STUDY OF I PETER
Dr. Cornelius (Neal) Hegeman
Course of:
Miami International Seminary
14401 Old Cutler Road
Miami, FL 33158
786-573-7000
Email,
Web site, www.MINTS.edu
2008 (revised in 2013)
INDEX
PREFACE
STUDYGUIDE
INTRODUCTORY DIAGNOSTIC
LESSON ONE TO GOD’S ELECT
1.1. EXPOSITION OF I PETER 1:1-2
INTRODUCTION
1:2a. THE FATHER HAS A PLAN FOR THE ELECT
1:1, 2c THE SON IS THE SACRIFICE FOR THE ELECT
1:2b THE HOLY SPIRIT PREPARES THE ELECT IN HOLINESS
CONCLUSION
1.2. QUESTIONS FOR CHAPTER ONE
1.3. DO YOUR OWN BIBLE STUDY
1.4. CALVIN’S COMMENTARY
LESSON TWO BORN INTO AN ETERNAL INHERITANCE
2.1. EXPOSITION OF I PETER 1:3-12
INTRODUCTION
1:3-5 THE GUARANTEE OF THE INHERITANCE
1:6-9 PERSECUTION PREPARES THE ELECT TO RECEIVE THE INHERITANCE
1:10-12 PROPHECY POINTS TO SUFFERING ON THE WAY TO
THE INHERITANCE
CONCLUSION
2.2. QUESTIONS FOR CHAPTER TWO
2.3. DO YOUR OWN BIBLE STUDY
2.4. CALVIN’S COMMENTARY
LESSON THREE HOLINESS, PRAYER AND PURITY
3.1. EXPOSITION OF I PETER 1:13-2:3
INTRODUCTION
1:13-16 THE CALL TO HOLINESS
` 1:17-21 THE CALL TO PRAY FOR HOLINESS
1:22-2:3 THE CALL TO PURITY
CONCLUSION
3.2. QUESTIONS FOR CHAPTER THREE
3.3. DO YOUR OWN BIBLE STUDY
3.4. CALVIN’S COMMENTARY
LESSON FOUR A ROYAL AND PROPHETIC PRIESTHOOD
4.1. EXPOSITION OF I PETER 2:4-9
INTRODUCTION
2:4-8. THE SYMBOLISM OF THE TEMPLE
2:9a. THE PRIESTHOOD
2:9-10 THE ROYAL AND PROPHETIC PRIESTS
CONCLUSION
4.2. QUESTIONS FOR CHAPTER FOUR
4.3. DO YOUR OWN BIBLE STUDY
4.4. CALVIN COMMENTARY
LESSON FIVE THE CHURCH AS A HOLY NATION AND PEOPLE OF GOD
5.1. EXPOSITION OF I PETER 2:9-12
INTRODUCTION
2.9. ONE. THE CHURCH IS “A” HOLY NATION
2.9. HOLY. THE CHURCH IS A HOLY NATION
2.9. UNIVERSAL. THE CHURCH IS A HOLY NATION
AMONG THE NATIONS
CONCLUSION
5.2. QUESTIONS FOR CHAPTER FIVE
5.3. DO YOUR OWN BIBLE STUDY
5.4. CALVIN’S COMMENTARY
LESSON SIX SUBMISSION
6.1. EXPOSITION OF I PETER 2:13-3:12
INTRODUCTION
2:13-17. SUBMISSION TO THE GOVERNMENT
2:18-25 SUBMISSION AT WORK
3:1-7 SUBMISSION IN MARRIAGE
3:8-12 SUBMISSION TO EACH OTHER
CONCLUSION
6.2. QUESTIONS FOR CHAPTER SIX
6.3. DO YOUR OWN BIBLE STUDY
6.4. CALVIN COMMENTARY
LESSON SEVEN SUFFERING
7.1. EXPOSITION OF I PETER 3:13-4:19
INTRODUCTION
3:13-17 REASONS FOR SUFFERING
3:18-4:6 EXAMPLES OF SUFFERING
4:7-19 SERVING AMIDST SUFFERING
CONCLUSION
7.2. QUESTIONS FOR CHAPTER SEVEN
7.3. DO YOUR OWN BIBLE STUDY
7.4. CALVIN’S COMMENTARY
LESSON EIGHT SERVING AS AN ELDER
8.1. EXPOSITION FOR I PETER 5:1-14
INTRODUCTION
5.1. PETER AND THE LOCAL CHURCH LEADERS
5:2-4 PETER’S INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CHURCH ELDERS
5:5-7 SUBMISSION REVISITED
5:8-11 SPIRITUAL WARFARE
5:12-14 CLOSING THOUGHTS
CONCLUSION
8.2. QUESTIONS FOR CHAPTER EIGHT
8.3. DO YOUR OWN BIBLE STUDY
8.4. CALVIN’S COMMENTARY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDICE
TEACHER’S MANUAL
PREFACE
The inspiration to study I Peter came from realizing the implications of I Peter 2:9. The Christian community is the fulfillment of the nation of Israel, it is a spiritual temple, it is the New Jerusalem and Christians are prophets, priests and kings. Even though this position is the confessional stance of the Reformed churches (Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 12) there are few preach and implement such claims. Hopefully this study will bring these Petrine doctrines into the Church and enable her to live in the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies and types.
