Covenantal Bookends: The True Grace of God Text: 1 Peter 5:12-14
Introduction: The Fabric of Fellowship
Every good letter has a proper closing. We see this in the letters of the apostle Paul, and we see it here as the apostle Peter brings his first epistle to a close. These final verses are not throwaway lines or sentimental afterthoughts. They are dense with theological meaning. They are the covenantal bookends to a letter written to saints who are scattered, suffering, and struggling to make sense of their place in the world. Peter is not just signing off; he is reinforcing the very fabric of Christian fellowship that makes endurance possible.
In these three short verses, we see the mechanics of apostolic ministry, the reality of our global spiritual battle, the nature of our familial relationships in Christ, and the foundation of our peace. Peter mentions his scribe, sends greetings from a church in the heart of the empire, calls for affectionate fellowship, and bestows a benediction. Each element is a pillar supporting the central theme of the entire letter: that the grace of God in which these believers stand is the true, objective, and unshakable grace of God. This is not a flimsy, subjective emotionalism. It is concrete. It is real. It is the new reality into which they have been born, and it is the only reality that will stand when all the empires of men have turned to dust.
We live in an age that despises true fellowship. Our culture promotes a radical, atomistic individualism, where every man is his own god, and every relationship is transactional. The church has not been immune to this poison. We have Christians who float from church to church, who consume sermons online, who have no deep, binding ties to a body of actual believers. Peter's closing words are a sharp rebuke to all such notions. The Christian life is a corporate reality. We are saved individually, but we are not saved into isolation. We are saved into a family, a kingdom, a holy nation. These final greetings are not mere pleasantries; they are the sinews of the body of Christ, connecting believers across distance and trial.
So, as we look at these closing remarks, we must see them as more than just the end of a letter. We must see them as a final, compact summary of what it means to live as exiles and pilgrims in a hostile world. It means we rely on faithful brothers, we recognize our allies in the heart of enemy territory, and we cultivate a tangible, familial love for one another, all of it grounded in the peace that only Christ can give.
The Text
Through Silvanus, our faithful brother as I regard him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and bearing witness that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it! She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son, Mark. Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace be to you all who are in Christ.
(1 Peter 5:12-14 LSB)
The Scribe and the Substance (v. 12)
Peter begins by acknowledging his assistant and summarizing his entire purpose in writing.
"Through Silvanus, our faithful brother as I regard him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and bearing witness that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!" (1 Peter 5:12)
First, we see the ordinary machinery of ministry. Peter, the great apostle, used an amanuensis, a secretary. This is Silvanus, almost certainly the Silas we know from the book of Acts, a companion of Paul (Acts 15:40). This is a wonderful picture of collaborative ministry. The "great men" of the faith did not operate in a vacuum. They worked with others, they relied on others. Peter commends Silvanus as a "faithful brother." This is high praise, and it is a reminder that faithfulness in the ordinary tasks of ministry is what constitutes greatness in the kingdom. Silvanus was not the chief apostle, but he was a faithful brother, and his name is recorded in holy Scripture for all time.
Next, Peter states the dual purpose of his letter: exhorting and bearing witness. He is not just conveying information; he is urging a course of action. And he is not just giving his opinion; he is testifying to an objective reality. And what is that reality? "That this is the true grace of God."
What is this "true grace"? It is the entire system of salvation and life that Peter has just outlined in the previous five chapters. It is election before the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1:2). It is regeneration by the Holy Spirit into a living hope (1 Pet. 1:3). It is redemption through the precious blood of Christ (1 Pet. 1:19). It is being built into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood (1 Pet. 2:5). It is our identity as a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession (1 Pet. 2:9). It is the grace that enables us to suffer for righteousness' sake (1 Pet. 3:14). This grace is not a sentimental feeling. It is a covenantal status. It is an objective reality. You have been brought into the covenant of grace. This is not a "maybe"; it is a fact. This is the true grace of God.
And because it is true and objective, the exhortation follows logically: "Stand firm in it!" You are not standing on the shifting sands of your feelings or your performance. You are standing on the solid rock of God's covenantal faithfulness in Christ. The world, the flesh, and the devil will do everything they can to make you think this grace is a fiction. They will throw persecution at you. They will whisper lies in your ear. They will tempt you to doubt. Peter's command is simple. Stand. Do not waver. Do not be moved. The ground beneath your feet is solid.
