Sermon Notes
1st Peter Series
Part 10
LETTERS THAT BURN
“True Shepherd”
1 Peter 5:1-7 “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. 5 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.”
Last time we ended with Peter’s advice for those who are suffering; When overwhelmed with suffering, we’re to place our trust totally in God. The Lord is too loving to be unkind, too wise to make mistakes, and too powerful to be thwarted from His purpose.
Now as we begin chapter 5, Peter leaves the question of SUFFERING and turn to the question of SHEPHERDING. He begins with some words about the spiritual maturity of a shepherd:
5:1 “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:”
The word “elder” is from a Greek word meaning either older in age, or an elder’s spiritual experience and maturity. Elders were not chosen lightly. They were not chosen based on their personal popularity in the church, nor for their giving or business success. They were chosen carefully and prayerfully.
Paul instructed Timothy, “Never be in a hurry about appointing a church elder. Do not share in the sins of others” (1 Tim. 5:22).
And again he writes, “They must first be tested to see if they are ready for the work…” (1 Tim. 3:10)
Elders were to be men of maturity who had grown up in and become acquainted with Christ, who were not likely to be swayed by the world’s temptations, who had proven themselves faithful, and who were willing to suffer for His name. In short, men of the Word and seasoned men of God!
Not only must the elder be a man of maturity, he must also be a man of ministry:
5:2a “Shepherd the flock of God which is among you…”
Some Bible versions say “feed” the flock of God, but this word means more than that.
“Shepherd” also entails “tending” the flock, which includes guarding and guiding them.
For instance, Paul says “Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching” (2 Tim. 4:2).
So it’s not just teaching, it’s correcting, rebuking, and encouraging that is called for.
The writer of Hebrews encourages believers, “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you” (Heb. 13:17).
The word “obey” means “submit to your elder’s authority in the church, as long as it is administered in accordance with the teachings of Jesus.”
Notice that, not only does the elder/pastor teach, correct, rebuke, and encourage, he also watches out for the souls under his care.
The true pastor will watch out for the approach of wolves into the flock, and will warn the sheep and drive the wolves away.
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Then the word “teach” means to “provide pasture.” The Lord Jesus told Peter 3 times after His resurrection, “Feed my lambs, feed my sheep.”
There’s only one thing a pastor is to feed the sheep with—the Word of the living God!
They are called to “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”—2 Tim. 2:15
The pastor’s calling is to do what is explained in Nehemiah:
Nehemiah 8:4-6,8 “And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose…5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. 6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 8 They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.”
That’s the calling on pastors—to read God’s word and explain it, so that the people understand it!
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So Peter deals with the spiritual maturity and spiritual ministry of the elder/pastor, and then next he mentions their spiritual motivation…
5:2b “Serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;”
Peter lists two wrong motives and two right ones for serving as an elder or pastor. First, none should be motivated by money. The Greek word Peter uses for “dishonest gain” means “greedy for money.” In other words, the bottom line motive of this person is money, not the desire to minister to God’s people.
The second wrong motive for pastoring is that of being “under constraint.” This means to be forced to do something against your will. This wrong motivation breeds resentment. Their heart is not really in it.
Peter says the true pastor will do it “willingly.”
Peter says the true pastor will do his work “eagerly with passion and zeal.”
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Next, Peter mentions the spiritual manner of shepherding:
5:3 “nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;”
Pastors were never intended to be “permission givers” to the flock as to how they were to live their lives. They weren’t and aren’t called to be controlling, manipulative, power hungry, or power brokers. That’s what cults do.
True pastors are instead called to feed, lead, sometimes correct, and to counsel according to the wisdom of Scripture. They lead by example, not by coercion.
From the flock’s point of view they are to be respected and their authority submitted to so long as their counsel and direction flow from Scripture. They are placed where they are to “watch over your souls as those who will answer to God!”
I have found that this principle of accountability and submission to church leadership’s counsel is almost wholly lost on the body of Christ today, particularly in charismatic churches where people are prone to blame their own lack of accountability or stability on the “leading of the Spirit.”
Christians come into a church fellowship, receive from the leadership’s ministry for a period of time, and one day simply walk away without a word.
There’s no sense of accountability, no attempt to run their decision through leadership, no sense of their having seen the church as a family they are leaving or a place where God has planted them. They just go to the next “restaurant” quietly in the night.
