Protocolo de examen

The theological nature of the letter is already apparent in the prescript where God the Father foreknows the elect, the Spirit sanctifies the elect and Jesus Christ obeys and sprinkles his blood for the elect (1:2).51 _{The introductory section of the letter begins with an explication of the}

relationship between God the Father and Jesus Christ as it bears upon the salvation of the elect (1:3). It is not surprising, then, to find at the closing of the introductory section reference to the work of the Holy Spirit.52 _{Whereas Christ inspires the prophets of old with the message of the}

work of Christ (1:11), the Holy Spirit is active in the promulgation of the gospel message through preachers (1:12).

Peter communicates the advantage the elect have over the prophets of old in light of the advent of Christ and the revelation of the gospel. The elect also have an advantage over the angels. A word play occurs in which several a)ggel- cognates appear in 1:12, which has led to this musing about the angels. The upshot is that the work of salvation that has been

communicated to the elect by several means; something in which the angels share no

participation. Instead, the elect are shown the advantage they have over the heavenly host in that God has revealed his salvation to humanity. The discussion of angels serves a purpose in the Petrine hermeneutic. Played against the backdrop of Jewish apocalyptic interpretation wherein angels play a more prominent role in divine revelation, Peter’s description of revelation involves God directly in the process of revelation.

The picture that 1 Peter 1:10-12 conveys regarding Petrine hermeneutics is multifaceted. The process by which Peter interprets scripture is highly theological. This may be observed throughout the letter in a variety of theological assertions (1:3, 12, 15, 17, 20; 2:3, 15, 21; 3:15, 17, 18, 20, 22; 4:6, 9, 19; 5:2, 10) which reveal all the more the extent to which there is a theological backdrop to 1 Peter. The scriptures stand as the authority by which theological assertions are made and yet the scriptures have already been read by means of theological concepts. The authority of scripture established in 1 Pet 1:10-12 moves forward into the main body of 1 Peter, a letter teeming with scriptural quotations, allusions and echoes.

The hermeneutics of 1 Peter may be described as a complex picture. The appeal to the prophets indicates an appropriation of scripture’s authority as the basis for the argument to follow in the epistle. Peter inherits Jewish interpretive practices, but these are extended

dynamically to a realization of God’s work in Jesus Christ. This christology is largely assumed in 1 Peter and serves in many ways to develop ecclesiology. Scripture is read in such a way that it bears upon the theology and praxis of the church. Because the christological element is in place, the church benefits from its situation in time due to the fact that the promise of scripture has now been announced through the preaching of the gospel of salvation. Rather than explicating

53_{Green 2007, 256. Emphasis original.}

54_{Schutter eventually announces “the close connexion between Christology and ecclesiology in the letter”} as “an integral part of the way he read the Scriptures” (1989, 171). However, he never articulates how Peter is able to find in the scriptures an address to the church. I believe this stems largely from his understanding of Peter’s use of scripture as a proof-text (172). Hays contends that “it is possible to mount a strong argument that Paul is not just randomly proof-texting in his allusions to Isaiah but that Isa 40–55 is fundamentally formative for his understanding of what God is doing in the world through the proclamation of the gospel: God is revealing his eschatological righteousness, ending the exile of his people, and bringing the Gentiles to see and understand” (2005, 38–40). Thus, by identifying the scriptural narrative that informs Peter’s ecclesiology, we are able to address this lacuna.

his indebtedness to Jewish interpretive practices, 1 Pet 1:10-12 announces the theological categories that will inform the readings of scripture to follow in the letter. Green writes in reference to 1 Pet 1:10-12:

Peter recognizes the past testimony of the Spirit of Christ in providing a theological pattern by which to construe the meaning of Scripture. This pattern consisted of the fabula, or story behind the story, of the Vindication of the Suffering Righteous.53

The fabula to which Green points is the subject of this thesis. The story of restoration is not merely a story that addresses the church, it is a story in which the church participates. It is theologically oriented inasmuch as it recognizes in scripture the outworking of God’s redemptive plan through Christ among the people of God.

Returning for the moment to Schutter’s consideration of 1 Pet 1:10-12 as the

hermeneutical key of 1 Peter, he based his conclusion on three factors: 1) the placement of the passage just prior to the main body of the letter, 2) the use of technical language concerning interpretive activity, and 3) the repeated use of the suffering/glory motif which first appears in this passage. The first of his points remains valid and is one of the primary factors that

contributes to the importance of the passage. The second of his points, however, must be questioned. Designating a few terms as technical jargon must be demonstrated from a wider array of literature. Schutter has only drawn attention to a parallel between a few passages. I do not contest that parallels exists between the exegetical strategies employed at Qumran and in the early church. However, the parallels do not sufficiently account for the full picture of Petrine hermeneutics.54

What I spell out in this chapter demonstrates that important theological categories must be factored into Petrine hermeneutics. The appeal to scripture in support of theology is the singular contribution made in 1 Pet 1:10-12 and therefore distinguishes it in important ways from the Second Temple interpretive practices it so clearly draws upon. This theologization serves as the hermeneutical key of 1 Peter and is manifested in the scriptural narrative that supports the ecclesiology of the letter.

The suffering/glory motif now deserves special attention. The next section will look more closely at this. Two aspects of this motif will be considered: 1) the role the motif plays in 1 Peter, and 2) the derivation of this motif from scripture. In both, the motif will be shown to be instrumental in the depiction of the scriptural narrative of divine restoration.

55_{Schutter 1989, 100.} 56_{Schutter 1989, 101.}

57_{But see H. Greeven, “e0kzhte/w,” TDNT 2:894–895; M. Seitz, “e0rauna/w,” NIDNTT 3:532–533.} 58_{Schutter 1989, 107–108.}

59_{Schutter 1989, 109.} 60_{Schutter 1989, 123, 170.}

61_{Schutter 1989, 170. By this (cf., 114) he means the thirteen principles outlined in Brownlee 1951.} 62_{Schutter 1989, 123.}

63_{Moyise 2008a, 93.} 64_{Moyise 2008a, 94.}