1 Peter 5
Woods1 Peter 5:1-4
- DUTIES OF ELDERS
1 The elders therefore among you I exhort,—“Therefore” logically associates the present exhortation with the sequence of thought at the end of the preceding chapter. There, the saints were admonished to continue in “well-doing” and to prepare them ; selves for the “judgment” impending (1 Peter 4:17; 1 Peter 4:19); and here, the elders are instructed to encourage them in the one, and to assist them in preparing for the other.
The word “elder” is translated from the Greek presbuteros, a presbyter. Originally, it had reference to age, but it later came to be the most common designation of those empowered by the Holy Spirit to exercise oversight of the churches. (Acts 20:28.) Each congregation of the apostolic age had a plurality of men so functioning, their duties being to feed the flock (Acts 20:28), to administer discipline (1 Thessalonians 5:12), and to watch for the souls of the saints committed to their care (Hebrews 13:17). They are thus variously styled “bishops” (Acts 20:28), “pastors” (Ephesians 4:11), “teachers” (Ephesians 4:11), and “presbyters” (1 Timothy 4:14), in keeping with the functions required of them. Their activities, in the functional capacities above designated, were limited to the congregations in which they held membership, and the foregoing designations are descriptive of the same men–the distinctions between elders, bishops and pastors which later developed and which are currently used in the denominational world being without New Testament sanction. Qualifications of elders are listed in 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-16.
The word “exhort” is a term of persuasion; and far from supporting the Romish view that Peter exercised supremacy over the other apostles, the word is a common one to the sacred writers and the duty involved a fitting one for all saints. (Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:25.) The exhortation to the elders was based on three considerations (1) Peter was also an elder; (2) he was a witness of the sufferings of Christ; and (3) he shared with the saints to whom he wrote the hope of ultimate glory.
Who am a fellow-elder,–(ho sumprebuteros, the fellow-elder). Though one of the apostles, he chose to base his exhortation on the fact that he, too, was an elder, and thus on the same level in this respect as those to whom he wrote.
And a witness of the sufferings of Christ, who am also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:–Though Peter had seen–from afar–the agony of Christ on the cross, and was, in this manner, a “witness” of the suffering of Christ, the word “witness” here (martus) signifies “testimony,” and the meaning is that Peter was chosen to testify regarding the sufferings he had seen. The Lord had said he was to do this (Acts 1:8), and Peter, on more than one occasion, alluded thereto (Acts 3:15; 10:39). Here, as in 1 Peter 1:11; 1 Peter 4:13, the thought of these sufferings led the apostle to make mention of the glory which awaits those who patiently and faithfully endure.
2 Tend the flock of God which is among you,–The verb “tend” (poimaino, to shepherd; to care for sheep) points to the similarity which obtains between the work of a shepherd and the duty of elders in the church. The word includes more than simply preaching or teaching; in it are all the varied duties which we sometimes, and properly so, style the “pastoral” office. The noun form of the verb “tend” is translated “pastors” in Ephesians 4:11. A shepherd and his sheep have long served as a figure of teachers and those committed to their care. When David was taken from the sheepfolds of his father it was that he might feed Israel, “the flock of Jehovah.” “So he was their shepherd according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.” (Psalms 78:70-72.) One of the many charges leveled against the disobedient kings and rulers of Judah was that they did not tend the flock but scattered and destroyed it. (Jeremiah 23:1-4.) It is the flock of God, and not of the shepherds; a reminder that elders serve under the “Chief Shepherd” to whom they, also, must some day give an account. The words “which are among you” identifies the ones for whom the shepherds are responsible:those of their own flock, or congregation.
Exercising the oversight, not of constraint, but willingly, according to the will of God; –The words “exercising the oversight” translate the Greek participle episkopountes, derived from episkopos, the usual word for “bishop” or “overseer.” (Acts 20:28.) An episkopos is a superintendent, or overseer; and in exercising oversight of the flock of God, bishops or elders are obligated to superintend and direct the affairs of the congregation committed to their care. (Hebrews 13:17.) To fail to do so is to be remiss in duty and recreant to the trust imposed; and for the congregation to refuse to recognize this oversight when properly exercised and by duly qualified and appointed elders, is to be in rebellion against God himself.
