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1 Peter 5:1-4
The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
After addressing the issue of suffering, and how we need to endure it if it is God’s will that we suffer, Peter then turns his attention to the leaders who lead the church, reminding them how they need to execute their service to the Lord as they lead.
He begins by mentioning the fact that he himself is an elder, and therefore advises his fellow-elders in how to conduct themselves in the church. Let’s remember that back in the days of the early church, an elder was actually an older person in age, and not just a designation in the church that could be held by someone of just about any age.
Not only does he identify himself as a fellow-elder, but he also identifies himself as a person who witnessed the sufferings of Christ, namely His crucifixion at Calvary. That’s not something many an elder could have claimed to be witnesses of back in the day.
He goes on to say that not only was he a witness of the sufferings of Christ, but that he was assured that he would partake of the glory of God to be revealed when Jesus returns. What he was saying in effect, is that that those who suffer for the sake of Christ can be assured that all the suffering they endure will be worth it all in the end, when we will partake of the glory of Jesus, when He returns the second time to judge the world. Peter was in effect saying that he had also suffered for the sake of Christ in His ministry to the Lord. He seems to echo the words of the Apostle Paul who said in Rom. 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
He then begins to give the elders certain instructions to help them as they carry out their God-given responsibilities. He tells them to ‘Shepherd’ the flock that they’ve been entrusted with by God. We know he’s not referring to sheep, but rather to believers in Jesus. He tells them to take care of the believers just as a shepherd would take care of his sheep, protecting them and providing them with the proper food they needed to grow. In the same way, the elders were responsible to do all they could to protect their sheep from false teachers, and to provide them with the spiritual nurture they needed to grow in their faith.
He then uses another word to describe an elder – an overseer. An overseer is a person who oversees the affairs of something. He does not control them, but merely oversees them. This is something we need to take into account today, when so often a pastor or elder seems to exercise so much control over his flock, rather than merely being overseers of them.
He then reminds them what attitudes they need to not have and what attitudes they need to possess as elders. He tells them to not exercise their duties as if they had no other choice, and were being forced to do it, but rather to do it willingly. Any job done out of compulsion will be done with mediocrity, but a job done out of one’s own free will is done a lot better.
He then cautions them against serving in this position for dishonest gain. Leadership in the church was not supposed to be used as an opportunity for one to deceive people, and make money for themselves in the process. Instead one was to serve as an elder, serving with eagerness. Serving with eagerness is a lot more than even serving willingly. It means that the person serving is doing so with enthusiasm and passion. Have you noticed how the quality of a job is far superior when it’s done with enthusiasm and passion, rather than when it’s done half-heartedly?
It appears that just as serving the Lord can be seen sometimes as a means to make dishonest gain today, there were people who perhaps had the same intentions back then, and hence his caution against this selfish reason for serving.
The next caution he gives them is to not serve in the position of elders as lords over the people entrusted to them, but instead to be examples to the flock. An elder was not supposed to control the lives of the people entrusted to his care. No one should ever do that – even God does not seek to control us and make us do things against our will. Instead an elder was to live such a life that his actions would speak volumes, and people would seek to emulate his lifestyle that reflects the life of Christ. Every leader should always remember that our actions speak a lot louder than our words do; so when we teach, our words should speak, but louder than our words our lives should speak.
He then reminds the elders that just as they are serving as shepherds of the flock, the Chief Shepherd, Jesus is returning to reward those who serve Him, and the reward he mentions is a crown of glory that will never fade away. He’s perhaps referring to the eternal life that James referred to in Jms.1:12, when he said, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” This crown of glory – eternal life, will never fade away.
1 Peter 5:5-7
Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
After addressing the elders, Peter then turns his attention to the younger people in the church. He tells them to submit to the authority of the elders, something that needs to be taught a lot more these days. Elders have gained a lot of experience over the years, and therefore it’s only wise that the younger believers submit to their authority so they can learn from their wisdom and experience and not have to make the same mistakes they made in life.
He goes on to say that we should all be submissive to one another, meaning that we should be willing to learn from one another so we may grow in love together. To learn from one another - even from a younger person sometimes, calls for humility; and that’s why Peter adds that all the believers need to seek to be clothed in humility. It’s the humble person who learns, not the one who thinks they know it all.
He then gives a reason why we should seek to be humble and not proud – it’s because God Himself resists the proud person, but instead gives grace to the one who is humble. We all need God’s grace in our lives every day, but if we’re too proud, we’re not going to receive it. It’s the humble that are guaranteed God’s grace in life. We all make mistakes in life and need God’s forgiveness on a daily basis, but it’s only the humble person who acknowledges his wrong, and seeks God’s forgiveness. The proud person will deny his wrong, explain it away, blame someone else or employ any other defence mechanism, and thereby forfeit the forgiveness that could be theirs.
Keeping in mind the fact that God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble, Peter then tells the believers to therefore humble themselves under the mighty hand of God, going further to explain why – so that He may exalt us in due time. A humble person won’t push himself forward, but will submit himself to the mighty hand of the Lord, meaning that he will let the Lord lead him every step of the way, and when we do that, then the Lord will exalt us in His own, perfect time. A proud person will do all he can to get ahead, and might even do so, but without having the blessing of the Lord in his life.
