Just Who Did Write This?

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From the very first verse of Peter’s first letter we read,

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia . . .” (I Peter 1:1 – NKJV)

Many of us, on what I would say is a pretty large scale, who read the Bible, just take for granted that Peter is the author of this letter. I mean, we say, “That’s what it says . . . Peter!” And we take for granted this is not something we need to question.

Well, authorship of biblical letters is something that has been debated for ages. There are many, and I mean many, who question whether Peter actually penned this letter. There are theories that abound in reasoning that many of the authors of New Testament letters didn’t actually write them.

It is when we start to study a letter that we actually get into looking a little deeper into it, into its content and often, into the person who claims to have written it. And if our study includes looking into a letter’s particular author we will often find that not everyone down through time agrees that Peter wrote this first letter that bears his name.

Good research tells us that “the early church universally acknowledged the authenticity and authority of I Peter.” But “critics since the 19th century have challenged the authenticity on several grounds.” Did you know that?

Without going into the depths of these particular grounds, let me say that for the student of God’s Word it should be of no surprise that there have been a plethora of critics who have just about questioned anything that has to do with the Bible text. The effort to cast doubt on God’s Word is an age-old endeavor by man, and of course, by Satan himself. Casting doubt on authorship is just one of the ways in which many seek to undermine our belief in the reliability of the Scriptures.

During the time of this writing, there were many letters circulating that bore the name of Peter as their author. So it was a task given to the church at the time to determine what was of Peter and what was.not. This particular letter, as well as II Peter, soundly meets the criteria to thwart the critic’s challenges to its authorship.

Yes . . . Peter wrote this epistle! There is extremely sound evidence to that claim. And if you are studying this particular letter and run into a charge that challenges this then let me say to you I have looked into it and have found the evidence overwhelmingly in support of this letter being penned by the one Jesus called,

” . . . Cephas (which is translated, A Stone)” – John 1:42 – NKJV

Just who did write this letter? “Peter” did! You can bank on it!