There were undoubtedly elders in the wider community. These are not the men Peter refers to; he refers instead to those among you, that is, those within the circle of the elect exiles he is addressing, and hence persons (like the rest of his readers) predestined 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 (1 Peter 1:1). They are, in other words, surrounded by the saints, part of God’s own people, members of the house of God (1 Peter 4:17); that is, the church.