b. Stand in the grace I have described (5:12b)
b. Stand in the grace I have described (5:12b)
12b. I have written briefly to you is similar to the expression of brevity found in Hebrews 13:22. Looking back over both Hebrews and 1 Peter, one cannot help being struck by how much the authors have actually said in a very short space: many present-day readers may see in that fact additional evidence of divine as well as human authorship of this letter (certainly that has been true of the present author’s own experience while working closely on the letter over many months).
Peter says he has been exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God, thus summarizing his letter as a combination of moral commands (exhorting) and factual doctrinal teaching (declaring that this is the true grace of God). The word this is best understood to refer to the entire way of life described in the letter as a whole. The entire Christian life is one of grace—God’s daily bestowal of blessings, strength, help, forgiveness, and fellowship with himself, all of which we need, none of which we ever deserve. All is of grace, every day. From continual trust in that grace and from continual obedience empowered by it Christians must not move: rather, they must stand fast in it—until the day of their death.