Greetings from the Front Lines (v. 13)
Peter now extends greetings from his location, using coded language that his readers would have understood perfectly.
"She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son, Mark." (1 Peter 5:13 LSB)
"She who is in Babylon" refers to the church in the city where Peter is writing. The feminine pronoun is used because the church is the bride of Christ. But where is "Babylon"? It is almost certainly a cipher for Rome. In the Old Testament, Babylon was the great oppressor of God's people, the pagan empire that destroyed the temple and carried Judah into exile. For the first-century Christian, the new Babylon, the new center of pagan imperial power that was beginning to set itself against Christ and His church, was Rome. This was not a geographical statement so much as a theological one. Peter is writing from the heart of the beast, the command center of the opposition. Yet, even there, in the capital of the kingdom of man, there is a colony of the kingdom of God. There is a church, an assembly of the called-out ones.
And notice how he describes this church in Rome. She is "chosen together with you." The believers in Rome and the believers scattered throughout Asia Minor share the same status. They are both elect. They are part of the same chosen family, the same holy nation. This is a profound encouragement. You may feel isolated in Pontus or Galatia, but you have brothers and sisters in the very heart of the empire. You are not alone. The church is an international, Spirit-fused body. An attack on one part is an attack on the whole, and a greeting from one part is an encouragement to the whole.
Then a personal greeting is added: "and so does my son, Mark." This is John Mark, the author of the Gospel of Mark. Peter calls him "my son," indicating a close, affectionate, discipling relationship. This is the same Mark who deserted Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey (Acts 15:38), causing a sharp contention between them. But here he is, years later, restored and faithful, standing with Peter at the front lines. This is a beautiful picture of redemption and restoration within the church. Past failures do not define a man when grace is at work. Mark is now a faithful man, profitable for the ministry, and a son to the chief apostle.
Covenant Affection and Benediction (v. 14)
The letter concludes with a final exhortation and a blessing of peace.
"Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace be to you all who are in Christ." (1 Peter 5:14 LSB)
The "kiss of love," or the "holy kiss" as Paul calls it, was a common greeting in the early church. This was not a romantic or erotic gesture. It was a sign of family. It was a tangible expression of the truth that we are brothers and sisters in Christ. In a world full of rigid social hierarchies, this was a radical practice. Master and slave, rich and poor, Jew and Gentile would greet one another with a sign of familial affection. It was a visible demonstration of their unity in Christ, a unity that transcended all worldly distinctions. It was a way of saying, "You are my family. We are in this together. My resources are your resources. My home is your home." This is the kind of tangible, embodied fellowship that our disembodied, digital age desperately needs to recover. Our love for one another should not be an abstract idea; it should be something you can see and feel.
Finally, Peter closes with a benediction: "Peace be to you all who are in Christ." This is not the cheap peace of the world, which is merely the absence of conflict. This is shalom, the deep, covenantal well-being that comes from being rightly related to God through His Son. Notice the qualifier: this peace is for "all who are in Christ." Outside of Christ, there is no peace. There is only hostility, chaos, and judgment. But for those who are in Christ, united to Him by faith, peace is their birthright. It is a peace that stands firm in the midst of suffering, a peace that garrisons the heart and mind against the anxieties of the world (Phil. 4:7). This is the peace that Peter himself experienced, a peace that allowed him to sleep soundly on the night before his planned execution (Acts 12:6). It is the peace that Christ purchased with His blood and gives as a gift to His people.
Conclusion: A Connected People
So Peter finishes his letter not with a flourish of rhetoric, but with the mundane and glorious realities of church life. A faithful scribe. Greetings from a sister church in the enemy's capital. A restored brother. A call to show real affection. A blessing of true peace.
This is what it means to stand in the true grace of God. It means you are connected. You are connected to the apostles through their teaching, delivered by faithful men like Silvanus. You are connected to your brothers and sisters across the globe, even those in the belly of the beast. You are connected to one another in your local assembly through tangible acts of love and fellowship. And above all, you are connected to God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ, which is the source of all true peace.
You are not an isolated religious consumer. You are a member of a body, a stone in a spiritual house, a citizen of a holy nation. Your individual struggles are part of a global war, and your local fellowship is an outpost of the coming kingdom. So stand firm. Greet one another. And walk in the peace that Christ has secured for you. For this is the true grace of God.