1 Peter 5:1-5 (CSB)
Here we are in the last chapter of 1 Peter. This chapter is only 14 verses long, but we are going to look at only the first five verses this week. In verse 1, Peter says, “I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and witness to the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory about to be revealed.” He describes himself as “one who shares in the glory about to be revealed.” I think we should look closer at this “glory” before we move on to the other four verses. Last week, we read in chapter 4:13-14, that Peter said, rather than being surprised or upset when facing suffering, “Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed. If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”
We should consider ourselves blessed if we suffer for Christ, for it is after fiery trials or ordeals that we see God’s glory rest on us because, oftentimes it is through our suffering that we are shaped into who God wants us to be, as God draws us nearer to Him and reveals more Himself to us.
After preaching that sermon, Everett, my teenaged son, said: It’s just like C.S. Lewis famously said, that ‘pain is God’s megaphone.’ God uses trials and ordeals to get our attention. Some of us are only saved after we’ve had a ‘trial by fire’ so to speak, which humbles us and gets our attention, drawing us to the Lord, and that’s how we get to the place where God’s glory rests on us.
I agree with him, and want to expand on that idea, for I see Peter saying this exact thing. Reading verse 1 again, he says, “I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and witness to the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory about to be revealed.” Peter not only witnessed the sufferings of Christ, but he too had already experienced and endured suffering for his faith in Christ. He knows that because of that suffering, he will share in the “glory about to be revealed.” He was not afraid of suffering anymore. He saw it as his privilege to be able to suffer for Christ.
Peter had learned firsthand that suffering for his faith only brought him closer to the Lord, as the Holy Spirit molded him and shaped him more and more into an effective witness for Christ. Through the suffering he had witnessed and experienced himself, he was experiencing more and more of God’s glory because he was understanding more and more of who God is, and he was looking forward to the glory that would be revealed when Christ returned.
That means to know God’s glory, we first have to know who God really is. And the way we know we understand who God is, is if we fear and respect Him. Back in 1 Peter 2:17, he said, “Honor everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” Peter doesn’t go into detail about how we are to “fear God,” but that is the foundation of what he’s working from. It’s because of our great respect and fear of the Lord that we are careful to follow His ways. If we have a clear understanding of the greatness of God and all that He suffered for us, then it’s far easier to submit to others, serving people in love and humility.
A. W. Tozer said in his book The Knowledge of the Holy, “No one can know the true grace of God who has not first known the fear of God. Always there was about any manifestation of God something that dismayed the onlookers, that daunted and overawed them.”
For we see throughout Scripture, that the people who realize the Lord’s holiness and simultaneously realize their own sin, trembling in fear and awe before the Lord, are the people who become converted and follow the Lord. In this same way, when we experience trials and ordeals because of our faith in God, if we endure them, it creates an opportunity for God to help us and show us more of who He is. The end result is that more of His glory is revealed to us.
With all that background in mind, looking at our text today, now Peter succinctly spells out some very specific directives to those who are elders among the believers. He’s been addressing this letter to the whole body of believers, but now he wants to let the elders know how they are to encourage all the believers to follow all the directives he’s been giving them throughout this whole letter. Let’s read what he says in all five verses:
1 I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and witness to the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory about to be revealed: 2 Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed for money but eagerly; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 5 In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because
God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
He wants the elders to “oversee” that the believers follow this letter, and in order that they do this job correctly, he gives them a list of directives. I want us to look closely at each of these directives, for they apply not just to the elders he wrote this letter to, but to each one of us today. You might ask, but how do they apply to anyone who is not an elder? Good question. Let me tell you.
Maybe you noticed there are only two categories of people he addresses in this section: elders and those who are younger. According to Strong’s Concordance, this word for elder is the Greek word “presbuteros” and it means “eldest, old.” It’s the same word used in Acts 14:23, which says, “When they had appointed elders for them in every church and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”
This is applicable to all of us because we, as believers, are either elder or younger, are we not? I think Peter assumes that believers who are older are going to be appointed as “elders.” I don’t see another category of believers in the Bible who are just “regular” believers. If we are followers of Christ, then we are to be following Christ, serving and ministering in some capacity. The only reason a believer wouldn’t be an “elder” is if he or she is not actually following the Lord. If you read the descriptions for the qualifications for elders, they are a pretty standard list of how a Christian is supposed to behave. I know that there are different roles for all of us within the body of Christ and some people are called specifically to be pastors, teachers, apostles, prophets and evangelists, but all those callings could be grouped under the label “elder.”
