FIRST EPISTLE OF PETER CONTINUES

November 10, 2023

THEME: 1Pet. 5:12. “…this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand”

He exhorts the elders to feed their flocks, 1–4; the younger to obey, 5–7; and all to be sober, watchful, and constant in the faith, 8; and to resist the cruel adversary the devil, 9–14.

  1. 5:1 ELDERS: Act. 11:30; 14:23, Tit. 1:5, Act. 15:4, 6, 22-23; 20:17, 28, Act. 13:1-2 Elders ( Presbyters ) 1 Tim.4:14, Overseers or Bishops. Tit.1:7. Don’t forget that those with minstry gifts are also elders. 1Tim. 5:1, 19, who. Phile. 9, 2Jn. 1, 3Jn. 1, a fellow-elder, one on a level with yourselves. “The presidents over the presbyters and deacons, by whatever name designated, angel, bishop, or moderator, &c., though of the same order as the presbyters, just as the Jewish synagogue. (the model which the Church followed) was governed by a council of presbyters, presided over by one of themselves, “the chief ruler of the synagogue,” witness—an eye-witness of Christ’s sufferings; so qualified to exhort you to believing patience in suffering for well doing after His example (ch. 2:20), as eye-witnessing was a necessary qualification for apostleship (cf. Peter’s own speeches, Acts 1:21, 22; 2:32; 10:39). also—the righteous recompense corresponding to the sufferings. partaker of the glory—according to Christ’s promise; an earnest was given in the transfiguration Matt. 17:1-3” Brown, David &co He felt that he was an heir of life. He was about to partake of the glories of heaven.
  2. 2-3. Feed-  Tend as a shepherd,’ by discipline and doctrine. Lead, feed, heed; by prayer, exhortation, government, example. Is. 40:11, Eze. 34:2, 3, 23, Mic. 5:4; 7:14, Jn. 21:15–17, Ac. 20:28, the flock. Is. 63:11, Jer. 13:17, 20, Eze. 34:31, The flock is Christ’swhich is among you. or, as much as in you. Taking the oversight, The sense is that of overseeing; taking the oversight of; looking after, as of a flock. Heb. 12:15, not by constraint, Go cheerfully to your duty as a work which you love, and act like a freeman in it, and not as a slave. 1Co. 9:16, 17, not for filthy lucre, Act. 20:33, 34, 2Cor. 12:14, 15, 1Tim. 3:3, 8, Tit. 1:7, 11, 2Pet. 2:3, of a ready mind, promptly, heartily, without selfish gain-seeking, as the Israelites gave their services willing-heartedly to the sanctuary (Exod. 35:5, 21, 22, 29. Shameful or dishonourable gain. Cheerfully, promptly. We are to labour in this work, not under the influence of the desire of gain, but from the promptings of love. Act. 21:13, Rom. 1:15, Tit. 2:14; 3:1. Neither as Eze. 34:4, 3Jn. 9–10 being lords over. or, over-ruling God’s heritage– ‘lording it’ with despotic pride (2Cor. 1:24), God’s heritage ‘the inheritances;’ i. e., the portions of the Church committed severally to your charge, Mic. 7:14, Act. 20:28, but being example 1Cor. 11:1, Phi. 3:17; 4:9, 1The. 1:5, 6, 2The. 3:9, 1Ti. 4:12, Tit. 2:7.
  3. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear. Is. 40:11, Eze. 34:23; 37:24, Jn. 10:11, Heb. 13:20, appear  Col. 3:3, 4. 2Thess, 1:7–10, 1Jn. 3:2, receive a crown,  1Cor. 9:2, 2Tim. 4:8, Jas. 1:12, Rev. 2:10; 3:11. The prince of the pastors—the Lord Jesus Christ. ‘Peter, in the passage above, ranks himself with the elders; here he ranks Christ himself with the pastors.’—Benson.  chap. 2:25, Heb. 13:20. Ye shall receive a crown of glory. A glorious crown or diadem. That fadeth not away.
  4. Likewise, ye younger.” So ‘neoteros’ means not young men in age, but subordinate ministers of the Church. So Christ uses “younger” (Luke 22:26). ‘Likewise, ye younger’—i. e., subordinate ministers—‘submit cheerfully to the elders” Brown, David co.
  5. The “all of you” that follows refers to the congregation generally. Rom. 12:10, Eph. 5:21, Phi. 2:3, Yea, all of you be subject one to another. You are not to attempt to lord it over one another but are to treat each other with deference and respect. Be clothed, Job 29:14, Is. 61:10, Rom. 13, 14, Clothing was the original badge of man’s sin and shame. Pride caused the need of clothing, and pride still reigns in dress; the Christian clothes himself in humility (ch. 3:3, 4). God provides the robe of Christ’s righteousness, to strip off pride. God resisteth the proud—quoted, as Jas. 4:6, from Prov. 3:34, Jas. 4:6, 7. Other sins flee from God: pride alone opposeth itself to God; therefore God also in turn opposes Himself to the proud (Gerhard in Alford). Humility is the vessel of all graces (Augustine), Job 22:29. giveth Is. 57:15; 66:2.
