to everyday life, submission to authorities, work, marriage, and Christian conduct in public (chs.2 to 3). The letter then returns to suffering with greater intensity, showing how Christ’s own suffering and vindication shapes the believer’s mindset, witness, and hope (chs.3 to 5), before closing with elder leadership, humble vigilance, and the promise of God’s restoring grace.

1 Peter trains the church to live as God’s holy exiles, bearing faithful witness to Christ with courage, gentleness, and hope.

Preach this letter by keeping hope and holiness together, let ch.1 set the tone, and apply patiently, because Peter is teaching a church culture of steady faithfulness, not a quick fix for hard times.

Structure of the Book

This outline is intentionally high level. It is designed to keep sermon planning tethered to the flow of the book.

1. New birth and living hope
   Praise to God for salvation, the inheritance kept in heaven, and faith refined through trials, ch.1
2. A holy people built on Christ
   Obedient holiness, the living stone, and the church as God’s chosen people for proclamation, chs.1 to 2
3. Honourable conduct in a watching world
   Submission to authorities, servants and masters, and the call to do good even when wronged, ch.2
4. Christlike life in the home and church
   Marriage, unity, blessing enemies, and giving a reason for hope with gentleness and respect, ch.3
5. Suffering with Christ, living for God’s will
   A changed mindset, new priorities, and life shaped by the coming judgement and the end of all things, ch.4
6. Shepherding, humility, and spiritual vigilance
   Elders, the flock, humble dependence, resisting the devil, and trusting God’s restoring grace, ch.5

Key Themes

• Living hope, the resurrection of Jesus secures a future that steadies believers in present trials.
• Holiness as family likeness, God’s grace creates a new identity, and the redeemed life must match the Father who called us.
• Faith refined through suffering, trials are real and painful, yet God uses them to purify trust and deepen joy.
• The church as God’s people, the letter forms the congregation as a chosen people and royal priesthood, centred on Christ the cornerstone.
• Witness through honourable conduct, Peter expects opposition, yet urges a public life that silences slander with visible good.
• Submission without fear, believers submit to lawful authority and endure unjust treatment, not from weakness, but from confidence in God’s justice.
• Christ’s suffering and vindication, the pattern of the cross and resurrection shapes how believers endure, serve, and hope.
• Gentle apologetics, Christians give reasons for hope with humility, calmness, and a clear conscience.
• Life in the household of God, relationships, leadership, and mutual care are shaped by humility and the coming glory.
• Perseverance under grace, God himself will restore and establish his people, calling them to steadfast resistance and trust.

Recommended Commentaries

Recommendations are grouped to help you build a working shelf. A top choice aims to serve as your primary companion for preaching and teaching. A strong recommendation provides a second trusted voice that complements your main volume. A useful supplement helps with structure, background, or a particular angle, without demanding more time than it is worth. A simple strategy, choose one main commentary you will actually consult weekly, then add a second voice when the text presses into contested ethical ground or into the realities of suffering and assurance.

• 1-2 Peterby R.C. Sproul, Score: 9.4

  A warm, faithful, and pastorally rich exposition of 1–2 Peter that strengthens hope, holiness, and confidence in Christ.

• The First Epistle Of Peterby Peter H. Davids, Score: 8.7

  A faithful and pastorally rich exposition of 1 Peter that serves the church with clarity and depth.

• James, Epistles of John, Peter, and Judeby Simon J. Kistemaker, Score: 8.4

  A well-rounded and thoughtful volume that handles each letter with balance, clarity, and a steady pastoral instinct.

Browse all 1 Peter reviews

Extra help is often most valuable in chs.2 to 3 on submission and public witness, chs.3 to 4 on suffering and Christ’s victory, and ch.5 on eldership, humility, and spiritual warfare.

Preaching and Teaching Helps

1 Peter is rich in gospel comfort and practical wisdom, yet it also contains passages that require careful framing so that the congregation hears both the call to costly obedience and the strong assurance of grace.

• Keep identity before instruction, Peter’s ethics flow from new birth and belonging, especially in ch.1 and ch.2.
• Handle submission texts with care, teach the difference between honouring authority and excusing abuse, and keep Christ’s example central in ch.2.
• Explain suffering categories, distinguish persecution, ordinary hardship, and consequences of sin, and show Peter’s repeated emphasis on doing good.
• Preach hope as fuel for holiness, the future inheritance strengthens present obedience, so connect ch.1 and ch.4 often.
• Make space for conscience and courage, encourage believers to speak of Christ with gentleness, while preparing them for misunderstanding and slander, ch.3.
• Strengthen leaders and congregations together, ch.5 offers a natural place to teach eldering, humility, and vigilance without turning the sermon into a leadership lecture.

This Book in the Story of Scripture

1 Peter gathers up the Old Testament story of God’s people as sojourners and applies it to the church in Christ. The letter takes language once spoken over Israel and shows its fulfilment in the people gathered around the cornerstone, Jesus Christ. The church is not a replacement story, it is the same saving purpose of God reaching its appointed goal in the crucified and risen Son, who has borne sin, triumphed over death, and secured a living hope for all who trust him.

The book shapes the church to live between resurrection and revelation, between the new birth already given and the inheritance soon to be revealed. It strengthens assurance by fixing believers on God’s keeping power. It deepens holiness by making identity and conduct inseparable. It steadies mission by calling the church to visible goodness and gentle speech. It strengthens worship by turning suffering into doxology, and it builds communal life through humility, shepherding, and prayerful vigilance.

Because Christ suffered and then entered glory, the church can do good without fear, endure with hope, and entrust itself to the faithful Creator until the day of final restoration.