First and Second Peter, A Message for Today's Church from Peter the Apostle, lesson number
five in this series. The title of this lesson, The Meaning of Grace, which is
service. And if you're following along in your Bibles, First Peter, chapter 5,
beginning in verse 1. So this is our final lesson in our
series on the various meanings of Grace using the epistle of First Peter
as our text. We will be moving on to Second Peter in our next lesson.
So far we've said that Peter has understood very well the
idea of grace, having witnessed the grace of God in both of
its main concepts: one, the grace of God seen in the
person of Jesus Christ. Peter has witnessed the grace of
God because he was a witness of Jesus and His life. And
so this has worked itself out in his life because he has seen the
gracious way that God has patiently selected the Jewish nation and
has nourished and protected it throughout history in order to bring Jesus onto
the world scene. He's seen the love that God has displayed in
allowing Jesus to die for our sins. And then, of course, raise
Him from the dead, to show that Jesus is God and that He had the
authority to forgive sins and save man from eternal damnation. When we talk
about this, we talk about it because we have learned it from the Bible. When
Peter talks about this, he talks about it because he is an eyewitness of these things
happening. Peter, as I said, was an eyewitness to all of these events that
demonstrated God's grace in saving mankind. Again, for us, we read about it, for
Peter, he saw it. And then the second way that Peter understands grace and
writes about it here, Peter also understands the idea of grace from a
personal perspective as he, himself, experienced the changes that
God's grace worked in himself and others who believed in
Jesus. So his first epistle is a description and
explanation of what grace means to the one who has been
touched by it, because of their salvation in Jesus Christ. In the last
couple of weeks we have studied these - the things that
happen to people when they are touched by the grace of God. For example,
grace means a sense of security from the
fear of condemnation, for those who are saved. Grace means a
spiritually sober lifestyle, because we're no longer addicted to
sin and the world. Grace means a willing submission
to God's will in every area of life, and the peace that comes with this
type of submission. Grace means living in harmony and love
with others who have experienced God's love and salvation. And
then, Grace means suffering at times because those who are saved
from the world are no longer welcomed in it at times because of their
affiliation with Jesus Christ. So today we're going to look at the final meaning
that Peter ascribes to grace. The last thing he says that
grace does to our character when it touches us, and that is grace
means servanthood or grace means service.
There's an old saying that goes, we have been saved to serve. Right?
We've been saved to serve. The idea is that the purpose that God extends His
grace in order to save you is so that you will become a channel
through which His Grace can reach others to save them.
So our faith and our salvation finds meaning and satisfaction as we
begin to find ways to serve God in the work of seeking and saving
other people. Grace affects us how? Well, it affects us in the way that we begin to
serve God. And the fact that we do want to serve Him.
Peter uses the ultimate example of God's grace working
in service in the church. And that is, working in the lives of the
leadership of the church, the elders of the church. A person could not
aspire to a more meaningful or gracious role in God's kingdom
than to serve His church as an elder. So Peter specifically chooses this
group to demonstrate how God's grace leads people
into the service of the kingdom. So Peter, he doesn't describe the
work of an elder in this particular epistle because he assumes everyone knows
that elders - what an elder's role is and that it is one of
service. It's left to Paul the Apostle, in First Timothy and
Titus not only to describe the elders character, but the work that
the elder does: teaching, offering hospitality, encouraging the
church, defending against false doctrine. Paul the Apostle goes into these
details and so, therefore, Peter does not in this particular
epistle. Peter, on the other hand, reminds them that part of an elder's role
also is to lead. And he uses this opportunity to teach his
readers not only that Grace produces leaders who serve, but
leaders who serve in a particular way. There may have been
some confusion as to the authority and role of the elders and Peter
explains that Grace produces leaders who serve in the spirit of
Christ, and he explains what that means in the following chapter, in chapter
5. Let's begin in Chapter 5, reading verse 1 here, he
says, "Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and
witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that
is to be revealed."
