1 Peter 5

Discussion Questions

1. Since we’ve been called to “double submission” (to both the Chief Shepherd and His people), is there anything keeping you from either submitting to Him or serving His church well?
2. What can you do to eliminate “slackness” in how you serve the Lord?
3. A good portion of this chapter deals with the exhortation of humility—why do you think this is important, and how can you focus this week on this instruction?
4. Are there anxieties in your life that you need to cast on Jesus?
5. In what ways can you guard against the schemes of the devil?

Transcript

Before we give our attention to 1 Peter chapter 5, which is what we’ll be studying today, I’d like to take a brief moment to reflect on a particular scene in the life of the Apostle Peter himself. Very familiar to many of us, but I think it’d be good to have fresh in our minds. You’ll remember that the night that Jesus was betrayed, He was taken to be tried and He was brought to Annas and later to Caiaphas. And Peter follows along. And as Peter was warming himself by a charcoal fire outside, he was asked by an unknown servant girl if he was a disciple of Jesus. “I am not,” he said. Two more times he was asked a similar question. And each time Peter denied his Lord, collapsing under the pressure of fear. Perhaps also mixed though with a genuine question. “I thought this was the conquering king, Messiah, and here He is in chains,” Peter’s thinking, and unbelief starts to creep in.

We know from the ministry of Jesus, Peter saw Jesus raise the dead. He healed Peter’s own mother-in-law, He multiplied bread and fish, He walked on water, He calmed a raging sea. But in those moments around a charcoal fire, Peter fears – he loses his footing, he crumbles. But Sunday was coming. An empty tomb changed everything; what Peter would later call in the letter that we’ve been studying the living hope of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

So, if you would hold your spot there in 1 Peter 5 but turn to the left a little bit to John, Chapter 21 verse 15 just for a moment. This is a few days after the resurrection of Jesus. And Jesus invites Peter to a breakfast around another charcoal fire. “When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ And he said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ He said to him a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ And he said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ And he said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’

“He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.’ (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this, he said to him, ‘Follow me’.”

Peter denied Jesus three times, yet Jesus restores and recommissions Peter three times. “Follow me,” Jesus says, the same words He used when He called his disciples at the beginning of his ministry. “Follow me.” And here Jesus is recommissioning Peter. That restoring grace of Jesus is what Peter would stand on for the rest of his days. The mercy of Jesus was deeply personal to Peter. Listen to what he says as he opens up the letter we’ve been studying. He’s writing 30 years from that breakfast around the charcoal fire with Jesus. 1 Peter, Chapter 1: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Let’s read this together.

“According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” Peter was well acquainted with that great mercy. It was seared in his mind, it was written on his heart, it was saturated into his bones. It was solid ground for Peter to stand on. As he preached, he preached the Gospel boldly for the rest of his life. No longer cowering in fear in front of a servant girl. The Gospel transformed him. Do you know that mercy this morning? I pray you do.

So, with that personal story of Peter fresh in our minds, let’s give our attention now to 1 Peter, Chapter 5. If you would, turn there, we’ll start with verse 1. Let me pray for us and then we’ll get going this morning: Father, Your word is before us. May it pierce our hearts as it also heals and comforts. May Your spirit open it to us, tune our hearts to hear it and lead us to Your son Jesus. And we all said amen.

Chapter 5, verse 1: “So, [or therefore] I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ…” Do you think he has in his head as he wrote “the sufferings of Christ,” he witnessed them perhaps that night in the courtyard of Annas and Caiaphas? Peter says, “I’m a witness to the sufferings of Christ as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed.” He looks back and forward. Verse 2, “…shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly as God would have you; not for shameful gain but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

Harkens back to Chapter 1, “A treasure kept for us unfading, undefiled.” Throughout the letter, Peter has been careful to show how the Gospel of Jesus Christ transforms who we are and how we are to live faithfully in every sphere of life. `I’ll put this up on the screen just to give us an overview of what we’ve studied so far. The hope of the gospel, it shapes our earthly citizenship. We saw that in Chapter 2, how we relate to our city, to our nation, to other governmental authorities that we are subject to. He showed us how the Gospel shapes our vocation and work, how we navigate work in our employers and our employees, how the gospel shapes our relationships, husband and wife, friends.

Now the Gospel shapes the local church, our relationship with one another here at The Village Chapel, but also globally around the world. As Peter begins to conclude this letter, he turns to address leaders, leaders who have been given the responsibility of serving local congregations. He calls them elders, shepherds, pastors. In just a few sentences, Peter seeds this section by saying, “It is time for judgment to begin at the household of God.” He starts there, pulling from the Old Testament. Divine assessment begins with leaders of God’s people. And Peter, with pastoral wisdom and tenderness, I think, offers both encouragement and clear instruction, exhortation about what faithful leadership within a local church should look like.

