Peter begins in the same way as every other letter found in the New Testament, with a greeting to his readers. And, also just like every other letter, there is an incredible amount of information hidden in these simple seeming verses.
You can see this passage in 1 Peter 1:1-2.
The first thing Peter does is identify himself, and then his readers. He is an apostle. He claims that authority in both of his letters, but does not issue a strong defense of that authority, as Paul must do in some of his letters. Peter’s apostolic authority is not in question here.
Next, Peter identifies who he is writing to. They are God’s elect. The term Peter uses here is rich in its heritage. The Jewish people were God’s chosen people. As the Old Testament transitioned into the New, Christians are identified as God’s chosen people. In fact, Peter will make this statement very clearly later in this letter (2:9). As God’s elect, Peter will encourage believers to live up to the holy standard that God requires, and his statement here hints at that.
The next phrase that Peter uses to describe his readers is the term “strangers.” The idea behind this word is descriptive of someone who is an exile, someone who is living away from their homeland. Peter’s use here indicates not that his readers are exiles from their native lands in Asia Minor, but that their homeland is not of this world. Our citizenship is in heaven.
The third descriptive term Peter uses is the term “scattered.” This is more literally translated as “dispersion.” The Jewish people were scattered from their homeland into countries all over the world. Peter’s use here is metaphorical, applying to Christians, who have also been scattered away from their homeland in heaven, to which we will soon return.
