The first chapter of 1 Peter opens with:
To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia....
Now, most people did not move around much in ancient times. Generally, people were born, lived, and died all within a few miles radius. To be frank, that's still true of most people in the world.
The people Peter is writing to are actually still living in their own regions. He's talking to Pontians, Galatians, Cappadocians, Asians (meaning the area now known as Turkey), and Bythynians who are still living in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.
So why is he calling people who are living in their own home towns "scattered exiles?"
Over the next two chapters, Peter is going to explain what he means by calling them "scattered exiles." The koine Greek for "scattered" used here is diaspora, which also means "dispersed" and has the military meaning of "deliberately distributed for maximum mission effectiveness."
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”
Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
“The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.”
Peter goes carefully into identifying Jesus as the "living stone" which is the same thing as "uncut stone" (a stone that has not been touched by a chisel is still living). When Peter says that Jesus is the living stone that was rejected by the builders, yet is the "cornerstone" of a spiritual house, it's important to understand the deliberate irony of his statement.
The cornerstone of the building (until recent technology) was the stone that set the alignment of the other walls. The justification of the entire building depended on the cornerstone being perfectly cut.
This is why an uncut stone would be rejected by human builders as a cornerstone: It would not fit their plans. A house built from an uncut cornerstone would not result in the house they intended.
Yet, this uncut stone is the cornerstone of a spiritual house in which all the stones are uncut stones. A house build from an uncut cornerstone completely of uncut stones is not acceptable to any human builders.
The implication here is that just as Jesus does not fit into a structure built by man, neither can any of the stones that are designated for His house. All of the stones of Jesus' house are rejected by human builders.
“A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”
Any "Jesus" that fits into a worldly structure is thus not the real Jesus. Any person who fits into a worldly structure is not one of Jesus' own living stones either.
This is why the born-again Christians in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia are scattered exiles in the regions they were first born. They no longer fit into those societies.
But they are not homeless or stateless.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
If you were on a sports team in school you should recognize this. This is the coach's "team speech."
Even though we no longer fit comfortably into any world structure, we are no longer the citizens of any worldly nation, we are not homeless. We are citizens of Christ's nation, the Kingdom of Heaven.
But our citizenship is in heaven. -- Philippians 3
I'm not going to get into a word squabble over what "patriotism" means. But I will say this:
A citizen of Heaven understands that heaven is his home. Wherever else he may be is merely a deployment of limited duration.
A citizen of Heaven recognizes that other Christians, wherever else they may be deployed, are his true fellow countrymen.
