Peter’s letter has been discussing a number of different topics. Last chapter he discussed transformation in our lives, and the idea that when we take on the attitude of Christ, we put to death sin, we are willing to suffer or endure hardship in order to obey God. We can define Sin as basically disobeying God’s instruction, and often we commit sin because we indulge our flesh, our sinful desires, whatever it is that is easier or more pleasurable thing than obedience. Peter argued that we’ve spent enough of the precious time in our lives trapped in slavery to Sin. We were dead in our disobedience towards God. We were enemies. But God preordained for us to put to death that sinful nature and identify with Christ’s death, which means we become born again, not of the flesh, but the spirit. When that happens, we don’t just identify with Christ’s death, and the forgiveness that comes from having him take our sins, but we also Identify with his resurrection and his being brought to Glory. This identity change is basically how salvation functions, it’s not by our works, but God’s sending Jesus to die for us. We are saved by this baptism, the baptism of putting to death our flesh and being reborn of Spirit. When we immerse ourselves in water, it’s a ceremony or symbolic display of an inner salvation. So now we are in this state where we’re no longer enemies of God, we are no longer slaves to our sin, we’ve been set free; we are forgiven and we are adopted. We have the promise of being brought into Glory with God and Christ in the end, but since we are still alive in the flesh, we aren’t fully there. Peter’s letter gives us the honest expectation that there will be hardships along the way, there will be suffering. When we put on the attitude of Christ, we allow for ourselves to experience that suffering in order to obey God. In the second half of the chapter Peter discussed that we also have been given a job to steward all of the good things that God gives us in order to serve others for His Kingdom. Sometimes being a custodian of God’s good gifts is fun, and we feel like we are living out our divine purpose. Other times, being a good steward means being extraordinarily careful about what we say or do. Many times, being a good steward means giving up something we want to keep in order to serve others. Peter understands that and reminds the reader to speak with the words of God, serve with the strength that God provides, and engage in hospitality without grumbling. Being a good and faithful steward means giving up our opportunitity to Grumble or complain about the good thing we’re doing. It means passing on the chance to make someone feel guilty or call in a favor later for the “good thing” that we did. Being a good and faithful steward means being humble and passing on the opportunity to hand over a check that is literally cardboard and is 3 feet by 6 feet. Jesus actually tells us to experience a certain amount of cognitive dissidence to not let our right hand know what our left is doing. When we steward and serve faithfully, we are supposed to throw some caution to the wind, and serve at a level that is beyond the realm of logic and what’s normal. Peter says to commit ourselves to our faithful God, even when we experience suffering as a result of doing God’s will. This thought is where he ended chapter 4 so let’s read chapter 5

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed:

Peter is about to make an appeal and a request to the elders. He makes the request not as an apostle or as a super saint. He’s not saying, here’s a command from the one Jesus called, the Rock, the man who walked on water! He’s humbly saying to the elders, I am a fellow elder. To the old guys, from an old guy myself. Paraphrasing what Peter just said last chapter, “I know we probably will suffer when we put on the attitude of Christ, because I saw firsthand in Christ where the His attitude lead him.” The attitude of Christ lead him to the cross, and it may lead us to suffering. He suffered, greatly, but if we share in that we will also share in his glory. Then he makes his appeal: its his big request, so what is he asking for? send money? Plant a seed? Help me buy a new jet? Haha, not quite.

2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

Peter says: Shepherd God’s Flock. They are Not Your Flock, not your people. There are so many pastors who are like, look at my church, look at my sheep. Not the right attitude. It should be, Look at God’s church, look at God’s sheep. This is God’s flock and these are people who are under the elders’ care. As a pastor, I am not a dictator, I am not a commander, I am not a decider on how to interpret scripture. I care for the flock. I make sure that the words I preach are sound doctrine, and are basically the words in the Book. I present messages that should only glorify God, his Word, His Son, and His Spirit. If I ever honor any person or any thing on Earth, it should only be because that person or thing is in some way pointing people towards the Love that saves us and covers our sins. Pastors and Elders should not have an attitude of compulsion, but willingness. I don’t want to make it ever seem like I am forced to be here. This role I take on Wednesdays and Sundays is an honor and I am willing and joyful to be allowed to serve God this way. I don’t want to lord a position over you, but use it as an opportunity to serve, use it as an opportunity to wash each other’s feet (maybe not literally, but to give a certain type of care to each other). The elders of the church shouldn’t pursue dishonest gain, the shepherds shouldn’t seek to benefit at the expense of the flock. Remember verse 2 says shepherd God’s flock that is under your care. The role is caretaker! Not motivational speaker, not content provider, or fortune teller. Elders should be caretakers. It’s just an extension of what he said last chapter about being a faithful steward. When you are an elder, you are taking care of God’s people, and it’s so more valuable that being a steward of stuff. A Shepherd of the flock is a steward or caretaker for the Bride of Christ, the brothers and sisters who were adopted into God’s family. Jesus tells us that A good shepherd lays his life down for his sheep, and for his friends. A good shepherd leads from behind and pushes the flock forward together instead of running ahead and dragging sheep along. A good shepherd cares for the flock by caring for individual sheep. It’s not a glamorous job, but a humble one.