Remember what Jesus told Peter at that beachside breakfast, “Feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. Feed my sheep.” And here 30 years later, Peter is following the way of Jesus by giving the same instruction to these leaders who would feed and tend and care for these churches who are going to face some of the most decadent and violent and dangerous times in Roman history.

So, who is Peter speaking about? Here are two here. The term elder, presbyteros in the Greek, was a term used from the Old Testament in Jewish synagogues to denote somebody of authority or seniority, often with age but not always. But the early church adopted this term “elder.” And it can mean both things. One, someone who holds a particular office in a church, a bishop or an overseer, a pastor, a shepherd. And of course, various streams of the church tease that out in different ways. But more broadly, the term elder here points to those whom the church has recognized as someone with spiritual maturity, discernment, integrity, character wisdom to serve the people of God as a servant leader.

Elsewhere in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul gives several qualifications of what a leader should be in the church, and we can summarize it simply. They are in the dark, but they profess to be in the light. Whether it’s a formal office or an informal role, those with influence and authority in a church have been given the stewardship of something very precious. His people, His church, His flock, it belongs to Him, and leaders are simply stewards.

And as you can see there in verse 4, “The chief Shepherd will appear,” and those who have been given that stewardship responsibility in a church will have to answer to that chief Shepherd. And Peter, I think, knew that heavy mantle well, didn’t he? Once a denier, once a betrayer, but later restored and recommissioned, and that should give hope to all of us in this room today.

Look with me if you would at verse 1, Peter demonstrates extraordinary humility here. He calls himself a fellow-elder. So, he says, “Hey elders, listen up. I am a fellow elder.” Now of course he was that. He was an overseer within the church, but he’s also distinct from these folks. He is an Apostle, an eyewitness to Christ and His sufferings. Yet the heart of Peter for these leaders is evident in the way that he places himself next to these elders, shoulder to shoulder. You can see this humility here. And in the ordinary course of ministry and in life, it’s often the leaders that take the first wave of heat, of temptation, of persecution, of mockery. The evil one often sets his sights first on those with influence and authority, and Peter knows that well. And any leader’s own heart can struggle with the temptation for more and more. Peter stands next to them side to side, and he offers encouragement and exhortation.

Here’s what a faithful leader should look like according to Peter. I’ll put this on the screen. One, if you look at verse 2, they should serve willingly. The heat will often come at the leader first. “Zeal for the truth of God’s word. The protection of God’s people must not be half-hearted or unserious.” Willing to take the heat to protect the flock is what I think Peter’s saying here, a burden for the glory of God and for the good of His people. Jeremiah says, “Cursed is the one who does the work of the Lord with slackness.”

Two, leaders are supposed to be serving for the right reasons. We can see that as well in verse 2, unbridled craving for more power, more influence, more financial gain cuts at the root of fruitful ministry and faithful ministry. Judgment begins at the house of the Lord. There’s no room for unrestrained ambition or greed or avarice. We can have worldly success, but we can be spiritually dead on the inside. Taking for yourself something that doesn’t belong to you. We can see that there in verse 2, “shameful gain.”

Leaders are also supposed to serve with humility, and I’m bundling several different things there. Shepherding work should not be about the leader, but about the flock. Self-forgetful as Keller tells us. Humility of course is linked with other fruits of the spirit including self-control and gentleness and patience and kindness. Domineering, as my translation says, or some of yours will say, lording over, that’s essentially another way of taking something that doesn’t belong to you. Glory. And also in verse 3, I think we see that godly leaders, shepherds, servant leaders should be godly examples. The life of any leader should be an example to follow. A sinner, yes, but faithfully following the chief shepherd. And we live in a fallen world, so we should expect that our leaders, even the strongest ones, will falter. But think about faithfulness as a long obedience in the same direction as Eugene Peterson would say, quoting there from Nietzsche.

So, these were marks that were critical, I think, for wise leadership at the time of the writing of this text, but they are critical for today. Can I get an amen? Amen. That’s right. They were living, working, worshiping in a world that was not only opposed to their faith in Jesus but was actively set against it. What do shepherds do? Let’s think about Psalm 23 for an example. David, King David was once a shepherd. They are to guide. “He leads me on paths of righteousness,” King David says. They are to feed. “He lets me lay down on green pastures and leads me beside still waters.” He tends. “He restores my soul.” He protects. “Your rod and your staff. They comfort me.” Protection from the lies of the world, the flesh and the devil by a steady diet of the Word of God that both comforts and corrects.

Shepherds should equip the people of God to think biblically and all of life in order to have a firm foundation to stand on when fiery trials come. And they will come, and they were coming to this group here and they will come for us today. A vision of Christian leadership in the New Testament is one of double submission, I’ll call it. Submission to the chief Shepherd and submission to God’s people. Servant leadership, a life laid down for the good and the flourishing of the flock and for the chief shepherd’s glory.

