THE PASTOR - 1 PETER 5:1-5
The heading above 1st Peter 5:1-5 in the Chirstian Standard Ministers Bible that I preach from really arrests my attention. It reads, “ABOUT THE ELDERS”
Now, before members of the Senior Adult Ministry give themselves over to the study of this passage because they determine that it’s speaking specifically to them, let’s first understand that the New Testament term “elder” refers to the leaders of a church. The titles of “elder,” “pastor,” and “overseer” are all synonymous in the New Testament. They all refer to the same office. We see this in numerous New Testament passages such as Acts 20, which uses all three of these terms—“elder,” “pastor,” and “overseer”—interchangeably.
The Old Testament uses a different title to identify the spiritual leaders of God’s people: “priest.”
While some brothers and sisters in the faith, as well as denominations, continue to employ this term to identify church leaders today, I do not believe it is an accurate representation for a number of reasons. I’ll share just a couple:
For one, church leaders in the New Testament don’t offer sacrifices on behalf of everyone else as the priests did in the Old Testament.
Secondly, church leaders don’t have a kind of access to God that’s fundamentally different than the access to God that every child of God, regardless of vocation, age, or stage of life have. The Old Testament priests certainly did have unique access to God and acted as mediators between God and His people. Yet that dynamic is absolutely not continued in is relation to the New Testament Church. As we’ve already seen in our study of 1st Peter, the New Testament speaks of all Christians as “priests,” indicating that we all have the same level of access to God. Church leaders aren’t unique in that regard.
With the term now defined, seeing a passage heading entitled, “About the Elders” might bring about a temptation for those not serving in vocational ministry to breeze past the section of scripture without giving it much thought, but that would be a great error.
Saints, this is an important passage of scripture for all of us to study and take to heart.
The entire church needs to be aware of the things Peter writes in this passage so that we can have a clear understanding of the kind of ministry they should expect from Pastors, the kids of things that Pastors are accountable for, and understanding this passage also teaches us how we can best pray for and encourage Pastors.
Simon Peter gives very clear instructions in this passage about Pastoral ministry in the first few verses of chapter 5
“I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and witness to the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory about to be revealed: Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed for money but eagerly; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” - 1 Peter 5:1-5
In this passage, Peter begins with an exhortation to the Pastors.
To “exhort” simply means to urge them to do something.
Adding some gravity to this exhortation, Peter identifies himself as a “fellow elder”. In other words, this is not a case of “rules for thee but not for me”. In identifying himself as a “fellow elder”, Simon Peter is subjecting himself to the same calling and accountability as the Pastors who’d receive these words.
Peter, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, commands that Pastors “shepherd God’s flock among you”.
While the primary idea of this passage, and what we'll spend of this article discussing, is that God has given Pastors the responsibility of shepherding God’s flock, looking a little deeper into the text, we see that this exhortation to shepherd is not so much a general charge but a very specific one. The words “among you” identify, at least in my interpretation, the local church as the primary recipient of a Pastors leadership and care.
Why this is significant: While I appreciate the evangelistic sentiment of the words of one of my heroes, John Wesley, who said, “I look upon the world as my Parish”, I find a great measure relief in those two little words, “among you” for they inform me that my calling and responsibility as a Pastor is not to shepherd the whole world, a denomination, or even the church down the street!
The charge to serve as a shepherd to God’s flock is a powerful one, to say the very least.
The idea of shepherding is rooted in the Old Testament, where God is described as the shepherd of His people. We see this notably in the beloved 23rd Psalm.
In the New Testament, we find Jesus speaking of himself as a shepherd. He says in John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
After our wonderful Chief Shepherd did just that, and was resurrected from the dead, He had a powerful command for Simon Peter, the human author of our text. Look carefully at John 21:15-17, “When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love you.”
“Feed my lambs,” he told him. A second time he asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love you.”
“Shepherd my sheep,” he told him.
He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was grieved that he asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”
“Feed my sheep,”
Those words must have had a profound impact on Simon Peter because here in 1 Peter 5, he passes on the call to shepherd God’s flock to all Pastors.
This begs the question, “What does it mean to shepherd God’s flock among you”?
One of the responsibilities of the shepherd is exactly what we just dealt with…what Jesus commanded Peter to do and what Peter then relays to all other Pastors, “feed my sheep”.
Just as shepherds are responsible for making sure that their sheep have sufficient food, Pastors are responsible for feeding God’s flock by teaching them the Bible.
This is the first and most foundational duty of Pastors. It’s not coincidental that, when the Apostle Paul is listing the qualifications for being an Pastor in both 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, he identifies being “able to teach” and being “able to give instruction” as necessary qualifications.
Shepherds are also responsible for the protection of the sheep. While the shepherds that grazed their physical flocks has to protect their sheep from wolves and other predators, Pastors have the responsibility of protecting the Christians from false teachers and all sorts of erroneous spiritual teaching that threatens to harm them.