There is no crown given to a shepherd while we are here on earth. The goal is very forward focused, and when the true Chief Shepherd, Jesus, appears that’s when the elders and the Christians and the caretakers receive their reward. The crown is eternal, and so it never fades or passes away. And that makes sense because that crown is given in Heaven, that’s the nature of Heaven, unchanging, unfading, eternal. It’s also interesting to think about how this is peter’s appeal to the elders in the final chapter of his letter. Be a shepherd. Feed God’s flock. Because this is Jesus’s last command to Peter. After Jesus returns he asks Peter three times do you love me? And after Peter responds Yes. Jesus responds with this instruction to feed his sheep. By appealing to the elder readers to shepherd God’s flock, we see Peter passing along the same instruction given to him by Jesus. Peter understands that taking care of God’s flock is so important that he wants to ensure it continues to be done while he is away from these scattered believers, and the role of shepherding will continue after he is gone.

5 In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”[a]

Verse 5 is really interesting, because first there’s some instructions to the elders in verses 1-4. Be a shepherd to the flock. Then Verse 5 says to the younger people, a different message. Submit yourselves to the elders. To the elders, be shepherds. To the younger, Submit to elders. The description of the role, is different. But the manner in which we carry out Peter’s command, and his actual instruction is the same. In the same way that the elders submit to you who are younger, in the same manner, submit to the elders. It’s not because they are great leaders, or they are experienced, or they know what’s best. Peter says, do to them what they are doing for you. Submit to one another. Just like the elders are shepherding to the younger people, in a submissive humble way, the younger people should submit to the elders. The end of verse 5 says All of you, submit to each other. When we unpack verse 5, we really begin to understand how Peter describes Biblical leadership. And it’s very different than we might first think. It has nothing to do with telling others what to do or what to think or how to act. Leadership is servitude and submission. Being a leader means caring for those who are younger, who are less experienced. Leadership means being aware of potential harm to the flock, and shielding those who are weaker, vulnerable, or more prone to being endangered. What does this mean in a church? It means serving our brothers and sisters who are weaker in their faith, newer in their walk with God, less familiar with scripture. Often it’s easy for someone who’s read the Bible and studied it to get sad or complain about how their brothers and sisters in the faith just don’t understand or are easily confused by bad doctrine. It’s easy for a pastor theologian who has studied Greek and Hebrew in order to understand all the nuance of scripture to rightfully think they understand the Word of God better than their congregation. But that’s not the end game for all that studying. But the leader’s job is to protect them, and the way to do that is to train them and instruct and familiarize them with scripture. To make disciples of them. When the flock is so focused on following the Chief Shepherd Jesus, the job of pastor or elder or earthly shepherd is far easier. The elders don’t have to Lead as much as be the first to Follow Jesus. We should clothe ourselves with humility towards each other, and when the Bible talks about clothing ourselves with things, usually we clothe ourselves with fruits of the holy spirit, or attitudes that Jesus Christ demonstrated. Galatians 5:22-23 gives a list, The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. The bible never prohibits forbearance or patience. The bible will not put a cap on how much we love, or the amount of kindness and gentleness we can show towards each other. Peter reminds the younger believers to mirror the older believers and be humble. Humility isn’t directly mentioned in Paul’s list in Galatians, but it is the same attitude as peace and gentleness. I think back to when I was younger, and what was my mindset. I remember I had such confidence, such a feeling like I knew it all. I didn’t have a long list of mistakes that have helped me grow. Or if I had mistakes, I wasn’t prepared to admit that those were mistakes or bad decisions, just good decisions that didn’t end up working out. Younger Dave was more prone to internalizing successes and externalizing failures. And that mindset prevents people from learning. That mindset also leads to a different approach towards someone who is older and more humble. An older person who is humble comes across as unsure of themselves, weak, maybe not worth listening to. Peter is telling everyone all around to be humble, because Humility leads to the Grace of God. Pride leads to God’s opposition. That is found in Proverbs 3:34.

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

When we humble ourselves, it’s a means to an end. We have a victory guaranteed, and in due time we will be lifted up, we will be glorified, brought into the presence of God, worshipping at the foot of the throne, praising the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. We have that promise. In due time, it will turn out all right. And that’s wording it in a way that is not strong enough. It will turn out better than All Right. Not just all right, but perfect.

Anxiety is a problem that believers deal with regularly, I have worried and been anxious over all sorts of things. But Anxiety and Worry is a lack of vision. We don’t see how this thing will turn out well. Or we lack the confidence to see that God will make things Perfect in due time. Peter reminds the readers that God cares for His sheep. God cares for his adopted sons and daughters, God cares for his son’s bride.

