A Trinitarian Salutation Text: 1 Peter 1:1-2
Introduction: Your Heavenly Citizenship
We live in an age that is desperately confused about identity. Men think they can be women, the powerful think they are victims, and our entire culture is engaged in a frantic, high-speed chase away from reality. Everyone is trying to define themselves, to create an identity out of the thin air of their own feelings and preferences. But a self-created identity is a house built on sand. It is a declaration of independence from the God who made you, and such declarations always end in ruin.
The Apostle Peter, writing to Christians scattered and suffering under the boot of the Roman empire, does not begin with therapeutic platitudes or political strategies. He begins by reminding them of who they are. Not who they feel they are, or who the world says they are, but who God says they are. He anchors their identity not in their circumstances, not in their geography, and not in their performance, but in the eternal, unshakeable, triune purpose of God Himself.
This is where we must always begin. Before you can know what to do, you must know who you are. And you cannot know who you are until you know whose you are. Peter is writing to Christians who are "exiles," strangers in a strange land. They were living in a culture that was increasingly hostile to their faith. They were a minority, they were misunderstood, and they were beginning to suffer for it. Sound familiar? We too are exiles. We are citizens of a heavenly kingdom, temporarily residing in a world that has declared rebellion against our King. And so, the message of this epistle is profoundly relevant to us. It is a letter written to Christians who are feeling the heat, and it tells them how to live with grace, hope, and a holy defiance.
But this identity as exiles is not a source of despair; it is the foundation of our hope. We are not random cosmic orphans. We are chosen exiles. Our scattering is not an accident; it is an assignment. And the entire operation, from beginning to end, is the work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In these first two verses, Peter gives us a glorious, compact, and profound summary of our salvation, grounding our entire Christian life in the coordinated work of the Trinity.
The Text
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as exiles, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to the obedience of Jesus Christ and the sprinkling of His blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
(1 Peter 1:1-2 LSB)
Chosen Exiles (v. 1)
Peter begins by identifying his audience:
"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as exiles, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen..." (1 Peter 1:1)
Peter, the fisherman, the denier, the restored and commissioned apostle, writes with authority. He is an apostle "of Jesus Christ," a sent one with a message from the King. His authority is derivative, not inherent. He speaks for another.
He writes to those who are "exiles," or sojourners. This is our fundamental political and cultural identity. We are not first and foremost Americans, or Westerners, or any other earthly tribe. We are Christians. Our true citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). This world is not our home; we are just passing through. This doesn't mean we are pietistic separatists who withdraw from the world. Quite the opposite. An ambassador resides in a foreign country precisely to represent the interests of his home country. We are here on assignment. We are colonists for the kingdom, tasked with bringing our Father's business to bear on every square inch of this rebellious province.
They are "scattered," part of the diaspora. In the Old Testament, being scattered was a curse, a sign of covenant judgment (Deut. 28:25). But here, in the new covenant, God has turned the curse into a blessing. The scattering of the church after Stephen's martyrdom resulted in the gospel spreading like wildfire (Acts 8:4). God scatters His people like a farmer scatters seed. We are not to huddle together in fear; we are to be sown into the world to bear fruit for the kingdom. Your mundane life in your particular corner of Pontus or Asia is the front line of a cosmic spiritual war.
And most importantly, these exiles are "chosen." The Greek word is eklektos. This is the foundation of everything. You are a Christian not because you were smarter, or more spiritual, or made a better decision than your neighbor. You are a Christian because before the foundation of the world, God the Father set His electing love upon you. This is not arbitrary or capricious; it is the ground of all stability. If your salvation depends on your choice of God, it is as precarious as you are. But if it depends on God's choice of you, it is as secure as He is. This is not a doctrine to be argued about in musty halls of theology; it is the bedrock of assurance for the suffering saint.
The Triune Work of Salvation (v. 2)
Verse 2 unfolds the glorious Trinitarian nature of this choosing. Our salvation is not a one-person show. It is the perfectly orchestrated work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
"...according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to the obedience of Jesus Christ and the sprinkling of His blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you." (1 Peter 1:2 LSB)
First, our election is "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father." We must be careful here. In modern English, "foreknowledge" simply means knowing something before it happens. But in the Bible, knowledge, particularly God's knowledge, is not passive observation. It is active and relational. When the Bible says that God "knew" Abraham, or that Adam "knew" his wife, it implies an intimate, covenantal, choosing love. So, God's foreknowledge is not Him looking down the corridors of time to see who would choose Him. That would make our choice the ultimate deciding factor. Rather, it means that God, in eternity past, set His fore-loving, fore-knowing gaze upon His people. He knew us, and therefore He chose us. The choice originates entirely within His sovereign good pleasure.