A third responsibility of shepherds is tender care for their sheep. This could include leading the sheep to fresh pastures, keeping the sheep from wandering away, finding the sheep who managed to wander away and bringing them back, and addressing diseases and injuries among the sheep.
Peter goes on to instruct the Pastor as to how this responsibility of shepherding is to be undertaken,
“Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed for money but eagerly; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.” - 1 Peter 5:2-3
Pastors are to “oversee”, or to watch over the congregation.
That doesn’t mean they are personally responsible for providing care to every need of every member of the congregation, as that is literally impossible and quite honestly, it’s dangerous as it creates an environment that is conducive to the development of a messiah complex (and Pastors, even the best ones, make for poor Messiahs).
In addition to that, the Pastor doing all the work of ministry robs the congregation of the opportunity and blessing of using their own spiritual gifts to minister to one another.
Keep in mind, there are 100 “one another’s” found in the New Testament. This tells us that the church is not healthy and vibrant if it is dependent upon its Pastors for every need but rather when Pastoral care supplements the care and concern that we exhibit when we serve and minister to one another. The Pastor’s charge is to strive to be the example in this, as our text clearly states, and oversee the church to ensure it is functioning in accordance to the Holy Scriptures.
According to our text, Pastors are to do this willingly! The office and function of the Pastor is not something that a man should have to be goaded into. He should be eager to fulfill His calling and serve the Lord and His church well.
Ultimately, the church doesn’t belong to the Pastor. It belongs to God; therefore, the Chief Shepherd is lord over the church, not the Pastor. I admittedly cringe a little when I hear fellow Pastors use the term, “my church” when referring to the congregation that they serve. In reality, it is most certainly not that. It’s HIS church. Pastors are but temporary stewards.
This reality, I believe, is one of the reasons why Simon Peter demands that the Pastor not “Lord over” the flock of God that has been entrusted to him. Pastors should lead primarily through influence and personal example rather than by demanding obedience. They should be able to say with Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”
Although Pastors certainly do have legitimate, God-given authority in the church, the manner in which they lead shouldn’t be through heavy-handed appeals to that authority but rather through the power of personal example.
This passage wraps up its charge to Pastors by us in verses 4 and 5 that “when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble”
Here, Simon Peter points Pastors to what should be the motivation for shepherding the flock of God. It is not power, nor prestige, nor money. It’s not for the appreciation we might receive. In fact, there will be times when there is no appreciation, no thanks for faithful service (By the way, this is true of all kinds of leadership and service in the church)
That’s ok. We shouldn't serve for those reasons.
Our motivation is Christ Himself! We do this for Christ, and when we do so, there is an unfading crown of glory awaiting us!
That is sufficient enough of a reason for a Pastor, or at least it should be.
I look forward to seeing you all on Sunday morning at 10:30am as we wrap up our exposition of 1st Peter by finishing out chapter 5 and sharing together in the Lord’s Supper.
In Christ Alone,
Pastor DK Caudell
The Old Testament uses a different title to identify the spiritual leaders of God’s people: “priest.”
While some brothers and sisters in the faith, as well as denominations, continue to employ this term to identify church leaders today, I do not believe it is an accurate representation for a number of reasons. I’ll share just a couple:
For one, church leaders in the New Testament don’t offer sacrifices on behalf of everyone else as the priests did in the Old Testament.
Secondly, church leaders don’t have a kind of access to God that’s fundamentally different than the access to God that every child of God, regardless of vocation, age, or stage of life have. The Old Testament priests certainly did have unique access to God and acted as mediators between God and His people. Yet that dynamic is absolutely not continued in is relation to the New Testament Church. As we’ve already seen in our study of 1st Peter, the New Testament speaks of all Christians as “priests,” indicating that we all have the same level of access to God. Church leaders aren’t unique in that regard.
With the term now defined, seeing a passage heading entitled, “About the Elders” might bring about a temptation for those not serving in vocational ministry to breeze past the section of scripture without giving it much thought, but that would be a great error.
Saints, this is an important passage of scripture for all of us to study and take to heart.
The entire church needs to be aware of the things Peter writes in this passage so that we can have a clear understanding of the kind of ministry they should expect from Pastors, the kids of things that Pastors are accountable for, and understanding this passage also teaches us how we can best pray for and encourage Pastors.
Simon Peter gives very clear instructions in this passage about Pastoral ministry in the first few verses of chapter 5
“I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and witness to the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory about to be revealed: Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed for money but eagerly; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” - 1 Peter 5:1-5
In this passage, Peter begins with an exhortation to the Pastors.
To “exhort” simply means to urge them to do something.
Adding some gravity to this exhortation, Peter identifies himself as a “fellow elder”. In other words, this is not a case of “rules for thee but not for me”. In identifying himself as a “fellow elder”, Simon Peter is subjecting himself to the same calling and accountability as the Pastors who’d receive these words.
Peter, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, commands that Pastors “shepherd God’s flock among you”.
While the primary idea of this passage, and what we'll spend of this article discussing, is that God has given Pastors the responsibility of shepherding God’s flock, looking a little deeper into the text, we see that this exhortation to shepherd is not so much a general charge but a very specific one. The words “among you” identify, at least in my interpretation, the local church as the primary recipient of a Pastors leadership and care.
