CONTENTS
| THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PETER | |
| Sojourners of the Dispersion (1 Peter i. 1) | [ 1] |
| By, Through, Unto (1 Peter i. 5) | [ 7] |
| Sorrowful, Yet Always Rejoicing (1 Peter i. 6) | [ 17] |
| The True Gold and Its Testing (1 Peter i. 7) | [ 27] |
| Joy in Believing (1 Peter i. 8) | [ 34] |
| Christ and His Cross the Centre of the Universe (1 Peter i. 10, 11, 12) | [ 41] |
| Hope Perfectly (1 Peter i. 13) | [ 51] |
| The Family Likeness (1 Peter i. 15) | [ 61] |
| Father and Judge (1 Peter i. 17) | [ 69] |
| Purifying the Soul (1 Peter i. 22) | [ 76] |
| Living Stones on the Living Foundation Stone (1 Peter ii. 4, 5) | [ 86] |
| Spiritual Sacrifices (1 Peter ii. 5) | [ 92] |
| Mirrors of God (1 Peter ii. 9) | [ 101] |
| Christ the Exemplar (1 Peter ii. 21) | [ 107] |
| Hallowing Christ (1 Peter iii. 14, 15) | [ 116] |
| Christian Asceticism (1 Peter iv. 1-8) | [ 123] |
| The Slave's Girdle (1 Peter v. 5) | [ 130] |
| Sylvanus (1 Peter v. 12, R.V.) | [ 138] |
| An Apostolic Testimony and Exhortation (1 Peter v. 12) | [ 146] |
| The Church in Babylon (1 Peter v. 13) | [ 154] |
| Marcus, My Son (1 Peter v. 13) | [ 161] |
| THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PETER | |
| Like Precious Faith (2 Peter i. 1) | [ 170] |
| Man Summoned by God's Glory and Energy (2 Peter i. 3) | [ 178] |
| Partakers of the Divine Nature (2 Peter i. 4) | [ 189] |
| The Power of Diligence (2 Peter i. 5) | [ 198] |
| Going Out and Going in (2 Peter i. 11, 15) | [ 206] |
| The Owner and His Slaves (2 Peter ii. 1) | [ 215] |
| Be Diligent (2 Peter iii. 14) | [ 224] |
| Growth (2 Peter iii. 18) | [ 234] |
| THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN | |
| The Message and Its Practical Results (1 John i. 5-ii. 6) | [ 247] |
| Walking in the Light (1 John i. 7) | [ 253] |
| The Commandment, Old Yet New (1 John ii. 7, 8) | [ 261] |
| Youthful Strength (1 John ii. 14) | [ 269] |
| River and Rock (1 John ii. 17) | [ 279] |
| The Love That Calls Us Sons (1 John iii. 1) | [ 289] |
| The Unrevealed Future of the Sons of God (1 John iii. 2) | [ 301] |
| The Purifying Influence of Hope (1 John iii. 3) | [ 310] |
| Practical Righteousness (1 John iii. 7) | [ 320] |
| Christ's Mission the Revelation of God's Love (1 John iv. 10) | [ 329] |
| The Servant As His Lord (1 John iv. 17) | [ 338] |
| Love and Fear (1 John iv. 18) | [ 347] |
| The Ray and the Reflection (1 John iv. 19) | [ 355] |
I. PETER
SOJOURNERS OF THE DISPERSION
'Peter, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered ...'—1 Peter i. 1.
The words rendered 'strangers scattered' are literally 'sojourners of the Dispersion,' and are so rendered in the Revised Version. The Dispersion was the recognised name for the Jews dwelling in Gentile countries; as, for instance, it is employed in John's Gospel, when the people in Jerusalem say, 'Whither will this man go that we shall not find Him? Will he go to the Dispersion amongst the Greeks?' Obviously, therefore the word here may refer to the scattered Jewish people, but the question arises whether the letter corresponds to its apparent address, or whether the language which is employed in it does not almost oblige us to see here a reference, not to the Jew, but to the whole body of Christian people, who, whatever may be their outward circumstances, are, in the deepest sense, in the foundations of their life, if they be Christ's, 'strangers of the Dispersion.'