Let’s keep reading in verse 5. “Likewise, you who are younger be subject to the elders.” And that could be younger as in age. Likely, that’s probably what he primarily has in mind, but also young believers perhaps. “Be subject to your elders, clothe yourselves, all of you.” And think of everybody that he’s been communicating with, talking to directly in this letter. “Clothe yourselves …with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” Verse 6, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you’ve suffered a little while, the God of all grace who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

I think here we see an autobiography of Peter. Think of Peter on that beach three times Jesus recommissions. He restores. He confirms. He strengthens and establishes Peter. I think Peter has this in mind as he’s writing it. Verse 12, This is the postscript to the letter “By Silvanus [or Silas], a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.” In other words, “Everything that I’ve been talking about, all the way to the beginning, according to His great mercy, you have been called to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And everything in between that until this postscript, stand on it. That is the true grace of God. Don’t waver. Stand firmly on that truth.”

Verse 13, “She,” who is it? “…at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings.” That’s likely a code word for the church at Rome, likely where Peter’s writing from. “The church of Babylon sends you greetings and so does my son Mark,” his spiritual son, the writer of the Gospel of Mark. “Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.”

I won’t ask us to demonstrate the kiss of love this morning. Maybe next week we can try it then. Actually, I think there’s something beautiful there. That was of course culture-bound to that day, a way of showing affection. And that is part of what we do when we come to church here on Sunday morning. We gather for worship. And part of that is to see one another, to hear one another and preach the Gospel to one another.

“Clothe yourselves, all of you, in humility,” if you look with me at verse 5. Think of all those he’s been writing to in this letter. Elders and leaders, young, old, citizens, employees, employers, friends, wives, husbands – all of you – do the active work of putting on humility. Humility is a defining mark of authentic Christianity. Christians should be known by our conspicuous humility, I might say. Love for one another that shows itself in regarding others more highly than yourself. In a world like today, how refreshing. Grace and pride are mortal enemies. Peter illustrates this in the opening sentence of his letter. “You and I were once dead in our sins, but according to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope.” Not according to me, not according to others, but according to His great mercy. Our only boast is in the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

John Stott says it this way, “Our confidence is not in our love for Him, which is frail and fickle and faltering, but in His love for us, which is steadfast, faithful and persevering.” I think what Peter is exposing for us in his call to humility is the temptation to self-sufficiency, self-reliance, self-dependence. I find it fascinating the way he unpacks how we are to clothe ourselves with humility by casting our cares, our anxieties on Him. Look with me there at verse 6 and 7, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you…” or lift you up. That’s what that means. How do you do that? Verse 7, same sentence, “By casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you.”

Isn’t that remarkable? In other words, humility’s starting place is the realization that I am utterly dependent on Him. There’s freedom in that truth, friends. When we leave this place here today, the world will inundate us with the gospel of the world that will tickle my ears and my eyes and invite me to lean fully on myself, on my feelings, my mood, my desires, my body, my wealth, my productivity. And the gospel of the world, I think, leads to slavery, chained to my own whims. True freedom is hitched to truth, something objective outside of the ups and downs of my fickle heart, as Stott said. And Peter shows us a better way, living under the mighty hand of a loving shepherd who cares for you, who cares for me. Every intimate detail of your life, He cares for you. Do you know that?

The chief Shepherd leads us in paths of righteousness because He knows where the dangers lie. The chief Shepherd’s rod and staff comfort us, protect us, guide us and lead us. And casting our anxieties on Him, casting our cares on Him, it’s not a quaint request to gently lay them down. The word translated as cast there, if you look in the text, actually is a particularly strong word in the Greek. It’s “throw” your cares on Him, toss it on His shoulder. Load up your anxieties on His back. This isn’t quaint. Peter is a loving pastor. He doesn’t say we won’t have anxieties. In fact, I think it’s refreshing. He doesn’t ignore them. He says we will have them, but he acknowledges them honestly and he says, “Here’s where you can take them.”

Russ Masterson, I’ve really been helped by his little book Searching for Grace. He said,

“As soon as I answered the question, ‘Am I okay with anything other than the promise and provision of my belovedness in Christ?’, I drift towards anxiety and darkness. Yet there is a temporary high from the offerings of the world, but after the high fades, the sense of lostness and wandering returns.”
Russ Masterson, Searching for Grace

And, of course, many of us know that in this room. The Psalms clearly can be instructive to us in this.

King David could properly recognize the anxieties in his own heart and mind, but would preach the Gospel to himself, a little self-talk here. I’m going to put this up on the screen, Psalm 42:11,

“Why are you cast down, oh my soul?” He’s talking to himself, a proper self-talk. “Why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”

Let’s say that together.

