1 PETER 5:1–7
HOW SHOULD SHEPHERDS LEAD GOD’S PEOPLE?
Peter has been writing to Christians suffering as strangers and exiles.
Now, as he approaches the end of his letter, he turns specifically to the men responsible for caring for these congregations.
And Peter's choice of words is important.
He speaks about:
elders,
shepherding,
and exercising oversight.
Are these three different levels of church leadership?
Or is Peter describing different aspects of the same work?
Let's stay with Peter's words and see.
5:1 — “I EXHORT THE ELDERS AMONG YOU”
Peter writes:
“So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ…”
The word translated elder is presbyteros.
Peter does something interesting.
He is an apostle, but here he calls himself:
“a fellow elder.”
He does not begin by emphasizing rank.
He identifies himself with the elders he is addressing.
Peter had certainly witnessed Christ's suffering.
He had been present during Jesus' ministry and arrest, although the Gospels also record that Peter fled and later denied knowing Jesus.
After the resurrection, Jesus restored Peter.
That makes what Peter says next especially interesting.
REMEMBER JOHN 21
After His resurrection, Jesus asked Peter three times:
“Do you love me?”
And Jesus told him:
“Feed my lambs.”
“Tend my sheep.”
“Feed my sheep.”
— John 21:15–17
Years later Peter writes to elders:
“Shepherd the flock of God…”
Peter had received that responsibility from Jesus.
Now he tells other elders to care for God's sheep.
But notice whose sheep they are.
Not Peter's.
Not the elders'.
They are:
“the flock of God.”
The sheep belong to God.
That puts limits on every human leader's authority.
5:2 — ELDER, SHEPHERD, AND OVERSEER
Peter tells the elders:
“Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight…”
Three important words appear together.
ELDER — PRESBYTEROS
This identifies the men Peter is addressing.
SHEPHERD — POIMAINŌ
This describes what they are to do.
They are to shepherd God's flock.
The familiar English word pastor comes from the Latin word for shepherd.
OVERSEE — EPISKOPEŌ
This describes their responsibility to watch over or supervise the flock.
The related noun episkopos is usually translated overseer or, in some translations and later church usage, bishop.
Peter does not present an elder, pastor, and bishop here as three ascending ranks.
He tells the elders to shepherd the flock while exercising oversight.
The same basic pattern appears elsewhere in the New Testament.
ACTS 20 SHOWS THE SAME THING
Paul called for:
“the elders of the church”
— Acts 20:17
Then he told those same men:
“the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for [or shepherd] the church of God.”
— Acts 20:28
Again:
Elders.
Overseers.
Shepherding.
Not three levels of hierarchy.
They describe the men and their work.
Titus 1:5–7 similarly moves from elder in verse 5 to overseer in verse 7 while discussing the qualifications for the same leadership responsibility.
That becomes important when we later examine how the office of a single bishop above the elders developed in post-apostolic church history.
But here we are asking a simpler question:
What does Peter describe?
He describes elders shepherding God's flock by exercising oversight.
“THE FLOCK OF GOD THAT IS AMONG YOU”
That little phrase matters:
“that is among you.”
Peter does not tell these elders to control every congregation in a province.
They shepherd the flock among them.
The picture is local and pastoral.
They know the sheep.
They care for them.
They watch over them.
Leadership in Peter's picture is not primarily about institutional power.
It is about responsibility for people.
HOW SHOULD THEY SERVE?
Peter gives three contrasts.
NOT UNDER COMPULSION — BUT WILLINGLY
An elder should not serve merely because someone pressured him into the position.
He should willingly accept the responsibility of caring for God's people.
Leadership that is constantly resentful of the people being led is unlikely to resemble shepherding.
NOT FOR SHAMEFUL GAIN — BUT EAGERLY
Peter continues:
“not for shameful gain, but eagerly…”
Money must not become the motive for spiritual leadership.
The New Testament does recognize appropriate financial support for those who labor in teaching and ministry.
The problem is not receiving support.
The problem is serving because of what can be gained from the people being served.
