PETER AN APOSTLE OF JESUS CHRIST: Petros apostolos Iesou Christou: 

Spurgeon...

It must have been very pleasant to his heart to write those words, — not “Peter, who denied his Master, “not” Peter, full of imperfections and infirmities, the impetuous and changeable one of the twelve; “but” Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,” as truly sent of God as any of the other apostles, and with as much of the Spirit of his Master resting upon him: “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ”

How sweetly the apostle is obeying his Master’s command, “When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” This is the same Peter who once began to sink beneath the waves, yet now he is helping others to stand. This is the very Peter who denied his plaster, but he begins his Epistle by owning himself to be “an apostle of Jesus Christ.” What wonders the Lord Jesus had wrought for Peter by his grace! It is no marvel, therefore, that he should say to others, “Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.”

Peter (4074 ) (Petros; Latin = Petrus) is a masculine proper noun which means a "stone" and generally a smaller stone than the feminine form petra which refers to a massive rock or a foundation boulder (eg see note Matthew 7:24).  Peter is the Greek equivalent of the Syriac or Aramaic name Cephas (Kephas from Aramaic kay fah) which was assigned to Simon by Jesus.

Peter was not always a model of rock-like (petros is a symbol of imperturbability as determined from used in Greek literature) firmness. Note for example his actions in Gethsemane, his denial three times of Christ, his unsuccessful attempt at walking on water and his conduct at Antioch Gal 2:11ff where he is called Cephas. Despite all this Peter was clearly the leader of Jesus’ disciples, the spokesman for the Twelve and one of the three closest to Jesus.

Petros is used 155 times in the NT (23x Mt;19x Mk;18x Lu;32 Jn;54x Acts;2x Gal;1x 1 Pe;1x 2Pe) See nice summary of Scriptures relating to Peter in the Thompson Chain Ref

Peter is known by several different names in the New Testament as indicated by the following passages.

Matthew says he was

Simon who was called Peter (Mt 4:18) (ISBE article on Simon Peter)

Later Matthew records that

"the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter..." (Mt 10:2)

Matthew later refers to him as "Simon Peter" (Mt 16:16) at his confession to Jesus that "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

Jesus "answered and said to him,

"Blessed are you, Simon Barjona ("Bar-jonas" = son of Jonah or John) for, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter (Petros), and upon this rock (petra) I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it." (Mt 16:17-18)

At the inception of Jesus' ministry the apostle John records another name for Peter writing that his brother Andrew

"brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter)." (Jn 1:42) (Article on Cephas)

Kenneth Wuest has this note on Peter's name writing that

"Thayer says of petros the Greek word from which we get the name Peter, “an appellative proper name, signifying ‘a stone, rock, ledge, or cliff,’ used metaphorically of a soul hard and unyielding, and so resembling a rock,” and says that it is so used in classical writings. Defining petra the feminine form of the word, he says that this word means “a rock, large stone,” and was used metaphorically to refer to a man like a rock by reason of his firmness and strength of soul."

Wuest goes on to add that

"We find the English name “Peter,” used in the expression, “It just petered out,” meaning that the thing referred to, just failed and failed until it ceased to exist. This comes from the example of Peter’s character before he was filled with the Spirit, vacillating, unpredictable, frequently failing, especially in crises. But as the Lord used it, it means what the Greek word means of which it is the transliteration, and is descriptive of a rock-like man, dependable, immovable, equal to the emergencies and crises that confront him." (Wuest, K. S.  Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans)

Peter fulfilled his commission by laying the foundation of the church among the Jews on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) and also among the Gentiles after a special revelation resulting in the subsequent conversion of the Gentile Cornelius (Acts 10).

As Paul in his letters does not call himself by his original name of Saul, so Peter calls himself, not Simon, but Peter, the name most significant and precious both to himself and to his readers, because it was bestowed upon him by his Lord.

By the addition of the title apostle to his name, Peter at the very beginning of his letter, claims to be one who is divinely commissioned to preach the gospel and authorized to plant Christianity. Peter puts forward his apostleship in the introduction probably because he is addressing churches with which he had no immediate connection, and he appeals to his apostleship in explanation of his writing to them.

Apostle (652) (apostolos from apo = from + stello = send forth) (Click discussion of apostle) means one sent forth from by another, often with a special commission to represent another and to accomplish his work. It can be a delegate, commissioner, ambassador sent out on a mission or orders or commission and with the authority of the one who sent him.

Apostolos referred to someone who was officially commissioned to a position or task, such as an envoy. Cargo ships were sometimes called apostolic, because they were dispatched with a specific shipment for a specific destination. In secular Greek apostolos was used of an admiral of a fleet sent out by the king on special assignment.

In the ancient world a apostle was the personal representatives of the king, functioning as an ambassador with the king’s authority and provided with credentials to prove he was the king's envoy.

Apostolos occurs 79 times in the NAS (1x Mt;1x Mk;6x Lu;1x Jn;28x Acts;3x Ro;9x 1Co;6x 2Co;3x Gal;4x Eph;1x Phil;1x Col;1x  1Th;2 1Ti;2x 2Ti;1x Titus;1 Heb;1x 1 Pe;2x 2Pe;1x Jude;3x Rev) and is usually translated apostle with two renderings messenger.

Other resources on Apostle = Torrey Apostle; Easton's Dictionary, International Std Bible Encyclopedia, Holman Bible Dictionary.

Unger's Bible Dictionary writes that...

The Jews, it is said, called the collector of the half shekel, which every Israelite paid annually to the Temple, an apostle; also those who carried about encyclical letters from their rulers." (Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Chicago: Moody Press)

A good parallel of apostle is our English word ambassador defined by Webster as

"a diplomatic agent of the highest rank accredited to a foreign government as the resident representative of his own government for a special and often temporary diplomatic assignment". (cf see note Ephesians 6:20)  

The related verb apostello is used in the Septuagint or LXX to describe the LORD sending (apostello) Moses

"to Pharaoh so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt" (Ex 3:10)

At times in the NT apostle carried the broad meaning of one sent as a messenger or delegate with instructions from a group or an individual (cf 2Cor 8:23, see note Philippians 2:25).

In its broadest sense, apostle can refer to all believers, because every believer is sent into the world as a witness for Christ. But the term is primarily used as a specific and unique title for the thirteen men (the Twelve, with Matthias replacing Judas, and Paul) whom Christ personally chose and commissioned to authoritatively proclaim the gospel and lead the early church. The thirteen apostles not only were all called directly by Jesus but all were witnesses of His resurrection, Paul having encountered Him on the Damascus Road after His ascension. Those thirteen apostles were given direct revelation of God’s Word to proclaim authoritatively, the gift of healing, and the power to cast out demons (Mt 10:1). By these signs their teaching authority was verified (cf. 2Co 12:12). Their teachings became the foundation of the church (see note Ephesians 2:20), and their authority extended beyond local bodies of believers to the entire believing world. In the present context Peter uses apostle in its more common specialized or restricted meaning.  The authority of Peter's message did not derive from the messenger but from the Sender.

In Acts 1:21-22 the Apostle Peter delineates the necessary qualifications of this latter group:

"Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us--beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us--one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection."

So as used here an apostle was a man who had seen the risen Messiah and who was sent forth by Him with His full authority to plant the flag of faith in every community to which His master led him. Peter was Christ's emissary and spoke with His authority. Peter who in the past had often manifested a "foot shaped" mouth is now the mouthpiece of the King of kings. In (see note Hebrews 3:1) the holy brethren were called to "consider Jesus the Apostle and High Priest", Jesus being the ultimate emissary sent out on mission and given "all authority...in heaven and on earth" (Mt 28:18) of the Father.

While there are no apostles today (although we hear many who lay claim to this title -- beware!) it is certainly to be expected that believers, regardless of the spiritual gift they possess, minister their gift as those sent on a mission with authority for as Paul says in (2Co 5:20) "we are (all) ambassadors for Christ."

