Читать книгу 1, 2 Peter and Jude Through the Centuries - Rebecca Skaggs - Страница 27

Mercy, hope, and joy are three of the overarching themes of 1 Peter interwoven in his discussion of suffering. This passage is composed of three sentences, presented in such a way as to lead some scholars to identify it as a hymn. It is divided rhythmically into five stropes of five to seven lines each (for details, see Windisch and Priesker, 1951: 52; cf., Goppelt, 1993: 79). “Hope” is first introduced here:

vv.3–5 praise for God who has brought us to a living hope.

vv.6–7 hope in spite of suffering.

vv.8–9 hope although salvation cannot be presently seen.

Additional important concepts of 1 Peter are seen here: suffering, God’s mercy, and future eternal rejoicing promised to the chosen of God, with hope underlying the entire passage.

Peter’s notion of what God has done through Christ is based on the inalterable precept: God, out of mercy, has become Father to all, whether Jew or Greek, who acknowledge Christ as Lord. The use of “mercy” strongly echoes its Old Testament predication as an attribute of God (e.g., Num. 14:18; Pss. 86:5, 15; 104:8; 145:8; Joel 2:13). For example, Psalm 65[66].20 [LXX] says, “Blessed be God who has not turned away my prayer, nor his loving kindness from me.” By means of “mercy” God unites both Jew and Gentile in the rebirth made possible through Christ’s death and resurrection. In this way, Peter links mercy to “grace” which is given by God, but it is mercy which motivates the giving, the quality inherent in God as God.