Showing forth the great works of God: the witness of the people of God in the socio-historic context of 1 Peter and its implication for the church today
Abstract
Christian communities often refer to the book of Acts and the missionary preaching
of the apostle Paul when they consider their witness to society. Missionary preaching
is therefore often seen as the main mode for witness and little attention is given to
the socio-historic context of the book and the social position of the apostle Paul. The
apostle Paul was an educated rabbi and Roman citizen and therefore well suited to
engage in missionary preaching. The hearers of 1 Peter, on the other hand, were
from a different social background. This study is focussed on the concept of witness
in the letter and the modes of witness which the author encourages within the sociohistoric
context of his hearers.
Thus, the socio-historic context of the hearers of the letter in the Petrine provinces
has been investigated and a comprehensive exegetical process has been applied to
the unit 1 Peter 2:4-10 in order to understand the theological identity of the hearers
and the witness motif in 1 Peter 2:5 and 9. Exegesis was done according to the
traditional grammatical-historical method. Furthermore, traditional methodologies like
structural, historical and grammatical analyses have been applied in investigating the
Old Testament references, and literary concepts, like intertextuality, have been
applied to further enhance the understanding.
Further, through exegesis, the identity of the resident aliens, household servants and
married women, and the modes of witness present in 1 Peter 2:11-3:6 were
analysed in their particular socio-historic-context.
One conclusion of this study is that two different modes of witness can be identified
in the section 1 Peter 2:4-10. Furthermore, the author, in consideration of the social
position of his hearers, chose a mode of witness that would have been most effective
in that context.
Thus, the letter of 1 Peter provides a biblical basis and mandate for Christian
communities to consider their social context in order to identify suitable modes of
witness that would be most effective in their particular situation.
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