Introduction to 1 Peter, 1 Peter 1:1-2

Summary

Grace in Focus — Introduction to 1 Peter (1 Peter 1:1-2)

Date: January 5, 2026
Hosts: Bob Wilkin & David Renfrow
Length: 13 minutes

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Episode Overview

This episode kicks off a new commentary-style series on the Book of First Peter. Hosts Bob Wilkin and David Renfrow introduce the letter, exploring its historical context, authorship, and core themes. They particularly discuss how suffering fits within the Christian experience and address common misunderstandings about salvation in First Peter.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What Are the General Epistles?

• The general epistles are biblical letters not addressed to specific individuals or churches, but to broader regions or groups.
  • David Renfrow: “They're not addressed to a certain individual or a certain church or a city like Paul did. They're just to maybe a region…” (01:24)
• Includes 1 & 2 Peter, James, Jude, the Epistles of John, and Hebrews.
• Revelation, except for chapters 2 and 3, is a distinct genre (apocalyptic).

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2. Authorship and Historical Setting of 1 Peter

• Authorship: Written by the Apostle Peter.
• Dating: Likely penned between 67–68 AD, near the end of Peter's life.
  • David: “Peter probably...died around 67, 68 AD. He had been in Rome for about a decade.” (02:39)
• Political Background:
  • Nero becomes emperor, notorious for persecuting Christians—blames them for the burning of Rome.
    • David: "To deflect all of that attention away from himself, he blamed Christians for burning Rome...he brought a bunch of Christians to Rome and killed them out in public…” (04:12)
• Sets the stage for why suffering is a major topic in 1 Peter.

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3. Purpose and Audience of the Letter

• Audience: Born-again believers ("elect pilgrims").
  • Contrasts the view of some commentators: some say Peter wrote to a mixed crowd of real and “professing” believers, but Wilkin and Renfrow hold he wrote to genuine Christians.
    • Bob: "Our view is he's writing to born again people and he wants these people to be overcomers, to overcome the suffering..." (05:07)
• Purpose: To encourage Christians experiencing persecution, helping them put suffering in perspective.
  • David: “Not only that, put their suffering in perspective…Why are we going through this? You promised everlasting life…so now we're suffering, right?” (05:47)
• Suffering does not conflict with eternal life; Jesus predicted it (John 16:33).

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4. Outline of 1 Peter (07:11–08:02)

• Greeting: 1 Peter 1:1-2
• Preface (Nature of Salvation): 1:3–12
• Main Body (Main Focus): 1:13–4:19
• Section on Corporate Suffering: after 4:19
• Conclusion

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5. The Meaning of 'Salvation' in 1 Peter

• Common misinterpretation: "Salvation" means only rescue from eternal condemnation.
• Wilkin and Renfrow argue that “salvation of your souls” (1:9) refers to fullness of life now and in the future, not just escape from hell.
  • Bob: "If you take that view, then you must persevere through suffering in order to make it into Christ's kingdom, which is the way a lot of people interpret first Peter, right?" (08:27)
  • David: “A lot of people in the Christian world are kind of programmed to hear certain words, and they can only mean one thing...That's just one word that is misunderstood a lot of times.” (08:50)
• "Souls" translates from Greek "psuke"—can relate to psychology, life, or wholeness.
  • Bob: "We get words like psychology and psychiatry and things like that.” (08:02)

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6. The Greeting: ‘Elect Pilgrims’ and Exile Theme

