THE BLESSING: FIRST PETER 1.3-

First Peter 1.3-12, often referred to as either the exordium or the blessing, formally introduces this rudimentary eschatological program, while also pointing the readers to the major themes that will be developed in the letter.10_{Here, Peter orients his readers}

to the situation they are undergoing by reminding them of the future that awaits them. In keeping with God’s mercy and by means of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, they have been born anew to (a) a living hope (1.3), (b) an imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading inheritance (1.4), and (c) a salvation to be revealed in the last time (1.5). Peter here has borrowed language from the exodus tradition (inheritance;κληρονομία)and the prophets (salvation;σωτηρία) in order to point his readers to a time when God will bring to fruition his plan of redemption—a day which will mean vindication for those who have aligned themselves with his Christ, and the establishment of God’s

righteousness on earth (e.g. 2.12; 5.4).11

Although salvation is described as an outcome that is certain (i.e. it is prepared [σωτηρίαν ἑτοίμην]),Peter explains that it will not be revealed (ἀποκαλυφθῆναι) until the last time(ἐν καιρῷ ἐσχάτῳ). In other words, Peter portrays his readers as living in a period of transition (inaugurated eschatology). And this transition period is characterized as a time in which faithful followers of the Christ must (δεῖ) pass through various trials (ποικίλοι πειρασμοί;1.6), though not without God’s protection (1.5). In 1.7 this transition period of various trials is further characterized as a time in which their proven faithfulness (τὸ δοκίμιον ὑμῶν τῆς πίστεως) will result in them being honored at the revelation of Jesus Christ.12_{As I highlighted in Chapter Four, it is}

10_{For more on the function of the exordium see Tite 1997:52; Campbell 1998:33; and Thurén 1995:90-91. Although I}

am not yet convinced that Peter consciously chose to work with the standard Greco-Roman rhetorical categories

such asexordium,narratio,propositio, andprobatio, I have no doubt that these rhetorical conventions had a shaping

effect, even if indirectly and/or subconsciously, in the way in which Peter presented his material. Black (1995:257), for example, suggests that although Jesus and the apostles may not have received a formal education in rhetoric ‘undeniably they were born into a culture whose everyday modes of oral and written discourse were saturated with a rhetorical tradition, which was mediated by…Caecilius, Cicero, and Quintilian.’ Additionally, I find that rhetorical studies in 1 Peter often help heuristically to organize the major sections of the letter. At times, however, the material of the letter seems to be forced to fit with the aims of particular rhetorical categories, as for example when it is claimed that our author in the exordium is seeking to establish a positive ethos, or when the aim of 1 Pet 1.3-12 is to create attentiveness and goodwill among the readers (Campbell 1998:33).

11_{Forκληρονομίαas a circumlocution for arriving and possessing the promised land see Num 34.2; 36.2; Deut 12.9;}

Josh 1.15; 13.1; Jdgs 2.6; 18.1; 21.23; 2 Chron 6.27; 31.1; Ps 134.12; 135.21,22; Jer 2.7; 3.19; 16.18; Ezek 11.15; 25.4, 10; Zech

9.4; for the use ofκληρονομίαin conjunction with the promise of restoration see Isa 49.8; Jer 12.25; Psa 2.8;67.10;

110.6; Ezek 45.1. Elsewhere in the NT the term is connected with salvation (Acts 7.5; 13.33; 20.32; Eph 1.11,14; Col 3.24) and the second exodus (Heb 9.15; 11.8); that is that which the people would acquire when the wilderness wandering is completed. Hebrews 3-4 is significant because there is a connection between suffering and the wilderness, but

without the optimism that is offered in 1 Peter.For the eschatological/restoration connotations ofσωτηρία

see Isa 45.17; 46:13; 49.6; 52.7,10; 63.8; Jer 38.22; Pss 17.51; 73.12; 117.14, 21, 28; 143.10.

important to note that Peter’s strategy for helping his readers rightly respond to trials is not, as is sometimes claimed, in conformity with a prevalent wisdom tradition that regarded suffering and trials as opportunities for improving one’s character. Instead, the motivation for enduring trials is the certain outcome—eschatological salvation, an incorruptible inheritance for those who maintain faithfulness. As Peter states, ‘your proven faithfulness is even more precious than gold, which perishes when tested in fire.’ As I stressed in Chapter Four, Peter’s confidence that his readers will indeed emerge from the fiery trials to be showered with future honor and praise parallels the distinct eschatological program of Zech 13.8-9. It is this eschatological perspective that undergirds the exhortations that will follow in the letter, and it functions as the lens through which the readers are to interpret their sufferings in the present. Now is their time to faithfully endure fiery trials; thetelos(i.e. outcome) of their faithfulness to Jesus, whom they presently do not see, is the salvation of their souls (1.8-9).

