Daily Reading: (1 Peter 1:1-3) 1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
A disciple is one who would have learned from a Rabbi. The 12 were disciples of Jesus- who learned directly from his teaching. When we think of an apostle, the most famous example we have is Paul. The Apostle Paul did not sit under Jesus’s teaching, therefore he is not referred to as a disciple of Jesus. Apostle in the Greek (Apostolos)- it is a messenger, a person that is sent. It is interesting that Peter would identify himself here as apostle instead of disciple, as he is both.
Another difference between Paul’s life and Peter’s is that we see God using Paul’s imprisonment for letter writing and Peter’s freedom for Gospel preaching and it tells me that the use of “our apostleship” will all be unique and different.
We have 1 Peter 1 because Peter is forced to write because so many Christians he wants to reach are scattered. Persecution caused movement of God’s people who are sent out (apostles) and that very persecution will spread the Gospel (1 Peter 1:1).
“Grace and peace be yours in abundance” this is Peter’s prayer for the scattered Christians who are sent out on the most important mission in the whole world (1 Peter 1:2).
Our hope after new birth is alive because it is hitched to the Risen, Alive Savior. So, what is a living hope? It is a hope in a Risen Lord who gives life to those who were spiritually dead (1 Peter 1:3). When you are shaken by bad news the temptation is to look around for hope. Don’t look around; look up! Fix your eyes on Jesus (Psalm 39:7).
We don’t go through trials in life to see if we can somehow muster up the kind of stuff we need to endure, rather, life’s trials reveal that God has given us the grace we need. Trials prove the genuineness of our faith and testifies to the fact that He has given us Himself (1 Peter 1:6-7).