|
About Jesus Steve Sweetman This Section - Chapters 5
To
Elders And Young Men (5:1 - 11) Peter
opens this chapter by saying, “to the elders among you, I appeal as a
fellow elder”. Peter is now
speaking directly to the elders of the various churches that may read this
letter. Elders where those in
the body who were called to take care of God’s people.
In this instance, Christians were beginning to feel the pain of
unjust suffering from all sides and encouragement.
Peter
appeals on the basis of him being an elder as well.
If we take Peter at his word, then he must have been an elder in a
particular church, as well as an apostle that went out from the church to
preach the gospel. It might be
possible, and I stress "possible" that Peter might have viewed
himself as an elder at large, that is, for the churches he was associated
with. This is just speculation
though. We should also note
that Peter’s appeal was not based on any place of authority that he had
over these local elders. Translocal
authority was not really something that was clearly defined in these days,
or so I believe. Peter
based his appeal on 2 other things. They
were the fact that he actually saw the suffering of Jesus, and that he
will also share in the glory to come.
Of course, the elders will share in this glory as well, but these
elders did not actually see Jesus die on the cross as Peter did. Peter,
like Paul, appeals to his fellow believers, but not on the basis of
special higher ranking in the church. So
what does Peter tell these elders. He
tells them to be “shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care”.
(ch. 5:2) Two points to
be made here. One is, part of
an elders job is to shepherd the flock.
This simply means to look after and care for God’s flock.
The second point is that the flock is “under their care”.
The flock does not belong to the elders. The flock belongs to God,
and the elders simply cares
for the flock. Note
also that Peter says that the flock is under their care.
He did not say that the flock is under their authority.
Too often Christian leaders have seen their position in the church
as one of great authority, and there is a measure of authority in their
responsibility. Yet more than
the authority is the care. Pastors
need to know that the people of God are under their care, not necessarily
under their heavy handed authority. Peter
continues by using the phrase, “serving as overseers”.
An overseer is an elder, shepherd, or pastor.
All 4 words are used for the same task in the New Testament
Note, part of their job is “to serve”.
Jesus has clearly said that church leaders are not to be as leaders
of the world. They are not to
exercise authority in the same way secular leaders do.
Elders really are servants, not dictators. He
then goes on to say that elders must serve, “not because they must, but
because they are willing”. There
must be am eager willingness on the part of an elder to serve.
If there isn’t, then he most likely should not be an elder.
Paul felt that he had no other choice but to serve God and His
people, yet at the same time he was very willing and eager to do God’s
work. If you are doing God’s
work and you are always finding it a drudgery, then you are most likely
out of God’s will. “Not
greedy for money, but ready to serve”, Peter says.
Elders got some kind of financial remuneration for their serving.
How much they got, and how often, I really don’t know.
I don’t think anyone really knows.
But Peter says that you should not be doing the work of an elder
for the money. Being an elder
is not a career choice like being a lawyer.
It is a calling from the Lord, and whether you get paid lots or
little, that should not be the determining factor in you doing the work of
an elder. Peter
continues to say, “not lording it over those who are entrusted to
you”. The secular dictators
of the day lorded it over the people.
They were dictators. Elders
are not to be dictators. They
are “care workers” of those God has “entrusted” them with.
Note the word “entrusted”.
This means that the people belong to God, and God has chosen the
elders to care for His people. Instead
of “lording it over” God’s people elders are to be examples. (ch.
5:3) This should always be
true with any leadership situation. If
you are not a good example, then how can you motivate others to follow
your leadership. You might as
well not be a leader. Peter
says that if you as an elder do well then when the “Chief Shepherd”
appears you will receive a crown of glory.
Whatever this crown is, it is a reward for doing good.
This tells us that we do receive rewards once we get to Heaven. Also
note once again that Jesus is called the Chief Shepherd, meaning that all
earthly shepherds are under the Chief Shepherd’s authority.. In
verse 5 Peter now begins to speak to “young men” and tells them to be
“submissive” to those men who are older.
Peter is telling young men that they should respect and learn from
those who have had more experience in life. This
should be the way in the church today, but it's really not.
Generational conflict for the most part causes this not to happen.
Then
Peter says that everyone should live humbly towards one another because
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble”. This is a
direct quote from Prov. 3:34. We
note again, even though Peter was an unlearned man, he still knew the
Scriptures. We
should note again that God does oppose people.
In this case He opposes the proud. My guess is that He opposes both
individual proud people and proud nations.
The idea that God opposes anyone is foreign to our generation and
secular thinking. In
verse 6 Peter says that if you indeed humble yourself before God, “He
will lift you up in due time. It
is my thinking that “due time” most likely refers to the return of
Jesus. If it means some future time in one’s earthly life, and not in
the resurrected life, it would suggest that God is the one who does the
lifting up. “Lift you up” may refer to a position in society, or it
may be as simple as lifting one’s spirits.
