1 Peter
1 Peter's take on suffering, that hardship refines faith the way fire refines gold, has kept persecuted Christians going across the centuries.
Read this if you…
- want a letter written specifically to Christians under persecution
- like the "chosen generation, royal priesthood, peculiar people" framing
- curious about the "strangers and pilgrims" theology that runs through the New Testament
Skip this if you…
- don't want to read explicitly religious/Christian texts
Why It Matters
1 Peter's take on suffering, that hardship refines faith the way fire refines gold, has kept persecuted Christians going across the centuries. Its picture of believers as 'living stones' building a spiritual house became a core idea in Protestant thinking about the church.
Depicted in Art
Peter kneels in a dim cell, hands clasped over an open book in his lap, a shaft of light striking his face — the apostle caught between captivity and prayer.
Rembrandt van Rijn, 1631
A maidservant points an accusing finger at Peter while a soldier looks on; Peter, half in shadow, raises both hands as his face crumples in denial.
Caravaggio, 1610
An aged Peter, hands clasped and eyes raised in tears, the keys of the kingdom hanging at his belt — the apostle in penitential prayer after the denial.
El Greco, 1605
A bearded Peter in papal pallium holds the keys of the kingdom against his chest, gazing upward — the apostle as foundation of the Church.
Peter Paul Rubens, 1611
Christ hands two large keys to a kneeling Peter at the center of a vast paved piazza, the other apostles ranked beside them and a domed temple rising behind.
Pietro Perugino, 1482
Peter is being lifted onto the inverted cross by three executioners, his elderly body twisted, his face turned in pained dignity toward the viewer.
Guido Reni, 1605
Recommended Editions
King James Version
Cambridge University Press · 1611
The most influential and commonly quoted translation in English. The prose rhythm everyone else is responding to, even modern translations.
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Deep Dive
What It's About
This summary gives away plot details.
Notable Quotes
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”
“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
More by Peter
- 2 Peter
c. 110 · Epistle