So Peter offers an exhortation. An exhortation is a word of encouragement or word of
motivation to specific people, among his readers and those would be
the elders. In the New Testament there were
three words that refer to the leaders in the church. All
of these words pointed to the same person, but they described him in
different ways. For example, you had the word shepherd or pastor,
this referred to the way that a man carried out his leadership
role. The imagery of the shepherd, the imagery of carrying,
and protection, and nurturing, this was the image
of the shepherd, and this was used to describe the
men who were to lead the church. How? By shepherding the
church and to do this by caring, and nurturing, and through protection.
And so we get the word pastor from this word and from this idea.
Another word is bishop or overseer, episkopos. This
was a word that stressed the authority given by God to this man,
to this individual, if he qualified for this kind of service.
Sometimes this word is used to describe the leader or the shepherd who
is leading the church. The word referred to the fact that the
overseers were responsible for the work within the church. And so
this word demonstrated the
authority that this individual had or these individuals had. And then another
word - elder or presbyter. This particular word was used to describe
the very same person as the others, but it was in reference to this
person's maturity and experience. And so within the very same
phrase you could have all three words, but they all refer
to the same person. For example, elders exercising
oversight in pasturing their flock, there are the three words
used to describe the same group of people, the same man, or same group of people.
What happened is that with time these terms were given to different
people, doing different jobs, with different levels of authority.
This is what we have today in various denominations.
The term pastor - the pastor does usually is the local minister,
the bishop is kind of over several congregations or a
particular area, and then you have Archbishops and things like that. Those
terms today refer to different people,
with different levels of authority and responsibility,
but it was not like this at the very beginning.
In the New Testament church all of these terms refer to the very
same persons - elders, shepherds, pastors, overseers,
bishops, presbyters, all of these were leaders in the local church.
And the terms all refer to the very same person. Now there's always
more than one of these in each congregation, when we read in the New Testament.
And their authority was always limited to the local congregation.
So you could have two, three, five, 10 elders, but they were overseeing - they were
managing, leading, if you wish, the work in one congregation. When you read through
the New Testament you never see an elder of one congregation go and be the elder of
another congregation. You don't see the elder of one congregation being raised to the point
where he is an elder over several congregations. Those were things that were
added according to men's ideas much, much later.
Peter recounts himself among this particular group because, aside from being
an apostle, right, one who had been called by Jesus, Himself, and
witnessed Jesus' baptism and his death and resurrection,
he was an apostle, but he also served as an elder in the
church at Jerusalem. So based on his role as inspired
apostle, and his experience as an elder, he teaches
them how Grace affects the service of those who lead
in the local church.
One of the things he says about them is not just about
them, but one of the things he says to them is shepherd willingly. We
read in Chapter 5, beginning in verse 2 it says or he says,
"Shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under
compulsion, but voluntarily according to the will of God."
What does he say? He tells them to shepherd, right? To feed the flock, take care of the
flock. That's their job. He says the flock belongs to the shepherds
and they are responsible for the direction, and the feeding, and the protection of that flock. They have
help in doing this, right? Deacons, preachers, teachers,
saints, but it's still their flock and they're the ones who will
answer to God for the souls, won or lost,
not these other ones. The deacons are not responsible for the souls, it is the elders that are
responsible for the souls. Now, in connection with this, he also says that they are to
shepherd willingly. And so, do your job. Right? Shepherd the flock, but
shepherd willingly, not grudgingly. It should be a work that is eagerly
done, not something that the elders have to be reminded of or pressured into.
It should also be done according to God's will. Then he explains
how that is.
He says, shepherd according to God's will. And then in the next verses he explains what is
the will of God, as far as shepherding is concerned. First he
says, shepherd for spiritual reasons. Verse 2b
he says, "Shepherding the flock of God among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion but
voluntarily, according to the will of God," and here it is, "and not for sordid
gain but with eagerness." How is shepherding, according to the will of
God? Well, shepherd for spiritual reasons, to start with. There are
lots of reasons some would want to lead in the church: prestige, pride,
perhaps someone likes to exercise power. They like to get their way. So it's good to be
an elder. Perhaps for financial gain, especially those who preach and teach
in leadership. Peter says that grace motivates men to become elders
because they are eager to give something, not eager to
gain something.
