OVERVIEW: The duty of the Christian is to live in the hope that Christ will soon return to fulfill his promises. In practical terms that means that we must strive to be holy, because God himself is holy. Having been rescued from the vanity and folly of this world, it is our privilege to be able to purify our souls by obeying the truth. The effort that we devote to this ought to reflect the price that has been paid for our lives. This price cannot be measured in silver and gold, because we have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, the incarnate Son of God himself. That knowledge ought to fire our devotion and ensure that we shall do our utmost to reflect in our behavior the kind of new people that God wants us to be. Those called and baptized should live here and now as obedient children of God, ready to receive grace (DIDYMUS, BEDE), holding fast to faith (ANDREAS), being conformed not to the world but to God’s will (THEOPHYLACT), imitating God’s holiness (ANDREAS). The time we have been given on earth is limited (AMBROSE), given to allow us to act in ways worthy of our sonship to the Father (OECUMENIUS, BEDE). You owe that price with which you have been bought, even though God does not demand it. What Christ claims from you is his own (AMBROSE, CAESARIUS OF ARLES, MAXIMUS OF TURIN).
GIRD YOUR MINDS. ANDREAS: Having spoken of the greatness of the blessings of the Father’s gift, the sufferings of Christ, the Holy Spirit’s prediction concerning him, the prophets’ proclamation, the desire of the angels—having said all this, Peter tells us to hold on to them all by faith. CATENA.1
BE READY TO RECEIVE GRACE. BEDE: You must do this, Peter says, because you have been promised that you will see the revelation of Jesus Christ, which the angels now look upon, after your death. The greater the grace which has been promised to you is, the more you ought to make sure that you are worthy to receive it. You must be pure and chaste in your minds, waiting for the Lord to come, for if someone is unable to please God now, it is certain that he will not receive the reward promised to the righteous when Christ comes again. ON 1 PETER.2
BE OBEDIENT NOW. BEDE: It follows naturally that Peter expects those who were called and chosen by having been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to be obedient. They should live as obedient children of God right here and now. ON 1 PETER.3
YOUR FORMER IGNORANCE. THEOPHYLACT: To be conformed to the things of this world means to be surrounded by them. Even today there are some weak-willed people who say that when they are in Rome, they have to do as the Romans do. But whether they do this knowingly or in ignorance, the message here is clear. We are to abandon this world and be conformed to the One who alone is truly holy. COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER.4
GRACE EMPOWERS HOLINESS. DIDYMUS THE BLIND: Since God, who called us to salvation by the gospel, is holy, those who obey his calling must also become holy in all their thoughts and behavior, especially since he who calls us to this also provides the necessary sanctification himself. COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER.5
IMITATE GOD’S HOLINESS. ANDREAS: Those who seek to imitate the Holy God must be holy themselves. CATENA.6
BECOME LIKE GOD. ANDREAS: God insists that we become like him. In God’s holiness lies our salvation. Therefore those who are truly holy now in Christ are prepared for true life in him. CATENA.7
BE PERFECT. BEDE: This is exactly what Jesus meant when he said: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”8 ON 1 PETER.9
TIME ON EARTH LIMITED. AMBROSE OF MILAN: You have been given time on this earth, not eternity. Use the time as those who know that they are setting out from here. LETTERS TO PRIESTS 59.10
JUDGE AS FATHER. DIDYMUS THE BLIND: If the one whom we call the Father is also our judge, and if he pays no attention to classes of persons, let us hasten to do our best in the time of our sojourn here on earth, with all fear and holy behavior. In this way we shall recognize that the same Father is the one who gives us promises, and we shall persevere without any punishment. COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER.11
THE JUDGMENT OF THE FATHER AND THE SON. ANDREAS: If the Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, what are we to think about this passage? For if it is the Father who is indicated here, how is he a judge, judging everyone according to his work? But if it is the Son who judges, taking all judgment on himself, why does Peter mention the Father? The solution here is that if the Father and the Son are one Godhead, the judgment of the Son is the judgment of the Father also, but the Son can also be called the Father of the creatures, having given them birth by partaking in holiness. For on many occasions he called his disciples his children, and to others he said things like: “Child, your sins are forgiven,”12 and “Daughter, your faith has saved you.”13 CATENA.14
