1 Peter: An Introduction and Commentary (Volume 17)

by Wayne Grudem, Eckhard J. Schnabel (series_editor), Nicholas Perrin (consultant_editor)

Peter's short letter to the "exiles of the dispersion" addresses many holiness, the sufferings of Christ, God's sovereignty in salvation and life, the grace of God, the work of the Holy Spirit, the church as the new people of God, the reality of the unseen spiritual world, and trusting in God in the midst of daily circumstances. What ties all these concepts together, Wayne Grudem suggests, is the theme of suffering. Most of all, suffering is a form of imitating Christ, who, by bearing our sins on the cross, gives meaning and comfort to Christians in every aspect of their daily lives.

Part of the Tyndale New Testament commentary series, 1 Peter offers a thorough understanding of the book's content and structure as well as its continued relevance for today. This edition has been revised and updated by Grudem from his original TNTC volume.

The Tyndale Commentaries are designed to help the reader of the Bible understand what the text says and what it means. The Introduction to each book gives a concise but thorough treatment of its authorship, date, original setting, and purpose. Following a structural Analysis, the Commentary takes the book section by section, drawing out its main themes, and also comments on individual verses and problems of interpretation. Additional Notes provide fuller discussion of particular difficulties.

Genres: Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

Published August 27, 2024

About the author

Wayne Grudem (PhD, University of Cambridge; DD, Westminster Theological Seminary) is research professor of theology and biblical studies at Phoenix Seminary, having previously taught for 20 years at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Grudem earned his undergraduate degree at Harvard University, as well as an MDiv from Westminster Seminary. He is the former president of the Evangelical Theological Society, a cofounder and past president of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, a member of the Translation Oversight Committee for the English Standard Version of the Bible, the general editor of the ESV Study Bible, and has published over 20 books, including Systematic Theology, Evangelical Feminism, Politics—According to the Bible, and Business for the Glory of God.

Reviews

[Jimmy Reagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here a nice TNTC volume gets an update that will extend its usefulness for a long time to come. When I think of Wayne Grudem, I think Systematic Theology since that volume is perhaps as influential as any in print today. What he proves here is that he can run too in the commentary-writing world. He may have written a couple paragraphs in a systematic theology style in this book, but this a truly helpful commentary.

The 50-page Introduction is pretty full as this series goes. He is consistently conservative in his conclusions and I found myself agreeing with him at many points. More important to you, he explains how he arrives at those conclusions quite lucidly. For those who care, he interacts with scholarship well without letting that dominate. He also is not afraid to go against the grain where scholarship has gone amok. For example, he dispenses with the idea that 1 Peter is meant to be read as a baptismal sermon. As he effectively shows, baptism is hardly mentioned in Peter and then mostly in cursory way. How do scholars fall in these ditches?

Half way through the Introduction he transitions to theology and major themes. Don’t miss this section as that can be a great aid to understanding Peter. He works through twelve themes found in 1 Peter and you’d be hard pressed to disagree with his twelve.

If you are familiar with this series, you’ll find this a good representative of it. There are constraints on length, so it’s the type of work where every sentence counts. And here they did. Background, exegetical understanding, and a bit of theology pervade the writing on every passage. This is a fine commentary. 

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

[Thomas Creedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A privilege to work on this - seeing Grudem update and integrate another fair few years of study, and see him interact with Schnabel! The latter was like watching a New Testament seminar unfold in the tracked changes and comments.

Worth picking up if you’ve got the first edition. If you haven’t, and are looking for a short commentary on 1 Peter, then this one is hard to beat.

[Jono Spear · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wouldn’t recommend this for studying 1 Peter. It’s not bad, there’s just not much that’s noteworthy. Grudem pretty much gives BDAG definitions for words and explains them. Not much dialogue with other scholars, whether contemporary or throughout the history of interpretation.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used this revised commentary during a small group Bible study on 1 Peter as an additional resource. Grudem's commentary is excellent with both his analysis of the text as well as devotional notes. One of the best commentaries I have read.

[GreatHeart Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

A faith-filled an scholarly commentary

Wayne does a fantastic job at diving deep into the original context, connecting it with the wider Biblical witness, and provides concrete applications for each passage. I highly recommend this specific commentary and the series as a whole.