This epistle was written by St. Peter to the converted Gentiles, exhorting them to be constant in the faith and to accept it through all kinds of suffering and good works.
2 In the first chapter, he strengthens their faith with the divine promise and power of the blessedness to come, and shows how the same is not earned by us, but is first brought about by the
In the Wittenberg edition (1556), vol. I, p. 473, this preface precedes the aforementioned edition. Cf. St. Louis edition, vol. IX, 958, note.
prophets. Therefore, they should live holy in the new being and forget the old, as they are born through the living, eternal Word of God.
In the second, he teaches to recognize the head and the cornerstone, Christ, and that they, as righteous priests, sacrifice themselves to God as Christ sacrificed himself, and begins to teach all kinds of classes. First, he teaches in common, to be subject to worldly rule, then especially, to be subject to their own masters, and to suffer injustice from them for the sake of Christ, who also suffered injustice for us.
4 In the third, he teaches women to be obedient, even to unbelieving men, and to be holy. Item, the men, that they
tolerate and bear with their wives, and thereafter be humble, patient, and kind one to another, as Christ was to our sin.
In the fourth, he teaches to constrain the flesh, to comfort and strengthen it with sobriety, watchfulness, temperance, prayer, and Christ's suffering. And he instructs the spiritual government, how to do God's word and work alone, and how to be of service to one another with one's gift, and not to be surprised, but to rejoice, if we must suffer for Christ's name's sake.
In the fifth, he exhorts the bishops and priests how they should live and feed the people. And he warns us against the devil, that he will pursue us everywhere without ceasing.