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Peter has just said don’t be anxious, but he’s NOT saying Don’t be concerned with anything, He’s NOT saying to live your life carefree. He’s reminding the readers that we need to be alert and of sober mind. This command echoes earlier in the letter in Chapter 4 verse 7 when Peter said to be sober and alert so we could pray. We need to be sober minded, alert. Just like the shepherd who watches out for wolves or lions or predators, there is a spiritual predator. There is an enemy. The devil. This diabolical spiritual force has been called the accuser, the father of lies, the Spirit of the World.

Since the beginning in the garden of Eden, the devil took the form of the serpent and convinced Eve that God’s words were false, that she wouldn’t die if she ate the fruit, and accused God of lying. He then offered her an alternative promise, that she could be like God. We will come back to this idea, but know that the Devil manifests himself in many ways, doing what he does by lying and accusing.

He could be the thing that creeps in and starts telling you that scripture is wrong, or that you are not eligible for salvation, or accusing you of your sins and telling you that Jesus blood isn’t enough to cover those sins, or that God doesn’t exist. The Devil is the source of that accusation that God must be evil because evil exists in the world. All of these statements are lies, they are forms of disbelief, based on arguments that are false or accusatory. They are statements that go against what the Word of God says. When you start to believe the lies, a bunch of terrible things could happen. You could become legalistic and follow Laws because you think salvation is based on works, and Jesus blood doesn’t work for all sins. You could become Hedonistic and live for fleshly pleasures and comforts and follow no laws because you believe God doesn’t exist. You could become nihilistic and reject all moral principles and consequences, but end up feeling that your life is meaningless. You could become sadistic and reject the teaching that people should treat each other the way you’d want to be treated yourself. People who were once faithful believers may turn fruitless when the Devil’s lies and accusations start to distort their perception of reality. And those who were never called to a saving faith in Christ could do serious harm to the church and the world at large when they adopt a mindset that is built around the lies of the devil. In Peter’s time, those lies of the Devil led to extreme persecution of the new church. Put yourself in that time period. The world had just witnessed Jesus Christ. In Christ’s life they saw some of God’s most clear miraculous signs that He exists and He loves us and He cares for us. In Christ’s death they saw the most stark display of God’s wrath towards sin, but at the same time, that God loves us and is willing to forgive us, and Redeem us, and that death is not the end. The new church that is spreading the truth of this Gospel is met with fierce opposition and persecution. Opposing the truth is what the Devil does. It is literally Diabolical. Peter tells the believers to resist. We aren’t called to pick fights with the devil; if we are telling the truth, he will undermine our efforts. We are called to stand firm in our faith. All we are asked to do is Stand there. Be faithful. God cares for us and he will fight those battles. Know that we are not alone and the family of believers everywhere will undergo the same type of suffering. If you aren’t suffering now, someone else is suffering, and we can pray for them. If you don’t suffer you may in the future, and we should prepare ourselves to Stand Firm. God will be faithful to us, and in his Grace, he will give us faith to stand.

10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Our obedience to God and our resistance against the lies of the Devil will result in us suffering, but that suffering is only for a time. And if we are called to God’s eternal Glory in Christ, God Himself will lavish us with all grace, he will restore us. He will make us strong, he will make us firm and steadfast.

We have a command to stand firm, but we have a God who has promised to make us able to stand firm and persevere. And verse 11 is a reminder of God’s nature, that God is all powerful, so he can and will do it. God is eternal, so his promises will never cease and they are unchanging. This is basically the end of Peter’s letter to the church. This is his big conclusion and final talking point. There are three final verses which I will read

12 With the help of Silas,[b] whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.

13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

Peter admits here that in writing this letter he had help from Silas, also know as Silvanus. This acknowledgement is important because there were a few things, like scripture references in this letter that some scholars didn’t believe could come from Peter. They thought that the Old Testament translation quoted in Peter’s letter was never really a translation that Peter could have read or come in contact with during his lifetime in the places he’d been known to live and travel. Peter having Silas’ help reconciles that potential authorship inconsistency. Peter says also that he wrote this letter briefly, with an express goal in mind. He wanted to encourage them and to testify that what he was saying and what he had experienced is the true Grace of God. Even in his explanation that he wanted to encourage them, he encourages them one last time and tells them to Stand fast in it! He wishes the readers greetings from himself, an unnamed female and his “son” mark. He wishes them peace. For these people scattered around asia minor Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, peace would be a welcome change to the persecution and hardships that they face as Christians. We face enough hardships in our day to day life, and peace should be welcome for us too. Looking at his closing words through that lens is certainly appropriate, but a bit incomplete. That’s an earthly peace, which is nice, but it’s temporary. We can only have a true everlasting peace when we’ve been forgiven and made right with God, and that is only possible through the gate, the way, Jesus Christ.. Jesus said blessed are the peacemakers, and those are people who make sure that not just earthly peace is attained and sought after, but that eternal peace with the God who we were once enemies of. Let’s think about peace