Bob Bryant
Cypress Valley Bible Church
Marshall, TX
INTRODUCTION
In this article, I will give an overview of the book of 1 Peter. In 2017, Grace Evangelical Society (GES) published a commentary on 1 Peter by Zane Hodges. The subtitle of the commentary is “The Salvation of the Soul.”1 GES has said that this is the theme of 1 Peter, which reflects what Hodges wrote. After reading through the book of 1 Peter, with the aim of developing an overview of it, I heartily agree with both GES and Hodges.
Whenever you encounter the term salvation or saved in the Bible you should always ask two questions: 1) What is the salvation in view? 2) From what does a person need to be saved? Many people reflexively assume that salvation in the Bible means salvation from hell or the lake of fire. This is especially true when the word is used in the phrase, “the salvation of the soul.”
Some of us have been conditioned to think that way because of our backgrounds. We grew up hearing about evangelistic crusades where, for example, fifteen souls were saved. It was just the way we tended to talk. As a result, it might seem strange to some people if we suggest that the phrase the “salvation of the soul” in 1 Peter does not mean salvation from hell, but something entirely different.
Even though it might sound strange, my view is that in 1 Peter, “the salvation of the soul” means saving your life from damage now and from loss of reward in the future.2
In 1 Pet 1:9, for example, the word soul should be translated by the word life. The Greek can be translated either way, and that is what we find in the NT. Sometimes, the word is translated both ways when it occurs multiple times in the same context.
Peter learned about the “salvation of the soul” directly from Jesus. The Lord told him and the other disciples that they should desire the salvation of their souls. This teaching is found in Matt 16:25-27. Jesus said:
25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
At the beginning of this instruction (16:24), the Lord is speaking to His disciples. Therefore, the salvation of which He speaks is not eternal salvation from the lake of fire.3 Since Peter and the other disciples were already saved from the lake of fire,4 the Lord is speaking of discipleship salvation and discipleship truth. Being a believer and being a disciple are not the same thing.
Notice that at the end of this passage, Christ talks about coming and rewarding each one according to his works. Since eternal salvation is free, apart from works, the Lord cannot be talking about that kind of salvation. He is talking about reward in His kingdom. All believers will be in that kingdom. Not all will be rewarded equally when they enter it.5 The believer’s works will determine his reward.
Jesus asked His disciples two questions that we need to take to heart. The first is: “What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?” The answer is obvious: It profits him nothing.
The Lord is talking about believers. What would it profit a born-again believer if he gained the whole world but lost his soul?
But how can a born-again believer lose his soul? A believer can never lose eternal salvation.6 The “soul” that the believer can lose is his temporal life. He can suffer damage to that life and lose reward. He can waste his life and lose the reward that life could have produced by good works. If the believer should gain everything this world had to offer, but waste his life, his life would be lost. It would not count for those things that are eternal.7
Then Jesus asked a second question: “What will a man give in exchange for his soul?” That is a thought-provoking question. Each disciple was to ask himself what he could give or do to save his soul and gain the reward he would desire on that future day. I am convinced that Peter took that question to heart. He wrote a letter about it. First Peter is his answer to that question.
Under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Peter wrote this book to explain what a believer can do to save his life. A believer can make this present life count in a way that will be rewarded at the Judgment Seat of Christ and for eternity.
I have gone through 1 Peter and identified sixteen ways Peter lists to explain how we can experience the salvation of our souls. There may be more, but these are the sixteen that I think provide an overview of the book. This list of sixteen is extensive and shows that God cares about everything in our lives. Every facet of our lives counts for eternity. There are many things we can give in exchange for our soul that will be rewarded at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
We could speak in detail on each of the sixteen points. But since this is an overview, I will give only the highlights.
I. GENUINE FAITH AMID TRIALS (1 PETER 1:3-12)
In the section of 1 Pet 1:3-12, Peter writes:
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls (vv 6-9).
These verses occur at the beginning of 1 Peter. At the end of v 6, Peter lets us know right up front that in his letter he will talk about the salvation of the soul. If they have genuine faith amid trials, believers can be saved from damage now and from future loss of reward at Christ’s Judgment Seat.