This oversight the elders are to exercise “not of restraint,” i.e., not in forced service and through a burdened sense of duty, but “willingly,” and in harmony with the will of God who requires it.
Nor yet for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; –“Filthy lucre” is from the compound adverb aischrokerdes, and occurs only here, though an adjectival form of the word is in 1 Timothy 3:8 and Titus 1:7. The word describes gain that is base and dishonorable. This statement is significant beyond the instruction which it contains in revealing that in the apostolic age elders were supported financially by the congregation in the work in which they were engaged. Despite the troublous times which then prevailed and the comparative poverty of the congregations in most parts of the world, there was sufficient money available to make the work lucrative. Paul provided that the elders who ruled well should be accorded a double stipend–“especially those who labor in the word and in teaching.” (1 Timothy 5:17.) The duties of elders are so varied and pressing that the church will never make the growth it should until this practice–of supporting elders fully that they may devote their entire time to the work of the church–is adopted. These words of warning were necessary because there was always the possibility that some would be tempted to use their position in the church for base ends and personal gain.
It is noteworthy that the term used to describe the character of money obtained in this manner is that which the Greek writers commonly used of one who sought gain in a sordid way. Thus an elder (or, for that matter, any spiritual teacher) who obtains money as the result of the misuse of his position is as base and disreputable as the extortioner, the trafficer in the bodies of women, and the seller of slaves. Then, as now, some turned religion into a trade and commercialized the gospel of Christ, “supposing that godliness is a way of gain.” (1 Timothy 5:5.) In contrast with all such is the faithful elder who serves with a “ready mind,” his service being a willing one, i.e., eagerly and with earnest desire to please the Father.
3 Neither as lording it over the charge allotted to you, but making yourselves ensamples to the flock.–In verse 2, Peter forbade the elders to exercise their functions from base and sordid motives of avarice and greed; here, he warns them against the unseemly ambition and abuse of power in the same work. Such ambition and abuse of power was, in the apostle’s view, as wrong as that condemned in the preceding verse; and the history of religion from the apostolic age to the present is a demonstration of the correctness of this claim., Warnings against such a disposition recur in our Saviour’s teaching. (Matthew 20:25-28 Luke 22:24-26; Mark 9:34-35.) The words “lording it over” (from katakurieuo, to rule over other highhandedly and autocratically) suggests an arrogant, domineering spirit, and is here positively forbidden to those who would serve acceptably as elders or bishops. That such a spirit early manifested itself in the church may be seen from 3 John 1:9.
The “charge allotted” to the elders was the congregation in which they served. These words are translated from kleron, plural of kleros, a lot or portion. In the Greek Septuagint, the word designated a portion assigned by lot. (Deuteronomy 10:9; Deuteronomy 12:12.) Jehovah is there declared to be the “portion” or “lot” of the Levites, the priestly tribe. The word as here used is applied to that portion of the church which the elders have assigned to them as their lot or portion over which to exercise superintendency–i.e., the congregations in which they hold membership. It is significant that our English word clergy derives from kleros, the lot or portion over which elders are to exercise watchful care. In this, as in many other instances, the denominational world has abandoned the New Testament usage; and instead of applying the word . to the members of the church as Peter did, they use it as a special designation for preachers!
Elders, far from manifesting a spirit of arrogance and autocracy in their work, are to serve as “ensamples” to the flock, the church. The word “ensample” is from tupos, type; the print or mark left from the impression; thus, an example or pattern. Elders are to serve therefore as patterns or models for the emulation of those committed to their care, even as they follow the pattern of Christ, the “chief shepherd.” (Verse 4.) It is important to note that in the foregoing verse that which Peter forbids is the abuse of authority and not its proper use. To cite this passage as proof that elders are vested with no authority in directing .the affairs of the congregation is utterly to misapprehend the apostle’s teaching. It is not the exercise of spiritual authority as such which is here condemned; it is its excesses and abuses; and in doing this, the apostle directed attention to the fact that the power of a good example is much more effective than the mere exercise of authority, and that to seek for such influence is the best guarantee against its improper use. It is not to be forgotten that to deny to elders the proper exercise of authority in the oversight of the church is as much a perversion of New Testament teaching as it is for the elders to abuse their rights and privileges through improper seizure of authority. There is in the church today tendencies toward both extremes; each of them should be, and must be strictly curbed.
