1 Peter

1 Peter

¹From Peter, an apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the chosen ones who live in the regions of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, ²whom God the Father knew beforehand through the Holy Spirit, so that they would obey and be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. ³Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy has given us new birth into a hope by which we live, through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴and into an inheritance that does not wear out, does not become defiled, and does not fade away. It is kept for us and for you in heaven, ⁵you who are guarded by the power of God through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last days. ⁶You will rejoice forever, even though for a little while now you are grieved by trials of every kind that come upon you, ⁷so that the testing of your faith, which is far more precious than pure gold that is tested by fire, may result in honor, glory, and praise when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸You love him though you do not see him, and up to now you have not seen him. Yet you believe in him, and even now you rejoice with a joy that has no end. ⁹And you will receive the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. ¹⁰This is the salvation that the prophets searched for and explored, those who prophesied about your glory. ¹¹They searched to learn what time and which days the Spirit of Jesus Christ in them was pointing to, when he testified in advance about the sufferings Christ was to undergo and the glory that would follow. ¹²It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves when they told of the things we now announce to you. Rather, they made them known to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. These are things the angels long to look into. ¹³So now, gird up the loins of your minds, be watchful and alert, and set your hope on the joy that is coming to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. ¹⁴Be like obedient children, and do not return to your former error, the desires you followed in your ignorance. ¹⁵But just as the one who called you is holy, so you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶for it is written, "Be holy, because I am holy." ¹⁷And if you call on the Father who judges each person by his deeds without favoritism, live in reverent fear all the days of your life, and walk in what you have believed. ¹⁸You know that it was not with perishable things like silver and gold that you were redeemed from the useless way of life you received from your ancestors, ¹⁹but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish and pure. ²⁰He was known before the world was created, and he was revealed in the last days for our sake. ²¹Through him you have believed in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory. So now let your faith and your hope be in God. ²²Purify your souls by obeying the truth and by your faith, so that you love one another without hypocrisy, with your whole heart. Love one another sincerely and fervently, ²³as people who have been fully born again, not from a seed that perishes but from a seed that does not die, through the word of God that lives forever. ²⁴For all flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flower of grass. When the grass dries up, its flower falls off. ²⁵But the word of God endures forever. And this is the word that we have proclaimed to you.