1 Peter 1:1-2 — Elect Exiles

Read

1 Peter 1:1-2


EXPLORE

  1. Who wrote this letter? How do you think this will this shape both the content and the heart behind the content of the letter?

  2. The phrase “elect exiles” in v.1 is key to understanding the identity and circumstances of Peter’s audience and the contours of the letter. What does Peter mean by “elect”? What does he mean by “exile”? Why does he put these two words together in identifying his audience?

  3. How do you think Peter uses the word “obedience” in v.2? (Hint: see how he uses it in 1:22; 3:1, 20; 4:17)

  4. What is profound about verse 2? (“According to the foreknowledge…with His blood:”)

  5. Paraphrasing a passage helps focus on its meaning. Give 1 Peter 1:1-2 in your own words, without using the words “elect,” “exiles,” “foreknowledge,” “sanctification.”


Apply

  1. The Bible is not about self-discovery but about God-discovery; we want to know Him better as a result of our time in 1 Peter. In light of this, what do the first two verses of 1 Peter communicate about what God is like? What He is doing and what He will do? What pleases Him?

  2. It’s only through knowing and obeying God that self-discovery and transformation happen in the deepest/most beautiful sense. In light of your answers to #1 above, how does this knowledge [i.e. intimate knowing] of God begin to change you?

  3. In what sense are you and I “elect exiles”? How is Peter’s letter a letter written with our names addressed on the envelope, even though we’re halfway across the globe and live 2,000 years later? 


Pray

  • for one another, our church, our city

Doxology Admin