1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the elect who are sojourners of the Dispersion iii Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ : Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

One need not feel deeply concerned in the debate as to whether the Christian converts addressed by Peter were Gentiles or, as is quite probable, Jews by birth. What does thrill us is the belief that the blessings attributed to them belong to us, if we belong to Christ. These "sojourners of the Dispersion" in various provinces of modern Asia Minor, are called "elect," a term which was used to describe all believers; they were the chosen people of God, the special objects of his mercy and love, and this election was "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father," and due therefore to his deliberate purpose. The very sphere of their new life was "sanctification." The Holy Spirit set them apart from the world for the service of God and imparted to them his holiness. The purpose was that they should obey Christ and become partakers of all the benefits secured by his death. For these believers Peter voices the prayer: "Grace to you and peace be multiplied."

So it is true of all Christians; wherever they may be scattered abroad throughout the earth, they form one race, in virtue of a new and divine birth; they are "sojourners," "pilgrims," and "strangers," whose citizenship is in heaven, their real home. They owe all that they are to the providence and provision of God who sanctifies them by his Spirit, who saves them by the work of his Son. Thus, in the opening words of this epistle, Peter sets forth its three great truths, and indicates its contents; the first section deals with the sanctification of the Spirit, the second emphasizes the atoning death of the Son, the last concerns the providence of the Father. Thus too, he intimates that the salvation secured by the Father, Son, and Spirit, involves the free obedience of the human will and the offering of devoted service. Therefore as Christians, chosen by the Father, sanctified by the Spirit, redeemed by the Son, we are to remember with humble gratitude that for all we have we are indebted to the mercy of God, in all that we are we should depend upon the sanctifying influence of his Spirit, in all that we do we should seek to glorify his Son. Then we, too, may expect that in our experience grace and peace will "be multiplied."