When we read about the “five-fold ministry” categories, it’s important to notice that ministry is not relegated to just those five callings. Ephesians 4:11-13 says, “And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.”
Those five-fold people are to “equip the saints for the work of ministry.” Those five types of calling are to equip everybody to do the ministry. They aren’t the only ones “doing the ministry.” So, the truth is, we are all called to ministry. Whether that ministry is inside a church, a business, a school, or a home, we are all to be workers for Christ if we have been converted. We are either newly learning about God or discipling others. I don’t see any category for those who have been converted to do nothing for Christ.
Which, isn’t this what Peter said in the previous chapter? In 1 Peter 4:10-11a, he says, “Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God. If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, let it be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything.”
Everybody has a task to do, for every one of us has been given talents and gifts. We are to use them for God’s service. And as we serve, just as the elders are to, as verses 2-3 say, “Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed for money but eagerly; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock,” so, too, should each of us approach all our acts of service from that same perspective.
Whatever position of leadership we have, either as a business owner, a parent, a coach, a manager, or even as an elder sibling, we should willingly and not grudgingly, be an example to those “under” us, and serve those whom we’ve been tasked with leading. Why? Because, as verse 4 says, “when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” If we shepherd people according to how God’s word wants us to shepherd people, then He will reward us for it. We will be given an unfading crown of glory.
It’s also important to mention, just as Peter does, in the first half of verse 5, that those who are younger and being shepherded are not off the hook. He says, “In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.” It is a reciprocal arrangement. In the way that wives are to serve husbands, and husbands are to serve wives, so are those who are younger supposed to submit to the leadership of the “elders” as those elders lead.
The key to leading and submitting to one another is what he mentions in the second half of verse 5. As we use our talents and gifts for God’s service, we are to do so with humility. Peter says, “All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
We are to put on humility. Strong’s Concordance says this word is egkomboomai, and it means “to put on oneself (as a garment).”
In Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, he says, “The word here rendered ‘be clothed’ (ἐγκομβώμαι egkombōmai) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It is derived from κόμβος kombos - a strip, string, or loop to fasten a garment; and then the word refers to a garment that was fastened with strings. The word ἐγκόμβωμα engkombōma refers particularly to a long white apron, or outer garment, that was commonly worn by slaves.” Pretty much all the commentators make this same point: this garment was unique to a slave.
It makes me think of how Jesus, when He was about to wash the disciples’ feet, He took off His outer garment and tied a towel around His waist. He literally did what Peter is exhorting these believers to do. Maybe Peter was thinking of that moment, maybe not. But Jesus modeled not only through all His words and actions this humility that Peter is describing, but He also modeled a literal example of it.
To understand what true humility is, we need only to look at Jesus. For He perfectly illustrates humility. He shows us exactly what it means to be humble. I think in our modern language, we’ve lost the real meaning of humility. In Maclaren’s Commentary, he defines what humility is and isn’t, and I really like what he says: “Humility does not consist in being, or pretending to be, blind to one’s strong points. There is no humility in a man denying that he can do certain things if he can do them, or even refusing to believe he can do them well, if God has given him special faculties in any given direction. That is not humility at all. But to know whence all my strength comes, and to know what a little thing it is, after all; not to estimate myself highly, and, still further, not to be always insisting upon other people estimating me highly, and to think a great deal more about their claims on me than fretfully to insist upon my due modicum of respect and attention from others, that is the sort of temper that Peter means here.”
I really like that explanation. Oftentimes, we mistake humility for a false sort of self-effacement. We might put ourselves down when speaking with others, but really, we are hoping for people to build us up. Humility is not, ‘pretending to be bad at something’ when you’re not.
