Dandelion-Utilitarian

Recently, a friend and I ended up having an impromptu ‘deep read’ of 1 Peter 1:1-2. We went away and did a little research and met back the following week top discuss it. While I’m sure (certain) that there are deeper dives into these verses by people far more qualified than me to do so (I’m just an enthusiastic reader), I did the study and thought I would share it, as it may be of interest, to someone else.

1 Peter

The first epistle of Peter has debated authorship, and may have been written as late as 81AD, I am quite comfortable, personally, with the traditionally embraced authorship of this letter. I don’t find any of the reasons for it not being Peter’s own scribed words to be compelling. Mostly because, if you are going to fake a letter, it would be more effective to attribute it to Paul, who was a prolific letter writer. All the comments or critique seem to be hinged on the idea that ‘a fisherman couldn’t write this well,’ which is at best insulting to fisherman, and at worst classist arrogance.

Regardless of the actual source of this letter, for the purpose of this study I will take the stance, as did the early church, that this is, as it introduces its self, a letter from Peter.

I have taken the passage below from the NIV translation as it is likely the most well known, however I, personally, favour the NKJV

1Pe 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,

1Pe 1:2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance—(NIV)

Striking word: Elect

All numbers below are based on the KJV (all numbers and data below sourced with Strongs, not AI)

• Original language word: ἐκλεκτός (eklektos)
• Meaning (Strongs): select; by implication favourite: - chosen, elect.
• Number of usage in NT: 23
• Translated as: Elect (12 times) - Chosen (7 times) - Elect’s (3 times)

Based on the translation choices, it is clear that this implies that the person/people addressed in this verse are the chosen people. They are the selected, the identified (and favourite?) It is not a choice we make, but a choice God makes for us. Is this something done to/for us rather than something we do?

We are elected, like a leader or a politician, rather than democratically. It’s the democracy of God; he is the only voter.

Striking word: Exiles

• Original language word: παρεπίδημος (parepidēmos)
• Meaning (Websters, 1828): To banish, as a person from his country or from a particular jurisdiction by authority, with a prohibition of return; to drive away, expel or transport from one’s country.
• Number of usage in NT: 3
• Translated as: Pilgrims (2 times) - Strangers (1 time) - Please note, this is the word which the NIV has translated as ‘Exiles’, I assume for clarity. But, Strangers/Pilgrims both appear to make more sense, overall, in my opinion. However, as the NIV is not a word-for-word translation, the exact reason could well be more nuanced.

This was the second word which struck me as having a deep relevance to the meaning, and I’m glad it did. The NKJV and KJV chose different translations for it, with the NKVJ using ‘pilgrims’ and the KJV using ‘strangers’ — I checked my printed version of the NKJV Open Bible and my NKJV Life application study Bible and neither have comment around this, choice. I have, however, done a little more work and found a reference to it:

Wayne Grudem, Tyndale New Testament Commentary, notes that parepidēmos means “one who is only temporarily residing in a place, a foreigner.”

The English meaning seams to have changed since 1611, where Stranger, meant foreigner, rather than outsider. An interesting case of linguistic ‘false friends,’ given how subtle the difference is.

I think the traditional concept of exiles is accurately conveyed in both versions, and the point seems to me that it is addressing the scattered. I realise at the time it was historically Jewish people who were being addressed here, but I firmly believe that every word of the Bible is for everyone, despite not being to everyone. With this in mind, are we strangers or exiles from God, in the way that we are away from him right now, in a physical sense?

This should not concern us, as the text goes on to say that through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through obedience to Jesus, Grace, and peace will be ours. And abundantly so.

Wider meaning I have extracted from this

We are chosen to be here. To be away from God, in physicality. We’re not here accidentally. We are here because God elected us to be here, and now.

We are assured of grace and peace because we have the spirit with us, and we have faith in Jesus to feed us (John 6:35.) While this passage does not tell us what to do, it does say that the Spirit is working. With this in mind, we should trust in the Spirit, put our faith in Jesus and do what we know to be right, according to God, through study of scripture. To be just and good. Our reward will be Grace and Peace.

These two passages, to me, contain the literal core of the entire teaching of the New Testament. It is a microcosm of Christianity, and I never before realised how wonderfully concise and deep so few words could be. I strive for this elegance in my own writing.

Commentary says

Only after drawing my own opinions did I open a commentary. My usual go-to is Chuck Smith’s (C-2000), so I started there. Obviously, it is not useful for me to recount and quote directly here but reading, I gleaned the following:

• Chuck prefers ‘scattered’ to ‘exiles.’ A change of word which I think was changed to make the passage clearer in some small ways. I am not sure if I agree but reading it again with this new word adds a new flavour to it.
• Chuck talks about the doctrine of election here. The idea that God has perfect knowledge and all who are saved are elected. This is a very Calvinist way of looking at things, and if you are not familiar with it, please do read up on it. It’s not something a Pentecostal church would teach (I attend a pentecostal, for clarity) but something I, personally, agree with. This is a controversial topic which is very sensitive to some people, and I am still not done learning about. I am very much still researching it. I do think the doctrine of election is an interesting topic, regardless and not something which really occurred to me when reading the passage, thought it really should have done.
• He points out that the Trinity is in these verses. Explicitly so. This is something I missed when reading it. It refers directly to the Father, Son, and Sprit in clear terms. They really are a good couple of trinitarian verses.
• The last thing he says before moving on is that not only does this mention the Trinity, it explicitly mentions the blood of Christ, his sacrifice. It is a perfect reflection of the teachings of the entire Bible. Something I noticed, but not in such a direct way.

