1 Peter 5

1 Peter 5:1

C. Exhortations and Salutations (5:1-14) 5:1 This final chapter of 1 Peter contains exhortations and greetings. First there is a word for the elders. By way of authority for delivering such a charge, Peter introduces himself as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the impending glory. Fellow elderwhat a far cry from claiming to be supreme pontiff of the church! A witnessPeter saw the Shepherd die for the sheep, and the memory of such love constrains him to care for them as a faithful undershepherd. A partakersoon the glory will dawn, Christ will appear, and we shall appear with Him in glory (Col_3:4). Till then the Savior’s commission remains, Feed My lambs! … Tend My sheep! (Joh_21:15-17). 5:2 Elders are mature men of Christian character who are qualified by the Holy Spirit to provide spiritual leadership in the assembly. The NT presupposes a plurality of eldersnot one elder over a church or over a group of churches, but two or more elders in one assembly (Phi_1:1). For the qualifications of elders see 1Ti_3:1-7 and Tit_1:6-9. In the early church before the NT was available in written form, elders were appointed by the apostles and their representatives, but only after sufficient time had elapsed in a new church for it to be evident who had the qualifications. Today, Christians should recognize and obey those who have the qualifications and who do the work of elders. Shepherd the flock of God which is among you. The flock belongs to God but elders have been given the responsibility to serve as undershepherds. Not by compulsion but willingly. Overseeing the flock is not a work into which men are coerced by election or appointment. The Holy Spirit provides the burden and ability, and the elders must respond with a willing heart. So we read in 1Ti_3:1, If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. Coupled with divine enablement must be human willingness. Not for dishonest gain but eagerly. Financial reward must not be the motive for being an elder. This does not mean that an elder may not be supported by the local church; the existence of such full-time elders is indicated in 1Ti_5:17-18. But it means that a mercenary spirit is incompatible with true Christian ministry. 5:3 The third phase of Peter’s exhortation is this: nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. Elders should be examples, not dictators. They should be walking out in front of the flock, not driving them from behind. They should not treat the flock as if it belonged to them. This strikes at the very heart of authoritarianism! Many of the abuses in Christendom would be eliminated by simply obeying the three instructions in verses 2, 3. The first would abolish all reluctance. The second would spell the end of commercialism. The third would be the death of officialism in the church. 5:4 An elder’s work involves a tremendous expenditure of physical and emotional energy. He must sympathize, counsel, reprove, rebuke, teach, discipline, and warn. At times it may seem a thankless task. But a special reward is promised to the faithful elder. When the Chief Shepherd appears, he will receive an unfading crown of glory. Frankly, we don’t know too much about the promised crowns of Scripturethe crown of rejoicing (1Th_2:19), the crown of righteousness (2Ti_4:8), the crown of life (Jam_1:12; Rev_2:10); and the crown of glory.