Note that by designating himself an "apostle of Jesus Christ", Peter called attention not to himself (as he often seemed to do in the gospels) but to the One Who commissioned him. The double designation is by design as it summarizes His true nature, Jesus (Iesous) being the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, both names meaning "salvation of Jehovah" (Mt 1:21) and representing His humanity (fully Man).

Christ is the Greek translation of of the Hebrew term "Messiah" which means "Anointed" or the divine One (fully God) the Jews were looking for and of Whom the OT bore prophetic witness. And so for Peter and the early church the full name "Jesus Christ" embodied their basic conviction that the human Jesus was the anointed Messiah, the Bringer of messianic redemption (cf Acts 3:20)

Despite the strong acceptance by the early church fathers, some contemporary scholars feel that the Greek text of this letter is simply too polished to have originated from the pen of Peter for the Greek text in this letter is even "smoother" than Paul’s and naturally one would expect the latter's Greek to be far more proficient.

John MacArthur addresses this issue of the Petrine authorship:

"Because of his (Peter's) unique prominence, there was no shortage in the early church of documents falsely claiming to be written by Peter. That the Apostle Peter is the author of 1 Peter, however, is certain....The only significant doubt to be raised about Peter’s authorship arises from the rather classical style of Greek employed in the letter. Some have argued that Peter, being an “unlearned” fisherman (Acts 4:13), could not have written in sophisticated Greek, especially in light of the less classical style of Greek employed in the writing of 2 Peter. However, this argument is not without a good answer. In the first place, that Peter was “unlearned” does not mean that he was illiterate, but only that he was without formal, rabbinical training in the Scriptures. Moreover, though Aramaic may have been Peter’s primary language, Greek would have been a widely spoken second language in Palestine. It is also apparent that at least some of the authors of the NT, though not highly educated, could read the Greek of the OT Septuagint (see James’ use of the Lxx in Acts 15:14-18). Beyond these evidences of Peter’s ability in Greek, Peter also explained (see note 1 Peter 5:12) that he wrote this letter “by Silvanus,” also known as Silas. Silvanus was likely the messenger designated to take this letter to its intended readers. But more is implied by this statement in that Peter is acknowledging that Silvanus served as his secretary, or amanuensis. Dictation was common in the ancient Roman world (cf. Paul and Tertius; see note Romans 16:22), and secretaries often could aid with syntax and grammar. So, Peter, under the superintendence of the Spirit of God, dictated the letter to Silvanus, while Silvanus, who also was a prophet (Acts 15:32), may have aided in some of the composition of the more classical Greek."

TO THOSE WHO RESIDE AS ALIENS: eklektois parepidemois diasporas: (See Torrey's Pilgrims & Strangers; see Characteristics of pilgrims in Thompson Chain Reference)

exiles (ESV)
temporary residents (GWT)
refugees (TEV)
sojourners (NAB)
those away from their homes (NCV)
pilgrims (NKJV)
living as foreigners (NLT)
those who have settled down alongside a pagan population (Wuest)
those temporarily residing abroad" (NET)

The Greek literally reads "to the chosen sojourners" or "to the elect strangers".

Reside as aliens (3927) (parepidemos from para = near by and here implies a transitory sense describing one who passes near but on to something beyond + epidemos = stranger, epidemos from epi = in or among + demos = a people) 

Parepidemos is used 3 times in the NT (1x in Hebrews, 2x in 1 Peter) and is translated in NAS as exiles, 1; reside as aliens, 1; strangers, 1. KJV translates it twice as "pilgrim".

Parepidemos literally means a stranger alongside and so a stranger or sojourner. This person is not simply one who is passing through, but a foreigner who has settled down, however briefly, next to or among the native people. What a picture of the believer in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation!