SONS OF THE FATHER. BEDE: God is not like an earthly father, who is more inclined to pardon his erring sons than he is to spare other members of his household. God the Father is so holy and just that he adopts as his sons not only humble and obedient servants but also enemies who have lifted up their hands against him. On the other hand, he has also disinherited those who appeared to enjoy the benefits of sonship because of their disobedience. ON 1 PETER.15
WORTHY OF THE FATHER. OECUMENIUS: Those who desire the adoption of sons must do the things which are worthy of the Father. COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER.16
YOU OWE THE PRICE. AMBROSE OF MILAN: You owe that price with which you have been bought. Even though God does not always demand it, you still owe it. Buy Christ for yourself, not with what few men possess but with what all men possess by nature but few offer on account of fear. What Christ claims from you is his own. He gave his life for all men. He offered his death for all men. Pay on behalf of your creator what you are going to pay by law. He is not bargained for at a low price, and not all men see him readily. ON JOSEPH 7.42.17
PAY ATTENTION TO THE PRICE. CAESARIUS OF ARLES: If the unfortunate Jews observe the sabbath in such a way that they do not dare to do any secular work on it, how much more should those who have been “redeemed, not with gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Christ,” pay attention to their price and devote themselves to God on the day of his resurrection, thinking more diligently of the salvation of their souls? SERMONS 73.4.18
BOUGHT WITH A PRICE. MAXIMUS OF TURIN: If the price of our life is the blood of the Lord, see to it that it is not an ephemeral earthly field which has been purchased but rather the eternal salvation of the whole world. SERMONS 59.2.19
THE PRICE OF YOUR REDEMPTION. BEDE: The greater the price of your redemption, the more respectful to God you ought to be, and not risk offending your Redeemer by falling back into your previous life of wickedness. ON 1 PETER.20
A SOUL MADE CLEAN. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: This recalls the ancient ceremonies of the Levites and the priests, and relates to a soul made clean by righteousness, which is offered to God. ADUMBRATIONS.21
BOUGHT AT A PRICE. CHRYSOSTOM: We are God’s creatures, but because of sin we have passed under the rule of the devil. Because of that, the Savior has bought us back with his own blood—“you are bought with a price.”22 Indeed, we have been bought with Christ’s precious blood. Think of a righteous and good householder who does not regard a wicked servant as worthy to serve in his house but hands him over to someone who will correct him. If he then sees his servant being punished by a wicked master and saying: “I will go back to my first master, for he was good to me then and he will be good to me now,” he will give him back his honor and redeem him, so that he might become a productive person. This is what God has done for us. How is it that we both belong to him and do not belong to him at the same time?23 As creatures we belong to him, but as sinners we have become alien to him and do not belong to him any more. Do not think that you belong to God if you are a sinner, for in that case the devil has got hold of you, and you are his creature. The man of sin, the son of destruction, it is he who has bought you, with blood which is not precious but impure. Indeed, you have been bought by sin, you have been bought by harlotry, and you are impure. CATENA.24
BELONGING TO CHRIST. AUGUSTINE: Those belonging to the grace of Christ, who are foreknown, predestined and chosen from before the foundation of the world, shall die only insofar as Christ himself died for us, that is, by the death of the flesh only, not of the spirit. ON THE TRINITY 13.15.25
FULLY AND PERFECTLY REVEALED. OECUMENIUS: Christ existed in earlier times and even before the foundation of the world, when he was hidden by divine providence until the right time should come. He was manifested to the prophets who did their best to examine these matters, as Peter has already mentioned, and now he is even more manifest, since he has been fully and perfectly revealed. Furthermore, Peter adds that he has been revealed for our sake. COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER.26