Peter concludes this opening section of the letter (1.3-12) by reflecting on this salvation, drawing attention to the prophets, who diligently sought to understand the circumstances surroundingτὰ εἰς Χριστὸν παθήματα καὶ τὰς μετὰ ταῦτα δόξας

(1.10-11).13_{Although many commentators interpret this phrase as a reference to}

Christ’s sufferings (e.g. the sufferings destined for Christ), for the following reasons it seems more likely that the sufferings of Christ-followers are in view.14_{First, there is the}

principal aim of the letter: whereas the PNs are primarily concerned with explaining why the Christ had to suffer and die and how that fits with what has been revealed in the scriptures, 1 Peter is primarily concerned with explaining whyChristiansuffering is necessary and to be expected in spite of the fact that, according to early Jesus-followers, Jesus is the Lord’s messiah.15_{In this regard, it is noteworthy that three key}

Christological passages in 1 Peter (1.18-19; 2.21-25; 3.18-22) do not seek to offer

scriptural justification for the necessity of Jesus’ death, but rather endeavor to explain

13_{There is much debate regarding the best way to translateτίνα ἢ ποῖον καιρόν.The principal question is whether}

in 1 Pet 1.11τίναis a personal pronoun (see Kilpatrick [1986:91-92], who shows that in the rest of 1 Peter [3.13; 4.17;

5.8] and throughout the NT,τίςisa pronoun), or whether it is modifyingκαιρὸνand being used somewhat

redundantly withποῖον. I follow both Michaels (1988:41-43) and Jobes (2007:101-102), who carefully conclude that

the search of the prophets is not centered upon the person of the messiah, but rather the circumstances surrounding

τὰεἰς Χριστὸν παθήματα καὶτὰςμετὰταῦτα δόξας,of which I have more to say in the remainder of this paragraph.

14_{Brown 1855:86; Scott 1905:234-40; Selwyn 1958:136; Best 1971:175; Michaels 1988:270; Schutter 1989:106-108; Martin}

1992:65-68; 242-252.

15_{[T]he Christians of Asia Minor…are suffering not only by reason of the absence of a tangible relationship [i.e. to}

Jesus, whom they ‘do not see’ (1 Pet 1.8)] but also because of the seeming contradiction between the promise of renewal implied in the resurrection and the actual situation of trial and persecution in which they find themselves (Hill 1982:52). Brackets mine.

the implications of Jesus’ death for his followers.16 _{The question that Peter appears to}

be addressing throughout the letter then is notWho is to come?orWhat are the

circumstances surrounding his coming? but rather,Why is there still suffering now that the

Christ has come? Second, as we have just seen, in this opening section of the letter Peter

has explained that there is a necessary (if not also unanticipated) testing period, what he calls fiery trials, which must precede salvation. It would follow that this transition period in particular is what Peter refers to in 1.11 (i.e.τὰ εἰς Χριστὸν παθήματα καὶ

τὰς μετὰ ταῦτα δόξας). Third, according to Peter, presently angels eagerly desire to knowτὰ εἰς Χριστὸν παθήματα καὶ τὰςμετὰ ταῦτα δόξας.17 _{It would seem quite} unlikely that angels are still wondering about the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ sufferings and the vindication he would enjoy after such things since this already seems to be a forgone conclusion (cf. 1 Pet 3.18-22). Instead it makes more sense that they desire to watch the outworking of Christian suffering and the glories that will be experienced afterward. Fourth, since the near context stresses the transition period prior to eschatological salvation, it makes more sense to readbothprepositions in the phraseτὰ εἰς Χριστὸν παθήματα καὶ τὰς μετὰ ταῦτα δόξας as temporal in nature. In other words, that which the prophets are searching pertains to the sufferinguntil

Christ (i.e. his second advent; 1.7; 2.12; 5.4) and the gloriesafterthese things (that is, after the sufferings; cf. 1.5-7; 4.12-5.4). This reading has the added value of explaining why Peter chose the plural ‘glories’ (δόξας) instead of ‘glory’—since what is in view is not the vindication of Jesus but rather the vindication of faithful Christians. One might object to this reading of 1.11 on the grounds that the prophets never envisioned a second coming of the messiah. This may be true, but Peter and many early Christians, who regarded the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus to be the definitive revelation of God’s dealing with humanity, were forced to read the prophets through a new lens, seeking to understand the witness of the Spirit of Christ (1.11) in a new light.18

Two principal points emerge from these last three verses of the

exordium/blessing. First, 1 Pet 1.10-12 stress that Christians, in light of the gospel

16_{Even the catena of stone passages in 1 Peter 2.6-8 appear to function primarily in order to bolster the statement in}

2.4-5, namely to show the connection between the precious stone and the living stones.

17_{I agree with Achtemeier (1996:111) and Shimada (1981:146-147), who argue that the things the prophets}

ministered (αὐτά) and into which the angels desired to look (ἃ) areτὰεἰς Χριστὸν παθήματα καὶτὰςμετὰταῦτα

δόξας.

18_{First Peter clearly envisions a second return of Jesus (e.g. 1.7; 2.12; 5.4), and this is in conformity with other}

witnesses in the apostolic age (e.g. Matt 24.42-43; 25.13; 1 Thess 1.10, 19; Rev 3.3; 16.15; 22.20). Additionally, there is evidence in Rev 1.7 that Zech 12.10 could be interpreted not only to refer to Christ’s death but also to his second coming.

message, are in a privileged position to understand the outworking of God’s restoration plan. Second, it appears that Peter looks to the prophets in order to explain both the necessity of Christian suffering until the Christ’s return as well as the glories that are to be awarded to Christians after they endure such trials. While we cannot be certain, it could be that Peter here (1.10-11) reveals a key hermeneutical assumption: namely, that the prophets are to be read and interpreted in light of the life, death, resurrection, ascension and return of Jesus, and for the purpose of understanding what God’s people can expect prior to his return.19

As one might expect (given the nature of a blessing/exordium), what emerges in this opening section of the letter is the primary strategy for helping Christians thrive in their present circumstances. Peter offers his readers a new interpretative framework for their experiences—they now ‘participate in the epochal change that took place in Christ; their life is thereby defined as “eschatological” existence.’20_{It is this inaugurated}

eschatological perspective that will underpin the theological orientation and the exhortations that follow.21