The apostle instructs the new Christian community about suffering under unjust governments, cruel masters, unbelieving spouses and sinful churches. The actual suffering of the apostle and the early Church is reminiscent of the persecuted Church today.
A special thanks to Omar Ortiz from Old Cutler Presbyterian Church in Miami who during the fall of 2007 and spring 2008 gave an expositional explanation in the adult Sunday school. The footnotes from Wayne Grudem, Ed Clowney and Karen Jobes come from his study. Bill Peterson, a fellow Sunday school class attendee, was kind enough to read and make excellent observations and corrections.
The Calvin Commentary at the end of each chapter comes from www.ccel.org. This was added to this English version as this course will be translated into languages which do not have access to this commentary in their own language.
The course belongs to a series of MINTS courses where basic Bible study methods are used to help the student capture the meaning of the Biblical text. In the English series, Joel, Mark, and Philemon have been written. The Russian, Spanish and Ukrainian translations are also available (www.mints.edu [see language links]).
Dr. Cornelius (Neal) Hegeman
Miami International Seminary
2008
STUDY GUIDE
COURSE PURPOSE
The purpose of the course is a comprehensive study the contents of I Peter.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. Mental reflection and exchange of ideas with other students
2. Respond to the writings of the author and Calvin’s commentary
3. Read Calvin’s commentary on I Peter
4. Conduct an inductive, expositional, analytical, literary and devotional study of I Peter
5. Recall important facts about I Peter
COURSE RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Participate in 15 hours of class time
2. Answer 80 questions relating to the author’s writing
3. Read Calvin’s commentary, or another commentary on I Peter and write a 3 page report
4. Write an inductive, expositional, analytical, literary and devotional study of key I Peter verses for each lesson
5. Take the final exam
COURSE EVALUATION
1. One point for every class hour attended and participated in for total of 15 points
2. Total of 25 points for completing answers to questions on time. Three points for each of the 8 lessons and one extra point for completing all on time.
3. Total of 25 points for reading Calvin’s (or another) commentary on I Peter and making your own notes on comparing commentaries view with the author’s view. Three points for comparing 8 lessons and one extra point for completing all on time.
4. Total of 25 points for completing the exegesis exercise. It should be written in essay form.
5. Ten points for the final exam. The final exam consists of answering 10 questions about I Peter.
CLASS ACTIVITIES.
Class activities will consist of having 4 hours for orientation to the course and 11 hours of following up classes. Individual classes can change the format of meeting times, but the 15 hours and indicated activities need to be honored.
A. Orientation (4 hours)
First hour of orientation
1. Introduce the professor, facilitator and students
2. Introduce the format of the course
3. Do the Introductory Diagnostic
4. Review lessons one and two
Second hour of orientation
1. Review lessons three and four
2. Review the schedule for doing the questions and answers:
lessons 1, 2 for follow up class 1; lessons 3, 4, for follow up class 2; lesson 5, 6, for follow up class 3; lessons 7, 8 for follow up class 4. They have to come to class with answers written out to receive 3 points. If not, it cannot be recuperated.
Third hour of orientation
1. Review lessons five and six
2. Review the schedule for doing the comparison between Calvin’s commentary and the commentary given by the author. Same format for reporting as with Questions and Answers. Students will write no more than one page of what these authors have in common and how they are different. They will also orally present there findings in class.
Fourth hour of orientation
1. Review lessons seven and eight
2. Review the schedule for presenting the exegesis in class. Same format as the Questions and Answers and Comparison between Calvin and author’s commentary.
In the appendix there is a review of the 5 Bible study methods that are used to do the exegesis.
Assign Bible verses of lessons one and two to the students, so that they can report in the first follow up class. They can use the sheet provided at the end of the lesson.
3. For their final exam, the student will choose one of their eight exegetical studies and write it up as a 10 page essay according to the MINTS format (title page, index, 7 pages of body, biography).
4. Prepare the students to be ready for the first follow up class.
B. Follow up classes
Follow up class #1. The facilitator will mark the grades earned in Class Record
1. Take attendance (2 pts)
2. Check to see if answers of questions for lessons 1 and 2 were completed (3 pts)
3. Check to see if one page comparison between Calvin and author on lessons 1 and 2 has been written out (3 pts). Each student will briefly (5 minutes) report in class.
4. Check to see if exegesis for lessons one and two were filled out (3 pts). Since the verses of I Peter for lessons one and two were assigned, these passages will be discussed in chronicle order, being led by the students who were assigned the verses.