HOLDING EVERYTHING IN COMMON. ANDREAS: Peter did not stop at Christ’s death but went on immediately to remember his resurrection as well. Just because you hear that the Father has raised the Son, do not retort that the Son cannot raise himself. For listen to what Christ says: “Destroy this temple and in three days I shall raise it up again”27 and again: “I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it up again.”28 The apostle says these things in order to teach us that the Father and the Son hold everything in common. CATENA.29
PURITY FROM WITHIN. HILARY OF ARLES: Why does Peter talk about purifying our souls but says nothing about the body? The reason for this is that true purity comes from within. If the soul is clean, the body will be cleansed as well. INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER.30
OBEYING BY THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT. OECUMENIUS: This means: “When you have pulled yourselves together and determined to obey the truth by the power of the Spirit.” For it is also possible to “obey” in evil and vicious matters, but that is not in the Spirit. And since there is a purification or preparation which must come before obedience, Peter wants to bring in as many extra helpers as possible. This is the role of brotherly love, which makes our neighbors also partakers of the good things which we have found. COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER.31
BIRTH FROM THE SPIRIT. DIDYMUS THE BLIND: Peter uses the words regeneration and restitution to signify the introduction of birth after the destruction of the first generation of mankind. For how could that not have been destroyed, seeing that it is corrupt, in order to make room for the incorruptible which is coming and which will remain forever? For there is a first birth, in the descent of Adam, which is mortal and therefore corruptible, but there is also a later birth which comes from the Spirit and the ever-living Word of God. COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER.32
THE UNENDING WORD. ANDREAS: The Gospel says: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away, says the Lord Jesus Christ.”33 CATENA.34
REDEMPTION AND BAPTISM. BEDE: Just as the gift of the Lord’s passion, by which we have been redeemed, is imperishable, so too is the sacrament of the sacred font35 by which we have been born again. The two things are so intimately connected that it is impossible to be saved by one without the other. For just as the Lord, during the time of his incarnation, redeemed us all on a single occasion by the shedding of his blood, so we must now in our time become partakers of that regeneration by being born again through baptism. It is well said of this regeneration that it does not come from corruptible seed but operates by the word of the living and eternal God. ON 1 PETER.36
THE SPIRIT’S PROMISE. ISHO‘DAD OF MERV: Your birth is not human and is far removed from corruption and death, because the Holy Spirit is its mediator, and as John said, you have been born not of the will of man but of God.37 The living word is the Spirit’s promise of everlasting life. COMMENTARIES.38
THE NATURE OF FLESH. EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA: This is the nature of all flesh, and the portrait of a man made from clay, I mean someone who loves his own body and lives according to the flesh. Like the grass of the field and like beautiful flowers he will soon wither and die. CATENA.39
LONGING FOR DIVINE LIFE. GREGORY OF NYSSA: If someone despises whatever is held in honor among men and longs only for the divine life, is he likely to think of the grass which exists today and is gone tomorrow as something worth striving for? ON VIRGINITY 4.40
PRIDE AND GLORY EXTINGUISHED. THEODORET OF CYR: Just like grass, the people have dried up and their flower has fallen. God here foretold the salvation of the Gentiles and the sterility of the Jews. For by nature the human race is like grass, and the flowers of the grass are our pride and glory. But just as when the grass withers the flowers fall off, so when men die, their pride and glory are extinguished. CATENA.41
TWO SIDES OF HUMANITY. HILARY OF ARLES: Here we see the two sides of the human being. The outer man is like the flower of the field which is mortal and will pass away, whereas the inner man lives forever by the power of the living God. INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER.42
THE WORD REMAINS. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: The Word of God remains forever—both prophecy and divine teaching. ADUMBRATIONS.43
GUIDED TOWARD SALVATION. ANDREAS: God foresaw and forewarned us about all the above, but although he sees our great disobedience, the Lord of all persists in guiding us toward salvation. CATENA.44