Peter says the things he wrote in 1 Peter were “the true grace of God” (1 Pet. 5:12). Though we typically think of grace as a Pauline subject, Peter discusses grace as a primary theme of 1 Peter. When considering primary words (that is, excluding pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, etc.), the only words used more than grace (10x) in 1 Peter are God (39x), Christ (22x), and the verb “to suffer” (12x). In 1 Peter the word grace is found in 1:2, 10, 13; 2:19, 20 (though translated as “gracious thing” in the esv, it is translated in these two verses as “thankworthy” in the kjv, “acceptable” in the asv, “favor” in the nasb, and “commendable” in the nkjv and niv); 3:7; 4:10; 5:5, 10, and 12. Peter also uses grace (along with “knowledge” and “Jesus our Lord”) as bookends to 2 Peter (1:2 and 3:18, though these are typical of epistolary greetings / salutations and closings / valedictions). Outside of the Lukan-Pauline corpus (which includes Hebrews), Peter discusses grace more than anyone else. As a matter of fact, outside of Luke-Paul and Peter, grace is only mentioned in John 1:14–17; James 4:6; 2 John 3; Jude 4; Revelation 1:4; and 22:21. When we consider 1) the references in John probably come from an early confession or formula, and 2) the reference in James is from an Old Testament quotation, and 3) the 2 John and Revelation references are just standard epistolary salutations and valedictions, besides the solitary mention in Jude 4 (where it is simply mentioned in passing), Peter is the only New Testament author to discuss grace outside of Luke-Paul!
We first see Peter using grace as a greeting (1 Pet. 1:2; cf. 2 Pet. 1:2). Greeks commonly greeted one another with a form of the word chairō, both in person (Matt. 26:49; 28:9; Luke 1:28) and in letters (Acts 15:23; 23:26; Jas. 1:1). This greeting included the idea of wishing one well or wishing favor on someone. A Christianized version of this greeting involved the word charis, which included the sense of divine favor on the one being greeted. In addition to Peter and John (2 John 3; Rev. 1:4, mentioned above), Paul uses this greeting in every one of his epistles.
Peter uses grace as a way of describing our future salvation “that will be brought to [us] at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:10, 12; cf. 1:5, 9). In 1 Peter 3:7 he uses grace in this way when he speaks of “the grace of life” of which we are heirs. This is perhaps the meaning of grace in the context of 1 Peter 5:10, though Peter could simply be describing God as the one whose gifts or favor is sufficient for every need and in every situation.
Peter also uses grace as a way of saying God generally blesses, generally gives a favor, or simply approves of someone. In 1 Peter 2:19–20 those who suffer for doing good receive a blessing or approval from God in their suffering. In 1 Peter 5:5 those who are humble receive a blessing or approval from God (a quotation from Prov. 3:34 LXX; cf. Jas. 4:6).
In 1 Peter 4:7–9 Peter says that all Christians are required to be self-controlled, to be sober-minded, to keep loving fellow Christians earnestly, and to show hospitality to fellow Christians without grumbling. However, in 1 Peter 4:10–11 Peter says that God has given some Christians the ability to do a certain thing, such as speaking the oracles of God (that is, preaching or teaching), while he has given other Christians the ability to do something different, such as serving one another. In this passage the grace of God is the gift or strength supplied by God (cf. Rom. 12.3–8, where Paul says God gives a different “measure of faith” or “function” to different Christians, and then in vv9ff he mentions things required of all Christians; also cf. 1 Cor. 12:12–31). The idea of strength here is not the physical strength given someone by God, but rather the capability of doing something, hence our use of ability (cf. (n)kjv). In some contexts these gifts or abilities are miraculous or are given to Christians miraculously (see, for example, “prophecy” in Rom 12:6; or the list of nine miraculous gifts in 1 Cor. 12:4–11, but then see 1 Cor. 13:8–10; or, for miraculously given gifts, see Acts 8:17; 19:6; 2 Tim. 1:6). However, there is nothing inherent within the word gift (or grace for that matter) that necessitates the miraculous (either in the gift itself or in the giving of the gift); the context would determine whether or not the miraculous was being discussed. In our passage nothing implies these gifts or abilities from God are connected with the miraculous. The use of “to speak” instead of “to prophesy” (cf. Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:10) seems to clearly indicate that the non-miraculous gifts of God are Peter’s focus. These are simply the differing abilities given to us by God in our DNA or that result from our environment and our training. However, we must work hard in developing and using these abilities in order to be good stewards of God’s grace. Whatever gift(s) we have been given must be used to serve our fellow Christians with the ultimate goal of glorifying God through Christ Jesus. What abilities or gifts has God given to you? Are you being a good steward of these gifts (cf. Matt. 25:14–30)?
