Grace Means…Shepherding
1 Peter 5:1-4
1 Peter 5:1 (NKJV) The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed.
In chapter five, Peter closes his letter to the Church.
His letter offers encouragement for our faith and strength for our trials. We find the foundation for the encouragement and strength He provides in the suffering of Christ Jesus our Lord.
In chapter two, Peter addressed injustice and said, “Follow Jesus’ example by entrusting yourselves to God who judges righteously.”
The suffering of Jesus brings us the grace of God, and Peter writes to help us understand how God’s grace helps us through our suffering, challenges, and trials. Not only has Jesus’ death paid the price for our sins, but His resurrection frees us from the power of sin. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are reborn and have new life. Our faith and trust in God make us aliens and strangers in this world.
Now that we have reached chapter five, we see Peter giving parting instructions. He has instructed and encouraged through his writing. And now, in closing, he exhorts us as believers. His exhortation focuses on the function of the Church as a body.
We can each, individually, be encouraged by Peter’s exhortations in chapter five, but even a quick look at this chapter reveals that there is no hint of any of us living the Christian life as a loner. In Peter’s language, we are a flock. We are all under the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4), and He has entrusted us to the care of “overseers.”
In our time today, I intend to look at what Peter says to the “overseers.” In short, he says to shepherd the flock.
The picture of a shepherd and his sheep frequently appears in the Bible. God chose Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These men were shepherds. Jesus said,
John 10:11 (NKJV) “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
The Psalmist says,
Psalm 100:3 (NKJV) Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
God the Son calls Himself “shepherd,” and the Scriptures say we are “the sheep of His pasture.” This metaphor is a picture of God’s care for His people.
If a shepherd ignores his sheep, the sheep will not survive. They are vulnerable to predators, having little to no natural defenses. They must be kept where food and water are available - a task that is best handled by a shepherd since sheep are not good problem solvers. A shepherd must keep track of many things if he is going to have healthy sheep.
The Lord is our shepherd. In 1 Peter 5:4, Peter calls Jesus the “Cheif Shepherd.”
Peter begins by addressing the “elders.” He says,
1 Peter 5:1–2 (NKJV) 1The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;
Peter is an Apostle. He is writing under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Because of these two factors, he has the authority to command us. 1 Peter 5:1 could have said, “I command you.” But, Our Lord is gentle and would have us willingly follow. So, 1 Peter 5:1 says, “I exhort you.” To exhort means to appeal to, and the word Peter uses means to plead. Therefore, this verse could be translated, “I beg you.”
Our Lord is a gentle shepherd and does not beat His sheep into submission.
Looking carefully at 1 Peter 5:1-2, I would like to draw your attention to two things. First, Peter is addressing elders, and, second, he uses the phrase “serving as overseers.” If we look briefly at 1 Peter 5:3, we see that he says, “…nor as being lords over those entrusted to you.” So, we see that “serving as overseers” does not mean that “elders” should be rulers with absolute power.
We must understand what Peter means by “overseers.”
In the Church, no one is given absolute authority over another. Only Jesus holds that position. However, Peter does tell us how elders are to use their position. 1 Peter, 5:3 also says, “…being examples to the flock.”
We understand from this that elders are to lead by example.
If leading by example does not cause fear, then that person has not understood the responsibility of the position. The critical thing to remember is that any person in the office of the elder is only worth following as far as they are following Christ.
For example, I am terrified at the number and nature of the teachers I see on the internet, terrified that if some of you are listening to these people, you will follow them. Please, please, please base your thinking on the Word of God, the Bible.
There are many good teachers on the internet. However, the bad teachers, the wolves, outnumber the good.
Protecting the flock from bad teaching is part of the idea behind denominations, ordination councils, and doctrinal statements. These things are built into the Church so that a person can at least have an idea of what is being taught by any given teacher. The system is not perfect, but it helps.
