A Living Hope

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴and to an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵who by God's power are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶In this you rejoice,^a though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, ⁷so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸Without having seen^b him you^c love him; though you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy. ⁹As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls.

10 The prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired about this salvation; ¹¹they inquired what person or time was indicated by the Spirit of Christ * within them when predicting the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glory. ¹²It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things which have now been announced to you by those who preached the good news to you through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

A Call to Holy Living

13 Therefore gird up your minds, be sober, set your hope fully upon the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, ¹⁵but as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; ¹⁶since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." ¹⁷And if you invoke as Father him who judges each one impartially according to his deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile. ¹⁸You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. ²⁰He was destined before the foundation of the world but was made manifest at the end of the times for your sake. ²¹Through him you have confidence in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.^d

22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere love of the brethren, love one another earnestly from the heart. ²³You have been born anew, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; ²⁴for

  "All flesh is like grass

  and all its glory like the flower of grass.

  The grass withers, and the flower falls,

²⁵but the word of the Lord abides for ever."

That word is the good news which was preached to you.

The Living Stone and a Chosen People

2  So put away all malice and all guile and insincerity and envy and all slander. ²Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation; ³for you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

4 Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God's sight chosen and precious; ⁵and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶For it stands in Scripture:

  "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious,

  and he who believes in him will not be put to shame."

⁷To you therefore who believe, he is precious, but for those who do not believe,

  "The very stone which the builders rejected

  has become the cornerstone,"

⁸and

  "A stone that will make men stumble,

  a rock that will make them fall";

for they stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people,^e that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. ¹⁰Once you were no people but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy.

Live as Servants of God

11 Beloved, I beg you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh that wage war against your soul. ¹²Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so that in case they speak against you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

13 Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution,^f whether it be to the emperor as supreme, ¹⁴or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. ¹⁵For it is God's will that by doing right you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. ¹⁶Live as free men, yet without using your freedom as a pretext for evil; but live as servants of God. ¹⁷Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

The Example of Christ's Suffering

18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to the kind and gentle but also to the overbearing. ¹⁹For one is approved if, mindful of God, he endures pain while suffering unjustly. ²⁰For what credit is it, if when you do wrong and are beaten for it you take it patiently? But if when you do right and suffer for it you take it patiently, you have God's approval. ²¹For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. ²²He committed no sin; no guile was found on his lips. ²³When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judges justly. ²⁴He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree,^g that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

Wives and Husbands

3  * Likewise you wives, be submissive to your husbands, so that some, though they do not obey the word, may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, ²when they see your reverent and chaste behavior. ³Let not yours be the outward adorning with braiding of hair, decoration of gold, and wearing of robes, ⁴but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. ⁵So once the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves and were submissive to their husbands, ⁶as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are now her children if you do right and let nothing terrify you.

7 Likewise you husbands, live considerately with your wives, bestowing honor on the woman as the weaker sex, since you are joint heirs of the grace of life, in order that your prayers may not be hindered.

Suffering for Doing Right

8 Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love of the brethren, a tender heart and a humble mind. ⁹Do not return evil for evil or reviling for reviling; but on the contrary bless, for to this you have been called, that you may obtain a blessing. ¹⁰For

  "He that would love life

  and see good days,

  let him keep his tongue from evil

  and his lips from speaking guile;

¹¹let him turn away from evil and do right;

  let him seek peace and pursue it.

¹²For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous,

  and his ears are open to their prayer.

  But the face of the Lord is against those that do evil."

13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is right? ¹⁴But even if you do suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, ¹⁵but in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence; ¹⁶and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. ¹⁷For it is better to suffer for doing right, if that should be God's will, than for doing wrong. ¹⁸For Christ also died^h for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit; ¹⁹in which he went and preached to the spirits in prison, ²⁰who formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. ²¹Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²²who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.

Good Stewards of God's Grace

4  Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh,ⁱ arm yourselves with the same thought, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, * ²so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer by human passions but by the will of God. ³Let the time that is past suffice for doing what the Gentiles like to do, living in licentiousness, passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing, and lawless idolatry. ⁴They are surprised that you do not now join them in the same wild debauchery, and they abuse you; ⁵but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. ⁶For this is why the gospel was preached even to the dead, that though judged in the flesh like men, they might live in the spirit like God.

7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore keep sane and sober for your prayers. ⁸Above all hold unfailing your love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. ⁹Practice hospitality ungrudgingly to one another. ¹⁰As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: ¹¹whoever speaks, as one who utters oracles of God; whoever renders service, as one who renders it by the strength which God supplies; in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Suffering as a Christian

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which comes upon you to prove you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³But rejoice in so far as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. ¹⁴If you are reproached for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory^j and of God rests upon you. ¹⁵But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a wrongdoer, or a mischief-maker; ¹⁶yet if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under that name let him glorify God. ¹⁷For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? ¹⁸And

  "If the righteous man is scarcely saved,

  where will the impious and sinner appear?"

¹⁹Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will do right and entrust their souls to a faithful Creator.

Tending the Flock of Christ

5  So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as a partaker in the glory that is to be revealed. ²Tend the flock of God that is your charge,^k not by constraint but willingly,^l not for shameful gain but eagerly, ³not as domineering over those in your charge but being examples to the flock. ⁴And when the chief Shepherd is manifested you will obtain the unfading crown of glory. ⁵Likewise you that are younger be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you. ⁷Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you. ⁸Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. ⁹Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world. ¹⁰And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, and strengthen^m you. ¹¹To him be the dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings and Benediction

12 By Silva'nus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God; stand fast in it. ¹³She who is at Babylon, * who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings; and so does my son Mark. ¹⁴Greet one another with the kiss of love.

Peace to all of you that are in Christ.

||    The Orthodox Faith (Dogma)    ||    Family and Youth    ||    Sermons    ||    Bible Study    ||    Devotional    ||    Spirituals    ||    Fasts & Feasts    ||    Coptics    ||    Religious Education    ||    Monasticism    ||    Seasons    ||    Missiology    ||    Ethics    ||    Ecumenical Relations    ||    Church Music    ||    Pentecost    ||    Miscellaneous    ||    Saints    ||    Church History    ||    Pope Shenouda    ||    Patrology    ||    Canon Law    ||    Lent    ||    Pastoral Theology    ||    Father Matta    ||    Bibles    ||    Iconography    ||    Liturgics    ||    Orthodox Biblical topics     ||    Orthodox articles    ||    St Chrysostom    ||   

||    Pope Shenouda    ||    Father Matta    ||    Bishop Mattaous    ||    Fr. Tadros Malaty    ||    Bishop Moussa    ||    Bishop Alexander    ||    Habib Gerguis    ||    Bishop Angealos    ||    Metropolitan Bishoy    ||

||    Prayer of the First Hour    ||    Third Hour    ||    Sixth Hour    ||    Ninth Hour    ||    Vespers (Eleventh Hour)    ||    Compline (Twelfth Hour)    ||    The First Watch of the midnight prayers    ||    The Second Watch of the midnight prayers    ||    The Third Watch of the midnight prayers    ||    The Prayer of the Veil    ||    Various Prayers from the Agbia    ||    Synaxarium