1 Peter 1:1-12

1 Peter 1

Greeting

¹ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To the elect, temporary residents in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, ² who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ:

Grace and peace be multiplied to you.

A Living Hope

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ into an inheritance that is undying, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. ⁵ Through faith you are being protected by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed at the end of time.

⁶ Because of this you rejoice very much, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various kinds of trials ⁷ so that the proven character of your faith—which is more valuable than gold, which passes away even though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not see him now, yet by believing in him, you are filled with a joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹ because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

¹⁰ The prophets, who prophesied about the grace that has come to you, searched and studied carefully concerning this salvation, ¹¹ trying to find out what person and what time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. ¹² It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, when they wrote about these things. These are the things that have now been announced to you by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even the angels long to look carefully into these things.