It is important for us to realize why Peter uttered such a well-speaking concerning the Triune God in a letter written to scattered saints. According to 1:1, this Epistle was written to “the chosen pilgrims of the dispersion of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.” All the five provinces mentioned in this verse were in Asia Minor, between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. The fact that the believers to whom this Epistle was addressed were scattered in these provinces of Asia Minor was a significant part of the background of Peter’s well-speaking concerning God.
At the time this Epistle was written, both Peter and the recipients of this book, the chosen saints scattered in Asia Minor, were under the Roman government. In A.D. 64, the approximate time of the writing of 1 Peter, the Roman Empire was very strong. About thirty years before the birth of Christ, Julius Caesar defeated Egypt and established the Roman Empire in full. Probably there has never been a stronger government in history than the government of the Roman Empire in the first century A.D. The Roman Empire controlled the entire region around the Mediterranean Sea, including territory in Asia, Europe, and northern Africa. As a strong government, the Roman Empire also had very strong laws. It is common knowledge that western culture is built on three pillars: Roman law, Hebrew religion, and Greek culture.
The recipients of the Epistle of 1 Peter not only were under the Roman government, but they were also under the influence of Hebrew religion and Greek culture, in particular, Greek philosophy. The well-speaking concerning the Triune God in 1:3-12 is altogether different from both Hebrew religion and Greek philosophy. In these ten verses there is nothing of religion or philosophy. In other words, Peter’s writing here is neither religious nor secular. Here we cannot find any religious thought or any secular concept or philosophy. According to what, then, were these verses written? They were written according to God’s revelation. This revelation, however, is not merely objective. On the contrary, it is a subjective revelation. This means that Peter’s composition of these verses was according to his spiritual experiences.
Because Peter wrote according to his spiritual experience, he covers a great many points in these ten verses. Let us consider how many points are in verse 3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has regenerated us unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from among the dead.” One major point is the title “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This title has nothing to do with either religion or philosophy. The matter of blessing is another important point. Other matters are God’s great mercy, regeneration, living hope, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ from among the dead. None of these points is religious or philosophical. Instead, they all are aspects of the divine revelation.
In reading the Bible we should not take anything for granted. We should not assume that we understand what we read. We need to drop the traditional way of reading the Word, the way that causes us to take it for granted. When we come to a word such as “blessed” in 1:3, we need to say, “What does this word mean? I know this word in my native language, but what does it mean in this verse? What does it refer to?” If we read the Bible in this way and pray regarding what we read, we may find that a chapter such as 1 Peter 1 may occupy us for an entire year. I urge you not to take for granted Peter’s words, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We need to find out what Peter means by “blessed.”
Writing this Epistle according to his spiritual experiences, Peter intended to annul Jewish religion and Greek philosophy. I believe that if Peter were with us today, he would say strongly that this was his intention. He might say, “The intention in my heart when I wrote the first book was to knock down Hebrew religion and to destroy Greek philosophy.” Many phrases in this chapter indicate that this was Peter’s intention.
Peter’s words “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” were a severe blow to Jewish religion. The Jews would say that such speaking is blasphemy. Furthermore, these words were altogether contrary to Greek philosophy, myths, legends, and superstitions. With Jewish religion and Greek philosophy as the background, Peter declared, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” If the rabbis and the philosophers had read these words, the rabbis would have said, “This is blasphemy!” and the philosophers would have asked, “What is this?”