Though I’m pretty sure us Willamette girls have had enough 1 Peter, here are chapter 5’s notes, in case any others are interested…
Peter has some challenging words for us today, and sometimes it helps, before grappling a new challenge, to reflect and see all that God has done in us these 9 weeks we’ve been together. It can encourage and remind us as we move ahead from this place.
- He’s promised us a heavenly inheritance that eclipses earthly trials.
- He’s equipped us to prepare our minds for action, training our thoughts to things that are helpful.
- He’s called us to worship Him through our lives and lips.
- He’s commanded us to submit to earthly authorities, entrusting ourselves to God’s care.
- He’s inspired us to cultivate inner beauty, through a calm and submissive spirit.
- He’s shown us how to prosper spiritually, how to answer effectively, and how to suffer confidently.
- He’s challenged us to forsake sin and instead serve one another with our spiritual gifts.
- He’s reminded us to rejoice in suffering, and mind our minds, so that God will be glorified.
- And finally today, in Peter’s parting words, I believe He’s revealed that humility is the root of it all, as demonstrated here through leading well, casting cares, and standing firm.
First, Humility as demonstrated through Leading Well.
V. 1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is to be revealed:
So, we always want to look at connections right, between passages. NIV doesn’t have it, but in the Greek—in ESV and NASB we see the “So” or “Therefore”. Now remember where we are in the context of the book—we’ve been discussing suffering, and then as Heather covered, in verse 17, we read “for it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God.”
1) The judgment, or the standard of godliness that begins with God’s people, must first and foremost begin with God’s leaders.
2) In the midst of a trials, tribulation, suffering, it is of paramount importance that godly leaders are in place, and that those leaders lead well, with humility and the fear of the Lord.
Now none of us are church elders, but we are leaders, and we are called to lead women. Now this certainly doesn’t mean that if you aren’t technically a leader at church you just tune out, right? If anything I hope in this study that God is raising you up as a leader. And even if He never does, you all have a responsibility to lead those entrusted to your care, and to support and pray for those leaders over you. So let’s see what Peter exhorts these leaders to do.
V. 2 Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight…
God calls His leaders shepherds. No doubt Peter has in mind a very pointed conversation with Jesus, after Jesus’ resurrection, we find in John 21. Peter had rejected Christ and gone back to his old life of fishing. And of course they were catching no fish (funny how we never seem to prosper when we’ve strayed from Him), so Jesus tells them to cast the net on the other side of the boat (idiot advice, it would seem) and then they caught so many they couldn’t even haul them all in. And when Peter saw that it was Jesus, he stripped off his outer clothes and dove into the sea after him. (Still the same Peter!) And the rest of the disciples had to drag all the fish in. And back on shore, Jesus was making breakfast, fish and bread over a fire, and Jesus says to Peter:
Do you love me? Yes, Lord! “Feed my lambs.”
Do you love me? Yes, Lord! “Tend my sheep.”
Do you love me? Yes, Lord! “Feed my sheep.”
So Peter is passing on the very words of Jesus, exhorting the fellow leaders to shepherd God’s flock.
We may not like being called sheep…but that’s what we’re called throughout scripture—followers, not real smart, get spooked and scared very easily, are vulnerable to attack, stinky and smelly… you get the picture.
And Peter exhorts the shepherds in three ways, all of which underscore the importance of humility in the life of the leader. This is how to lead well.
1) Not under compulsion, but willingly as God would have you (v. 2).
This is saying that serving God through leadership shouldn’t be something you do begrudgingly. How do we know if we’re doing something begrudgingly? If we complain about it. This is so convicting. The moment we complain about our role of leadership, the moment we step out of God’s will. Why? Because the root of this complaining, compulsory, begrudging attitude is a lack of humility, or PRIDE. This is shown through an attitude that says, “Well I guess I’ll do it because there’s no one else to do it.” Which essentially says, “I’ll do it because there’s no one else as qualified as me, or there’s no one else as committed or selfless or devoted as me.” That is pride, and God detests it. We would be better off not serving than doing it with a grumbling, complaining heart.
