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The Gospel Observer
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to
observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to
the end of the age" (Matt. 28:19,20).
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May 1, 2011
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Contents:
1) 1 Peter 5:1-4 (Tom Edwards)
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-1-
1 Peter 5:1-4
by Tom Edwards
Last week, we considered the various terms for the "elders" -- such as
"pastors," "overseers," and "bishops" -- along with their
qualifications. Let us now look into some more about them.
Peter exhorts these elders in 1 Peter 5:2 to "shepherd the flock of God
among you." The point being that they could serve as elders only
in the congregation they were a member. They, therefore, would
not have the right to oversee the work of other congregations.
This had become one of the corruptions in the early church, in which
one of the elders was exalted above the others in a particular
congregation. The term "bishop" was then used to refer
exclusively to this exalted elder who then began to oversee the work in
a diocese, which could be several congregations in an area.
Eventually, there were more and more districts that had just one bishop
to oversee them; and, finally, another corruption evolved. All
these exalted bishops now came under the rule of one man, and he was
called the "Pope."
But, in getting back to the Bible, when it came to benevolence for the
needy saints in Jerusalem, funds from other congregations were sent to
the elders of each congregation that they would properly see to its
distribution among their own needy. Acts 11:29,30: "And in
the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them
determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living
in Judea. And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul
to the elders."
In order for a congregation to have elders, there needed to be a
plurality of them. There could not be merely one. Acts
14:23: "And when they had appointed elders for them in every
church...."
In the early church, the elders cooperated with the apostles:
Acts 15:22,23, "Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders,
with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch
with Paul and Barnabas...and they sent this letter by them, 'The
apostles and the brethren who are elders, to the brethren in Antioch
and Syria and Cilicia....'" Acts 16:4, "Now while they were
passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees, which had
been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in
Jerusalem, for them to observe."
The elders were also men who would be able to instruct with sound
doctrine and convince those who opposed the truth -- Titus 1:9:
"holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the
teaching, that he may be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to
refute those who contradict."
The overseers were men to be respected -- 1 Tim. 5:17, "Let the elders
who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those
who work hard at preaching and teaching."
A charge could not be made against an elder unless there was a
plurality of witnesses -- 1 Tim. 5:19: "Do not receive an accusation
against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses."
They were to be obeyed: "Remember those who led you, who spoke
the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct,
imitate their faith" (Heb. 13:7). "Obey your leaders, and submit
to them; for they keep watch over your souls, as those who will give an
account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would
be unprofitable for you" (Heb. 13:17).
They were to minister to the sick -- James 5:14,15: "Is anyone among
you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray
over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the
prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord
will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven
him."
Peter refers to himself as a "fellow elder" (1 Pet. 5:1). The
significance in this is that as an apostle, Peter would have authority
over the elders; but instead of addressing them from that basis, he
appeals to them in a humble fashion as simply a "fellow elder."
The KJV renders this as just "elder"; but rather than from the Greek
word "presbuterous" (elder); it is from "sumpresbuterous," and better
rendered as "fellow elder."
Peter also acknowledges that he was a "witness of the sufferings
of Christ." Though we don't find another verse that specifically
states that Peter watched Jesus being crucified, this verse indicates
that Peter was there. Consider also Luke 23:49, concerning the
crucifixion, "And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied
Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, seeing these
things." When it mentions "all His acquaintances," would we not
include the apostle Peter in that group as well, who witnessed the
Lord's death? Shortly prior, Peter had even followed Christ when
He was led to the Praetorium on the night of His betrayal (as John
18:15,16 shows). It's true that it was there that Peter denied
his Lord three times, as Jesus had prophesied; but the Bible also shows
that Peter immediately "...went out and wept bitterly" (Luke 22:62),
after having done so. And in that genuine repentance, would that
not have prompted him even more to want to be at his Lord's
crucifixion? Peter had also spoken earlier in his epistle about
the "sufferings of Christ" in 1 Peter 1:10,11, where he makes mention
of the prophets who had made "careful search and inquiry, seeking to
know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was
indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to
follow." Surely, we think of the "sufferings" here to be
referring to Christ's death. So Peter in 1 Peter 5:1 states that
he was a "witness of the sufferings of Christ." Would Peter be
using that phrase to merely refer to all the suffering Jesus underwent
-- without including His ultimate agony and death on the cross?
