1 Peter 5:1-7 (NKJV) 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.
V1 “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…” Elders are also called bishops, overseers, pastors, superintendents, and shepherds all of which reflect on a facet of the church position. The Greek word for bishop, overseers, and superintendents (some translations) is (G1985) ἐπίσκοπος epískopos, which means observer and watchman for safety and faithfulness to Christian beliefs. See Philippians 1:1 (bishops), Acts 20:28 (overseers), and 1 Peter 2:25 (Bishop of your souls referring to the Lord Jesus). The Greek word for pastor and shepherd is (G4166) ποιμήν poimḗn, which means shepherd, one who cares for sheep. It usually means shepherd as an occupation caring for sheep (Luke 2:8), as a government or religious leader (Matthew 9:36 and Mark 6:34), church leader (bishop, elder, etc. as in Ephesians 4:11), or the Lord Jesus (the shepherd of the church (John 10:11-16 and Hebrews 13:20). All describe a facet of a church leader–oversight for safety, help, protection, error, hurt, etc. All of which deal with the spiritual life of the local congregation.
All church members (believers) have a gift from the Holy Spirit to serve others. See Ephesians 4:11-12 and 1 Corinthians 12:27-28. The church also has church leadership: 1) elders (overseers/bishops, etc.), and 2) deacons/deaconesses. They are to be Christians in word and deed, not new Christians but those having experience, and perhaps age (which should be with wisdom, but there are older people who are foolish). Even though Peter is an Apostle of Jesus Christ, he calls himself an elder. He saw first hand the ministry of the Lord Jesus closeup for 3 plus years. He saw the sufferings of the Lord (Matthew 16:21) and His glory (Luke 9:28-35).
Administration, Discipling, Teaching, etc. are the primary roles of the pastor. Caring, helping, assisting, etc. are the primary roles of the deacons and deaconesses.
V2 “…Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly…” Jesus is the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4) and the under-shepherds are the leaders. Under-shepherds are appointed by the Lord Jesus (Ephesians 4:11), with responsibilities for feeding the flock (teaching the Bible, Christian way-of-life, Christian worldview, and the Law of Christ). Compare Mark 6:34 and Hebrews 5:12-14. If an under-shepherd is not serving willingly then he should step aside from being a leader. A fairly well known rule is the Billy Graham rules, which are 1) avoid money (love of money and seeking it), 2) immorality, 3) remember to include the local church, and 4) publicity. (Source: https://billygraham.org/story/the-modesto-manifesto-a-declaration-of-biblical-integrity/). In short, it is usually quoted as “Avoid the 3 G’s–the glory, the gals, and the gold.”
V3 “…nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock…” Shepherds are not dictators. As the shepherd watches over the flock, he does not control every action. He knows the boundaries, and if a sheep is not safe, then he/she must bring them back. Likewise, any pastor, elder, deacon, etc. who is controlling, bullying, etc. calls for quick action to leave and leave for good. Being a tyrant is wrong, being an example is right.
V4 “…and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.” The Chief Shepherd is the Lord Jesus. Committing sin has consequences, so does doing what God approves of.
The Five Crowns
- The Crown of victory: Like Paul we run the race even to our death and using self-discipline to continue living the Christian faith regardless of life’s challenges—1 Corinthians 9:24-27.
- The Crown of Rejoicing: sharing the Gospel—1 Thessalonians 2:19.
- The Crown of life: persevering afflictions, torture, difficulties, mockery, hate, abuse but continue—James 1:12 and Revelation 2:10.
- The Crown of Righteousness: for those who eagerly wait, long for, love, and pray for the Rapture and the coming of the Lord—2 Timothy 4:8.
- The Crown of Glory: for those in ministry whether great or little persevering and not deserting in difficult times and circumstances—1 Peter 5:1-4.
Bible crowns are given by Jesus Christ at the Bema Seat judgment which is for rewards not salvation. See Romans 14:10-12, 1 Corinthians 3:10–4:5, and 2 Corinthians 5:1-10.
V5 “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.” Younger may refer to age or being inexperienced. Timothy and Samuel were young but qualified. We are not to be aggressive but willing to listen and change church leaders. We do not automatically obey them. We need to search the Scriptures to see if these things are so (Acts 17:11).
V6 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time…” As we must listen and be willing to change from the counsel of church leaders, so we must be towards the one and only God. Exaltation comes after humility (Proverbs 18:12, Proverbs 15:33, and Psalm 113:7-8).
V7 “…casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” A precious promise one of many. The Chief Shepherd is interested in individuals, for He even seeks one who has wandered away (Matthew 18:12-13). He is kind and caring. He is just and punishes. If we humble ourselves and ask for help, He will help. We never know when, but He will. See Psalm 40:17 and Isaiah 63:9. He knows, He observes, He cares, and His wisdom will do the best thing for all His decisions are in wisdom, love, and holiness.
Commentators:
Barclay (beware): “There is the law of Christian serenity in God. The Christian must cast all his anxiety upon God. “Cast your burden on the Lord,” said the Psalmist (Psa 55:22). “Do not be anxious about tomorrow,” said Jesus (Mat 6:25-34). The reason we can do this with confidence is that we can be certain that God cares for us. As Paul had it, we can be certain that he who gave us his only Son will with him give us all things (Rom 8:32). We can be certain that, since God cares for us, life is out not to break us but to make us; and, with that assurance, we can accept any experience which comes to us, knowing that in everything God works for good with those who love him (Rom 8:28).”
(Clement Stroma, Book 4, Chapter XI): “But, say they, if God cares for you, why are you persecuted and put to death? Has He delivered you to this? No, we do not suppose that the Lord wishes us to be involved in calamities, but that He foretold prophetically what would happen – that we should be persecuted for His name’s sake, slaughtered, and impaled. So that it was not that He wished us to be persecuted, but He intimated beforehand what we shall suffer by the prediction of what would take place, training us to endurance, to which He promised the inheritance, although we are punished not alone, but along with many. But those, it is said, being malefactors, are righteously punished. Accordingly, they unwillingly bear testimony to our righteousness, we being unjustly punished for righteousness’ sake. But the injustice of the judge does not affect the providence of God. For the judge must be master of his own opinion – not pulled by strings, like inanimate machines, set in motion only by external causes. Accordingly he is judged in respect to his judgment, as we also, in accordance with our choice of things desirable, and our endurance. Although we do not wrong, yet the judge looks on us as doing wrong, for he neither knows nor wishes to know about us, but is influenced by unwarranted prejudice; wherefore also he is judged.32 Accordingly they persecute us, not from the supposition that we are wrong-doers, but imagining that by the very fact of our being Christians we sin against life in so conducting ourselves, and exhorting others to adopt the like life.”
We learn:
- Role of elders
- Respect for elders
- God’s approval of humility
- God’s care for us