5. Assign exegesis verses for lessons three and four.
Follow up class #2. The facilitator will mark the grades earned in Class Record
1. Take attendance (2 pts)
2. Check to see if answers of questions for lessons 3 and 4 were completed (3 pts)
3. Check to see if one page comparison between Calvin and author on lessons 3 and 4 has been written out (3 pts). Each student will briefly (5 minutes) report in class.
4. Check to see if exegesis for lessons three and four were filled out (3 pts). Since the verses of I Peter for lessons 3 and 4 were assigned, these passages will be discussed in chronicle order, being led by the students who were assigned the verses.
5. Assign exegesis verses for lessons 5 and 6.
6. Now that the student is familiar with how to do the exegesis, make comparison of the commentaries, each student can chose a short text from I Peter in order to write their essay. For the next class the student will bring in their bibliography page, title page and index page. It is recommended that the essay be divided into the following subtitles: introduction, inductive study, expositional study, literary study, analytical study, devotional study and conclusion.
Follow up class #3. The facilitator will mark the grades earned in Class Record
1. Take attendance (2 pts)
2. Check to see if answers of questions for lessons 5 and 6 were completed (3 pts)
3. Check to see if one page comparison between Calvin and author on lessons 5 and 6 has been written out (3 pts). Each student will briefly (5 minutes) report in class.
4. Check to see if exegesis for lessons three and four were filled out (3 pts). Since the verses of I Peter for lessons 5 and 6 were assigned, these passages will be discussed in chronicle order, being led by the students who were assigned the verses.
5. Assign exegesis verses for lessons 7 and 8.
6. Student will have brought their bibliography page, title page and index page. It is recommended that the essay be divided into the following subtitles: introduction, inductive study, expositional study, literary study, analytical study, devotional study and conclusion. Students will interchange with other students and comments will be written for the student’s consideration. For next class, the students will bring in their rough manuscript for another interchange.
Follow up class #4. The facilitator will mark the grades earned in Class Record
1. Take attendance (2 pts)
2. Check to see if answers of questions for lessons 7 and 8 were completed (3 pts)
3. Check to see if one page comparison between Calvin and author on lessons 7 and 8 has been written out (3 pts). Each student will briefly (5 minutes) report in class.
4. Check to see if exegesis for lessons three and four were filled out (3 pts). Since the verses of I Peter for lessons 7 and 8 were assigned, these passages will be discussed in chronicle order, being led by the students who were assigned the verses.
5. The students will have brought in their rough manuscript for another interchange.
Final follow up class #5.
1. Student hands in their final exam: the ten page exegetical report.
2. Student record is completed and recorded in local study center; student is given a course certificate, and student’s class record is sent to Academic Dean in Miami.
INTRODUCTORY DIAGNOSTIC
The purpose of the introductory diagnostic is to see if the student is interested in studying the themes and issues that I Peter presents. Please discuss these options in class and check your response with the answers in the Teacher Manual.
1. To whom is I Peter written?
a. To those who chose to follow Jesus
b. To Christians
c. To those elected by God
2. When did Peter write I Peter?
a. Before the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in 70 AD
b. After the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in 70 AD
c. Before his martyrdom in 77/78 AD.
3. According to I Peter chapter 1, what is the central Christological message the Spirit of Christ gave to the Old Testament prophets?
a. Predict the future of the People of God
b. Denounce the sins of the People of God
c. Foretell the suffering and glory of Christ
4. In I Peter chapter 2 the apostles implies that:
a. Christians are the temple of the Holy Spirit
b. The temple in Jerusalem will be destroyed in 70 AD
c. God is preparing for the restoration of the Jerusalem temple
5. When Peter is speaking about the priests he is referring to:
a. Old Testament order of priests
b. Christian leaders in the Church
c. All Christians
6. Peter instructs the slaves who are being cruelly treated by their masters to:
a. Flee the wrath that is to come
b. Fight for justice
c. Suffer for doing good
7. Peter’s instruction to newly converted married women is to:
a. Separate from their unbelieving husbands
b. Win over their unbelieving husband through silent witness
c. Evangelize their husbands every day
8. Does water baptism save?
a. Yes, all believers have to be baptized in water
b. Yes, all believers and their children have to be baptized in water
c. No, baptism is a sign to appeal for salvation to Jesus alone.
9. The apostle Peter relationship to the local church is seen in:
a. His apostleship included all the local churches
b. He was a fellow elder with the elders in the local churches
c. We don’t know what his relationship to the local church was
10. One of the Biblical authors who was with Peter when he wrote this letter is:
a. Paul
b. Luke
c. Mark
LESSON ONE
TO GOD’S ELECT[1]
1.1. EXPOSITION OF I PETER 1:1-2
INTRODUCTION
The American public, news media and mass media love to talk about the election. Who will the candidates be? Who is going to win? Why are the elections so important? Whoever is elected is responsible to rule.