Parepidemos describes one who makes a brief stay in a strange or foreign place, who sojourns (stays as a temporary resident) or who resides temporarily among a native people to whom he or she does not belong. The parepidemos did not expect to be regarded as a native of the place he resided. Beloved are you becoming too comfortable and too familiar with this evil world system which is "devolving" and corrupting almost daily before our very eyes (and ears)? Remember that you are an "alien".

Two cognate words (words related by derivation), parepidemeo and parepidemia, are used in inscriptions in connection with civil servants who distinguish themselves for exemplary conduct while on international duty.

Vincent writes that parepidemos refers to

"Persons sojourning for a brief season in a foreign country. Though applied primarily to Hebrews scattered throughout the world (Ge 23:4; Ps 39:12 [see Spurgeon's comment] parepidemos is used in Greek of both these OT passages), it has here a wider, spiritual sense, contemplating Christians as having their citizenship in heaven." (Vincent, M. R. Word studies in the New Testament. Vol. 1, Page 3-628)

In chapter two Peter uses parepidemos to exhort his readers

 "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to (continually) abstain from fleshly lusts (sensual urges, passions of your lower nature), which (continually) wage war against the soul." (see note 1 Peter 2:11)

In the last use of parepidemos in the NT the writer of Hebrews referring to the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) records that  "

All these died in faith (controlled and sustained by their faith), without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers (xenos) and exiles (parepidemos) on the earth." (see note Hebrews 11:13)

For the person of faith, God’s promise is as good as the reality. His promise of the glory ahead was as encouraging and certain to the patriarchs as actually possessing it could have been. They were exiles or refugees in their own Promised Land.  They refused the temptation and urge to nestle down and make themselves comfortable in this present world. Their desire was to pass through the world without taking any of its character upon themselves. Their hearts were set on pilgrimage (Ps. 84:5, Knox). These faithful patriarchs were passing through Canaan to a better place, and they did not mind. Let us seek to a similar mindset beloved. The psalmist speaks of this "alien mindset" recording

"How blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee. In whose heart are the highways to Zion!" (Ps 84:5) (See Spurgeon's comment)

Martyred missionary Jim Elliot said it best:

“He is no fool to give what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”

It was when Lot stopped being a sojourner, and became a resident in Sodom (Ge 13), that he lost his consecration and his testimony and everything he lived for went up in smoke! (Ge 19)

Keep reminding yourself that you are residing as an alien in this present evil age

"and do not be conformed to (poured into the mold of) this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." (see note Romans 12:2)

Peter's point in using parepidemos is that God's saints are just passing through -- our future and our hope is in a city

"not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" (2Co r5:1).

Consequently we need to live our lives with a song in our heart, especially a song like the little chorus we used to sing in Sunday School...

This world is not my home, I'm just a passin' through,
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.

God wants His "chosen out ones" to live like it (like they're chosen out of this world which is passing away) and to focus their spirit, soul, heart and mind on the world to come. This does not mean that we become so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good but it does mean that we hold lightly the things of this world and continually seek

"the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God." (see note Colossians 3:1)

Spiritual Christians keep themselves “loosely attached” to this world because they live for something and Someone far better. We need to remember that our stay on earth is temporary until they were called

"to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem"  (see note Hebrews 12:22).

Webster says an "alien" is one "belonging to another person & place", a good description of believers who are not their own and don't call this world their home. Christians should be different, not odd. When you are different, you attract people; when you are odd, you repel them.

The saint should understand that although he or she is just "passing through" and this world which is not our home, it does not suggest that we are to withdraw from the world. What this great truth does mean is that the sojourning saint should view all circumstances and all people in the light of eternity. The way we think about eternity will determine the importance we attach to people and things. It is true that as a man thinks in his heart, so he (or she) is and so will his conduct be. It is because a saint sees all things in the light of eternity that he is the best of all citizens, for it is only in the light of eternity that the true values of anything can be measured.

Note that the NIV translates parepidemos as "strangers" but this should not be taken to mean that saints are not well known by their neighbors, but rather that their status is those who no longer are a native part of the world scene

"for our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ Who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself." (see notes Philippians 3:20; 3:21)

"Hence, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearin