Living the HOPE of an exile

Peter begins 1 Peter with two words that frame the whole letter:

“To God’s elect, exiles”

1 Peter 1:1

1. They are chosen
2. They don’t belong in the “normal” life of the world around them

He reminds them of their “living hope” (1:3) through the resurrection of Jesus and their inheritance which is “kept in heaven” (1:4) for them. He says that while they are going to have to suffer in the short term, their suffering has meaning in the context of the big picture (1:6-7)

Peter reminds them that the most important thing is the focus of their love and belief

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 1:8-9

Peter wants them and us to take charge of their thinking

Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober,

1 Peter 1:13

“Therefore:” always check what its there for.

“Minds that are alert“: Literally “gird up the loins of your mind” or in modern imagery “Put on the running gear of your minds.”

“fully sober”: The opposite of affected by substances… be completely present in the moment

He wants them to choose to focus their minds on the one thing he has told them that makes sense of their suffering.

Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.

1 Peter 1:13

Peter assumes two things:

1. You can take charge of unhealthy patterns of thinking… which is the insight at the core of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

CBT helps you become aware of thinking patterns that may be creating issues in your life. Looking at the relationship between your thoughts, feelings and behaviours helps you view challenging situations more clearly and respond to them in a more effective way.

Mayo Clinic

2. The only hope that leads to real health isn’t anything the world tells you to put your hope in. It’s not money, education, sex, power, houses or holidays. It is the hope that reveals the futility of all that stuff… the grace that will be revealed.

Peter starts by redefining our identities as “obedient children.” Our world says to do what you want, but Peter reminds us we are to obey God.

As obedient children,

1 Peter 1:14

Our world tells that the truth comes from within us. Peter says some of your desires are evil.

As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.

1 Peter 1:14

It is really important to acknowledge your desires. Repression is when you deny your own consciousness the truth of what is happening in your feeling world. Not all desires are wrong, not all feelings are wrong. Your feelings should not be setting your agenda.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

Galatians 5:16-17 NIV

Our world says that if your desires are being thwarted, it is necessarily unhealthy. The Bible says that some of your desires are unhealthy in themselves and need to be thwarted.

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

1 Peter 1:15-16

Peter started the discussion about feelings by naming our task to be obedient children, he finishes is by saying we should be holy, which means “wholly God’s” and not our own.

We have an audience of one, which is why we are foreigners here.

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.

1 Peter 1:17

Because of what Jesus did for us, our hope is in God and not in our feelings or anything else the world puts hope in.

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

1 Peter 1:18-21

We are to be defined by love rather than our own desires.

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

1 Peter 1:22-23

Peter started by telling us to put our hope in the grace that awaits us and finishes the chapter by telling us that all the stuff the world measures value by is not going to last.

For, “All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
And this is the word that was preached to you.

1 Peter 1:24-25

Because love is meant to be our focus now, Peter gives us a list to check how we are doing with that.

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.

1 Peter 2:1

Malice — wanting harm or bad things for someone, even quietly in your heart

Deceit — being dishonest or misleading people to get what you want

Hypocrisy — talking one way and acting another

Envy — resenting what someone else has and wishing it was yours

Slander — speaking badly about someone in a way that damages their reputation

Peter assumes that we have now tasted, that we have now experienced that the Lord is good. Have you?

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

1 Peter 2:2-3

Have you tasted Jesus’ love for you?

Have you tasted the freedom that comes from Him?

Have you experienced the peace that comes from Him?

Peter has been confronting our cravings, but now he challenges us to crave. He wants us to crave the things that nourish the way of life that is actually life.

Our wants and longings and desires are at the core of our identity, the wellspring from which our actions and behavior flow. Our wants reverberate from our heart, the epicenter of the human person. Thus Scripture counsels, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Prov. 4:23). Discipleship, we might say, is a way to curate your heart, to be attentive to and intentional about what you love. So discipleship is more a matter of hungering and thirsting than of knowing and believing.

Smith, James K. A.. You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit (p. 2). (Function). Kindle Edition.\

As we begin to find our life in him, we find that we are being built together and that all the sacrifices we make somehow enrich us.

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:4-5

Small Group Questions

1. Where do you feel the tension of being both chosen by God and out of step with the world around you right now?
2. What are you currently putting your hope in, and how does that compare to the “living hope” Peter describes?
3. What patterns of thinking tend to shape your reactions under pressure, and how might you begin to take those thoughts captive?
4. Which of your desires are leading you toward life, and which ones are quietly pulling you away from God?
5. What would it look like this week to live as an “obedient child” rather than just following what feels right in the moment?
6. Where do you see things like envy, hypocrisy, or slander showing up in subtle ways in your life or relationships?
7. What is one practical way you can “crave what nourishes” — leaning into Jesus and his word — in the middle of your normal week?