For example, if you go to an Evangelical Free Church, you can be reasonably confident that you will encounter a rather cerebral approach to studying the Word of God. Our “intellectual” approach to the faith is probably what is behind our seminary being the largest evangelical seminary in the world. But, as with every other denomination that has gone before, there is “theological drift,” that is, changing doctrine and focus that comes with time.
Returning to our discussion of the overseer elder - if an overseer is not to be the big boss and to lead by example, what then is an overseer?
Because of the way businesses are run, we tend to think of overseers as being in control. This is not the case in the Church. Elders are to set the direction, but the main idea behind the word overseer is to “watch over.” (Hence, “OVER” “SEE”) The idea of an overseer fits very well with the concept of a shepherd. The elder (overseer) is to keep careful watch over the flock. (Full of “care” for the flock) This watching is to protect, feed, correct, and lead the flock.
When Peter says, “Shepherd the flock,” he defines this job as “serving as overseers.” Both shepherding and overseeing imply taking care of the flock. Two concerns are most evident. First, the devil, the roaring lion that Peter speaks of later in the chapter, is a concern. Second, his minions, the wolves, the false teachers the Apostles warn of are a great danger. Immorality and brothers being caught in sin are also crucial issues, but these things are secondary to teaching because sound teaching serves to correct bad behavior. The job of the elder then is, among other things, to make sure that sound doctrine is being taught.
We have looked at what the job of an elder is, but we have not defined who we are talking about when we say “elder.” Who is Peter referring to when he says, “The elders among you….”
The primary meaning of the word that Peter uses is “an aged man.” (There is an equivalent for an aged woman that is used in 1 Timothy 5:2.) The idea is that the aged men in the Jewish, Roman, and Greek cultures were the leaders of the community. Thus, the word “elder” came to be used to mean “leader.”
In the Church, elders are those who lead.
The elder is different from the pastor. Timothy was a pastor and was instructed to appoint elders and not let anyone despise his youthfulness. The same can be said of Titus. This distinction can be most clearly seen in 1 Timothy 3:1. 1 Timothy 3:1 says:
1 Timothy 3:1 (NKJV) This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.
The English word “bishop” means a senior member of the clergy, but in the New Testament, it was used to distinguish the pastor from the rest of the flock. The New Testament word for “bishop” is “overseer,” the same root word used in 1 Peter 5:2 in defining the work of the elders. However, it is a different word and is used in the New Testament of the Apostles and pastors. The “bishops” of the New Testament appointed elders in each church they served.
The chief meaning of the word “overseer” is watchful care, but coming from the idea of watchfulness, this word is also used to say “visit.” So, part of the responsibilities of elders and pastors is to visit the members of the flock to make sure of their well-being. Consider Mark 9:35, which says,
Mark 9:35 (NKJV) If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.
This shepherding and care of the flock is part of the grace of God. The Apostle Paul wrote of the gifts that God gave to the Church, and the elders are one of those gifts.
While the elders serve the church freely of their own free will, they do not do it without reward. Peter says:
1 Peter 5:2–3 (NKJV) 2Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;
Some minister out of greed or for dishonest gain; thus, the warning. Some want to be in control or have power; hence, the warning. However, we must not think that serving the Lord comes without a reward. Peter says of himself:
1 Peter 5:1 (NKJV) and…a partaker of the glory that will be revealed:
After speaking of the glory he will partake in, Peter tells the elders:
1 Peter 5:4 (NKJV), and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
The elder who serves well will receive the crown of glory. Paul also speaks this way, saying:
1 Corinthians 9:24–25 (NKJV) 24Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.
God’s grace is so great! Not only does He give us the privilege of participating in what He is doing, but He rewards us for our work.
For the unbeliever, there is a warning and an invitation here. If you do not accept Jesus as Savior, you remain lost. But, if you receive Him, He will be your Shepherd and will keep you from ever being lost.
John 10:27–28 (NKJV) 27My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
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