Peter wrote this letter of joyful hope to provide Christians with an eternal perspective of their earthly lives. This included giving practical guidance to those who were beginning to experience intense opposition and suffering as Christians in an ungodly environment. Peter was concerned that believers should not provoke hostility or rebel against government structures unnecessarily. Instead, they should follow Jesus' example in suffering innocently and honorably for what is right and true. 1 Peter begins by reminding Christ's followers of several things. They have a glorious purpose and heavenly inheritance because of their relationship with Christ. Their faith and love in this life will be tested and refined through difficulty and suffering, but it will result in praise, glory and honor when the Lord returns. Peter then describes Christ's followers as people who have been chosen and set apart, as growing infants who need the pure milk of God's Word, as living stones who are being built into a spiritual house and as aliens who are passing through a foreign land.
The primary message of 1 Peter concerns godly submission and suffering honorable for Christ. They are to follow the example of Jesus Himself.
Five major features characterize this letter. 1. Along with Hebrews and Revelation, its message revolves around Christians who are facing the prospect of severe persecution because of their identity with Jesus Christ. 2. More than any other New Testament letter, it provides instruction to unjust persecution and suffering. 3. Peter stresses the truth that believers are aliens and strangers on earth. 4. Many Old Testament titles for God's people are applied to New Testament believers. 5. It contains one of the most difficult New Testament passages to interpret: When, where and how Jesus "went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed... in the days of Noah" (3.19-20)
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