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    Today begins our study of 1 Peter, the first of two epistles attributed to the Apostle Peter. While there is some scholarly debate over the authorship of the letter, from the earliest writings of the Church it was accepted to be genuinely written by Peter. The interesting literary characteristics of this letter are easily explained if the letter was dictated to someone who composed the letter for Peter, possibly Silas, John Mark (author of the Gospel) or Luke.
    Whatever the case, 1 Peter stands as another testimony of God’s Grace in the sending of His son Jesus Christ to liberate us from sin, death, the devil, and the condemnation of the law. As with any study of a book of the Bible, it is always useful to refer to commentaries as a place to start. I recommend starting with the People’s Bible Commentary available through the Northwest Publishing House of the WELS. I have also provided a link to the public domain commentary provided by BibleGateway.com, which provides all of the references for these studies.
    This study is part of a three year study of all the books of the Bible begun on 1 January 2006.
    What greater joy can someone have than in receiving a great treasure that ensures that person’s future? What greater treasure do we have than the fact that we have received forgiveness and the promise of eternal life through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ?
    Peter tells us that we are a people that God sought out in His great mercy and called to this saving faith. Because we are reborn with Christ by dying to sin through His death and entering into the life of faith through Hs resurrection, we are now inheritors of God’s eternal promise, a promise that does not fade with the slow decay of the sinful world around us.
    Peter’s greeting is a reminder and an encouragement for all Christians to keep their minds, their hearts, and their souls focused on the faith that we have through God’s grace. The object of this faith is our prize, salvation and eternity with God. Compared to those things, what greater treasure can there be?
DLH