Instead, serve, lead willingly, which demonstrates humility. This attitude says, “Wow, what an honor that God would allow me to serve in this way. I’m grateful for this honor. It’s hard sometimes, and sometimes I don’t really feel like doing it, but underneath all that I recognize that God doesn’t have to use me, He doesn’t need me, I’m not doing God a favor by serving or leading, He’s not lucky to have me. I’m lucky, blessed, to be able to serve Him in this capacity, whatever it is.” That’s serving with humility, that’s leading willingly. Whether you’re leading worship or taking out the trash, a humble heart serve willingly, not begrudgingly.
2) Not for shameful gain, but eagerly (v. 2)
This may have been referring to the fact that some elders were actually paid for their service, much like our pastors. It certainly isn’t wrong for elders to be paid a salary, in fact it’s biblical, but Peter’s saying, never let that gain be the reason you serve. If the only reason Joel or Jeff served was so that they got paid, we’d be in a heap of trouble, right? But no, in fact I’d say the struggle in our family is that Jeff is a little too eager to serve—because he practically lives here!
But even those of us who don’t get paid, can still be leading out of wrong motives, for shameful gain. What about serving or leading to boost our own ego? To meet our own need for feeling valuable and important? The second that our service becomes about anything other than humbly bringing people to see and experience the risen Christ, we are in the wrong place. And this is challenging, because honestly serving and leading is rewarding. And sometimes along the road you do get some pretty cool pats on the back. You can even get some pats on that back for doing humble things. But Oh, God for the humility to keep those things at arms length! Humility in leading means we do not do anything for the temporary glory of the praise of man or popularity or feeling important.
And when we do meet success in serving or leading, let us be SO careful to remain in that place of humility. When we receive a compliment, we must be very careful to keep it at arm’s length. We can take it receive it, praise God and then offer it up to Him as a sacrifice of praise, casting it before Him as worship. We know that for all eternity we will be casting our crowns before God’s throne. Well I like to think of praise and compliments here on earth as “mini crowns”, that I can choose cast at Jesus’ feet, offering them as worship to Him. But sometimes we just can’t help but take that crown and look at it, and admire it, and fall in love with it, and then put it on our head and it just feels so good and looks so pretty and next thing you know we’re wearing it and it’s an idol. It’s pride. Humility takes any success we have in any endeavor and offers it straight up to God.
3) Not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
The third way we’re called to demonstrate humility through leading well, is by not lording over those we lead. Some of us want to be leaders because we like being in charge. Is that the right motivation to serve? What does Jesus say about this?
“You know the rulers of the Gentiles lord it overt them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:25-28
In the Kingdom of God leaders are servants. It is an upside down kingdom. Peter would have these words of Jesus still echoing in his mind. He would remember Jesus washing the disciple’s feet, just hours before he would be delivered up to be crucified. Jesus’s life was the ultimate example of servant leadership—giving up His own life for the sake of those He led.
Rather than domineering over, we’re called to be examples. It’s easy to tell someone what to do, it’s not easy to show them what to do through humble example. More is caught than taught, right? Paul spoke of this over and over, leading by example and telling others to imitate him as he imitated Christ 1 Corinthians 11:1, (which is the essence of discipleship). Paul exhorted Timothy, the young pastor at Ephesus, to not let anyone despise his youth, but to set an example for the believers. You’re never too young to lead by example. This is the way by which we lead well, through humility.
And in case all of this has scared you all away from leadership, then comes a promise:
V. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
There’s a reward that will never fade! Compliments fade, don’t they? You can receive applause and praise one moment and be totally forgotten the next. All our rewards here on earth fade. But faithful leaders are promised a reward in heaven that will never fade. So though we should be cautious of becoming leaders, knowing God’s judgment is stricter on us, knowing that there will be a special sort of suffering, a tighter discipline, we have a special promise of God’s reward. Our prayer is that God would welcome us with the words,
“’Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” Matthew 25:23
So no matter where you serve, whether rocking infants or leading huge ministries, we are to serve faithfully, with humility, willingly, eagerly, and as examples.
