“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:

May grace and peace be multiplied to you.” – 1 Peter 1:1-2

Hi, my name is Pastor Kurt Steinbrueck.

That’s a greeting, but there are things you can learn just from that simple greeting. I’m a Christian, a leader, have German heritage, speak English, and more.

When Peter greets the people in his letter, He packs a lot into a short greeting.

What’s In a Name?
He starts by giving his name and his role, and apostle, a messenger, sent by Jesus who is the Christ of God. It establishes authority in the message because it isn’t his message, it’s a message from Jesus. It also tells you that he’s on a mission. There’s a purpose to why he is writing.

Who Is Peter Writing To?
Next he addresses the people. The places he names are all Christian communities in the area we now know as Turkey. There’s some debate as to whether these were primarily Jewish or gentile communities. Some point to some of the phrases Peter uses, such as the ways of their forefathers being futile and who they engages in some pretty sinful behaviors which were common to the gentiles.

However, we know that the Jews, after a while of living in exile tended to adopt the ways of the people around them. Peter also refers to the gentiles, but does so as a separate group. This implies a Jewish community. What helped me to decide the groups were likely largely Jewish was this greeting. Peter calls the people, the…

elect exiles of the Dispersion.

The dispersion is a specific event in Jewish history when the Babylonians conquered Israel and exiled the Israelites, sending them all over.

In the end, though, this isn’t going to change the way we read the book much and the group was probably a mix of Jews and gentiles since the Christian community would spread the Gospel to their neighbors.

The Trinity and More…
Next, we see that they are Christians according to the foreknowledge of God, who is our Heavenly Father. God is making them holy (sanctification) for faith (the obedience to Jesus) for their salvation (the sprinkling with His blood.

We see the whole Trinity in the greeting. We see the work of God. We see all this and more in one sentence.

Amazing!!