1 Peter 5

Grace and peace to you all,

Today we wrap up the Chapter Memory Study in the book of 1 Peter. The over all theme of Hope in Suffering held true, as did the acronym HOPES for the outline. I reminded myself that I need to go back and just read through 1 Peter now that I have studied it. I have recognized certain themes and points of emphasis that would be interesting to view in light of the whole work.

The memory passage for 1 Peter 5 is;
1 Peter 5:2a, 5-10 (ESV)
² shepherd the flock of God that is among you,
⁵ Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." ⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, ⁷ casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. ⁸ Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. ¹⁰ And after you have 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.

As always, I made a priority decision in this passage. In order for the whole passage to fit in my brain this week, I needed to trim a bit. I shortened verse 2 (while maintaining the main theme) in order to include 6 verses from 5-10, which I felt deserved attention.

The outline theme (the 'S' in hopeS) is Shepherd, Submit, and Stand firm humbly. This chapter is short, but has three main ideas. The over all theme is humility toward each other and God; an this is played out in the role of a shepherd, the sheep, and the servants of God.

Beginning in verse 1, Peter has some specific exhortations for shepherds. He reminds the elders that he is a fellow elder and shepherd who has seen the sufferings of the chief Shepherd and will be reunited with Him when His glory is revealed. The charge to us now; shepherd God's flock. How? Not grudgingly, greedily, or harshly, but willingly, eagerly, and by setting a good example. And never forget that Christ is the Chief Shepherd who has an unfading crown of glory for us in heaven.

Now, to those who are younger Peter reminds them to be subject to the elders. But everyone is to 'clothe themselves' with humility toward one another; remembering that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (Prov 3:34, James 4:6).

Verse 6 begins the second sub-section; submit. Everyone, elders and the flock, are to submit,or humble themselves, to God. The words of Micah 6:8 ring through; 'do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God'. But we can't separate verse 5 from verse 6. I do not think it is possible to walk proudly with each other and then walk humbly with God. Our heart posture will most certainly carry over into all our relationships. The reverse is also likely; we can not truly walk humbly with God without that effecting our relationships with others. Humility, in both cases, is a posture of the heart that we must achieve and maintain. We can leave the exalting to God. He knows the correct time, the proper manner, and the appropriate degree to which we should ultimately be exalted. If we try to exalt ourselves, it would be the wrong time, the wrong manner, and most likely to the wrong degree.

But take heart; God is not arbitrary in His dealings. He invites us to cast all of our anxieties on Him because He cares for us. Unlike humbling one's self before a dictatorial tyrant, our submission and servant hood is to a loving, caring God who truly knows what's best for us and will work in us to that end.

Verses 8-10 wrap up the main outline with some encouragement to stand firm. First, a warning; be sober-minded and watchful because your enemy is crouched for attack. The devil is likened to a lion 'seeking someone to devour'. We are to resist him by standing firm in our faith. This assault on God's kingdom is not isolated, but world-wide. But after all of the suffering, our gracious God will restore, confirm, strengthen and establish us based on His calling of us to glory through Christ. And don't forget; He rules.

Peter acknowledges the one taking dictation (Silvanus) and reaffirms (possibly now in his own hand-writing) that his messages is true. He then sends greetings from 'she who is in Babylon' (a possible reference to the church of Rome) and Mark before signing off with a blessing of peace.

How does this affect my worship?
I owe my Shepherd everything. He sought me when I was lost, He cares for me when I'm sick, He leads me to the place I can receive nourishment, He provides for my growth and maturity, and He protects me in times of danger. I often call out to Jesus, as Shepherd, for all of these things, but I do not often thank Jesus for being my Shepherd. When I meet Him in heaven, my Chief Shepherd, I will most certainly fall to my face and thank Him. I can begin now.

How does this affect my discipleship?
I am in an interesting position of being a pastor (and 'elder') but being relatively young. I have certain shepherding responsibilities, but also certain people I must submit to. But humility works both ways. I must lead humbly and follow humbly. I must always clothe myself and walk in humility. Even, especially when, I am discipling someone young or new in the faith. An example of humility from the beginning is a strong foundation of any discipleship relationship.

May you walk humbly with God and others,

Ethan