1. 1 Peter 4:17 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What is remarkable about the little word “at” in the phrase “begin at the household of God”?

1 Peter 4:17 (ESV)

17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

The word translated as “at” is actually the preposition “from.” The idea of the preposition is that the judgment moves in a direction away from the church/house of God, which suggests that that’s where judgment starts and then moves beyond the house to include others. That’s in fact what the next phrase says: “if it begins with us.”