1 Peter 1:1-2

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

1 Peter 1:1-2

I looked and realized that I've never gone through 1 Peter on this blog.  Now that I've chosen this book, I find it a bit daunting.  There are many things that I don't know (which I guess is the same for all books of the bible) and this will require a lot of study to ensure I am not understanding it wrong.  There is a lot of reference to the Old Testament and background knowledge that I just don't have.  In any case, may God grant me wisdom and discernment when reading and studying his Word.

The author of this letter is Peter.  This Peter is the same Peter found in the gospels and in Acts.  He was an apostle and is known for denying Jesus three times.  However, he was a prominent leader in the early church as we read about in the book of Acts.  In any case, yes, this same Peter is the one who writes this letter.

He writes it to "elect exiles of the Dispersion".  These are Christians living in a foreign land.  These places mentioned are not usual hometowns for Jews, so they would naturally be foreigners where they were living.

About these people he is writing to, Peter refers to God's choosing of them.  It is by God's choosing of them long ago that they have been saved.  Specifically, he refers to "the sanctification of the Spirit", "obedience to Jesus Christ" and "sprinkling with his blood".  Believers are sanctified by the Spirit, who is the helper.  The purpose of sanctification is for obedience to the one we follow (Jesus).  The sprinkling of his blood refers to inclusion to the new covenant.  It is by his blood that we are saved and through which we are atoned for our sins.  All these are part of was done according to the foreknowledge of God.  Praise be to God all he has done for his people.

This introduction is concluded with "May grace and peace be multiplied to you".  This is not necessarily a weird or unheard of things to say.  In any case, we come to the end of the introduction and move toward the next part of this letter.