4 And when the chief Shepherd shall be manifested, ye shall receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away.–The words “chief Shepherd” occur nowhere else in the New Testament, and were, therefore, coined by Peter, perhaps in memory of the Lord’s allusion to himself as the Good Shepherd in the parable of the sheepfold. (John 10:14.) The Hebrew writer in similar fashion referred to “the great shepherd of the sheep.” (Heb. 13 20.) Elders are thus to regard themselves as under-shepherds, deriving their powers and exercising their functions by the will of the “Chief Shepherd,” Christ. The manifestation of Christ will be at his second coming, at which time the under-shepherds, here particularly addressed, will “receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away.” Instead of striving for material gain or popular applause elders are to serve in such fashion that the unfading crown of glory reserved for such will be there. The words “that fadeth not away” are from amarantinos, not subject to withering; a flower that never fades, hence, the symbol of perpetuity and immortality. See a similar use and, further explanation of the term in 1 Peter 1:4. “Of glory” is in apposition to “crown” and it is, therefore a glorious crown. The crown (stephanos) is the wreath or chaplet worn by heroes or conquerors, and not the diadems of sovereignty or royalty. It designates the reward which is bestowed for faithful and valued service.
And it is an amaranthine wreath, not subject to fading as were the wreaths fashioned for, and bestowed on, the popular heroes of the day. The thought and word occur in one of Milton’s finest passages
“Immortal Amaranth, a flower which once In Paradise, hard by the tree of life, Began to bloom, but soon, for man’s offence
To heaven removed, where first it grew, there grows And flowers aloft, shading the fount of life;
And where the river of bliss through midst of heaven Rolls o’er Elysian flowers her amber stream
With these, that never fade, the spirits elect
Bind their resplendent locks, inwreathed with beams.”
1 Peter 5:5-9
- AND
5b Yea, all of you gird yourselves with humility, to serve one another: for God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.–Here, the effort to designate obligations of specific classes is dropped and the duty of all declared. It is as if the apostle had said, “Why should I attempt to specify particular duties for each class when one injunction will cover them all.” “All of you gird yourselves with humility to serve one another.” “Gird yourselves” is translated from the Greek verb egkomboomai, a term of exceeding interest and significance. The noun from which it is derived (kombos) signifies a knot; and the noun form means to tie with a knot. From this noun, the verb of our text, denoting the garment thus tied on, is derived. It was used at the beginning of the Christian era of the white scarf or apron which slaves wore tightly fastened around the waist to distinguish them from freemen. Used figuratively here, the meaning is, “Tie on humility like a slave’s apron.” The saints were thus to array themselves in humility; to tie it on securely like a garment so that it might never fall away.
So arrayed, they were to regard no service as too menial or lowly, no task too small for them to perform. Peter must have had a vivid mental picture of the Lord’s action when he tied a towel about him and washed the disciples’ feet, when these words were penned. (John 13:10-17.)
The phrase, “for God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble,” is a quotation from the Greek translation of the Old Testament, occurring in Proverbs 3:34. The verb “resisteth” is a military term, as of an army marshaled for battle. Spiritual forces are thus arrayed against the proud. These words of Solomon are cited by Peter as an additional reason why saints should clothe themselves in the garment of humility. “Grace” is favor unmerited; God sheds his favor only upon those who humble themselves in his sight.
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time; –The “hand of God” is mighty because it is all-powerful and irresistible in its operaations. Inasmuch as it is sheer folly for man to resist God, the wise course is for one to humble himself under the Lord’s hand, with the assurance that he will be exalted in due time. The Saviour’s words, “And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted” (Matthew 23:12), must have been in Peter’s thoughts when he wrote these words.
7 Casting all your anxiety upon him, because he careth for you.–The word “casting” is derived from a term which means to deposit, and is in the aorist tense here, thus signifying a once-for-all act by which one rids himself forevermore of all anxious care by depositing it with the Lord! “Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat, or What shall we drink? or, Where-withal shall we be clothed . . . For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.” One may, with complete confidence, cast his anxiety on the Lord for the reason that he cares for his saints, and will not forsake them in their time of need. (Psalms 55:22.)
8 Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:–“Be sober” is an admonition to calmness of mind; mental self-control. The verb occurs in 1 Peter 4:7. “Be watchful” is translated from a word often used by the Lord. (Mark 13:35; Mark 13:37 ; Matthew 26:40-41.) An “adversary” is, technically, an opponent in a lawsuit; here, it is used to identify Satan as the one on the opposite side of a trial for life or death. He is the “devil,” because he is a calumniator, one who deliberately and knowingly makes false charges against the saints of God; and he is called “a roaring lion,” because of the fierceness with which he stalks, and if possible, runs down the saints. The word “roar” describes the howl of the lion or wolf in hunger. He is a serpent because of his subtilty (2 Corinthians 11:1-4); a lion because of his strength and ferocity. The verb “walketh about” indicates his restless energy; and “seeking” the persistence with which he searches out his victims. “Walketh about” is translated from a word which means, literally, to prowl about, not daring to enter the fold where the sheep are, but ready to spring upon, and devour any wanderer outside. The word “devour” is, in the Greek, to gulp down, or swallow, thus utterly to destroy.
9 Whom withstand stedfast in your faith, knowing that the same sufferings are accomplished in your brethren who are in the world.–“Withstand” (anthistemi) is translated from the same word as “resist” in the familiar passage in James, “But resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7.) The verb means to stand firmly against attack; to be unwavering in resistance. The word “stedfast” (stereos) indicates rocklike stability, a solidity and firmness originating in faith; not, however, objective faith-unwavering orthodoxy–but an immovable trust in God. The means by which to withstand Satan are, (1) stedfastness in faith; (2) recognition that the suffering to which the saints are subjected is not peculiar to them; and (3) that the same suffering has been undergone by the brethren before them. Not alone in their trials, they were to remember that they formed a community of believers who were all suffering for the Name they so proudly wore. “Brethren” in the text is a collective term, properly, “brotherhood,” and is so translated in 1 Peter 2:17. “In the world” is a comprehensive term, meaning in all parts of the world.
1 Peter 5:10-11
SECTION FIVE
,
10 And the God of all grace, who called you unto his eternal glory in Christ, after that ye have suffered a little while, shall himself perfect, establish, strengthen you.–“Grace” is the unmerited favor of God. He is the God of “all grace” as he is the God of “all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3), because he is the sole source and giver of the grace and comfort the saints so sorely need. These to whom Peter wrote had been “called”; this calling had been accomplished by means of the gospel (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14) the calling was to a share of God’s eternal glory; and the sphere was Christ.
Compared with the glories that are to be revealed they were to know that, however severe the trials of the moment, it was for “a little while,” working for them “more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory.” (2 Corinthians 4:17.)
“Perfect,” “establish,” and “strengthen” are verbs in the future tense. “Perfect” (katartidzo, to mend, repair, used of fishermen repairing their nets, Mark 4:21) indicates the action of God in eliminating the deficiencies of the saints and bringing them to a standard of usefulness .in his service; “establish” (sterizo, to make fast, to support that which totters) refers to the fixity and immobility of those who rely on the Lord, the term being used by the Lord in his admonition to Peter, “When thou bast turned again, establish (sterizo) thy brethren.” (Luke 22:32.) “Strengthen” (sthenoo, to impart strength), a word meaning to supply strength to resist attack, occurs nowhere else in the New Testament.
11 To him be the dominion for ever and ever. Amen.–See the comments on 1 Peter 4:11. One who has been perfected, established, and strengthened will rejoice to ascribe to him who is the source of all grace, and the supplier of all strength “dominion for ever and ever,” and with fervency and adoration indeed exclaim, “Amen!”