We do not know whether they will be literal crowns that we can cast at the Savior’s feet; whether they simply indicate the extent of responsibility that will be given to us during the reign of Christ (Luk_19:17-19); or whether they are facets of Christian character which we will bear throughout eternity. But we do know that they will be ample recompense for any tears, trials, and sufferings we have experienced down here. 5:5 Those who are younger, whether in years or in the faith, should be submissive to the elders. Why? Because these overseers have wisdom that comes from years of experience in the things of God. They have a deep, experiential knowledge of the word of God. And they are the ones to whom God has given responsibility for the care of His sheep. All believers should be clothed with humility; it is a great virtue. Moffatt says, Put on the apron of humility. Very appropriatesince the apron is the badge of a servant. A missionary to India once said, If I were to pick out two phrases necessary for spiritual growth, I would pick out these: ‘I don’t know’ and ‘I am sorry.’ And both phrases are the evidences of deep humility. Imagine a congregation where all the member have this humble spirit; where they esteem others better than themselves; where they outdo each other in performing the menial tasks. Such a church need not be imaginary; it could and should be an actuality. If there were no other reason for being humble, this would be enough: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (Peter is quoting from the Greek version of Pro_3:34.) Think of itthe mighty God opposed to our pride and determined to break it, contrasted with the mighty God powerless to resist a broken and contrite heart! 5:6 This humility is to be shown not only in relation to others but to God as well. In Peter’s day the saints were passing through the fires of affliction. These trials, though not sent by God, were permitted by Him. The best policy, Peter says, is to take them humbly from the Lord’s hand. He will sustain His people and exalt them in due time. 5:7 Believers are privileged to cast all their anxieties on the Lord with the strong confidence that He cares. Once again Peter is quoting from the Greek version of the OT (Psa_55:22). J. Sidlow Baxter points out that there are two kinds of care here: There is anxious care, in the words: Casting all your care upon Him; and there is affectionate care, in the words: He careth for you. Over against all our own anxious care is our Savior’s never-failing affectionate care. Worry is unnecessary; there is no need for us to bear the burdens when He is willing and able to bear them for us. Worry is futile; it hasn’t solved a problem yet. Worry is sin. A preacher once said: Worry is sin because it denies the wisdom of God; it says that He doesn’t know what He’s doing. It denies the love of God; it says He does not care. And it denies the power of God; it says that He isn’t able to deliver me from whatever is causing me to worry. Something to think about! 5:8 Although we should not worry, we must be sober and vigilant, because we have a powerful adversary, the devil. To be sober means to be serious-minded, to take a realistic approach to life, to be intelligent concerning the stratagems of Satan. Pentecost well says: An individual who takes no cognizance of the nature or character of the world, one who is unmindful of the purposes and attacks of our adversary, the Devil, can afford to live in a lighthearted or flippant way. But for one who sees life as Jesus Christ sees it, there must be an entirely new attitude, an entirely new outlook characterized by sobriety. There must also be constant vigilance, a preparedness to meet every attack of the wicked one. Here the adversary is described as a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. The devil has different poses. Sometimes he comes like a snake, seeking to lure people into moral corruption. Sometimes he disguises himself as an angel of light, attempting to deceive people in the spiritual realm. Here, as a roaring lion, he is bent on terrorizing God’s people through persecution. 5:9 We are not to surrender to his fury. Rather we must resist him through prayer and God’s word. We do not have strength in ourselves to oppose him, but as we are firm in our faith, in our dependence on the Lord, we can resist him. One of Satan’s devices is to discourage us with the thought that our sufferings are unique. As we pass through the fire of affliction, it is easy to faint under the mistaken idea that no one else has as much trouble as we do. Peter reminds us that the same sufferings are experienced by our Christian brotherhood throughout the world. 5:10 True victory in persecution is to see God behind the scenes working out His wonderful purposes. No matter what our trials, we should remember first of all that He is the God of all grace. This lovely title of our God reminds us that His dealings with us are not based on what we deserve, but on His thoughts of love to us. No matter how fierce our testing, we can always be thankful we are not in hell where we ought to be. A second strong consolation is that He has called us to His eternal glory. This enables us to look beyond the sufferings of this life to the time when we shall be with the Savior and be like Him forever. Just think of it! We have been picked up from the scrap heap and called to His eternal glory! A third comfort is that suffering is just for a while. When contrasted with the eternal glory, life’s afflictions are less than momentary. The final encouragement is that God uses suffering to educate us and mold our Christian character. He is training us for reigning. Four aspects of this training process are listed. PerfectTrials make the believer fit; they supply needed elements in his character to make him spiritually mature. EstablishSuffering makes Christians more stable, able to maintain a good confession, and to bear up under pressure. This is the same word the Lord Jesus used with Peter: . . .strengthen [or establish] your brethren (Luk_22:32). StrengthenPersecution is intended by Satan to weaken and wear out believers, but it has the opposite effect. It strengthens them to endure. SettleThis verb is related to the word foundation in the original. God wants every believer to be firmly planted in a secure place in His Son and in His word. Lacey says: The inevitable suffering of the Christian life always yields the same blessed result in the character of believers; it will refine the faith, adjust the character, establish, strengthen and settle the people of God. 5:11 In view of the marvelous way in which God overrules persecution and suffering for His glory and our good, it is little wonder that Peter bursts into this doxology: To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Only to such a One is glory due; only in the hands of such a One is dominion safe! 5:12 Silvanus (probably the same man called Silas, the shorter form of the name), was the faithful brother to whom Peter dictated this Letter, and probably the messenger who delivered it. Peter’s object in this Letter was to assure the believers of the Dispersion that the Christian faith which they held was the true faithor, as he calls it, the true grace of God. Perhaps in the heat of persecution, they might be tempted to wonder if they had been right to embrace Christianity. Peter declares that they were right. They had found God’s truth and should stand fast in it. 5:13 She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does Mark my son.It is impossible to state with certainty who or what is meant by She who is in Babylon, elect together with you. Some of the main interpretations are: (1) The brotherhood (1Pe_2:17; 1Pe_5:9). In the Greek this abstract noun happens to be feminine. (2) Peter’s wife. (3) Some locally prominent lady. It is also impossible to know which Babylon is meant. It could be: (1) The famous city on the Euphrates, where there were many Jews; (2) The military station by the same name on the Nile (unlikely); (3) Rome. In Revelation, the city of Babylon is generally understood as referring to Rome (Rev_17:1-9; Rev_18:10, Rev_18:21). A third question arises over the mention of Mark. Is this Peter’s own son in the flesh, or is he referring to John Mark, the writer of the Gospel? The latter is more probable. If that is so, then we are left to decide whether Mark was Peter’s son because the latter had led him to Christ or whether the word son merely designates the close spiritual relationship between an elder and a younger Christian. The word Peter uses for son is not the same word which Paul uses to describe his spiritual relationship with Timothy and Titus, and fits the ancient tradition that Mark’s very vivid Gospel is based on Peter’s eyewitness accounts. 5:14 The elder closes with a charge and a benediction. The charge is, Greet one another with a kiss of love. The obligation of brotherly love is a standing order for the church, though the manner of expressing it may vary in cultures and times. The benediction is: Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus. It is a tranquil word to use with storm-tossed saints, who are enduring affliction for the name of Christ. Jesus whispers peace to His blood-bought flock as they suffer for Him in the midst of a turbulent society. Peace, perfect peace, death shadowing us and ours? Jesus has vanquished death and all its powers. Edward H. Bickersteth