Peter's short letter to the 'exiles of the Dispersion' addresses many topics: holiness, the sufferings of Christ, suffering as a Christian, God's sovereignty in salvation and life, the grace of God, the work of the Holy Spirit, the church as the new people of God, the reality of the unseen spiritual world, and trusting in God in the midst of daily circumstances.

It is suffering, Wayne Grudem suggests, that ties these seemingly disparate themes together, particularly suffering as a form of imitating Christ, who, by bearing our sins on the cross, gives meaning and comfort to Christians in all aspects of their daily lives.