  6. “Humble yourselves, therefore. Be willing to take a low place—a place such as becomes you. Do not arrogate to yourselves what does not belong to you; do not evince pride and haughtiness in your manner; do not exalt yourselves above others.  Luke 14:7–11, Comp. Prov. 15:33; 18:12; 22:4; Mic. 6:8; Phil. 2:8. Under the mighty hand of God. When that hand was upon them they were not to be lifted up with pride and with a spirit of rebellion, but were to take a lowly place before him, and submit to him with a calm mind, believing that he would exalt them in due time. When he shall see it to be a proper time. (1.) He would not always leave them in this low and depressed condition. He would take off his heavy hand, and raise them up from their state of sadness and Suffering. (2.) This would be in due time; that is, in the proper time. in the best time, (a) It might be in the present life. (b) It would certainly be in the world to come. There they would be exalted to honours which will be more than an equivalent for all the persecution, poverty, and contempt which are suffered in” Bernes, Albert &co   Jas. 1:9, 10
  7. “Casting all your care upon him. Comp. Psa. 55:22, ‘Cast thy burden upon the Lord, Matt. 6:25–30. The meaning is, that we are to commit our whole cause to him. If we suffer heavy trials; if we lose our friends, health, or property; if we have arduous and responsible duties to perform; if we feel that we have no strength, and are in danger of being crushed by what is laid upon us, we may go and cast all upon the Lord; that is, we may look to him for grace and strength, and feel assured that he will enable us to sustain all that is laid upon us. The relief in the case will be as real, and as full of consolation, as if he took the burden and bore it himself. He will enable us to bear with ease what we supposed we could never have done; and the burden which he lays upon us will be light. Matt. 11:30, Phil. 4:6, 7, Heb. 13:5,
  8. For he careth for you. Ps. 34:15; 142:4, 5, Matt. 6:26, 33, Mk. 4:38, Lk. 12:30–32, Jn. 10:13, Matt. 10:29–31. He condescends to regard the wants of the meanest of his creatures. It is one of the glorious attributes of the true God, that he can and will thus notice the wants of the mean as well as the mighty; and one of the richest of all consolations when we are afflicted, and are despised by the world, is the thought that we are not forgotten by our heavenly Father. ‘Yet the Lord thinketh onme,’ was the consolation of David, when he felt that he was ‘poor and needy,’ Psa. 40:17. ‘When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up,’ Psa. 27:10. Comp. Isa. 49:15. What more can one wish than to be permitted to feel that the great and merciful Jehovah thinks on him? What are we—what have we done, that should be worthy of such condescension? Remember, poor, despised, afflicted child of God, that you will never be forgotten. Friends on earth, the great, the gay, the noble, the rich, may forget you; God never will. Remember that you will never be entirely neglected. Father, mother, neighbour, friend, those whom you have loved, and those to whom you have done good, may neglect you, but God never will. You may become poor, and they may pass by you; you may lose your office, and flatterers may no longer throng your path; your beauty may fade, and your admirers may leave you; you may grow old, and be infirm, and appear to be useless in the world, and no one may seem to care for you; but it is not thus with the God whom you serve. When he loves, he always loves; if he regarded you with favour when you were rich, he will not forget you when you are poor; he who watched over you with a parent’s care in the bloom of youth, will not cast you off when you are ‘old and grey-headed,’ Psa. 71:18. If we are what we should be, we shall never be without a friend as long as there is a God.
  9. Be sober. While you cast your cares upon God, and have no anxiety on that score, let your solicitude be directed to another point. Do not doubt that he is able and willing to support and befriend you, but be watchful against your foes.  1Thess. 5:6, Mat. 24:48–50, Lk. 12:45, 46; 21:34, 36, Rom. 13:11–13, 1Tim. 2:9, 15; 3:2, 11, Tit. 1:8; 2:2, 4, 6, 12. Be vigilant.  See Matt. 24:42, 43; 25:13; 26:38, 40, 41. It means that we should exercise careful circumspection, as one does when he is in danger. We are to be on our guard against the wiles and the power of the evil one. Your adversary the devil. Your enemy; he who is opposed to you. Satan opposes man in his best interests. He resists his efforts to do good; his purposes to return to God; his attempts to secure his own salvation. There is no more appropriate appellation that can be given to him than to say that he resists all our efforts to obey God and to secure the salvation of our own souls. 

the devil. Matt. 4:1, 11; 13:39; 25:41, Jn. 8:44. Ep. 4:27; 6:11. Ja. 4:7, 1Jn. 3:8–10. walketh. Job 1:7; 2:2. As a roaring lion. Comp. Rev. 12:12. Sometimes Satan is represented as transforming himself into an angel of light, 2Cor. 11:14; and sometimes, as here, as a roaring lion: denoting the efforts which he makes to alarm and overpower us. The lion here is not the crouching lion—the lion stealthfully creeping towards his foe—but it is the raging monarch of the woods, who by his terrible roar would intimidate all so that they might become an easy prey. The particular thing referred to here, doubtless, is persecution, resembling in its terrors a roaring lion. When error comes in; when seductive arts abound; when the world allures and charms, the representation of the character of the foe is not of the roaring lion, but of the silent influence of an enemy that has clothed himself in the garb of an angel of light, 2Cor. 11:14. Walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. ‘Naturalists have observed that a lion roars when he is roused with hunger, for then he is most fierce, and most eagerly seeks his prey.” Bernes, Albert &co  

  1. Whom resist. See Notes, James 4:7. You are in no instance to yield to him, but are in all forms to stand up and oppose him. Feeble in yourselves, you are to confide in the arm of God. No matter in what form of terror he approaches, you are to fight manfully the fight of faith.  Eph. 6:10–17. Steadfast in the faith. Confiding in God. You are to rely on him alone, and the means of successful resistance are to be found in the resources of faith.  Eph. 6:16.
  2. Knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. Comp. for a similar sentiment, 1Cor. 10:13. The meaning is, that you should be encouraged to endure your trials by the fact that your fellow-Christians suffer the same things. This consideration might furnish consolation to them in their trials in the following ways: (1.) They would feel that they were suffering only the common lot of Christians. There was no evidence that God was peculiarly angry with them, or that he had in a peculiar manner forsaken them. (2.) The fact that others were enabled to bear their trials should be an argument to prove to them that they would also be able. If they looked abroad, and saw that others were sustained, and were brought off triumphant, they might be assured that this would be the case with them. (3.) There would be the support derived from the fact that they were not alone in suffering. We can bear pain more easily if we feel that we are not alone—that it is the common lot—that we are in circumstances where we may have sympathy from others. This remark may be of great practical value to us in view of persecutions, trials, and death. We are all liable to suffering. We are exposed to sickness, bereavement, death. We often feel as if we could not bear up under the sufferings that may be before us, and especially do we dread the great trial—death. It may furnish us some support and consolation to remember, (1.) that this is the common lot of men. There is nothing peculiar in our case. It proves nothing as to the question whether we are accepted of God, and are beloved by him, that we suffer; for those whom he has loved most have been often among the greatest sufferers. We often think that our sufferings are peculiar; that there have been none like them. Yet, if we knew all, we should find that thousands—and among them the most wise, and pure, and good—have endured sufferings of the same kind as ours, and perhaps far more intense in degree. (2.) Others have been conveyed triumphantly through their trials. We have reason to hope and to believe that we shall also, for (a) our trials have been no greater than theirs have been; and (b) their natural strength was no greater than ours. Many of them were timid, and shrinking, and trembling, and felt that they had no strength, and that they should fail under the trial. (3.) The grace which sustained them can sustain us. The hand of God is not shortened that it cannot save; his ear is not heavy that it cannot hear. His power is as great, and his grace is as fresh, as it was when the first sufferer was supported by him; and that Divine strength which supported David and Job in their afflictions, and the apostles and martyrs in theirs, is just as powerful as it was when they applied to God to be upheld in their sorrows. (4.) We are especially fearful of death—fearful that our faith will fail, and that we shall be left to die without support or consolation. Yet let us remember that death is the common lot of man. Let us remember who have died—tender females; children; the timid and the fearful; those, in immense multitudes, who had no more strength by nature than we have. Let us think of our own kindred who have died. A wife has died, and shall a husband be afraid to die? A child, and shall a father? A sister, and shall a brother? Must the valley of the shadow of death be dark and gloomy to me, when they found it to be illuminated with the opening light of heaven? Above all, it takes away the fear of death when I remember that my Saviour has experienced all the horrors which can ever be in death; that he has slept in the tomb, and made it a hallowed resting-place.” Bernes, Albert &co
  3.  But the God of all grace. The God who imparts all needful grace-all His favor,  ability to do what is humanly impossible, and His transforming authority to where He intends to; who hath called us unto his eternal glory. As he has called us to his glory, we need not apprehend that he will leave or forsake us. After that ye have suffered a while. After you have suffered as long as he shall appoint. They are short, compared with eternity; they are light, compared with the exceeding and eternal weight of glory. 2Cor. 4:16–18. Make you perfect. The tendency of affliction is to make us perfect. Stablish.To fix firmly; to render immovable, Luke 16:26; 9:51; 22:32; Rom. 1:11; 16:25; 1Thess. 3:2, 13, et al. Strengthen. Give you strength to bear all this. Settle you. Literally, found you, or establish you on a firm foundation—The allusion is to a house which is so firmly fixed on a foundation that it will not be moved by winds or floods. Matt. 7:24.

11. To him be glory.