A shepherd does not look at the sheep and ask:
“What can I get from them?”
He asks:
“How can I care for them?”
5:3 — NOT DOMINEERING
Peter's third contrast may be the strongest:
“not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.”
The Greek verb carries the idea of exercising mastery or domination over others.
Jesus had taught His apostles something similar.
When they argued about greatness, Jesus said that Gentile rulers:
“lord it over” others.
Then He said:
“It shall not be so among you.”
— Mark 10:42–43
Peter had heard those words.
Now he tells elders:
Don't domineer over God's people.
Christian leadership is not supposed to imitate worldly struggles for power.
LEAD BY EXAMPLE
What replaces domination?
“being examples to the flock.”
That changes the whole picture of authority.
The elder says, in effect:
Watch how I follow Christ.
Not:
I have a title, therefore do what I say.
His life should support his teaching.
His marriage.
His speech.
His honesty.
His treatment of people.
His use of money.
His response to criticism.
His humility.
His service.
The shepherd leads partly by showing the sheep what following the Chief Shepherd looks like.
5:4 — THERE IS A CHIEF SHEPHERD
Peter says:
“And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”
Every elder is an under-shepherd.
There is only one:
“Chief Shepherd.”
Jesus.
That means no elder owns the church.
No preacher owns the church.
No bishop owns the church.
No group of leaders owns the church.
Christ does.
Human shepherds themselves answer to the Chief Shepherd.
That should encourage faithful leaders.
It should also humble powerful ones.
“WHEN THE CHIEF SHEPHERD APPEARS”
Peter once again looks forward to Christ's return.
The suffering Christian looks forward to it.
And so does the faithful elder.
Peter promises:
“the unfading crown of glory.”
Notice another familiar word:
unfading.
At the beginning of the letter Peter described the Christian inheritance as:
“imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.”
Earthly honors fade.
Titles disappear.
Positions end.
People forget our names.
But the Chief Shepherd does not forget faithful service.
5:5 — “YOU WHO ARE YOUNGER”
Peter now turns from elders:
“Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.”
There is a natural contrast between elders and younger people.
The younger are to respect and submit appropriately to those who lead.
But Peter immediately prevents anyone from turning the passage into a celebration of rank.
He says:
“Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another.”
Not merely:
Young people, be humble.
Not merely:
Members, be humble before leaders.
But:
“all of you.”
The elders need humility too.
“CLOTHE YOURSELVES WITH HUMILITY”
Peter uses a vivid expression.
“Clothe yourselves…with humility.”
Humility should be something Christians put on.
Perhaps Peter remembered another night.
Jesus wrapped a towel around Himself and washed His disciples' feet.
Peter initially objected.
But Jesus showed His disciples what leadership in His kingdom looked like.
The Lord became the servant.
Peter had learned that lesson slowly.
Now he tells the entire church:
Put on humility.
“GOD OPPOSES THE PROUD”
Peter quotes Proverbs 3:34:
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
That is a frightening statement.
Pride does not merely create problems between people.
Pride places us in opposition to God.
This is especially important in a passage about leadership.
Religious authority can become dangerous when it becomes mixed with pride.
The greater the responsibility, the greater the need for humility.
5:6 — HUMBLE YOURSELVES UNDER GOD’S HAND
Peter continues:
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God…”
The expression “mighty hand” recalls Old Testament descriptions of God's powerful acts, especially His deliverance of Israel.
Peter's readers are suffering.
They may feel powerless.
Peter does not tell them that God has lost control.
They are under:
“the mighty hand of God.”
And then:
“so that at the proper time he may exalt you.”
Again:
Humility now.
Glory later.
Suffering now.
Exaltation in God's time.
The pattern has appeared throughout the letter.
5:7 — “CASTING ALL YOUR ANXIETIES ON HIM”
Peter continues the sentence:
“casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
This is not an unrelated inspirational saying.
It belongs with verse 6.
One way we humble ourselves under God's mighty hand is by entrusting our worries to Him.
Why?
“Because he cares for you.”
Peter does not say:
Nothing bad will happen to you.
