In the letters of Peter, we find no mere spiritual suggestions but divine truths, warnings, and commands meant to give hope. He writes not to a loose collection of spiritually minded individuals but to "a royal priesthood, a holy nation" (1 Peter 2:9), a living temple created to beam its collective, glorious hope into darkened surroundings. Peter identifies his audience as exiles who, in their various sufferings, possess the hope of Jesus' return, which is meant to motivate faithful living in the present.
In the letters of Peter, we find no mere spiritual suggestions but divine truths, warnings, and commands meant to give hope. He writes not to a loose collection of spiritually minded individuals but to "a royal priesthood, a holy nation" (1 Peter 2:9), a living temple created to beam its collective, glorious hope into darkened surroundings. Peter identifies his audience as exiles who, in their various sufferings, possess the hope of Jesus' return, which is meant to motivate faithful living in the present.