📖WEB · 1 Peter 1:20
What does 1 Peter 1:20 mean?
"who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in this last age for your sake,"
— 1 Peter 1:20 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
If you call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judges according to each man’s work, pass the time of your living as foreigners here in reverent fear:
knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers,
but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish or spot, the blood of Christ;
who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in this last age for your sake,
who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God.
Seeing you have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth through the Spirit in sincere brotherly affection, love one another from the heart fervently:
having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and remains forever.
Explanation
1 Peter 1:20 speaks about Christ, continuing the thought Peter began in verse 19, where he describes Jesus as the precious, unblemished lamb whose blood ransomed believers. In plain language, this verse says two things about Christ: first, that he was known and chosen by God before the world was even created, and second, that he was made known—actually revealed in history, in flesh and time—for the benefit of the people Peter is writing to. So there is a contrast between eternal foreknowledge and historical manifestation: Christ's role was fixed in God's plan from before creation, but he only stepped onto the stage of human history "in this last age," meaning in these final days inaugurated by his incarnation, death, and resurrection.
The letter of 1 Peter was written by the apostle Peter to Christians scattered across Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), many of whom were facing social ostracism, suspicion, and various trials because of their faith. Peter writes to encourage them, reminding them of the great value and security of their salvation despite present suffering. In chapter 1, he has just described the prophets of old searching and inquiring about the salvation that would come, a salvation even angels longed to look into. Verse 20 fits into this larger argument: the suffering and hope of these believers are not accidental or late additions to God's plan—they are the fulfillment of something determined from eternity past.
Theologically, this verse teaches the pre-temporal foreknowledge and purpose of Christ. Before Genesis 1:1, before anything existed, God had already set apart the
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