He then goes on to tell us to cast all our cares or worries on the Lord, knowing that He cares so much for us that He will take care of them. Merely worrying about our problems is not going to ever solve them, but placing them in the care of the Lord will ensure that He will help solve our problems and take care of our needs or worries. Let’s always remember that the Lord loves us much more than we, or anyone else can love us, and that He cares for us, and is therefore concerned about our needs and concerns much more than we are. Since that is true, let’s also remember that He is both able and willing to help us, if only we are willing to entrust ourselves and our concerns completely to His care.
1 Peter 5:8-11
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Just because we are told to not worry about anything, and to cast our cares upon the Lord, does not mean we are to remain careless and flippant in the way we live our lives. Peter goes on to remind us that we are to be both sober and vigilant, as opposed to drunk or flippant and naïve about the wiles of the enemy, the devil.
Let’s never forget this very important truth – humans are not really the enemies of the children of God – the devil is. Humans may merely be pawns in his hands, if they permit him to use them as such. In fact, the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians. 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Peter not only says that the devil is our real enemy, but he goes on to tell us something more about the way he operates. He says that he walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. What a powerful analogy. I’m sure we’ve all seen videos of lions stalking their prey, how they walk until they begin the chase or make the pounce on it. If the prey is careless, it’s dead meat. This is the analogy Peter uses to depict the way the devil is out to get us. His aim is not to just harm or injure us, but to devour us, much like a lion devours its prey. While the Lord came to give us eternal life, the devil’s goal is to try and take our lives, and give us eternal death.
Peter does not just tell us to be aware of the devil’s ways, but he also tells us what to do to avoid being caught in his snare. He tells us to resist him in the faith. He had just talked about submitting to authorities, submitting to one another and submitting to God, and now he says the opposite when it comes to the devil. We are not to submit to him but rather to resist him in the faith.
When the devil came to Eve in the form of the serpent, he twisted God’s word and deceived her into sinning. Likewise when the devil came to Jesus to tempt Him in the wilderness, he tried to twist the word again to deceive Jesus into submitting to him, but he was unsuccessful as he was dealing with the Word made flesh Himself.
Likewise when we are tempted to sin, it will often be in a subtle way, where we’ll be tempted with a twisted truth that might even make a sinful thing seem harmless. That’s why Peter says that we are to resist him in the faith. Our faith should be strong and firmly based on God’s word. The only way we can resist the devil is by being steadfast in our faith. Once we begin to waver in our faith, it’s a losing battle for us.
Very often the devil will bring suffering our way on account of our faith in Jesus, tempting us to quit on our faith. But Peter reminds us to stay firm and unshakable in our faith. He then reminds us that we are not the only ones who are suffering on account of our faith in the Lord, but there are other brothers across the world who are also suffering on account of their faith in the Lord Jesus. It’s so easy for us to sometimes feel that we are the only ones suffering on account of our faith in the Lord, much like Elijah felt when he said in 1 Kings 19:14, “...I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” And what did the Lord say to him in response? “Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” (1 Kings 19:18).
Peter goes on to praise the name of the Lord when he says that God is the one who has so graciously called us to His eternal glory. We did nothing to be invited to be with the Lord forever – He graciously invited us to walk with Him here on earth, and to spend eternity with Him in heaven. This is something we so often tend to forget – we are called to eternal glory. Our destination is not any beautiful place here on earth, neither is it the grave, but rather our destination is heaven, where we will forever be with the Lord. This promise will be fulfilled on account of our faith in the Lord Jesus, and is not based on any merit on our part.
He does say though, that before we enter that glory, we will have to undergo sufferings here on earth, on account of our faith in the Lord. While these sufferings might seem like they are getting the better of us, Peter reminds us that these suffering are only going to last for a while. While the sufferings might sometimes seem unending, causing us to ask, “How long Lord?” Peter reminds us that it is short-lived in comparison to the reward awaiting us, when the Lord returns.
He goes on to say that God will perfect us, establish us, strengthen us and settle us, meaning that He will complete the transforming work He began in us, so that we will eventually reflect the character and nature of Christ in our lives. He will make us so strong in our faith that absolutely nothing can shake us, and we will be well settled in our hope in Christ – our ultimate settling though will be with God Himself in heaven.
Seeing that God is the One who is so lovingly, graciously and powerfully at work in us Peter says that all glory, and dominion (or power) belongs to Him forever and ever. None of us can dare take any glory for the Lord’s work in our lives, but we should take every opportunity to give God the glory for all He does both in us and through us.
1 Peter 5:12-14
By Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand. 13 She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does Mark my son. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Peter then concludes his letter by commending to them a person called Silvanus or Silas, whom he refers to as a faithful brother and says that he has written this letter with his help.
He goes on to remind them that he has briefly exhorted or encouraged them, testifying to them that what they have come to believe in, and stand firm in, is not some false teaching or some fake message of grace, but rather the true grace of God. God never promises anything that He does not deliver. When God gives His word He keeps it without fail.
He then refers to the Jewish believers in Rome, (referring to Rome as Babylon, so as to protect their identity), whom he says have been chosen by the Lord, just as they are, and conveys their greetings to them. He also conveys the greetings of John Mark, whom he refers to as his son, meaning that He led him to Christ, and therefore he is his spiritual son in the faith.
He then tells them to greet one another with a kiss of love – a very prevalent form of greeting back then, as is also the case in many cultures across the world even today.
He then blesses all those who have put their faith in Christ Jesus with peace – a much needed blessing back then, as is in our times as well.
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