Reading 1 Peter Missiologically

EMQ » July – Aug 2025 » Volume 61 Issue 3

Reviewed by Ho Wei Jie, Nicholas, PhD candidate (ICS), Fuller Theological Seminary, living in Singapore.

---

Is 1 Peter 3:15 the only verse in 1 Peter useful for missions? Reading 1 Peter Missiologically answers with a resounding No! The book asserts that the entire letter of 1 Peter has much to contribute to the what (message), how (method), and why (motive) of mission (vii). 

The book is a collection of essays from a diverse group of contributors. As such, there is a delightful range of perspectives and issues brought to the study of 1 Peter. Approaching it from contextual viewpoints, Gift Mtukwa uses Shona proverbs to illuminate 1 Peter; Jacob Feng expounds Watchman Nee’s exegesis of 1 Peter 2:5–11; and Rudolf Gaisie foregrounds the issue of ancestors in his reading of 1 Peter 3:18–22. From theological viewpoints, Joshua Bowman explores the theme of salvation; Yimenu Belay investigates 1 Peter’s understanding of the Spirit; Grant LeMarquand studies 1 Peter’s eschatology; and Sarah Lunsford elucidates a theology of hope from 1 Peter. Boubakar Sanou, Markus Klausi, and Jessica Udall emphasize mission and ethics; Tricia Stephens reframes the host-guest relationship using 1 Peter; Edward Smither explores the theme of suffering; Will Brooks examines the theme of evangelism; Sigurd Grindheim highlights the dimensions of spiritual warfare in 1 Peter; and Sofia Papaspyrou expands on the pilgrimage motif in 1 Peter. 

Some commendable contributions of the book include Stephens’s and Papaspyrou’s essays. Stephens reads 1 Peter as a challenge to traditional host-guest relationships. 1 Peter reframes hospitality as centered around Christ rather than the host. This essay will provide resources to deal with issues of immigration and rising nationalism. Papaspyrou (an archaeologist-museologist) illuminates how 1 Peter enjoins our sharing in a pilgrim identity. This pilgrim mindset implicates evangelism. As she puts it, “Tourists do not really need anybody; pilgrims need all the help they can get” (230).  

Readers interested in a theology of evangelism, and perhaps identity-formation, will be aided by this work. However, readers who are looking for substantive engagement with the letter of 1 Peter (such as its argument or thematic/theological substance) and its secondary literature may be disappointed that quite a few chapters focus more on cultural, historical, or missiological issues – topics that interest those researching in missiology more. I wondered if more appropriation of 1 Peter might achieve this integration better. For example, what would missional living look like in Nairobi, Beijing, Toronto, or Athens? How would someone in the Watchman Nee tradition exegete 1 Peter today? What would the household codes in 1 Peter say to – critique, reframe, or affirm – the Shona proverbs and/or African familial systems? Similarly, some missiological claims would be enhanced by supporting references.  

Reading 1 Peter Missiologically is a timely contribution to anyone interested in how the Bible speaks to missions. It demonstrates the fecundity of bringing different perspectives and issues to 1 Peter, aptly reminding us that the entire letter of 1 Peter has much more to teach us about missions. What remains for us is to read 1 Peter missiologically. 

For Further Reading

Liberating Scripture: An Invitation to Missional Hermeneutics by Michael D. Barram and John R. Franke (Eugene: Cascade, 2024) 
 

Reading Hebrews Missiologically: The Missionary Motive, Message, and Methods of Hebrews edited by Abeneazer G. Urga, Edward L. Smither, and Linda P. Saunders (William Carey, 2023) 

Missiological Hermeneutics: Biblical Interpretation for the Global Church by Shawn B. Redford (Pickwick, 2012) 

---

EMQ, Volume 61, Issue 3. Copyright © 2025 by Missio Nexus. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from Missio Nexus. Email: EMQ@MissioNexus.org.