1:1 | PETER, a messenger of Jesus Christ, sends this letter to God's people now dispersed in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, |
1:2 | whom God the Father knew and chose long ago to be made holy by his Spirit, that they might obey Jesus Christ and be cleansed by his blood: may you know more and more of God's grace and peace. |
1:3 | Thank God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that in his great mercy we have been born again into a life full of hope, through Christ's rising again from the dead! |
1:4 | You can now hope for a perfect inheritance beyond the reach of change and decay, reserved in Heaven for you. |
1:5 | And in the meantime you are guarded by the power of God operating through your faith, fill you enter fully into the salvation which is all ready to be revealed at the last. |
1:6 | This means tremendous joy to you, even though at present you may be temporarily harassed by all kinds of trials. |
1:7 | This is no accidentit happens to prove your faith, which is infinitely more valuable than gold, and gold, as you know, even though it is ultimately perishable, must be purified by fire. This proving of your faith is planned to result in praise and glory and honour in the day when Jesus Christ reveals himself. |
1:8 | And though you have never seen him, yet you love him. At present you trust him without being able to see him, and even now he brings you a joy that words cannot express and which has in it a hint of the glories of Heaven; |
1:9 | and all the time you are receiving the result of your faith in himthe salvation of your own souls. |
1:10 | The prophets of old did their utmost to discover and obtain this salvation. They prophesied of this grace that has now come to you. |
1:11 | They tried hard to discover to what time and to what sort of circumstances the Spirit of Christ working in them was referring. For he foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow them. |
1:12 | It was then made clear to them that they were dealing with matters not meant for themselves, but for you. It is these very matters which have been made plain to you by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from Heavenand these are facts to command the interest of the very angels! |
1:13 | So brace up your minds, and, as men who know what they are doing, rest the full weight of your hopes on the grace that will be yours when Jesus Christ reveals himself. |
1:14 | Live as obedient children before God. Don't let your character be molded by the desires of your ignorant days, |
1:15 | but be holy in every part of your lives, for the one who has called you is himself holy. |
1:16 | The scripture says: Ye shall be holy; for I am holy. |
1:17 | If you pray to a Father who judges men by their actions without the slightest favoritism, then you should spend the time of your stay hare on earth with reverent fear. |
1:18 | For you must realize that you have been ransomed from the futile way of living passed on to you by your traditions, but not by any money payment of this passing world. |
1:19 | No, the price was in fact the lifeblood of Christ, the unblemished and unstained lamb of sacrifice. |
1:20 | It is true that he was destined for this purpose before the world was founded, but it was for your benefit that he was revealed in these last days |
1:21 | for you who found your faith in God through him. And God raised him from the dead and gave him heavenly splendor, so that all your faith and hope might be centered in God. |
1:22 | Now that you have, by obeying the truth, made your souls clean enough for a genuine love of your fellows, see that you do love each other, fervently and from the heart. |
1:23 | For you are not just mortals now but sons of God; the live, permanent Word of the living God has given you his own indestructible heredity. |
1:24 | It is true that: All flesh is as grass, And all the glory thereof is the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower falleth: |
1:25 | But the word of the Lord abideth for ever. The Word referred to is the message of the gospel that was preached to you. |