1 Peter 5:12
- DESIGN AND BEARER OF THE EPISTLE
12 By Silvanus, our faithful brother, as I account him, I have written unto you briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God: stand ye fast therein.–The epistle was “by” Silvanus, either as the bearer of the letter, or the one to whom Peter dictated it (Romans 16:22), or both. It is possible that Peter wrote with his own hand these words, following a practice of Paul, in attestation of the letter itself. (Galatians 6:11.) It appears that such was a common practice of the New Testament writers as a guarantee of the genuineness thereof.
Silvanus is the same as the Silas of Act 15:22; Acts 15:32; Acts 15:40, and the Silvanus of 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:19. He accompanied Paul on the second of the great missionary tours recorded in Acts, and was with him in Corinth in A.D. 53. (Acts 18:5.) He was very active in the church in Jerusalem, and was possessed of prophetic gifts. (Acts 15:32.) It was characteristic of the Jews who traveled extensively in Gentile lands to change the form of their names (e.g., Saul to Paul, Joshua to Jason, John surnamed Mark, etc.). Silvanus was “a faithful brother,” known as such to the brethren for whom the epistle was intended, and declared to be such by Peter. The apostle wrote “briefly,” literally, by a few words (di’ oligon), both with reference to the length of the letter and the importance of the subjects treated. Its design was to exhort and testify regarding the true grace of God. The exhortation was therefore earnest persuasion; the testimony strong confirmation of the matters presented.
The purpose of the apostle was to supply indisputable evidence of the soundness of the faith which they possessed. This was the true grace of God which had been bestowed upon them, and in it they were to continue. It was theirs they were experiencing and enjoying its blessings; hence, their obligation to “stand fast therein.” The construction in the Greek text is significant: eis hen hestekate, “into which (having entered) stand!”
1 Peter 5:13-14
- CLOSING
13 She that is in Babylon, elect together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Mark my son.For “She that is in Babylon,” the King James translation has “The church that is in Babylon. . .” The American Standard version adds the marginal reading, “That is, The church, or The sister.” There is, however, no noun in the Greek text corresponding to the word “church,” and it is therefore not properly inserted in this passage. The words, “she . . . elect together with you,” are from he suneklekte, nominative feminine form of sunekiklektos, elect with others, thus, actually, “the coelect woman.” What woman? Some expositors regard the word woman as figurative, and understand the reference to be the church in Babylon, supporting such a view by citing 2 John 1:1. The “elect lady” there, however, does not refer to a church, but to an individual; and in the light of the fact that Markan indi-vidual–is joined with the “co-elect woman,” it is unaccountable that a figure of speech and a person would be joined in the salu-tation in such fashion; and we therefore conclude that the reference is to a sister in the church in Babylon. To what sister? She was then in Babylon; she had traveled among the saints in Asia Minor ; and she was known to the people to whom the epistle was ad-dressed.
What sister could so well meet these conditions as Peter’s wife? She was a “sister-wife” (adelphe gune, a wife who was also a sister in Christ), and she accompanied Peter on his travels at least a portion of the time. (1 Corinthians 9:5.) There was an especial appropriateness in sending a greeting from her to saints with whom she had been formerly associated and whom she well knew, in an epistle that had dealt so specifically with the duties and responsibilities of women. (1 Peter 3:1-7.)
Mark, styled the “son” of Peter, was John Mark, the disciple who incurred the extreme displeasure of Paul because of his de-fection at Perga on the first missionary journey (Acts 13:5; Acts 13:13; Acts 15:36-41), but who was later restored to the good graces of that apostle by subsequent faithfulness and fidelity to duty (Colossians 4:10 ; 2 Timothy 4:11). He was the “son” of Peter, as Timothy was the “child” of Paul (Philippians 2:22; 1 Timothy 1:1-2), a spiritual relation-ship, and not a fleshly one. Mark composed one of the biographies of Jesus, “The Gospel According to Mark,” and was, traditionally, “the interpreter of Peter.” His mother’s name was Mary; and he was a cousin of Barnabas. (Acts 12:2; Col. 4 10.)
