1 Peter Devotional | Week 15 Aug 8-12

This week, we are going to learn about the relationships among elders and the people who comprise the church. Read 1 Peter 5:1-5.

• In verses 2-3, what guidance does Peter give the elders on how to shepherd the flock…
  • in terms of how they should become elders? (v. 2)
  • in terms of what their motivation for being an elder should be? (v. 2)
  • In terms of how they should lead as elders? (v. 3)

Consider what temptations Peter is addressing by these exhortations and how they might uniquely impact those in church leadership, especially in times of suffering and hardship.

Pray today in Thanksgiving and Supplication, thanking God for faithful elders in His church, and asking Him to continually equip them for Biblical leadership.

Read 1 Peter 5:1-5 again, focussing on verse 5. 

• How are “you who are younger” (Peter here likely means those who are in a structure where the elders have been established as an authority) supposed to relate to the elders? Read Hebrews 13:17 for more context.
• Peter exhorts “all of you” to act with humility to one another. Although elders are given greater responsibility, are they to carry themselves in any different manner as a result?

Remember that back in chapters 2 and 3, Peter wrote about a series of relationships with the possibility of power imbalance (the individual and the government; masters and servants; husbands and wives). In each of those relationships, Peter gave advice to the less powerful party about how to respond when the more powerful party acts unjustly. Here he does not – why do you think that might be?

Pray today in Adoration of the God who recognizes all of His children as equally made in His image, worthy of dignity and respect.

In verse 2, Peter calls on the elders to “shepherd the flock”.

• Read Ezekiel 34:11-16. What are the responsibilities of a Biblical shepherd?
• Read John 10:11-16. How far is the good shepherd supposed to go in order to protect the sheep?
• Read John 21:15-19.  How does Jesus respond to Peter’s declarations that he loves Him? What relationship can we draw between shepherding the flock and loving Jesus?

You might not yourself be called to shepherd a flock. But God gives all of us the characteristics of a good shepherd in the Scripture, along with the perfect example in Christ. Whether you are called to lead or called to be subject to a leader, God gives the standard and example to live by!

Pray today in Thanksgiving for the God who is the Good Shepherd who loves, cares for, feeds, and rescues His sheep, including you!

Read through 1 Peter 5:1-5 again, thinking through the different relationships of authority that are present in the text. Verse 2 instructs the elders to shepherd the flock, and verse 5 exhorts the younger to be subject to the elder. Verse 4 is a reminder to all, especially elders, that there is One who has authority over everyone.

• Read Matthew 28:18-20. This is the famous passage of Scripture known as the Great Commission. What does Jesus start by saying?
• Read John 8:28. Under whose authority is Jesus? 

If Jesus Himself lived under the authority of another, what does that say about the nature of authority, and how we should look at it?

Pray today in Confession and Repentance for the times that you have rebelled against those who have authority over your life, especially the Chief Shepherd who will one day return.

Read the whole passage once more, and then focus on the exhortation to everyone to be clothed with humility toward one another. For a reminder on what humility looks like, read Philippians 2:3-8.

• What does it mean for you to walk in humility in the relationships in your life that you hold authority?
• What does it mean for you to walk in humility in the relationships in your life that you are subject to an authority?

Be sure to dwell on the great promise at the end of this passage, that “God gives grace to the humble”! It is by this grace that you, dear Christian, are alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:4-7).

Pray today in Adoration of the God in Whom all things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose.