Asia Minor by directing their thoughts away from the sufferings which were gathering round them, to dwell in holy hope upon the inheritance reserved for them in heaven. Another, not the primary object, but secondary and incidental, was to show hie entire sympathy with the teaching of his brother apostle. There had been differences between them; those di:fforonccs may probably have been greatly exaggerated in the apostolic times, as they certainly have been by modern writers. St. Peter seems bent on showing that the two apostles held the one faith. He fills his Epistle with thoughts apparently taken from St. Paul'R Epistles, especially from the Epistle to the Ephesians (which, as a circular letter addressed to several Churches of Asia Minor, must have been well known to his readers) and from the great Epistle to the Romans (also, in the opinion of some scholars, sent with various endings to several Ch arches, one of which was probably the Church of Ephesus). He shows, too (eh. ii. 16 compared with Gal. v. 13), that he was acquainted with the Epistle to the Galatians. Writing now to the Churches of Galatia, where St. Paul's authority bad been questioned and his teaching controverted, the apostle of the circumcision sides, not with the Ju.daizers, bu.t with St. Paul. The agreement between the two great apostles is complete. They present the same tru.ths, sometimes with a different colouring, sometimes from differ- ent points of view. Their early training, their mental characteristics, their habits of thought, were not the same ; bu.t the truths are the same-the writers are in perfect accord with one another. St. Peter had received from the Lord the solemn charge, "When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." He was converted-his old forwardness, self-reliance, impetuosity, were all subdued; he was not only an apostle, but a saint, sanctified by the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. He was now fulfill- ing the commandment of the Saviou.r; he was strengthening his brethren in the prospect of fiery trial. He had begun his ministry with that great sermon on the Day of Pentecost, when " with many words he did testify and exhort" (Acts ii. 40) : he does the same now; he writes "e:s:horting and testifying that this is the trne grace of God wherein ye stand [or,' stand ye fast therein']." This is the great object of his Epistle. It is foll of exhor- tation-the earnest exhortation of one who knew from his own experience the certainty of the Christian's faith, and the sure u.nshaken foundation of the Christian's hope. It is full of comfort-the comfort which only a true Christian, rich in faith and rich in love, can give to the suffering. And the apostle bears his testimony, with the full weight of his apostolic authority, with the sure knowledge of an eye-witness who had received his commission from the Saviour's lips, who had seen the risen Lord, had witnessed his ascension, bad felt the mighty presence of the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; he bears his testimony that the teaching which the Christians of Asia Minor had received was the true gospel of God, that the grace which they felt working within them was the true grace of God: he bids them " stand fast therein." xii INTRODUCTION 'l'O
VI. ANALYSIS OF THE EPISTLB. The Epistle begins with doctrine and ends with pI'actice. The first po,rb treats of the privileges of Christians; the second (beginning at eh. ii. 11), of th~ duties which grow out of those privileges. The apostle begins by g-1·ectmg the "sojourners of the dispersion;" he describes them as elect through the choice of the Father, the sanctification of the Spirit, the redemption of the Son. Next comes the thanksgiving; the apostle blesses God for his mercy shown in the gift of the new birth, and the living hope which issues ont of that new birth through the resurrection of Christ from the dead; he dwells upon the glory of the heavenly inheritance which is the object of that hope, and the safety of those who are kept by the power of God for the salvation which is ready to be revealed in the last day. This hope, he says, fills the Christian heart with an abiding joy even amid troubles such as those which were now thickening round the Christians of Asia Minor. Those sufferings were necessary, or they would not have been sent. They would issue in the strengthening and refining of their faith; they would end in praise and honour and glory, when Christ's faithful followers, who now believe though they have not seen, shall see him face to face. Such are even now beginning to receive the salvation of their souls; a salvation so great and blessed that the prophets of old searched diligently into the revelations which anticipated it; that the Holy Ghost was sent down from heaven to gi,e power and wisdom to those who preached it; that the angels in heaven desire to stoop and gaze into the mysteries which surround it. Then follows an exhortation to holiness: their pre- sent blessings being so great, the grace that is to be brought to them being so unspeakable, they must be earnest and active, sober and full of abiding hope. They must be holy, becanse God is holy; they must pass the short time of their sojourning here in fe.a.r, because they call on the Father, who judgeth according to every man's work, because they were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. They must love one another from the heart fervently ; for unfeigned love is the mark of the children of God who have been born again of the incorruptible seed. That new birth was wrought through the Word of God; that Word liveth and abideth for ever; it had been preached to them with its glad tidings. Therefore (eh.ii.) as ne,v- born babes they must lay aside all that is inconsistent with Christian love, and long for spiritual milk that they may grow thereby. That growth implies union with Christ. They must come to him; he is the living Stone which men rejected, but which is chosen of God and precious; thus coming, they, as living stones themselves, are built np upon him, the chief Cornet·• stone. That Stone is laid in Zion; the faith of the believer leads to honour; to the unbelieving, the living Stone must become a stumbling-block and a rock of offence. But believers are not only living stones, built up a spiritual house; they are also a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacx-i- fices; they are now the spiritual Israel, the covenant people of God. THE FIIlST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. xiii