Notice some of the highlights of what he says. Your faith is being tested by fire. This refers to the trials God allows in your life. Peter says it is a test to see how much you are going to trust God in the midst of those trials.
Peter refers to “the revelation of Jesus Christ.” This is another way of saying “the return of Christ.” If your faith passes the test, when He returns, you will receive praise, honor, and glory from Him at His Judgment Seat. This praise will be expressed in the words, “Well done.”8 Honor will be expressed through the privilege of being close to Jesus; the essence of eternal reward is being closer to Him. There are different degrees of that reward, which means there will be different degrees of closeness to the Lord. The greatest honor anybody could ever receive is to be close to Jesus in His kingdom. There will be more shared experiences with Jesus and greater opportunity to serve Him. That is the honor that will be given to the believer who has genuine faith amid various trials.
Such believers will also receive glory. Jesus will be in His glory in the kingdom, and the closer a person is to Jesus, the more he will reflect the glory of Jesus and the more glory he will bring to Him for eternity.
Peter calls this the “salvation of your soul.” Notice how he words it. You receive it at the end of your faith. The reward for your faith during trials will be the salvation of your soul. This means you will have saved your life from damage in this world and from future loss of reward in the kingdom.
This is fundamental to the rest of 1 Peter. The subsequent fifteen points require faith in God during trials.
II. HAVE A BALANCED VIEW OF GOD (1 PETER 1:13-21)
To experience the salvation of the soul, you must have a balanced view of God. In 1:13-21, Peter says you should “rest your hope fully upon that grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” In addition, “If you call on God the Father who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourself throughout the time of your stay here in fear.”
I think that two words here express the concept of “a balanced view of God.” The first is hope and the second is fear. The believer is to have hope in, and a fear of, God. His hope is to rest fully on the grace that is brought at the revelation, or return, of Jesus Christ and what we will experience on that day.
In the NT, hope is not wishful thinking. It is a certain expectation. Here, that certainty is that Christ is coming, and we are going to be with Him forever. The focus of our lives should not be on this life but on what counts for eternity.
At the same time, we need to have a healthy fear of the One who is going to judge us at the Judgment Seat of Christ. He will judge us without partiality, according to our work.9 I believe that when Peter says we need to conduct ourselves during our stay on earth in fear, he means we should be afraid of what could happen at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
If I do not save my soul now, I have a fear of hearing Him say, “You wicked, lazy slave.” He is going to say that to some believers. That is what Jesus told us in Matt 25:26.10 Feeling that way shows a healthy fear. It is a fear of not wanting to hear such words from Jesus at the Judgment Seat of Christ. It is a fear of seeing that we wasted our lives and lost the reward that could have been ours.
If we have this balanced view of God—a certain hope, accompanied by a fear of not wanting the negative to happen—we are going to be saving our souls in a way that will count for eternity. That is a spiritually healthy attitude.
III. LOVING ONE ANOTHER (1 PETER 1:22–2:10)
First Peter 1:22–2:10 speaks of the need for believers to love one another. Peter writes, “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again…through the Word of God which lives and abides forever…” (1 Pet 1:22-23).
It is interesting that Peter uses the word soul and says “you have purified your souls.” Here, he is referring to the experience of regeneration. He mentions being born again. The born-again person—the believer—has no sin in the inner man.11
The born-again person has the opportunity of not only being purified (which he already is), but also of being saved. It may sound strange, but because your soul is purified, you have the potential and the opportunity to save your soul and make it count in a way that will be rewarded in eternity.
In this context, Peter is saying that if you love other believers with your pure heart, you have the potential of loving fervently. This is because of what God has made you to be “in the inner man.” You have the potential and ability to save your life and make it count for eternity by loving one another with a pure heart. If you do, you will be saving your soul.
IV. ABSTAIN FROM FLESHLY LUSTS (1 PETER 2:11-12)
In this short section, Peter begs his readers to abstain from the fleshly lusts that wage war against their souls. We can find lists of these lusts in various NT passages. Examples would include bitterness and sensual lusts. These wage war against the souls of believers. There is a battle going on over the lives of believers.
