Theophylact of Ohrid — Commentary on Scripture

1 Peter 1:14

To be conformed to the things of this world means to be surrounded by them. Even today there are some weak-willed people who say that when they are in Rome, they have to do as the Romans do. But whether they do this knowingly or in ignorance, the message here is clear. We are to abandon this world and be conformed to the One who alone is truly holy.

COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER

1 Peter 2:14

Peter calls those magistrates who are appointed by kings “human creatures.” Sometimes Scripture describes appointments as creations [as in Ephesians 2:15]: “God’s purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two.”

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1 Peter 3:20

Someone might easily ask: Who preached salvation before Christ, so that those who did not believe in him should be condemned? The answer to this, which Paul also adopted, is that those who lived before Christ had enough light given to them to enable them to distinguish good from evil. Because of this, if they chose to do evil, they are worthy of condemnation. Therefore Peter reminds us that they were rebellious, not merely from the time of the prophets but long before that, virtually from the creation of the world in fact. As he demonstrates, the way of salvation was proclaimed to them from the beginning, but they spurned it and preferred to go after vanities of one kind or another. The result was that of all the millions of people who lived at that time, only eight were saved, because they alone believed the message which they heard.

COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER

1 Peter 4:2

Compare this with what Paul wrote: “If we are dead with Christ, we shall also live with him” and “dead therefore to sin but alive to God.”

COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER

1 Peter 4:3

This is ironic, as if Peter were saying: “Have you not had enough of the pleasures which you once indulged in? Or do you still hanker after the Gentile life which you used to live?” It is in connection with this that he notes the various types of debauchery.

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1 Peter 4:6

It was the habit of the Fathers to take this verse completely out of context. They therefore said that the word dead has two different meanings in Scripture, referring either to those who are dead in their sins and who never lived at all or to those who have been made conformable to the death of Christ, as Paul said: “The life that I now live in the flesh, I live in the faith of the Son of God.” But if they had paid the slightest attention to the context, they would have seen that here the “dead” are those who have been shut up in hell, to whom Christ went to preach after his death on the cross.

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1 Peter 4:9

Note that when Peter mentions love he immediately goes on to talk about offering hospitality without grumbling. That is a sure sign of what love is.

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1 Peter 4:12

Many Christians found afflictions hard to bear because they had read in the law that a prosperous and secure life was promised to those who serve God. Peter therefore approaches the subject by telling them that they are greatly beloved. He then goes on to warn them not to be surprised at their sufferings, which come to them as tests from God.

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1 Peter 4:15

A meddler is someone who loves to mind other people’s business in order to find reasons for attacking them. This is the mentality of a wicked and treacherous person who is prepared to engage in any kind of evil.

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1 Peter 5:14

This is no ordinary peace, for it is the same peace that Christ left his disciples when he went to be crucified. “My peace I leave with you, not as the world gives,” for you are not meant to pursue peace by natural affection for one another but by being joined in a holy fellowship, thereby avoiding the blows of enemies.

COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER