THE OUTLINE OF FIRST PETER

The beauty of Peter’s thought is seen in the outline of this Epistle. I can testify that I spent a great deal of time to outline 1 Peter. This was a great pressure upon me, for it was extremely difficult to determine where to draw the lines between the various sections of this book. I believe it would be very helpful at this point to consider the outline of 1 Peter:

1. Introduction—to the Pilgrims in Dispersion under the Operation of the Triune God (1:1-2)
2. Full Salvation of the Triune God and Its Issues (1:3-25)
   1. The Father’s Regeneration unto a Living Hope, an Inheritance Kept in the Heavens and Ready to Be Revealed at the Last Time (1:3-9)
   2. The Spirit’s Application through the Prophets’ Prophesying and the Apostles’ Preaching (1:10-12)
   3. Christ’s Redemption unto a Holy Life by the Holy Nature, and Brotherly Love through Purification by the Sanctifying Truth, Based on Regeneration of the Incorruptible Seed through the Living Word of God (1:13-25)
3. Growth in Life and Its Results (2:1-10)
   1. Growing by Feeding on the Milk of the Word unto Full Salvation (2:1-3)
   2. Transformed unto the Building Up of a Spiritual House for God’s Dwelling, a Holy Priesthood for God’s Service (2:4-8)
   3. To Tell Out the Virtues of the Calling One (2:9-10)
4. Christian Life and Its Sufferings (2:11—4:19)
   1. A Life in an Excellent Manner toward All Men in All Concerns (2:11—3:13)
      1. As Pilgrims among the Nations (2:11-12)
      2. Toward Human Institution (2:13-17)
      3. Servants toward Masters (2:18-20)
      4. The Model of Christ (2:21-25)
      5. In Marriage Life (3:1-7)
      6. In Common Life (3:8-13)
   2. Suffering for Righteousness by the Will of God as Christ Did (3:14-22)
   3. Arming Themselves with the Mind of Christ for Suffering (4:1-6)
   4. Ministering as Good Stewards of the Varied Grace of God (4:7-11)
   5. Rejoicing in Sharing the Sufferings of Christ (4:12-19)
5. The Elders’ Shepherding and Its Reward (5:1-4)
   1. The Shepherding Patterns (5:1-3)
   2. The Chief Shepherd’s Reward (5:4)
6. The Mighty Hand of God and Its Goal (5:5-11)
   1. Humbled under God’s Mighty Hand (5:5-9)
   2. Perfected and Grounded by the God of All Grace (5:10-11)
7. Conclusion (5:12-14)
   1. Testimony of the True Grace of God (5:12)
   2. Greetings (5:13-14)

In the introduction to this Epistle (1:1-2) we see that the operation of God’s economy is to bring us into the full enjoyment of the Triune God. What a great matter this is! Then in the first section (1:3-25) we have the full salvation of the Triune God and its issues. God’s full salvation includes the regeneration of the Father, the redemption of the Son, and the sanctification of the Spirit. The issues of this full salvation are a holy manner of life and an unfeigned brotherly love.

The second section of this Epistle covers the growth in life and its results (2:1-10). In order to grow in life, we need to long for the guileless milk of the Word. It is by this milk that we grow. The result of the growth in life is transformation, building up, and the expression of God. By the growth in life we are transformed and built up, and then we become God’s expression.

The third section of this Epistle, concerned with the Christian life and its sufferings, is the longest (2:11—4:19). Peter takes more than two whole chapters to cover this subject. In this portion of his Epistle he does not speak of the Christian life and its enjoyment; he speaks concerning the Christian life and its sufferings. In the messages to come we shall see what these sufferings are.

After the lengthy section on the Christian life and its sufferings, Peter has two short sections on the elders’ shepherding and its reward (5:1-4) and the mighty hand of God and its goal (5:5-11). Finally, in 5:12-14, we have the conclusion.