At the end of the epistle, Peter mentions that the devil is involved in this battle. This war comes from without the believer from the devil and from within the believer through the flesh. The devil and the flesh are trying to destroy the soul—the life—of the believer.12 They want to cause the believer to waste his life and not make it count for eternity. This will result in damage to our lives now and loss of reward in the future.
Peter instructs believers to call upon God. With His help and strength, they can overcome those fleshly lusts. They can save their souls (lives) from the damage those lusts can cause now and at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
V. SUBMIT TO GOVERNING AUTHORITIES (1 PETER 2:13-17)
Peter says we should submit ourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, and honor the king. The two words I want to point out are submit and honor in the phrase “honor the king.”
To submit to the governing authorities and to honor the king means to obey the law. Don’t be a lawbreaker. We should show respect for the king. In our case, this means the president of the United States. Does Peter say to honor only the good kings? No. He says to honor the king, period. I am sure that Peter had plenty of experience with bad kings.
Notice what he says immediately before the command to honor the king: Fear God. If we fear God, we will honor the king. I think this speaks volumes to us today because many become frustrated with our government and our president. We disagree with many of the things he does. We can fall into the trap of not honoring the president. Peter tells us to honor the president because of his position. God is the One who put him in office. The Bible says that God removes and establishes kings.13
He sometimes appoints over a nation the lowest of men. In those situations, we can easily fall into the trap of not honoring such leaders. We feel they are not doing their jobs. This results in not having genuine faith amid such trials. Because things are not going the way we think they should, we don’t believe that God is in control and that He has put such a person in office to accomplish His purposes.
Such situations provide us with opportunities to exercise genuine faith in trials. We can exercise genuine faith in times like those. This will save our souls and make our lives count for eternity.
VI. SUBMIT TO YOUR BOSSES (1 PETER 2:18-25)
Believers can experience the salvation of their souls by submitting to their bosses. Peter writes,
Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh…For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.
I have taken the liberty of paraphrasing masters as bosses. You should submit to those for whom you work.14 You should do this in fear. I believe this fear is a reference to what Peter brought up earlier about fearing God (1:17). I want to fear God at work and be what I need to be because I fear what could happen at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
I am to submit to my boss, not just if he is good and gentle, but even if he is harsh. When you have a harsh person as a boss, it is an opportunity to do what Peter said. You can exercise faith during that trial.
When Peter asks what credit you should receive for being patient when you are beaten for your faults, he expects a negative answer. There is no credit in that situation. But, if you do good and suffer for it, taking it patiently, it is commendable before God. This means you will be rewarded by God at the Judgment seat of Christ. God is pleased now, and it will be reflected when you stand before Christ. To be in a bad work environment—to be in that trial—is an opportunity to exercise genuine faith that will be rewarded by the Lord.
VII. SUBMIT TO YOUR HUSBANDS (1 PETER 3:1-6)
Another opportunity to save your soul—your life—and make it count for eternity is by wives submitting to their husbands. Peter says:
Wives…be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear…the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God… as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.
Some key words here express the main idea: Wives are to “be submissive” to their husbands. Once again, fear is mentioned (1:17; 2:18). This is the fear of what could happen at the Judgment Seat of Christ if a believer does not do what God tells him to do. Notice, as well, the word after fear, which is incorruptible. It is used in 1:4, where it speaks of an incorruptible inheritance. This is a reward, or treasure, that is laid up for the kingdom.
Peter tells wives that if they follow what God is telling them in the letter regarding their husbands, they are going to be rewarded for it. This is because their actions are beautiful before God.
These women are told not to be afraid with any terror. This does not contradict the fear Peter talked about earlier (2:18). There is a difference between fearing God and what might happen at the Judgment Seat of Christ on the one hand and the terror mentioned here on the other. A woman might have terror at the prospect of letting her husband be the leader in the home. She should not feel that way, because by such submission she is being obedient to God.