The Lord's death is an essential part of the gospel. Some had
even denied that Jesus had literally died. But without the Lord's
death, the Gospel would be powerless to save, for it would then be
incomplete, by being without an atonement that could blot out
sin. Consider, for example, Acts 3:12-15 and 10:38-42.
Peter also refers to himself in verse 1 as being "a partaker also of
the glory that is to be revealed." Hebrews 6:4,5 could certainly
apply to Peter. For he, too, had been "enlightened." He had
"tasted of the heavenly gift." He had been made a "partaker of
the Holy Spirit" and "had tasted the good word of God and the powers of
the age to come."
Peter also shows that the elders were to be "exercising oversight not
under compulsion [force, duress], but voluntarily...." The phrase
"exercising oversight" comes from just one Greek word -- "episkopeo" --
which is defined by Thayer to mean, "to look upon, inspect, oversee,
look after, care for 1a) of the care of the church which rested
upon the elders 1b) to look carefully, beware." The only
other place in the Scriptures where this Greek word is used is in
Hebrews 12:15, in which the writer exhorts the brethren to "SEE to it
that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness
springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled" (emphasis
mine). The Hebrew writer had just warned them in the previous
verse to "Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification [or
holiness] without which no one will see the Lord." So when he
then follows through with the phrase to "See to it that no one comes
short of the grace of God," we can infer that that "seeing" would
involve a careful concern toward one another -- just as elders are to
have toward the flock. This Greek word "episkopeo," by the way,
is a derivative of "episkopos," which is the word that is translated as
"bishops" or "overseers" in Acts 20:28.
When Peter shows in 1 Peter 5:2 that the elder is not to serve "for
sordid gain, but with eagerness," it reminds us of one of those
qualifications in Titus 1:7, that he is to be "not fond of sordid
gain"; or as 1 Timothy 3:3 expresses it, that he is to be "free from
the love of money."
"Sordid" has various definitions -- and all which indicate something
bad. The dictionary defines it as "1. morally ignoble or base;
vile. 2. meanly selfish or mercenary. 3. filthy; squalid"
(Random House Webster's College Dictionary).
The KJV renders "sordid gain" as "filthy lucre" (1 Pet. 5:2).
"Lucre" = "monetary reward or gain; money." For the elder to
serve only for money's sake, that would be mercenary and morally
ignoble. Having the wrong kind of gain in mind is also
characteristic of whom Paul is speaking of when he refers to those
ungodly men with depraved minds and deprived of the truth, "who suppose
that godliness is a means of gain" (1 Tim. 6:5). Paul then
mentions this wrong gain just a few verses later: "But those who want
to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and
harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction" (v.
9).
But this is not to say, of course, that an elder could not be
remunerated for the work he does. For Paul states in 1 Timothy
5:17,18, "Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double
honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and
teaching. For the Scripture says, 'YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE
OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING,' and 'The laborer is worthy of his
wages.'" The "double honor" refers to not only the respect
that should be given an elder, but also the payment he can receive for
this work he is doing. I often think of Kelly Ellis who was an
elder in the Lexington Avenue church of Christ in Danville,
Kentucky. He took an early retirement from the school system,
which meant a smaller pension, in order that he could teach half of the
classes of the church's 2-year preacher-training program -- and was
remunerated by the church for the work he was doing.
Another point Peter brings out about the elder in 1 Peter 5:3 is that
he is not to be "lording it over" the flock -- but rather to be
examples toward them. The indication in this passage is that the
elder should lead by example, rather than like a high-handed, despotic
tyrant.
Concerning this rule, Guy N. Woods writes, "In verse 2, Peter forbade
the elders to exercise their functions from base and sordid motives of
avarice and greed; here, he warns them against the unseemly ambition
and abuse of power in the same work. Such ambition and abuse of power
was, in the apostle's view, as wrong as that condemned in the preceding
verse; and the history of religion from the apostolic age to the
present is a demonstration of the correctness of this claim."
So, again, we are not seeing a prohibition against elders ruling over
the flock; but, rather, a prohibition against them doing that in a
wrongful way. For elders do have a responsibility to rule.
This can be seen in one of the qualifications of the elder: "one that
ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all
gravity; (but if a man knoweth not how to rule his own house, how shall
he take care of the church of God?" (1 Tim. 3:4,5). In addition,
as stated a moment ago, "The elders who RULE well are to be considered
worthy of double honor..." (1 Tim. 5:17). Also Hebrews 13:17,
"OBEY your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your
souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and
not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you." This is
not talking about secular, governmental leaders (though we learn
elsewhere of the need to be in subjection to them); but, rather, of the
spiritual leaders, the elders, in the church -- for it is they who
"watch over your souls," and will give account of that responsibility.
Peter than refers to Jesus in 1 Peter 5:4 as being that "Chief
Shepherd." It was pointed out that these two words actually come
from the same Greek word, but that which appears to be a compound word
-- "archipoimen." The English dictionary refers to "archi" as "a
combining form" with the general sense of "first" or "principal."
"...or denoting individuals who direct or have authority over others of
their class...." "Poimen" = used to refer to literal shepherds, and
Jesus as a shepherd. The verb form is what elders are to do -- shepherd
-- as we saw in 1 Peter 5:2.
In various places the Lord is depicted as being a shepherd, which helps
us to better realize His gentle and caring role toward His own.
cf. Psalm 100:1-5. In Hebrews 13:20, the writer states, "Now the
God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the
sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our
Lord." In John 10:11, the Lord refers to Himself, by
saying, "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life
for the sheep." Compare also Ezekiel 34:23, "Then I will set over them
one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed
them himself and be their shepherd." This was said years after
the time of David, but he is being used to symbolically represent Jesus
Christ who would be that great shepherd of the Lord's flock.
What a humbling thought this must be to the elders. That though
they are to rule over God's people, yet they have a Chief Shepherd who
is ruling over each one of them. And, actually, their very function as
elders would not even be so, had it not been for the Lord.
There are certainly things much better than filthy lucre, sordid gain,
or simply earthly attainments that these elders could strive for; and
that is, the "unfading crown of glory," which Jesus will give when He
returns. We do not expect this to be a literal crown; but,
rather, that which stands for the great reward of heaven itself that
those elders who are committed to the Lord may receive. It is
"unfading," which comes from the Greek word "amarantinos" that also
gives us "amaranth," which is both a literal flower, as well as "an
imaginary one that never dies." The adjective "amaranthine"
means, secondarily, "undying" or "everlasting." So Peter is using
this term to refer to the eternal nature of heaven itself.
Heaven is always worth striving for. So through all the proper
work that the elder is to carry out while here on earth, he can also
keep his sights on that goal of the "unfading crown of glory," which
will be the bliss of heaven -- and the same is also true for every
faithful child of God.
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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation
1) Hear the gospel,
for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30,31).
2) Believe in the
deity of Christ (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent of sins
(Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith in Christ
(Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized in water
for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4;
Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet. 3:21).
6) Continue in the faith;
for,
if
not,
salvation
can
be
lost
(Heb.
10:36-39;
Rev.
2:10;
2
Pet.
2:20-22).
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Park Forest
CHURCH OF CHRIST
9923 Sunny Cline Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70817
Sunday services: 9:00 AM (Bible class); 10 AM & 6 PM (worship)
Tuesday: 7 PM (Bible class)
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/go (Gospel Observer website)
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/audioser.html (audio sermons)