“Why are you cast down, oh my soul? And why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.”
Psalm 42:11

Friends, when you’re tempted to stand on anything other than the provision, the grace and the mercy of God, preach the Gospel to your soul. Preach the Gospel to one another. According to His great mercy, He’s caused us to be born again. Plant your feet firmly there.

I don’t think it’s an accident that in the middle of this final section of his letter, Peter goes on to describe the identity, the method, and the intentions of the evil one. Set your eyes with me at verse 8. “Be sober-minded; be watchful.” Don’t act like you’re drunk, swerving from left to right. Be paying attention to what’s going on. “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” We see at least three things. His identity. “He’s your adversary, he’s an enemy.” We see his method. He prowls around, slow, methodical. We see his intention. He seeks to devour. Or you could translate that, he seeks to swallow you up.

Emily and I enjoy watching shows about nature and wildlife, especially when David Attenborough is there and, “As the lion crouches.” Lions are very patient. I think that was an Irish accent by the way. I’m not sure. Lions are very patient. They stalk. They watch from a distance. They observe. They look for weaknesses, the wounded, the isolated. Our leaders, our anxieties, our areas of self-sufficiency, our isolation is often where the evil one prowls around looking for vulnerabilities. And Peter tells us to be sober-minded, pay attention, be watchful, stay awake.

See what’s going on in the world of flesh, my own heart and the evil one. The Scriptures are very clear about the reality of Satan. And I’ll put up a few here from the New Testament. He’s the father of lies. We know that from the very beginning. He began in the garden. “Did God actually say…?” His specialty is in half-truths. He’s the accuser of the brethren. “You’re a sinner and there’s no hope for you.” A half-truth. That’s why we must preach the Gospel to ourselves and to one another.

John said, “If we confess our sins, [yes] he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.” He tempted Jesus. He even quoted from Scripture. Did you know that Satan is a Bible teacher? Half-truths. He’s a thief. He’s a murderer. The prince of the world. We must be watchful, but we do not have to be afraid, brothers and sisters. One of the primary ways a lion hunts is by isolating its prey. And the same can be said of the evil one. That’s why I think Peter is so tender and kind to this weary group of believers, reminding them at verse 9 that they are not alone. “Resist him. Stand firm under the mighty hand of God. …the same kinds of sufferings are being experienced by the people of God around the world.” And that’s the same message for us here today. I’m so glad we prayed for the folks in Africa who are suffering even now.

That’s why it’s critical that we gather for worship to remind one another we are not alone, to gather in groups throughout the week to pray, to confess, to hear biblical truth, to pray for the persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. To be reminded we’re not alone and can stand firm together in the great mercy of God. Do you believe that? Say amen. Amen.

Satan has some power for now on earth, but it’s restrained, and his time is limited. He may be like a lion, but he’s a cheap imitation of the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Matt Smethurst says this, “Satan is a lion. Jesus is a lion. One’s on a leash. The other is on the throne.” That’s right. I don’t know about you, but I often get the order of things backwards. Functionally, I often stand on my own performance in my make-believe self-sufficiency, attempting to restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish myself before God and before others. Sometimes we forget where to stand when anxieties consume our minds in our hearts. When the heat of suffering comes, we can forget to whom we belong. We forget where we stand.

God has not promised us immunity from suffering in life or tragedy and death. In fact, this letter tells us we will go through fiery trials. But I heard someone say this week, “The Lord does not promise to keep you out of trouble, but when you go through trouble, He will keep you.” That’s truth. The power of God will guard you for salvation. Peter said this in the first chapter, do you remember that? “The power of God will guard you for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.” Guard is a military word. You are kept in His grip.

And I think the autobiography of Peter is the story of every believer who has come to Christ in repentance and faith. Look with me at verse 10, the autobiography of Peter. “And after you suffered a little while, the God of all grace who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself,” get that, “himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To Him be the dominion forever and ever.” And we said…Amen.

Amen. Stand firm in Christ who has done everything necessary Himself to restore you. Stand firm in the living hope of His resurrection that will keep you to the end. And as the hymn writer says, “I hear the Savior say, ‘Thy strength indeed is small. Child of weakness, [that’s us here today] watch and pray. Find in Me thine all in all’.” Let’s pray.

Let’s take a moment of silence and solitude just to consider the great mercy of God for us this morning and to give Him thanks. Spirit, we ask that Your word would cut to the quick this morning. Wake us up in areas where we’ve become slack. Lift our eyes to the joy of Heaven. We’ve only looked at the uncertain world around us or the tossing winds inside us. Come, Holy Spirit and do Your work in us. Comfort those this morning in the throes of sorrow and suffering and give us the grace to set our hope fully on You. In the name that’s above every name, Jesus Christ, we all said amen.