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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 1Pe_5:12-14 a
12Through Silvanus, our faithful brother (for so I regard him), I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it! 13She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son, Mark 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love.
1Pe_5:12 "Through Silvanus" This is the Silas of Act_15:40. This man was Peter's source, along with John Mark, of Paul's theology and writings. Peter's writings are very similar to Paul's in many ways.
There has been much speculation concerning this phrase's relationship to the authorship of 1 Peter. I think there is no doubt Peter used a scribe, but was it Silvanus? An interesting article in Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Vol. 43 No. 3, pp. 417-432, entitled "Silvanus Was Not Peter's Secretary" by E. Randolph Richards, has convinced me that this phrase probably refers to Silvanus bearing the letter to its readers, not necessarily penning it for Peter.
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▣ "the true grace of God" By the date of Peter's writings, other views of Jesus had developed. Peter asserts there is but one true grace—gospel. Peter has emphasized the grace of God often in 1 Peter (cf. 1Pe_1:10; 1Pe_1:13; 1Pe_2:3; 1Pe_3:7; 1Pe_4:10; 1Pe_5:5; 1Pe_5:10; 1Pe_5:12). The gospel of Jesus Christ truly reflects the heart of YHWH. It is called "true" here because it has been experienced in the lives of these suffering believers!
▣ "stand firm in it" This is an aorist active imperative. This was significant in a day of persecution. "Standing" relates to "firm in your faith" in 1Pe_5:9. It is an attitude towards God, towards Christ and away from sin, self, and Satan. It is a military term in Eph_6:11; Eph_6:13-14. Paul uses it in several different ways.
1. gospel summary in 1Co_15:1
2. explanation of "justification by faith" in Rom_5:2
3. admonitions to Gentiles to keep the faith in Rom_11:20
4. warning about spiritual arrogance in 1Co_10:12
Believers have a covenantal responsibility to stand firm ! See Special Topic: Perseverance at 1Pe_5:9.
1Pe_5:13 "she" Churches were often personified as female (cf. 2 John) probably because of the OT concept of YHWH as husband and Israel as wife (cf. Hosea 1-3). The church is the bride of Christ (cf. Eph_5:21-31).
▣ "Babylon" This is probably a cryptic reference to Rome (cf. Rev_14:8; Rev_17:5; Rev_18:2; Rev_18:10; Sibylline Oracles 5:143,152; Baruch 9:1). Rome, in Peter's day, was emblematic of the world powers of the OT (i.e., Assyria, Babylon, Persia). It was typical of a world system of power, arrogance, and idolatry apart from God (cf. Eph_2:2 a).
Peter was writing from the lair of the beast itself. God's church was established in the enemy's territory.
▣ "Mark" This refers to John Mark. The early church met in his family's house in Jerusalem (cf. Act_12:12). It was also the site of the Lord's three post resurrection appearances and the coming of the Spirit.
John Mark accompanied Paul and his cousin Barnabas (cf. Col_4:10) on the first missionary journey (cf. Act_12:25 to Act_13:13). For some reason he deserted the team and returned home (cf. Act_15:38). Barnabas wanted to include him on the second missionary journey, but Paul refused (cf. Act_15:36-41). This resulted in Paul and Barnabas separating. Barnabas took John Mark to Cyprus (cf. Act_15:39). Later, while Paul was in prison, he mentions John Mark in a positive way (cf. Col_4:10) and still later in Paul's second imprisonment at Rome, just before his death, he mentions John Mark again (cf. 2Ti_4:11).
Apparently John Mark became part of Peter's missionary team (cf. 1Pe_5:13). Eusebius' Eccl. His. 3:39:12 gives us an interesting account of John Mark's relation to Peter.
"In his own book Papias gives us accounts of the Lord's sayings obtained from Aristion or learnt direct from the presbyter John. Having brought these to the attention of scholars, I must now follow up the statements already quoted from him with a piece of information which he sets out regarding Mark, the writer of the gospel:
This, too, the presbyter used to say. 'Mark, who had been Peter's interpreter, wrote down carefully, but not in order, all that he remembered of the Lord's sayings and doings. For he had not heard the Lord or been one of His followers, but later, as I said, one of Peter's. Peter used to adapt his teaching to the occasion, without making a systematic arrangement of the Lord's sayings, so that Mark was quite justified in writing down some things just as he remembered them. For he had one purpose only— to leave out nothing that he had heard, and to make no misstatement about it'" (p. 152).
In this quote Papias refers to "John the elder," in Against Heresies 5:33:4, Irenaeus says "and these things are borne witness to in writing by Papias, the hearer of John, and a companion of Polycarp." This implies Papias heard it from John the Apostle. John Mark reworded Peter's memories and sermons about Jesus into a Gospel.
1Pe_5:14 "a kiss of love" This was the typical cultural greeting among family members. It was initially adopted by the family of God (cf. Rom_16:16; 1Co_16:20; 2Co_13:12; 1Th_5:6). By the fourth century a.d. this kiss was limited to the same sex because of the abuses within the church and misunderstandings from outside the church. This ritual fellowship act was a regular part of the Lord's Supper or Love Feast.