Rebecca Skaggs - 1, 2 Peter and Jude Through the Centuries

Although this text has been read in a variety of ways, the early issue had to do with the nature of the life to which we are called; Peter’s audience has been called from their past lives of “ignorance” of God and “emptiness” into the fulfillment of their hope. This, in turn, necessitates a certain kind of behavior – the holiness of God is a model for the conduct of the readers. Peter uses two participles to convey the urgency of the needed action: be prepared ( anazosamenoi ) and be alert ( nephontes ). They must be holy because the God who called them is holy.

The theme of hope, characterized as “living hope,” is continued here from the introduction. This section is composed of two parts: first the ethical implications of hope, as expressed in a series of imperatives and participles, and second, the celebration of the ethical implications of this hope, in spite of present afflictions. Inherent within this hope is the life of holiness. It is meaningful that the word “hope” is used as both a noun and a verb (Michaels, 1988: 52). As a noun, it cuts to the very core of the gospel, addressing our behavior now, so that our present earthly existence is as important as our commitment to the anticipated future. Indeed, the content of this hope is holiness (vv.14–17) and reverent fear of God (v.17). As a verb, it is typified by mental alertness and readiness for action; it is not merely the expectation of good or bad (as it was for the Greeks), rather it is directed toward God’s promise of salvation. Hence, hope is linked not only to the future (ultimate salvation), but also its nature and content dynamically affect the present. Green (2007: 43) insightfully shows that “living hope” incorporates both “now and not yet;” it is a consequence of transformed lives, yet anticipates ultimate rejoicing at the end‐time.

Two main themes are of interest here – the readers’ ignorance of God in their past lives, and the alertness to which Peter urges them. The part that most modern scholars agree on is that the use of “ignorance” sheds light on the nature of Peter’s readers, but there is considerable ambiguity about its deeper implications. It can mean that they are Gentiles who do not know God at all, or Jews who failed to recognize Jesus as Messiah, or a mixture of both. When we consider this entire passage, however, we realize that Peter here is not addressing the classical Jewish/Gentile controversy at all. Rather, he is contrasting the readers’ past existence, characterized by a lack of “knowledge of God,” driven by “desires” derived from ignorance of God. Epithumiai (v.14), means “desire” or “longing,” but Peter associates it with the desires of their old life without God (see Ign., Eph . 19.3; Pseudo‐Clem., Hom . 2.15). Out of this past “empty way of life” (Wallace, 1996: 438, translates it as “futile”), they have been called to be a “holy people” (vv.15–16, 18b, repeated in 2:10 and 4:2–3). The point is that the “empty life handed down to you from your forefathers” refers both to the self‐absorbed life of the Gentiles and the Jewish life characterized by the attempt to justify our own righteousness by works.

Some of the early thinkers like Clement of Rome understand this in a general sense, “Since we are a holy portion, let all our actions accord with holiness” ( Epistle , xxx. I: FC: ccel.org). Didymus the Blind concurs ( Comm. on 1 Peter : PG 39: 1759). Andreas also agrees, “God insists that we become like him, for in His [God’s] holiness lies our salvation.” ( Catena , CEC 46: my tr.). Bede is concerned about the life which embraces this hope. He comments: “The greater is the grace promised you, the more greatly take care that you are worthy to receive it” ( Comm ., 1985: 77). He goes further and relates this to Jesus’ message about being “perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 9:2). He also reads this passage in a baptismal context:

Just as the gift of the Lord’s passion … is imperishable, so also is the sacrament of the sacred font by which we were reborn. These are so interrelated to each other that the one without the other cannot confer salvation. ( Comm ., 1985; 79)

Theophylact (1050–1108), like some of the earlier writers, reads this in a more general sense: “To be conformed to the things of this world means to be surrounded by them. We are to abandon this world and be conformed to the One who alone is truly holy” ( Comm. on 1 Peter , PG 125: 1201. my tr.).

At a later time, Luther emphasizes Peter’s message about alertness and being prepared; he reads this as a double metaphor about ascribing loins to the mind (literally, “gird up your mind,” v.13), that our minds are held entangled by the cares of the world and by vain desires, so that they do not rise up against God. Therefore, anyone who really wants to have this hope must learn in the first place to disentangle himself from the world, and gird up his mind like a person in ancient times used to tie up his long garments “so that he does not turn aside to vain affections” (Luther, Comm. on 1 Peter , 1990: 243). For him, redemption from the past empty life and the anticipation of a new kind of existence is characterized in two ways by Peter: a life of reverence and holiness before God and recognition of redemption by a sacrifice without “blemish” or “defect” (vv.18–19).

Characteristically, Luther is concerned by Peter’s statement about works (v.17). He explains the interaction of faith and works:

although God judges us according to our works, still it remains true that works are only the fruits of faith, by which we perceive when there is faith or unbelief. ( Comm .: ccel.org)

Holiness is an important theme for Luther. He exhorts on it in a “Sermon on 1 Peter,” written in 1522 and preached after he had been condemned as an outlaw by King Charles V for his opposition to the Catholic Church. This sermon is an important presentation of Luther’s theory of the holy life and the role of good works in the holiness. It is significant that he is using 1 Peter here. He explains that being “sober” (1 Peter 1:13) means fasting in moderation, that overdoing it results in poor health and even the inability to relate to people in social situations. He agrees that restraint in gluttony, sexuality, and other lusts are valuable expressions of good works as long as one realizes this is an affirmation of one’s faith, not an achievement of merit. The key is reasonableness and sensibility, moderation. This, of course, may differ from person to person, so cannot be adhered to merely as a set of rules without consideration.

On the other hand, the acknowledgment of restraint cannot be abandoned; the point is that faith and knowledge of Christ are needed to live a life in which one understands right and wrong in a moderate way, always seeking to never return to the past life of ignorance and wickedness (Bielfeldt, 2015).

Luther accuses his adversaries of misunderstanding Peter’s words that the prophet is holy because of his special revelation from God; Luther argues that every Christian has the revelation within himself – indeed this is the participation in God’s “goods.” He proceeds to describe how one lives the holy life: when you give yourself to God, you become his. We do not do holy things to become holy, we live a life acceptable to God because we belong to him who is holy (Bielfeldt, 2015, vol. 1: 101). Luther admonishes that this does not mean that we can live however we please: this is “stupid, changing Christian life into carnal liberty” (ibid.: 102). On the other hand, works do not bring salvation; faith liberates from sin. Good works and a holy life merely follow as an example to others. Works of service will automatically follow from this holy life. It must be remembered that it is God alone who transforms (ibid.: 98–102).