1 Peter | God’s GLORY Displayed in Biblical Leadership

1 Peter 5:1-7

What comes to your mine when you think of a pastors role in leading a church? Do you think of shepherds who lead a flock of sheep? This text is teaching us that God’s people need to be led by humble leaders, and they can only lead those who are humble and willing to be led.

This text that instructions shepherds presupposes that God’s people need a shepherd which is something said across the whole bible. It’s not merely a suggestion. For peter’s audience, they know that in order to suffer well as sojourners in this hostile world, they need the church and need to be led.

Main Point: Elders and Church members ought to serve one another to display the grace and glory of the chief shepherd who will never fail.

God’s Glory is displayed in church leadership because of…

1 Faithful Shepherds

2 Faithful Members

Faithful Shepherds vv 1-4

The Mandate: vv 1-2a (Read stop at among you…)

We have a mandate that begins with therefore: Peter is ending his letter to provide final encouragements in the midst of their intense suffering. So because of our calling to suffer according to God’s will, and shine as lights in a dark world, God sets up elders to oversee and care for us.

This shouldn’t be too surprising. You name the vocation, It’s part of the human design to have people watching over our progress and are there to help, correct, and prevent disaster. Why? So we would grow and learn and ultimately, flourish. Children have their parents or guardians, students have their teachers, employees have their supervisors, a church has their pastors. There’s obvious differences but the point remains: God gives us spiritual leaders in the church for your good and your safety until we reach heaven.

Authority of a shepherd: The main verb here in the text driving everything else is “shepherd.” Elders or Pastors (Different words for the same office) are called to “Shepherd” or “pastor” the flock of God. This is the function of the office called “elder.” It indicates the kind of authority that a pastor has, and even speaks of the way he carries it out.

God’s people since the old testament have been compared to sheep. God is the owner or as we’ll see “chief shepherd” of the sheep, and the pastors are the shepherds. This metaphor gets lost on us westerners. Maybe some of you are used to seeing sheep being led by a shepherd in a field, but though shepherds still exist, most of us don’t know what it’s like. But the imagery ought not to be improved upon for there is no better metaphor and it’s the Bible’s metaphor.

Real life shepherds Lead, feed, tend, protect sheep and for the pastor, this can be summarized as “the care of souls.” But in this text, Peter lumps all the tasks under the task of shepherding. This can be an all-encompassing text that involves what other passages say about pastoring, but with a slightly different emphasis. He wants to really work on the hearts of these elders. This is good for all of us to hear: not just pastors or future pastors in the room, you need to know what is required of pastors so you can help hold them accountable to this standard. But also, this is still how Jesus, the true and good shepherd, carries out his ministry on this earth to protect and keep his sheep safe in His truth—through His imperfect, yet spirit empowered, undershepherds.

So they are called to Shepherd. What does that look like?

The mandate is to shepherd by exercising oversight.

Paul the apostle concurs in the book of Acts: Acts 20:28 “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”

Paul even goes on to explain this: Wolves are coming. False teachers that won’t spare the flock but try to divide and deceive. All the Biblical evidence points out that the calling for the shepherd then is to tend to the souls of the people so that they are led to feed on the green pastures of God’s Word and therefore, are protected from spiritual dangers that may come from without, and spiritual dangers that may even come from within their own hearts by their own sin or imprecise doctrine. This obviously includes the primary calling to preach Christ from all of Scripture and provide biblical guidance for sheep for practical-decision making. This can only happen if the shepherds are “among you.” That’s why it’s been said many times one of the ways you know if a pastor is truly a shepherd, and not a hireling or celebrity is if they smell like sheep.

They’re constantly making comments about this person they met with, that person they counseled, that book of the Bible they fed to the sheep—Shepherds smell like sheep.

So in sum, the mandate is for Elders to shepherd or pastor the church BY faithfully serving and overseeing them—tending to their souls, leading them to God’s truth, and protecting against spiritual dangers. And elder is not a CEO or celebrity or some kind of communicator that is disconnected from the people. Beware when you or your pastors measure faithfulness by organizational momentum, or big numbers, or building a “brand.”—The goal is soul care and the building up of believers. Success is faithfulness in this goal, thats it.

And how ought they to do this? Let’s watch Peter show us the manner and method by which they must carry out this calling.

The Manner & Method

Not by compulsion. This means not feeling pressured or forced, but instead do it willingly. Notice, “As God would have you.”

God’s will for the shepherd is to have a willing manner, a willing heart. We always talk about serving from the heart and with a willing mind—this is how a Pastor should carry out his calling.

Not for shameful gain. There are many false reasons to fulfill this calling—Here Peter lays out one of the main ones is to gain something other than what God has already given us.

Whatever does a pastor/elder gain in his ministry? He gains Christ—the enjoyment of walking and growing in Him. The gain of preaching Him week in and week out, the gain of the saints being conformed to Christ’s image, the gain of a reward from Christ Himself that is eternal and unfading. But a pastor MISSES it if he is greedy for temporal gain.

Three areas of gain that are shameful if this is the pastor’s ultimate goal—paycheck, a platform, or praise.

Instead, the pastor should serve eagerly. In other words, the pastor should just labor for that gain Christ already gives Which is merely the privilege of knowing Christ and serving to make Him known. that’s why the calling to the gospel ministry or pastoral ministry begins with a deep desire in 1 Timothy 3-

“The first sign of a heavenly calling is an intense, all-absorbing desire for the work.” C.H. Spurgeon

If someone labors from a place of eager desire to simply see God magnified through the growth of the Saints, then you have found a shepherd worth submitting to.

Not domineering. There must be limits on a pastors authority. A pastor is not an authoritarian or dictator or King and that’s something we desire to protect against here at cornerstone. So central to their ministry will be the Bible and their godliness—He has no authority to tell you to do something outside of the Bible’s explicit and implicit teaching, though his opinions and suggestions ought to be honored when helping you make a decision since his opinions are lord-willing, grounded by Scripture itself. But the congregation will follow the elder so far as he follows the Word of Christ and not a step farther.

The method of oversight and leading the sheep is not one of force or coercion from the pastor, but it is one of declaring truth, and leading by example. It’s a servant leadership—A pastor is one who knows the way, goes the way, then shows the way.

This is why we put emphasis on a man’s character above his gifting or charisma. If a man is gifted beyond belief but doesn’t have a life to be emulated, than his ministry is worthless. One author stated that is should be one of the pastors goals to shepherd into his own maturity. Read through the qualifications of an elder in 1 Tim 3 and Titus 1, it’s all character except the ability to teach But make no mistake, it’s the character that is supposed to describe EVERY christian in the church. The pastor is merely supposed to be exemplary in those virtues. He is to be the person people can point to who is no where near perfect, but is an example of godliness and an example of loving God’s Word. This is why if you ever ask me what I need prayer for, I will tell you to pray for me and the other pastors to be men of character and godliness. I know for me, I am weak and imperfect and fall short more than I like to admit. That’s why I need Christ and his power.

This manifests the glory of our savior who didn’t come to serve us with an attitude of compulsion, an attitude of willingness and joy—This came freely from His heart to obey the will of His heavenly Father and to serve us without being coerced. If anything drove him, it was the free and full wellspring of love that never stops flowing. Peter has been emphasizing Christ’s sufferings and glory this entire epistle and partly it was to reveal what He revealed in Chapter 2! “for you were straying like sheep and have no returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.” Jesus is the true shepherd who lays His life down for His sheep, tends His lambs, and provides refuge for them by His own death and resurrection. The refuge is from our own sin, the deliverance is from our own destructive decisions and sinful desires, the protection is from the enemy of our souls whom the Bible says is a roaring lion seeking someone to devour—He is the lowly shepherd and the mighty, risen king at the same time and He’s the one we ultimately put our trust in to lead, feed, and build up His sheep.

Peter needs these elders and these believers to know these things because elders or pastors are called to reflect and carry out His heavenly care on this earth until He returns. The calling here to elders and members alike is to behold your Savior who designed his church to be this way—it’s for our good and for His glory.

If after all of this you still have a deep desire to pastor. Please don’t ignore it. It very well may be a cue to come to one of us pastors and express your aspiration and the rest of the church will help discern if you’re called!

The Motive (read vs 4)

This is the motive for ministry-the supreme one! We pastors will be standing before the judge and chief shepherd of all of the universe when He appears.

Multiple other passages of Scripture such as 1 Corinthians 3 have this idea that a minister specifically will stand before the judgement seat, again not to answer for his sins, but to give an account for the souls that were under his charge. And here Peter promises: if they are faithful to do God’s work in God’s way, for God’s glory, they will receive God’s reward— an unfading crown of glory.

The crowns we like to make for ourselves these days like bigger platforms, book deals, accolades on social media, more clicks, views, and likes. They are NOTHING compared to the unfading crown of glory!

This may not be a literal crown—But it does speak of the reward. We’ll soon find out exactly what it is, but what we do know is the pastor will be able to enjoy the fruit of a life time of labor in heaven as He sees with his own two eyes what God has done to save His people. But any work that was not done God’s way will simply be treated as worthless and will not last, as 1 Corinthians 3 says, it will burn up as wood, hay and straw.

This is why I labor for you, the members of Cornerstone. I will have to stand before God and give an account for your souls. So when I seek to oversee you—to check in on you, to have those once a year formal, pastoral check ins where we talk about how your soul is doing and family is doing, to maybe provide correction with the Word of God—It’s not to be annoying or nit-picky, but that list of names on the membership roster, those who have willing submitted to the elders of this church, are who I will give an account for.

I need to pay careful attention, the elders must meet to discuss and work together to meet the needs of the flock. And we need your help in this and that’s why you have a part to play too…

Faithful Members vv 5-7

Humility toward leaders

He then emphasizes the calling for those in the church, intentionally under the care of the elders (read vs 5). I say intentionally because Peter makes clear that there is a true commitment to the elders here. The Bible makes clear that there are those inside the church who have their own leaders that they submit to intentionally. And then you have Paul saying that there are those who show up at the meeting who are “outsiders” those who attend and observe. Both are welcome, both loved by God, but there is a difference because of a difference of comittment expressed. Only one group can truly obey their leaders, and according to 1 Corinthians 5, only one group can come under formal church discipline.

So often because of real, devastating, past church hurt, we tend to cringe at the idea of pastors (plural) leading or being in authority over the church. No doubt, this has been abused and some of us have been on the receiving end of it. Some of us just struggle with authority in General. But by beholding God’s true design for leadership, we can let let Peter disabuse us of all the negative things we think of when we think of pastoral authority and avoid giving up on it.

Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

There you have it. There must be commitment expressed on both sides, from the pastors that say, we will commit to shepherd you and care for your souls, and people who express commitment back to submit to the shepherding of the leaders. But you’re not obligated to obey the leaders of every local church. And I’m not obligated to pastor every single Christian, only those who desire me to. I will not force my way into that position in someone’s life. Notice, Hebrews says, obey YOUR leaders. How do you know who those are? How do the shepherds know WHO are submitting and who they are going to give an account for?

Well, that’s why the new testament uses the language of membership-we are connected as members of one another. It speaks of a covenant a commitment to one another founded on promises. And this, brothers and sisters, is why we have church membership. That’s why I like to say, membership is no where commanded in Scripture, but it is implied everywhere as there are just certain commands you cannot obey, like Hebrews 13, if you are not joined to a local church.

Formal Commitment to your church is not a gas station rewards program, or joining a gym, or a way for leaders to control you, The text here drives us to this mechanism (that can vary from church to church) to formally recognize who among us belong to Jesus through a common faith and who receive the priority care of the elders. In other words, membership, implied by the new testament, defines who our family is and who truly represent Jesus. Every team has a roster—It’s those who voluntarily wear the Jesus Jersey and the rest of the church confidently affirm that they are indeed on team Jesus because of a common faith.

That’s not to say non-members are not true Christians, they very well may be and I believe many are, but similar to how a marriage covenant formalizes and safeguards the love between husband and wife, membership formalizes and safeguards the relationship between christian and a particular congregation and a Church and its leaders.

The point though here is this commitment on the part of the members is to be subjected to the elders of the church, clothed with humility. And you desire God’s empowerment to carry out this commitment to your pastors? Well, Peter is saying that God gives grace to the humble. If we are proud, God resists us. If we humble ourselves, God grants more grace—More of Himself given for our empowerment to do what He calls us to do. That’s good news because you cannot do this on your own.

But Like Jesus, who got up from the table at the last supper, and took off his outer garments, and clothed himself with a servants towel, and washed his disciples feet—All that was an illustration of how God the Son, eternally co-equal with the Father, took on human flesh and humbled himself in our very likeness to redeem us when what we deserved was punishment and wrath for all eternity. He rescued sinners THROUGH His humble submission to his father in the economy of redemption in history. The Lord, the creator of all, became the least, humbled himself, that we would be exalted in due time. Only through trusting Him can you submit to Godly leaders as they submit to Christ. And that leads to the next thing…

Humility in light of heaven

Peter commands to humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand—Why? So that—here’s the purpose—God may exalt you in the proper time. When’s that time? Peter has been doing this over and over again. And these believers in first century Rome needed to hear this when they were being insulted, maligned for their faith, suffering greatly—They will and we will be glorified when Christ returns. Not glorified as on par with the risen king, but as Kingdom citizens who are joined to the king, we will receive a body like his as we participate in a resurrection like his. This is a promise for all those who are in union with Christ. But how is that promised realized to you today?

If you humble yourself by faith alone—It’s the posture that says, I don’t have any righteousness of my own. I’m a sinner before a mighty God. I deserve what’s coming to me for my sin—but I humble myself to recognize that I need Him! a savior who won’t deal with me according to my sins! A Savior who not only declares me to be a sinner but did something about it on the cross to now declare me righteous in Him. This is the first part humility—it’s the humility of faith and abandoning all of your own righteousness, fully throwing yourself upon the mercy of another.

Everything I just mentioned is the basis for your submission to Godly leaders. You don’t submit blindly and unconditionally, you submit only as unto Christ and only as the elders submit to Christ but you do so because you know that as we humble ourselves to serve the elders and the church, we will be reinging with Christ in eternity when he appears. You have a heavenly hope motivating you now, just as Elders have a heavenly hope motivating them. But How is humility displayed in an ongoing way?

Humility in light of Christ’s constant care v7

Peter shows the next part of humility looks like—what ongoing humility looks like “Casing all your cares or anxieties…”

Imagine the pride it takes to hold onto anxieties about submission and life together as a church. Some of you have still not committed to God’s church or its leadership because of anxieties. And I want to hear those anxieties out and hear your story, believe me. I have already sat with some of you to hear about your experiences.

But please don’t miss what Peter is reminding us of—Humility acknowledges a Savior who cares and can actually deal with those anxieties you feel.

You’re wondering if the elders will be faithful. You’re wondering if people are going to burn you. And secretly, you’re anxious about it. But You’re not committing to a church to just commit to people—You’re doing it because the shepherd wants to care for you and you’re ultimately commiting to Him.

Like the Psalmist says in Psalm 54:23 Cast your burden upon the Lord, he will sustain you. It’s the idea of transfering your anxieties or concerns to another. Like rolling a burden off your back to end up on the back of the Lord because He’s the one who can handle it. It’s actually the opposite of humility to hold on to your anxieties because you’re setting yourself up as the sovereign over your personal universe.

There is godly concern. And that’s not wrong. But there is sinful anxiety that stems from pride because you’re refusing to let an all powerful God sustain you—You’re saying essentially, no, God, i can handle life on my own.

But our Savior stands with his outstretched nail scarred hands, the one who’s been hurt more than you ever will and, rose with Healing in His wings and a righteousness that is freely yours. You’re securely in His hands. So cast them. Throw the anxiety today through prayer and trust that God will strengthen your trust in His design so that you’ll experience His care through His people yet again.

My father’s care is round me there, He holds me that I shall not fall and so to Him I leave it all, and so to Him I leave it all.

Conclusion

Main Point: Elders and Church members ought to serve one another to display the grace and glory of the chief shepherd who will never fail.

The glory of God is displayed through Faithful members and their Faithful leaders. WHY? Because both sides display Christ-the refuge, care, and safety you need in a hostile world.

Christ’s has been displayed through out this entire book…

Earthly pastors will fail you, but God loves us enough to give them to us so that… quote Psalm