He also tells them to shepherd by example, verse 3, "Nor yet as
lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the
flock." How does the Spirit want leaders to lead?
By example. In the world, a promotion means that your
job is to organize and direct others to do the heavy lifting and to do the dirty work.
In the church, becoming an elder means that a man takes on the responsibility
of acting like Christ, so that others will know how Christ
would act in a given situation. Elders exercise
authority through teaching, through encouragement, and loving example,
and are not to act like lords or kings.
They do let - the elders are saying, let us show you how to do this, not,
you must do this. How does the Spirit want elders to lead?
Peter says, they should shepherd with hope, verse 4.
He says, "And when the chief shepherd appears you will receive the unfading crown of
glory." The work is demanding, but the reward is great because the elders
will receive from the supreme shepherd the highest of honors. There's
always a discussion about the degrees of rewards in heaven, but the book of
Revelation describes the throne of God surrounded with what? Surrounded with
elders, and then with saints, and then with angels.
Grace creates a leadership that is different than the world: a
leadership that is in harmony, that eagerly wants to serve its charge
without complaining; a leadership submitted to God; a leadership that
leads by example and not by decree; leadership with its eyes fixed on a
heavenly crown, not a worldly crown. It means they lead with hope,
and joy, not with fear, or doubt, or negativity.
Now, you don't lead in a vacuum, do you? You need a proper
response from the congregation in order to have a successful spiritual
leadership. Peter explains that grace also affects, not just the
leaders, but it also affects the congregation, and how they should
respond to godly, gracious leadership.
He begins by saying this is how the Spirit wants the leaders to lead, and
then he says, and this is how the Spirit wants the church to respond to
this type of leadership. We read in verse 5, he says, "You younger men,
likewise, be subject to your elders."
The younger men are to obey their leaders. Some may have -
younger men may have ideas, and agendas, and talents, but grace, he says,
allows the strongest of men to fold their ambitions and their
talents into the direction of their elders in the church. And then he
goes on to say in verse 5b, he says, "And all of you, clothe
yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but
give grace to the humble." He now repeats this,
not just to the young men, but to the entire congregation and he adds that this humble
attitude should not only be directed towards the elders, it should be the way that we treat
everybody in the church. So in the following verses
he's going to give three reasons why all of this is necessary: that elders
lead properly, that young men submit, that everyone in the church
have a humble attitude toward each other. He's going to give three reasons why
all of this needs to take place. First, he says, you need to be doing
this because God loves those who humble themselves. Verse
6, therefore, he says, "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt
you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."
God loves those who humble themselves.
When leaders rely on God for strength to lead,
when the church trusts God to guide them through their leaders,
when everyone relies on God rather than self,
God will provide everything that we need; not only to that church back in the
first century, but to this church, today, in the 21st century.
Grace enables us to humble ourselves before God, before our
church leaders, and before one another.
That's a good thing because God loves to see this happening.
Secondly, he says, another reason why leaders ought to be doing what they do and the
church ought to respond to them the way they should, is that the devil is looking
for the proud. Verse 8, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your
adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone
to devour. Humility in leadership and in the
congregation,
that's not a curse. He's not saying this in order to punish people.
He's saying this because it is the way to avoid the devil, who eats proud
people for lunch, so to speak.
The big favor that grace does for us, is that it enables us to give up
pride that leads to destruction, and cultivate humility
that keeps us safe from the evil one, and out of his reach.
That's the advantage that we have in humbling ourselves, not only pleasing to God.
Why pleasing to God? Well, because we save ourselves from being destroyed by
Satan. God doesn't want that to happen. All right. The
third reason why leaders ought to lead the way they lead, we ought to respond the way we
respond, is this, this particular attitude will be rewarded.
Versus 9 and 10, he says, "But resist him, affirming your faith, knowing that the same
experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After
you have suffered for a little while, the God of grace who called you to his eternal glory in
Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you."
