6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:1-7 –NIV)
In chapter 4 verse 17, just prior to today’s passage, Peter says, “For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God.” (Literally, you remember from last week, it doesn’t say the family of God, but, rather, the house of God. It’s time for judgment to begin with the house of God.) As I explained last week, the phrase the house of God is always used in the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint) to refer to the temple where the priests served before God. Now, because of Christ we are all priests. All of us who are God’s elect serve before God and intercede with him on behalf of others, not just certain designated priests. Now, the temple is now the church—not the building, but all the believers. (You can check out 1 Cor. 3:16,17 and Eph. 2:19-22)
But, even though we are all priests, God has also appointed leaders among us. These are the elders who are to be shepherds of God’s flock and act as overseers. I think Peter is telling the leaders of the church to be especially aware of the trials that they, as well as the whole church will undergo, the time of judgment that is to begin with the house of God. If the house of God (the church) is to be judged before everyone else, the leaders of the house of God might also expect to be judged first. And the judgment, in this case, refers to our being tested with various trials. (And remember, God’s testing is not to see whether we will pass or fail, but rather to strengthen and refine our faith.)
In introducing today’s passage, Peter identifies and qualifies himself in three ways. First, he is a fellow elder (I appeal to you as a fellow elder). Although he is an apostle and was a disciple of Jesus throughout Jesus’s entire ministry on earth, Peter first of all identifies himself with all of the other leaders of the church.
Second, Peter identifies himself as a witness of Christ’s sufferings. The fact that Peter identifies himself as a witness of Christ’s suffering is additional evidence that at least one of the things Peter had in mind when he wrote these verses was suffering. But one of the things that would have passed me by, if it wasn’t for what I read in one of the commentaries, is the way in which Peter was a witness of Christ’s sufferings. It’s a thing that most of us, if we were him, would probably rather forget! While Jesus was being tried and beaten and abused, Peter was denying that he even knew him! Of all the ways that he could have picked to identify himself with Jesus, Peter picked the one that was the most shameful to him. …a witness of Christ’s sufferings, but he swore an oath that he didn’t even know him. But to Peter, it was God’s grace that was the most important thing! Jesus forgave and restored Peter. The one who is forgiven the most will love the most. Jesus said so himself. (Read Luke 7:36-50.) Peter has identified himself as a fellow elder and as a witness of Christ’s sufferings.
The third way Peter identifies himself is as one who will also share in the glory to be revealed. He talked about it this way back in chapter 1:
6In this (this salvation) you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith— of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire— may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:6-9)
Peter identifies himself as one who will be tested now and will later share in the glory and honor of Christ, the king of the universe! This is what he is looking forward to!
Now here’s what Peter has to say to those who are leaders—and I think that the principles apply to everyone, not just to elders. As God appoints elders in the church, so he appoints everyone to serve in the particular way that he chooses, so that no one is indispensable. And Elders are to be examples for everyone else.
So, here’s what Peter has to say to the elders: “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers— not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”
Peter says, “Be shepherds of God’s flock.” It’s the same thing Jesus told Peter after he rose from the dead. In John 21:16 Jesus said to Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter said, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus told him, “Shepherd my sheep.” (I used the HCSB translation for John 21:16. The NIV translators translated it a little different, “take care of my sheep,” but the Greek word for take care of and shepherd or be a shepherd of is the same—shepherd my sheep.)
What does it mean to be a shepherd of God’s flock? Well, we all know what a shepherd is supposed to do. He’s supposed to lead the flock of sheep to good pastures where they can eat and grow, and to water for them to drink, the things they need for life. He is also supposed to protect them from predators and to make sure that none wander away. If one wanders away, he has to go after it and bring it back. Peter calls Jesus the Chief Shepherd. But Jesus called himself the good shepherd. Here’s what Jesus said about himself: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:11) That’s the bottom line. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
I want you to think about what it means to be a good shepherd. You lead the sheep to good pastures where they can eat and grow, and to water for them to drink. (Remember “washed with water through the word”? The water’s the word of God.) You protect the sheep from predators. (The apostle Paul warned the Ephesian elders in Act 20:29, “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in and will not spare the flock.”) And if a sheep wanders away, you go after it and bring it back. Finally, the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. That’s what Jesus did. And I think these things don’t just apply to those who are appointed to an office of elder. Everyone should learn from them.
“Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers— not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be.” Elders must serve because they are willing, as God wants them to be. This is a command to those who are already elders, telling them how to serve—not because they must, but because they are willing. Peter is telling elders to be willing. It’s something you can decide to do—to be willing. If you don’t think so, here’s something you definitely can do. You can ask God to make you willing.
“Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care...not greedy for money, but eager to serve.” John Wesley’s comment from 250 years ago about not being greedy for money was this: “Oh, consider this, ye that leave one flock to go to another, merely because there is more gain, a large salary! Is it not astonishing that men can see no harm in this? …that it is not only practiced, but avowed, all over the nation?” God does call people to go elsewhere to serve, but it is to serve, not to have better or more comfortable material circumstances! Be eager to serve!
“Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care...not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.” On the night before Jesus was crucified, a dispute arose among the disciples about which of them would be considered the greatest. This is what Jesus told them: “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.” (Luke 22:25-27) Jesus, who is vastly greater than any of us, who is God who came in the flesh, didn’t come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many—for us! He is our example. And we are to be examples for others. Can you do it? After what happened the night before Jesus’s crucifixion, it didn’t look like Peter could, but he did!
Verse 4 says, “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.” This is what we have to look forward to. It will happen at the second coming of Christ. Does a “crown of glory” not seem like a very big deal to you? Well, what if it were an Olympic gold medal? But even that would just be human glory awarded by human judges. The crown of glory that Peter is talking about is the crown awarded to us by the Creator of the universe!
But maybe you’re saying, “I’m not an elder or even any kind of leader, so what kind of honor will God have for me?” Here are some scriptures to encourage you:
This is the apostle Paul writing: “Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day— and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:8)
And this is what the apostle James has to say: “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12)
Do you long for Jesus to appear? You will receive the crown of righteousness! Do you love God? Do you love Jesus? You will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him!
Pray for all of us to be like Jesus, who didn’t come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)
Now let’s look at the first part of verse 5. It says, “Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older.” (Those who are older is literally elders. It can refer to the office of elder or, simply to those who are older in years, as the NIV translates it.) “In the same way be submissive to those who are older.” In the same way obviously has to mean in the same way as the elders. (That is, be submissive in the same way that the elders or those who are older are submissive.) Peter didn’t say anything about the elders being submissive, but he did say they were to be shepherds of God’s flock and called Jesus the Chief Shepherd. Then he told the elders that they must be examples for the flock. The way God intends for this to work is for the leaders of the church to be humble and submissive to Jesus. And the young men, in the same way (with humility) to be submissive to those who are older.
But there’s more. Peter goes on to say, “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’“ All of us must be humble toward each other; and all of us must be submissive to Jesus. Have you ever been rebuked (or maybe, just given a suggestion) by someone who was younger in years or in the faith (or both) than you—someone you may have regarded as a little arrogant, not too humble, maybe a little immature—and you knew, you knew, that what that person said was the word of God? How did you react? When Abraham told Sarah to lie to the Egyptians and say that she was his sister rather than his wife, Pharaoh, who was a pagan, not a godly man, rebuked Abraham, who was “the man of faith”, and sent him away. Abraham had to accept Pharaoh’s rebuke. (Gen. 12:14-20) The truth is the truth no matter who speaks it, but it’s hard for us to be humble.
“‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” Being humble involves much more than taking advice or direction from elders or from other people. It has to do with your entire attitude toward God. We know from the word of God that we are absolutely dependent on God for everything—even for every breath that we take—the continuance of our physical bodies. We are dependent on God in everything we do—even in small things that we do every day. There is nothing whatsoever that we can do on our own. But pride says that it’s better to do it yourself—to do it your way. God opposes the proud.
“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” is a proverb from the Old Testament: “He mocks the proud mockers, but gives grace to the humble.” (Proverbs 3:34). If you reject God’s grace, he will reject you on the day of judgment, and that’s definitely not a good thing! But we have accepted God’s grace because we are God’s elect. He chose us for the sanctifying work of the Sprit, for obedience to Christ and for sprinkling by his blood. Nevertheless, even though we are God’s elect, this proverb still applies to us. “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
If you have the “do it yourself” attitude, I can tell you that God will definitely give you some training in humility. Because he loves you and wants you to be perfect on the day you stand before him, he will teach you. (And, by the way, let me remind you that Jesus, who is in very nature, God, and who is judge of all, is humble. He is gentle and humble in heart – Phil. 2:6, John 5:22, Matt. 11:29.) God wants you to be like Jesus.
Have you ever been in a situation where something you thought ought to be easy for you to do, wasn’t? Maybe it was something that you weren’t sure that God wanted you to do—or maybe you just thought that it was routine enough that you didn’t need to ask about it—or maybe you just didn’t think. How long did it take you to think that you ought to pray? And after it occurred to you that you ought to pray (or maybe God suggested it to you), how long did it take you to actually pray? I confess that, for me, there are times when it’s taken minutes, or hours, or days, or even years. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Why are we so stubborn or careless about asking him for his grace which he freely offers?
The Holy Spirit, speaking through Peter, says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” If you try to lift yourself up (it’s exalt in most translations), God will not let you succeed. But if you acknowledge that you are helpless without him—if you humble yourself, he will exalt you at the proper time.
Maybe you are anxious and think that you have to take care of yourself and are worried about how you can do it. Maybe you think that if you don’t exalt yourself, it will never happen. If you think that way, it certainly will never happen—at least, not before God. Those who are perishing may be able to exalt themselves in the eyes of the world, but before God they are nothing. But God cares for you. Verse 7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
God cares for you. He chose you; he loves you; and his one and only Son, Jesus, died for you. And when I say “you,” it sounds as though I am speaking to individuals, but when Peter said, “He cares for you,” he used the plural of you and was speaking to all of us as a group. God loves us and cares about us. He will exalt us in his time. All praise be to him. Amen.
Pray for us to be humble and patient and recognize that every good thing comes from God. Pray for us to really know that, when we humble ourselves under his mighty hand, he will exalt us in due time.
Let’s pray for each other as well as for the whole church. Come and encourage your brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. Love them.
[Prayer]