• “Elect” (chosen) is better translated as referring to their status as chosen pilgrims/exiles, not as predestined for eternal life.
  • David: “I prefer that translation, too, where it says it should say elect pilgrims, because that's the Greek wording.” (10:21)
• “Elect to be pilgrims”—chosen for their unique role in history, scattered throughout the Roman Empire.
  • Bob: “This idea of election to eternal life is not taught anywhere in the Bible, and it’s certainly not taught here in First Peter 1.” (10:37)
• The question of whether Peter addresses Jewish or Gentile believers: Renfrow proposes it’s both, linking “pilgrim” status to Paul’s teaching—“we are citizens of heaven” (Phil. 3:20).
• Geographic references (Pontus, Galatia, etc.) correspond to regions in modern Turkey.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Nero:
  • Bob Wilkin: "Wait a minute, I thought Nero was a bad guy. Didn't Nero burn Rome and stuff?" (03:00)
  • David Renfrow: "Oh, he did a lot of wonderful—things and killed a lot of people, including his own family." (03:05)
• On Perspective in Suffering:
  • Bob Wilkin: “But everlasting life and suffering are not incompatible. In fact, as Peter's going to say, they're quite compatible. We can expect...tribulation.” (06:20)
• On Word Meanings:
  • Bob Wilkin: “Yes. I have a book, the 10 Most Misunderstood Words. And one of them is this word safe and salvation.” (09:07)
• On Pilgrimage and Citizenship:
  • David Renfrow: “…we are citizens of heaven. We're on this earth for just a short time, but we are going to heaven. And see, that gives perspective to suffering.” (11:10)
• Series Sign-Off:
  • David Renfrow: "Keep grace in focus." (12:42)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:03–02:08: General vs. Pauline Epistles
• 02:39–05:07: Historical context—Peter’s life, Nero’s persecution, and audience suffering
• 07:11–08:02: Outline of First Peter
• 08:02–09:15: “Salvation” in First Peter—Greek, context, mistaken interpretations
• 10:15–11:58: On “elect pilgrims,” exile, and identity
• 12:08–12:42: Wrapping up and connecting dispersion history

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Conclusion

This engaging introduction sets the stage for a deep dive into First Peter, focusing on suffering, the real meaning of salvation, and how the early Christians’ identity as “pilgrims” shapes the entire letter. The hosts provide clear distinctions between common theological interpretations and their Free Grace perspective, promising further exploration in the series.

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Next up: The preface of First Peter—suffering and the salvation of your soul.

“Keep grace in focus.” (12:42)

Transcript

[Announcer]

The following is a listener supported ministry from the Grace Evangelical Society. Hello friend. Welcome to Grace in Focus. Welcome to a new year and a new series. Today, Bob Wilkin and David Renfrow begin a new commentary style series on the book of First Peter. We'll just get to the introduction today, but once again glad to have you along for this radio and podcast ministry of the Grace Evangelical Society. We also do short videos on YouTube and our channel, YouTube Grace Evangelical Society. Be sure and catch those. Our website faithalone.org once again reminding you of our annual national conference coming this year, May 18th through the 21st. Early bird registration is in play and first timers need to register, but you don't have to pay the registration fee. All right, our website faithalone.org events now let's begin our series in first Peter with hosts Bob Wilkin and David Renfrow.

[Bob Wilkin]

David, going to be going through First Peter, and I know you were an Old Testament major at Dallas Seminary and you love the Old Testament, but you've been preaching through First Peter recently.

[David Renfrow]

It's been a real struggle. I've enjoyed getting back into the New Testament and these general epistles are wonderful.

[Bob Wilkin]

Amen. Now why are they called general epistles?

[David Renfrow]

They're not addressed to a certain individual or a certain church or a city like Paul did. They're just to maybe a region like One Peter. He'll have people that he addresses, but not an individual.

[Bob Wilkin]

Okay, so like Paul's epistles to churches are all specific churches.

[David Renfrow]

Right.

[Bob Wilkin]

But we have a number of letters like first and Second Peter that are not directed to a specific group of churches or a specific church or group, as in the case of Galatians. But what would some of the other ones be? We have first and Second Peter, James.

[David Renfrow]

James, Jude, Jude, the Epistles of John. Really?

[Bob Wilkin]

And Hebrews.

[David Renfrow]

Hebrews. Right.

