Humble Yourselves (1 Peter 5:6-7)
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So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Introduction
Introduction
Written to...
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
Peter mentions their suffering from chapter 1
Verbally insulted, slandered, abused, maligned (2, 3, 4)
Publically shamed and labelled - they are the immoral ones
For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you;
Not officially sanctioned - widespread distrust
Later it would be sanctioned
Some was physical - beatings (2:18-20)
Affects of sin, brokenness, fallenness felt in every fabric of society
Relationships (chapter 3)
tense relationships between master slave (2)
wives, be subject to your unbelieving husbands
husbands, love and honor your wives with understanding
Everyone - live in unity, sympathy, love, tenderness, humility. DON’T repay evil for evil
We can relate
CHAPTER 5
Elders, fulfill your duty. SHEPHERD THE FLOCK OF GOD THAT IS AMONG YOU
Can be understood to husbands and fathers
Do so:
not under compulsion - willingly
not for shameful gain - eagerly
not domineering - being an example
Do so selflessly, with humility
The younger - be subject
ALL - clothe yourselves with humility. Humble yourselves
Transition
Transition
Does it seem strange to you?
PRIDEFUL REACTION TO SUFFERING
PRIDEFUL RESPONSE TO SUFFERING
Everything has to change - but nobody wants to change
The problem is out there - not in here
I don’t deserve this - I deserve better than this
I will fix this
PRIDEFUL REACTION TO SUFFERING
PRIDEFUL RESPONSE TO SUFFERING
Both are a failure to believe the gospel
Prideful Reaction
Prideful Reaction
Peter addresses suffering Christians this way:
- Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
How? Why?
Remember where you come from!
- According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope
You are a recipient of mercy - you needed mercy
Peter addressing Gentile believers...
All the things that are being done to them - they once did!
You don’t deserve this? You deserve far worse!
If God were to give us what we deserve, we would all bi in hell already.
How did God save us? Did we earn it?
How were you saved?
(some believe God just forgives us)
- ...through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
When you remember where you come from, there is NO ROOM for pride, anger
There is ONLY room for praise, worship and humility
When you’ve understood and believed the gospel - that you didn’t get what you deserve but Jesus took upon Himself what you deserve - and gave you what ONLY He deserves...
There is no room for complaining about your circumstances or the way you have been treated.
Those are PRIDEFUL and sinful reactions in light of what you have received
There is ONLY room for a life lived in worship & praise, gratitude, thankfulness, repentance and humility
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
1 Peter 1:
Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
It gives us a different perspective to our circumstances
- In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
- Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
-
“As a fellow elder - one who is a witness to the sufferings of Christ - AND as a partaker of the glory that is going to be revealed -
shepherd your flock with humility
humble yourself to those in authority over you
clothe yourselves in humility to one another
Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God
Believing the gospel and seeing the world through a gospel lens affects everything
including your relationships
broken because of sin - pride
they remain broken because of pride
can only be restored through humility - when we see our own faults
rather than focusing on how we have been wronged… we clothe ourselves in humility toward one another
If God was gracious and merciful to us - shouldn’t we be gracious to one another?
Prideful Response
Prideful Response
How do we - in the pride of our hearts - respond to being wronged?
Set it right!
We see the world not as it should be - we want to RESTORE IT to its glory days
We are wronged and maligned - we want to CONFIRM our innocence
We will put it right!
We see ourselves in a position of weakness - we want to fight ourselves back into a position of STRENGTH
We see ourselves being sidelined and pushed aside - we want to ESTABLISH ourselves as the ones in power
In our broken relationships -
d
We are trying to take something that was broken by prideful actions to begin with, and trying to fix it with the same kind of prideful thinking
How can something that was broken down by prideful actions to begin with, be restored with the same kind of prideful thinking?
So when we feel we have been wronged, we feel the need to put it right -
by restoring and confirming our innocence and rightness,
to fight back,
standing up for ourselves
to prove our innocence,
establishing justice
to put the other person in their place
These are prideful responses
How does Peter exhort us to live in light of the gospel?
- in light of the grace you have received, live holy lives
Verse 19 - you weren’t bought with perishable things like gold and silver, but with the precious blood of Christ
1 Peter 1:13-16\
So then - chapter 2 - put away the passions of your flesh
let those who have done wrong see your good deeds and glorify God
How will we accomplish that?
chapter 2 - be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution
live as people who are already free
honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor
That means:
2:18 slaves, be subject to your masters - whether good or bad
endure suffering and injustice
chapter 3 - wives, be subject to your husbands - even the unbelieving ones
husbands - honor your wives - even the nagging ones
to all - treat one another with love, sympathy, tenderness
NOT returning evil for evil - but blessing those who hate you
Your broken relationships can never be restored by the same kind of prideful thinking that broke them in the first place
“For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit”
Is it hard? Of course...
But we are following in the footsteps of Jesus who did the same thing for us
He didn’t give us what we deserved
He did no wrong
We did everything wrong
And yet the righteous died for the unrighteous so that we can live
- therefore, arm yourselves with the same kind of thinking
Chapter 5 - clothe yourselves with humility toward one another.
Put away pride.
Repent
Forgive
For God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble
Conclusion
Conclusion
Friends, in conclusion, I want to exhort you, in spite of any and every circumstance you are in...
Remember the gospel and rejoice
Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, casting your anxieties on Him because He cares for you
We are so caught up in our pride
We et it right!
We see the world not as it should be - we want to RESTORE IT to its glory days
We are wronged and maligned - we want to CONFIRM our innocence
We see ourselves in a position of weakness - we want to fight ourselves back into a position of STRENGTH
We see ourselves being sidelined and pushed aside - we want to ESTABLISH ourselves as the ones in power
The reason so many men suffer from stress and panic and anxiety is because in our pride, we somehow think it is up to us to set things right
Pride is linked to anxiety - humble yourselves, casting your anxieties upon Him
What are you going to do for God?
Take a deep breath
Where did that breath come from?
- Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?
Stop regarding man
in whose nostrils is breath,
for of what account is he?
What are you except a nostril full of air?
You can’t even take your next nostril full of air unless the Lord gives it to you… what are you going to do for God?
I want to give you a gentle warning:
Remember who you are and where you come from
There is no such thing as a mighty man of God - only weak and pitiful men of a great and mighty God
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
-
I want to say to you, stop stressing about your circumstances, stop panicking about what you’re going to do about everything
Let go of your pride - you can’t fix everything
entrust yourselves to the mighty hand of God.
Humble yourselves under His mighty hand. Trust His mighty hand to deliver what He has promised.
That doesn’t mean live passively and do nothing
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8
Resist Him!
How?
1 Peter 5
Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
So guys, in the middle of every circumstance, hardship, broken relationships you desperately want restored...
1 Peter
Yes we are partakers in suffering but we are also partakers in the glory that is to come
For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
What are we to do?
As partakers in Christ’s suffering, as well as partakers in the glory that is going to be revealed...
Shepherd the flock of God that is among you
Shepherd the flock of God that
live humbly
lead by example
humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God
Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.