Inscription and salutation 1:1-2

"Peter, Apostle of Jesus Christ," thus begins the holy Apostle Peter in his first conciliar epistle. It is impossible not to see that the holy Apostle with a deliberate purpose exposes his apostolic dignity, for the churches to which he wrote were not founded by him and had no personal acquaintance with him. In the first two chapters he reveals the greatness and glory of salvation given to Christians in Jesus Christ, which gives the whole section a dogmatic tinge. In the remaining chapters, exclusively moral instructions predominate.The Christians of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia are called "strangers" by the holy Apostle in a double sense. On the one hand, they live outside their homeland, Palestine; On the other hand, for Christians, life on earth is pilgrimage and wandering, for the Christian's own homeland is another world, the spiritual world.The Apostle calls them "chosen" in the sense that in the New Testament all Christians constitute the new chosen people of God, as the Jews were in the Old Testament (1:1) [1].They were chosen, "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, sanctified by the Spirit, to obedience and sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ" — all three persons of the Holy Trinity took part in the work of salvation of people: God the Father, according to His foreknowledge, knowing which of men, how he would use the free will granted to him, predestorates people to salvation, the Son of God by His death on the cross accomplished the very work of salvation, and the Holy Spirit through His grace sanctifies the elect, assimilating to them the work of salvation accomplished by Christ (v. 2).

Praise God for the Grace of Regeneration 1:3-5

From the depths of his heart, filled with gratitude to God for the redemption of the world, the Apostle then lifts up praise to God, Who has given people "an incorruptible inheritance" in contrast to the sensual earthly inheritance that the Jews expected from the Messiah (vv. 3-4).

One Must Rejoice in Tribulations 1:6-9

Having further said that the power of God, "through faith," leads them "to salvation," the Apostle inspires that this salvation will be revealed in all its power only in the "last time"; but now it is necessary to grieve "a little", so that the faith tested by the fire of temptations will be more precious than the most refined gold "at the appearance of Jesus Christ", that is, at His second coming (5-7).

Prophetic Searches 1:10–12

The holy Apostle concludes his doxology by pointing out the great importance of the economy of our salvation, to which all the searches and investigations of the prophets belonged, and which is so profound that "angels desire to penetrate" (8-12).

Exhortation to the Holiness of Life and Mutual Love 1:13-25

On the basis of all of the above, the Apostle offers a number of moral instructions, supporting them with lofty dogmatic contemplations.The first general instruction is about perfect hope in the grace of Christ with childlike obedience to God as the Father and the desire to become like Him by the holiness of life: "Be ye holy, for I am holy" (13-16). This should be prompted by a lofty awareness of the price at which Christians have been redeemed: "not with perishable silver or gold," "but with the precious blood of Christ" (17-20). This is the high motive to keep the faith of Christ and to hold fast to it in spite of all temptations (21-25).Peter, Apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, to the elect. ^

Chapter Two

Teachings on Spiritual Growth 2:1-3

St. Peter inspires Christians that they, living among hostile pagans, must show by their holy, virtuous life that they are "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy people, a people taken as an inheritance, in order to proclaim the perfections of Him who called you out of darkness into His wondrous light." Then the pagans, seeing the virtuous life of Christians, will themselves turn to Christ and glorify God for what they used to curse believers.

Strengthening in Faith 2:4–10