Ecclesiology and the Scriptural Narrative of 1 Peter

The relationship between the church and the scriptures of Israel is fraught with complexities, particularly in regard to how the first Christians read scripture in light of the gospel of Christ. Patrick Egan examines the text of 1 Peter in light of its numerous quotations of scripture and demonstrates how the epistle sets forth a scriptural narrative that explains the nature and purpose of the church. Egan argues that 1 Peter sets forth an ecclesiology based in a participatory christology, in which the church endures suffering in imitation of Jesus' role as the suffering servant. The epistle admonishes the church to a high moral standard in light of Christ's atoning work while also encouraging the church to place hope in God's final vindication of his people. Addressing the churches of Asia Minor, 1 Peter applies the scriptural narrative to the church in unexpected ways. ""Patrick Egan provides a sequential, detailed, and comprehensive discussion of 1 Peter's reading of Scripture, showing how it situates its readers within the Isaianic narrative of exile and restoration. He has done much to bring Petrine hermeneutics into the field of lively study of early Christian readings of Isaiah that has focused up to now on Paul and the Gospels."" --Richard Bauckham, Professor, Cambridge, UK ""Patrick Egan's study is a rich engagement with Christian social identity, as it is represented in 1 Peter. Christology, ecclesiology, and hermeneutics prove inseparable for the author, with the shared identity of Christians always determined by the unique identity of Jesus himself, an identity that is informed by--and in turn informs--the reading of Scripture. The study is as sensitive to the theological implications of 1 Peter as to the critical issues of text and background."" --Grant Macaskill, Professor, Kirby Laing Chair of New Testament Exegesis, University of Aberdeen; author of Union with Christ in the New Testament (2013) Patrick T. Egan is Dean of the Upper School at Providence Classical Christian Academy in St. Louis and Research Tutor in New Testament at King's Evangelical Divinity School in the UK.