Moving on now to my second most referenced commentary, the Matthew Henry commentary (it’s an older one, written between 1708-1710.)

I felt the following points here noteworthy:

• Peter identifies himself with the name Jesus gave him, not Simon, but Peter. He is speaking _as_the the rock here. In fact, whenever he speaks with the name Peter, there is an authority in it. A name given to him buy Jesus, it’s quite a statement.
• He notes that Peter also identifies himself with his credentials, his rank, apostle.
• Mr Henry points out that once, the nation of Israel was the elect. Now it is you and me. God did not change his mind, but instead kept firm that those who believe in him are elect, whom the elect are changed, not God.

Mr Henry uses many pages to cover this verse, and a lot is said, most of which are covered through my own thoughts and the additions I found in Chuck Smith’s comments. However, as always, everyone should read Matthew Henry; it’s excellent.

I checked the Cambridge Bible Study and John Wesley’s notes on the Bible, and, while all works give a delightful unpacking of the points in different ways, I think I have covered all the points which I found useful. Not to say there is no more in there, but this was enough for me to feel like I had a deeper grasp. I think this is worth revisiting, perhaps after a full study of 1Peter.

_The article is over, the rest is optional reading for people how have questions about how I study. _

Notes about my study methods

I just wanted to take a moment to say that I am not presenting myself as an expert here. As I said at the start, I am just an enthusiastic reader. I did, however, want to leave some information about my study methods (this is how I approach all Bible study, not just this one.)

Software

The science fiction dystopia we live in has some perks, as such I embrace them, and for Bible study I use the eSword software. It is available on all major platforms (including my favourite, the iPad version) and comes for free, or very low cost (a few pounds) on mobile platforms. I did pay for access to NKJV, MSG, NIV, and NLT. The software included TSK, Websters and Chuck Smith C-2000 for free, which I make great use of. I really like eSword.

I use Apple Notes to write up my study, and then Ulysses when I want to format it for sharing. My website is hosted on Micro.Blog, and I like it. I do not trap statistics regarding visits or clicks, and, I do not advertise. _(I make no money from this site) _

I do not use AI for Bible study, or writing. There is nothing wrong with using AI to find a reference or get a quick summary of something, but it’s disrespectful to repackage that when writing for an audience.

Print

My goto Bible for study is the Life Application Study Bible (NKJV). I also use the Open Bible, (NKJV) as the version I have put each verse on a new line, making it ideal for study, though it has less commentary than the Life Application one.

I also make use of the cheapest Message paraphrase I could find, as I enjoy its framing of verses. I recommend the NLT when reading aloud in groups, as it flows better for group study.

Theological stance

I believe that scripture is infallible, but all translations are all flawed in one way or another, so using multiple is useful. I enjoy reading passages on my own and write my thoughts before consuming commentary, this is useful in forming my perspective and is interesting when commentary disagrees with my reading as it gives me more in-depth insight.

Thanks for reading.

The first night, two friends and I decided it was time we learned to fish. We found a delightful spot, in an old port, and cast our nets blindly. We expected the entire event to last all but a few minutes before we were going to get bored.

I think it was three hours later than we finally decided it was time for bed. That’s three hours and about twenty levels.

Fishing in Final Fantasy XIV is a simple thing. You stand near the edge of some water, and click the cast button. When you see an exciting exclamation mark above your head (and a quick rumble of the controller for those who are playing properly) you click the button to reel in the fish. Depending on level, bait selection, location and luck, you get a fish of varying quality, or no fish, just disappointment.

Sure, as you progress through the levels, there are more skills, bait and in some areas weather is a factor, but the basic loop never changes.

It’s strange, then, that the three of us spent a whole Sunday night doing the same thing over and over, and having a delightful time.

The second time we played (the following Sunday) was even more exciting. The Moonfire Faire event was on. This meant that there was a brightly coloured and exciting ‘pool party’ on a large wooden boat. We played with the slides and cannons and failed at the jumping puzzle before actually doing the event’s quest (to get some rather nice clothing items) and then, well, we were on a boat, over water… so, we fished.

We fished for so long that the game told us to move on because we had extracted all the little sea critters, which was fun.

While we fished, many pool party goers stopped to inspect us and occasionally clap. As odd as it seems, I think we became quite interesting to people because we were there for so long, I think some people thought we were an event attraction. ☺️

It’s moments like these which you only get in MMOs. No other genre allows for this kind of thing to happen, and it’s symptomatic as to why I keep returning to this game.

The Black Mage in the room

Since returning to Final Fantasy XIV a couple of months ago now, I have not played my most levelled job, the Black Mage. I have levelled a Summoner, Fisher, Miner and Archer to around 40 but not even cast a spell as Black Mage.

When I came back, I did so with the intent of playing with and mastering controller input rather than a keyboard and mouse. This is because my main (and only) gaming device is an ROG Ally (unless we are counting my fantastic Miyoo mini, which we should because it’s awesome!)

It felt strange to start getting familiar with the controller using a high-level character, it, oddly, felt better to do so with a level one character and skill up as I went along. This meant I was only dealing with one or two skills at a time, being added as I levelled.

Now, though, I am familiar enough with my controller input that I think it’s time I return to the mage life. It feels strange, as, in some ways, I’ve not progressed since returning to the game and switching to Black mage again is a step towards the elusive MSQ.

Happy questing.