Other Interpretations
Several churches use these verses in their confessional or catechetical statements. For example, the Heidelberg Catechism (1563) is not concerned with the location of the future inheritance, but focuses on the means by which it is attained (Pelikan II, VI: 437). The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647) is similar; while omitting some details of v.4, it declares that we are “heirs of everlasting salvation” (ibid.: 622). The Second Vatican Council likewise expresses hope for a future place in heaven: “the church … serves all humanity … as it makes its pilgrim way toward the homeland which is its goal” (Pelikan III, V: 637).
The Confessional Statement of the United Presbyterian Church (1925) is more expansive:
We believe in … the consummation and bliss of the life everlasting, wherein the people of God, freed from sin and sorrow, shall receive their inheritance of glory in the kingdom of their Father, and with capacities and powers exalted and enlarged, shall be made fully blessed in the fellowship of Christ, in the perfected communion of saints, and in the service of God, whom they shall enjoy forever and ever. (Pelikan III, V: 69)
Modern scholars have been intrigued by various concepts such as “hope” and “being kept.” For example, Green (2007: 43) posits that Peter’s hope “presumes transformed ways of thinking and is clearly set within an eschatological horizon.” Another current scholar Michaels highlights the term “kept” and shows its significance for understanding the inheritance. The word “kept” is a passive participle indicating God’s action in preserving the inheritance for the chosen. The perfect tense of this participle suggests that God’s action had its beginning in the past (God’s foreknowledge, v.2a). The idea of something being “kept” or hidden in God can be found in Jewish apocalyptic literature (for references from such, see Michaels, 1988: 21). The idea is that something precious is being protected by God himself for the end‐time. Paul uses a similar concept (e.g. Rom. 8:17; Gal. 4:7), except that for him the hidden things have been revealed in the present in Christ, whereas for Peter they will be revealed in the future. This entire section is mainly one of triumphant hope for the world to come (for like‐minded thinking, see 2 Peter and Jude, where the wicked are “kept” for judgment (Jude 6; 2 Pet. 2:4, 9; 3:7). Also, in contrast, judgment is “kept” or “reserved” for the wicked in Jude 13 and 2 Peter 2:17.
It does not become clear until later in the passage (vv.6–9) that the believers are being protected during “trials”: they are “kept” “by the power of God through faith.” It also emerges that this protection is not eradication of the trials; rather, God, being the initiator of these, “preserves” the faith of those undergoing them.
Faith is Preserved During Trials (vv.7–9)
Early writers as well as modern scholars are interested in Peter’s “faith during trials.” Didymus the Blind is one of the earliest to explain, “Those who are afflicted in various ways because of Christ and who persevere to the end have their faith tested and proved” (Comm. on 1 Peter, PG 39: 1756: my tr.). Others interpret these trials as the persecution being experienced by Peter’s church community. For example, the Shepherd of Hermas says:
Just as gold is tried by fire and becomes useful, so also you who live in the world are tried in it. So then, you who remain in it and pass through the flames will be purified. (Shepherd, “Visions” 3.1. FC 1:259: ccel.org)
It is noteworthy that since, most likely, the Shepherd of Hermas was written in Rome around the second century, this author may have had the severe persecution by Nero in mind here.
Athanasius of Alexandria (c. 296–298) has a similar understanding of suffering as present persecution in fire (Festal Letters, 10: CWS: 70). Also see Bede, Comm., 1985: 72). It should be noted that there is a hint here of the concept to be developed later in the epistle about the special nature of suffering as a Christian. The concept of suffering is a recurring theme in 1 Peter.
Reformation
By the time of the Reformation, Luther further explicates the meaning and consequences of being “kept” or “guarded”:
This is his [Peter’s] meaning: So tender and precious a matter is that which pertains to the faith which the power of God (that is with us and with which we are filled) produces in us, that He gives us a correct, clear understanding of all things that respect salvation, so that we may judge all that is on earth, and say, this doctrine is true, that is false; this conduct is right, that is not; this work is good and acceptable, that is evil. (Luther, Comm.: ccel.org)
Arminius addresses the notion of “being kept”: perseverance in good is not from ourselves, it necessitates an action from God through the Holy Spirit. He remarks that if a person who has been born again falls into sin, they cannot repent or rise again “unless they be raised up again by God through the power of his Spirit and be renewed to repentance” (Arminius, ‘Works of Arminius,” vol. 1 online: on 1 Peter 1:5: ccel.org). This expanded into later discussions with Luther, Calvin, and others about whether salvation can be lost.
Other Interpretations
Some religious groups have interpreted this to mean that salvation cannot be lost. The Mennonite Articles of Faith (1766/1895/1902) declare:
It is therefore contrary to the renewed nature of the believers and in antagonism with it, to sin. Moreover, they are carefully watched over and kept. (Pelikan III, V: 75)
Suffering: Purification or Punishment?
The interest in “hope” and “being kept” during trials quickly lead to the broader concern about the nature of suffering itself: is Peter addressing persecution in particular or is he also treating the sufferings everyone experiences through life? Moreover, does God himself send this grief and sorrow or is it from another source entirely? Many thinkers have addressed this issue through the ages and currently continue to struggle with finding a satisfactory solution.
Ancient Receptions
A number of early writers understand Peter’s idea about the meaning and purpose of suffering in terms of purification for believers and punishment for sinners. For example, John Chrysostom (c. 349–407) distinguishes between the refinement of believers and the punishment of sinners: “The righteous suffer so that they may be crowned [with glory], but sinners suffer in order to bring their sins to full judgment” (Catena, CEC 44: my tr.).
Other early thinkers understand suffering as “grief,” which ultimately brings about a good result. Origen says, “Read ‘grieve’ in this verse in the sense of ‘suffer’ as in ‘in grief you shall bring forth children’ [Gen 3:16]” (Exhortation to Martyrdom, 39 CWS: 70). Similarly, Didymus the Blind comments that there are two kinds of grief: “one leads to death and another leads to repentance” (2 Cor. 7:10) (Comm. on 1 Peter, PG 39: 17: my tr.).
Hilary of Arles conceives of suffering in a different way; that is, in