Second, this election is worked out in time "by the sanctifying work of the Spirit." The Father plans our salvation, and the Spirit executes that plan in our hearts. The word "sanctification" here means to be set apart. The Holy Spirit is the one who takes us, dead in our trespasses and sins, and sets us apart for God. This is the new birth. He regenerates our hearts, gives us the gift of faith, and begins the lifelong process of making us holy, conforming us to the image of Christ. The Father chooses us from eternity, but the Spirit is the one who shows up in our personal history, invades our darkness with His light, and makes that eternal decree a reality in our experience.
Third, the goal of this election and sanctification is twofold: "to the obedience of Jesus Christ and the sprinkling of His blood." This is the work of the Son. We were chosen and set apart for a purpose. That purpose is, first, "obedience." This refers both to our obedience to Christ and, more fundamentally, to Christ's own perfect obedience on our behalf. He is the obedient Son who fulfilled the law perfectly. We are saved in order to be brought into a life of glad-hearted obedience, empowered by the Spirit. Saving faith is never a lonely faith; it is always accompanied by the fruit of obedience (James 2:17). We are not saved by our obedience, but we are most certainly saved unto obedience.
This obedience is possible only because of the second part: "the sprinkling of His blood." This is covenant language, straight from the Old Testament. When Moses ratified the covenant at Sinai, he sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice on the people, signifying their cleansing and their entrance into a binding relationship with God (Ex. 24:8). Peter is telling us that we have been brought into a new and better covenant, ratified not by the blood of bulls and goats, but by the precious blood of Jesus Christ Himself. This sprinkling cleanses our consciences from guilt (Heb. 9:14) and consecrates us to God. It is what makes our faltering obedience acceptable to a holy God. Our standing before God does not rest on the quality of our obedience, but on the quality of Christ's blood.
So, we see the whole Godhead at work. The Father, in His foreknowing love, elects us. The Spirit, in His sanctifying power, regenerates us. The Son, in His obedient life and sacrificial death, redeems us. This is the solid, three-stranded cord of our salvation, and it cannot be broken.
The Apostolic Blessing
Peter concludes his salutation with a blessing that is also a prayer:
"May grace and peace be multiplied to you." (1 Peter 1:2 LSB)
This is not a mere "hope you're doing well." This is a potent declaration. "Grace" (charis) is God's unmerited favor, His divine power and kindness given to those who deserve the opposite. "Peace" (eirene) is not just the absence of conflict, but the positive reality of wholeness, well-being, and reconciliation with God. It is the fruit of grace.
And Peter prays that these would be "multiplied." He doesn't want them to have just enough grace to scrape by. He wants them to have an abundance, an overflowing surplus of grace and peace. Why? Because exiles under pressure need it. When the world is pressing in, when you are being slandered, when suffering comes, you need multiplied grace. You need a deep reservoir of God's favor and peace to draw from. And the good news is that because our salvation is grounded in the infinite resources of the triune God, the supply of grace is inexhaustible.
Conclusion: A Secure Identity for Exiles
So, what is your identity? Are you defined by your job? Your political party? Your failures? Your fears? The world wants to slap a thousand different labels on you, and the devil wants to whisper a thousand different lies in your ear.
Peter sweeps all that aside. He says this is who you are: You are an exile, sent on a mission. You are seed, scattered for a harvest. And you are chosen. Chosen by the Father's loving foreknowledge, set apart by the Spirit's sanctifying power, and brought into covenant with God through the obedience and blood of the Son.
This is your true passport. This is your ultimate identity. It was established in eternity past, accomplished on the cross, applied by the Spirit, and it is secure forever. Therefore, you can face the hostility of this world not with fear, but with a living hope. You can endure suffering not with despair, but with joy. Because you know who you are, and more importantly, you know Whose you are. You belong to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And in that glorious reality, grace and peace will be multiplied to you.