Episode 1: Making Visible the Invisible

…you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

1 Peter 2:9 seemed like the perfect theme verse for these meditations on the freedom we, as redeemed women, have in Christ. We are indeed fully part of those called out of the darkness to join in the wonderful work of restoring the Kingdom of God.

Then I realized that one verse does not make an entire mission. Years ago, I had prepared a series of studies on 1 Peter. I went to dig out the binder that held those studies. Nothing. I searched my laptop for the original notes. Nothing. As I sat down to think through this introduction, I wondered whether the very nature of this new focus required a fresh look at the book of 1 Peter. How is the rest of the book relevant to women set free to seek Jesus, to learn to imitate Him, to learn from His Word, to share (preach, teach, witness to, live out) what we learn, and to serve Him in our community and beyond?

So let’s do that together. Let’s take a look at 1 Peter and what it means to us as a redeemed community of women (and men if any of them choose to join us).

Let’s begin. I am using (unless otherwise noted) the Berean Study Bible for the passages quoted.

1 Peter 1:1, 2

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. To the elect who are exiles of the Dispersion throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Peter was one of Jesus’ disciples, a member of His inner circle of followers. He describes himself here as an apostle. That word, taken from the Greek apóstolos, most simply defined, means “messenger,” “envoy,” “one sent on a mission.” One of the things we will note as we study is that the word applies far beyond that original group of Jesus’ disciples. But for now, let’s move on.

To the end of his life, Peter lived out his calling as a “sent one.” He travelled throughout the Biblical world, establishing and visiting churches, teaching and preaching to believers and non-believers alike, and spreading the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus, the Son of God, sent to redeem sinners and restore them to a relationship with His Father.

As Peter pens this letter, he is addressing those believers who, by this time in history, had been forced by persecution to leave their homes and seek refuge elsewhere. These are the “exiles,” the “Dispersion” referred to. We know the letter is addressed to followers of Jesus because of the terms used to describe them: “elect,” “chosen,” “sanctified,” and the reference to their acceptance of Jesus and His atoning work on the cross: “the sprinkling by His blood.”

Those first words used to describe those who will receive this letter, “elect” and “chosen,” have historically been fraught with controversy over the implications often attached to their interpretation. I am not going to get into that (I have written another series of studies on that particular subject). It is sufficient here to say that these people were believers.

As the early church grew, so did its perceived threat to the Roman Empire. We know from the book of Acts that Peter himself was imprisoned for preaching the Gospel. He is believed to have died, crucified, because of his faith. He was not the only one. Scripture also tells us of others who suffered imprisonment and death for the Gospel, including Paul, James, Stephen, Andronicus and Junia. (See Acts 5:17, 18; 4:1-12, 7:54-58 12:1-19, 16:16-24; Romans 16:7)

Wait! Andronicus and Junia?

Let’s read Romans 16. Scot McKnight* believes that anyone reading the book of Romans needs to read it from the back to the front rather than the front to the back. One reason, he claims is that by the time readers get to Romans 16 they are so overwhelmed by what they have read that they skip over this list of the people Paul greets without realizing how significant this list is to the story of the Gospel. The list includes a significant number of women, including Junia. Here is what Paul writes:

Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow countrymen and fellow prisoners. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. (See Romans 16:7, 8)

This pair were believers before Paul. They are both named as apostles—outstanding ones at that. You remember that an apostle is one sent on mission, a messenger of the Gospel. Both Andronicus and Junia are sent on mission, apostles. They are countrymen of Paul. Paul was from Tarsus; perhaps they were too. Notice also that both Andronicus and Junia were put into prison for the Gospel. This would have been bad enough for a man, but particularly dangerous for a woman. In biblical times, prison was a holding area while a prisoner was awaiting trial or execution, and how a prisoner was treated depended on the circumstances. But Paul commends both of these messengers.

The Bible describes a period of history that was notably patriarchal. I suspect every period since the fall of Adam and Eve has been that, to varying degrees, as we shall see. But as Nijay Gupta** says, though more is said about men, the women were there—and doing significant service, even going to prison.

Junia is not unique in her experience of persecution for the sake of Jesus. Acts 8:1-3 recounts what happened after the death of Stephen.

And Saul was there, giving approval to Stephen’s death. On that day, a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. God-fearing men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.

As you may recall, the early church met in homes, and Saul, upon learning where they met, went from house to house and took the believers away. It is likely that he targeted the leaders of these house churches—the homeowners in particular, who hosted the meetings, some of whom were women.

We will look into the lives and ministries of the women of the early church and others during our journey together.

But let our takeaway from this post be this: Peter is writing to ALL the believers who were then scattered because of persecution. This “chosen people,” this “royal priesthood,” this “holy nation,” this “people for God’s own possession,” and those called out to proclaim the Gospel were not just men. We too were there—and still are!

Stay tuned.

*Scot McKnight, Reading Romans Backward: A Gospel of Peace in the Midst of Empire, (Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2019)

**Nijay Gupta, Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught and Ministered in the Early Church, (Downers Grove, Ill. Varsity Press, 2023)