This shows that they never saw their church as a place whose leadership they were submitted to. They simply decided to make that church their current feeding trough, only to easily jump to the next one that catches their fancy.
That is NOT how the Bible pictures church per the verses we’ve just read!
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Next, Peter addresses the sheep:
5:5a “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders.”
Here’s a principle we all recognize. Most have heard the phrase, “Respect your elders!” This springs out of the forgotten practice of honoring authority.
I can remember when I was starting out in ministry being surrounded by seasoned men who had been around the mountain a few times and were fruitful ministers of Christ.
I recall sometimes not agreeing with things they said or did, and there were times they actually wronged me. But my sheer respect for their spiritual authority and who they were in Christ sealed my lips.
I would not have dreamed of talking back to them, or of speaking disrespectfully in any way. I just gave my disagreements or hurts to the Lord and kept going.
This is not always the case today. Some people don’t hesitate to speak disrespectfully to leadership, to argue, to talk down to them. It amazes me! The wisdom of honoring spiritual authority is almost lost on much of the church.
In the Book of Acts, Paul the Apostle is standing before the Sanhedrin for judgment. The Bible says, “Gazing intently at the Council, Paul began: “Brothers, I have always lived before God in all good conscience!” 2 Instantly Ananias the High Priest commanded those close to Paul to slap him on the mouth. 3 Paul said to him, “God shall slap you, you whitewashed pigpen. What kind of judge are you to break the law yourself by ordering me struck like that?”
4 “Those standing near Paul said to him, “Is that the way to talk to God’s High Priest?” 5 “I didn’t realize he was the High Priest, brothers,” Paul replied, “for the Scriptures say, ‘Never speak evil of any of your rulers.’”
What changed Paul’s attitude toward the High Priest in a moments time was the realization of his spiritual authority as the High Priest, even though he was totally wrong in his actions toward Paul.
Paul recognized spiritual authority and honored it, quoting the verse, “Never speak evil of any of your rulers.”
In reality, Paul wasn’t submitted to the man. He was submitted to the Word that told him not to speak wrongly to the man!
This wisdom is not in all Christians, even some who claim to be anointed of God.
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Peter next encourages humility:
5:5b “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.’”
The phrase “clothed with humility” means “to gird yourself.” Humility is something we put on and wear. We’re to wear it around the house, to the store, to church, and to work.
Nobody wore humility like Jesus. By the time He was twelve He fully knew who He was and who His Father was. Yet he submitted to His human mother and to Joseph, His stepfather. The Bible says “He was subject to them” (Luke 2:51).
Peter goes on to warn that God literally “resists” the proud.
Resists means “to square off against, to oppose, to push away from, to keep at arms length.” When we walk in pride, which is revealed by our refusal to submit to God’s Word and authority, God literally squares off against and opposes us, keeping us at arms length!
In our day of intense spiritual warfare and our great need for God’s grace, it is wise to shun pride and walk in humility. For Peter goes on to promise that God “gives grace to the humble.”
The word “humble” is simply “being God-reliant rather than self-reliant.”
God graces the God-reliant with favor. The word “grace” here refers to God being NEAR you to share His benefits WITH you!
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Peter finishes his word on humility with a word about humility’s rewards:
5:6 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.”
This verse tells us that the way UP in God’s kingdom is DOWN. The world says, “Promote yourself, scratch and claw your way to the top.”
But the way of God’s kingdom is, “Humble yourself LOW, and God will promote you up HIGH!
Humble yourself under His mighty hand!
The world would say that humility is a position of weakness, but God says it is a position of strength.
The humble Christian becomes the strong, victorious Christian! James writes, “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Humbling ourselves before God positions us to resist the devil and win spiritual battles!
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Then finally, from our position of humility, Peter says:
5:7 “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”
The word for “care” is “anxiety.” All of our worries are to be cast upon Him. Peter promises, “for He cares for you!”
The word “care” is used twice in this verse. The first time it is plural in the Greek, meaning we are to cast our many and varied anxieties onto the Lord.
The second time it is singular. “For He cares for you.” This kind of care refers to someone having an interest in you.
Bottom line: We may have many cares, but God has only one—US!
LET’S PRAY