That statement needs to be clarified. And this verse makes it clear: Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. (1 Peter 1:2)
So the ones who were chosen in Christ are the ones whom God foreknew as being believers. These believers would be (1) washed in the blood of the Lamb, (2) sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and (3) made obedient to God and Christ. They would be elected and predestined to be transformed into the the likeness of Christ.
What does 1 Peter 1:1-2 say?
1. Peter (Petros), an apostle of Jesus Christ (apostolos IEsou Christou) to a dispersion's chosen exiles (eklektois parepidEmois diasporas) of Pontus, Galatia, Kappadokia, Asia and Bithynia,
2. according to Father God's foreknowledge (kata prognOsin theou patros), in/by sanctification of spirit (en hagiasmOi pneumatos) for obedience (eis hupakoEn) and [for] Jesus Christ's blood' sprinkling (rhantismon haimatos IEsou Christou).
What was foreknown? "A diaspora's chosen exiles of Pontus, Galatia. Kappodokia, Asia and Bithynia" was foreknown.
When was it foreknown? It was foreknown when it was prophesied by God to be in His purpose for the world. Peter says this later in the same letter citing a prophecy from Hosea 1:10; and Paul cites this same scripture as referring to
converts from all nations Rom. 9:25-26
So, nothing in this context says these individual converts were
foreknown by their future names
from before creation. We can only infer from the context that there had been predicted by prophets "a diaspora's chosen exiles" coming to God some time in the future, and this was known before Peter wrote here to those chosen exiles.
What we also learn from this same letter is that
Jesus was "foreknown"
before the foundation of the world.
1 Peter 1:20 He [Christ] was
foreknown before the foundation of the world, but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you, who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
We also learn from the same letter that Peter tells the diaspora's elect exiles that
Christ is
honoured and
unashamed and
elect and those who trust in Him will be
honoured and
unashamed -
2:4 "Come to Him, a Living Stone rejected in men's sight but in the sight of God
chosen and precious, 5For it stands in Scripture,
"Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a corner stone
chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6
whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame. 7 So the honour is for you who believe, but for those who not believe,
"The Stone that the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone,"
8 and,
"A Stone of stumbling and a Rock of offence."
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were
destined/placed/positioned (etethEsan: aorist passive or middle indicative) to do.
The text does not say who it was who
positioned those who reject God's chosen Cornerstone to disbelieve the word. It could be God. It could be themselves. If God, it could mean that at the appropriate time God manoeuvred habitually wicked men who disbelieve the word into positions of leadership, so that the response of those rulers would the venting their wickedness on the Good Shepherd who was offering Himself as their replacement leader. If themselves, they could have positioned themselves to disbelieve by habitually choosing evil and ignoring their consciences.
And to
unashamed and
honoured he adds that the diaspora's elect exiles are
chosen/elect -
9 "But you are a
chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Hm who called us out of darkness into His marvellous light . 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Beloved, I urge
you as sojourners and exiles...."
So Peter's audience were, "
a diaspora's elect exiles within the range of the listed regions, according to Father God's foreknowledge"; this diaspora's elect exiles known/expected
possibly since the prophecy of Hosea 1:10, or
possibly known since the prophecies to Abraham, or
possibly from the beginning of creation.
They were elect exiles in/by sanctification of spirit [in/by sanctification of spirit (en hagiasmOi pneumatos) for obedience (eis hupakoEn)].This does not say by the sanctification of God's Spirit". It says in/by sanctification of spirit. I could mean that the elect exiles are elect in the sanctification of their own spirit to obey God, setting themselves apart for obedience to God; or in sanctification by the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit setting them apart by baptising them into Christ that they should owe Christ obedience. The text is not clear on whose spirit id in mind. maybe it is intentionally ambiguous and is a double entendre, both being meant and true.
And they were elect exiles in/by sanctification of spirit for sprinkling with the blood of Christ [and [for] Jesus Christ's blood' sprinkling (rhantismon haimatos IEsou Christou)]. The accusative case of sprinkling shows that the preposition governing sprinkling is eis and not en. That is, they are not elect exiles in/by the sprinkling with Christ's blood, but by sanctification of spirit into Christ's blood's sprinkling.
It could mean that they are set apart for Christ's blood's sprinkling by the Holy Spirit, which would indicate they are chosen by the Holy Spirit, either arbitrarily or because of repentance and faith, and then sprinkled ; or that they set themselves apart in their own spirit, through repentance and faith, in order to receive the sprinkling of Christ's blood.
This analysis of the text attempts to break down the Greek into it's possible senses and so present a range of the Greek texts possible meanings. Which of those is the best fit to the entire canon, readers will need to decide for themselves.
