The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Peter — Section 9

~<'Clk one to romc ; " they were dispersed us to tbo choice or election of Gmt The here nnd U1C're among 1.ho unbelievers, but Mcred writers do not cntor into the ma.ny they werC' onCI hedy in Christ. CompRre difficulties which lie around this contml RC'n/!'<'1'8 briC'f C'omment, "Advenis in term, doctrine; they do not attempt to explain in rcclo clC'rtis." Throughout Pontus, Oala- its relations to that other groat truth, tie. Cappadooia., Asia, and Bithynia. Dengol taught in Scripture rmd revealed in con- e,1:,8, "He mentions the five pronnces in the sciousness-the freedom of the human will ; nr<l<'r in ivhich the UR.mes naturally occurred tl1eir statements of tho two apparently con- to nnc writing from the Enst." This is not :fl.icting doctrines bnlancc, but do not ex- pr<'cis<'ly RC".curnto, for Cappndoeia. lies to plain, one another; they seem to reco.,.nize 1h<' south-crust of Ga.latin., n.nd Dithynin. to the fact that we aro in the prnscnce ~f an th<' nort.h-<'ast of Proconsulnr Asia.; but yet insoluble mystery; and they toach us by the genrml nrmngement of the names seems their silence that the proper attitude of the to furnish " slight argument in favour of Christian, when brought fnce to fo.oe with 1hr view that the Dabrlon from which St. mystery, is rest in the Lord, humble child- Pdn wrot<' was the ·famous citv on the like confidence in his love and wisdom. Euphrates. The Churches of Gaiatia and Aooording to the foreknowledge of God the Asia (by" Asia" :c;t. Peter means Procon- Father. St. Peter sets in the forefront of Ftilnr Asia. that is 1\1:ysia, LJ·cia, nnd Caria; his Epistle the mystery of the blessed Pbr~·gin also wns commonly reckoned as Trinity and the Divine plan of human sal- belonging to it, but not always, see Acts ii. i-ation. It is, however, a question whether !l, 10) were founded by St. Paul and his the words just quotfld should be taken, as companions; those of Pontus possibly by in the Authorized Version, with "elect" or Aquila, who, like the other Aquila who with "npostle." Many ancient authorities translated the Old Testament into Greek, take the latter view. Thus we should have wns a Jew of Fontus (Acts :,;;viii. 2). Of a description of St. Peter's apostleship, such Cnppadocia all that we know from the New as we often read e.t the opening of St. Paul's Testament is that dwellers in Cappadocia, Epistle. He was, like St. Paul, called to be as well as in Fontus and Asia, were in an o.postle, separated unto the gospel of ,Jerusalem at the Pentecostal outpouring of God; he was chosen before the foundation tl,e Holy Spirit, nnd beard the great sermon of the world to be holy and without blame; of St. Peter, by which three thousand souls like St. Paul, he had received gmce and were added to the Church. The Cappe.docian apostleship for obedience to the faith o.mong Churches me.y have owed their origin to e.11 no.tions (comp. Rom. i. 1, 5). There is some of these 'men, or to some of St. Paul's much to be said in favour of this connection. converts from Galati a or Lycaonia.. St. Paul But, on the whole, the bale.nee of the sen• himself had once "assayed io go into Bithy- tenee, and the general usage of similar lan- nin., but the Spirit suffered them not" (Acts guage in the New Testament, lee.d us to xvi. 7); that province may have received prefer the common view, .and to regard St. the word of God from Troas; the famous Peter's words as a description of the origin, letter of Pliny, written about the year ll0, progress, 0.11.d end of God's election. The shows how widely the faith of Christ had origin is the grace of God the Father. He spread throughout the district. We notice chose his elect before the foundation of the that the missions of the Church in A.sis. world. He predestinated them unto the Minor had now covered a field considerably adoption of children; e.nd that o.ccording larger than that reached at the date of the to the good pleasure of hie will (Eph. i. 4, Acts of the Apostles. We notice e.lso that 5). It is interesting to note that the sub- many of the Churches addressed by St. stantive "foreknow ledge" ( .,,pJ.yv.,,ns) occurs Peter were founded by St. Pa.al or his nowhere else in Holy Scripture except in converts. There was no ri va.lry between St. Peter's Pentecostal speech (Acts ii. 23). the lwo great apostles. There had been We mark the agreement of St. Peter e.nd jealousies nmong the twelve (lllatt. xviii. 1 ; St. Paul (comp. Rom. viii. 29, "Whom he ~Y. 24, elc.); there had been differencea did foreknow, he al.so did predest.ine.te to be belwc•en St. Peter o.nd St. Paul (Gal. ii.11); conformed to the image of his Son;" comp. but they were children no longer-they a1m Rom. xi. 2 e.nd 2 Tim. ii. 19). Election we1·e full-grown Christians now. is "according to the foreknowledge of God Y t:r. 2.~Elect. This word, in the Greek, the Father;" but not simply, as the Ar- is in the first verse; the Greek order is "to minians taught, ez prmvillis meritis; for we the elect sojourners of the dispersion." We cannot separate foreknowledge and predes- hegin already to notice coincidences with tination; the foreknowledge of an Almighty the teaching of St. Paul. St. Paul insists Creator mUBt imply the exercise of choioe strong! y on lhe doctrine of election ; St. and will; what he knoweth, that he also Peter holds it no less clearly. Holy Scrip- willeth; elige11dos facit Deus (in the well- ture constantly aEcrihes all tl,nt is good in known words of St. Augustine), 110n invcnit. on. 1, 1-26.] THE FJRST EPISTLE GENER.AL OF PETER.