In this verse Peter says that grace is something we can stand firm in. He also says that the true grace of God is contained in the things he wrote in this epistle. What does it mean, then, for us to stand firm in the true grace of God? It means we must do the things Peter says to do in this epistle! A good place to begin would be the 25 second person imperative verbs in 1 Peter. A second person imperative verb simply involves a direct command given by the apostle Peter to his audience (and, therefore, indirectly to all readers, including us). The second person imperative verbs in 1 Peter are in 1:13, 15, 17, 22; 2:2, 13, 17 (4x); 3:15; 4:1, 7 (2x), 12, 13; 5:2, 5 (2x), 6, 8 (2x), 9, 12, 14. The context, however, of some of these may exclude a general application to all Christians; for example, the command “to shepherd” in 1 Peter 5:2 would apply only to the elders addressed in 1 Peter 5:1, and the command “to be subject to the elders” in 1 Peter 5:5 (simply older people in this verse, not the office of the elder as in 1 Pet. 5:1) is addressed specifically to those who are younger. Notice we said that this is a good place to begin; there is certainly more to God’s true grace, that is, his will for us, than what is revealed in direct commands. Consider, for example, the information given to us in 1 Peter 1:3ff about the reason for hope, the cause for rejoicing, the reality of testing, and the salvation we will obtain at Christ’s return—these are all things that should have a great impact on our thinking and our actions, and these are all things we need to stand firm in. Furthermore, consider the statement in 1 Peter 3:21 that “baptism now saves you … through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” This is a truth that is part of the true grace of God, and anyone who does not participate and stand firm in this truth is not participating in the true grace of God! Are you standing firm in the true grace of God by doing all he wants us to do?
After discussing the reality and danger of false teachers and the very real possibility of falling prey to them, Peter says the way to combat the false teachers and to prevent our own demise is to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” In this passage grace is not describing a miraculous gift, for it is 1) something we can grow in, and 2) something we are personally responsible for growing in. What is this grace? And how do we grow in this grace? The grace in this passage is connected with the knowledge of Jesus. In 2 Peter 1:3 grace is said to be multiplied to us in the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord, so then we can find grace in the knowledge of Jesus. The paragraph that follows discusses the seven “Christian graces” (2 Pet. 1:3–11) and begins with the fact that God has given us “all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge” of Jesus. Knowledge is then listed as one of the graces we are to be growing in (that is, making every effort to supplement our faith with, 2 Pet 1:5a). Then Peter says that only when we possess these qualities and are growing in them can we be fruitful “in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:8). In 2 Peter 2:20 Peter adds to the discussion of the knowledge of Jesus in which we find grace by informing us that we escape “the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (cf. 2 Pet. 1:4). Simply possessing knowledge of Jesus, however, does nothing. A person must act upon the knowledge and obey the things that are found in the knowledge of Jesus in order to benefit from it in any way. So the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is found in the knowledge of him by which we escape the defilements of sin. We can grow in this grace by growing in the knowledge of Jesus. We do not grow in the grace and knowledge of God by simply possessing a Bible that sits on the shelf or the coffee table. We must spend time, and lots of it, with our nose in the Bible reading and studying. We must then meditate “day and night” on these things so that they not only become a regular part of our thinking, but that they might fill us and guide our every thought, word, and action. Only in this way can we truly “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Are you “growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”? If you’re not regularly reading and studying his word, you are not.
No, grace is not just a Pauline subject! Peter has a lot to say about grace, and we need to listen to what he says. May God help us to be good stewards of his varied grace to us that we might serve our fellow Christians and bring him glory and honor in all things. May God help us to suffer for doing good and never for doing evil that we might receive his grace. May God help us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ so that we might stand firm in the true grace of God. And may God help us to hold on to the hope of the grace of God, our salvation, that will be brought to us at the coming of Jesus Christ. Lord, come quickly! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with us all!
Biblical references are taken from the English Standard Version (esv).
John R. Gentry has been living and working in the Republic of Moldova since January 2012. He can be reached at john@truthpublications.com.