In Maclaren’s Commentary, he writes more about this idea and what true humility actually is. Again, rather than rephrase him, let’s read what he said: “But, further, service is the test of humility. Plenty of people will say, ‘I know that I have nothing to boast of,’ and so forth; but they never do any work. And there is a still more spurious kind of humility, that of a great many professing Christians {I wonder of how many of us} who, when we ask them for any kind of Christian service, say, ‘I do not feel myself at all competent. I am sure I could not take a class in the Sunday School. I do not feel sufficiently master of the subject. I cannot talk. I have no facilities for influencing other people,’ and so on. Too many of us are very humble when there is anything to be done, and never at any other time as far as anybody can see; and that sort of humility the Apostle does not commend. It is unfortunately very frequent amongst professing Christians. Christian humility is not particular about the sort of work it does for Jesus. Never mind whether you are on the quarter-deck, with gold lace on your coat and epaulettes on your shoulders as an officer, or whether you are a cabin-boy doing the humblest duties, or a stoker working away down fifty feet below daylight. As long as the work is done for the great Admiral, that is enough; and whoever does any work for Him will never want for a reward. There are some of us who like to be officers, but do not like carrying a musket in the ranks. Humility is the preparation for service, and service is the test of humility.”
The reason we are to wear this garment of humility is because “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Peter quotes again from the Septuagint, this time from Proverbs 3:34.
This is an important proverb to pay attention to, for I think we all would agree that we definitely want God’s grace, and we certainly don’t want God to “resist us.” How is that tied to humility?
Maclaren explains this, too, and said, “If I think that I am rich, ‘and increased with goods, and have need of nothing,’ that ‘nothing’ is exactly what I shall get from God, and if I have need of everything, and know that I have, that ‘everything’ is what I shall get from Him.”
In other words, if we feel self-sufficient and don’t think we need anything from God, then how can He help us? If we know that we need His help and ask for His help, then He hears us and answers us. He wants to help all of us who simply cry out to Him for His help. If we are full of pride and don’t think we need Him, then it makes sense that He “resists” us. According to Strong’s Concordance, this word is antitassó and it means “to range in battle against, to set oneself against.” That honestly sounds terrifying.
I think it’s safe to say none of us want God to set Himself against us. How do we be humble, so this doesn’t happen? To see the kind of humility that God is looking for, let’s look at the person whom the Bible describes as the most humble person ever. Numbers 12:3 says, “Moses was a very humble man, more so than anyone on the face of the earth.” That’s quite a statement, isn’t it?
Let’s look at the time God first spoke to Moses in the burning bush. Exodus 3:6 says, “Then he continued, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.” When God gave him direction and told him that he was going to be His mouthpiece, Moses was not confident or conceited. Verse 11 tells us, “But Moses asked God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’”
Moses knew that on his own, he would fail. He needed God to help him. He saw the Lord, was overawed by His presence, and he, in humility, submitted himself to God’s leading, and for the rest of his life, he trembled at God’s word. He had the humility that Peter says we should have. God’s glory was revealed to Moses so profoundly that the people had to cover him with a veil whenever he returned from being in God’s presence.
I think the obvious conclusion to draw from the example of Moses is if we want to reflect God’s glory and have Him look favorably on us, we too must be humble and submitted to His word. And the only way we become these things is if we understand Who God is and spend time in His presence, just like Moses did. And of course, if we haven’t met Him, we won’t know who He is. There is only one God, triune in nature, who out of His great love for us, sent His Son Jesus, who, being fully God and fully man, humbled Himself, submitted His will to the Father, and died on the cross for us. When we encounter Jesus, and see Him for who He truly is, that should cause us to tremble in fear and awe. If we don’t have that response, I question whether we’ve truly met Him. Once we’ve met Him, and begin spending time in His presence, then when we face fiery trials and ordeals, we will have faith in God’s ability to help us to endure them.
All these directives we see being laid out for the believers here in 1 Peter apply to us today. If we want to follow Christ, then we must lay down our pride and serve one another, rejoicing that we are blessed to be given God’s grace and mercy. If our following leads to us suffering and experiencing fiery trials and ordeals, we should rejoice still, for through that trial we will see more of the glory and the holiness of God. As we realize more of just how majestic and perfect our Savior is, and how weak and insufficient we truly are compared to Him, then it becomes easier to follow His leading. But if we elevate ourselves and think we know better than God, we will end up doing our own thing and disregard His leading. Let us pray the Lord helps us to never be so prideful, but rather clothe ourselves with humility as we wait for God’s glory to be revealed.
Pray: Heavenly Father, please help us to use our gifts for Your glory. Help us not to waste the days you have given us. Please help us to be humble and submitted to You, serving all those around us willingly and joyfully. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
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