5:1-4
Peter has been teaching about suffering.
Before closing his letter, Peter had a word for the elders of the churches, then for all believers in the churches. He began with the word “so”. It could also be translated “therefore” or “then”. (The NIV leaves the word out.) In other words, I said there will be suffering and tests, therefore, I exhort you to do the following things which will help the church endure.
He told three things about himself to identify with them and assert his authority.
First, he identified himself as a fellow elder. (1) He evidently was an elder in the church at Rome, which would make sense, given his experiences. Because he was an elder, he could identify with them and their problems.
Second, he was an apostle, “a witness of the sufferings of Christ”. You might remember that the qualification for an apostle to take Judas’ place was that he had to have been with them from the time of Jesus’ baptism until Jesus’ ascension. (Acts 1:21-22) That would include the sufferings of Jesus.
Third, Peter was simply a believer, “a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed”. Believers will see Christ glorified upon his return. Additionally, all believers will be raised at the return of Christ to receive glorified bodies. 1 Corinthians 15:21-23; 42-49) This is in line with what Peter wrote earlier, that the testing of faith will result in praise, glory and honor when Christis revealed (upon his return). (1 Peter 1:7)
Peter’s first exhortation to the elders was that they “shepherd the flock of God that is among you”, meaning the congregation they each served. A shepherd leads the sheep and protects them. This instruction would have been near and dear to Peter’s heart, as the resurrected Christ commanded him to shepherd, or tend, the sheep. (John 21:16)
The image of a shepherd is used repeatedly in the Bible.
God the Father is portrayed as a shepherd of his people. When Jacob was dying, he said God had been his shepherd all of his life. (Genesis 48:15) If you have read Jacob’s story in Genesis, you know he needed shepherding. He was often in trouble, he made bad decisions, and deceived people. But God shepherded him through all of this, leading and protecting, until Jacob became a wise old man.
The Psalm everyone knows and reads for comfort, Psalm 23, pictures God as the shepherd who takes care of the sheep, who was David specifically.
Jesus referred to himself as the good shepherd in John 10:14. He said he knew his sheep and they knew him, and he laid down his life for his sheep.
Those who lead and take care of God’s people have also been referred to as shepherds. The Lord told David he would be the shepherd of his people, Israel. (2 Samuel 5:2)
God promised Israel a shepherd after his own heart who would feed them with knowledge and understanding. (Jeremiah 3:15)
This is what Peter exhorts the elders to do: lead, protect and teach the congregation. He also exhorted them to exercise oversight, which is the leading and governing function.
Why would a congregation need oversight? Not everyone knows what to do and where to go. Like sheep, some will stray and fall into danger if they have no shepherd.
By using comparisons, Peter told them what kind of attitude they should have as elders. They would not oversee under compulsion. That is, they would not oversee because they felt they had to. Rather, they would do it willingly, because that is what God would have them do. (3) It means with whole heartedly.
Elders should not serve for shameful gain. Ministry should never be about getting rich from the flock. Rather, the elder should be eager to serve the Lord and the congregation.
Elders should not be domineering. You may have been in a church where the pastor or other leaders bullied others. That is not the example of Christ. Rather, elders should act as examples to the congregation, both in attitude and in service.
The reward for serving faithfully as an elder, is that when Jesus, the chief shepherd, returns, the faithful servant will receive the unfading crown of glory. (4) Peter made a contrast between the crowns given to the winners of races and games, which were plant garlands that faded and died. What Christ gives, lasts forever. Again we see that rewards for faith and service do not necessarily come in this life, but they will in the next.
Exhortations to the Church
5:5-14
Peter also had a word for those who are not elders, especially the younger ones. They were to be subject to the elders. There is always a structure of authority in the Bible. A Godly life is never portrayed as a free for all.
Undergirding all of this is humility. Peter said to clothe ourselves in it. (5) We should wear humility as a garment, visible to all. We are humble toward one another. We love others and serve them, we do not insist on our own way, we do not exercise privileges, we do not demand special treatment.
Peter quoted Proverbs 3:34 for authority that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. He went on command that we humbles ourselves under the mighty hand of God. He is the mighty one, not us. He is God Almighty.
If you cannot be humble under God’s hand, there is something wrong with you. He created the heavens and the earth. He gave life to humanity. He destroyed the earth with a flood.
He led Israel out of slavery in Egypt, exercising his dominion over the most powerful man and kingdom on earth. He made Israel, once weak and lowly, into a powerful and rich kingdom under David. He destroyed kingdoms which opposed him. He destroyed his own land and temple when his people abandoned him for other Gods. What have you done? So, humble yourself.
It is for God to exalt, and he will exalt the humble at the right time. We will be vindicated on the last day when all of his, and our, enemies are crushed and he makes all things new.
By acknowledging God as almighty, you humble yourself. But you also acknowledge that he is almighty when you cast all your anxieties on him, knowing he cares for you. (7) A Christ follower should believe that God is able to take care of all things because he is almighty, and that he is willing to take care of you because he cares for you.
Peter begins to close his letter with pithy statements of warning and exhortation, reminding us how we should live, reiterating points he made earlier in the letter.
We are to be sober-minded, or serious, about spiritual things, especially watchful for what is going on in the spiritual realm as far as we can discern. The reason for doing this is that the devil is our adversary, our opponent, our enemy. He prowls around looking for someone to devour. (8)
He looks for someone to succumb to pride and reject God. He looks for someone to trap with pornography. He holds up shiny objects to tempt us to covet. He attacks us through atheists, humanists, and hedonists that try to bring us down to their level, ridicule us, take away our freedoms and rights to practice our faith, and to make us suffer.
Peter says to resist the devil, staying firm in our faith. (9) Realize the our brothers and sisters all over the world experience the same time of suffering. In other words, as Peter wrote earlier in the letter, we should not be surprised by suffering.
But God, in his grace, will restore the sufferer. He is the one who has called us to eternal glory in Christ and he will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish us. (10)
This fact leads Peter again into doxology, or praise. To him be dominion forever and every. (11) Dominion belongs to God. Believers wait for that to be revealed to the whole world. And it will be when Jesus returns.
We often end letters with a brief sign off, such as “sincerely”. Peter, goes into more detail. He tells us he wrote this letter and that Silvanus delivered it.
Silvanus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Silas. Certainly there is a Silas mentioned many times in the New Testament. We do not know if he is the same one, but may be.
Peter also sent greetings from the church in Rome, where he was living. He called it Babylon. He said this church in Rome was a body of those who were chosen just as the those in the churches receiving this letter were chosen.
Finally, Peter mentions Mark (John Mark), his spiritual son. He is the one Paul and Barnabas quarreled over, but who later became useful. He even became useful to Paul. Paul asked Timothy to get Mark and bring him to Paul when Paul was in prison in Rome for the second time.
Peter’s final word is peace to all who are in Christ. I pray you all have peace as well, peace in the world, yes, but, most importantly, peace within yourself, resting in the power and comfort of the God who cares for you.
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