When Peter says that the husband might be won “without a word,” he does not mean silence. He uses Sarah as an example. In Genesis 21, Sarah talked to Abraham about Hagar and Ishmael. She told him to cast Hagar and Ishmael out. Sarah was not silent and told him what she thought. The matter was displeasing to Abraham, but God stepped in and told him to listen to Sarah’s voice. This provides a balance to what Peter is talking about. He doesn’t mean that a woman shouldn’t speak up and say what’s on her mind. But she shouldn’t try to overpower her husband with her words. She should combine her words with her actions.
When she does so, she is saving her life. She is making it count for eternity and saving her life from damage now. That is the kind of life that will be rewarded in the future.
VIII. UNDERSTAND YOUR WIVES (1 PETER 3:7)
“Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to your wife, as to the weaker vessel… that your prayers may not be hindered.” Live with your wife in an understanding way. Ask God for wisdom to understand her and be quick to hear and understand her. Put her interests ahead of your own.
Peter then gives a warning. If you do not do these things, your prayers are going to be hindered. None of us want our prayers to be hindered. We do not want God to be unresponsive to our prayers. This shows that even though the salvation of the soul focuses on being saved from the loss of reward in the future, it also has to do with damage now. What greater damage could there be in our lives than to know that God is unresponsive to our prayers?
IX. BLESS OTHERS (1 PETER 3:8-12)
…be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing … For “he who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit…For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers…”
We tend to want to return evil for evil and insult for insult. But Peter says that when you are wronged, you are to bless. Jesus said we should pray for and bless those who are our enemies and persecute us (Matt 5:44-48). He said we will be rewarded if we do so (Matt 5:11-12).
Peter says the same thing. The word inherit in v 9 alludes to the reward, or blessing, that will be ours at the Judgment Seat of Christ if we do what Peter teaches.
Notice the last phrase in the passage above: “Open to their prayers…” I want God to be open to my prayers. I want to save my life from damage now and from loss of reward in the future. These are some of the things I should pray about. I want God to be open to those prayers. To do that, I need to bless others.
X. SUFFER FOR DOING GOOD (1 PETER 3:13-17)
“And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?” The answer Peter is looking for is that there are probably not many people who will harm you if you do what is good. However, he quickly adds, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed.”
If you have faith in the midst of being wronged by someone, it means that you believe God is going to bless you for what you are going through. That is why Peter adds that if you are in that kind of situation, you should “not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.”
In an understatement, Peter says it is better to suffer for “doing good than for doing evil” (v 17). If we suffer because we are obeying God, He will reward us in the kingdom for that obedience. Suffering for being obedient to God is an opportunity for the believer to save his soul, or life, now and in the future.
XI. BE SAVED FROM DOING EVIL (1 PETER 3:18–4:6)
Peter now picks up the last words of the previous section—doing evil—and talks about being saved from doing evil. He says: “…in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism…through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
We should notice the word souls here. Peter also mentions being saved through water and says that baptism “saves” us. The baptism he is referring to is Spirit baptism.15 It is that baptism that puts us into Christ—the resurrected Christ—and gives us the power of Christ to be saved from the power of sin in our daily lives.
That is a present salvation that we can experience in this life. We can be saved from the power of sin in our daily lives because we have been baptized into Christ and have His resurrection power to enable us to withstand the temptation of sin (4:2; Rom 5:10).16
Those who were placed in the ark before the Flood were a type of this salvation. Noah’s family was saved from the destruction of the waters of the Flood. Those who are in Christ through the baptism of the Spirit will be saved from the power of sin in their daily lives if they walk by the power of the Spirit. When Peter speaks of eight souls being saved, he means eight lives. The believer who walks in the power available to him by the Spirit will be saved from damage to his life now and from loss of reward in the kingdom.
XII. SERVE ONE ANOTHER (1 PETER 4:7-11)
“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another…that God may be glorified… forever and ever.”
The Lord is glorified when His children serve others. We do that by using our spiritual gifts in the church. This type of life will be rewarded because the believer who serves others is like Him and will therefore be great in His kingdom (Mark 10:45).17
XIII. PARTAKE OF CHRIST’S SUFFERINGS (1 PETER 4:12-19)
“Rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy… let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good.”