These first century Christians had much to worry and be concerned
about. I would imagine at
times their spirits would be quite low, but if they would still live in
humility, not putting themselves first, then God would lift their spirits. Pride
is the original sin of satan. It
is humanity's sin as well. Pride
should have no place in the life of the Christian or the church, but in
today's church, there is much pride. God
will surely deal with this. Peter
then says, “cast all your anxieties on Him for He cares for you”.
I see this verse clearer than ever because of its context of this
letter. These Christians had
all sorts of anxieties. Many
were most likely anxious even for their very life.
Peter says to throw these anxieties on to Jesus, because He cares
for you. The process of
casting one’s cares on Jesus is hard at times.
This casting is really trusting Jesus.
When anxieties come, turn to Jesus in trust, and let Him help you.
Yet those Peter was talking to had to really trust Jesus. They had
to trust Him that He would be with them after death, because that is what
would probably happen to them. In
verse 8 Peter says to be self-controlled and alert”. This means that we
should be in control of our circumstances, and alert to things that are
happening around us as Christians. We
tend not to be alert but our attention too often is focused on so many
other things that our spiritual alertness is pushed to the side.
The
reason why we should be alert and in charge of our lives is because the
“devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to
devour”. If you have ever
been to a zoo and seen a hungry lion waiting for his supper, you will see
him prowling around, waiting in anticipation for his evening meal.
Anyone or anything that would get in his way during this time of
prowling may find himself in the lions mouth.
This is how Peter explains the tactics of the devil.
He is like a hungry lion, prowling around, looking for some food to
devour. You and I are that
food. We need to be alert to
his prowling. There are all
sorts of instances within a life that would suggest the prowling of the
devil. Many churches split
over such prowling. Bitterness,
self promotion, and other things creep in and divide the church.
This might be seen as hunger pangs from the devil.
When we give into these things, the devil devours the work of God,
which includes us. Peter
is very much aware of the devil. Some
in the church believe that the devil has little power in today’s world,
and don’t think we should think much about the devil, and when we do, it
is considered being negative. But
Peter points out to his readers that the devil is in fact alive and well
and we need to be alert to his prowling. In
verse 9 Peter says to “resist him”, meaning the devil.
How do we resist? “By
standing firm in the faith”, that means “by trusting in Jesus”.
Trusting in Jesus means to constantly being aware of Him, speaking
to Him, even thinking our thoughts to Him.
Peter
then says that those who are reading this letter should not think that
they are the only ones that need to watch out for the devil.
All Christians throughout the world are facing the same
difficulties. Peter most
likely viewed the persecution that Christians faced was from the devil,
because of the effective spread of the gospel. So
we see that this persecution was a form of an attack from the devil.
Yet we have also noted that this was a form of judgment from God.
This means that God used the devil as a tool for judgment.
God always uses the devil as a tool, and especially for judgment.
This will really be apparent at the end of this age.
Before
Peter makes his closing statement he says, “the God of all grace, who
called you into His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a
little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and
steadfast. To Him be the power
for ever and ever. Amen. (ch. 5:10 - 11)
Peter states that God is the God of all grace. All grace flows from
Him to all people, but as all New Testament writers believed, this grace
and the subsequent eternal glory could only be found in Christ.
Once again, Jesus is what makes Christians different than anyone
else. Yet
before we reach our eternal glory some of us will suffer.
These people were obviously suffering.
Not all Christians in history have suffered to the same extent. Some
have suffered very little, but those to whom Peter was speaking to
suffered a lot. Their eternal
reward would be great as a result. I
imagine some believers in Peter’s day fell away.
They could not withstand the trials.
I wonder about Christians who have not suffered like those people.
They did not have such severe trials to test their trust in Jesus.
I wonder why they get off so easy.
Some of them, if they had of gone through these same trials might
not have made it. This is
where the rewards in Heaven come in. For
those who have suffered much will inherit much. Yet
even though some of us have not suffered unto death, God does test each
persons trust in Jesus to one degree or other.
Not one Christian has lived without this test. It is only a part of
the Christian life, and not all pass the tests.
Final Greetings (ch. 5:12 - 14) In
verse 12 we learn that Silas helped Peter write this letter.
Obviously Silas had good writing skills.
Silas was also a good friend of Paul’s and was surely influenced
by Paul, so it is quite probable that Silas’ input into this letter was
a reflection of Paul’s thinking. I
personally believe you can see Paul in Peter’s letter. Peter’s
intent in writing was to show the true grace of God and to encourage his
readers to stand steadfast in His grace.
By using the word stand, Peter is saying that his readers should
not fall under the pressure of their present trials.
Standing denotes strength. In
verse 13 Peter says, “she who is in In
2 Tim. 4:11 Paul asks Timothy to bring Mark to Christians
often greeted each other in those days with a kiss.
So it is not unusual for Peter to say, “greet one another with a
kiss of love”. Peter
ends his letter by saying, “peace to all of you who are in Christ”.
These people were not experiencing outward peace in their lives.
Jesus never promised outward peace.
He promised inward peace. these
people surely needed that inward peace that came from Jesus.
They lived in torment. Many
died at the hands of Roman soldiers with the peace of Jesus found in their
hearts and souls. Peter
himself was one of those who were executed for his trust in Jesus by the
Romans.
|