1:1 Peter addresses his letter “to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ,” thus establishing the foundation of the gospel from which all else he writes will flow. This dynamic is reiterated in verses 3–5, in which the “effort” urged in verse 5 is “for the reason(s)” stated in verses 3–4. The great message of the Bible is that God has himself provided a standing for sinners not through their own self-generated