Why this is significant: While I appreciate the evangelistic sentiment of the words of one of my heroes, John Wesley, who said, “I look upon the world as my Parish”, I find a great measure relief in those two little words, “among you” for they inform me that my calling and responsibility as a Pastor is not to shepherd the whole world, a denomination, or even the church down the street!
The charge to serve as a shepherd to God’s flock is a powerful one, to say the very least.
The idea of shepherding is rooted in the Old Testament, where God is described as the shepherd of His people. We see this notably in the beloved 23rd Psalm.
In the New Testament, we find Jesus speaking of himself as a shepherd. He says in John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
After our wonderful Chief Shepherd did just that, and was resurrected from the dead, He had a powerful command for Simon Peter, the human author of our text. Look carefully at John 21:15-17, “When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love you.”
“Feed my lambs,” he told him. A second time he asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love you.”
“Shepherd my sheep,” he told him.
He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was grieved that he asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”
“Feed my sheep,”
Those words must have had a profound impact on Simon Peter because here in 1 Peter 5, he passes on the call to shepherd God’s flock to all Pastors.
This begs the question, “What does it mean to shepherd God’s flock among you”?
One of the responsibilities of the shepherd is exactly what we just dealt with…what Jesus commanded Peter to do and what Peter then relays to all other Pastors, “feed my sheep”.
Just as shepherds are responsible for making sure that their sheep have sufficient food, Pastors are responsible for feeding God’s flock by teaching them the Bible.
This is the first and most foundational duty of Pastors. It’s not coincidental that, when the Apostle Paul is listing the qualifications for being an Pastor in both 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, he identifies being “able to teach” and being “able to give instruction” as necessary qualifications.
Shepherds are also responsible for the protection of the sheep. While the shepherds that grazed their physical flocks has to protect their sheep from wolves and other predators, Pastors have the responsibility of protecting the Christians from false teachers and all sorts of erroneous spiritual teaching that threatens to harm them.
A third responsibility of shepherds is tender care for their sheep. This could include leading the sheep to fresh pastures, keeping the sheep from wandering away, finding the sheep who managed to wander away and bringing them back, and addressing diseases and injuries among the sheep.
Peter goes on to instruct the Pastor as to how this responsibility of shepherding is to be undertaken,
“Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed for money but eagerly; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.” - 1 Peter 5:2-3
Pastors are to “oversee”, or to watch over the congregation.
That doesn’t mean they are personally responsible for providing care to every need of every member of the congregation, as that is literally impossible and quite honestly, it’s dangerous as it creates an environment that is conducive to the development of a messiah complex (and Pastors, even the best ones, make for poor Messiahs).
In addition to that, the Pastor doing all the work of ministry robs the congregation of the opportunity and blessing of using their own spiritual gifts to minister to one another.
Keep in mind, there are 100 “one another’s” found in the New Testament. This tells us that the church is not healthy and vibrant if it is dependent upon its Pastors for every need but rather when Pastoral care supplements the care and concern that we exhibit when we serve and minister to one another. The Pastor’s charge is to strive to be the example in this, as our text clearly states, and oversee the church to ensure it is functioning in accordance to the Holy Scriptures.
According to our text, Pastors are to do this willingly! The office and function of the Pastor is not something that a man should have to be goaded into. He should be eager to fulfill His calling and serve the Lord and His church well.
Ultimately, the church doesn’t belong to the Pastor. It belongs to God; therefore, the Chief Shepherd is lord over the church, not the Pastor. I admittedly cringe a little when I hear fellow Pastors use the term, “my church” when referring to the congregation that they serve. In reality, it is most certainly not that. It’s HIS church. Pastors are but temporary stewards.
This reality, I believe, is one of the reasons why Simon Peter demands that the Pastor not “Lord over” the flock of God that has been entrusted to him. Pastors should lead primarily through influence and personal example rather than by demanding obedience. They should be able to say with Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”
Although Pastors certainly do have legitimate, God-given authority in the church, the manner in which they lead shouldn’t be through heavy-handed appeals to that authority but rather through the power of personal example.
This passage wraps up its charge to Pastors by us in verses 4 and 5 that “when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble”
Here, Simon Peter points Pastors to what should be the motivation for shepherding the flock of God. It is not power, nor prestige, nor money. It’s not for the appreciation we might receive. In fact, there will be times when there is no appreciation, no thanks for faithful service (By the way, this is true of all kinds of leadership and service in the church)
That’s ok. We shouldn't serve for those reasons.
Our motivation is Christ Himself! We do this for Christ, and when we do so, there is an unfading crown of glory awaiting us!
That is sufficient enough of a reason for a Pastor, or at least it should be.
I look forward to seeing you all on Sunday morning at 10:30am as we wrap up our exposition of 1st Peter by finishing out chapter 5 and sharing together in the Lord’s Supper.
In Christ Alone,
Pastor DK Caudell
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