V. 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.
We who are young have the tendency to think we have all the answers, so we need a special reminder of humble submission. Our culture could use a little reminding of the value of respecting our elders, can I get an amen?! J But then in the same breath, as if Peter could just see some of those proud older people nudging the youth at their sides, he goes on to say:
V. 5 Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
This word translated “clothe yourselves” is an unusual word that literally means to “put on an apron.” No doubt Peter had in his mind again that sacred scene from John 13, where hours before He is to be betrayed, Jesus removes his outer garment, and wraps himself with a towel (that is the word here), and kneels to wash the disciples’ feet. And of course Peter being Peter throws a fit about this, and insists that Jesus shouldn’t be washing his feet, because He doesn’t understand Jesus’ example of humility. But Jesus says, “If I then, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do just as I have done to you.” (John 13:14-15)
We are to clothe ourselves with humility. We aren’t told to just “be humble”. We’re told to act humbly. We’re told to be humble by the way that we live. Which means that if someone does something to irritate or frustrate me, though I might be jumping up and down inside, I choose to put on humility and respond in kindness.
For, the reason here for this is HUGE. If we could only grasp this one thing I think our lives would change. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
This same quote is used in James 4:6 hopefully you read that passage in your homework, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
If we are acting in pride, God is against us! Can you imagine having the God of the universe, personally set against us. Talk about motivation for humility! Scripture says if God is for us who can be against us? Romans 8:31. The only person who matters is God. All we need to be concerned with is our relationship with God. And the character quality that is required in order to receive God’s divine favor and grace, is humility. I need grace! Oh how I want more grace. It is by grace we saved, by grave live, by grace we grow and respond to God. Grace is all we need. And we receive it through humility, God says.
Therefore, He says, V. 6 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time He may exalt you”
This is talking about our humility in the midst of suffering. Under the mighty hand of God, which can he His discipline, His allowing of trials, His allowing of suffering, we are humble ourselves under that hand. In the James 4 quote of this, he follows immediately with, “Submit yourselves, therefore to God.”
This is how we humble ourselves, recognizing, “God you are in control of all things, and You know what is best for me, more than I know what is best for me, so I humble myself under your hand in this trial, in this suffering, confident that at the proper time YOU will exalt me. I wish the proper time were now, Lord, but I don’t have to exalt myself because I trust Your word that You know the “proper time”. I will therefore submit myself to you.”
James 4 continues to echo this in verse 10: Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you. That is our promise. At the proper time, God will exalt us.
But the key question is, how do we humble ourselves before God? The 2nd thing I said at the beginning was that humility is demonstrating through casting cares. We learned in our homework that verses 6-7 are one complete sentence,
v. 7 “Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” That is a beautiful sentence. Look at it together, Humble yourself, casting… This is like saying, “Cross the road safely, looking both ways. Drive home safely, obeying the speed limit.” Do this, in this way. Humble yourself, casting your anxieties on Him. This is how we demonstrate our humility.
You know what I love about this verse? What does it assume? That there are anxieties. He doesn’t say, humble yourself by eliminating all your anxieties. God knows we have anxieties, and He knows that we are powerless to make them disappear. No amount of self-talk will make them disappear. (Dutch’s self-talk) They must be given over, cast onto Him.
This is the outworking of humility in the life of the believer. Pride is self-sufficiency. Jesus explains this in Matthew 6, right? “Who of you by being anxious can add a single hour to the span of his life?” He’s saying there that worry or anxiety is at its essence or root our belief that we control our life, that we ultimately are in the driver seat. Which is pride. Anxiety is essentially pride. Humility says, “I am anxious over many things, but I know a God who is in control of all things, and so I surrender all my anxiety to Him because He is the only one able to take care of me.” It demonstrates faith—I believe He cares for me and I believe He can take care of me. He believe in His power and I believe in His goodness. By casting my cares onto Him I am affirming who God is and placing my trust firmly in Him. It is the supreme act of humility to trust in One other than yourself.
One great thing is also that sometimes the act of casting our cares gives us the perspective of realizing the cares we had were those of pride in the first place. How often my anxiety is over someone slighting me or mistreating me, or worrying about what someone will think of me. Since all of that is pride anyway, by casting it all on God we see things in light of who He is, which makes much of our anxiety melt away.
