Verse 1
In view of the inevitability of trials and God’s judgment Peter gave a special charge to the elders (overseers) of the congregations of his readers. Peter himself was an elder as well as an apostle. As an elder he spoke from experience.
"As an apostle he could have ordered them to follow his instruction, but he did not take this approach. His appeal is based on the fact that he was one of them and thus understood their problems." [Note: Louis A. Barbieri, First and Second Peter, pp. 82-83.]
He himself had participated in sufferings for Christ’s sake. "Witness" (Gr. martys; cf. Acts 3:15; Acts 10:39) does not just mean that he observed Jesus suffering, which he did. It means he shared Jesus Christ’s sufferings and bore testimony out of that experience (1 Peter 4:13). As his readers, Peter also shared the glory that God will yet reveal (1 Peter 4:14).
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