Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

1 Peter 1:21

διʼ ὑμᾶς, for the sake of you Gentiles, cf. Ephesians 3:5; Romans 16:26. The revelation of Christ was made for your sake, because it is through Christ that you are enabled to be faithful as resting upon God (πιστοὺς εἰς θεόν). πιστός in the LXX. never means “believing” or trustful, but is used to translate the Hebrew word נֶאֱמָן = firm, secure. As applied to persons, a firm friend is one who is trustworthy, and so πιστός acquired the meaning trustworthy, faithful. But in the N.T. the active use of πίστις, viz. belief, is much more common than the passive trustworthiness, fidelity, and so the adjective πιστός is occasionally used in the sense of believing—e.g. six times in the Pastoral Epp., possibly also in Ephesians 1:1 and Colossians 1:1—and with a new application of Abraham’s old title in Galatians 3:9. It is also used in the sense of a believer as opposed to ἄπιστος, an unbeliever, in John 20:27; 2 Corinthians 6:15; and without ἄπιστος in Acts 16:1. But there is no instance of πιστός in the sense of believing, followed by a preposition. So here Hort would translate “faithful as resting on God” rather than believers in God (as the R.V.). If St Peter had intended this he would have written πιστεύοντας, which is the reading of the T.R. Moreover, in that case, the words which follow at the end of the verse would be a meaningless repetition. The remembrance that death led to resurrection and glory in the case of Christ enables the Christian to be “faithful unto death” as leading to the crown of life; cf. Hebrews 2:9, Jesus is crowned with glory and honour because of the suffering of death, and this perfecting of the Captain of their salvation through sufferings befits God’s purpose in bringing many sons to glory; cf. Romans 8:17.

ὥστε might be taken as a final particle = in order that, i.e. God’s purpose in raising Christ to glory was that your faith and hope should be centred upon Himself. More probably it is here a consecutive particle = so that. St Peter sums up the result of all that he has said, and shews that God is the foundation and the goal of human faith and hope.

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

1 Peter 1:21

Old Testament

New Testament