But there are true cares and concerns, when we are truly suffering. Sometimes your anxieties are very legitimate. Sometimes our suffering is very real, and our concerns selfless and legitimate. So please don’t miss this truth: He cares for you. He cares for you. He cares for you. For some today that is all you need to take away from this message. He cares for you. He is not only all powerful and all good, but He is intimately aware of the details of our lives. Isn’t that the message of Matthew 6? He clothes us, feeds, us, provides for us in every way. Because He cares for us.
And on the heels of this promise that He cares for us, we are reminded that we have an adversary in this world.
V. 8 “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
We’re reminded of chapter 1:13, be sober-minded. In our time away from home, we must not forget that we have a very real enemy. Scripture is very clear that Satan is real, and this word used here, the devil, literally means The Accuser.
I don’t like giving the devil more attention than he deserves. We’re told to overcome evil with good, meaning we don’t need to study Satan or become overly focused on him. But scripture also says we are not to be outwitted by him or ignorant or his schemes (2 Corinthians 2:10-11). We need to know he’s there and know how to fight.
So how are we to fight? It’s linked, surprisingly, to humility, and linked to the verse we just studied about submitting to God and casting our cares on Him. Our James 4 passage, interestingly enough, also links these two things—the humility of submitting to God and our resistance to the devil. He says,
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
moving on in verse 8 we read this same thing, “Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.”
How are we called to fight Satan? With humility, standing firm. That’s our third point. That sounds strange, doesn’t it? Fighting by humility? Shouldn’t we be bold, fearless, running out to battle with authority and confidence?! Yes and no.
So far we’ve seen we are to Resist, firm in faith. James says Resist, and he will flee.
Let’s look at Ephesians 6, the spiritual warfare passage. Paul says v. 10 to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might, (so yes we are to be strong, confident, bold.) Then, verse 11, Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Verse 13, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand (or “stand your ground”), in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand, therefore…”
So how do we fight against the devil in this world? With humility, standing firm. We don’t go running after him, shouting and cursing and yelling at him. We stand. We know that God fights our battles. In humility we submit to Him, we trust in Him, we cast our cares upon Him, and we refuse to give the devil a foothold in our lives. We refuse to sin. We refuse to blame others for our suffering. We refuse to complain, grumble, shake a fist at God. We stand firm in our faith. That is battle.
And also in humility, we recognize that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by our brotherhood through the world. Remember last week we read not to think something strange or unusual is happening to you when you suffer V. 12. I love how Heather talked about Voice of the Martyrs and the persecuted church. Pride manifests itself by thinking that we alone are suffering. Pride says, “poor me, I’m the only one.” Humility says, my suffering is nothing spectacular. Everyone suffers. My brothers, all of believers, suffer all over the world. Ultimately humility says, I have suffered nothing, the way we read of the president of VOM last week who said it was a privilege to suffer for Christ. I’m not saying we deny when we are suffering, but we ultimately recognize, we are just one of many all over the world, and we are fortunate enough to be counted in the bunch.
We resist the devil, in our time in this world, by simply Standing Firm. Resolute. Unmoved, knowing all who follow Christ will suffer, not surprised or thinking it’s strange. We stand firm.
And then the promise, V. 10 “And after you have suffered a little while (remember we read this same phrase in chapter 1, we are grieved for a “little while” by various trials”), 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.”
Remember, Jesus is coming back! Remember our trials are working for us an eternal weight of glory that cannot be compared with this present suffering. He will restore, confirm, strengthen, establish. He has a glorious inheritance waiting for us that we cannot even imagine. And Peter closes, vv12-14
By Silvanus (or Silus), a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, (for what purpose?) exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. (there’s our purpose again, Stand firm.). She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greeting, and so does Mark, my son. Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
This is the grace of God, given to the humble. Stand firm in it, Peter says. Refuse pride, refuse the enemy, refuse to be moved. Stand firm in God’s grace, in our time away from Home, and watch as He works mightily through our lives for His glory.
Peter closes by telling the recipients to greet one another with a kiss of love. We don’t do that in our culture, but it was a way for them to acknowledge their love and connection to one another. In other words, we’re in this together. Would you turn to each other and say, “Were in this together.” An equivalent for us, which I’d like for us to do now, is to join hands. Because God is sending us out into the world. We are away from home, fellow travelers, pilgrims, sojourners, on mission to glorify Him with all that we say and do. Amen? Let’s pray together.