Brian Simmons - Letters of Love: From Peter, John, and Jude

Letters of Love: From Peter, John, and Jude, The Passion Translation

Translated from Greek and Aramaic texts by Dr. Brian Simmons

Published by BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC

Racine, Wisconsin, USA

BroadStreetPublishing.com

Copyright 2016 The Passion Translation

ISBN-13: 978-1-4245-5312-9 (paperback)

ISBN-13: 978-1-4245-5313-6 (e-book)

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Printed in the United States of America

16 17 18 19 20 5 4 3 2 1

Author: The apostle Peter

Audience: Churches in Northwestern Asia Minor, modern Turkey

Date: AD 6265

Type of Literature: A letter

Major Themes: Gods nature, salvation, the church, the Christian life, and suffering

Outline:

Letter Opening 1:12

Identity as Gods Chosen People and Foreigners 1:32:10

Living Honorably as Foreigners 2:113:12

Responding to Hostility as Foreigners 3:134:6

Living in Christian Solidarity as Foreigners 2:122

Suffering Together as Foreigners 3:113

Letter Closing 3:1418

Everyone needs grace to overcome lifes hurdles. For some, they need to overcome a difficult marriage, or the frustration of children who have wandered away. For others it may be their limitations and hardships. First Peter is the book of strengthening grace and triumphant hope. There is an abundance of hopeful grace found within the verses of this book to set you free. You are a victorious overcomer, and Gods grace is our fuel to empower our hearts to soar!

Peter was the first preacher to bring the gospel of Christ to the Jews in Jerusalem. At Pentecost he stood fearlessly and told the thousands gathered around him that they had denied the Holy One of God and crucified their Messiah. Yet just fifty days earlier, the apostle Peter, while Jesus was being tried by Pilate, denied that he even knew Jesus. Three times he succumbed to the weakness of his flesh. But Jesus had prophesied all this beforehand and gave him both a promise and a commission:

I have prayed for you, Peter, that you would stay faithful to me no matter what comes. Remember this: after you have turned back to me and have been restored, make it your life mission to strengthen the faith of your brothers. (Luke 22:32)

Jesus told Peter that his life mission after his resurrection would be to strengthen the faith of believers worldwide. So you will discover that there is an unusual grace upon Peters letters (known as General Epistles) to strengthen you in your faith. Dont be surprised if after reading these letters you become emboldened to persevere, empowered to overcome, and encouraged to remain faithful to Christ. For the grace that restored Peter after his fall is also on Peters letters to restore every believer and impart to them overcoming grace.

The Roman historian Eusebius informs us that Peter was crucified in Rome by Nero. The church tradition records that when Peter was being crucified, he pleaded with them to turn the cross upside down, stating that he was not worthy to be crucified in the same way as Jesus. Because of their respect for the godly Peter, the soldiers complied with his request. Peter turned the world upside down with the gospel power he carried, then he died on an upside-down cross. Peter experienced the triumph of grace. Our prayer for you is that the truth you read in the following pages will release within you this same amazing grace and triumphant hope!

There is rich teaching found in 1 Peter, showing us that the community of Christ is a holy nation made up of kings and priests and lovers of God. And Peter teaches us the ways of purity and righteousness, and how to remain faithful to God all the days of our lives as members of a kingdom that chafes against the values of the world. He wrote this letter to Christians undergoing persecution for living in a way that was different than their unbelieving neighbors. His letter was meant to encourage them in their suffering and give it purpose as a vital aspect of Christian living.

This is a letter about God and living for himno matter what the costs. Some of the themes of 1 Peter include holiness and being faithful in the midst of persecution. When others turn away from us, the presence of Christ grows stronger in our lives. It pushes our souls deeper into Gods overcoming grace. No matter what you face and no matter what you may be passing through in your life today, there is a power from on high to make you into an overcomer. Let Peters letter show you the way!

Written about AD 62 from Babylon (a cryptic term for Rome), Peter longed to encourage and strengthen the faith of those who were being persecuted for following Christ. Although Aramaic was his first language, the fisherman Peters refined use of Greek has caused some scholars to even doubt that he wrote this first epistle. We do know however that every good writer has a brilliant editor. Peters editor for this letter was Silvanus (5:12), who no doubt helped Peter with the more elegant Greek words (much like the vocabulary of Paul), which are found in these five chapters.

Peter was the first missionary to go to the Gentiles. After a divine trance he experienced on the rooftop in Joppa, Peter took the keys of the kingdom and opened the door of faith for the Gentiles. He broke the religious limitation that the gospel was only meant for the Jews. Peter found his way to the house of Cornelius, a Roman Gentile, and he and all his family became followers of Jesus. He continued this mission by writing to Christians living in the Roman regions of Northeastern Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), to encourage them in their suffering; provoke holy living and growth in God; and explain their new birth through Christs blood. We all have a debt of love to the apostle Peter. Enjoy his letter as you read it with an open and thankful heart.