The believer who suffers with Christ will be glorified with Him (Rom 8:17; 2 Tim 2:12). Peter speaks of Christ’s glory. The Lord will share His glory with others to the degree that they suffered with Him. This involves reigning with Him.18 For this reason, the believer who suffers for the Lord should be “glad.” He is saving his “soul” in the present by “doing good.”
XIV. SHEPHERD THE FLOCK AS ELDERS (1 PETER 5:1-4)
“The elders who are among you…Shepherd the flock of God… being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.”
Peter discusses a reward for a particular group of believers. Elders–leaders in the church––who serve faithfully will receive a crown. This is an eternal reward and is associated with reigning with Christ and sharing His “glory.”19
XV. HUMBLE YOURSELVES (1 PETER 5:5-7)
“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”
The obedient believer is humble. Humility is expressed by relying upon God. Such a believer avoids damage to his life by receiving grace from God. He will also be saved at the Judgment Seat of Christ when the Lord exalts him.
XVI. RESIST THE DEVIL (1 PETER 5:8-11)
“…your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith…may the God of all grace…after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever.”
The believer will experience the salvation of his soul if he resists the devil. Peter does add some words of salutation, but this is the end of the message of 1 Peter. It is quite a way to end because it alerts us to the importance of what he has said throughout the letter.
We are in a battle. Satan and our flesh are trying to destroy our lives—to destroy our souls. The word Peter uses is devour. The devil walks about, and he is trying to devour you. He is trying to damage your soul. He is trying to rob your life’s experience by causing damage to your life now. He is also trying to rob you of the reward that could be yours at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Peter tells us to resist him, steadfast in the faith. That is where he started this book. He told the believers who are the letter’s intended audience to have genuine faith in the midst of trials (1:7). A believer like that will trust God, calling out to Him for strength and victory.
Peter says that God will respond. He is there to perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle us. The Lord can strengthen us to withstand what Satan is trying to do. Through the strength God provides, your life can be saved from damage now and from loss of reward in the future.
The last sentence in this section describes what will be true of a saved soul. Such a life will bring Him greater glory because it is to Christ—to Him—that all glory and dominion belong forever and ever.
CONCLUSION
The greater the praise, honor, and glory you receive at the Judgment Seat of Christ, the greater you will reflect His glory forever.
That is what Peter means when he speaks of the salvation of your soul in 1 Peter (1:5, 9, 10).
1 Zane C. Hodges, First Peter: The Salvation of the Soul (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2017).
2 Ibid., 23.
3 Hal M. Haller Jr., “The Gospel according to Matthew,” in The Grace New Testament Commentary, ed. Robert N. Wilkin (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2010), 76.
4 Judas was not a believer, but the other eleven were. There were also other believers listening to the Lord. This teaching was directed toward them.
5 Alberto S. Valdés, “The Gospel according to Luke,” in The Grace New Testament Commentary, ed. Robert N. Wilkin (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2010), 324.
6 Robert N. Wilkin, “The Gospel according to John,” in The Grace New Testament Commentary, ed. Robert N. Wilkin (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2010), 380.
7 Zane C. Hodges, A Free Grace Primer (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2011), 410.
8 Gary Derickson, “The First Epistle of Peter,” in The Grace New Testament Commentary, ed. Robert N. Wilkin (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2010), 1147.
9 Hodges, First Peter, 30.
10 Haller, “Matthew,” 119.
11 Zane C. Hodges, The Epistles of John (Irving, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 1999), 141.
12 Thomas R. Schreiner, 1, 2 Peter, Jude, The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2003), 121.
13 Zane C. Hodges, Romans: Deliverance from Wrath (Corinth, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2013), 383.
14 Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 406.
15 Hodges, First Peter, 75.
16 Hodges, Romans, 143-44.
17 Barry Mershon Jr., “The Gospel according to Mark,” in The Grace New Testament Commentary, ed. Robert N. Wilkin (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2010), 186.
18 René A. López, “The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans,” in The Grace New Testament Commentary, ed. Robert N. Wilkin (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2010), 665.
19 Derickson, “The First Epistle of Peter,” 1167.