Election, a study of 1 Peter chapter 1

"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, ² according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you." 1 Peter 1:1-2 ESV

"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, ² who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance." 1 Peter 1:1-2 NIV

 

 

"This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.

I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.² God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
May God give you more and more grace and peace." 1 Peter 1:1-2 NLT


From these samplings of English translations of 1 Peter 1:1-2 it would seem very clear that Peter believes that the Church has been elected by God. Peter is writing to the churches after the diaspora from Jerusalem. But does this mean all individual Christians are also elected? Well the Church is made up of individual Christians and so it could be argued the Church and Christians are interchangable terms. It would certainly seem odd that if God has elected the Church as the manifestation of His Kingdom here on earth that He would not also guarantee that the Christians who make up the body of Christ and through whom God now acts by the indwelling Holy Spirit, would not also be elected. What does the rest of 1 Peter 1 say?

"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, ⁴ and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. ⁵ And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see." 1 Peter 3-5 NLT

"For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. ¹⁹ It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God." 1 Peter 1:18-19 NLT


"For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. ²⁴ As the Scriptures say,

“People are like grass;
    their beauty is like a flower in the field.
The grass withers and the flower fades.
²⁵     But the word of the Lord remains forever.”^[f]

And that word is the Good News that was preached to you. 1 Peter 1:23-25 NLT

 

From surveying the rest of the chapter, putting verses 1-2 into context Peter clearly teaches that salvation comes from God alone and that it is by grace we are born again. Peter mentions being born again twice, drawing attention and adding emphasis to the dichotomy between the believers old lives and their new Christian ones. Their old life died when their new life in Christ began. That is the reason why Peter calls them to live lives of holiness, because they are no longer of the world, living by its standards and under the bondage of sin. Christians belong to God and thus must reflect the image of their redeemer and saviour. Peter also clearly teaches that the new life we have as Christians is eternal and again explains this is because it comes not from ourselves but from God. Salvation is 100% God.

 

Are Christians elected and is their election secure? From 1 Peter 1 I would say that they are. Now there are many other scriptures and chapters we could look at which explore this subject. But I have chosen to keep this study specific to the chapter in question. What do we learn about the Christian life from 1 Peter 1?

 

1. Salvation comes from God by way of Jesus` atoning, substitutionary sacrifice
2. Christians are born again through faith, which comes from God (by His mercy)
3. Christians have been saved from their past lives of sin because God has paid the ransom (by His own Son, Jesus Christ`s blood)
4. Christians have an inheritance which is eternal and unchangable
5. Christians inherit eternal life, guaranteed by the Word of God

 

From this, I believe that election is unconditional in the respect that we do not and cannot earn our salvation. It is by grace alone. I also believe that true Christians (those that are born again) cannot lose their salvation or inheritance because it is guaranteed by the faithfulness of God. However, who constitutes a real Christian is a tricky question to answer as only God sees into the human heart and judges us accordingly. However, Peter here seems to suggest we will be able to tell those who are genuine believers by their obedience to God and in living holy lives, bearing the fruit of their salvation.