He says, this attitude will be rewarded. That leaders lead
the way they should, that the congregation answers the way it should,
this is not an easy thing to maintain for leaders and followers. Some
Christians in Peter's day were being martyred because of their faith and humbly accepted
their death without giving up hope. The reason for this is that God,
Himself, was perfecting, and assuring, and strengthening, and establishing them in the
kind of faith necessary to accomplish this. Accomplish what?
Accomplishing the fact that they remain faithful even while they were being
persecuted. Peter says that God will do the very same for all
those who allow the grace of God to create a humble heart
in them. We get on to verse 11, here,
and Peter has a doxology. A doxology is a kind of
spontaneous praise. Let's read that, verse 11, he says, "To Him be dominion
forever and ever. Amen." At the end of his teaching he
finishes with an expression of praise and reverence to God as he ponders
the things that he has just said. Knowing that God has given this
to him, in order to share with those he is writing to.
Now the letters in those days, of course, as I've mentioned before, had the greeting at the end.
And this letter is no exception. We read verse 12, he says,
"Through Silvanus, our faithful brother (for so I regard him) I have written to you briefly
exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in
it." This letter was probably delivered by Silvanus,
and in this verse he gives the summary or the theme of his entire
epistle. This is what the grace of God is all about, he says.
It's about security, and sobriety, and submission, and suffering, and service. Remain
firm in these ideas and remain firm in
these practices. Verse 13, he says, "She who is in
Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son,
Mark." The church in Rome is
referred to as Babylon here, and his disciple and the one who served
as his secretary, Mark. Mark who wrote - John Mark who wrote the Gospel of Mark.
Right. Well, he's the secretary, he's writing this for Peter.
Peter says, I send you greetings and so does Mark, send greetings.
And then verse 14, finishes it up, says, "Greet one another with a
kiss of love. Peace to you all who are in Christ." A final greeting and
encouragement. The holy kiss, even Peter talks about that. Of course in those days the
men kissed the men, the women kissed the women. The men did not kiss the women
that were not their wives. This is the idea of their greeting, peace, of course, for
those who are Christians. We've spent several
weeks studying this particular epistle to find out
what, exactly? What's the takeaway? Well, we wanted to
find out two things: first,
that the grace of God, that's what saves a person, the grace of God.
Because of God's kindness, He offers us
forgiveness through Jesus Christ, based on our faith in Him.
That is a kind act that He did. And everything that He did in order to make sure that that took place:
The whole history of the Jewish nation, the life and death and burial of Christ, the church, all of that, is a
testimony to God's kindness and
goodness toward us in offering us salvation in Christ, through faith. And then the
second thing, two things we find out, that the grace of God
changes a person. The grace of God saves a person, the grace of God
changes a person.
Your time in this class has been well spent if you have learned how God's
grace saves you, of course, and you take advantage of
that by repenting, and being baptized, and accepting Grace's offer of forgiveness.
This class has been good for you
if you're one of those individuals that has not responded to the Gospel yet, in
faith, through the expression of repentance and baptism, this is good for
you, because you know now - what must I do to be saved? How
do I access the grace of God?
You know that now. And then also, your time has been well spent if
you've also learned and begun to allow grace to change you
into an individual who is secure in his salvation, an
individual who is sober spiritually, an individual who is submissive
to God, who can be strong and suffering, who can provide
a service to the church, that you're allowing the grace of God
to change you in these ways. And here's the connection between these
two main ideas, the connection between these two is that if Grace
has not changed your life, then it hasn't saved your soul either.
The salvation of your soul is witnessed by the
change in your life. There has to be a change to witness the
salvation, because that's what the salvation is all about. The salvation is there in order to
change you. If there's no change, there's no salvation.
I encourage you, if any one of these ideas is something that you need
to understand more deeply, more perfectly, certainly, you can always asked me
questions about that. And we're not out of Peter's epistles yet. We're going to continue with his
second epistle, which I call Peter's last sermon. We're going to
continue with that in our next lesson. Thank you very much for your attention.