[Bob Wilkin]

And Revelation isn't an epistle except for chapters two and three. So Revelation is considered a whole different genre. It's apocalyptic. But so the general epistles include these. And I thought we would in this first we're going to do a little caravan through First Peter. But when we do, let's begin with an introduction and then we might get into a few of the introductory verses if we have time. So Peter is the author of First Peter. How old was Peter and when was this written?

[David Renfrow]

Well, Peter probably what I've read in my research is Peter probably died around 67, 68 AD.

[Bob Wilkin]

Right.

[David Renfrow]

He had been in Rome for about a decade. And then during this time that Peter was there, this wonderful guy Named Nero became Caesar.

[Bob Wilkin]

Wait a minute, I thought Nero was a bad guy. Didn't Nero burn Rome and stuff?

[David Renfrow]

Oh, he did a lot of wonderful.

[Bob Wilkin]

Things and killed a lot of people.

[David Renfrow]

Including his own family.

[Bob Wilkin]

Really?

[David Renfrow]

Yeah. I mean, reading the history of Nero is don't do it when you're depressed.

[Bob Wilkin]

So he dies around 67, 68, somewhere in there. And he would have probably been either late 50s or late 60s somewhere. It depends how old he was when he walked with Jesus. But assuming he was a little bit younger than the Lord, he was probably in his early 60s or something when he died.

[David Renfrow]

That's what I think too. I think he was probably born maybe a few years after Jesus was and therefore he would be in his early 60s, maybe mid-60s when he died. And then when this great guy named Nero came, he started persecuting Christians all over the empire.

[Bob Wilkin]

In fact, that's part of the background of First Peter, right?

[David Renfrow]

I think that's the reason First Peter.

[Bob Wilkin]

Was written, because Peter suffered a lot. And Peter's readers, these churches he was writing to, they were suffering a lot.

[David Renfrow]

Apparently that fire, when Rome burned, they were thinking Nero did it. So what I read was, is that to deflect all of that attention away from himself, he blamed Christians for burning Rome. And that means that all of these people all over the empire, all these Christians were the targets of a lot of persecution, both violent and non violent, like being socially ostracized, that kind of thing. But Nero was more violent than that. So he would, in fact, after Rome burned and he blamed the Christians, he brought a bunch of Christians to Rome and killed them out in public just to show these are the people that burned Rome, you should hate them. So I mean, that hatred probably was pretty strong and it spread through the whole empire, Right?

[Bob Wilkin]

Right. Now the readers of First Peter, depending our view is they were born again people. Right? These are all born again people. He's not writing to a mixed audience of some believers and some unbelievers. But if you read a lot of commentators, they're going to take most of Paul's epistles and the general epistles as referring to a mixed audience of professing believers, some of which are true professors and some are false professors. But that's not our view. Our view is he's writing to born again people and he wants these people to be overcomers, to overcome the suffering they're going through.

[David Renfrow]

And not only that, put their suffering in perspective. Because some people, in fact, even today people will say, well, I'm a Christian, but now I'M suffering. God hates me for what I've done before I was a Christian. There's a perspective there. And these believers that Peter is writing to, they're probably asking the same question. Why are we going through this? You promised everlasting life through the evangelism and all that, and so now we're suffering, right?

[Bob Wilkin]

But everlasting life and suffering are not incompatible. In fact, as Peter's going to say, they're quite compatible. We can expect that we are going to have suffering in this life. Jesus said, in this life. You have tribulation.

[Announcer]

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[Bob Wilkin]

Could you give us the basic outline after the greeting? Where does the introduction end? Where does the body of the letter begin?

[David Renfrow]

The first two verses are the greeting. And there's a lot of theology just in the greeting. And I think it's important because based on what Peter's readers are going through, they need to be encouraged. And that's the first two verses. Then the next verses, starting in verse three through verse 12, is the preface to the book. And he's talking about the nature of our salvation. And then Starting in verse 13 of chapter 1, starts the body of the whole book, the focus of what Peter is talking about, all the way to chapter four, verse 19. And then there's a section bringing together more situations where suffering may happen, not individually, but corporately, that kind of thing. And then there's a conclusion.

[Bob Wilkin]

So you mentioned the expression salvation and our salvation. It's going to be interesting because in 19 he talks about the salvation of your souls. And that word souls is the Greek word psuke. We get words like psychology and psychiatry and things like that.

[David Renfrow]

So you're gonna. Everybody's gonna learn some Greek here.

[Bob Wilkin]

Amen.

[David Renfrow]

I love that.

[Bob Wilkin]

But this salvation is one that a lot of people get wrong because they think One9 is talking about salvation from eternal condemnation. And if you take that view, then you must persevere through suffering in order to make it into Christ's kingdom, which is the way a lot of people interpret first Peter, right That's right.

[David Renfrow]

A lot of people in the Christian world are kind of programmed to hear certain words, and they can only mean one thing. The word salvation can only mean not going to hell or going to heaven. You know, that's just one word that is misunderstood a lot of times.

[Bob Wilkin]

Yes. I have a book, the 10 Most Misunderstood Words. And one of them is this word safe and salvation.

[David Renfrow]

The other one is gospel.

[Bob Wilkin]

Gospel. I've got that in there, and I've got several other words. But this book is a wonderful book, and we want to experience fullness of life now and fullness of life in the life to come. And that is what Peter's talking about when he talks about the salvation of your soul. We'll get into that when we get to 1 9, but I think we have enough time maybe to get through the first two verses. He says, peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the dispersion in Pontius Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God. Oops, we've got a translation here. That is not a good translation. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in sanctification of the Spirit for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. That's the end of it. But actually, the word elect in verse two in the Greek.

[David Renfrow]

It's in verse one is in verse.

[Bob Wilkin]

One with the pilgrims.

[David Renfrow]

Right.

[Bob Wilkin]

They're elect. Pilgrims. They were chosen pilgrims.

[David Renfrow]

And I prefer that translation, too, where it says it should say elect pilgrims, because that's the Greek wording. Yes, but somebody thought, well, we'll talk about pilgrims. Oh, by the way, they're elect according to the foreknowledge of God and so on.

[Bob Wilkin]

Yeah. And see, it isn't elect to eternal life. This is elect to be pilgrims. They were chosen for the dispersion. And of course, God knew this was going to happen. So you can say according to God's foreknowledge. But this idea of election to eternal life is not taught anywhere in the Bible, and it's certainly not taught here in First Peter 1. So they're pilgrims. That means these people were spread throughout the Roman Empire. Does that mean that they were dispersed during the first century, or are these people who were dispersed before the first century, or both?

[David Renfrow]

I'll give you my favorite answer to a question. It depends. Some people disagree as to are these Gentile believers or Jews that have been dispersed through the Roman Empire, or are these gentile believers in these Roman provinces? That are listed there in verse one. By the way, those provinces are what now is Turkey, mostly northern, the north side of Turkey. So the answer to that is yes, I think it's dealing with both Jewish and Gentile believers because I think the idea of being a pilgrim goes back to what Paul says in Philippians 3:20 we are citizens of heaven. We're on this earth for just a short time, but we are going to heaven. And see, that gives perspective to suffering.

[Bob Wilkin]

Right.

[David Renfrow]

As we get into it, hopefully it becomes clearer how does being a pilgrim here relate to suffering? And we'll deal with that as we go through the book.

[Bob Wilkin]

Good. Well, we need to wrap up, but this dispersion could be a reference to what occurred earlier under Agrippa where some Jews were dispersed. But it also could be looking at the Jewish war which started in 66 and ultimately culminated in 70, and there were some dispersed there. And if this was written in 67 or 68, it would have been after the start of the Jewish war but before the end of it.

[David Renfrow]

Right.

[Bob Wilkin]

Well, thanks so much, David. We've got a lot to look forward to here and we'll be walking through First Peter. In the meantime, what are we going to do?

[David Renfrow]

Keep grace in focus.

[Announcer]

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