The entire letter would contradict that.
He says something different:
God cares for you in the middle of what happens.
That is why the Christian can entrust anxiety to Him.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO CAST OUR ANXIETIES ON GOD?
It does not mean pretending problems do not exist.
Peter's readers had real problems.
Some were being insulted.
Some were being mistreated.
Some were suffering.
Peter knew that.
“Casting” our anxiety upon God means recognizing that we do not carry the final responsibility for controlling everything.
We pray.
We act faithfully.
We make wise decisions.
We do what is right.
And then we entrust what we cannot control to God.
Why?
Not because we understand everything He is doing.
But:
“because he cares for you.”
WHAT DOES PETER’S CHURCH LEADERSHIP LOOK LIKE?
If we stay with this passage alone, Peter gives us a remarkably simple picture.
There is:
The Chief Shepherd — Jesus Christ.
Under Him are:
elders who shepherd God's flock by exercising oversight.
And those elders are commanded:
serve willingly,
do not pursue dishonest gain,
do not dominate,
lead by example,
remember whose flock it is,
and remember that you answer to the Chief Shepherd.
Then Peter tells everybody:
“Clothe yourselves…with humility.”
That is very different from leadership built primarily around prestige, titles, rank, wealth, clothing, or institutional power.
Peter's emphasis is:
shepherding, service, example, and humility.
A QUESTION WORTH ASKING
Church history eventually developed an elaborate vocabulary of leadership:
priests,
bishops,
archbishops,
patriarchs,
cardinals,
popes,
along with many structures that differed greatly from place to place.
Those developments deserve to be studied historically and fairly.
But before studying what happened later, we should establish the starting point.
What did Peter actually describe?
In this passage Peter does not describe a chain of increasingly powerful offices.
He describes elders shepherding the local flock while exercising oversight under Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd.
That does not by itself answer every question about later church organization.
But it gives us an important place to begin.
Text before tradition.
THE BIG PICTURE
Peter's instructions are really about power.
Who owns the flock?
God does.
Who is the Chief Shepherd?
Jesus is.
What are elders supposed to do?
Shepherd.
How should they exercise oversight?
Willingly and eagerly.
What must they not do?
Dominate the people entrusted to them.
How should they lead?
By example.
And what should characterize the whole congregation—leaders included?
Humility.
Then Peter gives suffering Christians one of the simplest and most comforting reasons for trusting God anywhere in this letter:
“because he cares for you.”
QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT
Why does Peter call himself a “fellow elder” when he was also an apostle?
How might John 21:15–17 help us understand Peter's command to shepherd God's flock?
What relationship does Peter show between elder, shepherd, and overseer?
How does Acts 20:17, 28 help clarify those terms?
Why is the phrase “the flock of God” important for understanding church leadership?
What does “the flock…among you” suggest about the elders' responsibility?
What is the difference between shepherding and domineering?
Why is example so important in Christian leadership?
What does calling Jesus the Chief Shepherd say about the authority of every human church leader?
Why does Peter immediately move from submission to elders to “all of you” clothing yourselves with humility?
How does pride become especially dangerous when combined with religious authority?
What is the connection between humbling ourselves before God and casting our anxieties upon Him?
If we began only with 1 Peter 5, what kind of leadership structure would we expect to find in a local first-century congregation?
NEXT STUDY
1 PETER 5:8–14
YOUR ADVERSARY THE DEVIL PROWLS AROUND
We have reached the final section of 1 Peter.
Peter gives one last warning:
“Be sober-minded; be watchful.”
Why?
“Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
But Peter does not tell frightened Christians to run from Satan.
He says:
“Resist him, firm in your faith.”
Then Peter gives them perspective: Christians elsewhere are suffering too, suffering will not last forever, and:
“the God of all grace…will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
We will also meet Silvanus and Mark, and we should look carefully at Peter's intriguing closing greeting:
“She who is at Babylon…sends you greetings.”
Does Peter mean the literal city of Babylon—or is Babylon a name for Rome?
That will give us a good final page for 1 Peter before we move directly into 2 Peter 1.
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