The reference to “Babylon” as the place from which these salutations were sent raises again the question, already considered in the Introduction, From what place did Peter write the epistle? Because Rome is referred to as “Babylon” in the Revelation (Revelation 14:8; Revelation 17:6; Revelation 17:18; Revelation 18:2; Revelation 18:10), all Catholic theologians and many Protestant commentators maintain that reference thereto is to be regarded as mystical and figurative; and that Peter was in Rome when the letter was penned. Opposed to this view, however, are the following weighty considerations: (1) Internal evidence leads irresistibly to the conclusion that First Peter was written before the destruction of Jerusalem. (According to eminent Talmudic authorities, the Jews did not begin to designate Rome by the figurative term “Babylon” until after that event. (2) In the foregoing references in the Revelation Rome is never referred to as “Babylon” by this designation alone, but always as “Babylon, the great,” “Babylon, the strong city,” etc. (3) The fact that the word “Babylon” is used thus mystically in a highly symbolic and figurative book such as the Revelation does not argue that reference thereto is the same in a book of an entirely different character such as First Peter. (4) Other geographical references in First Peter are admittedly literal. Why, then, should it be concluded that “Babylon” is the sole exception? (5) Peter wrote long before John penned the Revelation, and thus could not have been following John’s use of the term. (6) The name “Babylon,” when figuratively used, is the symbol of confusion, corruption, apostasy. What possible reason could Peter have had in using the term in this fashion in an epistle designed to protect the ones addressed from just such a manner of life which it typified? A candid consideration of all the facts leads to the conclusion that the word “Babylon” is to be taken in its ordinary, geographical sense; and that Peter was in the well-known city by that name on the Euphrates when he wrote the epistle which bears his name.
14 Salute one another with a kiss of love.–Greeting, by means of a kiss, appears to have been a common practice in the early church, and to have been followed for some centuries after the beginning of the Christian era. The custom is mentioned by Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Chrysostom, Augustine, and numerous other early writers; and references thereto are frequent in the New Testament. (Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12 1 Thessalonians 5:26.) According to the historians of the early church, the abuses to which the practice would ordinarily lead Were avoided , by the separation of the sexes when the church assembled for worship–an arrangement inherited from the synagogue. The “Constitutions of the Holy Apostles,” believed to have been written be-tween A.D. 300 and 400, contain the following injunction: “Then let the men give the men, and the women give the women, the Lord’s kiss. But let no one do it with deceit, as Judas betrayed the Lord with a kiss.” (Book 2, 57, page 422, Vol. 7, The Ante-Nicene Fathers.) Clement of Alexandria, who died about A.D. 220, wrote, under the heading, “Love and the Kiss of Charity,” these words: “And if we are called to the kingdom of God, let us walk worthy of the kingdom, loving God and our neighbor. But love is not proved by a kiss, but by kindly feeling. But there are those that do nothing but make the churches resound with a kiss, not having love itself within.
For this very thing, the shameless use of a kiss, which ought to be mystic, occasions foul suspicions and evil reports. The apostle calls the kiss holy.” (“The Instructor,” Ch. 12, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 2, page 291.)
It should be noted that the apostle did not enjoin kissing as a method of greeting; the custom already prevailed. His words were designed to insure that the custom would be observed in keeping with the morality and chastity characteristic of the high calling of Christianity. Kissing, as a mode of salutation, was no more sanctioned than the handshake is today, both methods being customs of the times. But, as Christianity requires complete sin-cerity in this manner of greeting today, so it enjoined it in the kiss of that day. The kiss was to be one “of love,” i.e., prompted by love, and in exhibition of it.
Peace be unto you all that are in Christ.–It is significant that Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, chose to use as his benediction the Greek word of greeting, chards (“Grace be with you all, 1 Corinthians 16:23; Romans 16:24), while Peter, the apostle to the Circumcism, followed the Hebrew greeting, shalom, peace. (Matthew 10:13. This blessing is available only in Christ, who is “our peace.” (Ephesians 2:14.) Thus, only those who have been “baptized into Christ” (Galatians 3:27) have entered the sphere where this peace is enjoyed.